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Here we go again, my annual round-up of my musical year. Something old, something new and something for everyone. January brought my favourite film of the year, The Holdovers and with it two absolute classics that fitted the mood perfectly, Damian Jurados’ Silver Joy, used on the opening credits, and the majestic, uplifting Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying by Labi Siffre (recently and movingly used on the TV show ‘Alma’s Not Normal). Sometime in February I fell down a Mark Kozelek rabbithole listening to a lot of his recent, somewhat patchy output but it did encourage me to add this classic Modest Mouse cover to a playlist that stayed with me for the rest of the year.

A covers album of Talking Heads’ ‘Stop Making Sense’ caught my attention early in the year, and this Spanish language version of ‘Slippery People’ was for me the standout track. I don’t drive much these days, preferring the bike to get around town but I have a strong memory of listening to an interview with Conor from Villagers preceding this beautiful track, I pulled over to make a note of it. Another radio find, tipped hat to Guy Garveys’ Sunday show on 6music, was this slice of folky Americana by John Moreland. As spring eased into Summer and with the sun streaming through the windows this track came on the radio and remained on a playlist through the subsequent wind and rain. Summer was in full effect by early June when I took a roadtrip from Bilbao to Faro in a 1980’s convertible BMW. 10 hours on the road was accompanied by a selection of album cassette tapes; Bruce Springsteen, U2, Fleetwood Mac but the highlight was listening again to Nightswimming from REM’s peerless ‘Automatic for the People’.

To Japan next, I heard this slice of early 2000’s jazztronica over a high-end soundsystem in an elegant coffee shop in Tokyo, a perfect blend. The Oasis reunion tour was all over the news late Summer for many of the wrong reasons but exceptional and good value music experiences can still be had. We went to Bristol over the bank holiday weekend and saw a line-up that included Baxter Drury, Cmat, Yard Act and LCD Soundsystem. However, by common consent the highlight was a back-to back set by Floating Points followed by Four Tet - Transformative. A new album by Fontaines DC is always welcome and the latest didn’t disappoint, this song was all over the radio but never outstayed its welcome.

‘Magic on my back’, an uplifting track with a rumbling baseline kept spirits high as summer eased into Autumn. Changing down a couple of gears, this little gem by Oisin Leach just about perfectly matched the season of mellow fruitlessness. Great songs about swimming a few and far between, notwithstanding the above. I spent much of August and September preparing for a long distance sea swim in Ibiza, so it was serendipity that led me to the gorgeous ‘Big Swimmer’ by King Hannah and Sharon Von Etten. I survived the swim and the song remains a favourite from this year, from any year. A trip to the Barbican in October to see Bill Ryder Jones perform his album ‘Icheya Da’ in full, supported by a 15-piece orchestra was a sublime experience, ‘This Can’t Go On’ a highlight amongst many, my song of the year. I was back at the Barbican again in early November to see Alan Sparhawk, founder member of the band Low who tragically lost his wife and bandmate last year. Poignantly, he was joined on stage by their son on bass - a cathartic, eerie but ultimately life-affirming evening.

Ok, we’re on the home run. MJ Lenderman was one of the breakout artists of the year and with good reason, Joker Lips a perfect slice of modern Americana. To Australia next and the sound of young Bondi, this feelgood number from Royal Otis had me metaphorically dancing round the living room. I didn’t manage any long distance cycling adventures this year which left me in a wistful frame of mind as the year drew to a close. I remember using this Iron and Wine track on a cycling video I made a few years ago - genius at work both from the original New Order track and on this sublime interpretation. That’s your lot - Happy New Year to one and all.