Best of 2019 – Johan Carlsson

The Best of 2019 list from Johan Carlsson, Release Magazine.

Albums

Ohmlectronic: ”Ohmelectronic”
The bigger, badder, stronger second album from the Vancouver / Victoria lads.

Howard Jones: ”Transform”
After the lacklustre “Ordinary Heroes”, Howard returned with an all electronic pop album. And we saw that it was good.

Cryo: ”Fall of Man”
Their strongest album so far. Lots of yummy Cryo-ness.

Junior Brielle: ”Tampa”
The EP:s had some better tracks, but the album is no slouch either. Modern synthpop.

Front Line Assembly: ”Wake up the Coma”
I dread the day I won’t include an FLA album on my list, but the time hasn’t come yet. Some great Leebness here.

Rhys Fulber: ”Ostalgia”
A darker and harder companion to his first solo outing, this goes for the jugular and keeps at it. Great atmospheric techno.

Unroyal: ”Mainstream”
A superb synthpop album.

Agent Side Grinder: ”A/X”
A broken band without a singer became a strong band with a great singer.

Kårp: ”Album 1”
Another Swedish newcomer, with a female vocalist. A very strong debut.

Songs

Junior Brielle: ”Oh Julian”
The catchiest song on a very catchy album.

Ohmelectronic: ”Disarmed”
Fantastic dancey belter of a track.

Cryo: ”Decay Decay Decay”
Moody, creepy and beautiful in that Cryo sort of way.

Howard Jones: ”Hero in Your Eyes”
A great showcase of Howard’s talent as a pop song writer.

Drab Majesty: ”The Other Side”
Clanging guitars, solemn melodies, a drum machine and a bouncy synth bass. A recipe for success.

All Hail the Silence: ”Temptation”
The album contains almost too many songs to digest properly, but this is a stone cold classic.

Underworld: ”Listen to Their No”
A non stop barrage of tunes have come out of the Underworld studio lately, but this stands out.

Empathy Test: ”Empty Handed”
Haven’t really heard them before, but this is a mighty fine track that builds and builds towards the end.

Unroyal: ”We Play Remain in Light”
Their indie roots don’t show here; it’s pure bleepy synthpop with very strong songs.

Agent Side Grinder: ”In From the Cold”
The album opener sets the tone immediately. Dark, sparse and sending a clear message that they are back in style.

Newcomers

Kårp
They create wistful, electronic pop music with hints of the Knife but with a softer touch.

Unroyal
Impressive Swedish newcomer, hailing from the northern parts of Sweden.