Soon enough we’ll all be sharing our best of 2019 lists with you on IVM. But right now I’d like to take a minute to share few of the more unusual albums I came across during 2019.

First up Youth Band Hits!: A Storybook-EP from Tyler Richardson. Tyler’s idea for the album was to recreate the youth group experience. And he does exactly that by blending six worship songs with a mix of interludes that are reminiscent of a youth group worship service. For example the album starts with a welcome from youth pastor Reggie Nelson who talks about his love of pizza while announcing the upcoming events before the track fades into the first song. I can’t help but think that recording a live youth group service might have accomplished the same thing with a lot less effort but I got to give Tyler props for having an unusual idea and seeing it through.

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

When Tommee Profitt and Fleurie announced they were releasing a 10 song epic called Gloria Regali you knew it was going to be . . . well, epic. In what is almost certainly no coincidence the album dropped the same week as the debut of the final season of Game of Thrones. Thankfully Gloria Regali turned out to be worth the wait. So why is it on my list of unusual albums from 2019? To put it simply: medieval cinematic music isn’t something you’re going to find a whole lot of on IVM.

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Psallos has been turning books of the Bible into albums for awhile now but if this is your first time hearing about it Jude is a great place start. The album falls somewhere between scripture set to music and a concept album. Stylistically the Jude bounces all over the place through the course of its seventeen tracks. But listeners who stick with it will be rewarded with a thoughtful, deep, and creative take what is often an overlooked book of the New Testament.

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

You’d be forgiven for assuming Rusty Shipp ended up on my unusual albums list for being nautical rock. While it’s a pretty niche genre that’s not why I picked Liquid Exorcist. My reason for including the album on my list has to do with the structure of the album. If you can call it an album that is. Much like the aforementioned Youth Group Hits! the six songs on the record are stitched together by interludes. The result is a pretty seamless flow from beginning to end. Obviously could have been done without the interludes but by making the intro/outro to each song a separate track each song on the album is able to stand on it’s own. With streaming and playlists being an important part of the music industry today Rusty Shipp does an impressive feat with Liquid Exorcist by making both a cohesive album and playlist friendly experience. There’s also the added bonus of each interlude counting as extra listen on streaming services. Got to get those pennies!

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify

Have you heard any really unusual albums this year? Share them with us in the comments!