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The 12 best albums of 2016 (so far)

Yes, it’s already July, which means it’s time for AP’s annual mid-year report. Yesterday, we brought you the 12 best songs of 2016 (so far). Today, we’re breaking down the 12 best albums of the year thus far. Check them out below and be let us know your thoughts!

 

BeartoothAggressive

The ’Tooth have captured many ears and hearts of the AP staff, and their latest record should place them firmly at the top of any “Best Live Bands” conversation. —Josh Bernstein

 

CreeperThe Stranger EP

Yes, this isn’t a full-length album, but fucking fight me, because within the span of five songs, Creeper absolutely stomp the guts out of any other release this year. Continuing the story of the Callous Heart, The Stranger conveys misery in a dramatic punk-rock style that often echoes Alkaline Trio, but is ultimately all their own. These APMAs Best Underground Band nominees are aiming straight for your heartstrings with this collection of work: Upon hearing it, very few are likely to walk away denying the band’s je ne sais quoi. —Cassie Whitt

 

Head Wound CityA New Wave Of Violence

Too caustic for the metalcore instruction manual, too bored with hardcore's bro convention and too inspired to drink the Kool-Aid of wannabes, the men of Head Wound City delivered every promise they hinted at on their 10-year-old debut EP, with a proper debut album. Jordan Billie can go from dark mantra intoning to full jet turbine shrieking in mere seconds; guitarists Nick Zinner and Cody Votolato create parts uglier than videoclips of your parents on their third date and the engine room of bassist Justin Pearson and drummer Gabe Serbian make racing time trials looking laughable by comparison. HWC remain five to seven years ahead of what everyone else on the planet are doing anyway, so feel free to lie about being there while it's happening now. You fucking kittens. —Jason Pettigrew

 

Modern BaseballHoly Ghost

Something about Holy Ghost hurts in your bones. It could be the incisive familiarity of some of the worst feelings, or the humbling distance of being a part-time voyeur in someone else's problems. Either way, you get the sense that the album is as much for you as it is for me as it is for Modern Baseball, and it's the best gift I've gotten this year. —Kika Chatterjee

 

IssuesHeadspace

Metalcore futurists Issues have left their first record in the dust with the freshly addictive Headspace. The production is on another level thanks to Kris Crummet, Erik Ron and Tyler “Scout” Acord. Ever the genre-neutral visionary, frontman/AP cover star Tyler Carter, delivers his finest vocal performances to date. But in reality, everybody in this band has raised the bar, from co-vocalist Michael Bohn debuting aggressive clean singing, A.J. Rebollo reigning as the band's unsung guitar hero, drummer Josh Manuel becoming a technical beast behind the kit and Skyler Acord ripping shirtless bass solos. —Brian Kraus

 

letlive.If I'm The Devil

I could namedrop a dozen artists heard as influences on this album, and they would span everything from pop to punk to metal. But with this effort, it would be a disservice to say letlive. sound like anybody else. They have created something that's all their own on their own terms. This album sounds like letlive., and it's sick. If you're a fan of music, period, you'll love If I'm The Devil. —Rabab Al-Sharif

Panic! At The DiscoThe Death Of A Bachelor

How can words even be shaped around this gorgeous album? We’ve seen various sides of Panic!, but The Death Of A Bachelor truly showcases frontman Brendon Urie’s impeccable vocal range. This album is The Wizard Of Oz of Panic’s! career; an album that seemingly brings color to a black-and-white world. Next vinyl purchase? You bet. —Kiley Wellendorf

 

Pierce The VeilMisadventures

We’ve gotten used to the bands we cover cranking out records in quick succession. With so many of their peers putting out a new full-length every other year, the almost four-year gap between Pierce The Veil’s monstrously successful scene milemarker Collide With The Sky, and this year’s new offering felt like forever. In truth, it was significantly less time than legendary groups from Metallica to Depeche Mode to Radiohead have taken between albums—and it was more than worth the wait. The appropriately titled “Dive In,” which begins the ride on Misadventures, might go down as the quintessential PTV song, brilliantly demonstrating the greatest strengths of what the band does. The way the San Diego quartet add layers upon layers of nuance to their sound without sacrificing an inherent punk energy is nothing short of musically miraculous. The attention to detail extends to Vic Fuentes lyrics, too, with some of the best lines of his career found in songs like the adventurously poppy anthem “Floral & Fading,” the big radio single “Circles,” the fast-paced early-release track “Texas Is Forever” and the song they tied us over with last year, “The Divine Zero.” —Ryan J. Downey

 

SaosinAlong The Shadow

We basically predicted this back in 2014. Well, former AP writer Matt Crane did, to be exact—and Anthony Green called him out for it. Yet here we are, nearly two years later, with a new Saosin album featuring Green on vocals. Bygones aside, Saosin’s comeback record, Along The Shadow, absolutely rips. There’s no way around it: Green and his fellow bandmates are at their absolute best, seemingly picking up right where Translating The Name left off in 2003. From the suspenseful aggression of “Racing Towards A Red Light” to the whimsical intricacies of “Second Guesses,” there’s something for every Saosin fan on Along The Shadow. —Tyler Sharp

 

The 1975I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

The 1975 traded in their mysterious, dark aesthetic for a frivolous, rosy pink image and produced the self-aware masterpiece I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It as a result. Containing 17 massive tracks that each tell a story of its own, the monstrous album is a musical journey through frontman Matty Healy’s psyche. From processing fame (“Love Me”) to dealing with cocaine addiction (“UGH!”), I Like It When You Sleep, and its unabashedly catchy choruses (“The Sound”) and rhythmic ‘80s-inspired beats (“Paris”), are pieces of intricately crafted pop that punks can shamelessly get behind. —Caitlyn Ralph

 

The Summer SetStories For Monday

To say that we were anticipating the Summer Set’s fourth full-length is an understatement. Stories For Monday reminded us why we loved these pop rockers in the first place—their catchy anthems and Dales’ charming vocals are meant to be blared full blast. And that we did. —Maggie Dickman

 

With ConfidenceBetter Weather

With the huge influx of pop-punk bands hitting the Warped Tour circuit these days, it’s difficult to stand out as an innovator. Aussie newcomers With Confidence do it with ease, adding pop hooks to teen angst to create 10 of the best tracks in the genre today. —Mackenzie Hall