It's rare that you'll see a band whose nearest brush with fame came thirty plus years ago return with an album which not only matches their old stuff but actually surpasses it but the "does-what-it-says-on-the-tin" "Psychedelic Country Soul" is definitely one of those occasions. Songs such as "Bells of August", "What The Eagle Sees" and "California State Line" channel the same classic Long Ryders sound of old but with added life experience to well and truly square the circle. A truly triumphant comeback.
9. THE SWEET THINGS - "In Borrowed Shoes On Borrowed Time"
It's an old formula - that old one part glam rock one part streetpunk swagger owing a sly nod to the New York Dolls that bands have done since time immemorial but that doesn't make it any less satisfying when it's done right and New York (where else?) natives the Sweet Things have properly nailed the jackpot here on their debut album with a strutting slice of scuzziness that marks them out as one of the most exciting new bands to arrive on the scene in a good long while. Get yourself acquainted with this lot post-haste if you've not done so already.
8. THE BRUTALISTS - "We Are Not Here To Help" (Review here)
After unleashing an unexpectedly strong debut last year, few expected the Brutalists to follow things up so quickly and even less so with an album that was very nearly the equal of its predecessor. Yet they managed it with Nigel Mogg and his bandmates chucking everything from glam rock to pub rock via punk and ska into the mix. Never let it be said that this lot are a predictable band and y'know what, that (along with their undeniable knack with a killer tune and hook) might just be what makes 'em so special.
7. THE MEMBRANES - "What Nature Gives...Nature Takes Away" (Review here)
Undoubtedly the most ambitious album I reviewed in 2019, this was the sound of the Membranes honing the best bits of their previous album "Dark Matter/Dark Energy" and coming up with something that would have you returning for repeat listens for months afterwards. Sounding like Killing Joke one minute and Magazine the next and with an impressive roll call of guests ranging from Kirk Brandon to Chris Packham (!), this magnum opus on the forces of nature really was a spellbinding effort.
6. RYAN HAMILTON & THE HARLEQUIN GHOSTS - "This Is The Sound" (Review here)
2019 saw Ryan Hamilton knock up a hat-trick of good albums with all the ease of Harry Kane slamming in three goals with "This Is The Sound" standing shoulder to shoulder with previous efforts "Hell Of A Day" and "The Devil's In The Detail". "Mamacita" and "Bottoms Up (Here's To Goodbye)" were irresistably singalong sky-soaring anthems while "Won't Stop" and "Far Cry" provided the necessary ballads to tug at the old heartstrings. Another fine effort from Ryan and his band and one that suggests they'll be sticking around for a long time to come.
5. THE HIP PRIESTS - "Stand For Nothing" (Review here)
Just when you thought it wasn't possible, "Stand For Nothing" saw the Hip Priests ramping up their trademark vitriol even further to devastating effect. Crashing through in a tornado of bile and with a self-destructive streak that makes Iggy look like that prat from Bastille, this was a truly venomous album, the sound of a band howling out from the abyss in frustration at themselves and their surroundings as evidenced on the self-explanatory likes of "Welcome To Shit Island", "Social Hand Grenade" and "Rock 'n' Roll Leper". As the world continues to turn to shit in 2019, the Hip Priests seem like a more vital band than ever.
4. MICHAEL MONROE - "One Man Gang" (Review here)
After what seemed like an interminable delay, 2019 saw Mike Monroe finally unleash his long-awaited fourth solo album since the break-up of Hanoi Rocks a decade ago and happy to say that it was well worth the wait. While the likes of "Last Train To Tokyo" and "Black Ties And Red Tape" were pure nitro blasts of energy and "The Perils Of Being An Outsider" saw Monroe railing against faceless corporate rock with admirable determination, "Wasted Years" and "In The Tall Grass" saw a more measured side to the band's songwriting and provided some much needed light to the shade. He may have been in the game for close to four decades now but Monroe is showing no signs of slowing down and thank the lord for that.
3. SAINT AGNES - "Welcome To Silvertown" (Review here)
Saint Agnes' debut album has been a long time in the making and to say it delivered is understating matters somewhat. Mixing doomy Nick Cave style goth rock ("I Feel Dangerous Around You", "Witching Hour") with scuzzed up Stooges assaults like the title track and "Death Or Glory Gang", this was a scarily accomplished debut album and it's truly mind-boggling to think just how good this lot can get with this as their starting block. If you've not heard of this band (and their profile's seems to be deservedly mushrooming at the moment) then you really owe it to yourself to go and check them out as soon as possible.
2. THE DOWN 'N' OUTZ - "This Is How We Roll" (Review here)
Until now, the Down 'n' Outz had always just seemed like a bit of an enjoyable knockabout band for Joe Elliott to indulge his Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter fandom. On putting out an album of original material though, we suddenly had to sit up and take note. The songs on here definitely hark shamelessly back to the era of '70s excess when rock stars genuinely did give the appearance of being creatures beamed down from another planet but given the lack of ambition among a lot of today's lot, that's not such a bad thing and when you've got as keen an ear for this sort of thing as Elliott has, you've got an album which well and truly knocks it out of the park, veering between big rousing singalongs like the title track and "Another Man's War" and shamelessly grandiose widescreen epics like their quite lovely ode to Bowie "Goodnight Mr Jones". How good you ask? Put it this way, if this was a Leps album I'd happily be proclaiming it their best since "Pyromania"
1. THE WILDHEARTS - "Renaissance Men"
This album frequently seemed like it was never gonna happen. After a decade of fits-and-starts reunions, a few of which ended decidedly messily, the prospect of the Wildhearts not only getting it back together but back together with their classic line-up and putting out an album which is probably their strongest since 1995's "PHUQ" seemed comparable to woolly mammoths being found roaming the Sahara. Yet here it is and "Renaissance Men" is not only the best album I've heard this year but could probably face down pretty much nearly anything from the past decade you'd care to put against it. The soaring highpoint "Diagnosis" comes on like AC/DC covering the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" while "Let 'Em Go" detonates with all the power of a nuclear bomb and "My Kinda Movie" absolutely shreds. On the other side of the coin, the title track is a surprisingly poppy singalong and "The Fine Art Of Deception" and "My Side Of The Bed" show a more measured side to the album. "Renaissance Men" frankly makes a mockery of much younger bands who don't seem to have any ambition beyond dead-eyed xeroxing of stuff from forty years ago and really did set the Wildhearts up as rock's saviours in 2019. Album of the year, no contest.
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