Some albums have such a cover picture that you just instantly know they're going to be good. I remember first seeing this album in a record shop in Brighton and I just instantly knew that this is going to be good. And sure enough, after listening to it for a couple of times on Spotify, I decided to buy the album. Morgan Delt plays fresh and sunny psychedelia with strong 60's influences. Some of the songs are a bit generic, which is the reason why this album didn't make it to higher place on this list. But at best this album is pure gold. Sun Powers is probably my favourite song, combining catchy, yet innovative melodies with amazing space sounds that still sound analog enough. The lead vocals are very soft and work more as an instrument among others than as a storyteller. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I thought that this indie folk band's best days were already over, but I was happy to proof myself wrong. Away returns to their earlier sounds where the acoustic instruments play a big part. The songs are beautiful and well composed. I was lucky to see the band live a couple of months ago and that gig was one of the best I've seen all year. The album cover is absolutely beautiful. The singer-songwriter Will Sheff, who basically is this band, has an amazing skill to sing in a way that makes you hang on to every word he says. This album is just one of the proofs that nowadays you can be as retro as you want, because everything's already been done, but still you can find beauty in the melodies and stories that you put on your album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
This Californian band is a completely new find to me. It's not necessarily typical music for me to listen to, but something in it's haunting sounds appealed to me instantly. A dream-like hypnotic sound landscape dominates this album. The lead female vocals sound absolutely amazing. The high and clean vocals give a nice contrast with the raw and weeping electric guitars that are the other main feature of this album. The guitar solos are filled with reverb, overdrive and feedback. There are not that many songs on this album but they are long songs, which gives time for playing around and for experimentation with sounds and styles. The time for guitar-heroes is said to be over, but I disagree. There have been some amazing psychedelic rock albums coming out lately where the solo guitar takes back the main stage. this album is one of them. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Graham Nash is one of the old legends on this list. His 70's solo albums were excellent masterpieces in folk rock and everyone knows him best from his collaboration with Crosby, Stills and Young. I was really surprised to find out that not only did Graham Nash make a new album this year, he had actually made a really good album. Some might say that the sound is kind of adult orientated, but I don't mind saying that as an adult, I really like it. The melodies are amazing in their dark melancholy and the sounds are very classy, ranging from folk to 90's style weeping electric guitars. Nash's voice may not be as clear as it used to be in his old recordings, but there's a certain kind of experienced charisma that makes me want to hear what he has to say. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Here's another musical style that I thought was already dead, progressive rock. And to think that the best progressive rock album in years comes from John Lennon's son Sean Lennon and Primus' Les Claypool. This must be one of the biggest surprises on this list. The sounds are very modern and they use the echoes that are widely used in today's second coming of psychedelic rock. But there's no confusing it, this really is progressive rock in the same sense as it was in the 70's. There are lots of similarities to bands like King Crimson. The guitar work on this album is amazing and I just have to mention also the bass play that kind of reminds me of Primus, but on the other hand it resembles modern psychedelic rock bands like Temples even more. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I found King Creosote a couple of years ago. Back then I thought that this is a nice band, but nothing special. Astronaut Meets Appleton, however, raises the bar for the band. This album has amazing indie pop songs with excellent melodies and sounds. They use lots of acoustic instruments and in addition to normal band instruments you can hear for example accordion, violin, bagpipes and harp. One of my favourite things about this band is the fact that the vocals have been sung with amazing Scottish accent that really shines through. There's a great kind of ambition in this music. The sounds are big in the same way as they were in the late 90's indie albums. I guess the world is now ready to make retro of those times already. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Black Mountain had my attention already more than five years ago, but I was only ever thrilled about a couple of their individual songs. Now, for the first time, I think Black Mountain hit the goldmine with this fourth album of theirs. It's filled with larger than life songs with absolutely amazing haunting sounds. They put together some heavy guitars, psychedelia, melancholic indie rock and amazing talent in playing the instruments. Male and female vocals take turns in singing and they work really well together. At best this sounds like a modernised version of some of the early 70's Black Sabbath songs. I really enjoy the moments when the band really raises the buzzing and overdriven guitars to the skies. Listen to the album on Spotify.
If you know me, you know I have a soft spot for folk music. Also, I really like all of these three singer-songwriters and their music. Especially Veirs is one of my favourite singer-songwriters of all times. So, it's quite clear that when these three came together to make an album, it was going to be good. There are amazing vocal harmonies, excellent picked acoustic guitars and the production with it's variety of different instruments sounds phenomenal. There are some similarities to First Aid Kit's albums. All of the three singers have very recognisable voices and when they all sing taking turns and singing in harmonies, it sounds phenomenal. The songs take a bit of time to get into, but when you've listened to them a few times, you start to realise amazing little tricks and hooks. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I had a really difficult time deciding which of my top two would get the first place and which would get the second place. I decided to leave Bowie on the second place purely on the reason that this album is so difficult. It's kind of impossible to define a genre for Bowie's last masterpiece. It's partly jazz, partly indie and sometimes there are even elements of metal or Middle Eastern folk music. Blackstar is, for sure, his career's strangest album, but it was a perfect way for him to say goodbye to the world. It takes many listens to really get into this music and I'm afraid I might not have done that had he not died right after this album, but once you actually get in, the album is so rewarding. Lazarus and Dollar Days are my absolute favourites from this album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Leonard Cohen is another artist on this list that left an amazing goodbye album behind. It's quite amazing that at the age of 82, he managed to make one of the best albums of his career. The album is filled with amazing dark mood and the sounds are absolutely brilliant. His voice seems even lower than usual and again, the lyrics are just amazing. There are also many haunting moments on the album where it feels like he's talking from beyond the grave. The title track is absolutely brilliant, but otherwise I think the B-side of this album is even better than the first half. I kind of like that. It really makes you listen to the whole album. This album hasn't been out for such a long time yet, but it's already among the albums I've listened to the most this year, so it quite deservedly takes the first place on this list. Listen to the album on Spotify.
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