From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #2688 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, January 3 2020 Volume 16 : Number 2688 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Best Albums of 2019 [Tim Jones-Yelvington ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2020 11:38:32 -0600 From: Tim Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Best Albums of 2019 I also thought this year was slow while it was happening, but by the eended up having quite a few things I likedb ~STONECHILD, Jesca Hoop (Shoulder Charge was my favorite song of the year) ~there is no other, Rhiannon Giddens (the collaboration w/ francesco turrisi brought an appealing haunted quality to her work) ~Blood, Kelsey Lu (this is incredible, maybe the best record of the year for me) ~MAGDALENE, fka twigs (she finally let her voice sound as weird and wild as the production choices) ~Lost Girls, Bat for Lashes (you can find my thoughts in a previous email to the group) ~In the End, The Cranberries ~Pearl, Heather Nova (these two were both welcome throwbacks to their 90s sounds that still offered more than just nostalgia) ~While My Father Sleeps, Oh Rose (she's a full throated, big voiced, singer-songwritery, slightly punky type in the PJ Harvey vein) ~Anak Jo, Jay Som (she brought a lot of new texture and mood to her work that made this much more appealing to me than her previous record) ~The Center Won't Hold, Sleater Kinney (getting the St Vincent synth pop treatment made this band whose existence I have always appreciated in the abstract much more palatable to me) ~Crush on Me, Sir Babygirl (DIY pop with a lot of personality, very queer) ~Out of the Moment, Emily Bezar (DUH) ~No Words Left, Lucy Rose ~Quiet Signs, Jessica Pratt (these last two sometimes felt like they were singing to me in different yet compatible voices and mournful open tunings from opposite sides of Laurel Canyon, Jessica in a whisper) ~Birth of Violence, Chelsea Wolfe (someone else herebwas it Neile?b agreed that like me, they've had trouble penetrating her "gothy noise," so this dark folk record was a wonderful way to finally connect with her work. It sounds a lot like Emma Ruth Rundle's SOME DEEP OCEAN, which was one of my favorites of the decade ~Between Blood and Ocean, Courtney Swain (still one of my favorite lesser known, very ecto friendly and relevant indie artists) ~Sonocardiogram, DaymC) Arocena (she's an amazing afrocubana vocalist, and this record really worked well as a record) ~Jaime, Brittany Howard (I was surprised by how much I got into this because I didnt think her voice + rootsy vibe was really my thing) ~12 Little Spells, Esperanza Spalding (I thought this one might be *too* avant garde to connect w/ when it first came out... but Ive since connected, a lot, lol) ~Athena, Sudan Archives (builds on and expands the promise of earlier EP, definitely one of the most talented/interesting people in left of center R & B) ~Mystery, Alice Smith (this is a maxi-EP ... 7 tracks, I think? and about 30 minutes ... that I almost missed and am so glad I found. One her previous records she was more of a classic soul revivalist, but this is something else entirely, really intense + haunting, can't say enough good things about it). ~Fanm d'Ayiti, Natalie Joachim (this is an amazing 'new music / contemporary classical' project where Natalie who is an immensely talented flautist/vocalist/composer created new settings w/ the string ensemble SPEKTRAL for haitian women's music and resistance narratives) ~MASTER, Mariah the Scientist (the sound here is more straight up mainstream/pop-aspirant R & B, albeit indie, but I like her voice a lot more than some of the folks getting more attention) HM: ~All Mirrors, Angel Olsen ~Remind me Tomorrow, Sharon Van Etten (w/ both these artists, I found more to connect w/ than I have previously in their choice to use more electronic and less rock oriented settings that feel like they more heavily feature their voices) ~Nicole Kidman/Anne Hathaway, Hana Vu ~Envejeciendo, Maria Usbeck On Tue, Dec 31, 2019 at 10:53 AM Jeffrey Hanson wrote: > This was a pretty slow year for music for me - having bought much fewer > albums than in previous years. However, my favorites of the year: > > Ghosteen - Nick Cave and the Bad Seed > Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep > Yazoo - 3 Pieces - great remasters + the sublime remix of Winter Kills by > Minute Taker > Half-a-Shipwreck - Covers > The Highwomen - The Hiighwomen > Mari Boine - See the Woman > Camille Ob Sullivan - Camille Sings Cave Live > Joseph - Good Luck, Kid > Berlin - Transcendence > Bananarama - In Stereo > Shakespeareb s Sister - Singles Party (Remastered single collection with a > few new songs) > Lucius - Nudes (Came out in 2018) > > > Albums looking forward to in 2020 > Maria McKee - La Vita Nuova > Jewel - not sure if its titled yet, but will be her first album of all new > material since Pieces of You ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #2688 ****************************