22. Fruit Bats

22. Fruit Bats - Gold Past Life

Getting to see Fruit Bats live finally this year was certainly a highlight of 2019. The group has been around since the early 2000's and has definitely been a favorite of mine. Eric D. Johnson is the frontman and his poetic lyrics do not hold back on this particular album.



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23. OK Sweetheart

23. OK Sweetheart - Some Space

OK Sweetheart did, in fact, get their name from a fan mentioning that, Erin Austin, the group's founding member, was Oklahoma's Sweetheart. Starting in Denton, Texas, the band is now a four piece residing in Seattle. This is their second album in eight years and it is incredible. The band played Norman Music Festival and is involved in the non-profits' Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice and 'This Machine', the Woody Guthrie themed campaign for social equality and justice.



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24. Wilco

24. Wilco - Ode To Joy

Wilco hasn't made the blog since 2011, but this particular album deserves more attention than that. Paring everything down, Tweedy and gang have produced a quiet, soulful album with room-filling sonics. Since first listen I have been impacted by this album.



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25. Jenny Lewis

25. Jenny Lewis - On The Line

What else can I say about this awesome song maker that I haven't already said? The former member of Rilo Kiley has always had my heart. When she puts out an album, it is always great.



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26. Stef Chura

26. Stef Chura - Midnight

Only her second album, produced by Will Toledo from Car Seat Headrest, the Detroit Rocker delivers a powerful grungy rock record. With more clarity than her first, Midnight gives us twelve songs somewhere between punk and garage rock finishing with an amazing Billy Idol cover.



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27. Joan Shelley

27. Joan Shelley - Like The River Loves The Sea

If I hadn't known better, I would have placed this album in the 60's folk movement. Kentucky resident, Joan Shelley, strips it all down to nothing but the basics for this album. I am super happy I came across this album this year, it is all kinds of fantastic.



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28. The Japanese House

28. The Japanese House - Good At Falling

Amber Bain from Buckinghamshire is The Japanese House. She has some help from her friend, George Daniel of The 1975. Named after a house she stayed in as a child owned by Kate Winslet, The Japanese House is shoegaze pop band reminding me of Everything But The Girl. Her dad taught her to play Stairway to Heaven when she was 11.



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29. Foals

29. Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1

Foals current lineup consists of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith and keyboardist Edwin Congreave. This is the first half to two albums they released this year, Part 1 was released in March and Part 2 was released in October. I find Part 1 to be more coherent and Foals like. Part 2 takes on a different character, however I have had much more time to get into Part 1.



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30. Peter Perrett

30. Peter Perrett - Humanworld

Peter Perrett was the frontman for the early 80's band The Only Ones. He has emerged from retirement with his second solo album. I don't know what led him to seek this creative outlet in his late 60's, but I'm glad he did, it gives me hope.



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31. Angel Olsen

31. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors

Angel Olsen made the blog in both 2014 and 2016. Another prolific songstress, this album incorporates a 12 piece strings section. It adds power and beauty to her already compelling voice and music.



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32. Ezra Furman

32. Ezra Furman - Twelve Nudes

Ezra Furman made the list last year as well, here. The Chicago native has been prolific since his split with the Harpoons. A heavy punk, in your face album, this album doesn't ask your permission.



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33. Frankie Rose

33. Frankie Rose - Seventeen Seconds

If you have followed this blog at all over the years, it should come as no surprise that Frankie Rose made this list again, after making it in 2010, 2012 and 2017. This, of course, is a complete cover of The Cure's 1980 album and it is magnificent.



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34. Kishi Bashi

34. Kishi Bashi - Omoiyari

Omoiyari is like empathy, it translates roughly to creating compassion for other people by thinking about them. There are a lot of people in my life doing this for me right now, so I can appreciate an album created around this concept. Kishi Bashi is violinist/instrumentalist extraordinaire. This is his fourth album and is directed at the state of America right now in its current political disarray.



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35. half*alive

35. half*alive - Now, Not Yet

half*alive is a band from Long Beach, California and is comprised of lead singer Josh Taylor, drummer Brett Kramer and bassist J Tyler Johnson. Their genres collide with indie pop, the 60's and 70's, R&B and Jazz and funk.



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36. Sharon Van Etten

36. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow

Sharon Van Etten's fifth album is a powerful, piercing display of broken relationships and the joys of raising a child. She hails from New Jersey and has written one of her most cohesive albums to date.



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