10. Floating Points - Crush
First on the list is a new discovery for me, a project of Mancunian Sam Shepherd. While sounding a bit fragmentary on first listen, this electronic music features a nice kaleidoscope blend of textures, sounds and great ideas. I've enjoyed this immensely, as well as discovering the rest of the artist's discography.
9. New Pornographers - In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights
It's been a while since a New Pornographers record made my top ten, but it hasn't stopped me religiously buying their music ever since their excellent 2000 debut, Mass Romantic, was released. If 2017's Whiteout Conditions was a return to form, In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights kicks their special brand of guitar-based power-pop up another notch again. There are plenty of tracks on this album that live with the Canadian supergroup's best, like 'Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile' and 'Opening Ceremony'.
8. James Blake - Assume Form
After his previously inconsistent and sometimes overly bleak records, Assume Form is a real breath of fresh air. James is evidently blissed up with new romance, which is explored from a variety of directions on the record's constituent tracks.
7. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs
Following 2015's excellent On Your Own Love Again, Quiet Signs was one of my most eagerly anticipated releases of 2019. What a different record this is. Whereas its predecessor was more of a collection of songs, Quiet Signs is more of a coherent and unified experience, with individual tracks fading into one another. More of a grower perhaps, but also a confident step forward in the career of promising singer-songwriter.
6. Gareth Quinn Redmond - Laistigh Den Ghleo
I came across this album bundled with the re-issue of Satoshi Ashikawa's ambient masterpiece, Still Way (1982), by WRWTFWW Records. On this record, Redmond develops some of the motif elements on Still Way to create a beautiful album that is so much more than a mere companion piece. Well worth checking out.
5. Ladytron - Ladytron
4. Holly Herndon - Proto
Much has been made of the use of the artificial intelligence 'Spawn' that features on this album, but for me this is a distraction. In essence, this is a super follow-up to the excellent Platform (2015), adding (amongst other things) choral interjections that take several of the tracks to new levels of weird climax.
3. Visible Cloaks, Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki Shibano - Serenitatem
Largely thanks to the impact of Visible Cloaks' album Reassemblage (2017), I have spent significant sums of money over the last few years tracking down obscure Japanese ambient, electronic, environmental, and new age music from the 1980s and early 90s. So naturally, the prospect of getting hold of a collaboration of Visible Cloaks with Japanese electronic/ambient maestro Yoshio Ojima and pianist extraordinaire Satsuki Shibano was going to be very exciting indeed. While it does live up to my expectations, I concede that many will find this obscure and perhaps somewhat cerebral. Still, a highly rewarding purchase if you can find the right moment/setting to listen to it in...
2. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
Hardly a stranger to top 10s in 2019, but this record really blew me away. I hadn't heard of Weyes Blood before, but as a consequence I now own their full back catalog... Tracks like 'Andromeda' and 'Everyday' are simply timeless, and the rest of the album is pretty strong too.
1. FKA Twigs - Magdalene
Perhaps another predictable choice, but Magdalene is hands-down the record that left the most indelible mark on me in 2019. While its impact was less immediate than say, Titanic Rising, Magdalene recieved most plays in the longer run. I liked her debut well enough, but there's far more depth, maturity and sophistication on this album than 2014's LP1 - I hope we don't have to wait another four years for the next one.
