Trotter's Top Ten Albums of 2019

Well 2019 was pretty awful wasn't it? I suppose music was one of the thankful distractions from the continual hellfire, with some very good releases and a lot of decent efforts - the strength in depth of the bench was strong, even if we didn't have many legends up front (end of sports analogy). So there's a few contenders who just missed out here, amongst some of the tracks of the year, as well as those that did make the cut...


10) 'Brutalism' by The Drums (did not chart) 

I know, right? Who even knew they were still around? Reemerging following a shake-up that saw The Drums essentially become a solo act, Brutalism is a mellower, more contemplative record but which still manages to sound enough like there debut so as not to be too much of a departure. A more stripped back, honest sounding collection of songs, riding the waves of both the Noughties and the Bontempi comebacks.

Look at: Body Chemistry


9) 'Kind Heaven' by Perry Farrell (did not chart) 

An even longer comeback you didn't know you needed until you heard it, the first solo album proper from the former Jane's Addiction frontman for 18 years (gulp!). Sounding more relevant than any 60-year old has any right to, Perry undoubtedly is tapping into indie-kids of a certain age nostalgia (hello!) for charismatic, rock figureheads, but still sounding fresh with orchestral string arrangements on 'More Than I Could Bear', dance rhythms on 'Spend the Body' and a (frankly well-timed) 'Let's All Pray for this World' which closes the album on a elegiac high, free from his usual atonal delivery.  Personally, 2019's best musical surprise. 

Look at: 'Let's All Pray for this World'

8) 'Psychic Data' by TVAM (did not chart) 

Unfortunately not the long awaited debut album by Anne Diamond and Nick Owen you were hoping for, but something almost as weird and wonderful.  Strictly speaking this is over a year old, but when you stumble across something as good as this in January and it still stays on your most frequently-played list then it needs to find a place in the Ten. Frankly, it is good enough for the dirty, incessant riff of 'These Are Not Your Memories' alone. But Psychic Data manages to be psychedelic, goth, hardcore, rock and 'forgotten theme tunes from 1970's educational daytime tv programmes' all at once - the genre you never knew you needed.

Look at: 'These Are Not Your Memories' and 'Narcissus'

7) 'Inside the Rose' by These New Puritans (did not chart)

If you've ever said 'I'd really like an album that opens with Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the Silence' at half speed' then do I have the album for you! Another atmospheric, other-worldly offering from the Barnett twins, where previous efforts haven't quite hit the mark with me, Inside the Rose comes probably just at the right time when an unsettling, off-kilter experience isn't too different to the everyday world we're living in at the moment. 'Infinity Vibraphones' is probably the best thing they've done, twisting and turning throughout its six and a half minutes and setting the tone for what's to come, if that can be done given how eclectic it all is. 'Where the Trees Are on Fire' uses a brass section to beautiful effect and then 'A-R-P' sends you off somewhere else completely with its clattering, tribal climax.

Look at: 'Where the Trees Are on Fire' and 'Beyond Black Suns'

6) 'Late Night Feelings' by Mark Ronson (UK Chart Number 4) 

Say what you want about Mark Ronson (I know you will) but he sure can pick female collaborators.  Amy Winehouse was the obvious prime example, but on Late Night Feelings you have him bringing out the very best in Lykke Li, Alicia Keys, and - in possibly the track of the decade - Miley Cyrus in the appropriately heart-breaking 'Nothing Breaks Like a Heart'. And if someone can do that for me with a country track then he deserves all the accolades going. If you don't believe me listen to this live version. He also showcases rising talent like Yebba and King Princess to great effect.  

Look at: 'Nothing Breaks Like a Heart', 'Late Night Feelings' and 'Don't Leave Me Lonely'


5) This is not a Safe Place' by Ride (UK Chart Number 7) 

Yes, yes, not exactly making it hard for anyone to guess my age/musical leanings etc. but bear with me.  Ride's second comeback album starts with 'R.I.D.E.' a tune so utterly bonkers for them that I laughed when I first played it.  The dance-leanings of this opener hints at what Mark Gardiner might have done with his solo career but it also clearly signals they're not going to be regurgitating past glories here. True, they do venture into more familiar territory later on, but it's a refreshing take on their sound overall with, as with their comeback album proper of a few years ago, you can see at least a handful of these tracks standing up for themselves on tour with all their classics.

Look at: 'Future Love'

4) 'Hypersonic Missiles' by Sam Fender (UK Chart Number 1) 

The BRITs may be criticised for their MOR Critics Choice winners but you can't argue they don't pick winners (or that winners are picked, I suppose). What puts Sam Fender nearer the Adele/Florence side than, say, the Sam Smith/Ellie Goulding end is there's an authenticity to him that you can't manufacture.  If he hadn't got so big, so quickly you could easily see That Sound being played alongside more 'credible alternative' acts with its timeless guitar lines and pained intonation. That he's articulate, writes all his songs, is from the north east (bias alert!) and actually writes about a variety of thorny topics sets him apart even more - none more so on Dead Boys about the until recently not discussed prevalence of young male suicide in the north east. What's going to be more interesting is what he does next...

Look at: 'Dead Boys', 'Hyper Sonic Missiles', 'That Sound' and 'Play God'

3) 'Grey Area' by Little Simz (UK Chart Number 87) 

Further exemplifying artistic authenticity, Little Simz produced the breakthrough of the year for me. Her Mercury Prize nomination no doubt brought her to the attention of far more people than just me, who had no idea she'd been around for the whole of the decade (...she was robbed, btw).  But the impact of Grey Area and the assuredness of her sound and production was a breath of fresh air.  Taken as a whole, no-one has come as close to  Tricky's seminal debut as she has in terms of darkness, distortion, message and clarity. Even the silences and spaces here seem to add to the atmosphere produced, the album working as a complete whole and also a series of distinct set pieces. There's all sorts going on here, rap, soul, blues/jazz, dub/trip hop - all blended expertly.  101FM is her calling card and one of the best summaries of what an artist is all about in ages.

Look at: '101FM', 'Offence', 'Boss' and 'Selfish'

2) 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (Part 2)' by Foals (UK Chart Number 1) 

The first act to fall foul of the rule normally applied to tracks (only one entry per artist), Foals released two albums (supposedly two halves) in 2019 and their second was thankfully their best.  I say thankfully, as ENSWBL Pt1 was good and probably would've featured somewhere lower down the Ten, but what could be worse than the anticipated second half being not as good as the first? Part 2 has two of the fiercest songs of their career, which is pretty fierce given their track record, in (appropriately) Black Bull and 'The Runner' which happens to be the loudest and yet catchiest they've managed - and the guitar noodling at four minutes in is sublime.  It ends with the melancholic, dream-like 'Into the Surf' and the majestic, epic of 'Neptune' - the album closer that sees the world overcome by its climate and washed away. This was the band's long overdue first number one album, but ironically I just couldn't place it there myself...

Look at: 'The Runner', 'Into the Surf' and 'Black Bull'

1) 'Remind Me Tomorrow' by Sharon Van Etten (UK Chart Number 30) 

Instead, that honour goes to Sharon Van Etten, an artist who I was more familiar with acting in The OA (rest in peace, fine tv show) than as a musician.  Because of that fact, her shift in 2019 to a more electronic/keyboard sound didn't impact me as it may have done her die-hard fans (not sure if it was of Dylan-esque proportions or just a gradual shift in tone).  Nevertheless, we can once again chalk up Glasto armchair watching to have really got me into yet another superb artist - see some of that right here.  The absolute highlight of the album, 'Seventeen', is such a joyous yet reflectively heart-rending track that it would perfectly soundtrack any number of '80's Kevin Bacon-starring teen movies when the protagonist finally achieves their goal and runs into the sunset - it is such a good tune and the video is everything you could wish for, especially at the climactic, screamed 'Afraid you'll be just like meeeee'. 'Comeback Kid' is a driving, anthemic electronic slice of cold perfection (and takes its place with several fine songs with that title). Although the album itself is far from one-note, there's a steely defiance throughout all of the tracks, sometimes sad, sometimes angry, reflective, even joyous in parts but never defeated.  Maybe that's the reason 'Remind Me Tomorrow' has resonated so much with me recently - we all will need a bit of that attitude as we head into 2020 - *punches the air with fingerless gloves*

Look at: 'Seventeen', 'No-one's Easy to Love', 'Comeback Kid'

You can listen to a fine selection of these albums over on Spotify here.

Random TTT Tracks of 2019

Ahead of the main course, a few tasters of the best tracks of 2019 and tunes from artists who didn't quite make it into the top ten albums...here

Includes Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Sigrid, SOAK, Drenge, Fat White Family, Lana Del Rey, Bat for Lashes, Jade Bird and Jenny Lewis.

If I had to encourage you to listen to one, rather than the more famous Bad Guy and Juice, I'd probably suggest the rather sublime SOAK's 'Maybe' with it's absolute instant ear worm of a chorus but which inexplicably wasn't even a single! You can take a horse to water...