Music of the Month // Best albums of 2019 (so far)

Today I am doing something differently. For months I have been struggling with posting content on the the Fridays that made sense. I always had it saved for fashion posts, but as my tastes have changed I felt less and less inspired and so I started filling it with more beauty content. That also didn’t feel right. So I had a bit of a brainstorm and have decided to dub Fridays: Free for all Fridays. This means that this is the day in the week where I will not post beauty content or a video, but do something a bit differently. And I thought, what better way to change things up than to bring back my oldest passion to the blog: music!

Music of the Month // Best Albums of 2019 (so far)

If you have been around my blog for a long time, then you may remember that I used to do regular music posts. Music has always been my first and original obsession. Before the makeup, fashion and books there was music. And I still listen to music of course, that never stopped. I just stopped blogging about it. I felt I had nothing unique to share, was stuck in a bit of a rut, but I think that if I stick to monthly rather than weekly posts, I think I can manage.

So here’s the plan: once a month, on a Friday, I will post a ‘Music of the Month’ blog post. What I do with it can be anything music related: from a review of a concert I went to (my new goal is to go to a concert at least once a month!), to an album I listened to or just the song that I have had stuck on repeat. Today we are kicking this off with my top 10 best albums that I bought in 2019. Some of these were released this year, others were not, but I still started loving them this year. Here we go!

Vampire Weekend – Father of the Bride

Vampire Weekend is one of my favorite bands. So when they released a new album you’d bet I would be on top of it. I even have a ticket to see them live in November! Yup, self-professed fangirl right here. Sure, is this their best album to date? Not really, but I still love their quirky aesthetic which still blends well into an easy to listen to mix. Listen to it here.

Snapped Ankles – Stunning Luxury

I bought this album in Brighton from an independent music store and instantly loved it. This is post punk at its best! It has a good mix of electronic influences that can still be catchy, but also dark and a bit weird. Not necessarily top of the chart material, but then again that is not my general musical taste to begin with. Listen to it here.

The Slow Show – Lust and Learn

Another favorite band of mine is The Slow Show. If you haven’t heard of them, they named themselves after a song by The National and I would compare them to that, but moodier. Their music has a melancholy to it that I love. Their first two albums are firm favorites in my music collection and this newest release I was surely anticipating this year. And it did not disappoint! Listen to it here.

Fat White Family – Serfs Up!

How to describe this one? This band was recommended to me by the guy who works at the record store I frequent the most. It’s one of the reasons why I love shopping for music (and books too!) at good music stores. The employees usually know a lot and based on your previous purchases can recommend bands to you that you otherwise wouldn’t have stumbled upon. This was an instant hit for me. Again, not your run of the mill radio friendly music (I mean there’s some grunting going on here at time), but when I saw them live at Best Kept Secret festival earlier this year, this became a top favorite and I have been listening to their album nonstop. Listen to it here.

Too Door Cinema Club – False Alarm

Perhaps one of the more widely listened to bands I support it TDCC. This is a band I didn’t love straightaway. But then I saw them live at Rock Werchter years ago and they had me up on my feet dancing along and that sealed the deal. I was excited for their latest album False Alarm as I had already heard some singles and liked it. They have definitely gone a bit more electronic over the years and I like this pop/ rock/ dancy kind of vibe they now have. Their songs are straight up ear worms too. Listen to it here.

The Teskey Brothers – Half Mile Harvest

Another album that came recommended to me by the guy at the record store that was an instant hit were The Teskey Brothers. They have released a new album not too long ago, but when I was at my record store to buy some new music they had just run out of stock. So that will be added some time soon. This band is great as they combine so many different styles but mostly have a bluesy feel to it. Listen to it here.

Fews – Into Red

One of my favorite psychedelic rock bands is Fews. I played their first album so much with every song being a favorite. Especially their long sprawling almost space psych songs were a bit hit with me. So when it was announced that they were releasing a second album this year I had to get it. I bought it in London and was bummed when I found out they played Rotterdam the same weekend as I had a lindy thing. Too bad, but I am sure I will be able to catch them some time. Listen to it here.

Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

I am not one to hop on bandwagons but Lizzo deserves every accolade that has been coming her way. I had heard of her and the buzz surrounding her message of body positivity. I had listened to a song or two, but I hadn’t properly heard her music until I saw her live. She played Best Kept Secret and what a storm that was. I skipped Interpol (one of my favorite all time bands and whom I have seen multiple times already) to see her show and I was blown away. It was the best show I saw all weekend. Her album was on repeat for a solid week after that and I still love her stuff. Listen to it here.

Communions – Flesh and Gore, Dream and Vapor

This is one of those music discoveries that I made quite randomly. I think I was following up on some of my indie music discoveries and came across one of their songs. I then browsed Spotify and found two EPs. This is their most recent and again I love them for the weird, non-mainstream vibe that these songs have. Listen to it here.

Father John Misty – Pure Comedy

If there is one artist who I feel a bit ashamed to admit I discovered just this year it would be Father John Misty. His songs are beautiful. This is true craftmanship! I bought one of his albums on a whim as it was discounted (this usually happens when new albums are released) and decided I wanted to know what it was all about. I instantly fell in love and am sure I will be buying some of his newer stuff too. Listen to it here.

What have you been listening to?