Top 50 albums of 2019: 50-41

50: Meatraffle – Bastard Music

Left field indie pop the will have you nodding along and scratching your head at the same time.

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49: Petbrick – I

Intense, loud and aggressive electronica. Like The Prodigy on steroids. Smashing.

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48: Gender Roles – Prang

High octane pop-punk with some seriously catchy hooks that’s just the right side of heavy.

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47: Plaid – Polymer

Intelligent techno straight out of the 90s. Reminiscent of Snivilsation/In Sides-era Orbital at points.

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46: Boy Harsher – Careful

Strong on ominous, brooding 80’s synth pop. If you liked the music in Stranger Things, you’re on to a winner with this.

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45: Petrol Girls – Cut & Stitch

Angry, feminist punk with a powerful message that cries out to be heard.

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44: Lonesome Shack – Desert Dreams

Edgy country blues and urban folk rock that is a lot kinder on the ears than you might expect from that description.

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43: Ifriqiyya Electrique – Laylet El Booree

Brilliant blend of traditional African music and metal that leaves you pondering ‘why have I not come across this before?’

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42: The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe

More classy, emotive and enveloping tracks from these damn-fine purveyors of blissful grooves and soundscapes.

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41: Battles – Juicy B Crypts

Slightly off-beat synths that can be hard work at times but are ultimately rewarding. Almost dance-able at points.

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Coming soon – albums 40-31 in our best of the year countdown

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The best albums of March 2019

1: FEWS – Into Red

Rating: 9/10 – Read full review

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2: Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1

Rating: 8.5/10 – Read full review

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3: Snapped Ankles – Stunning Luxury

Rating: 8/10 – Read full review

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4: The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery

Rating: 8/10 – Read full review

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5: Lower Slaughter – Some Things Take Work

Rating: 8/10Read full review

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6: Flight Of The Conchords – Live In London

Rating: 8/10Read full review

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7: These New Puritans– Inside The Rose

Rating: 7.5/10 – Read full review

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8: Little Simz – GREY Area

Rating: 7.5/10Read full review

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9: The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe

More classy emotive and enveloping soundtracks from these damn-fine purveyors of blissful grooves and soundscapes.

Rating: 7.5/10

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10: Zefur Wolves – Truth Is In The Stars

Droning, drawly alt-indie rock with some pop undertones. A satisfyingly languid assault on your senses.

Rating: 7.5/10

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15 March releases – Reviewed and rated

The Comet Is Coming produced my surprise album of the week. No-one was more surprised than me to be waxing lyrical about space jazz. The Cinematic Orchestra also produced another album of classy laid back tracks and there’s a nice spot of raggamuffin from Shy FX.

The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery

Jazz for the dancefloor, featuring the wondrous saxophone and clarinet work of Sons of Kemet’s Shabaka Hutchings. Surprisingly accessible, surprisingly good.

Rating: 8/10 – Read full review

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The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe

More classy emotive and enveloping soundtracks from these damn-fine purveyors of blissful grooves and soundscapes.

Rating: 7.5/10

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Shy FX – Raggamuffin SoundTape

Hugely enjoyable combination of dub, reggea, soul and DnB.

Rating: 7/10

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Karen O & Danger Mouse – Lux Prima

Soft and dreamy electro-pop on this collaboration album that’s perfect for a sunny afternoon chill-out.

Rating 7/10

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Devlin – The Outcast

The self-styled ‘White rapper from Daggers’ turns out a powerful grime album that’s sure to get your pulse racing.

Rating: 6.5/10

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The Brian Jonestown Massacre – The Brian Jonestown Massacre

They got to 18 studio albums before deciding to do an eponymous one. And well deserved, this is very Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Rating: 6.5/10

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Chai – Punk

All-girl Japanese pop-punk, and all that that entails.

Rating: 6/10

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Auld – Mainstream Music

A combination of indie and electro pop that is easy on the ears. Not going to leave a lasting impression.

Rating: 6/10

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Hans Zimmer – The World Of Hans Zimmer – A Symphonic Celebration

A poor example of the work of this excellent composer. Better track selection could have transformed this album into a genuine work of genius.

Rating: 5.5/10Read full review

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Flevans – Part Time Millionaire

A combination of funk, soul and electronica that lost my interest fairly quickly.

Rating: 5/10

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Snarky Puppy – Immigrance

This jazz and funk collective failed to float my boat.

Rating: 5/10

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Here’s a playlist of all of the above if you want to listen to this week’s selected new releases.

New Music Friday 15 March – What to listen to

Looking forward to the new one by The Cinematic Orchestra this week, the band having produced some outstanding tracks in the past. The Brian Jonestown Massacre are back after what only seems like a couple of months since their last effort, and I’m looking forward to bathing myself in a bit of cinema soundtrack wondrousness from Hans Zimmer.

The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe

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The Brian Jonestown Massacre – The Brian Jonestown Massacre

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Karen O & Danger Mouse – Lux Prima

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Auld – Mainstream Music

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The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery

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Hans Zimmer – The World Of Hans Zimmer – A Symphonic Celebration

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Chai – Punk

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Shy FX – Raggamuffin SoundTape

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Devlin – The Outcast

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Snarky Puppy – Immigrance

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Flevans – Part Time Millionaire

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Here’s a playlist of all of the above if you want to listen to this week’s selected new releases.