Every year I wonder if this is finally the year where my love for music leaves me and there are times where I feel nothing will inspire me. Then a record comes along, one like Lana Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell for instance, that grabs hold of me and reminds me just why music has been so important to me all my life. For others it's a thing of their youth, a thing of nostalgia but, thankfully, for me it continues to be a huge comfort and joy.
In 2019 there were plenty of albums that helped my love of music endure: a lot from old favourites but thankfully some fantastic new discoveries too. There were a few disappointments, but nothing devastating, and a few I loved that didn't make the list. If I had made it a little longer I would have definitely included Bat For Lashes' atmospheric ode to 80s vampire movies Lost Girls, Ryan Bingham's foot-tapping raw and rootsy American Love Song and the dark, witty storytelling of what would tragically be David Berman's last ever album, Purple Mountains. I may add them later, who knows but until then these are the 11 albums that made the cut...
