What are your favorite albums of the year / of the last months?

[Wombat]

If there aren't new releases i stumble across today my favorite list for 2019 isn't to long again.

Mono - Nowhere Now Here
Nick Cave - Ghosteen
Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima
The Lumineers - III
Shannon Wright - Providence
Her Name Is Calla - Animal Choir

[mark wollschlager]

These are mine for 2019 ( in no real order ):
Bent Knee - You Know What They Mean
Akku Quintet - Depart
Messthetics - Anthropocosmic Nest
The Comet Is Coming - Trust In The Life Force Of The Deep Mystery
Frédéric L’Épée - The Empty Room

[RobbH]

Okay, I'm cheating. This was released in 1981. And the reissue I'm presenting here as my sole offering in the favorites of the year category came out in 2018. But I didn't hear about it until well into 2019, and I suspect many never heard of it.

Eye of the Storm by Chris Darrow and Max Buda

Chris Darrow and Max Buda were members of the 60s American band Kaleidoscope, not to be confused with the UK band of the same name, which was active at the same time. The US version of Kaleidoscope released four memorable albums between 1967 and 1970; the first three were memorable for their excellence. Darrow and Buda have collaborated on numerous projects since the band fell apart, including two Kaleidoscope reunions, in 1976 and 1990.

Like most of their work, the album defies easy categorization. As the Rick Griffin cover suggests, it's been called surf rock, and that probably works as well as any description, as long as your concept of surf rock can incorporate violin and dobro, among other unexpected sounds. What you won't find here is ego on display. I never get the sense that anybody's solo is shouting, "Hey, look at me." It's all about making music cooperatively. The ensembles are small, but in that sense they are orchestral.

I think it's available on several streaming services, and parts are on YouTube. A more detailed review is here;

https://theseconddisc.com/2018/12/03/review-chris-darrow-and-max-buda-eye-of-the-storm/

second edit: the title of the album is on the cover image, and in the linked review, but was missing from this text. Corrected

[garym]

Okay, I'm cheating. This was released in 1981. And the reissue I'm presenting here as my sole offering in the favorites of the year category came out in 2018. But I didn't hear about it until well into 2019, and I suspect many never heard of it.

Chris Darrow and Max Buda were members of the 60s American band Kaleidoscope, not to be confused with the UK band of the same name, which was active at the same time. The US version of Kaleidoscope released four memorable albums between 1967 and 1970; the first three were memorable for their excellence. Darrow and Buda have collaborated on numerous projects since the band fell apart, including two Kaleidoscope reunions, in 1976 and 1990.

Like most of their work, the album defies easy categorization. As the Rick Griffin cover suggests, it's been called surf rock, and that probably works as well as any description, as long as your concept of surf rock can incorporate violin and dobro, among other unexpected sounds. What you won't find here is ego on display. I never get the sense that anybody's solo is shouting, "Hey, look at me." It's all about making music cooperatively. The ensembles are small, but in that sense they are orchestral.

I think it's available on several streaming services, and parts are on YouTube. A more detailed review is here;

https://i1.wp.com/theseconddisc.com/...00%2C300&ssl=1

Yes! David Lindley was an original member of this band, Kaleidoscope.

[reinholdk]

I think it's available on several streaming services, and parts are on YouTube. A more detailed review is here;

https://i1.wp.com/theseconddisc.com/...00%2C300&ssl=1

Your link is pointing to the cover only. I assume you meant this one: https://theseconddisc.com/2018/12/03...-of-the-storm/

[RobbH]

Your link is pointing to the cover only. I assume you meant this one: https://theseconddisc.com/2018/12/03...-of-the-storm/

Thanks for the correction! I've edited the post.

[Pascal Hibon]

Well, well, well, bought only 5 albums from 2019 last year. The rest of the purchased albums are dated from the 70's till 2018.
In no particular order:

Ash Walker - Aquamarine
Cigarettes After Sex - Cry
Elbow - Giants Of All Sizes
Geike - Lost In Time
Arno - Santeboutique

[Blackfiction]

Here are mine (excluding classical);
De Staat - Bubble gum
Lana del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Balthazar - Fever
Durand Jones And The Indications - American Love Call
The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger

[Mycenius]

Have enjoyed some new local pop:

• BENEE - Life on Marzz EP
• BENEE - Stella and Steve EP

Plus some new albums from artists who are old favourites:

• Beck - Hyperspace
• Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
• Of Monsters And Men - Fever Dream
• Six60 - Six60 (2019 Self-Titled Album)*

* If you aren't familiar with Six60 all their albums and EPs are titled 'Six60' - so the year is the distinguishing identifier...

EDIT: P.S. I have Norah Jones & Lana Del Rey's new releases lined up for some belated listening in the coming weeks.

[Mycenius]

Elbow - Giants Of All Sizes

Pascal - how do you rate 'elbow' - just about to listen to the latest releases (I have never heard or heard of them before)?

-> Focal Electra 1028 Be

Beautiful - the 'Electras' are great speakers! Can't beat Focal's 'W' Cone Drivers and Beryllium Tweeters!

[reinholdk]

Thanks all for sharing your 2019 top albums.
I'm still in the process of exploring & listening. There are many artists I've never heard of before, but I've already bought some of the albums.

Rhiannon Giddens...
Bill Callahan...
Bruce Cockburn...

@RonM: I remembered you've recommended an album of Rhiannon Giddens already before. I can't understand why I've ignored that. Now I bought her new album and I find it quite exciting. I also bought and like Bill Callahan's. I already owned the Bruce Cockburn album. When I first listened to it, it reminded me of a German acoustic guitar duo being active in the late 70s and 80s, Martin Kolbe & Ralf Illenberger. While Kolbe had to retreat from music for a long time due to a disease, Illenberger was still quite active and is living in the US. Their 'Essentials' album was on my top list for 2017.

Mono...
Her Name Is Calla...

@Wombat: I have & like the Mono album as well. Now I bought the Her Name Is Calla album. Too bad they broke up now!

[Pascal Hibon]

Pascal - how do you rate 'elbow' - just about to listen to the latest releases (I have never heard or heard of them before)?

I "discovered" Elbow through a life concert with the BBC orchestra many years ago. I had heard them before but didn't quite noticed them until that particular concert.
As a result of that concert I bought their album The Seldom Seen Kid. That's a great album. At this time, Elbow played several big Belgian famous music festivals. And due to this also had a lot of radio coverage on StuBru (an important rock radio station). I became a fan of Elbow :-)

I also own a copy of their Build a Rocket Boys!, Little Fictions and Giants of All Sizes albums. Their latest album is probably my least favorite but that still can change as I listen to it a couple of times more.
So, all in all, I quite like Elbow. They are also a great life band.

Beautiful - the 'Electras' are great speakers! Can't beat Focal's 'W' Cone Drivers and Beryllium Tweeters!

Yes, these are great speakers. i have them for several years now and they get daily use. the Beryllium tweeters are in a league of their own.
Focal have nice speakers in different budget ranges and they are usually not difficult to drive either.
Very happy with my 1028Be's !

[Mycenius]

I "discovered" Elbow through a life concert with the BBC orchestra many years ago. I had heard them before but didn't quite noticed them until that particular concert. As a result ...So, all in all, I quite like Elbow. They are also a great life band.

Cool - I will get on with listening to them!! I think its the latest album I have in my library - but might be one from a couple of years ago...

Yes, these are great speakers. i have them for several years now and they get daily use. the Beryllium tweeters are in a league of their own. Focal have nice speakers in different budget ranges and they are usually not difficult to drive either. Very happy with my 1028Be's !

Indeed, Indeed - the light weight ultra rigid "W" Cone makes them super easy to drive with nearly anything (compared to something like B&W with Kevlar drivers, super rigid too but so so heavy you need a power amp with lots of Ooommmph to control them)... I used to sell Hi-Fi, inc. full Focal range, in NZ for a while...

[reinholdk]

2020

2020 was certainly a hard year for many people in various aspects.
Music-wise it was a mixed experience for me.
Regarding live concerts it was the worst year ever for me since the four decades I'm visiting concerts: nichts, nada, nothing.
But I'm still buying albums as before and enjoying listening at home. Due to working in home office for most of the year this even increased.

Currently there are 90 albums released in 2020 in my library.

My favorite album of the year is Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods.
Lunatic Soul is the side project of Riverside's singer and bass player Mariusz Duda, who plays all instruments on this album.
While his previous Lunatic Soul albums sounded more electronic, the new one is an acoustic folk/rock album.
I'd recommend buying the 2-CD version which comes with 3 additional tracks where one is a 27-minutes track reminding me a bit to Mike Oldfield.

So my top ten are these:

Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods
Crippled Black Phoenix - Ellengæst
Matthew Halsall - Salute to the Sun
Jonathan Hultén - Chants From Another Place
Nubya Garcia - Source
Nick Cave - Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace
Nighthawks - Only (Vocal Tunes 2004-2016)
Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2019
The Waterboys - Good Luck, Seeker
Joe Bonamassa - Royal Tea

And here are some more I'd recommend, in alphabetical order:

Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison
Ane Brun - After The Great Storm
Ane Brun - How Beauty Holds the Hand of Sorrow
Dion - Blues With Friends
The Dream Syndicate - The Universe Inside
Eels - Earth to Dora
Gazpacho - Fireworker
Glass Museum - Reykjavik
GoGo Penguin - GoGo Penguin
Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
Christian Kjellvander - About Love and Loving Again
Robby Krieger - The Ritual Begins at Sundown
Kruder & Dorfmeister - 1995
Mino Cinelu & Nils Petter Molvær - Sulamadiana
Agnes Obel - Myopia
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
The Pineapple Thief - Versions of the Truth
Robert Plant - Digging Deep: Subterranea
Toots & The Maytals - Got To Be Tough
Nils Wülker - Go

Wishing you all a happy and healthy year 2021!

[sitro0]

December 2020 , today

I'm listening Zaz :