Top Ten Albums of the Year – Editors’ Choice
by M. Quinn

Just what the world needs, another list of albums! I think the only point of these lists is to get a few names of albums you may have missed during the year and check them out! There’s more than a few worth exploring below. The nicest thing about this list is how much Irish music there is on the, and all there on merit!

20. sir Was – Holding On To A Dream

19.  Modern  Nature – How to Live
18.  A Winged Victory for the Sullen – The Undivided Five
17.  Big Thief – Two Hands
16.  Josephine Wiggs – We Fall

15.  Chastity Belt -Chastity Belt
14.  Fionn Regan – Cala
13.  Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
12.  Kevin Morby – Oh My God
11.  Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel

10.   The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears

9.    Girl Band – The Talkies

8.    Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow

This is guitar rock at its best. 17 was a wonderful single, and a song I came back to time and time again!

7.    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen

Nick Cave faced up to his ghosts on this most unusual work. Best listened to in one sitting while giving it the attention it deserves.

6.    Beirut – Gallipoli

I’ve no idea why this album was glossed over but it deserves so much praise. Just great to have Zach Condon back releasing music after a four year gap.

5.    Tindersticks – No Treasure But Hope

Another band that almost disappeared from the public consciousness! They returned to their best with this release.

4.    Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest

Any new work from Bill Callahan is something to get excited about. This album finds him in a happier place, with a wife and a child. Trivia fans will be delighted to know his son’s name is Bass.

3.    Aldous Harding – Designer

Another album that caught me at the right moment. I listened to little else for a month or more.

2.    Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains

It’s time to mark the passing of a legend, even if he didn’t know it himself. David Cloud Berman was a musician, poet, cartoonist and much more besides. Everything he created contained his wonderful dry sense of humour.

1.    Julia Jacklin – Crushing

A pop gem that people will surely come back to for years to come. 2019 saw her play in Ireland three times, the first in Whelans, then a two date residency in the Button Factory. Her star continues to rise and if she continues to release albums of this quality, who knows where she could go next!