January, that little isthmus of time where we reflect on the bounty of wonderful music produced in 2018, and eagerly anticipate the music to be in 2019. Sure, the holidays are over, you’re Xmas consumables are gathering dust, you’re back at work, that nagging ennui you get is coming back, but at least we’ll always have tunes. Turn that frown upside down, life ain’t that bad.

We are expecting another amazing year of music in 2019 and, in preparation, we have packed together a list of some of the math rock, prog and weirdo albums we are damned excited about.

Body Hound

Heavy prog-stalwarts Body Hound killed us all in 2014 with their debut EP Rhombus Now. If you’ve been following their Instagram, you will undoubtedly know that the boys have been busy in the studio with Tom Peters of Alpha Male Tea Party recording their debut full length. The new album, entitled No Moon, is going to be a double LP. That’s right, 50+ minutes of music will be ready for our consumption in March. The band had this to say about the new album: “We have twelve tracks in total, but the whole record has been made with the intention of it being experienced as a journey from start to finish“. Mixing started this month and Tom is super excited. The band will be launching an Indiegogo campaign in support of the record soon, keep an eye out for this and be sure to give generously. This is going to be AOTY stuff…

Battles

We are forecasting that Battles, that quirky supergroup of math rock veterans, may be dishing up a new album in 2019. The band have been posting some very mysterious Instagram posts where they can be seen recording bits and bobs. They’ve also been tempting Twitterers with new drum beats. Will this next installment in the Battles timeline top the venerated Gloss Drop? Time will tell…

Suffer Like G Did

Coming off the back of their widely popular fruit-themed EP releases, Suffer Like G Did will finally taking the plunge into long play. “After road testing some of our new tracks last year, we will release our first full length album in 2019, produced by our drummer Tom,” the band have informed us. You know it’s going to be a delectable treat.

You can follow the band’s regular updates on their Instagram.

Alarmist

Arguably one of the more mature and refined math rock bands out there, Alarmist are one of the torchbearer of the Dublin scene. And we are happy to announce that the band have new fruits to bear. “We have just finished tracking everything and are in the final stages of mixing. We’re hopefully looking at a spring release next year if everything goes to plan,” the band have told us. The release will comprise nine tracks and is “a definite progression from the last release both sonically and compositionally“. Be on the lookout for a new single in the upcoming months…

tricot

A band as stylish as they are prolific, tricot floored the global math rock community in 2017 with their full-length 3, which landed the #2 spot in our End of Year Report (losing only marginally to And So I Watch You From Afar). Well, wouldn’t you believe it, the trio have announced on Twitter that their follow-up album, Repeat, will be released this very March. No rest for the awesome…

Memory of Elephants

Bristol denizens and Arctangent regulars Memory of Elephants have proved themselves in the national and international math rock spotlights, and this year they will be delivering the products from their more-than-successful indiegogo campaign. The trio’s debut album Beachballin’ will be out this Spring. When cornered and questioned the band told us to “expect big party riffs and maybe a couple of curveballs“. Melikes sound of…

BATS

The Irish math-post-hardcore rationalists BATS have returned from a much-too-long hiatus. The band’s most recent release, The Sleep of Reason in 2012, was a delectable feast of fiery riffs and science-gushing. Last time we checked, they were at the mixing stage of a brand new full-length. Can we expect a release in 2019? Sounds very likely.

Hashshashin

It ain’t often you hear a band fusing together meditative eastern sounds with schizo psych-prog rock. This is the modus operandi of Australia’s Hashshashin. The band will be recording the follow up to their 2016 feat nihsahshsaH through March and April. “I play way too many instruments on it; Persian Setar, Pamiri Setar, Afghan Rubab, Irish Bouzouki and guitar,” says the evidently multi-instrumentalist Lachlan Dale, “it’s definitely different. And weird… so I hope people like it!“. The as-yet-untitled album is anticipated for release around August/September.

Town Portal

Instrumental math rock trio Town Portal have always straddled the darker side of off-kilter music. And if you’ve been paying attention to their Facebook page, you will have seen that the band recently wrapped up a round of recording. We can now confirm that the band will be releasing their third album in 2019. This new release, of which the name has not been revealed, promises to showcase a wealth of fresh influences and will be the heaviest record yet from the Danish band. Look out for the first track, along with official album announcement and pre-orders, next week. That’s next week.

ni

If you haven’t heard French wonksters ni, think Monty Python meets The Dillinger Escape Plan meets Ruins. It’s one brisk cocktail, to be sure. In 2019, the band will finally be offering their follow up to the legendary Les insurgés de Romilly. The new album, Pantophobie, offers nine tracks of off-the-wall prog-zeuhl-math rock, each focusing on a particular phobia. Pre-orders are already up, so get pre-spending.

Crain

A birdie on the wall has told us that post-hardcore veterans Crain are currently kicking about Chicago while they remix and remaster their 1994 sophomore album Heater, with Bob Weston of Shellac to mark its 25th anniversary. This is an exceptional album, imagine what it’d sound like in full remastered glory…

And So I Watch You From Afar

A follow-up to The Endless Shimmering already?! Not exactly, but nonetheless a wildcard to finish on. During a recent interview with the band, we heard word about a new project underway in 2019. The band did not disclose much, but said that they were super excited about the project and that it was going to make their careers. Sounds like it is going to be big… but it’s not a studio album. That’s all they would tell us. Feel free to start making guesses…

RUMOURS

Mylets, nuito, Adam Betts/Colossal Squid, Alpha Male Tea Party