As far as discovering new music goes, 2019 was quite a year. It was this fact that led me to ask myself, one day in late December, ‘What were the 10 best albums you listened to for the first time this year?’ It actually didn’t take me too long to make that list. When you have a list of 10 amazing albums, what’s left to do but write a piece on each one explaining just what makes it so amazing? And that’s what this is. I’ll let the rest speak for itself.

A record born out of physical frustration, Stomachaches is the debut solo release by New Jersey singer/songwriter Frank Iero, best known as a founding member of alt-rock giants My Chemical Romance and frontman for Leathermouth and Death Spells. When the painful digestive problems that had long plagued him began to dramatically increase in late 2012, Iero fought back against his stomach pains. FRNKIERO AND THE CELLABRATION, the new project from Frank Iero, released their debut full length, STOMACHACHES on August 26, 2014 on Staple Records. “In late 2012 I started to experience an increase in my already painful digestive issues and my creative side started to wither under the weight of not ever feeling well,” commented Iero. In fact, it is very great. Definitely some raw and powerful talent coming from Mr. Delivery was quick and clean, the CD came just as expected and still had that new CD smell. In conclusion, Frank Iero has certainly outdone himself with Stomachaches, it is a true gift to.

10. STOMACHACHES – FRANK IERO (or FRNKIERO AND THE CELLABRATION)

With this, his debut solo album, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero proves that he doesn’t need the other members of My Chemical Romance to bring out his talent as a musician. The heavy sound, admittedly, may not be instantly appealing, but the album rewards attentive, open-minded listening. A familiarity with the melodies that seem to emerge – as if they were not inherently there – facilitates looking beyond the vocals that seem at times best described as a singing-shouting hybrid (such as on ‘Neverenders’ and ‘.smoke rings.’). Although perhaps not his strongest point, Iero is nonetheless a capable vocalist. In particular, when he manipulates his vocals to convey piteous groans on such tracks as ‘She’s the Prettiest Girl at the Party, and She Can Prove It with a Solid Right Hook’ and ‘.stage 4 fear of trying.’, the result is a triumph, adding a layer of emotion to these almost-ballads. Indeed, situating these tracks and similarly, ‘Guilt Tripping’, in an otherwise heavy – and, to put it simply, loud – album adeptly demonstrates Iero’s artistic versatility.

9. HESITANT ALIEN – GERARD WAY

Not only is Hesitant Alien one of my favourite album titles of all time, but the cover photo of Gerard Way himself somehow seems a perfect match for it. It all bodes well from the very beginning. Thankfully, none of the eleven tracks are a step down. Way’s debut (and to date, only) solo album represents a departure from the dramatic emo of My Chemical Romance, and a step towards something more like pop. However, less dramatic in this case certainly does not mean less interesting. The upbeat melodies and catchy choruses of ‘Action Cat’, ‘Millions’ and ‘Maya the Psychic’ may well tempt you to get up and dance. Equally, slower and more emotive tracks like ‘Brother’ and ‘Drugstore Perfume’ make for splendid wind-down songs. Despite such differences in tempo and character, there is a certain uniformity to the album, a consistency of sound and quality that demonstrates Way’s commitment to this new genre. From the curious opening that is ‘The Bureau’, right through to the striking finish of ‘Maya the Psychic’, the album seems to represent something of a statement from Way, something along the lines of, ‘This is me. This is what I’m like as a solo artist.’ And that gets a resounding thumbs up from me.

8. VICES & VIRTUES – PANIC! AT THE DISCO

I enjoyed A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, less so Pretty. Odd., but this, their third studio album, is where Panic! At The Disco really begin to give it all they’ve got. Perhaps they could have done with a better Track 7. ‘Always’ doesn’t quite have the panache of the other nine tracks, but nonetheless to say that there is not a bad song on this album is no exaggeration. ‘The Ballad of Mona Lisa’ is such a strong opener that it may have you thinking that surely the best must be over. But the likes of ‘Hurricane’, ‘Memories’ and ‘Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)’ just prove you wrong. It is a fun, fast-paced album, brimming with energy, and it delivers triumph after triumph as far as song-writing goes. The peculiar instrumental segments that follow ‘Hurricane’ and ‘The Calendar’, far from being off-putting, only add to the album’s quirkiness and creativity. Driving home the point that the whole album has been of a standard as high as its opening track, the closer, ‘Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)’, finishes with the repetition of a line from ‘The Ballad of Mona Lisa’: “Mona Lisa, pleased to please ya.” Well, Brendon Urie, you have certainly pleased us.

Frank Iero Website

7. WHITE, PINK + BLUE – BRAVE GIANT

The debut album from my fellow Longfordians seems to mark a departure from their simpler early tracks like ‘Lordy Lordy’ and ‘Way to Love’. The eleven tracks (twelve if you count the 50-second-long ‘Intro’) demonstrate a certain complexity that Brave Giant have succeeded in adding to their music since their early days. Exploring a variety of styles between and even within songs (such as in ‘Lake Of Anna’, where a simplistic folk-style intro explodes into a powerful, spine-tingling chorus), White, Pink + Blue goes a long way towards showing us that Brave Giant have a lot to offer. That they can switch between sounds so effortlessly and effectively, for example as they go from a traditional-sounding folk ballad like ‘Maid Of The Sea’ to the synth-pop-like intro of ‘Wizards and Witches’, would suggest that they have plenty more material up their sleeves, and plenty more stylistic experimenting to do, which will hopefully be delivered in the form of subsequent albums. The only problem is that with the diversity they demonstrate here, and the top-notch smooth and crisp vocals by Podge Gill and Mark Prunty that define White, Pink + Blue, the bar has been set very high.

6. BARRIERS – FRANK IERO (AND THE FUTURE VIOLENTS)

Although Frank Iero does not completely abandon the kind of shouting and screaming one has come to expect from his vocals, Barriers is certainly a more mellow, crowd-pleasing album than is Stomachaches. Don’t be fooled, though. It may be a step closer to the mainstream – as Frank Iero albums go – but if anything, it is a step further away from the predictable, the boring. An album that features tracks with the kind of originality defining, for example, ‘Medicine Square Garden’, ‘Police Police’ and ‘Six Feet Down Under’, cannot possibly be described as boring, whether or not it’s exactly your cup of tea. Featuring a somewhat haunting piano piece early on, and some classic Iero screaming later, ‘Police Police’, in other places, in fact sounds a little like The Police. Generally, though, it’s not easy to compare Iero to any other artist. His sound is something really unique and this shows more on Barriers than on any of his other solo material. It would be a stretch even to liken him to My Chemical Romance, for whom he played and is now again playing – since their reunion announcement back in October – rhythm guitar. He does, however, include a passing reference to the band that made him famous, namely to their hit ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’, in his track ‘Young and Doomed’. Following the lyric, “I promise that I’m not okay” is a spoken line: “Oh wait, that’s the other thing.” Hinting at the reunion announcement that was to come exactly five months after this album’s release, perhaps?

5. TOO WEIRD TO LIVE, TOO RARE TO DIE! – PANIC! AT THE DISCO

It tops their first three albums, and although they continue to produce solid material, Panic! At The Disco haven’t topped this one since. Similarly to Vices & Virtues, there isn’t a bad song on it, but in contrast, there is no room for improvement, whereas ‘Always’ on Vices & Virtues may be questionable. If ever an album could seem to recycle certain elements of 80s synth-pop, and still sound ridiculously fresh and exciting, this is it. From the feel-good fun of ‘Miss Jackson’, ‘Vegas Lights’ and ‘Nicotine’, to t

Stomachaches Frank Iero Zip