The 50 Best Albums of 2020
My favourite releases this year. Enjoy!
Let’s not waste time talking about 2020 — I’m pretty sure you know what went down. Use this article purely as a list of recommendations for albums you might have missed while everything was going on these past several months, whether to compare your own favourite albums of the year, or just to find something you’ve never heard before. Do what ya like, basically. Let’s go!
50. 7G — A.G. Cook
Head of wacky label PC Music and arguable forefather of 2020’s favourite music genre, Hyperpop, A.G. Cook turned the focus upon himself this year with this epic, disjointed, electronic quagmire of a record.
With earwormy bangers so mechanically distorted, this record sounds like it has no right to be so catchy. And clocking in at over two hours long, Cook certainly made sure we were well fed.
49. Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? — The Soft Pink Truth
This subtle, eerie debut by a new project led by one-half of experimental electronic duo Matmos will certainly creep up on you.
It’s an intriguing downtempo/ambient take on house music — mostly light and spacious, but occasionally it packs a surprising punch to it, enveloping you in some dark catJAM vibes. Do check it out.
Listen to Shall We Go On Sinning… on Spotify
48. Dead Screen Scrolls — Clarence Clarity
Still one of the most underrated producers going, this won’t be the first time Mr Clarity appears among 2020’s best releases.
Though he’s primarily known for his insanely disjointed take on noughties-era pop, Clarence took a little left turn with his solo work this year, releasing a short but captivating dark ambient album that very accurately depicts how I feel about social media right now. Cheers as always, fella ❤
Listen to Dead Screen Scrolls on Spotify
47. The Ascension — Sufjan Stevens
One of my favourite artists ever. Though I enjoy his folk catalogue more than his electronic releases, that sure doesn’t stop me appreciating how much of an excellent songwriter Sufjan is.
There are some absolute gems on this record, and Sufjan’s ability to craft a colossal crescendo is still top notch. I still believe he is capable of anything and everything.
Listen to The Ascension on Spotify
46. folklore — Taylor Swift
2016 Max would have fucking murdered me for ranking T-Swizzle higher than Suf, but what is 2020 if it isn’t full of surprises. I’ve always enjoyed Swift’s stuff, but they were often just the lead singles with incredibly cinematic music videos. This year I can confidently say she’s crafted an album I’ve enjoyed front to back too.
Despite noticeably carrying that familiar ‘commercial tone’ throughout, it’s a cohesive, well-written album with some beautiful instrumentals, great singalong choruses and varied song structures that keep the record interesting. Plus, Exile feat. Bon Iver is an absolute stunner.
45. Sleep On The Wing — Bibio
This brief, mostly-instrumental release from indie darling Bibio will pass you by in an instant — so much so that you have to go back a couple times to actually realise how goddamn pretty it is.
Bordering on neo-folk at points and nailing an incredibly consistent ‘airy’ atmosphere, this record is packed with so much woodwind and so many strings that you truly feel like you’re that bird on the album cover, soaring over green fields and luscious countryside. A real ‘close your eyes and listen’-type thing.
Listen to Sleep On The Wing on Spotify
44. Inner Song — Kelly Lee Owens
Owens has really mastered the ‘vibe to yourself’ kind of EDM that by all means can rile up a room, but to me is much more useful as a bombastic mood elevator that’s perfect for grooving in a chair. Okay look I’ve been working from home for nine months, just let me have this pls xoxo
Anyway, with bangers like Melt! and Arpeggi (why is everyone covering Radiohead’s Weird Fishes this year??), this’ll get your limbs warm. Party in your head to this beaut.
Listen to Inner Song on Spotify
43. Grime MC — jme
Ah man, I just love this dude’s bars so much. This is 100% not a comedy rap album, but it’s funnier and wittier than pretty much every comedy rap album ever made ever.
jme’s takes on life and analogies on society and commentary on his experiences have always been fascinating, on and off the mic, but his one-of-a-kind delivery turns these unique perspectives into some of the most entertaining sentences you’ll hear in your life.
Not only that, but the record is true blue grime (understandably, given the title), harking back to the genre’s early days and also its commercial renaissance back in 2015. Which on paper is obviously not the most boundary-pushing areas to explore, but damn does it hit some sort of nostalgia spot in my brain.
42. Lianne La Havas — Lianne La Havas
Multi-instrumentalist and writer, crafter and performer of many a gorgeous song, Lianne La Havas, returned this year to once again prove her unwavering consistency.
Full to the brim with one smooth, sultry, soulful cut after another and astounding instrumental mastery, this record feels like your ears are being massaged by tiny little singing pixies. Yeah, I said it.
Listen to Lianne La Havas (self-titled) on Spotify
41. Purple Moonlight Pages — R.A.P. Ferreira
Bouncing back with a brand new moniker (previously milo), R.A.P Ferreira remains CEO of the ‘intellectual/philosophical bars with dreamy/velvety delivery’ venn diagram.
Even in the times I have no idea what he’s rapping about, my confusion is instantly turned into blissful ignorance as the jazzy goodness of each instrumental takes over. It’s like you can choose to tune into two separate albums depending on what you’re up for. Lovely stuff.
Listen to Purple Moonlight Pages on Spotify
40. Underneath — Code Orange
Listening to this album is like receiving an electric shock every time your heart rate drops below 100bpm.
It’s a hardcore, heavy, thundering piece of work throughout, but as soon as you start getting even somewhat comfortable it just unexpectedly ZAPS you with some sort of…piercing…electronic…flare. It’s cyborg metal, but the cyborgs have been told to communicate after being exclusively fed war transcripts. And they’re all about to short-circuit. Fucking mesmerising.
Listen to Underneath on Spotify
39. NO DREAM — Jeff Rosenstock
The pop punker for people who aren’t convinced by pop punk yet (see also: PUP), Jeff Rosenstock smashed it out of the park yet again with NO DREAM. If you need some mood-lightening education or just want to get the atmosphere pumping, this album is the socially-conscious runaway train to do it for you.
Frantic, abrasive and raw, it’s Jeff at his best. And just the kind of record we need in 2020.
38. Women In Music Pt. III — Haim
God, Haim are so cool. There’s just this effortless swagger with everything they do — especially when performing live — that makes me feel simultaneously at ease and in awe when listening to them. Whatever that feeling is, please help me locate an injection of it.
And of course, their latest release is a much-welcome booster shot. It’s the most versatile record they’ve made yet, pulling influences all the way from ’60s Cali rock to smooth hip hop/RnB, yet the Haim sound we know and love shines through as bright as ever with each cut. Incroyable.
Listen to Women In Music Pt. III on Spotify
37. Untitled (Rise) — SAULT
The prolific enigma that is SAULT has been supplying the neo-soul goods in abundance these past two years. Their second album in just three months, Rise is another stunning release rammed with impassioned performances and powerful statements on the state of race issues post-George Floyd’s killing earlier in 2020.
It’s eclectic, groovy and important — and I implore you to listen, sing and dance to what they have to say.
Listen to Untitled (Rise) on Spotify
36. Shabrang — Sevdaliza
This record is dense. It’s a brutal, striking force of dark ambient morosity, to the jarring sound of what loosely qualifies as ‘art pop’. It’s difficult to chew, but my god does it hit some kind of golden neuron in my brain.
With these microtonal arabic inflections peppering a monsoon of electronic 808s and Sevdaliza’s deep, monotone delivery — elevated by the odd string section — it creates a soundscape so other-worldly that it’s a marvel to get your head around. Do give this a go if you have the nerve.
35. Windswept Adan — Ichiko Aoba
With a release date of 4 December, welcome to the latest addition to the list!
I’m actually quite annoyed I only discovered Ichiko this year — her albums 0 and qp are wonderfully folky, breezy singer-songwriter projects that blissfully cascade sweetness around you.
But what makes this record even more enjoyable for me is that the sweetness is still there, but it’s so much grander, has a much larger musical footprint and, most importantly, has baroque instrumentation. Seriously, you can’t expect to create folk music with such a heavy classical influence and not expect me to listen to it intensely for the rest of eternity, right? That alone is why it’s here. What a beauty.
Listen to Windswept Adan on Spotify
34. The New Abnormal — The Strokes
I’m not sure anyone predicted a killer Strokes album in 2020, but here we are! This bangs. Casablancas’ crooning, wizened delivery is incredibly expressive yet remains as soothing as ever, the instrumental palette is wide and each song is its own musical vignette of intrigue.
Every one of the nine cuts on this record has its own structure and sequence to it, keeping you on your toes while still very effectively conveying Casablancas’ sarcastic remarks on relationships and his past experiences and passions. So solid — bloody well done guys.
Listen to The New Abnormal on Spotify
33. Ungodly Hour — Chloe x Halle
Chloe x Halle didn’t just compromise or power through pandemic-enforced lockdown with their marketing, they embraced it. Using the logistical benefit of being biological sisters, they were always together to shoot lockdown-style music videos and promotional content that most musical collectives could only dream of.
Anyway, enough of that. As a pair of INCREDIBLE singers effortlessly tackling meaty, sometimes dancey modern RnB instrumentals with charisma, attitude, sensuality and not forgetting a shedload of passion, they killed it on this record. Just a masterclass on how to create an addictive, bop-able melody over and over and over again.
Listen to Ungodly Hour on Spotify
32. My Agenda — Dorian Electra
In keeping with artists who know how to market themselves goddamn fucking well, the marvel that is Dorian Electra needs no introduction. In the Lil Nas X vein of ‘so good at social media they get followers who don’t even listen to their music’, Dorian is a strong pillar in the digital ecosystem of oddity.
And don’t you fucking know that their music reflects that too. Noisy, harsh and quintessential Hyperpop, My Agenda is a mindfuck. An attack on the senses. Of course, it had to be. Satirising the outermost crannies of polarised pop politics and almost tangibly beating you up with disgusting, warped dance/gabber/trap instrumentals, be fucking warned. But have fun!
Listen to My Agenda on Spotify
31. American Head — The Flaming Lips
Imagine the shock on my face when I first spun this and — for the first time in years — heard something that resembled the Lips’ good old days. Truly, this album vividly harks back to the sounds of Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi. Not to imply that it’s suddenly good just because of this, but suddenly it’s good and it…happens to also be this.
It’s just really beautiful, okay? A gentle, melancholic but hopeful breeze (hey siri, define The Flaming Lips) through your head to alleviate the stress and mellow out to. And by golly didn’t we need some of that this year.
Listen to American Head on Spotify
30. True Opera — Moor Jewelry
WAKE UP, LET’S GO! Bang your head ‘till it falls off to this angry, distorted, bassy fucking face scruncher. Part eclectic music genius Moor Mother and part noise extraordinaire Mental Jewelry, this juicy concoction isn’t the first collab between the two and the chemistry — once it occasionally emerges through the clouds of feedback — is clear.
Grimey, rock-hard and taking absolutely no prisoners, let this slow-release C4 bomb rile you up to boiling point.
Listen to True Opera on Spotify
29. Ultra Mono — IDLES
Ah, my beloved Bristolians. It was always gonna take a LOT for the punk group of the moment to improve upon 2018’s Joy As An Act Of Resistance, which was so good I was compelled into calling it the 12th best album of the 2010s. But there are still some thunderous bangers on Ultra Mono that make it an essential listen for anyone at least a little bit angry at our Tory government.
Model Village and Grounds are some of the best singles of the year, and while there were a couple of duds in the tracklist compared to the near-flawless experience of Joy…, the messages are clear, heartfelt and empowering. Please join me in screaming along with immeasurable catharsis to this wondrous collective’s smashing release.
Listen to Ultra Mono on Spotify
28. Mestarin kynsi — Oranssi Pazuzu
Just a sliver of that left field metal, thanks.
Oranssi Pazuzu have cornered the psychedelic black metal market pretty convincingly by now, with every one of their helpings being an immense display of dense, heavy, hypnotising horror. Mestarin kynsi is of course no exception — it keeps you in a frightening suspense one minute and just crashes down on you from all angles the next.
If you fancy throwing yourself into a twisting, torturing hallucination of terrifying nightmares (I mean, who bloody wouldn’t?), then pause Ariana for a minute and whack this bad boy on.
Listen to Mestarin kynsi on Spotify
27. Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa
Disco pop really had a resurgence this year, and Dua’s Future Nostalgia is just one example of the goddamn stellar embraces of it. While there’s that noticeably familiar ‘radio-friendly’ tinge, there are elements to the songwriting that put Dua on Carly-levels of modern electro-pop.
Break My Heart is instrumentally versatile and has killer melodies throughout, Levitating is just a nail-on-the-head, certified summer bop, Physical revives Eric Prydz’ Call On Me in a pure-energy, heart-pumping exercise-friendly gem and Hallucinate deserves to be rumbling the speakers of every car stereo system in existence.
Listen to Future Nostalgia on Spotify
26. High Risk Behaviour — The Chats
Attitude goes a long way in punk. Some of the best punk you’ll ever find is right up there with the best simply because the energy it exudes is just so careless and bodacious. And that’s where The Chats, my favourite punky bois from Down Under, sit for me.
There’s no point in analysing the lyrics too deeply, or critiquing the song structures or instrumental prowess of the band members, because all that you need to know about this record is that it ooooooozes cool. It’s just simple, funny, singalong cuts bursting with metaphorically eloquent Australian phrases. Seriously, what’s not to love?
Listen to High Risk Behaviour on Spotify
25. Mystic Familiar — Dan Deacon
I discovered a new sound in Dan Deacon when I first heard him. I can’t quite place my finger on what exactly is so unique about him, but his music is this fascinating mix of knob-twisting synth arpeggios at a frantic BPM and warped vocals and riffs that weave in and out of the electronic mess so seamlessly that it kind of does what trance music should, without sounding like it at all.
After describing what his signature style is, there honestly isn’t too much else to differentiate this album from his other work, just that it was released in 2020 and I happen to currently be ranking my favourite music of the year. So despite saying that it’s just…fucking great…I think I’ve said all I can say. Go listen to it!!!!
Listen to Mystic Familiar on Spotify
24. color theory — Soccer Mommy
Some of this year’s best music has just been the best because it’s…y’know…nice. This is just a really nice album and I want you to know it.
I think there’s a heavier personal element to my enjoyment of this one than I might say for others here, and that’s mainly because I got into it right around the time when a) the entire world shut down, b) we were only allowed out of the house to exercise or buy essentials, and c) spring had arrived.
That very particular set of circumstances seemed to blend incredibly well with Soccer Mommy’s sweet guitar tones and cutely crooning drawl, and I couldn’t get enough of this album as a result. Stay tuned for more like this, lol.
Oh, and circle the drain is one of the best singles of the year.
Listen to color theory on Spotify
23. Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs — Klô Pelgag
I’m a goddamn sucker for pop music created with more folky instrumentation (or Chamber Pop / Baroque Pop for the learned), so Klô Pelgag really made sure that itch was vigorously scratched this year with her latest record.
With strings and horns bursting at the seams yet maintaining a steady, catchy pace, the chemical makeup of these songs made it both addictively enthralling and instrumentally gorgeous. Klô’s expressive and animated delivery reminded me a bunch of Joanna Newsom (which can only be a good thing), and the album’s lead single Rémora is a stunningly convoluted, moving listen that kicks the record off so perfectly well.
Listen to Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs on Spotify
22. Éons — Neptunian Maximalism
The most crushing jazz album you would have ever heard. Apparently I seem to be one for odd, unexpected mashups of seemingly jarring genres (???), but WOW did Éons impress with this ultra-heavy, industrial behemoth of a jazz album. Yes — a jazz album.
There sure have been jazz incorporations into heavy music before, especially on the psychedelic end — hell, №28's Oranssi Pazuzu definitely aren’t shy about blasting a saxophone while every other instrument in the world seems to be falling on top of you at once.
But for the jazz instruments themselves to create the trudging, thumping giant that leads us through the piece certainly was quite unprecedented for me. And fuck, did I adore every minute of it.
21. SAWAYAMA — Rina Sawayama
The unrivalled pop pairing of utter goddess Rina Sawayama and our good old friend Clarence Clarity finally gifted us what we’ve been waiting years for — a FULL album.
The chemically orgasmic musical product that results from this pairing’s work — Rina’s captivating, powerful vocals and Clarence’s hard-hitting, gargantuan, hyperpop-esque production — produced for us an exquisite display of the shape of pop to come.
Factoring in nu-metal for STFU (something not unfamiliar amongst certain pop artists), 2000s-era Britney Spears brilliance for XS or pure camp club kid REALNESS for Comme des Garçon, this tasty record is a chocolate variety box of wonder. Dance away.
20. Microphones in 2020 — The Microphones
Though Phil Elverum arguably has a hyper-loyal fanbase that occasionally drives the perceived critical reception of his work a little higher than it deserves (imo), it certainly helps his cause when he releases a fucking wonderful album. Which does happen a lot, to be fair.
This is a patient, introspective record and is made a lot better by watching the music video too — it’s one whole track you can’t get on streaming services so believe me when I say that. But it still takes you through the emotional ebbs and flows and the varied pacing of an immersive full-length album, and definitely stands as another beautiful internal monologue from a man who communicates his experiences so profoundly. There is no end.
Listen to / watch Microphones in 2020 on YouTube
19. Róisín Machine — Róisín Murphy
Let’s get down to the disco again — this time though, from a proven legend. Murphy has been making 70s-inspired, dancefloor-revival sonic nectar for years at this point, and her excellence in this field is a joy to both witness and feel.
A band comprising a roster of absolute bona fide funk maestros pumps out crisp, pristine, buttery-smooth grooves while Murphy initiates the fever dream with her breathy, carnal, ASMR-enducing vocals that trickle around your ears and carry you off to sea.
Opening track Simulation is one of the best songs I’ve heard all year (though it isn’t a bloody single yet…grr…) and sets the sensual tone for this record so well so early on, and Murphy’s Law (nice) revives everything that was great about disco for one of the most enjoyable dance tracks of the century. Don’t sleep on this.
Listen to Róisín Machine on Spotify
18. The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form — Matmos
Ohhhh MAN this is a satisfying listen. It’s bloody long (~3 hours roughly), so I wish I could have explored it more than time ended up affording, but Matmos — one half of which also released my №49 for this year — always manage to impress the fuck outta me with their mesmerising sample-derived IDM.
This is my favourite release of theirs since 2016’s mindfuck Ultimate Care II — named after the washing machine they used to CREATE EVERY SOUND FOR THE ENTIRE RECORD — and it maybe even eclipses that so I…guess that says something.
Some of the influences and ideas that go into the songs on The Consuming Flame are so shockingly new to my cognition that it’s kinda inconceivable to me that members of my fellow species are capable of such an advanced level of thought. Just listen to Platformalism and I’m sure you’ll get what I mean.
Listen to The Consuming Flame… on Spotify
17. What’s Your Pleasure? — Jessie Ware
Well would you believe that — looks like we’re back on the disco floor again! Sadly it’s for the final time this year (cue the audience: awwwwww) but the obvious bright side is that a) there’s certainly a healthy helping of it to digest this year and b) this one is the best of the bunch.
Drawing from very similar sources as Róisín Murphy, Jessie Ware grasps our hand as she too guides us through a time capsule of early-era house and funky musical time capsules, each track shimmering with gloss, glamour and — most importantly for a review— addictive replay value.
Throw on a coat and some good shoes, whack your headphones in, strut down the pavement and wait for this LP to pick you up and drop you in the clouds. Enjoy the ride.
Listen to What’s Your Pleasure? on Spotify
16. UNLOCKED — Denzel Curry / Kenny Beats
Every beat of every bar of every track on this tape is a punch to the face. Every syllable of every line of every song is an assault. This project hits fucking hard — it knows it’s the shit and it doesn’t waste any time telling you that.
Ever since Kenny Beats’ The Cave episode featuring Denzel Curry, this record has been written in the stars. It’d be astronomically disastrous if this master music crafter and this master wordsmith never met to fulfil the potential that they teased in a 10-minute YouTube video. It’s quick, cohesive genius. They don’t have to waste time convincing you of their collaborative prowess — 17 minutes does just fucking fine.
15. how i’m feeling now — Charli XCX
Several of the best songs of the year are on this record.
Charli’s natural, effortless ability to conjure up a B O P from scratch was never made clearer than earlier this year, when she set herself the seemingly ambitious but, to her, easy-peasy task of writing, producing and releasing an album all during lockdown. In just six weeks, with the help of just a few renowned Hyperpop producers and her Instagram followers (seriously — following Charli during the creation of this was just magical), the electro-goddess conceived and created one of the best albums of the year.
Forever is considered by many to be the best single of the year. Claws is a whiplash-inducing banger. 7 years’ chorus deserves to be screamed through every megaphone in the world at once. Anthems provides sweet nostalgia while bombarding you with distorted synth arpeggios. Christ, all your senses will love you for putting this in your goddamn ears.
Listen to how i’m feeling now on Spotify
14. Visions of Bodies Being Burned — clipping.
I’m not sure many of us are surprised that clipping. has suddenly become potentially the greatest Horrorcore project of all time. There already was the distortion, the noise and the abrasive, ear-assaulting sound, but only recently did they turn the concept of their albums into something that matched the tone.
The last year or so has seen two utterly terrifying releases that doesn’t for one second skimp out on production quality, and for topics as conceptual — and let’s face it, often gimmicked — as what they address, that’s such a fucking relief to hear.
VOBBB is as visual and immersive as some of your favourite horror movies and you don’t even need a screen to experience it. The stories it tells, the scenes it creates and just the most detailed, competent fucking hip-hop production of the year made listening to this piece of art one of the most heart-pounding listens of the year, hands down.
Listen to Visions of Bodies Being Burned on Spotify
13. Alphaville — Imperial Triumphant
Oh look, another deeply unsettling listen. Let’s tuck in yumyumyum!
What makes ‘good’ black metal is a contentious topic at the best of times, but I’m pretty sure we can all agree that whatever Imperial Triumphant seem to be doing with it is hella fucking good.
It has all the usual characteristics for the majority of its runtime — fuzzy, heavy riffs, layer upon layer of guitar, frantic breakbeats, frightening growls and darkly symbolic/culty subject matter — but then the JAZZ elements come in. Yes — jazz again! And wow, these moments are incorporated into the piece so well that they completely make sense amongst the heaviness, but it also sometimes causes the jarring effect of thinking you left the radio on in the other room. Fascinating.
Oh, and Atomic Age is the worst, most harrowing rollercoaster you’ve ever been on. Absolutely fucking ROCKS.
Listen to Alphaville on Spotify
12. songs / instrumentals — Adrianne Lenker
Hello. You’ve now left the dark scary cranny of my best albums list, and entered the much more peaceful serene, light cranny. Something something chill pill.
This double album from lead Big Thief songwriter Adrianne Lenker is minimal, stripped back and composed only of the basics. But it’s the furthest fucking thing from basic. Lenker manages to curate soundscapes that are much bigger than the sum of their parts on her hugely-acclaimed and aptly titled album songs. With just a guitar, the odd subtle atmospheric embellishment and her often tragic, moving vocal delivery, these songs still manage to wholly encapsulate you in a trance of acoustic dismay.
This is largely in part to her sheer talent on the guitar — the time signatures she uses and the labyrinthine melodies that result can do so much with so little, and its truly astounding to be put into such a trance with what, on paper, shouldn’t have anywhere near that effect on you.
And quickly — instrumentals is two mind-blowingly pretty, minimalist tracks that serve as a wonderful elongated epilogue.
Listen to instrumentals on Spotify
11. Shore — Fleet Foxes
Not gonna lie, I was slightly underwhelmed when I first heard Shore — the fourth full-length album from one of my Big Four music acts of all time (seriously, I adore this fucking band). The unexpected simplicity of a lot of the songs and surprisingly positive tone is a world apart from Crack-Up, FF’s third and most intense, melancholic release, and I guess I was just expecting Crack-Up 2.
But after a few more listens, I’m so happy to report that I finally ‘got it’. It’s okay that it’s positive. I’d even go as far to say that the shift in musicality was actually needed, too. This year has been so unbelievably shit, and since we’re already riding the high of ultra-sad indie folk, it’s quite understandable that a lot of this year’s music has sounded frustrated, longing and stuck. But Robin Pecknold, FF’s leader and all-round general god, stepped aside from that just to make something happy. And I’m so grateful for that.
And yes, after diving into it a little more I picked up on many of the familiar elements that I adore this band for, and grew to fucking fawn over some of the singles too (christ, Sunblind is top-tier spirit-lifting goodness). Now it’s one of my most played albums of the year, and I can’t get enough of it.
10. græ — Moses Sumney
Since Part I of grae came out very early this year, for a long time this project was the first and only album that truly floored me in 2020. It took quite some time (probably until early April, roughly) for any album released this year to come close to the excellence of Moses Sumney’s second full-length release.
His spellbinding vocal range, the absolute epic scale of the entire piece, the delightful brushes of bewitching electronica throughout, the mountainous crescendos, the introspective and profound lyrical content, his spellbinding vocal range, and not forgetting his spellbinding vocal range (oh my god just drink this man’s voice in why don’t you) all added up and progressed to reach some of the highest peaks music has this year.
Please for the love of all things holy make sure you’ve heard this man’s music.
9. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately — Perfume Genius
This man never misses. Everything he creates is of the highest pristine quality and I’m sure the vast majority of musicians are incredibly fucking jealous of him.
While I think it’s fair to say Mike’s iconic blend of art pop and folk and hasn’t changed a great deal stylistically in the last few years, who could really blame him when each time a new album of it drops everyone can just agree that it’s one of the prettiest, most delicate sonic flowerbeds of an LP they’ve ever heard? Also, while his genre has arguably stayed still, that certainly doesn’t mean Mike isn’t progressive with song structures, instrumentation and songwriting in general. Every record still has its distinct musical moniker which separates it from the previous one.
I haven’t actually been specific about this album yet, so before I move on: SMHOFI is diverse with its influences yet it remains so cohesive in message and sound — Mike once again communicates his experiences with devastating transparency and his raw, featherweight vocals set my heart on fire immediately.
Listen to Set My Heart On Fire Immediately on Spotify
8. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez — Gorillaz
Gorillaz are BACK, baby!!!!! WOW it’s so satisfying to finally say that. Not to knock their other recent works too hard, but with this album (if you can call it that, given its unique marketing throughout 2020) I think Damon Albarn finally found the formula he spent the majority of the 2010s seeking.
Like recent releases, Strange Timez still loads it heavy with the features, but two things are different here in my opinion: 1) the features are fucking incredible, the best roster of artists they’ve ever had, and 2) for the first time in a while, 2-D actually has some prominence again. And to make things even better, these two beautiful developments had the desired by-product of making these songs the hardest-hitting, catchiest, most enjoyable track listing since Plastic Beach.
Every song is a banger. I love them all. When I play it, I get about two-thirds through and think wow, what a run and THEN…motherfucking Aries???!?? All I’ll say is wire me into Damon Albarn’s brain please because for one second I’d like to feel what it’s like to just be the best most coolest fucking creative ever.
Listen to Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez on Spotify
7. Alfredo — Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Freddie Gibbs, dude. Man’s shown himself not just to be a goddamn powerhouse these last few years, but also to apparently have the best bloody taste in hip-hop production around. After two killer albums with none other than Madlib, of course he’d soon hit up The Alchemist for a record, and what an awesome pairing it ended up being.
There’s this near-masochistic enjoyment to come out of the jarring juxtaposition of Gibbs’ trademark rough, explicit delivery and the polished, glossy grooviness of The Alchemist’s quite unbelievable production. The two components feel so apart that they’ve looped right back around and fit perfectly together at the inverse.
Gibbs’ flow and pen game has never been more on-point than on Alfredo in my opinion. Every syllable is landed on so tightly that each one feels like a baseball bat to the gut. And with the album being released on 29 May this year, his commentary on the racism experienced by the black population in America, racist police brutality and just the Black Experience in general couldn’t have been more apt, given the gross injustice of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of the police and the subsequent uprising that started at this very time. Scottie Beam is the best example of that on the record.
6. The Common Task — Horse Lords
This is what happens when you apply unprecedented genius and interdimensional knowledge to music. Christ man I just wish I could see the matrix like these fellas.
While I’d say I know a little more about time signatures, music theory and math rock than the layman, I’m nowhere near trained in any of that stuff outside of just identifying nice applications of it and watching Andrew Huang YouTube videos. And boy, do Horse Lords not waste any time in making a nice application of it in The Common Task.
Straight off the bat, you’re thrust into Fanfare for Effective Freedom, a coarse, polyrhythmic instrumental monstrosity that shouldn’t fucking work. It fucking shouldn’t. But it somehow makes so much sense, and while you won’t be able to count along to it, you’ll still be able to notify (and enjoy) the chugging core of it and vibe with the song.
There are some more examples of this as we progress through the record, but I also just wanted to note that they’re able to pull this off with the most unexpected instrumental sources too. The grinding metallic sound initially created by guitars ends up morphing seamlessly into drones, searing synths, lyric-less female vocals and even bagpipes. Yet it still. makes. sense. It’s truly mathematical art, and I fucking adore it.
Listen to The Common Task on Spotify
5. Song For Our Daughter — Laura Marling
I’ve been a big fan of Laura for a while. Her previous full-length solo release, Semper Femina, was a luscious take on singer-songwriter folk rock that floated around my head like a sweet, tender breeze, and her collaborative effort with Mike Lindsay in 2018, Lump, was a lovely little minimalist take on folktronica.
Fast forward to early April, 2020 — the UK’s been in a strict lockdown for over two weeks and COVID has just about hit its peak. Things are stressful, scary and (forgive the meme) uNpReCeDeNtEd. The future is uncertain. But there’s one constant to enjoy — Spring. The days are getting longer, lighter and warmer, and those who have access to green space and gardens can finally comfortably spend time amongst nature for the first time since late autumn.
And through the blooming flora, then came Song For Our Daughter — a calming, comforting caress of the heart to remind us that things in this world are still beautiful and worth appreciating. Marling’s songwriting has never been more human, her voice never more soothing, her songs never more deep and connected to the soul. It did precisely what Mother Earth was encouraging, and was the perfect accompaniment to that wonderful season.
Side note: my god, Laura Marling needs to release a spoken word album. Yesterday. Please.
Listen to Song For Our Daughter on Spotify
4. Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers
I mean cmon. What else is there to say about the one and only Phoebe Bridgers. The most endearingly funny personality, the social media extraordinaire, the ultra-relatable queen…and the writer of some of the saddest fucking songs you’ve heard in your entire life. I keep going on about cathartically satisfying juxtapositions in this piece but there just seems to be so many of them in 2020 (and I’m here for it).
Taking a slightly broader instrumental approach than her first studio album Stranger in the Alps, Phoebe finds more complex ways to convey her tortured thoughts to us on Punisher. It’s more consuming and immersive, with ethereal atmospherics and reverb physically stretching out the guitar and piano lines, but also the occasional synth arpeggio, brass instrument or viola, to encompass you fully and be your solace.
But to me,the most identifying and captivating element to Phoebe’s music remains her vocal and lyrical delivery. Firstly, she enunciates every word of every line of every song in such a proper, by-the-book, standardised American English way that it’s such a joy to experience — it’s kinda hard to explain, but the way her accent blends with both her emotive inflections and ‘full’ diction brings so much more life to her performance than is the case with most other artists.
Second, her lyrics are pleasurably, gratuitously dark and morose, to a point where us Millennials get the exact same exorcising kind of satisfaction out of them as something like a true crime podcast — she pinpoints and regurgitates our morbid curiosity so we can feed off it, relate to it and feel seen. Each track is purgative release after purgative release, and bloody enjoyable to sing along to at the same time. Phoebe 4 President.
3. Fetch The Bolt Cutters — Fiona Apple
The Pitchfork 10. The album of 2020. Or…almost, in my case.
Not many people in music have reached the level of veneration that Her Royal Highness Fiona Apple The First currently sits at (though Phoebe Bridgers is going the right way about it). Her effortless ability to jump from a charming, cutting dry wit to explosive, animated delivery brings so much punch to every one of her songs. Pair this with her call-to-arms feminist empowerment, savage takedowns of shitty men and patriarchal structures, and wonderful, personable storytelling and you get concepts that mean a lot to many people.
Fiona’s piano playing is shines through once again and is an absolute joy to behold. When the album kicks off, we’re immediately hit with an astoundingly beautiful and unique melody that’ll loop around your limbic system for the rest of time, and the recurring piano lick that’s shared between this opening track, named I Want You To Love Me, and second track Shameika make for the second best transition of the year (stay tuned for the best).
Production throughout is the most gentle tipper-tapper on your ears, with unconventional percussion manifesting out of everyday items around Fiona’s house (title track Fetch The Bolt Cutters is a fab example), and Fiona’s voice morphs chameleonically to complement each track’s sound while still providing a plentiful plethora of shout-along phrases and refrains. This record is such a pleasing listen from front to back, but if you’re after some range and impassioned determination too, all you need to do is dig a little deeper.
Listen to Fetch The Bolt Cutters on Spotify
2. Heaven To A Tortured Mind — Yves Tumor
Sometimes you need to just put some time aside to venerate some pure, unadulterated talent. I loved what Yves Tumour was doing with their first album back in 2018, yet had this inkling that their sound was yet to properly land. Thankfully, it only took a couple extra years for it to touch down, and Heaven To A Tortured Mind has more than solidified their excellence as a crafter of song.
I think the term neo-psychedelia has been diluted in recent years, potentially due bands like Tame Impala (whom I love, but think their sound has had a bit of a generalising influence on the genre). But Heaven To A Tortured Mind, if it has the impact I’m desperately praying it will, could hopefully set it back on course and encourage the stylistic versatility the genre really deserves.
Gospel For A New Century and Kerosene (oh my god…Kerosene tho!!!!) are no question top-five songs of the year and are the latest best-in-class example of what rock music should sound like in the decade to come. Romanticist / Dream Palette works some of the most innovative fucking sounds (and the best transition of the year) into a single that it deserves some kind of interplanetary award, because the music of Earth just can’t compete with it.
Yves’ insane guitar playing peppers each track with searing melodies and wayward solos, the guest vocalist completely shatters every other human singer’s vocal abilities and even the slower-paced cuts are unforgettable meditative gems. What an absolute masterpiece.
Listen to Heaven To A Tortured Mind on Spotify
1. RTJ4 — Run The Jewels
Here we are.
Undeniably, hip hop’s best duo since Outkast. Run The Jewels discovered the ultimate technique— if we just act like we’re the greatest thing ever, people will eventually start believing it — years ago, and have honed it over four albums to a point where we’re all ready to accept it. Their brash, bodacious attitude and (as I said in last year’s Top 50 Albums of the Decade piece) incessant ‘I own this shit, shut the fuck up-ery’ bleeds into every aspect of their production and poetry, and it’s so convincing that you can’t help but do just that. And jiggle a little bit too.
El-P is one of the greatest hip hop producers and rappers of all time, and he brings whatever is better than his A-game to RTJ4. As usual, it’s hard, head-bopping and eclectic, with insane beat switch-ups and countless unexpected turns and additions. The sound is fat, the rhythm drags you around the room by the ankles at breakneck speed and the occasional interpolation the beat has with his or Mike’s rap delivery is world class. Also, this man’s ability to rhyme anything with everything leads to the most mind-blowing runs you’ll ever hear. Try Verse 2 on holy calamafuck — my god.
As for Killer Mike, who is undoubtedly one of the best MCs of the century, his cadence has forever been such a winning fucking trait. The expert inflection of each and every word in his bars brings so much power to what he communicates and makes them hit home that much harder.
And whilst much of his lines are aligned with the standard hardcore hip hop attitude (to reiterate: I own this shit, shut the fuck up), his ruminations on America’s systemic racism, especially the murderous form it takes within the US police force in which white officers keep killing unarmed black men, were shockingly directly aligned with real-life events at the time. Run The Jewels released RTJ4 on 3 June, bringing it forward by two days in response to the event of, and the backlash that followed, George Floyd’s murder by the Minneapolis Police Department in late May. For example, Mike’s lines in Track 6, walking in the snow, despite being recorded in late 2019, very specifically reflected the struggle George Floyd was going through, and the all-too-familiar “I can’t breathe” phrase he uttered, as he was losing his life — a moment that most definitely impacted lots of people on first listen.
Therefore, if we’re talking impact, there couldn’t have been a better choice for album of the year for me. RTJ4 not only encompassed every facet of enjoyment an album should, but it righteously, as art should always do, put up a mirror to the society it was borne out of, and will far outlast the issues it is reflecting.
Let’s go for some honourable mentions, shall we?
Ohms — Deftones
Sex, Death & The Infinite Void — Creeper
Anime, Trauma and Divorce — Open Mike Eagle
How Ill Thy World Is Ordered – Daniel Romano
Jaguar — Victoria Monét
Gaslighter — The Chicks
2017–2019 — Against All Logic
The True Story Of Bananagun — Bananagun
Man Alive! — King Krule
We Are Sent Here By History — Shabaka and the Ancestors
Saint Cloud — Waxahatchee
Untitled (Black Is) — SAULT
Ultimate Success Today — Protomartyr
Indistinct Conversations — Land of Talk
On&On&On&On&On… — Daniel Blumberg
Miles — Blu & Exile
Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was — Bright Eyes
Whole New Mess — Angel Olsen
It Is What It Is — Thundercat
Innocent Country 2 — Quelle Chris
KiCk i — Arca
FREE I.H: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For — Illuminati Hotties
Virus — Haken
No Pressure — Logic
Indistinct Conversations — Land of Talk
Chromatica — Lady Gaga
Stare Into Death And Be Still — Ulcerate
The Slow Rush — Tame Impala
Kiss My Super Bowl Ring — The Garden
Miss Anthropecene — Grimes
Every Bad — Porridge Radio
Ghosts V: Together — Nine Inch Nails
After Hours — The Weeknd
Sixteen Oceans — Four Tet
YHLQMDLG — Bad Bunny
Suddenly — Caribou
Amazones Power — Les Amazones d’Afrique
Likewise — Frances Quinlan
Big Conspiracy — J Hus
Circles — Mac Miller
The Archer — Alexandra Saviour
