new Hashshashin is out, really good psy rock with a lot of middle eastern influences
https://hashshashin.bandcamp.com

Its very good

This new Nick Cave album is some stirring, beautiful stuff; just wow.

The new Menzingers album is damn good. I feel as though they've followed a similar trajectory to The Gaslight Anthem, in that they've gotten progressively less 'punk' and have become more of a straight up rock band, but they've remained good. I remember catching them when they were still touring on "Rented World" and thoroughly enjoying myself (PUP were on that tour too!) - I may have to catch 'em again on this tour with Tigers Jaw...

I saw The Menzingers open for Gaslight in 2010 on the "American Slang" tour. I agree with you. Some of the new record sounds like mid-90's alternative rock like The Gin Blossoms. The new album is full of great hooks, and the lyrics are mostly great too.

New Kublai Khan rips. Absolutely love this band, incredibly crushing hardcore. They got a lot of pure beatdown moments in this album, but they also incorporate a lot of tasty two steps. And goddam, the vocals are beefy. Got myself some new gym music

nice to see robert found a gig so quickly after metallica's hiatus.

hahaha never thought about it, but they do look at a lot alike, albeit Matt from Kublai Khan is probably like 20+ years younger

I liked the first Kublai Khan album but thought it was not really special, rather overhyped even but im going to check it out for sure.

Just now this dance music album called Metal Galaxy from a Japanese idol group called Babymetal and it has distorted guitars mixed in. While it is not really "good" I found it quite addictive pop music. Like Spice Girls plus a wall of sound of distorted guitars.

2 albums got my attention recently. I always check out new Nick Cave albums so Ghosteen was no exception, and again like other albums over the last maybe 10-15 years found it monotonous, boring and pretentious. At this stage he's virtually making audio books. There's still the rare haunting melody or pleasing hook, but it's all so tedious. Every song is a predictable dirge with never any change in tempo, mood or style, and I say this as a fan who's seen the band in concert twice.

Angel Olsen's newie on the other hand was surprisingly good. I couldn't get into her previous albums but this is very nice stuff mostly, with only a few forgettable songs. The songs Lark, All Mirrors and Summer I've been playing every day since I heard the album.

I've been posting a lot of -core here lately, sorry not sorry, it's been a wonderful year for this kind of music. This new EP by Dealer is some next level shit. Take Knocked Loose and Reflections and put them into a blender, and you get Dealer. Australian act that has that fresh energy of a promising new band. Hopefully it's not a one-and-done deal, but either way, definitely give this a listen.

I mean, the newest albums from Judiciary, SeeYouSpaceCowboy (their new album is probably my favorite hc record of 2019), Knocked Loose, Sanction, Dead Heat, Wristmeetrazor... The new Angel Du$t was fun too, if you can even count that.

Also, this definitely isn't a hardcore album but I liked the new Ceremony, and they used to be very pissed off hardcore... I saw them play many years ago with Have Heart and Bane and it was kind of insane.

Earlier this year I suddenly went completely down the well into female indie-rock-pop-dreampop-shoegaze shit at the expense of most other music, including metal and weaboo stuff. Everything from Julia Holter to friggin' Hatchie has been my jam these days. One nut I haven't been able to crack though was Angel Olsen...I haven't been able to deal with her shit at all, and I've tried through the years. Friends tellin' me how great she is, and I'm thinking "I need new friends". I'm hearing good things about this new album though, and not just from the usual indie-bullshit-critics. I need to give it a shot.

In other news, as far as concerning stupendous female wailers, the new Bent Knee is sick in a good way. Heavier guitars now, like they got down with stoner-doom, but the Zappa-isms are still there. 'You Know What They Mean' is not just a great title, it's pretty fucking great.

For a period Julia Holter totally stole my brain - everything was washed-out women in monochrome noodling poetry.

Her latest record put me right out of that, by having a long segment in which someone bangs on a clarinet or something, it's bloody awful.

New Chelsea Wolfe record is in danger of putting me right back down that rabbit hole, though !

Be All Things has to be one of my favourite Chelsea Wolfe songs, ever. The finger picking pattern/notes really reminds me of this song from a band I was once in

I love that solo, one of my favorite parts of the album.

And yes, I find Julia Holter to be several steps above Angel Olsen in pretty much all departments. No real comparison there.

Aviary was actually my introduction to Julia Holter, which I checked out after hearing "Whether". While I was listening I kept thinking "She's a bit of a loony I think." But it was cool; every time it was getting a little too out-there for me, something gorgeous or just plain awesome would reel me back in. I liked it enough to check out her previous couple of albums, and those went down real easy. She is great.

Chelsea's Birth of Violence was something I really liked the first go-round, but the lack of variation makes it so I have to be in a certain mood for it, and I don't get in that mood too often. Apocalypsis will probably always be my fav of hers I guess...

Have you in my Wilderness is just peak Julia Holter for me - Ekstasis a close second. Just gorgeous sounds all round. Still bought Aviary, and give it a spin here and there to try again, not as if it's grindcore or something

I've starting looking at Chelsea Wolfe's output as a whole thing - they get heavier, louder, darker as they go to Hiss Spun, and then STOP, Birth of Violence is (as you say) fairly unvarying, quiet, relatively subtle. If you look at it is a sort of album of albums, it's the quiet bit after the intro, the opener, and a couple smashing you over the head.

Thinking a bit left field has really helped me get into it !

I get the critique someone above gave for the new Nick Cave, but man, I totally respectfully disagree. This might be one of my favourite records of his. The lyrics on this thing are amazing.

New Swans just released today. It was nice of Gira to not assault with another two hours of bloat this time.

I agree with the above posts re: hardcore this year. I've never really been super into the modern HC stuff, but I been really digging the new Knocked Loose, Kublai Khan, SeeYouSpaceCowboy and especially Sanction, the latter two especially.

Here is my list of stuff from October:

Nick Cave - Ghosteen
It's already been discussed here a bit, and the jury seems to be split, but I love it. It's my favourite Nick Cave record in over a decade. Stand-outs: Spinning Song, Hollywood, Galleon Ship (even though it works as a full piece much more)

The Menzingers - Hello Exile
Exactly what you'd expect from them at this point in their career. The punk elements have been smoothed down. Some of this sounds like the Gin Blossoms. A lot of nostalgia packed in here. Stand-outs: Strain Your Memory, High School Friend, Strangers Forever

Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin
Danny delivers another record full of mind-bending hip-hop. Hilarious, clever, off-the-wall. Not quite as expansive as Atrocity Exhibition, but it's fantastic. Stand-outs: Dirty Laundry, 3 Tearz, Belly Of The Beast

Jonsi & Alex Somers - Lost & Found
The Sigur Ros leader and his partner released a beautiful ambient record. Some people may find this more background music, but I've found it to be really, really interesting and complex. Stand-outs: Boy, Stokkseyrar-Disa (again, works better as a full piece)

Wildlife - Take The Light With You
Energetic rock band from Canada. They're fantastic live. A lot of these songs would sound huge in bigger venues. Stand-outs: Wasted, Euphoria, Dance Now

Capitol - Dream Noise
Pure Joy Division/The Cure worship from Canada. The album is named appropriately. Stand-outs: In Ceremony, Never Been To Paris

The new Miranda Lambert is now out, and it's great as expected. Not as good as her last record (which is one of my favourite albums from anyone), but maybe her most consistent and varied so far. "Track Record" and "Bluebird" are the highlights for me.

westside gunn's hitler wears hermes 7 is just incredible. probably the best griselda project this year, and that's saying something considering how fucking good the plugs i met is. west kills it. conway and benny's appearances are some of their best shit. the beat selection is untouchable. grimy, luxurious shit.

betamaxx's lost in a dreamworld is maybe the best pure synthwave album since fm-84. all the vocal features are great, his collab with robert parker is dazzling in its synth wizardry. maintains some of the vapor influence of archaic science but brings back the energy of plug n play. required for all synth fans imo

A band called Dirt Poor Robins has recently released two EPs named Dead Horse, Alaska (Red) and Dead Horse, Alaska (Gold), and let me tell you, it's fucking awesome. The woman on lead vocals has such a fucking incredible voice. Honestly, I haven't given them ENOUGH listens. It's very theatrical, very circus-like. The instrumentation is very inventive. Anyway, you should go listen to them.

Also! The Darkness released a new album entitled Easter is Cancelled, and it is not disappointing in the slightest. I'm a HUGE The Darkness fan, but I thought Pinewood Smile was... Just sort of okay. Some really sweet tunes, but also about 6 I didn't really give a shit about. This new one is more in line with how absolutely fuckin' bitchin' Last of Our Kind was. Just a bunch of totally over-the-top ridiculous shit, with some really incredible guitarwork. And obviously, Justin Hawkins sounds fucking fantastic.

Double also! I haven't seen any mention of Hozier's Wasteland Baby! in this thread, and I think that's a fucking travesty. On a serious note, though, wow. I've only recently arrived at the Hozier party, since I've always fucking abhorred his Take Me To Church song, but I saw him at Folk Fest here in Edmonton back in August, and guys... He fucking blew my mind. I shit you not, I was immediately obsessed. His vocal power is just absolutely astonishing, and the instrumentation live is SO powerful. If his album Wasteland Baby! has any faults, it's that it received the typical mainstream production job that centres on his voice as opposed to mixing it together with the absolutely ripping instrumentation. You can hear the power it has live, it's just too toned down on the record. But it's still an absolutely killer record, and the song Nina Cried Power with Mavis Staples is just heart wrenching.

I've been going through some rock albums released this year and I listened to the new Sacri Monti album again. Kinda forgot about it but its really good.

Its actually a p good year for rock at its fringes. Terminal Cheesecake, Sacri Monti, Ouzo Bazooka, oresund space collective collab with black moon circle, Hashshashin, Kandodo3, Black Midi, Crypt Trip and maybe Tanith if you wanna count that one. I keep track of all the records i really like this year and I've got just as much metal overall on my list as rock. Does not seem to be a very good year for hardcore though.

So after finally listening to it I agree, this is good stuff. Much better than everything she did before, though my reasons mainly lie in the orchestra. Great decision to give this album the orchestra treatment since it's used in such a glorious bombastic way at times, elevating everything. I'm not sure if I ever heard a symphonic power metal band use an orchestra to this level of complexity. Is this "power indie" or what?

Also, I'm enjoying Sasami's debut. I'll take her shoegaze stuff over her former band Cherry Glazerr's 90's rock revival any day.

The new Jimmy Eat World rules.

I started listening to a couple of songs and it so far is great! That final track is a beast! Love that they show their heavier side once in a while.

HWH 7 is growing on me every day. There's something about Wes' stuff that takes me a minute. Benny and Conway always hit me hard, and without any delay. But there's something obtuse about Wes' style that takes me a minute. I do love the mixtape, so far. But it's not getting as much play as some older stuff, and the new Benny/Smoke DZA release. God I love Benny and Smoke together.

I've gotta say it again, as a diehard fan of hardcore hip hop I really didn't think there were any gems left for me to discover, but GxFR is on another level. It is literally like hearing Ghost & Rae for the first time. Benny, Wes, and Conway are quietly making hip hop history and I'm so thankful that you guys turned me onto this shit. Thank you 1 million times.

I didn't realize it was a 2019 release but if you like the hardcore shit you MUST check out Cannibal Hulk by Ill Bill. All the beats are handled by Stu Bangas, and Goretex is ALL over the features. Ill Bill and Gore are unstoppable together. And they're those rare emcees who got better with age.

fka Twigs. Holy shit.

Still haven't heard that one. Melissa wasn't a huge hit for me (at least compared to LP1, which is one of the greatest modern RnB albums imo) but I've heard really great things about Magdelene so I'm pretty pumped to check it out.

Recently been really digging the new Kero Kero Bonito EP, the new Neil Young and Crazy Horse is pretty rad too. While not as good as The World's Best American Band, the new White Reaper "You Deserve Love" is pretty fun power pop. Lastly, the new Brittany Howard, "Jaime", is also really really good.

I think the FKA is one of the best things of the year so far. That White Reaper record has some super Thin Lizzy vibes on it, which I am all for.

Finally got my hands on the White Reaper vinyl (my local shop had a hard time getting a hold of it), and as expected, it rips.

Is it better than TWBAB? No. Is it super original? Not really. BUT, it’s so damn hook-y and well written that it’s very easy to look past all that. Plus, god damn, the bass is SO prominent and I love it.

If there is any “new” band in the major label system right now that can revive authentically performed rock music in the mainstream, it’s this band. I hope they pull it off and that the majors don’t fuck it up.

Best non metal album I heard this year is the recent League of Lights album. Dream pop created by Richard West, the main songwriter for Threshold, and I think his wife. She does all the vocals and has a truly lovely voice. Catchy stuff, beautiful melodies. Just a great record to chill to with some wine and a fire and a book.

WHAT WOULD 'CHINEGUN DO??

We got an all-time classic on our hands fellas. I have no words to explain how much this camp means to me. They refuse to play by anyone else's rules. This was their biggest chance yet to "sell out" and they put a fucking dope fiend from Buffalo on the cover.

Cruiser Weight Coke is everything.

-Pedestrian Deposit - Dyer's Hands https://pedestriandeposit.bandcamp.com/ ... yers-hands Fantastic industrial/experimental album that ranges from explosive harsh noise to lush ambient.

-Pharmakon - Devour https://pharmakon.bandcamp.com/ Dark, rhythmic death industrial album with schizo vocals.

I didn't hear much new stuff in November because my life was in complete turmoil, but the two I did hear and really love:

FKA Twigs - MAGDALENE
This has been discussed in this thread already, but I think this is a masterpiece. Yeah, sure, it might be hipster/pretentious as FUCK but it's so layered and amazing. The songs holy terrain and mirrored heart are so fucking good. Mirrored Heart might be one of the saddest songs I've heard in a while, and is really hard for me to listen to right now with the situation I'm in, but I love this record.

Lucy Dacus - 2019 EP
This is a lot of fun, and the Dancing In The Dark cover is incredible.

The new No-Man, Love You To Bits is outstanding.

This was unexpected (at least for me) as Bowness also released a tremendous album earlier this year. I had no idea he was working with Wilson for a No-Man album. And this album is a hybrid of Flowermouth and Together We’re Stranger-a hybrid of the two distinct No-Man styles.

I've tried like hell to get into Lucy Dacus but have mostly found her stuff to be terminally boring going back a few years. That Boygenius ep is super fucking good though. Is this worth checking out if I haven't been the biggest fan of her stuff so far?

Agree on the FKA Twigs. Magdalene is everything I've been waiting for. A worthy successor to LP1.