I know I may be in the minority here, but I love an end of year list. On the off-chance that you do too, here are several lists you might enjoy.

You may have heard Mark Kermode‘s final Scala Radio show of 2019 in which he unveiled his Top 5 film scores of the year. I’d naively assumed he shared my love of ‘best of’ lists. He doesn’t.

With that in mind, and taking great pains to stress this is a movable feast of sorts, Mark’s list is:

• 5) For Sama – Nainita Desai
• 4) Out of Blue – Clint Mansell
• 3) In Fabric – Cavern of Anti-Matter
• 2) Monos – Mica Levi
• 1) Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir

It’s a belter of a list but it’s not one I can share wholeheartedly as I haven’t seen all of the films. Whilst I’m a firm believer that movie music should be able to exist and be enjoyed apart from the film for which it was composed, I don’t feel I can judge the scores on an equal footing.

This leads me to the first list: Best Scores of 2019 from Films I Haven’t Seen Yet – and yes, I know I need to see them:

• 5) Tell It To The Bees – Claire M Singer
• 4) For Sama – Nainita Desai
• 3) The Farewell – Alex Weston
• 2) The King – Nicholas Britell
• 1) Out of Blue – Clint Mansell

I first heard Claire M Singer’s music performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra at the ComposHer concert in June, a brilliant showcase of women composers for film, TV and video games. Nainita’s music was also performed at the event, and she’s been kind enough to send me advance previews of her film and game scores for broadcast on Scala Radio.

Which leads me to this plea: send me your music! Mark and I are really keen to cover a broad range of film composers on the show, and we feature at least one woman composer every week. I know that’s far from perfect, and we have a long way to go, but it’s a step in the right direction.

I hadn’t come across Alex Weston before, but discovered him thanks to The Farewell, and to Mark’s loyal listeners who send in so many brilliant suggestions of movie music for us to play. We received so many emails about this warm and gentle score, and Mykal Kilgore‘s vocals in cues like ‘Grandma on the Roof‘ are just lovely.

Nicholas Britell is one of the finest living composers around, a real master at getting emotion out of strings. His work on Moonlight was exceptional, and Battle of the Sexes is well worth getting to know too. I’m not in any rush to watch The King, but Britell’s score has his trademark aching beauty and I’ll happily listen to it on loop.

Clint Mansell’s music for Out of Blue is a unique listening experience. Dreamy, hypnotic, and so different from his other scores. He’s one of my favourite film composers because he brings something new to each project; there’s no discernible Clint Mansell ‘sound’, and he’s all the more intriguing for that. I was lucky enough to see Moon with a live orchestral accompaniment at the Barbican in July, and that experience knocked my socks off. I imagine a live performance of ‘We Are All Stardust’ from Out of Blue might do the same.

And so, if you’re still with me – and thanks very much if you are – here are the Best Scores of 2019 (from films I have seen):

• 5) Midsommar – The Haxan Cloak
• 4) Us – Michael Abels
• 3) If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
• 2) Monos – Mica Levi
• 1) Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir

I wasn’t too familiar with Bobby Krlic AKA The Haxan Cloak before I saw Midsommar but I was really struck with his score. Some cues, like ‘The House That Hårga Built’, feel spatial and mesmerising, whereas others, like ‘Gassed’, are downright terrifying from the opening seconds featuring Florence Pugh’s cries of “no, no, no, no, no!” Krlic errs on the side of Foreboding rather than full-blown Horror, which is just as well because there’s enough going on on-screen to make an impact.

I loved Michael Abel’s music for Get Out and was even more impressed by his score for Us, a film in which rhythm and dance play significant roles. Abels excels at conjuring creepy vocals, and we’ve enjoyed playing ‘Anthem’ alongside Jerry Goldsmith’s ‘Ave Satani’ from The Omen on Mark Kermode’s Scala Radio show. I also love ‘Pas De Deux’, which turns The Luniz’ ‘I Got 5 On It’ into a masterclass in tension.

I’ve already mentioned Nicholas Britell’s trademark aching beauty and his score for If Beale Street Could Talk is aching beauty x 1000. Just thinking about it makes me well up.

And so, yes, I am in agreement with Mark about the top 2 film scores of 2019. Mica Levi is a consistently surprising and inventive music-maker who doesn’t so much compose a score as create a new sound world. And what sounds! I heard her score for Monos before seeing the movie and knew I would love it. Haunting, juddering, fevered, unsettling, yet strangely alluring, it is everything the unpredictable and unique film requires.

I think Hildur’s music was one of the best things about Joker. The score lodges itself under your skin, adds depth to the characters and feels like an integral part of the film. For that reason, it deserves to take the top spot and I’m really excited to see – and hear – what she does next.

Right, there you have it! Let me know your thoughts. I’ve also been mulling over the film scores I’m most excited about for 2020 so if you play your cards right this might not be the last list you see from me…