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As 2019 comes to an end, it's time to look back at our favourite content of the year! Each of our DJs have sent in their own curated list of "Best of" content for the year. Do you agree with their picks?

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Francella is CJLOs Station Manager and hosts Superconnected every Monday at 11 a.m.

With the year (and decade) about to close, we at CJLO always take this time to reflect on our personal bests - from albums, to songs, to live shows, to moments, and more. We carefully and diligently curated and ruminated to offer a snapshot of the past year - and what a year it was! We had more live sessions than ever before from Orville Peck, Common Holly, WHOOP-Szo, and even Polaris Music Prize winner Haviah Mighty. We set the bar for our Funding Drive, raising an impressive $7200, and we saw more shows from women and non-binary folks added to our stacked programming lineup. As for the music, I personally made it my mission to listen to new releases every Friday, and while I couldn’t quite shed my daily Steely Dan intake, I discovered more artists and labels than ever before. Sometimes, it pays to keep your New Year’s resolution. Happy New Year from CJLO to you and your family!

Best Albums

1. Lungbutter - Honey
2. Orville Peck - Pony
3. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
4. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
5. FET.NAT - Le Mal
6. Corridor - Junior
7. Bernard Adamus - C’qui nous reste du Texas
8. Chocolat - Jazz Engage
9. Kim Gordon - No Home Record
10. Trash Kit - Horizon

Honourable Mentions

1. Pottery - No.1
2. Blue Nuit - Le jardin des mémoires
3. Booji Boys - Tube Reducer
4. DIIV - Deceiver
5. Empath - Active Listening: Night on Earth
6. Ezra Furman - Twelve Nudes
7. Omni - Networker
8. Woolworm - Awe
9. WHOOP-Szo - Warrior Down

Best Songs of 2019

1. Sharon Van Etten - "Seventeen"
2. Lungbutter - "Vile"
3. Orville Peck - "Dead of Night"
4. Angel Olsen - "Lark"
5. FET.NAT - "Patio Monday"
6. Kim Gordon - "Don’t Play It"
7. Jenny Lewis - "Wasted Youth"
8. Trash Kit - "Every Second"
9. Necking - |Boss
10. DIIV - Blankenship

Honourable Mentions

• Bon Enfant - “Aujourd’hui”
• Lizzo - “Juice”
• Solange - “Almeda”
• Dish Pit - “Seven”

Best Live Shows of 2019

• Iron Maiden @ Bell Centre
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ La Tulipe
• Hot Chip @MTELUS
• Voivod @ Club Soda
• The Sadies @ MTELUS
• Groovy Aardvark @ MTELUS
• Dumas @ Maison de la culture Maisonneuve
• Broken Social Scene @ Theatre Corona
• Big Thief @ La Tulipe
• Beverly Glenn-Copeland @ Beaverbrook Gallery (Shivering Songs, Fredericton, NB)

Best Discoveries of 2019
Christmas: See below, but I drove everyone crazy talking about this band.
Orville Peck: Masked cowboy of the moment now selling out venues everywhere.
Fifth Column: Legendary proto-riot grrl band from Toronto whose debut album cannot be found anywhere. Luckily, I have a digital copy thanks to a friend back in Halifax (hi Stephen!)
Bernard Adamus: Best Montreal brunch album of 2019.
Bon Enfant: I love a Fleetwood Mac/disco/flare jeans moment.
CRABE: The best post-punk is Francophone.
Bleu Nuit: See above.

Best Obsessions of 2019
Christmas: This diamond-in-the-rough proto-prog band from Oshawa comprised of actual teenagers who made some of the most sophisticated and complex music Canada has ever known, I think. Heritage for Polaris Heritage Prize 2020.
Deep Purple: I would die for Ian Paice and Jon Lord.
Rush: I watched two Rush documentaries and learned that the trio would have sooner go back to their day jobs than forsake their vision on 2112. Had to respect that choice, and then reconsider my long hatred for the prog legends.
Karen Carpenter: One of the world’s greatest drummers, bar none, but often reduced to an embodiment of feminine tragedy. Justice 4 Karen.
Voivod: With an album like The Wake, how can you not be obsessed? This is the end of dormancy for Voivod, who have been overlooked by the Canadian music industry, but can now call themselves Juno winners and Polaris Music Prize long-listers.
Steely Dan: Yes, I put this down last year, but Pitchfork had a day celebrating The Dan with five new reviews on their most influential albums (although, I felt excluding Pretzel Logic was a tremendous oversight). Continue to get the fine Colombian, the Cuervo Gold, and never do it without the fez on. I am who I am.
Barrett’s Privateers by Stan Rogers: You can take the girl out of the Maritimes, but you can’t take the Maritimes out of the girl. Who among us are not broken men on a Halifax pier, the last of Barrett’s Privateers?

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Alex hosts Ashes to Ashes every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Top 10 Albums of 2019

1. Caroline Polachek - Pang
2. Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
3. Friendly Fires - Inflorescent
4. Honeyblood - In Plain Sight
5. Laurence-Anne - Première apparition
6. MUNA - Save the World
7. Loud - Tout ça pour ça
8. Tallies - Tallies
9. Priests - The Seduction of Kansas
10. Heartstreets - Why Make Sense

Honourable Mentions

• Cléa Vincent - Nuits sans sommeil
• Radiant Baby - Restless
• Shura - Forevher

Top 5 EPs of 2019

1. Claudia Bouvette - Cool It
2. Sophia Bel - Princess of the Dead, Vol.1
3. Maryze - Like Moons
4. Viseri - Kin
5. Paupière - Jettatura

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Sylvain Verstricht hosts The Rest of Us every Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Best Albums of 2019

1. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
2. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five
3. clipping. - There Existed an Addiction to Blood
4. LINGUA IGNOTA - Caligula
5. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
6. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
7. Little Simz - Grey Area
8. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
9. Hatchie - Keepsake
10. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You

Best Singles of 2019

1. Weyes Blood - “Movies”
2. LINGUA IGNOTA - “Do You Doubt Me Traitor”
3. The National - “Rylan”
4. Lana Del Rey - “F*** It I Love You”
5. clipping. - “Nothing Is Safe”
6. Injury Reserve - “Jailbreak the Tesla”
7. Billie Eilish - “Everything I Ever Wanted”
8. Bat for Lashes - “Kids in the Dark”
9. Kacey Musgraves - “Rainbow”
10. Zara Larsson - “All the Time”

Most Memorable Concerts of 2019

1. NØ MAN @ La Sotterenea
2. Lissie @ L’Escogriffee Bar Spectacle
3. Parasytes @ The TraXide
4. Ultrarat @ The TraXide
5. Allie X @  L’Astral
6. Jessica Moss @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
7. Lido Pimienta @ La Sala Rossa
8. Cedric Noel @ Casa del Popolo
9. Joni Void @ La Sotterenea
10. Sedition @ Piranha Bar

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Amrew Weekes is CJLO’s Hip Hop Music Director and co-hosts Limelight every Friday at 6pm.

Best Albums of 2019
I can’t believe how quickly this year has passed! Here are my top 10 albums, in no particular order, that I played on The Limelight and can be found in my music player.

• Anderson Paak - Ventura
• Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee
• Jai Nital Lotus - PPL
• Sam I Am Montolla - Intro To Indigo
• Snoh Aalegra - Ugh Those Feelings Again
• Various Artists - Mass Appeal Starting 5 + 1
• Destiny Rogers - Tomboy EP
• CEE and Po3 - Bad Habits
• Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA
• Steve Lace - Apollo XXI

Best Album of the Year

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana

Best R&B Song of the Year

Sam I Am Montolla - “The Game”

Best Hip Hop Song of the Year

Chris Orrick - “Out to Sea”

Best Film of the Year

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Best TV Show of the Year

Mindhunters (2017 - )

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Emeline Vidal hosts Nozin’ Around, every Friday at 2pm.

Best Albums of 2019

• Art d’ecco - Trespasser
• Barrie - Happy To Be Here
• Black Marble - Bigger Than Life
• Boy Harsher - Careful
• Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
• Foliage - Take
• Hatchie - Keepsake
• Hibou - Halve
• Men I trust - Oncle Jazz
• Sorry Girls - Deborah

Honourable Mention
DIIV - Deceiver

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Chris the Frog hosts Sewer Spewer every Monday at 12pm.

Best Montreal Albums of 2019

1. Gazm - Heavy Vibe Music
2. Endform - Abattu
3. Kato - M39
4. Shards - Shards
5. Venomenon - Sweating Under My Skin
6. Tempête - Pyro[Cb]
7. Guttrot - Guttrot
8. Dizastra - Elder Sun
9. Modern Eyes - Tragedies Dictate Our Lives
10. Scarfold - Unstobbable

Best Canadian Albums 2019

1. Hammerhands - Model Citizen
2. Heart Attack Kids - Bad Luck Like Gold
3. Cross Dog - Hollow
4. Tunic - Complexion
5. Diner Drugs - As Is
6. PUP - Morbid Stuff
7. Hard Charger - Vol. 4: Take the Guff and Suffer
8. Dead Tired - Full Vol.
9. Alien Boys - Night Danger
10. Oath Div. 666 - Apocalypse Division

Best International Albums 2019

1. LINGUA IGNOTA - Caligula
2. Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas
3. Devil Master - Satan Spits On Children of Light
4. Refused - War Music
5. Cloud Rat - Pollinator
6. Venom Prison - Samsara
7. Full of Hell - Weeping Choir
8. Oozing Wound - High Anxiety
9. Dawn Ray’d - Behold Sedition Plainsong
10. Misery Index - Rituals of Power

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Kelly Belfo, aka Sugarface Bell Fo, is CJLO's World Music Director and founder of our longest running world music radio show, Beat The World, every Saturday at 12 p.m.

Top World Music Albums of 2019

1. Altin Gün - Gece (ATO)
2. Branko - Nosso (Enchufada)
3. Roberto Lopez - Kaleido Stropico (Curura)
4. Anchorsong - Cohesion (Tru Thoughts)
5. Waahli - Black Soap (Wyzah Musk)
6. Nicola Cruz - Siku (ZZK)
7. Karl Hector and The Malcouns - Non Ex Orbis (Now-Again)
8. Dexter Story - Bahir (Soundway)
9. Tinariwen - Amadjar (Anti-)
10. Boogarins - Sombrou Dúvida (OAR)

Top 3 World Music Live Shows of 2019

1. The Qualitons @ Marauder Radio Room for Mondo.NYC (October 17, 2019 Pianos, NYC)
2. Altin Gün + Teke Teke @ Blue Skies Turn Black & Heavy Trip (July 16, 2019 Theatre Fairmount, Montreal)
3. Sea Moya @ SXSW Sound Dessert Showcase (March 14, 2019 Icenhauer's, Austin TX)

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Angelica hosts BVST every Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This year, I'm once again bringing you 10 of my favorite songs released this year, in no particular order. Could you extrapolate from this that these are also 10 of my favorite records released this year? Perhaps. Should you listen to them to find out whether they might be your favorites as well? Absolutely! Click here to listen to a playlist of all these selections.

1. Hard Charger - "No Home But the Road"

Steeped in the same drive-all-night, uppers-on-the-dashboard punk'n'roll tradition as my favorites Zeke, The Hookers, or Aussie blood rockers The Chainsaw Hookers, Hard Charger snarls and spits from Fredericton, NB, and like this track, leave skidmarks and road rash wherever they ride. CJLO was privileged to have the three-piece record a session in our studios, and I hope they come back soon!

2. Deathchant - "Hex"

One of my favorite records of the year, Deathchant's self-titled was officially released 10 days into 2019, and has been in my rotation ever since. Its messy, heavy psych smells of black leather and arcane rituals, and this track amps up that 1960s alchemy that turned rock music from The Beatles into Black Sabbath.

3. Zeal & Ardor - "Baphomet"

Originally a bedroom project by a single songwriter, Manuel Gagneux now tours with a full band and multiple backup singers out of necessity. Previously unreleased until this appearance on Zeal & Ardor's first (double length!) live album, this song is a great example of the vocal interplay that happens onstage, and gives me honest-to-god full-body goosebumps.

4. Waingro - "Merrin"

This Vancouver trio are back with another mean slab of no-bullshit, punk-tinged heavy rock. Laying riffs on riffs on riffs, this ferocious record, like this song, is full of moments reminiscent of Cursed (R.I.P.), but with way, waaay more bong hits tempering its otherwise furious pace.

5. Torche - "Slide"

Known for taking the heaviest elements of metal and deftly blending them with accessible harmonies and pop-oriented melodies, Admission feels like a synthesis of all of their strongest output. I can't resist this song, whose greasy stomp melts into grunge revisionism and buzzsaw guitars for a headbanging good time.

6. He Is Legend - "Boogiewoman"

Fifteen years on from their debut, I Am Hollywood, He is Legend have released arguably their strongest record, packing all the same intensity of their earlier releases but with the maturity and musical range that comes with experience. This track is heavy on groovy, ass-shakin' rock'n'roll swagger with all the outlaw romance of desert shootout.

7. Texas Hippie Coalition - "Bring It Baby"

I was so hooked by this incredibly polarizing record, by a deeply polarizing band that I uncharacteristically wrote a review about it. This is not a song that will appeal to many, or even most, but I can't resist the way this song sounds at once dangerous and sweet, like a lapdance at a bordertown biker strip club.

8. Crobot - "Low Life"

This is one of those bands that I don't listen to enough. This is a catchy, riffy track that lures you in with a throwback 90s radio rock intro before exploding outward, making maximum effect of lead singer Brandon Yeagley's powerful, elastic rock'n'roll vocals.

9. Dirty Honey - "Down the Road"

At once new and very familiar, LA-based former bar band Dirty Honey isn't ashamed to dig into Aerosmith's early sound and shake it up with a little G'n'R danger. I'm a sucker for the vocal virtuosity and flashy guitars of this ballad, all layered over some organ for the full 70s stadium rock treatment. Keep your lighter in your pocket, go on, I dare you.

10. Lil Nas X - "Old Town Road (Remix)"

Maybe a left-field pick to some, a played-out one-hit-wonder to others, but this version of OTR took hold of me on the day of release, and still hasn't let go. It took a small town Georgian teen to accidentally perfect what many have attempted with varying success before, and as someone who has listened to her fair share of country rap, hick hop and other Southern-fried crossovers, it would be an oversight to not include the song that will define the wild days of 2019 for years to come.

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JP, Co-host of The Iron Club, Thursday at 1PM.

Best Albums of 2019

1. Norma Jean - All Hail
2. Whitechapel - The Valley
3. Thy Art is Murder - Human Target
4. I Prevail - Trauma
5. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
6. Knocked Loose - A Different Shade of Blue
7. Fit For An Autopsy - The Sea of Tragic Beasts
8. Of Mice & Men - Earth and Sky
9. As I Lay Dying - Shaped by Fire
10. Killswitch Engage - Atonement

Best Metal Song of 2019

1. Norma Jean - “/with_errors”
2. I Prevail - “Gasoline”
3. Slipknot - “Solway Firth”
4. Thy Art is Murder - “Welcome Oblivion”
5. Of Mice & Men - “Earth and Sky”
6. Whitechapel - “When A Demon Defiles a Witch”
7. Currents - “Poverty of Self”
8. Norma Jean - “Anna”
9. Fit for an Autopsy - “The Sea of Tragic Beasts”
10. As I Lay Dying - “Shaped By Fire”

Most Memorable CJLO Moment

My most memorable CJLO moment has to be attending my first Heavy Montreal festival with the whole CJLO gang. It was so much fun! Seeing bands live on stage, interviewing some of them in the media tent, and  running around the whole site definitely  sounds like a JP day to me. It was my best summer yet!

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Zakary Slax is CJLO’s Head Music Director, and hosts Slax Trax, every Monday from 6 to 7 PM.

2019 was an insanely good year for music in my estimation. A definite challenge to pare it down to 10 albums, but here goes (not in order of importance):

Top Albums of 2019

1. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
2. Lungbutter - Honey
3. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
4. Rick White + Eiyn Soff - The Opening
5. Kim Gordon - No Home Record
6. Empath - Active Listening: Night on Earth
7. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs
8. WHOOP-Szo - Warrior Down
9. Little Simz - Grey Area
10. Control Top - Covert Contracts

Top Trax of 2019

In most cases, the following artists also released fantastic albums that I found hard to omit from my top 10... read: they had other trax just as brilliant as these

1. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib - 'Flat Tummy Tea'
2. Uranium Club - 'Michael's Soliloquy'
3. Royal Trux - 'Purple Audacity #2'
4. Aldous Harding - 'The Barrel'
5. Omni - 'Skeleton Key'
6. Cate Le Bon - 'Magnificent Gestures'
7. Honey Radar - 'Song For Randolph Free'
8. Earth - 'Descending Belladonna'
9. Big Thief - 'Not'
10. Lil Nas X - 'Old Town Road'

Favourite Concerts

• The Dwarfs Of East Agouza @ La Sala Rosa
• Irreversible Entanglements @ La Sala Rosa
• The Chills @ SXSW
• Otoboke Beaver @ SXSW
• Arthur Brown @ SXSW
• Mavis Staples @ Théâtre Rialto
• Hélène Barbier + Wetface + Anemone @ Piccolo Rialto
• Felchers @ The Green Lantern, Lexington KY
• Mutant Strain @ Ritter House, Charlotte NC
• Eddie Flowers & The Wax Lip Swamp Dub @ A Random Shed, Bloomington, IN

Best Label

Constellation Records - Gotta give credit where credit is due. In addition to Lungbutter, I was tempted to put many of their 2019 releases in my top 10: Fly Pan Am, Matana Roberts, Land of Kush, etc.

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Andrew Wieler, aka Andrew Wixq, is CJLOs Metal Music Director and hosts Grade A Explosives every Sunday at 4pm.

Best Albums of 2019

1. Sleep Token - Sundowning
Mixing elements of metal, R&B, Hip Hop, and Pop and set around some weird, almost impenetrable backstory, Sleep Token is hitting on an interesting interpretation of all of the above genres and much like so many great artists before them (him?) make music interesting, which is a feat more people should try.

2. He is Legend - White Bat
Who would have thought some white belt wearing, swoopy haired fashioncore boys would eventually have a southern metalcore record which is both satisfying on a song to song level, but also a great concept album about a murderer finding truuuueeee loooove. It's basically a Lifetime original in metalcore form.

3. Crobot - Motherbrain
Very few rock bands get played anymore in mainstream circles, but if there was ever a band that should be able to pull rock back onto radio, Crobot is doing their damnedest to do so. "Lowlife" alone is a song that both speaks to weirdos and normals alike and really should be showcased for people. If you're a fan of Monster Truck and don't have these guys in rotation you are doing yourself a disservice.

4. Norma Jean - All Hail
Every norma jean record and I start off the same way. First listen: "Yeah, this sure is Norma Jean I guess". Second listen: "Huh... this is pretty good." Ten listens later: "F*** me, this is sooo goood." If you're looking for some of the best metalcore can offer this is it, no way around it.

5. Sandveiss - Saboteur
Quebec City is known for many things, but stoner rock is not one. This may change with this Sandveiss album. It's catchy, upbeat, immensely polished, and mmm... that is some tasty riffs, I'll tell you what.

6. Thank You Scientist - Terraformer
A weird Coheed and Cambria with horns, and if you think that sounds bad, you, my friend, are dead inside.

7. Goo Goo Dolls - Miracle Pill
Yes, this record really is good. It’s a pop classic and though the Goo Goo Dolls are no longer the grunge darlings they were in the 90s, that’s okay. I had way more fun with this record than so many from this year. Oh, and by the way, "metal cred" is not something I value highly, so your comments about how this negates it does not affect me.

8. Deathchant - Deathchant
Californians that know how to make some pretty great psych based garage stuff. Largely an album that people have slept on, I got to see and interview them at SXSW this year and it's as good live as the record would indicate. I also hear they make a delicious hot sauce, that if they want to send it to me, they are more than welcome to do so.

9. Torche - Admission
Torche is always hit or miss for me, and this one is a home run out of the rink. Heavy when it needs to be, accesibile when it wants to be, the level of songwriting prowess here is deep and really pulls from all of their previous works.

10. Toothgrinder - I Am
For the life of me, I cannot understand why this band has not crossed over onto "modern rock radio". The title track on this alone is great and accessible enough to play. Of course, "trve" people would say this is bad, but fuck that man, I can sing along to this and some of the guitar work on this is like a second singer. In the future I will not be shocked to see this band cited as many people's "crossover" metal artists.

Honorable Mentions

Woodhawk - Violent Nature
Dem are some tasty riffs right there.

White Ward - Love Exchange Failure
Since Shining (Norway) has decided they want to be Thirty Seconds to Mars in the worst way for some reason, White Ward will have to fill my black jazz void.

Waingro - III
A new record from these sludgy, vaguely southern, hardcore-ish boys. It is also named III so even a simpleton like me can know what record it is in the discography, which is nice.

Gypsy Chief Goliath - Masters of Space and Time
A more spacey than stonery album from these fine Ontarians.

SECT- Blood of the Beasts
10 songs; 17 minutes; all solid hardcore.

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Allison O’Reilly is CJLO's Program Director and hosts Transistor Sister and Femme AM.

Top 10 Albums of 2019

1. DIIV - Deceiver
2. GAZM - Heavy Vibe Music
3. JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs
4. WHOOP-Szo - Warrior Down
5. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
6. Martha - Love Keeps Kicking
7. Kim Gordon - No Home Record
8. LINGUA IGNOTA - Caligula
9. Control Top - Covert Controls
10. Quaker Parents - Our Drawing Club

Top 15 Songs of 2019

1. Valerie - “Showers”
2. Angel Olsen - “Lark”
3. Charli XCX ft. Kim Petras & Tommy Cash - “Click”
4. Woolworm - “Let Me Wear The Mask”
5. PUP - “Free At Last”
6. Booji Boys - “Berlinetta”
7. (Sandy) Alex G - “Southern Sky”
8. Kitty - “Mami”
9. Mannequin Pussy - “Drunk II”
10. 100 gecs - “745 Sticky”
11. Danny Brown - “Dirty Laundry”
12. Sebadoh - “Celebrate the Void”
13. Big Thief - “Not”
14. Necking - “Big Mouth”
15. Mount Eerie & Julie Doiron - “Love Without Possession”

Best Live Shows of 2019

1. Spiritualized @ Théâtre Corona
2. Have a Nice Life @ Bar Le Ritz
3. Teenage Fanclub @ Petit Campus
4. Sebadoh @ Bar Le Ritz
5. Swervedriver @ Turbo Haüs

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Alex, aka MNJIVR, hosts Autobeat every Sunday at 3 p.m.

Best Albums of 2019

Here’s my best and Favourite albums of 2019

1. Swindle - No More Normal
2. Waajeed - Detroit Love vol. 3
3. RAS G - Down 2 Earth Vol. 4
4. Laurence Guy - Making Music is Bad For Your Self Esteem
5. Goldlink - Diaspora
6. Jacques Greene - Dawn Chorus
7. Flying Lotus - Flamagra
8. Solitary Dancer - Rites of Passage
9. Octa Octa - Resonant Body
10. Khotin - Beautiful You

Honorable Mentions

• Fred Everything - No Way Home
• Various Artists - Shellington High Road Vol:1
• Teebs - Anicca
• Jaymie Silk - Canvas
• Ex-Terrestrial - Gamma Infolded

Favourite EPs of 2019

1. Waajeed - Hocus Pocus
2. Peggy Gou - Starry Night
3. DJCosmoCa - Just in Time
4. Max Hebert - Psychedelic Plants
5. Joy Orbison - Slipping
6. Kink - Home
7. Midland - The Alchemy of Circumstance
8. Bellaire - Framework
9. The Fitness - First Time Lover
10. Herbert - I Hadn’t Known

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Masheyla hosts of Gothic Runoff every Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Top Albums of 2019

1. Orville Peck - Pony
2. Danny Brown - unkowwhatimsayin¿
3. Fka Twigs - MAGDALENE
4. Spelling - Mazy Fly
5. Ian Isiah - Shugga Sextape (Vol.1)
6. Health - Vol.4: Slaves of Fear
7. Slayyyter - Slayyyter
8. Oliver Tree - Do you Feel Me?
9. Caroline Polachek - Pang
10. Earl Sweatshirt - Feet of Clay

Honourable Mentions (Albums and Singles)

• Lungbutter - Honey
• 100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs
• Chelsea Wolfe - Birth of Violence
• Horse Head - We Had Our Fun
• Billie Ellish - “Bad Guy”
• Lil Nas X - “Rodeo”
• Yung Lean - “Blue Plastic”
• Charli XCX - “2099”

Top Shows of 2019

1. Wavves @ ’77 Festival
2. Danny Brown @ Primavera Festival
3. Orville Peck @ La Sala Rossa
4. Ionna Gika @ Le National
5. Show Me the Body @ La Sala Rossa

Best CJLO Moment
Being able to participate in talk episodes of Femme AM, as well as conducting my first live sessions/interviews! Also chatting with Allison, Jessica, and Francella after my show every week!

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Phil, aka Philliam, hosts Turn On the Darkness every Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Best Albums of 2019

1. Twilight Force - Dawn Of The Dragonstar
2. Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
3. Devin Townsend - Empath
4. Opeth - In Cauda
5. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
6. Rammstein - Rammstein
7. Eluvietie - Ategnatos
8. Within Temptation - Resist
9. Delain - Hunters Moon
10. Sabaton - The Great War

Runner- up
Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas

Honorable Mentions

• Alien Weaponry - Tü
• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats’ Nest
• Anna Pest - The Ocean Calls Me Home
• KOSM - Eyes on the Inside
• Hath - Of Riot and Ruin
• Inanimate Existence - Clockwork
• Arch Echo - You Won't Believe What Happens Next!
• Starbomb - The Tryforce
• Epica - Design Your Universe (Gold Edition)
• Bring Me The Horizon - Amo
• Too l - Fear Inoculum
• DragonForce - Extreme Power Metal
• Skyharbor - Sunshine Dust
• Avatar - Avatar Country
• Northlane - Alien
• Fleshgod Apocalypse - Veleno

Weirdest Albums of 2019

1. Poppy - Am I A Girl?
2. Ghostmane - Noise
3. Travis Scott - Astroworld
4. Charlie XCX - Charlie
5. Billie Ellish -  When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
6. Car bomb - Mordial

Best Concerts 2019

1. Dream Theater - Distance Over Time Tour @ Place Des Arts
2. Heavy Montreal 2019 @ Parc Jean Drapeau
3. Any Ashbreather show this year
4. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard @ Olympia
5. Delain @ Club Soda
6. Gloryhammer @ L'Astral
7. Ensiferum and Septicflesh @Corona Theater
8. Within Temptation @ Olympia
9. Alien Weaponry @ Bar L’Escogriff
10. Kamelot @ Club Soda
11. Bring Me The Horizon @ Place Bell
12. CHON and Between the Buried and Me @ Corona Theater
13. Sabaton @ Metropolis
14. Eluveitie @ Corona Theater
15. The Agonist @ Theater Fairmount
16. Inanimate Existence, KRUHL, Ashbreather and Skortue @ Piranah Bar

Best Poutine

1. Poutineville
2. Montreal Pool Room
3. La Belle Province
4. Frites Alors!
5. La Banquise

Best Games 2019

1. Super Mario Maker 2
2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
3. Control
4. Driver San Francisco
5. Resident Evil 2
6. Zelda: Link’s Awakening
7. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
8. Cadence of Hyrule
9. Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
10. Halo: Reach MCC PC

 

Photo Credit: Geneviève Grenier

Album titles can be a tricky thing to finalize. Along with its cover, an album’s title will ideally evoke some sense of what to expect when you listen to it. With Première apparition, Montreal singer-songwriter Laurence-Anne picked the most vividly descriptive title that I’ve heard in quite some time. Released in February 2019, her debut album title suggests the existence of an otherworldly nature to the artist’s particular set of alternative pop songs.

“It’s a mystical first apparition; it’s mysterious,” Laurence-Anne explains. “I also like the word play of ‘première apparition.' When we recorded the album, we said this is what it’s gonna be called.” Listening to the record transports you to a world filled with animal sounds and exotic instrumentation that brings the graphic imagery of Laurence-Anne’s lyrics to life. Première apparition doesn’t just create a world you can inhabit, but a whole ecosystem filled with volcanoes and carnivorous plants. Songs like “Yeux-bactérie” and “Dents de scie” twist burning passion into some of nature’s most dangerous phenomena, including infections and fires. If the events in the movie 28 Days Later ever became a reality, the jubilant mutant funk of “C’est un virus” should be the theme song for the end times.

Originally hailing from Kamouraska, a municipality on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Bas-Saint-Laurent with a population of less than 600 people, Laurence-Anne notes that there wasn’t much in the way of distractions or activity while growing up. Luckily, what her hometown lacked in excitement was made up by its serenity and proximity to nature, giving the artist plenty of time to develop her distinctive song-writing style. "In fact, I think it helps to come from a region like that which is really in nature,” Laurence-Anne says, “you see the river, you have mountains too, large spaces. I think the fact that there is a lot of scenery directly influences a lot of the lyrics. There are always references to water. I think if I had grown up in Montreal, I wouldn’t have had that landscape aspect there.”

Even if the album sounds like it came out of a vacuum, devoid of chasing current trends, Laurence-Anne has a set of influences that feed into her work. In particular, the artist describes the music of Feist, Montreal duo Thus Owls, and plenty of Latin music as being integral parts in her development as a songwriter. Laurence-Anne is even interested in writing music in Spanish, which she speaks, considering her belief that language shouldn’t be a barrier when it comes to music.

“My goal with the project,” the artist explains, “is to make sure that the music overcomes language. I don’t want it to be a project that sounds francophone. Yes, it’s in French, but the musical side is more exploratory, and as you mentioned it gets out of those barriers a bit.”

For such richly detailed soundscapes, it’s surprising that Première apparition was recorded live in-studio in only two days. Thanks to her third-place finish in 2017’s Les Francouvertes music discovery competition, Laurence-Anne and her band were awarded time in a studio to record a single. But the musicians figured they should make the most of their time and bang out a full-length album instead, making the record as singular as it is. "I think I see it more like an oeuvre that happened at a precise moment,” Laurence-Anne explains, “and I don’t think it would have been the same thing if we did it in a different location or at another moment where we had more time. It really was like a creation where we were there, and it came out like that. It was recorded live with a few overdubs, but I think it was really a good moment.”

When it comes to bringing Laurence-Anne’s project to life, the artist admits much credit is due to her backing band. Laurence-Anne’s songs always begin with just her, though taking it from its skeletal form to finished product falls to both the artist and her backing band of five (Naomie De Lorimier on synth/backing vocals, David Marchand on bass/guitar/pedal steel, Laurent St-Pierre on drums/percussion, Étienne Côté on percussion/marimba/piano/synth, and Ariel Comptois on saxophone). Each band member brings their touch,” Laurence-Anne explains. "I really leave a lot of liberty to the artists. I think I also chose people who inspire me and who have a sound I like together. It’s really them who deal with the arrangements part.”

While Laurence-Anne already has several shows already under her belt this year, the artist says she’s not certain about what’s to come in the future; though she reveals that a future goal would be to play in France and travel with the album. “I don’t know how things will unfold,” Laurence-Anne says, “but I would like to tour this album as much as I can. Of course, I already can't wait to return to the studio to make another album.”

If it only took two days for Laurence-Anne to create one of 2019’s best albums, I can only imagine what she’ll do with at least three.

 

Alex Viger-Collins is the host of Ashes to Ashes, your weekly dose of modern pop, every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

 

Ahmad Moujtahed

 

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LOCAL

A reboot of the "Home Alone" film franchise will be filmed in Montreal this winter, between February and April, according to the website Pop Goes The News.

The production on the “reimagining” of "Home Alone," which was announced by Disney this past summer, will follow a husband and wife duo that is up against a young boy who has stolen something from them, Collider reports.

The reboot will stream on the recently launched Disney+ streaming service. However, there are no set details available yet about the cast or crew.

Story by Ahmad Moujtahed

 

NATIONAL

British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to formally implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Dubbed Bill 41, the legislation passed the committee stage and third reading at the B.C. legislature unanimously.

The legislation, which will apply to all existing and yet to be introduced legislation, requires that Indigenous peoples are included in all decision making that impacts their rights. It also calls for a government action plan on how the objectives of the declaration are being met, according to Global News.

The legislation was developed in collaboration with the First Nations Leadership Council at the direction of First Nations.

Story by Ahmad Moujtahed

 

INTERNATIONAL

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Tuesday which created a Task Force on Missing and Murdered Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The Task Force will create new methods to investigate new and unsolved cases as well as review cold cases. 

It is estimated by the National Institute of Justice that 1.5 million Indigenous women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime. Trump told reporters his government is taking strong action against, quote, “this terrible situation.”

Trump was joined by many Indigenous representatives to sign the bill, which expires in two years. 

Story by Evan Lindsay

For At The Movies Reviews on Location Remi interviews Yung Chang, the director of This is Not A Movie playing at this year's Rencontres Internationales du Documentaries de Montréal (RIDM) festival. The documentary follows The Independent journalist Robert Fisk as he covers conflicts in the Middle East. What makes Robert such an interesting subject for this documentary and what does he think about a movie about his life as a journalist? These are some of the questions that Remi gets answered in this interview with director Yung Chang.

Remi is the host of At The Movies which features everything new and noteworthy in the world of cinema. The show goes live every Tuesday at 8:00 AM.