Artists' rankings

Before this year I didn't know much about David Berman, I'm sad to say. I'd heard maybe one or two Silver Jews songs, distractedly, but against the backdrop of his death and the outpouring of emotion around his life and music, much of it from my own musical heroes, I listened to “Purple Mountains”. It's a genuine masterpiece; a blend of love, beauty, tragedy and, running through it all, humor, as it stares into the abyss - a combination that's almost impossible to pull off. I'm sorry that it could only come about through circumstances as heartbreaking as his, namely writing an album as a way of saying goodbye

 

Many of the records on this list are lyrically brilliant; it's an aspect of music and songwriting that I'm drawn to almost before anything else. Cass McCombs is one of my all-time favorites - if I had to listen to just one artist for the rest of my life it would be him - and The Tip Of The Sphere is a beautiful, understated and seemingly underrated album.

 

I listened to Julia Jacklin's “Pressure To Party”. I think that, more than any other song this year, it simply doesn't age. But there are so many great songs on the album, and she has such a pure yet emotive voice.

 

I'd heard rumors of a posthumous album by Leonard Cohen, but "Thanks For The Dance" was still a pleasant surprise. Every word is put to use, nothing is wasted or superfluous. It's a wonderful, engaging essay in its worldly - or in this case, otherworldly - reflection.

 

There are so many genuinely interesting, even heart-wrenching lines on "All Mirrors" by Angel Olsen, but it's the production that brings the magic to this record - at times wild, at times beautifully unfinished, but always perfect.

 

I could talk about Jeffrey Lewis for days, so it's pretty hard to condense my admiration for him and this record, "Bad Wiring", into a few words. In terms of ideas and originality, and lyrically too, few can match him. His music is a comforting companion for getting through this crazy world.

 

Jemma Freeman e The Cosmic Something are friends of mine here in London, and I feel a strange sense of pride at just how beautiful this record is. So much emotion and love packed into a set of songs that manages to sound wild and energetic, yet refined and controlled at the same time.

 

I only started properly listening to the record a couple of weeks ago, and it's practically been on the go with me ever since. It's both delicate and powerful, and a bit of a departure from the last record of hers I'd listened to, back when she was in Alabama Shakes, which I also loved a great deal.

 

Both Big Thief albums were naturally amazing, I think I preferred “Two Hands” overall to “U.F.O.F.”, even though the latter probably had more standout songs on it.

 

The title track of Hand Habits' record is good enough a song on its own to earn this album a place on my list of favorites of the year, but the whole record has a really lovely, enjoyable vibe to it.