March 29, 2024

Noise Journal’s Top Music Recommendations 2019

Photo courtesy of Stelios Kouvelis

2019 was pretty impressive in music! Loads and loads of great records were published and if we didn’t present them all, we are so sorry! In this article you will find some of the records that we reviewed in Noise Journal and a plenty of more which shocked us a lot! This is our 2019’s music score, so lay back, have a nice drink and listen loud! These records are not in any particular ranking as they knocked us down equally and all together, yeah!

 

SECTION A: Synthesize me, make me your Love and Hate machine

Sainte-Mort from Canada, blasted us with their latest album which was all an electrocution!!!

 

Berlin’s similar ‘professors’ NNMHN, returned in 2019 in style, with three records to die for! We highly recommend December’s album!!!

 

Parisienne synthwave musician Hélène de Thoury/ Hante. gave 2 albums, January’s ‘Fierce’ LP…

…and May’s ‘Infrarouge’ with Amandine Stioui as Minuit Machine!!!

…and still from Synth Religion label, we went crazy with the latest offering by Box And The Twins!!!

 

Centurion ‘Maximus’ by Austin’s electro wizards New Neon, a pure bliss over here!!!

 

Fabulous effort by 2 members from ACTORS, Shannon Hemmett and Jason Corbett, aka LEATHERS. A study in the synthgaze maze!!!

 

Old post-punk wolves The Membranes in the hands of Kitty Lectro, sheer remixes from a ‘teacher’!!!

 

SECTION B: Guitars, amplifiers, a drummer, and don’t forget The Joker

Los Angeles based garage psych shoegazers Tombstones In Their Eyes with their lastest album ‘Maybe Someday’. What a record was that!!! OMG!!!

 

Post-hardcore New York band The 1865, politically charged on the never-ending struggle for freedom and their Great album ‘Don’t Tread On We’, with lyrics that are just so powerful as their bone-shaking sound!!!

 

Still in New York, and on the same narration about freedom and social justice, American Anymen came at our door with their ‘3EP’ in handy. We utterly love their anti-folk style and sound!!!

 

Sweden’s post-punk outfit A Projection with ‘Section’ album which became straight after the first listening a fave because it is a pretty imposing record!!!

 

Bring Her, the band from Pennsylvania shocked us with their debut album ‘Curses Not Promises’. Hypnotizing and ‘flexible’ post-punk music bizarre!!!

 

Canadian post-punks She Came To Quit offered one raw sounding dirty album!!!

 

L’Épée, the band, Emmanuelle Seigner (Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle), Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and Lionel & Marie Limiñana (The Limiñanas). Want more? Here is the ‘Diabolique’LP!!!

 

When we recover from ‘Kykeon’ LP by Italian noise fuzzers Rev Rev Rev, we’ll let you know!!!

 

Post-punk, synthwave, coldwave project from France (Nancy), Feu Follet, and their debut album ‘Le Champ Des Morts’. Outstanding beauty!!!

 

Ten years in silence were enough for post-punks Audra from Arizona. ‘Dear Tired Friends’ LP was groovy and a touching album!!! 

 

Asheville’s dream punk album ‘Colors Bleed’ by Crooked Ghost. It was their way to expres their post-punk feelings to the world with a mini album of 4 songs. or if you prefer 4, a record that made us sing along to every song of it!!!

 

Australia is weird in all (they say), weird is also their rock and roll music (I say). From Melbourne, Tropical Fuck Storm, offered an addictive rock and roll weirdness in the summer with ‘Braindrops’ album!!!

 

Athens-based this sort of a supergroup band New Zero God with ‘Circus of Tortured Melodies’ album last spring. What-an-effort!!!

 

Portland’s The Black Feathers with their first ever ‘Demo’ last November. It is raw, it is aggressive, and it is pure Deathrock (Rules) Music!!!

 

SECTION C: Other alternative Cruisers

What an album by the German experimentalist Vlimmer! ‘XIIIII’ album was a thrill and a fabulous adventure!!!

 

Canadian dream-pop electronic duo Ummagma and their ‘Compass’ album. But what dream-pop, only? The album also hides indie-pop, indie-rock, shoegaze, roots from new wave and so many more hints that are  brilliantly performed!!!

 

Co-founding member of the mythic art-punk band Throwing Muses, Fred Abong released last March his latest album ‘Pulsing’. Words cannot easily describe the value of this record!!!

 

David J from Bauhaus, Love and Rockets etc, released the ‘Missive To An Angel From The Halls Of Infamy And Allure’ album last October. With guests such as Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, , Anton Newcombe etc, The Artist offered a gorgeous album, a fantastic record!!!

 

I recall that review in NJ…”On May 31, Cellista from San Jose, California, published her new stunning “Transfigurations” album, a record which at the end of the year shall be easily included not only in my own best-of lists but also in other similar articles too”. I strongly insist on that!!!

 

Athens – GR – based Mech_nimal band, and I wrote in NJ; MECH_NIMAL takes post-punk aim at societal dysfunction in ‘White Flag’ single. This little record includes two striking post-punk, electro, industrial anthems that are on repeat since last June!!!

 

Last May, Your 33 Black Angels (Y33BA) from New York released the totally weird album ‘Eternities I’. They are a collective which plays acid noise pop synthwavey music and they mean it seriously!!!

 

New Zealand’s dark electronic pop artist So Below released a string of maxis in 2019. She creates outsanding pop music and her last offering was the ‘Clear’ single in September . Brilliant in all aspects!!!

 

That’a all folks, Stay on Noise Journal!!! We wish you a very happy, healthy, and a stunning New Year 2020!!!  

Mike D.

 

About Mike D 282 Articles
Hey people I'm Mike D from Athens GR (43). I'm a sound engineer, radio producer, and certainly a music "freak." I couldn't be anything else, you see: I grew up in a musical home (my father was a composer), and wanted to be a rock-star but wasn't patient enough to study music. Instead, I studied the technical stuff and went really "nuts" when I started writing articles about the bands and artists I love. It all started back in 2002 in a printed magazine (Sound Maker - RIP) and I still do it because I really like sharing my libraries, discotheque, info, connections, knowledge, and all. I'm involved in all "waves" music (new wave/darkwave/post-punk/shoegaze), punk, industrial, EBM, alternative rock, indie, electronic, avant-garde/ experimental/ freestyle...but on the other hand I can easily throw a classical CD in the player, or a jazzy tune, or...ok you get it: Music! I'd like to read your comments on my writing because you know how it goes, and you all know the glorious song by Placebo,"Without You I'm Nothing"...Thanx and enjoy Freedom and Music, Loud!
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