1 Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future
I was a bit late on this one, but boy, what a record. I think if I could choose only ten records I’m allowed to listen to for the rest of my life, this one would be amongst it. Adrianne tells stories of heartbreak and loss in a way that rips through your soul and she does it in an almost child-like manner, which makes the songs irresistible.
When she sings “You’re cooking dinner, it’s getting ‘round half past ten, I haven’t smelled food so good since I don’t know where and I don’t know when” on Free Treasure I couldn’t help but feel like being right there with them, like a finally found a place to come home to.
Favourite tracks: Ruined, Free Treasure, Sadness as a Gift
2 Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat
I just love Laura Marling’s music so much. I started listening to Laura Marling when I was 16 years old and her music has been a loyal companion through many stages, heartbreaks and solo-journeys (both literally and figuratively) in my life. I feel like I became a woman alongside her music and she speaks to a very quintessential part of my being.
Favourite tracks: Your Girl, Caroline, Looking Back
3 Fontaines D.C. – Romance
Funnily their previous records never made it to Nr. 1 in my „Albums of the Year“ lists even though they are among my favourite records of one of my favourite bands (in hindsight I would probably at least make “A Hero’s Death” Nr. 1 the year it came out). It pains me to say that this is their first album that I – despite liking it a lot – don’t fully connect with. Sure, there are some songs on it that I love, “Starburster” is definitely the coolest song of the year and I’ve listened to “In the Modern World” on countless flights, train rides or morning commutes which were all the perfect setting for the dystopian vibe the song creates. “In the modern world, I don’t feel anything…” Grian Chatten sings and it is not like I don’t feel anything, but yeah, I want the old world back, the raw post-punk of “Dogrel”, the melancholic Joy Division-esque “A Hero’s Death”. But a good album of an otherwise brilliant band is still good enough to become Nr. 2 of the best records of the year for me.
Favourite tracks: In The Modern World, Starburster, Here’s The Thing
4 Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
It is a long album and it took me a while until I had the mental headspace to give it the attention it deserves. But when I did it fully paid off. This is a beautiful, beautiful record.
Favourite tracks: Demon Bitch, Baby Blue, All I Want Is You
5 La Femme – Rock Machine
The 6th album of the French synthpop band La Femme is at times a little childish sounding, but it is a lot of fun and the song “Ciao, Paris” is – despite, or maybe because of its simplicity – one of the best songs they have ever written.
Favourite tracks: Love Is Over, Waiting In The Dark, Ciao Paris
6 Angel Olsen – Cosmic Waves
Side A features artists chosen by Olsen, with each artist having selected their own song for the collection and the contributions are very ‚hit or miss‘ with – in the first half – more ‚miss‘ in my opinion. Side B is a collection of songs from the same artists, but chosen by Olsen and also recorded by her. So, the B-Side is absolutely fantastic and beautiful <3.
Favourite tracks: The Takeover, Wonder Now, Born too Blue
7. Mount Eerie – Night Palace
8. Been Stellar – Scream From New York, NY
9. Bill Ryder-Jones – Iechyd Da
10. Jack White – No Name
11. The Garden – Six Ballads
12. Christopher Owens – I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair
13. Talk Show – Effigy
14. Soft Play – Heavy Jelly
15. Amyl & the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
