Brian O’Neill’s Top Albums of 2019

1) Chelsea Wolfe — “Birth of Violence” (Sargent House, USA) 

Although this album is a throwback to Wolfe’s coffeehouse dark folk genesis, a conscious effort to back away from the more metallic heft of her last couple of records, in every way it’s even heavier. Birth of Violence is sparse, allowing the listener to fill in the expanses, as she reclaims not only her past but her present and future as well.