Music is a way for me to soundtrack life and the moments in it. My favorites–songs, albums, EPs–are often part of my soundtrack, tying back to memorable moments that can be invoked and re-invoked by just hearing the notes. I think the sentimental attachment can take a great piece of work and make it personal, where you explore the contours of the sounds and feel a bit closer to the art and the moment. My favorite album of 2019 is no different.
2019 started with a terrible illness that took weeks to shake and then recover from. When the time came, a song came out on an amazing album. That song, Back in My Body, on that album, Heard it in a Past Life, was quite literal to me at first. It stuck with me throughout the year because it was a pivotal moment in my life: I met the love of my life at the same time.
We shared a love of this album from early on and we were lucky to see Maggie Rogers together later in the year.
This is a my favorite and the most important album of the year for me; for what I go back to, for what I associate with it, and for what I love. I hope everyone’s album of the year is similar.
- “Give a Little”
- “Overnight”
- “The Knife”
- “Alaska”
- “Light On”
- “Past Life”
- “Say It”
- “On + Off”
- “Fallingwater”
- “Retrograde”
- “Burning”
- “Back in My Body”
Albums of the year from years past, include:
- Mt. Joy by Mt. Joy (2018)
- I Love You Like a Brother by Alex Lahey (2017)
- Painting of a Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit (2016)
- The Positions by Gang of Youths (2015)
- Islands by Bear’s Den (2014)
- White Lighter by Typhoon (2013)
- Lonesome Dreams by Lord Huron (2012)
- The Year of Hibernation by Youth Lagoon (2011)
- Passive Me, Aggressive You by The Naked and Famous (2010)