{"id":32306,"date":"2020-01-02T14:31:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T12:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lauramccullagh.com\/blog\/?p=32306"},"modified":"2020-01-11T14:09:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T12:09:23","slug":"music-2019-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lauramccullagh.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/music-2019-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Music: 2019 in review"},"content":{"rendered":"
MUSIC<\/div>\n

2019 was a varied and somewhat disjointed year for me. I spent a lot of time on autopilot, in many ways. Looking back now at the topography, both personal and musical, of the last 12 months most of it all blurs together into a flat landscape<\/a>, punctuated by the occasional hills and ditches. There was some music that really spoke to me and provided sustained periods of elevation…and a lot that I enjoyed for a while but ultimately lost appeal quite quickly.<\/p>\n

As usual, I find the data from last.fm<\/a>\u00a0(breakdown here<\/a>) really interesting and informative in making sense of\u00a0 my listening habits from the last year; here’s a look at my favourite music from 2019.<\/p>\n

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A L B U M S<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes there’s a surprising disconnect between my emotive choices for my favourite albums\/tracks etc vs. the actual number of listens. This is the case this year across the board for me, I think mostly because some stuff I listened to a lot but already know I’m unlikely to listen to it much in the future, whereas other stuff definitely hits the emotional connection that promises staying power and the likelihood of becoming a future staple.<\/p>\n

While a solid album, based only on repeated listens Tool’s Fear Inoculum<\/em> does not come out tops (the tracks are long and best listened to in one go, making it harder to listen to on shuffle or in isolation, affecting the play count) but based on, for lack of a better description, cultural significance, it earns the top spot of 2019 for me. I wrote some thoughts on the album in more depth for Texx and the City, check it out over here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like Tool, The National<\/a> are firm favourites of mine and while their 2019 release\u00a0I am Easy to Find\u00a0<\/em>takes stylistic directions I’m not inherently fond of it’s an enjoyable album with some solid tracks that I’d rank among the band’s best.<\/p>\n

Awash with synths, reverb and general 80s vibes, Drab Majesty’s\u00a0Modern Mirror\u00a0<\/em>makes for easy listening with some of the catchiest riffs and melodies of the year. Again with some obvious standout tracks but holding together really cohesively, it’s been heavily repeated since its July release.<\/p>\n

Favourite albums:<\/strong><\/p>\n