As usual it really makes no sense to try and compile a top 50. There are obviously great albums not on this list --- not because I didn't like them, but because for whatever reason they never spent much time in my ears this year. So what we have is a list of 50 records that surprised, enriched, altered, bettered, saddened, angried-up, elevated my listening over the last 365 days. Hope you find a few new favourites.
01. 75 Dollar Bill - I Was Real (Thin Wrist Recordings)
02. Aldous Harding - Designer (4AD)
03. Alexander Tucker - Guild of the Asbestos Weaver (Thrill Jockey)
04. Anne Chris Bakker - Stof&Geest (Unknown Tone)
05. Benoît Pioulard - Sylva (Morr)
06. Big/Brave - A Gaze Among Them (Southern Lord)
07. Bill Callahan - Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (Drag City)
08. Black Midi - Schlagenheim (Rough Trade)
09. Bremer / McCoy - Utopia (Luaka Bop)
10. Carla dal Forno - Look Up Sharp (Kalista Records)
11. Cate Le Bon - Reward (Mexican Summer)
12. Chromatics - Closer To Grey (Italians Do it Better)
13. Cinematic Orchestra - To Believe (Ninja Tune)
14. Claude Fontaine - S/T (Innovative Leisure)
15. clipping. - There Existed an Addiction to Blood (Sub Pop)
16. Damien Jurado - In The Shape Of A Storm (Mama Bird Recording Co.)
17. Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? (4AD)
18. Earthen Sea - Grass and Trees (Kranky)
19. Ex:Re - S/T (Glass Note)
20. FACS- Lifelike (Trouble in Mind)
21. Fennesz - Agora (Touch)
22. FKA twigs - Magdalene (Young Turks)
23. Floating Points - Crush (Ninja Tune)
24. Fly Pan Am – C'est ça (Constellation)
25. Helado Negro - This is How You Smile (RVNG)
26. Hey Colossus - Four Bibles (Alter)
27. House and Land - Across the Field (Thrill Jockey)
28. Jane Weaver - Loops in the Secret Society (Fire)
29. Jay Som - Anak Ko (Polyvinyl)
30. Jenny Hval -The Practice Of Love (Sacred Bones)
31. Kim Gordon - No Home Record (Matador)
32. Lee "Scratch" Perry - Rainford (On-U Sound)
33. Lightning Dust - Spectre (Western Vinyl)
34. Maggie Rogers - Heard it in a Past Life (Capitol)
35. Mdou Moctar - Illana the Creator (Sahel Sound)
36. Mega Bog - Dolphine (Paradise of Bachelors)
37. Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron - Lost Wisdom 2 (P.W. Elverum and Sun)
38. Nivhek - After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house (Yellow Electric)
39. Oren Ambarchi - Simian Angel (editions Mego)
40. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains (Drag City)
41. Ride - This is Not a Safe Place (Wichita)
42. Saariselka - The Ground Our Sky (Temporary Residence)
43. Sandro Perri - Soft Landing (Constellation)
44. Seabuckthorn – Crossing (Eilean Rec)
45. Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs (Secretly Canadian)
46. Sunn O))) - Life Metal (Southern Lord)
47. Teeth of the Sea -Wraith (Rocket Recordings)
48. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride (Columbia)
49. Vanishing Twin - The Age of Immunology (Fire)
50. Wand - Laughing Matter (Drag City)
