The best albums of 2019! (so far)

Billie Eilish - When we all fall asleep where do we go?
At first Billie Eilish seemed a confusing prospect for the casual observer. A teenage pop-star promoted with shockingly edgy music videos, dank memes and her penchant for oversized clothes. With the internet debating her validity it proved to be the music itself most worth talking about. the huge single and opener to this album 'Bad guy' being the key introduction to her character. A darkly comic and sexual pop song with a creeping sense of unease. 'Xanny' is even stranger, a jazz song by a Gen Z singer advocating for not abusing Xanax like so many of her contemporaries do. 'You should see me in a crown' and 'bury a friend' provide the bangers while 'all the good girls go to hell' is a nihilistic look at global warming. Throughout her debut Billie and her brother (producer FINNEAS) completely disregard genre restraints and the final product brims with an experimental edge that could never be replicated by anyone else. While many have compared her to Lorde, Billie lacks the same holier than thou approach to writing about being a teenager. While Lorde is wise beyond her years Billie is utterly consumed by her teenage emotions and it's on the quiet piano ballads that detail first love and suicide 'Listen before i go' and 'I love you' that Eilish is at her most devastating. 
Check out - I love you

Tyler, The Creator - IGOR
Even back in his Odd Future days I knew that Tyler would one day be making groundbreaking albums. Following his acclaimed Scum Fuck Flower Boy LP Tyler has created an album which demands to be heard in one sitting. IGOR is a trip inside Tyler's own world and it's an often unsettling one. IGOR mixes a star studded cast of gursts such as Playboi Carti, Kanye West, Slowthai and many more into his sonic stew yet the ficus is always on Tyler himself. IGOR is a loose concept album about love and heartbreak. Tyler takes elements of N.E.R.D and Kanye West and mixes them with a warped style of funk and soul. While he was previous known as a rapper and producer its Tylers abilities as a musician that really make IGOR work such as the spine tinglingly brilliant keyboard hooks on 'Gone Gone'. This is an album by an artist at the peak of his powers that couldn't have been made by anyone else. 
Check out - The whole album in one sitting, as it was intended to be heard. 

Slowthai - Nothing Great about Britain
Nothing great about Britain tells you everything you need to know about Slowthai and where he's from in its opening 3 minutes. As Ty declares that there is nothing great about Britain, attacking politicians, cultural appropriation, racism, and royalty in a thrillingly hilarious fashion. For anyone who loves grime but doesn't feel that they belong in the culture Slowthai is a breath of fresh air. Throughout his brilliant debut album Ty paints a picture of his background as a young British man, the son of a Barbadian single mother, raised in the poorest suburbs of Northampton. Slowthai is far from your typical macho rapper. He finds strength in his vulnerability, his voice cracking under the pressure of all he has to say. his lyrics are full of memorable one liners, at times hilarious "Gotta thank mum for the 23 years she wiped my arse, Thank you Ma", now I’m gone".  At other times Ty reflects on his past in heartbreaking autobiographical detail, "What's mum done to you, you're lucky I'm not as big as you, i'll punch you till my hands turn blue" Nothing great about Britain is one of few British rap albums that live up to classics such as 'Original Pirate Material' and 'Boy in da Corner'.

Check out - Dead Leaves

Bring Me The Horizon - AMO
Bring Me The Horizon are at a point in their career that few bands, let alone heavy metal bands manage to reach. A point where after 4 albums they are left with a choice. They can either stick with their established sound and please their existing fanbase at the risk of that fanbase slowly dwindling with future releases or take risks, experiment with their sound and write songs that will encourage new fans to take the place of those who don't like the new direction. Thankfully BMTH haven't scrapped the guitars to the extent of Linkin Park's much maligned last album. The heavy tracks on AMO such as MANTRA and Wonderful life still bear all the heavy riffs and shouty refrains that BMTH are known for. For much of the rest of the album BMTH delve into electronica, with mixed results, while 'Medicine' finds them having a go at a 1975 style pop tune. Throughout AMO BMTH throw every millennial songwriting cliche they can at the wall, the whoops, pitched chipmunk vocals, Drum breaks and even an attempt at the triplet flow are all present. The eclectic approach mostly works on the strongest songs, but can be annoying when the songs aren't up to scratch (such as the irritating 'Sugar Honey Ice & Tea'). BMTH deserve credit for being one of the few mainstream rock bands who are willing to experiment and break new ground.
Check out - Heavy Metal

King Gizzard And The lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishies
2 years is a long time to go without an album for a King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard fan. Almost too long. After 2017 blessed us with no less than 5 albums from the gonzo aussie 7 piece it was a long wait for the next step from them. Fishing For Fishes is yet another reinvention for KG, who regularly chance genres between albums. Fishing for fishes is their most divisive yet, as the band explore the little known musical style known as boogie. The opening title track may sound joyful and optimistic yet lyrically it's a sort of protest song about the damage caused by over-fishing. 'Plastic Boogie;' is similarly timely, screaming 'Fuck all of of that plastic' King Gizzard may be rightfully worried about the state of the environment but it still sounds like they're having a blast while singing about it. Yet over the course of Fishing For Fishes things get progressively darker as the lament of dying bees gives way to a sombre interlude, progressively getting more and more electronic until they finish things off with the brilliantly camp 'Cyboogie' which mixes their rootsy boogie with retro synths, it's unashamedly proggy, but also lots of fun. 
Check out - Plastic Boogie

Other great albums I've loved this year..
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely uninspired to a hellish extent
Better Oblivion Community Centre - S/T
James Blake - Assume Form

The Japanese House - Good at falling

Mercury Rev - Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete revisited

Sundara Karma - Ulfilas' Alphabet

Injury Reserve - S/T

Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

Ezra collective - You can't steal my Joy

Loyle Carner - Not waving, but drowning 

Amyl & The Sniffers -S/T

Crywank- Wearing Beige on a Grey Day 

Denzel Curry - ZUU

Fontaines D.C.- Dogrel 

While She Sleeps - SO WHAT?

PUP - Morbid Stuff

Foals Live at The Digbeth Arena review.

In 2019 Foals are undeniably one of the few rock bands to have really made an impact over the past decade. Forging a style of their own, mixing the complex math rock of their breakout debut 'Antidotes with the muscular rock 'n roll of their more recent records. Now with a top 5 album under their belt in 'Everything not saved will be lost Part 1' (part 2 will be out later this year) I felt privileged to get a chance to finally see them at the Digbeth arena. Both shows sold out almost immediately and the converted open warehouse space still made for a relatively intimate space to see Foals in.  

I dragged a friend along ti the show who, unfamiliar with Foals and their output asked me to describe them in one world. I decided to settle on 'tropical'. It's hard for me to pin down why,  but Foals just seem suited for hot sweltering temperatures and sunlight. 

The same can be said for first support act KIEV (6/10). A Californian group whose blissful indie rock can best be described as Foals-ish. The real treat for me was to catch YAK (7.6) fora second time after their wonderfully chaotic show at The Castle and Falcon back in March. Unfortunately YAK's brilliant mix of psychdelic rock, krautrock and just plain noisyness was lost on a largely disintersted crowd. YAK may slay the smaller clubs but it may be some time until they are ready to do the same for arenas.

FOALS on the other hand had the audience in the palm of their hand. Riding high of the previous sold out Birmingham show. Frontman Yannis remarked on more than one occasion how much he loved the Birmingham crowd, praising us for drinking on a Sunday and not giving a shit about our jobs, as well; as the vibe of the urban graffiti covered arena. It was definitely fitting that Foals had chosen to return to Birmingham for these shows as their sound clearly had an influence on the nascent Digbeth based 'B-Town' scene. Birmingham also provided the site for one of their legendary early shows at the nearby Sunflower Lounge. However Yannis no longer seems to spend Foals gigs climbing up walls and assaulting security guards as in 2019 Foals are a well (snake) oiled machine. Delivering a setlist full of 'nasty little rippers' such as 'On the Luna', 'My Number', 'Mountain at my gates', and bringing out older favourites such as 'Olympic Airwaves', 'Red Socks Pugie'. All of which just seemed to be warming up for an incredible 'Inhaler' which was followed by a quick new number 'Black Bull'. A new track in the vein of heavy rockers such as 'What went down' which bodes well for the next record. 'What went down' itself was a highlight but Foals saved the best for last. Taking an old favourite 'Two steps twice' and stretching out out and building up tension for what seemed like an eternity, asking the crowd to kneel down before finally getting to the songs maddeningly catchy chorus. Ending a crowd pleasing set of indie rock bangers on a delirious high. (8.8)