Mid-Year Report: Favourite Albums, EPs and Songs of 2019 (so far)

Hey it’s mid-year and a perfect time for pointless lists. So count me in. Here’s some of the music I’ve listened and loved the most during the first half of 2019. I didn’t spend ages on this one, so I’m sure I forgot something super important. Obviously there’s so much I just haven’t listened to enough at this point of the year. That’s why there’s no Bill Callahan for example. I know I will love that record, but I haven’t listened to it all that much so far. These are in pretty random-ish order. Just picked the biggest favorite of each category and then just wrote what popped into my head. Maybe they are a bit top heavy, but flipping them over wouldn’t really make them any worse. Steve Sloane’s song Let All In and the albums from Matthew Milia and Ylva Haru have shaped my year and are able stand out even from this brilliant crowd. Nevertheless, I love all of these and I could also quite easily triple these lists without any drop in quality. Doing the playlist every week has really skyrocketed my already excessive listening habits and I’ve already heard over 100 albums that I like. So this is just a small sample of all the great music 2019 has given us. I have to quit the blog before the actual year-end lists. Otherwise I will end up doing something absolutely ridiculous like a list of TOP 200 albums. Anyway, here’s the quick mid-year report. Back to normal duty on Sunday with the weekly playlist.

ALBUMS – INTERNATIONAL

Matthew Milia – Alone at St. Hugo (Sitcom Universe)

Anna Tivel – The Question (Fluff & Gravy Records)
The Delines – The Imperial (El Cortez / Decor)
Caroline Spence – Mint Condition (Rounder Records)
Steve Sloane – Near Death
Damien Jurado – In The Shape of a Storm (Mama Bird Recording Co / Loose Music)
Shane Leonard – Strange Forms (Wayward Chicken)
Erin Durant – Islands (Keeled Scales)
Julia Jacklin – Crushing (Transgressive Records)
Ian Daniel Kehoe – Secret Republic (You’ve Changed Records/ Tin Angel Records)
Tiny Ruins – Olympic Girls (Marathon Artists)
Pony Bradshaw – Sudden Opera (Rounder Records)
Ian Noe – Between the Country (National Treasury Recordings)
Kassi Valazza – Dear Dead Days
Bob Sumner – Sings Wasted Love Songs
Craig Finn – I Need a New War (Partisan Records)
Clara Baker – Things To Burn
Robert Ellis – Texas Piano Man (New West Records)
Katie Spencer – Weather Beaten (KRS Music)
Steve Lambke – Dark Blue (You’ve Changed Records)
Charles Wesley Godwin – Seneca
M. Lockwood Porter – Communion in the Ashes (Black Mesa Records)
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings – Arguably OK (Mama Bird Recording Co)
Natural Bridges – Residual Daydreams (Royal Oakie)
China – And Then Nothing Happened (Royal Oakie)
Jeremy Squires – Poem
Bedouine – Bird Songs of a Killjoy (Spacebomb)
Steven Lambke – Dark Blue (You’ve Changed Records)
Small Houses – I Don’t Know What’s Safe
Yola – Walk Through Fire (Easy Eye Sound)

Bonus: Harrison Whitford – Afraid Of Everything (Screwdriver Records) (first time on LP/CD)

ALBUMS – FINLAND

Ylva Haru – Linnut (Soit Se Silti)

Sur-rur – Hattarahiukset (Joteskii Groteskii / Roku Records)
Salaliitto – Puolet (Soit Se Silti)
Hullu Ruusu – Rehab (Helmi Levyt)
Janne Tapion Sisäinen Avaruus – Maapallon Hautajaiset (Lumpeela Julkaisut)
H.C.Slim – Sings (Svart Records)
Joose Keskitalo – En lähde surussa (Helmi Levyt)
Lokit – Lokit LP (Combat Rock Industry / Joteskii Groteskii / Roku Records)
Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki – Viisi vuotta myöhemmin (Soit Se Silti)
M – Näytän missä asun (Solina)

EPS – INTERNATIONAL

Twain – New Miami Sound EP (from two EPs) (Keeled Scales)

Tiffany Williams – When You Go
Charlie Whitten – Tiny Horse
Kathryn Legendre – Making It Up (Shotgun House)
Johanna Samuels – Have a Good One (Basin Rock)
Charlie Marie – Charlie Marie
Lydia Cole & Hailey Beavis – Among Horses IV (Son Canciones)
The Rumblings of Spring – The Rumblings of Spring
Erin Rae – Putting On Airs 4 Track Demos EP (Single Lock)
Courtney Marie Andrews – Acoustic EP (Loose Music / Fat Possum / Mama Bird Recording Co)

EPS – FINLAND

MeriTuuli – Yö Saimaalla

Tams – Aikahyppy 1 EP
Eden Prairie – Ana Lucia

SONGS – INTERNATIONAL

Steve Sloane – Let All In

Joanna Sternberg – This is Not Who I Want to Be (Team Love)
Matthew Milia – Alive at the Same Time (Sitcom Universe) (or well any other song from his album)
Matthew Ryan – On Our Death Day
Anna Tivel – The Question (Fluff & Gravy)
Caroline Spence – Sit Here & Love Me (Rounder Records)
Le Ren – Love Can’t Be The Only Reason to Stay
Erin Durant – Rising Sun (Keeled Scales)
Christian Lee Hutson – Northsiders
Julia Jacklin – Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You (Transgressive Records)
Pony Bradshaw – Josephine (Rounder Records)
Charles Wesley Godwin – Seneca Creek (Seneca)
Tiffany Williams – Big Enough to Be A Mountain
Ian Daniel Kehoe – Evil People (You’ve Changed Records / Tin Angel Records)
Micah Schnabel – New Shoes
Craig Finn – Something to Hope For (Partisan Records)
Esther Rose – Don’t Blame it on the Moon (Father/Daughter Records)
Kassi Valazza – Mama
Robert Ellis – Father (New West Records)
The Delines – Holly The Hustle (El Cortez / Decor)
Damien Jurado – South (Mama Bird Recording Co)
Rachel Toups – Foxes (Peconic)
Emily Scott Robinson – Dress
Ryan Tanner – A Hymn for Me and You
Bob Sumner – Ticket To Ride
Katie Spencer – Weather Beaten (KRS Music)
Ian Noe – Letter To Madeline (National Treasury Recordings)
Charlie Shafter – Chainsaw
Twain – Death (or S.F.?) (Keeled Scales)
red steppes – Madera (Native Cat Recordings)
Black Sea Dahu – How You Swallowed Your Anger

And here’s an ongoing “best of” 2019 playlist. I put these on top, but there’s about 150 more that are equally good. I think that Steve Sloane song is the one that I love the most, but other than that I could have just as well put this playlist on shuffle and the result would be as good as the list above.

SONGS – FINLAND

Amuri – Halla (Helmi Levyt)

Ylva Haru – Oikeiden luona (and/or Tähän hetkeksi jään) (Soit Se Silti)
Janne Tapion Sisäinen Avaruus – Kaikki oli paremmin ennen (Lumpeela Julkaisut)
Sur-rur – Fleetwood Macin villi välikausi (Joteskii Groteskii / Roku Records)
Iron Country Sisters – Leaves (Soit Se Silti)
Astral Brain – The Field Trip (perhaps this should be on the international list)
Kielo Kärkkäinen – Keitä me olemme (Texicalli)
Hulda Huima – Outo tyttö (Helmi Levyt)
Jari Raaste – Ilmalaiva (Fonal Records)
Maustetytöt – Se oli SOS / Tein kai lottorivini väärin (Is This Art?)

And same as above. Lots more finnhits on this ongoing playlist that features my favorite Finnish songs of the year.