Music/ 2019

Not to trumpet my preferences as to who released the “best records of 2018” but to remember what my life was like year by year, and to do that by tracing its soundtrack.

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Year in Music 2013

This was a pretty great year for music, as all serious critics seem to agree. Last year, I couldn't find anything to listen to apart from the heartbreaking Perfume Genius record and "Bloom" by Beach House, which I practically played out.

By contrast, this year I had a full list of favorites by halfway through. Some make appearances on many critics' year-end lists; others aren't mentioned anywhere, from what I can see. When I look back at 2013, from any vantage of later years, I'll remember it as the time I was listening to and loving these records:

Hummingbird
By Local Natives
Muchacho
By Phosphorescent
Modern Vampires of the City
By Vampire Weekend
Remedies Ahead
Very Fine Records

At least as much as any of these records, I loved a little release by an Icelandic band called Hynmalaya. They have no distribution deal in America, and haven't even bothered to set-up an Amazon page with a few of their CD's, but they're giving away the whole record (MP3) free on their website. It's quiet and beautiful music, with full string and horn sections that seem to know their place, as so few such sections do. And lyrically, it reminds me of the best book I read this year, which you should also seek out. 

Runners-up

  • Junip Self-Titled

  • The Love Language Ruby Red

  • Veronica Falls Waiting for Something to Happen

  • Foxygen We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic