Firstly, albums are not a thing of the past! Lof of people have claimed that this format was not relevant anymore in the streaming era, but the artists below have proven the contrary this year. Albums remain the best way to fully express an artistic direction and a vision.

Then again, it’s never easy to definitively rank albums so we guess that this list is only a photography of our tastes at this very moment. In one year, it could be totally different…

Finally, if you like any of these releases, and we’re sure you will, don’t forget to support the artists. Streaming is a good start, but it’s unfortunately not enough.

On Friday, we will unveil our Best Tracks of 2019 and you can already check the 20 EPs and Mixtapes that made our year. But for now, here are our 50 favourite albums of the year (you can also browse the entire list with our Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page).

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50. Konradsen – “Saints and Sebastian Stories”

49. Sneaks – “Highway Hypnosis”

48. Tobi Duchampe – “The Saddest Game.”

47. Kelsey Lu – “Blood”

46. PAT – “Love Will Find A Way Home”

45. XUXA SANTAMARIA – “Chancletas D’Oro”

44. Toro y Moi – “Outer Space”

43. The Japanese House – “Good At Falling”

42. Dorian Electra – “Flamboyant”

41. Bodywash – “Comforter”

40. Holly Herndon – “PROTO”

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39. Stella Donelly – “Beware of the Dogs”

38. Black Belt Eagle Scout – “At The Party With My Brown Friends”

37. Carla dal Forno – “Look Up Sharp”

36. Octo Octa – “Resonant Body”

35. TR/ST – “The Destroyer – Part 1”

34. Sharon Van Etten – “Remind Me Tomorrow”

33. Thom Yorke – “Anima”

32. Common Holly – “When I say to you Black Lightning”

31. Jessica Pratt – “Quiet Signs”

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30. Boy Harsher – “Careful”

29. Two People – “First Body”

28. Charli XCX – “Charli”

27. Nilüfer Yanya – “Miss Universe”

26. Yeule – “Serotonin II”

25. Noah – “Thirty”

24. Crumb – “Jinx”

23. Morabeza Tobacco – “Morabeza Tobacco”

22. Tyler, the Creator – “IGOR”

21. Clairo – “Immunity”

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20. Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors”

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19. Aldous Harding – “Designer”

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18. 100 gecs – “1000 gecs”

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17. Danny Brown – “uknowhatimsayin¿”

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16. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Dedicated”

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15. JPEGMAFIA – “All My Friends Are Cornballs”

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14. Sir Babygirl – “Crush on Me”

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13. Chromatics – “Closer To Grey”

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12. Men I Trust – “Oncle Jazz”

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11. FKA twigs – “MAGDALENE”

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10. Lana Del Rey – “Normal Fucking Rockwell!!”

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9. Weyes Blood – “Titanic Rising”

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8. Jenny Hval – “The Practice of Love”

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7. Maria Somerville – “All My People”

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6. Requin Chagrin – “Sémaphore”

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5. Big Thief – “U.F.O.F.”

(It was really not easy to decide and it could have been “Two Hands” as well)

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4. Caroline Polachek – “Pang”

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3. Grace Ives – “2nd”

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2. BEA1991 – “Brand New Adult”

(and artwork of the year)

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1. Erika de Casier – “Essentials”

A few days ago, Massachusetts darkwave duo Boy Harsher released a collection of remixes from their 2019’s excellent album Careful. Titled Careful Remixes, etc, the album notably features a Marcel Dettmann‘s remix of “Come Closer” as well as a Minimal Violence‘s remix of “Tears.”

Boy Harsher have now unveiled a video for the Rabit‘s remix of “LA,” which totally deconstructs the original track. Directed by Kathleen Dycaico, the glaucous and demonic visuals still feature the characters Hunter and Harmony and seem to be a sequel of the original video, taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. About the visuals, director Dycaico stated:

[su_quote]Hunter and Harmony are two sides of a coin, faces vs face, field vs ground. Harmony is heartbroken in their burning house, inner mirror to complete environmental collapse. Hunter evolved ruthless to protect Harmony, and to face the outside world. Running in despair. Heavy the weight of desire. I loved our world.[/su_quote]

The video was made in collaboration with digital artist Úna Blue to create an Instagram face filter modelled after her apocalyptic character Hunter. You can use the filter over there. Watch the video below and check their upcoming live shows below (including a gig in our favourite venue of Istanbul: Salon).

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Boy Harsher Tour:

SEPTEMBER 15 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall ∆

SEPTEMBER 16 New Haven, CT – Space Ballroom ∆

SEPTEMBER 17 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg ∆

SEPTEMBER 18 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom ∆ *2nd SHOW ADDED*

SEPTEMBER 19 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer ∆

SEPTEMBER 20 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar ∆

SEPTEMBER 21 Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall ∆

SEPTEMBER 22 Atlanta, GA – Termina West ∆

SEPTEMBER 24 Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co ∆

SEPTEMBER 25 Austin, TX – Mohawk ∆

SEPTEMBER 26 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall ∆

SEPTEMBER 28 Mexico City, MX – CMD_F

SEPTEMBER 30 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall ≈

OCTOBER 02 Portland, OR – Doug Fir (Early AA gig) ≈

OCTOBER 02 Portland, OR – Doug Fir (Late 21+ gig) ≈

OCTOBER 03 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile ≈

OCTOBER 04 Spokane, WA – Luck You Lounge ≈

OCTOBER 05 Boise, ID – Neurolux ≈

OCTOBER 06 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge ≈

OCTOBER 07 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater ≈

OCTOBER 09 Chicago, IL – Metro ≈

OCTOBER 10 Madison, WI – The Crucible ≈

OCTOBER 11 Oberlin, OH – Oberlin College ≈

OCTOBER 12 Pittsburgh, PA – 3577 Studios ≈

OCTOBER 13 Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground ≈

OCTOBER 14 Montreal, QC – Phi Centre ≈

NOVEMBER 02 Los Angeles, CA – Substance 2019

NOVEMBER 06 Frankfurt, DE – Zoom ∞

NOVEMBER 07 Strasbourg, FR – La Laiterie ∞

NOVEMBER 08 Paris, FR – Trabendo ∞

NOVEMBER 09 Metz, FR – Les Trinitaires ∞

NOVEMBER 10 Kortrijk, BE – Sonic City

NOVEMBER 12 London, UK – Scala ∞

NOVEMBER 13 Brighton, UK – The Haunt ∞

NOVEMBER 14 Lille, FR – Le Grand Mix ∞

NOVEMBER 15 Orleans, FR – L’Astrolabe ∞

NOVEMBER 16 Poitiers, FR – Le Confort Moderne ∞

NOVEMBER 17 Nantes, FR – Stereolux ∞

NOVEMBER 18 Lyon, FR – L’Epicerie Moderne ∞

NOVEMBER 20 Köln, DE – Luxor ¥

NOVEMBER 21 Hamburg, DE – Molotow ¥

NOVEMBER 22 Copenhagen, DK – Loppen ¥

NOVEMBER 23 Gothenburg, SE – Musikens Hus ¥

NOVEMBER 24 Stockholm, SE – Slaktkyrkan ¥

NOVEMBER 26 Helsinki, FL – Kuudes Linja ¥

NOVEMBER 27 Tallin, EE – Sveta Baar ¥

NOVEMBER 28 Riga, LV – Depo ¥

NOVEMBER 29 Vilnius, LT – Loftas ¥

NOVEMBER 30 Warsaw, PL – Niebo ¥

DECEMBER 01 Prague, CZ – Fuchs2 ¥

DECEMBER 02 Berlin, DE – Kesselhaus ¥ *2nd SHOW ADDED*

DECEMBER 03 Berlin, DE – Festsaal ¥ *SOLD OUT*

DECEMBER 04 Leipzig, DE – Conne Island ¥

DECEMBER 05 Munich, DE – Ampere ¥

DECEMBER 07 Istanbul, TR – Salon

∆ w/ OLIVIA NEUTRON JOHN

≈ w/ SPELLLING

∞ w/ HANTE.

¥ w/ CHASMS

Following up on the incredible videos of “Fate” and “LA“, Massachusetts darkwave duo Boy Harsher just shared visuals for “Come Closer”, another track taken from their amazing latest album Careful. Directed by Muted Widows (a collaboration between the Widow Brothers and Nedda Afsari), the clip draws from retro aesthetic and BDSM eroticism. About the visuals, the directors detailed:

[su_quote]This is the first time we all (Michael R. Zumaya, Michael E Linn, and Nedda Afsari) collaborated on a project from start to finish, and Boy Harsher couldn’t be a more perfect fit for us as our new collective Muted Widows. For Come Closer, we explored duality. There are things within us that feel so familiar and, conversely, so different. At the end, both are integral parts of yourself. Our amazing crew and exceptional talent really came together to create something we’re extremely proud of. Furthermore, we’re extremely flattered to create the visuals for a stellar track.[/su_quote]

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A few days before the release of their brand new album, Northampton’s duo Boy Harsher have just released the extatic and gloomy “LA” as a new single. According to the band, “LA is about longing, the inevitable end of precious time, and centering heartbreak in the sights”.

It also comes with a stunning video which the band made in collaboration with artist-director Kathleen Dycaico and co-director Jill Ferraro. About the concept of the video, they stated:

[su_quote]The story follows Hunter + Angel, two country camgirls in love and longing. They constantly film and watch their live-streamed love, surviving on cherries and beer, until signs that “Time’s Up” appear in the world around them. Hunter + Angel eventually take their memories out back and use them for target practice, destroying the images of their love.[/su_quote]

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