Boards

Cue people muttering about how her vocals are awful/it's not as good as Hour Logic

And lots of stuff I've never heard of

But out of the albums I've enjoyed this year, I hope these ones might place:

Death Grips, Julia Holter, El-P, Holly Herndon, Dean Blunt's 'Narcissist II' mixtape

... for the year, so I'd be pretty pleased to see this album get the recognition it deserves.

for maybe ten minutes before realising its a list of artist names and albums - rather than say, a list of computer game cheat codes

Hyperdub Records

Laurel Halo number 1, Dean and Inga number 17, Cooly G number 41, Scratcha number 49 in the best albums of the year in the Wire Magazine - necessary Christmas purchases!

2. Sun Araw, M Geddes Gengras & the Congos
3. Actress

Hadn't heard of some of the others, Julia Holter was #8 though.

Some really great albums on there. Particularly recommend the Fushitsusha, Wadada Leo Smith, Brotzmann, Pye Corner Audio, Heatsick, Lee Gamble, Richard Skelton and Aaron Dilloway records.

01 Laurel Halo – Quarantine
02 Sun Araw & M Geddes Gengras meet The Congos – Icon Give Thank
03 Actress – R.I.P
04 Jakob Ullmann – Fremde Zeit – Addendum
05 Jason Lescalleet – Songs About Nothing
06 CC Hennix & The Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage – Live at the Grimm Museum Volume 1
07 Bob Dylan – Tempest
08 Julia Holter – Ekstasis
09 Carter Tutti Void – Transverse
10 Ricardo Villalobos – Dependent and Happy
11 Scott Walker – Bish Bosch
12 Josephine Foster – Blood Rushing
13 Fushitsusha – Mabushii Itazura Na Inori
14 Keiji Haino & Jim O’Rourke & Oren Ambarchi – Imikuzushi
15 Death Grips – The Money Store
16 Emptyset – Medium
17 Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland – Black Is Beautiful
18 Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
19 Various – Wandelweiser und so weiter
20 Morton Feldman – Crippled Symmetry: At June in Buffalo
21 Richard Skelton – Verse of Birds
22 The Bohman Brothers – Back on the Streets
23 Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d. city
24 Michael Pisaro & Toshiya Tsunoda – Crosshatches
25 Bass Clef – Reeling Skullways
26 Aaron Dilloway – Modern Jester
27 Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
28 Shackleton – The Drawbar Organ EPs / Music for the Quiet Hour
29 Rhodri Davies – Wound Response
30 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
31 Wadada Leo Smith – Ten Freedom Summers
32 Thomas Koner – Novaya Zemlya
33 Annea Lockwood – In Our Name
34 Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
35 Lee Gamble – Diversions 1994-1996
36 Heatsick – Deviation
37 Duane Pitre – Feel Free
38 Raime – Quarter Turns Over a Living Line
39 Swans – The Seer
40 Mark Ernestus presents Jeri-Jeri with Mbene Diatta Seck – Mbeuguel Dafa Nekh
41 Cooly G – Playin’ Me
42 Traxman – Da Mind of Traxman
43 DJ Rashad – Teklife Volume 1: Welcome to the Chi
44 Charles Gayle Trio – Streets
45 Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
46 Pye Corner Audio – Sleep Games
47 Peter Cusack – Sounds from Dangerous Places
48 Pelt – Effigy
49 DVA – Pretty Ugly
50 Peter Brotzmann & Masahiko Satoh & Takeo Moriyama - Yatagarasu

Some good records on there, but it's not made me desperate to check out anything that I'm not already aware of, which is unusual for a Wire list.

Still, Dave Keenan's used his end of year round-up to declare that if it's not released on private press, then it's not real music. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION.

Heard quite a few of them. Surprised to see Ariel Pink and Bob Dylan there. This list has reminded me that I've been meaning to get that Traxman album for ages. Laurel Halo is a very deserved number 1.

very little to discover - most of the stuff I've either heard or been meaning to listen to for a while anyway

didn't realise there was a new Richard Skelton album. I'll get that

...relieved to see the incredible new Josephine Foster record get some love.

conclusion - reissues are killing music

not bad, vocals are quite grating though. Surprising for The Wire to pick this as their album of the year but a good list none the less.

but I've only got 5 of these. Grrr...

or is The Wire leaning more towards electronic stuff these days, and away from jazz/compositional? Probably accounts for why I recognise so much of this list. Not that I mind but I wonder if it may piss off some readers.