Welcome to the FIFTH annual list of independent albums and EP’s that probably slipped under your radar this year. I’ve been in the music industry for over a decade at this point (I know right?!) and it continues to floor me just how much talent is out there.
Yet here we are again, with even more incredible music for you to sink your teeth into. One of the truest things that keeps me creating these lists year after year is the excitement I derive from the serendipitous discovery of these wide swaths of creativity. Sometimes the best artistry emerges from the best-kept secrets. 🤘🎸
Since 2015, I’ve given you lists of 100 independent albums and EP’s you probably missed during the year. Here they are:
- 100 Albums & EP’s for 2015
- 100 Albums & EP’s for 2016
- 100 Albums & EP’s for 2017
- 100 Albums & EP’s for 2018
And so, here is the 2019 list in all its glory. I’m equally excited for the new crop of artists here as well as for those returning again. A healthy helping of the content on this year’s list is from artists I’ve known for years and who continue to crank out new material. It’s all balanced by an influx of new content from new artists whom I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on into the new year.
As with all previous lists, these 100 albums and EP’s come from artists all over the world. This year’s list includes artists from: Canada, Greece, Germany, Spain, Austria, Hungary, France, almost ALL of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland!), Australia, Estonia, Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines, New Zeland, Indonesia, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Bulgaria, the U.K., Poland, and 21 different U.S. states. The independent world is massive.
It’s always interesting to see what each year brings in terms of style and genre, and this year’s list seems to heavily feature classic garage punk, pop-punk, shoegaze, alternative, metal, folk rock, and hard rock material.
With all that out of the way, here are 100 of the independent albums and EP’s that you probably missed in 2019. All were released during the 2019 calendar year.
As always, albums are in no particular order.
Remember, if you dig this and want to see more, follow me on Twitter @adammarx13 and let’s talk music, tech, and startups!
Come take a peek under the radar at the material you probably missed this year—live in my music world for a little while. 😎👍
1. What Happened To Us? (Vol. 1) — The Head — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2. Breathe In Colours — Forever Still — Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Ghost — Bloody Diamonds — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
4. I’m The Reaper — The Beautiful Monument — Melbourne, Australia
5. Gone Off the Earth — Felic — Helsinki, Finland
6. Far Canal — Fox Ache — Brisbane, Australia
7. Ephemeral — We Are The Catalyst — Gothenburg, Sweden
8. Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones on Audiotree Live — Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones — Los Angeles, California, USA
9. Retrospective | Reactive — Have No Clue — Esztergom, Hungary
10. Mourning Vibes II — DownStater — Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
11. When Daughters & Sons Revolt — Past Tense Of Never — Graham, North Carolina, USA
12. Show Me Your Teeth — Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters — Cardiff, Wales, UK
13. The Extinction of Unicorns — The Dead Love — Sydney, Australia
14. The Wood Room Sessions — Just Like Honey — New York, New York, USA
15. Useless Hands — Rival Town — St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
16. Not So Bold — Dance Contraption — Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
17. Main Street Revival — Main Street Revival — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
18. Crowned In Frost — Frozen Crown — Milan, Italy
19. Come What May — Oh See Demons — Bergen, Norway
20. How Your Life’s Played Out — Montgomery — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
21. Alone in the Dark — In Good Nature — Boston, Massachusetts, USA
22. Brand New World — Desert Queen — Tartu, Estonia
23. Asleep in the Deep End — Andross — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
24. It Was Beautiful — Fawner — Bristol, England, UK
25. Traya — Set Fire — Boston, Massachusetts, USA
26. Notti di Follia — Out For Summer — Moderna, Italy
27. Slice — Spo — Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
28. Feeding The Void — Hysteria — Dresden, Germany
29. Here & Now (EP) — Dangerfield — Brisbane, Australia
30. Celebration — CityState — Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
31. Dream Living — Lost Mind — Torrelodones, Spain
32. So It Began — Silvernite — Greece
33. Bridges We Build | Bridges We Burn — Teresa Banks — Helsinki, Finland
34. Serenity — Saint Raven — Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
35. Two Sides — Dirty Rugs — Seattle, Washington, USA
36. ATERA — Zea Mays — Bilbao, Spain
37. LP1 — Clouds & Satellites — Savannah, Georgia, USA
38. Three on Three EP — Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions — Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
39. CRAFTING EP — CRAFTING — Wilmington, Delaware, USA
40. The World Conspires — Birdeatsbaby — Brighton, England, UK
41. Transcend — Hello, Mountain — Denver, Colorado, USA
42. Spiral Down — Blue Velvet Drapes — Los Angeles, California, USA
43. Redeemer — Red Handed Denial — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
44. Maladjusted — My Secret Haven — Warsaw, Poland
45. Glitter Trails — Glitter Trails — Los Angeles, California, USA
46. Memorias — Carla Monterrubio — Mexico City, Mexico
47. The Toll — DUSK — Vienna, Austria
48. Manic EP — Lie to Life — Detroit, Michigan, USA
49. Genetic Nobodies — Genetic Nobodies — Los Angeles, California, USA
50. Skull Flower — John Tessier — Paris, France
51. Unbreakable — Keep Flying — New Jersey, USA
52. Scream In My Dream — Strangers In The Attic — Zurich, Switzerland
53. Stories in Time — Time Jugglers — Sofia, Bulgaria
54. A New Dawn — AltHero — Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain
55. On A Flow — Breitenbach — Frankfurt, Germany
56. L’hameçon — ATHECIO — Lyon, France
57. Dusky Wing — Dusky Wing — Los Angeles, California, USA
58. PALIMONY EP — PALIMONY — Gainesville, Florida, USA
59. On Fences — Between Bodies — Berlin, Germany
60. Dormancy — Playing Pretend — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
61. Woodland Rites — Green Lung — London, England, UK
62. Peachy Keen EP — Golden Cinema — Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
63. Thunderjoy — West Valley Shakers — Sheridan, Oregon, USA
64. Queen of the Pill — The Jackets — Bern, Switzerland
65. After Dark — Pale Lips — Montreal, Quebec, Canada
66. Erebus — Returned To The Earth — Nuneaton, England, UK
67. Schizophrenia — Altersight — Saint Petersburg, Russia
68. IV — OMAHA — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
69. Egress — TopLady — Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
70. Blind by Midnight — Dino Bravo — Burlington, Vermont, USA
71. Cool Evil — Glued — St. Louis, Missouri, USA
72. Stressor — Wine Lips — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
73. Here It Is — Fragile Canyons — Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
74. Feels Like Forever — Pretty Bird — Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
75. Larmes Confettis — Cosmophone — Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
76. UNO — Black Betty — Villa Maria, Argentina
77. The Ghostwriter — The Ghostwriter — Detroit, Michigan, USA
78. Pen Name — Pen Name — Canterbury, England, UK
79. Hoping, Not Hopeful — Low Vault — Baltimore, Maryland, USA
80. Planet Hunter — Planet Hunter — Wellington, New Zealand
81. Butterfly Distortion — Dive to Blue — Buenos Aires, Argentina
82. Take Her My Life — Castle Black — Brooklyn, New York, USA
83. Starburst – EP — Truett & The Traitors — Springfield, Missouri, USA
84. Go — MoND — Bandung, Indonesia
85. A War Within — Enmy — Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
86. The Devil You Know — The Coathangers — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
87. Manic Mood — Easy Jane — Beirut, Lebanon
88. Demonstration — Floral Canyon — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
89. Exhale — The Sleep Department — Brooklyn, New York, USA
90. ep — Soft Topics — Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
91. SPLASH – EP — Service Delay — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
92. Welcome to the Block — Stonewall BLVD — Denver, Colorado, USA
93. The New Joys E.P. — The New Joys — Brooklyn, New York, USA
94. Superfuzz — Superfuzz — A Coruña, Spain
95. Overnight — Insomnia — Milan, Italy
96. EP 2019 — Dischord — Aix En Provence, France
97. Young & Dumb — All In Due Time — New York, New York, USA
98. Indeed EP — Indeed — Budapest, Hungary
99. Mural — Mural — Cebu, The Philippines
100. No Missed Calls, No New Messages — The Ragetones — Pueblo, Colorado, USA
***
If you enjoyed this list please share and give these artists some love!
Adam Marx's Mind 