My Top 25 Favourite Albums of 2020

As per usual, my annual review of music is arriving fashionably late, as now 2021 is the current object of scorn.  But for what it is worth, here are my reflections on the year in music for 2020, anchored by my top 25 favorite LPs, but containing much more.   

Check out my 2020 playlist on Spotify. It's glorious, honestly.

First, 2020, You Were Awful

RIP Neil Peart

2020, you heaping pile of garbage, you murderous soul-destroying pig-year.  Near infinite computer bits have been expended to malign you, so what shall I say about you?  I don’t think I’ll say much of anything.  With a world suffering through pestilence and death, financial free-fall, systemic racism, violence, and a post-truth mindset, nothing can/need/should be said to lead off a music review. I usually start my annual reviews with a rundown of the musical stars who left us over the past year.  Even this seems trite and inappropriate, what with the backdrop of worldwide carnage.  I don’t much feel like eulogizing a few clever people while so so many more are dead and dying.  And this has ALWAYS been the case of course, but it takes a deadly pandemic to lay that fact bare. 

RIP Toots Hibbert

In lieu, I’ll just say I was greatly affected and saddened with the loss of Neil Peart (Rush), Toots Hibbert (Toots & the Maytals), David Roback (Rain Parade), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and Johnny Nash.  And the wider world of rock must recognize two pioneers – Little Richard, who perhaps founded rock and roll, and Eddie Van Halen, who revolutionized the rock guitar.  Goodbye, too, to Bill Withers, John Prine, Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk), and Dave Greenfield (The Stranglers).

2020 taketh, taketh, taketh, but it also gave us perhaps the greatest year of new music I recall enjoying in almost 30 years.  Or so I think.  This feeling is almost certainly a mirage, a consequence of new listening habits, behaviourally and psychologically.  Music has always been my salve, my salvation, my escape destination.  This was amplified ten-fold in 2020.  Music is a risk-free form of spiritual sustenance, a soundtrack to these months of physical and social isolation, the thing I’d hide away in.  I think it’s the case that the music is not better in 2020, it’s that I’ve appreciated it differently and more intently.  With greater attention and mindfulness and far more emotional associations. I think I will remember 2020 well – we all will – but in part due to the deep musical touchstones and memories. 

So let’s get on with it. 

My Top 10 Favorite Songs of 2020

Bonny Light Horseman

Here are my Top 10 most favorite songs of 2020, songs that are singularly fantastic, and which I will play for the rest of my life.

1.  "Deep In Love" – Bonny Light Horseman

2.  "Stolen Guitar" – Mt. Wilson Repeater

3.  "Sweet Sunday Snow" – Pia Fraus

4.  "November" – Real Estate

5.  "Somewhere And Somehow" – En Attendant Ana

6.  "Pulling The Pin" – Run The Jewels

7.  "God Knows Why" – Jenny O.

8.  "Shakes" – Maddie Jay

9.  "Kisses" – Lomelda

10. "Home" – Caribou

Quickly, This Year’s Disappointments

There were very few duds this year.  Well, of course there were scads of albums I’d dislike if I heard them, but among the artists I know and love, there were hardly any missteps.  Actually, when I think about it, there was only really one, Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension (I may have included Magnetic Fields’ Quickies, but I was already growing tired of Stephen Merritt’s irreverent and sardonic twee-pop – he will always be a genius to me, but it just feels done).  

People are lionizing The Ascension, and I don’t get it.  This is an electronic record and my personally tepid response is not about me missing his stripped down folk or orchestral pop days (although I suppose that’s partially true).  It’s just simply that the arrangements and melodies meander and bore me.   There is a ton going on and nothing at all and it’s really hard to pay attention to.  For someone like me who paid through the nose for the deluxe vinyl, this is a bit disappointing. No disrespect to those who love it, as it is clearly many people’s thing.  Meh, maybe it will grow on me.

The Main List:  My Top 25 Favorite Albums of 2020

And NOW...the main event and attraction, what all seven of you have been waiting for...my Top 25 Favorite Albums of 2020!  This was another tough set of calls this year, with an additional 25 or so albums rating over 8.0/10 by my reckoning.  Be sure to check out my run down of other very worthy albums at the end of the Top 25.

25.  Hazel English – Wake UP!

Wake UP! is the first full length (after an initial EP in 2016 and some subsequent singles) of Eleisha Caripis, an Australian artist currently based in Oakland, California.  There is an undeniable pop sheen to the production and one wonders if there is a play here for broader commercial appeal.  This flirtation with capital “P” Pop is tempered by an undeniable indie feel, with shades of Stereolab, sixties folk psych, and dynamic dreampop.  There is an amazing literacy and economy here, making each track a toe-tapping treat that everyone can love, without falling into boring Top 40 trappings.  Choice track: “Shaking”.

24. Pia Fraus – Empty Parks

As I listen, I fret that that Empty Parks, by Estonian shoegazers Pia Fraus, deserves to be in my top 10 of the year, maybe even my top 5.  I came to the album late in the year and it is growing on me like an aggressive ivy.  I’ve said before, shoegaze/dreampop records are ubiquitous in contemporary indie, and many do not stand out from the crowd, as lovely as they often are.  While squarely residing in the dream pop genre, Pia Fraus has something unique going on that sets it apart.  I suspect it is the vocal production and balance, which is airy and etherial but also simultaneously warm and present, like they are whispering right into your ear.  This production is tough to attain, and as a result it's almost definitional to the genre to bury the vocals or put them into the reverb stratospshere.  Pia Fraus also like to have some loud, chimey, and front-loaded guitars over top of a bed of guitar fuzz and synths.  The concoction is pure ear candy.  Highly recommend.  Choice track (and #3 song of the year):  “Sweet Sunday Snow”.

23. Lomelda – Hannah

Another happily random discovery, I have no memory of how I found the sublime Lomelda, the stage name of Hannah Read.  Hannah, the album, is bedroom-y, mid-tempo indie folkpop that shares a sonic personality with Haley Heyndrickx, Jay Som, Snail Mail, or (Sandy) Alex G.  Like a more refined Kimya Dawson, Read weaves poignant and wistful stories throughout her catchy and heartfelt songs.  She comes off as a true and committed performer, making up with passion what she may lack in chops.  It’s pretty and warm and authentic.  Within its own boundaries, it’s also very creative.  Looking forward to more.  Choice track: “Kisses”.

22. Isobel Campbell – There Is No Other…

I am a big fan of Belle and Sebastian and Campbell’s vocals therein; but I didn’t really like her early solo foray (aka Gentle Waves) and I ignored her collaborations with Mark Lanegan, who kind of rubs me the wrong way when he's not fronting Screaming Trees (there’s no good reason for this).  Had it not been for some YouTube serendipity, I would have surely missed this gorgeous solo record, her first under her name since 2003.  Campbell is all sultry and smoky and breathy, like an 60’s Gainsbourg protégé, commiserating in your ear.  The music is loungey, vaguely psychedelic, and oh so retro-cool.  An ill-advised cover of Tom Petty's "Running Down A Dream" notwithstanding, this is excellent and I am eager for more.  Choice track: “The Heart Of It All”.

21.  Nap Eyes – Snapshot of a Beginner

While a gazillion bands can name the Velvet Underground as an influence, Halifax’s Nap Eyes wear it on their sleeve.  And, even more so, the storied solo output of Lou Reed.  It’s not merely the cool drawl of vocalist Nigel Champion. The arrangements and sonics recapture that VU/Reed-ian sound seemingly without effort, helped in the studio this time by producers Jonathan Low (known for producing The National and Frightened Rabbit, among others) and Chicagoan guitar savant James Elkington (and as I write this, I notice that Elkington has a 2020 release I have not yet heard – it could very well deserve to be in this list, as I looooved Wintres Woman from 2017).  This is a satisfying record top to bottom, buoyed by the oblique and literate observations of Champion, and backed by comfortingly familiar guitar-focused chords and melodies. Choice track: “Primordial Soup”.

20. Melenas - Días Raros

Spanish indie strikes again with Melenas, an indie-pop group from Pamplona, Spain.  These four women have obviously been listening to copious Stereolab, OMD, and 90’s albums put out by Matador Records.  They also remind me a lot of En Attendant Ana and country-mates Mourn and Linda Guilala.  This is uber-catchy and up-tempo fuzzy guitar and synthpop, a sort of retro-futurist punk, with their Spanish vocals carrying a rareified urban cool to these Canadian’s ears – perhaps I am romanticizing things, but being in the indie underground scene in, say, Barcelona or Paris, is probably a cooler experience than in Toronto or Boston.  Funny how image/culture can colour sound.  Regardless!  This albums stands on its own as a excellent indiepop record, regardless of its origins. Choice track: “Despertar”.

19.  Exploding Flowers – Stumbling Blocks

Exploding Flowers are a new discovery to me (thanks @the_omaha_introvert!), hitting that perfect jangle pop sweet spot that I love so much.  This reminds me of the 80's underground especially, like it was minted on a college quad, with Rickenbackers and vintage keys.  Useful comparators: The Springfields, The Dentists, The Clean, Jazz Butcher, and Robyn Hitchcock.  Bright and sunny, melodius and mellifluous, I kept coming back to this in 2020 as a way to mentally stroll down carefree streets and byways. Highly recommended for personal escapism from plagues and riots. Choice track:  “Timing Is Everything”. 

18. Adrianne Lenker – Songs and Instrumentals

I was a Big Thief fan, having picked up Capacity, but it wasn’t until I happened upon Adrianne Lenker’s Abysskiss that I became fairly obsessed.  Abysskiss, my #5 of 2018, was an indie-folk masterpiece, and I set about acquiring all the Big Thief and Lenker music I could find.  2018 also saw reissues of Lenkers 2014 solo Hours Were The Birds and Aside and Besides, a split release with Buck Meek.  2019 was marked by the release of TWO Big Thief albums, UFOF and Two Hands.   This cavalcade of song would lead me to question whether Lenker had another quality album in her.  Nonetheless, Songs and Instrumentals came out in 2020 to many fans’ surprise, and it is more of the same – sublime, gorgeous, emotionally poignant indie folk of the highest caliber.  Like she was raised by Nick Drake, Vashti Banyan, and a collective of wood faeries.  A nice bonus is a whole extra disc of pretty instrumental work (almost 40 minutes).  Choice track: “Anything”.

17.  Yves Jarvis – Sundry Rock Song Stock

Ever since witnessing the beguiling stage show of Jean Sebastian Audet in 2017 – at that time going by the moniker Un Blonde – I’ve been a fan.  Previous albums Good Will Come To You (2016) and The Same But By Differerent Means (2019) have rated highly on my yearly lists (#3 and #10 respectively).  2020’s offering equals Audet’s previous output and once again offers this listener an entirely unique and distinguished set of music.  Equal parts soundscaping,  soulful RnB, light jazz, and finger-picked folk, SRSS has a marvelous degree of depth and beauty.  Audet sounds like your own personal music mage, whisper-singing in your ear about the world around you, and with layers of himself backing him up.  Given the universal need to escape into ourselves in 2020 Yves Jarvis might just be the most effective album to shelter in place to.  Choice track: “Semula”.

16.  Ringo Deathstarr – Ringo Deathstarr

It has just occurred to me as 2020 closes that Ringo Deathstarr is no longer a “new shoegaze band”.  Of the groups that helped revitalize the genre these past two decades, RDS have been around awhile, going on 15 years.   I’ve been a doting fan since I first heard the impossibly catchy fuzz gem “So High” (from 2011’s Colour Trip), but I have also noticed a bit of downslide over the years.  I always like their records, but they can also be too noisy, too difficult, or too indulgent.  I gave the 2020 s/t release a bunch of deep listens, given this is their first release in 5 years.  My initial thoughts persisted – their shoegaze wash was too prominent and I became frustrated in my search for hooks to hang my hat.  But with time this perception shifted and I now consider this an excellent return.  It IS overly guazy/hazy/distorted.  It IS indulgent and weird.  But a focused listen reveals reward after reward.  May I also suggest bypassing the vinyl and grabbing (if you can spare the bucks) the japanese CD edition with three worthy bonus tracks.  Choice track: “I Don’t Want To Lose This”.

15.  Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman

Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), Josh Ritter (The National) and Anaïs Mitchell team up to give us this beautiful and unexpected record.  I find it hard to engage with contemporary rootsy folk and rock oftentimes, because it just seems so damn hard to live up to the roots.   But in this case, the attempt is effortlessly fabulous, as if there is a direct supernatural line to the magicks of Tim Buckley and Van Morrison.  Similar to Bon Iver, Gillian Welch, and Iron & Wine, this collaboration is superior folk that is in love with the 1970’s.  It also contains my favorite song of 2020, “Deep In Love”, which I expect will now be with me for all of eternity.  Choice track and song of the year: “Deep In Love”.

14.  Zoon – Bleached Wavves

Fave local label of mine, Paper Bag Records, announced Bleached Wavves by the old school email newsletter approach and, based on the description (and some obligatory digital listening), I grabbed the deluxe vinyl.  Dubbed “moccasin gaze” by Daniel Monkman, Zoon is short for Zoongide’ewin, meaning “bravery, courage, the Bear Spirit” in Ojibway.  This tongue-in-cheek genre label barely describes the incredible amalgamation of First Nations rhythms and sounds with stratospheric shoegaze.  The lyrical backdrop – which to be honest, I’m still engaging with – tells Monkman’s story of hope and recovery in the face of prejudice, addiction, and poverty.  It is an amazing document and it’s sonic roots are clear – the hazy, woozy, narcotic elements of shoegaze, indebted heavily to My Bloody Valentine.  Choice track: “Help Me Understand”.

13.  Human Barbie – Get A Life

Will someone please get Human Barbie a record deal?  I have no issue streaming music – I do it all the time – but when this album and others on this list (Sunnsetter, Mt. Wilson  Repeater, Floral Tattoo) remain digital only, I fear they shall somehow drift away, criminally unrecognized.  I came to Get A Life late in the year (days to spare I think) and it represents the last necessary reshuffle of my list.  It is too good to fail to accommodate.  Human Barbie partially fills the hole left by Ladybug Transistor, and other intelligent orch popsters of the early millenium (side note:  but I also just discovered Kishi Bashi, who is similar and outstanding).  Human Barbie is Chris Hackman, who provies sugary smooth vocals overtop lush and dreamy landscapes.  The songs sound old, like 70’s AM radio old, as if they are coming from some aging-hippie’s basement full of psychedelic folk records.  This one’s a beauty.  Hard copy please!  Choice track: “We Disappeared”.

12.  Sunnsetter – The Love You Withhold Is The Pain You Carry

Sunnsetter is Andrew McCleod, a Hamiltonian who also serves as drummer for Zoon (see #14) and who concocts his own brand of floaty, shoegazey loveliness.  His backstory sounds just as troubling as bandmate Daniel Monkman, full of isolation, anxiety, loneliness, and mental breakdowns.  In his words, “This is music that I’ve meant to make for a long time, and just wasn’t able to either because of self hatred or just lack of inspiration and or the skills to do so.”   You may notice some lo-fi, bedroom production limitations, but that is hardly worth worrying about.  The Love You Withhold… is a gorgeous psychedelic folk opus and deserves the same deluxe vinyl release treatment given by Paper Bag records to Zoon’s Bleached Wavves.  For now, you can stream it, but even better is a Bandcamp download for a paltry 5 bucks.  Choice track: “Always Growing, Till The End (And It Continues)”.

11.  Floral Tattoo – You Can Never Have A Long Enough Head Start

Self described as “music for sad trans people who grew up at the dawn of the digital age”, this young Seattle band gets the nod as my biggest surprise of the year, i.e., I came across the album randomly and it quickly shot up the ranks into best of the year consideration.  A product of 2020 isolationism, pandemic anxiety, and the constant shadow of bigotry, this record is series of emotional gut punches and regrets.  Sonically, I am reminded of powerhouses Titus Andronicus as well as the most chaotic moments of Neutral Milk Hotel (and also Gashcat, whom few know – the defunct and digitally erased outfit headed by now-glam rocker Kyle Craft).  But there are also moments that Floral Tattoo sounds like Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Cure, or The Chameleons.  Every song is immersive and impressive, a mix of indie rock, art punk, and new wave.  Here’s hoping the band gets their music into some physical form soon.   I will be following closely.  Choice track: “Life In Color”.

10.  Close Lobsters – Post Neo Anti

Full title being Post Neo Anti: Arte Povera In The Forest of There.  I feel happy for long-time Close Lobster fans who waited over 30 years (!) for the this follow up to their last album, 1988’s Headache Rhetoric.  Me?  I only discovered these LEGENDS in 2019.  I still don’t know how this massive gap in my music knowledge remained for so long.  Close Lobsters play exactly the sort of layered, super catchy jangle pop that hits my sonic sweetspot, making me a diehard fan of bands like The Wedding Present, The Jazz Butcher, The Clean, and the Housemartins, not to mention The Smiths.  I also thought I had a pretty good handle on the 80’s jangle underground, but somehow Close Lobsters did not reach my ears.  When I finally heard 1987’s Fox Heads Stalk This Lands, I could hardly believe it.  It was an instant classic to me, literally one of the best albums I had ever heard.  I only had to wait one additional year for new music and lucky me.  Post Neo Anti sounds better produced but otherwise sounds exactly like their output from the 80’s.  What magic is this?  Has there EVER been a more cohesive and consistent comeback album after a 30 year layover.  Hum, at #4 gets some nods, but this was even longer.  Wow, amazing.  Choice track: “The Absent Guest (No Thing, No There)".

9.  Uniforms – Fantasía Moral

What’s going on in Spain?  I don’t think I owned a single record of Spanish origin, but 2020 has me listening to amazing records by imports Linda Guilala, Mourn, Melenas, and, my number 9 pick, Uniforms.  I first heard Uniforms via an obscure digital EP (2018’s Equals) and was taken in by their lo-fi but fairly gigantic shoegaze.   I put a pin in it, and made sure I would be alerted to any more releases.  2020 saw the arrival of their first full-length Fantasía Moral, and I jumped on it immediately.  I was not disappointed.  While reportedly new to the playing of instruments, this quartet has quickly learned the rarefied craft of “blowing the mind with sound”.  Layers upon overlapping layers of heavily effected guitar, keyboards, and gossamer vocals, a concoction that is just as good as the most accomplished sound merchants of this ilk: Soft Science, Eternal Summers, Ringo Deathstarr, Luxembourg Signal, Westkust, Wolf Alice, and others.  Choice track: “Brazil”.

8.  Real Estate – The Main Thing

I count myself a fan of Real Estate, but could never be rabidly so, as their mid-tempo jangle pop is too unassuming to inspire me that way, beautiful though it is.  I think I was sort of getting a bit bored with them, and was ignoring The Main Thing for awhile.  That is until a friend insisted I give it a listen because of its pitch perfect re-rendering of 70’s AM radio yacht rock / disco pop.  This description is mostly true – chunks of this album channel Hall and Oates, Captain and Tenille, The Little River Band, and Steely Dan.  This genre throwback has certainly been done before by the likes of Beck, Vampire Weekend, and Foxygen, but wow this is smmmmooooooth.  I mostly love this if my mood is amenable.  But I’m otherwise pretty taken with the continued mastery of the jangle, with tracks like “You”, “November”, and “Silent World” demonstrating their understated genius.  This is a gorgeous record.  Choice track: “November”.

7.  No Age – Goons Be Gone

With bands like Fontaines DC and Protomartyr gathering copious critical kudos in 2020, I’m more than little confused as to why No Age – some seriously experienced post-punkers – have been largely absent from year end lists, be they from online blogs and tastemakers or from music fans summing up their year on Instagram.  Every No Age release seems tremendous to me, leaving most others in the dust.  Their albums over the last decade (Everything In Between, An Object, Snares Like A Haircut) have all been remarkable, with Snares occupying my 2018 title for album of the year.  Goons Be Gone continues quality – literate, political, experimental noise rock, full of tension/release, minimalism, all while allowing for superior melodic hooks.  If you want some contemporary post-punk/rock, look no further than Goons Be Gone. Choice track: "Sandalwood".

6. Fleet Foxes – Shore

For such a high-end, critically lauded band, Fleet Foxes are not what you would call prolific.  Shore, (dropped digitally in 2020 but not available physically until February 2021) is only their fourth album since 2008.  2017’s Crack Up (#10 on my annual list) was excellent and Shore follows suit.  If anything, I like Shore even more, as its removed some of the unnecessary complexity, focusing on the perfect melody/harmony that FF is known for.  Once again, the production is absolutely gorgeous, big sunny blue sky on a mountaintop gorgeous. Like it was recorded by Sir George Martin gorgeous.  Peckhold and company provide their typical mellifluous vocals, again staking their claim as contemporary as the sweetest singing folk-rock group since Crosby, Stills, and Nash.  Choice track: “Can I Believe You”.

5. En Attendant Ana – Juillet

Hearing them for the first time in 2020, I’ve become quickly and hopelessly obsessed with En Attendant Ana, a Parisian indiepop band of the highest caliber.  Comparisons to Stereolab and Electrelane are apt enough, but the multi-layered ramshackle combination of guitars, bass, keys, drums, and horns brings them closer in design to a host of Elephant 6 bands, such as Apples in Stereo, Minders, Gerbils, and Secret Square.  They sound perfect to me, with almost every song automatically qualifying as an indiepop anthem.  The closest comparator right now is likely Alvvays, a high order compliment.  I just wish this album was kicking around the clubs when I used to go dancing in the underground.  Choice track: "Somewhere And Somehow".

4. Hum – Inlet

Whether or not it’s true, it feels like a boatload of records from big bands (to me) dropped without warning in 2020.  Quite randomly I came across new music (just sitting here, with no one telling me) by Wolf Parade, No Age, Fleet Foxes, The Bats, Psychedelic Furs (!), and The Avalanches, to name a few.  A big surprise for us 90’s fans was the unheralded return of Hum!  And what a return.  Combining their doom metal riffs with shoegaze and their signature Hum(drum) vocals (like a non-comical They Might Be Giants), the result is perhaps their best album.  Having already been a significant Hum fan (1997’s Downward Is Heavenward is an underrated giant of a record), this is no small feat to drop an LP of this quality after 20+ years. Choice track: "Waves"

3.  Widowspeak - Plum

A few artists have helped fill the hole in our hearts left by the (general) absence of Mazzy Star, made all the more painful by the passing David Roback this past year.  Jess Williamson comes to mind, for example, who’s album in 2018 (Cosmic Wink) mesmerized me in much the same way Hope Sandoval used to.  Widowspeak have also been putting out solid records with a similar sound for almost a decade and keep getting better and better.  Plum, however, might be a better record than any in Mazzy Star’s catalog, and I do not say this lightly.  Molly Hamilton sings in that perfect smoky/sultry voice that Sandoval had mastered, with Robert Thomas backing her with groovy VU-inspired guitar lines and chord progressions.  Every song is a winner.  I keep coming back to this album.  Also, most boring album cover of the year.  Choice track: "Money".

2.  Mt. Wilson Repeater – Burned Up Ghost

Jim Putnam, the man behind Radar Bros. and the Flaming Lips’ live production, has also been furtively putting out music as Mt. Wilson Repeater.  2018’s V’Ger landed at #11 on my year end list and I was anxious to hear more.  Acknowledging the general greatness of his 2008 debut, Burned Up Ghost is, in a word, incredible.  Tooling away in his isolated little studio, Putnam has engineered a sumptuous, heady, and powerful album better than any album by the Flaming Lips not named The Soft Bulletin.   Anthemic collages of electronic soundscapes, always anchored by engrossing melodies – there are layers in the layers in the layers.  It’s a sound trip of the highest order.  I’m feeling rather petulant that this (and V’Ger) have not garnered a physical release, despite an ongoing association with Merge Records.  Merge, c’mon, man!  It’s the best album in your 2020 catalog! Choice track: "Stolen Guitar".

1.  Run The Jewels - RTJ4

With the exception of old late 80’s/early 90’s hip hop, I’m not a big fan of the genre.  But this year RTJ put out my favorite hip hop album since the string of Public Enemy milestones 30 years ago. And perhaps it was social and political upheaval of our time, with the rise and resurgence of BLM action and protest in the face of morally repugnant police brutality.  2020 was a year of reckoning and it made me hear RTJ4 differently.  Released on June 3, a mere nine days after George Floyd’s death, the lyrics are heart stopping:

 The way I see it, you're probably freest from the ages one to four

Around the age of five you're shipped away for your body to be stored

They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores

And they predictin' prison population by who scoring the lowest

And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me

And every day on the evening news, they feed you fear for free

And you so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me

Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe"

Lyrical brilliance and explosive delivery aside, the record is my favorite of the year because it is musically rich, doing so much more than the average rap album.  Incredible samples, melodies, beats, and breaks, this is a masterclass of the genre.  The inclusion of matriarch Mavis Staples and other guests (Zach De La Rocha, Josh Homme, Pharrel Williams) adds even more. Choice track: "Pulling The Pin".

Amazing Albums Falling Outside the Top 25

Angel Olsen – Whole New Mess. A more cinematic and arty Olsen, channeling all the best features of Weyes Blood, Beach House, and Sharon van Etten.  The gendered comparisons are intentional, as dudes don’t ever seem to pull this style off, except for maybe Marlon Williams or Antlers.  Splitting dubious hairs to leave this one off the top list.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories.  Funny how these alt-rockers have grown into progressive rock grandfathers.  Another great big rock album with lots to love.

Austra – Hirudin.  Toronto’s Katie Stelmanis returns with another cinematic art-pop album, brimming with power and politics

Bdrmm – Bedroom. Shoegazey indie-rock that sits that one important notch above so many other fuzzy guitar bands, making them amazing rather than merely good.  They have an early Teenage Fanclub meets Drop Nineteens vibe, but with Joy Division moaning through the cracks in the floorboards.

Best Coast – Always Tomorrow.  Bethany and Bobb give us their patented fuzzy indie pop, referencing 50’s sock hop, The Bangles, and Juliana Hatfield. 

Braids – Shadow Offering.  After a 5 year hiatus, Braids’ synthesized classical pop reforms to land them somewhere between Kate Bush and Julia Holter.  A gorgeous addition.

Bully - Sugaregg. I didn't see this on a lot of year end lists and I don't get it.  This pop-punk album is absolutely smoking, with an edge that distinguishes them from corporatized alternative.

Coriky – Coriky.  With seemingly little fanfare, Fugazi founders Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally join forces again with Anna Farina (of the Farina/MacKaye duo in The Evens).  Fugazi was once the spear point of literate underground protest rock and this return seems timely -- 2020 badly needs the political demonstrations/remonstrations of MacKaye and company.  The album itself threw me off at first, testing my attention with seemingly straight up post punk, but then the curveballs came and I heard Wire, Parquet Courts and, of course, Fugazi.  A great record. But are they aware that the opening chord progression of "Say Yes" rips off "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung?

Dehd – Flower of Devotion.  Dehd run the risk of alienating the listener with distracting yelps and affectations, there is plenty more to rope you in.  Think Crystal Stilts, Velvet Underground, Woods, and Galaxie 500.

Ecke Wu - Performance

Ecke Wu – Performance.  From Shanghai, arcehtypal shoegaze/dream pop  of the type perfected by Cocteau Twins and Lush. 

Elliott Brood – Keeper. These footstomping countrifed rockers continue with their heartstring-pulling, down-home anthems.  Doesn’t matter what song they play, every time I hear them I feel seriously nostalgic.

Empty Country – Empty Country.  Solo effort of Joseph D’Agostino of now defunct Cymbals Eat Guitars.  While his voice is an acquired taste, this is a great record of pensive and sometimes expansive indie rock. 

Flaming Lips – American Head.  FINALLY Flaming Lips return to a consistently listenable album.  The King’s Mouth was almost there, but American Head manages to recall the greatness of the Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.

Griffin McElroy – Graduation: Semesters I and II.  Here is a niche soundtrack genre:  instrumental scores for improvisational role-playing game podasts.  The brothers McIlroy (and patriarch, Cliff) have walked along many stories under a range of games and game mechanics, but their D&D campaigns under the umbrella series “The Adventure Zone”, have always been their most successful.  The most recent (and ongoing as of this writing) is “Graduation”, as our heroes (Justin, Griffin, and Cliff McIlroy) take on foundational beings of the universe, Chaos and Order, as directed by DM Travis McIlroy.  Griffin is also the soundtracker, who in post-production, makes the story telling come alive with quasi-classical, baroque MIDI tableaus and soundscapes.  While very niche, this needs to be heard on its own right.  Whimsical and wondorous.

Jenny O. – New Truth.  Within 20 seconds of lead track “God Knows Why” I was clicking away trying to secure a copy of Jenny O.’s 2020 LP “New Truth.” Such a great groovy guitar pop sound, similar to Luna, Jess Williamson, and Widowspeak.

Kestrels – Dream or Don’t Dream. Fuzzy indie rock from Montreal, comparing favorably to Dog Day or a less difficult Ringo Deathstarr.

Microphones – Microphones in 2020.  Phil Elverum returns with a 45 minute single that must also be considered an album.  Understated but beguiling, it’s long form personal narrative in song. 

Peel Dream Magazine – Agitprop Alterna. An attractive Stereolab clone that brings back the transient noise bursts and refried ectoplasm.

Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher.  Bridgers’ massively successful follow up to 2017’s Stranger in the Alps is more refined and more experimental, pushing her into the indie A-list territory of Weyes Blood, Sharon Van Etten, and Bon Iver.  On everyone’s year end lists, she could be a household name if she isn’t careful.

Porridge Radio – Every Bad.  Unwavering, from-the-gut post-punk, like Savages and Le Tigre circling each other before a knife fight.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways to Italy.  More top end jangle rock from Australia’s current best import this side of Courtney Barnett.

Smokescreens – A Strange Dream. This is jangle pop goodness that sounds a lot like The Bats, The Go-Betweens, and The Clean.  Surprise, surprise, it was produced by David Kilgour, formerly of the Clean, and revered ambassador of the jangle.  Perhaps a little pitchy in places, but endearing nonetheless, this is a modest record that shines with innocence.  

Soccer Mommy – Color Theory.  Great mid-tempo indie-rock pop, a step-sister to Juliana Hatfield.

Stephen Malkmus – Traditional Techniques.  The unwilling captain of slacker cool tests our assumptions with an album of Afghani sitar, stand up bass, and psychedelic raga folk.  His best solo album.

STRFKR – Future Past Life.  This one was just edged out of the top list, somewhat arbitrarily.  Excellent bedroom guitar pop with well-chosen synth leads, backdrops, and grooves.  Hippie dream pop under a disco ball.

Sunstack Jones –  Golden Repair.  You’d be forgiven if you thought this was a lost Verve album that more closely links A Northern Soul to Urban Hymns.  Produced by Simon Jones and mixed by Nick McCabe (surprise, both from The Verve!).

Wire – Mind Hive.  I seem to write the same thing every year.  This absolutely seminal band keeps putting out post-punk masterpieces that teach all the clever clogs kids how its done.

Wolf Parade – Thin Mind.  Grandfathers of Canada's early aught resurgence (along with Constantines, Arcade Fire, Stars, Broken Social Scene, and so on), their reformation has been seemingly without consequence, but this album (along with 2017’s Cry Cry Cry) relights the torch.

And also definitely check out the great 2020 long players put out by Mourn, Beabadoobee, Gord Downie (a final posthumous release), Jess Williamson,  Young Jesus, ROOKIE, Deserta, Choux, Bob Mould, Corey Flood, Heather Trost, No Joy, The Black Watch, Woods, Kidbug, Dogleg, Emma Kupa, I Break Horses, Mamalarky, Bad Moves, Jesu, and Psychedelic Furs.

Some Favourite 2020 Music Things That Are Not Studio LPs

Beyond the main category of long-player album (i.e., the main criterion for list consideration) there were lots of other amazing releases in 2020.  A complete stunner was the unexpected release (for me – those in the know, um, knew) of The Harry Smith B-Sides, which are the complete and ultra rare flip sides of every single from Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music (originally released in 1952 and arguably the most important archival music project in the history of Americana). I never thought about the fact that every historic track of course had a b-side. Down the rabbit hole I went.  I’m still excavating through these 80 ancient tracks of deep Americana cuts – blues, country, gospel, and bluegrass.

Speaking of old records, Neil Young dropped Homegrown, a long unreleased album from his 70’s hey day that he held back because the content was too depressing for him.  Fans have heard most of these songs in some shape or form in different places and times, but this is the first time the original cuts have been released as an album, as intended.  It’s pretty surreal.  Neil Young’s classic albums are part of our heritage, imprinted on our brains, carved into our memories.  But in this case we don’t really know these songs, yet they are of that time.  It’s chilling and heart-warming at the same time, and amazing to listen to.  But I know that I’ll never love it the way I love his “real” albums from the 70’s.

In the realm of contemporary various artist compilations, Captured Tracks released an epic and unprecedented 2LP set of jangle pop:  Strum and Thrum:  The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987.  Carefully and gorgeously crafted, this is the C86 compilation that America never had. I know quite a bit about music, but I only know four bands by name on here and I’m really only familiar with the music of two (The Springfields and Downey Mildew). And it’s alllll great.  Included is detailed oral history of the scene. This compilation seems historically profound and I’m in love.  

My ears are still ringing from the dreamy, spacey shoegaze appearing on Southeast of Saturn, a Third Man Records compilation that curates the best from releases from Detroit and area (e.g., Majesty Crush, Füxa, Windy & Carl, Astrobrite). A must-have for fans of this genre.  Sticking to the shoegaze theme, Spain’s Linda Guilala relieved the frustrations of numerous physical copy purists who were loving their digital string of Stereolab-ish fuzzfest releases.  Espacio De Tiempo (2009-2019) compiles all major singles and numerous b-sides onto CD and vinyl, so people like me can hold as well as hear it.

2020 was also the 50^th anniversary of one of my all-time favorite albums:  Tea For The Tillerman by Yusuf / Cat Stevens.  To celebrate this milestone, Yusuf, at 80 years young, decided to re-record the album in it’s entirety.  This is unprecedented for me – the original artist reinterpreting and re-recording an album that ranks among my all-time favorites.  This is qualitatively different from remasters (as common as potatoes), contemporary remixes, and never before heard versions of songs/albums that were recorded at the time of the original (e.g., Let It Be…Naked and the recent Beatles deluxe reissues are good examples).  It’s also different from live renditions (e.g., The Wall – Live In Berlin) or contemporized compilations (e.g., Joni Mitchell’s jazzy reworkings on 2000’s Both Sides Now, Jeff Lynne redoing ELO hits). 

The recreation of a full studio album, track for track…has this ever been done?  Probably, although I can’t think of an example.  It also seems ill-advised, like inviting artistic disaster.  Why redo something so perfect, so embedded in music history, and so personally important to millions (?) of people?  What if it is poorly done, what if it takes too many liberties, and sullies the source material?  Turns out that Yusuf knew what to do!  There are a couple curveballs in approach here and there but he largely sticks to the spirit and composition of the original tracks, with lovely and welcome additions and flourishes.  A few tracks are noticeably different.  “On The Road To Find Out” is turned into a dusty blues shuffle and “Longer Boats” segues into jazzy gospel (and includes some lyrical changes to align the original with Yusuf’s latter day world view).  “Wild World” is the only misstep, and is an abomination, and I wish he didn’t do it.  But otherwise, the result is powerful, and listening to this record brought me to tears.  Multiple times.  What a gift.  In my list of 1970 albums, Tea For The Tillerman is #1, earning a perfect 10/10 and probably sitting in my Top 10 all-time.  Tea For Tillerman² would be #1 in 2020 if I felt it qualified as a “new studio release”.

Another 2020 treasure trove for me was the release of Poi Dog Pondering’s Original Cassettes 1984-1987, a 2CD set of early versions and demos of the bands output from their first three glorious (and best) LPs.  So many of these songs were so personal to me in my late adolescence and hearing these early incarnations is amazing.   

Swervedriver surprised their fans with the release of Petroleum Spirit Daze, which is the original recordings of their first 1990 EP Son of Mustang Ford.  For whatever reason, label head Alan McGee wasn’t feelin’ it and had the band redo the recordings, and these original tracks have been buried all this time.  For the dedicated fan, these versions are exciting to hear, and perhaps revelatory for some.  The “House of the Wood Studio” recordings (“Son of Mustang Ford”, “Juggernaut Rides”, “Afterglow”, and "Kill The Superheroes") have more space to them, are dryer and crisper somehow, mostly in relation to Adam Franklin’s vocals that you can actually hear.  The best part of it all is hearing different studio versions of songs that are so minted on your brain.  “Juggernaut Rides” is especially different and, I think, superior.  Incidentally, the band decided to digitally reissue remastered versions of all their b-sides, over two albums (Youth at the Summit and Honey Heavens Above).  Remastering of b-sides was done for a selection of songs for the now badly OOP 2005 comp Juggernaut Rides, but not for all of them.  Truth be told, I haven’t listened intently to the results.

AND THEN….this is crazy:  My all-time favorite song, #1 on my Top 500 (1965-2009) is “What Sees The Sky” by Mazarin.  I consider Mazarin to be one the most criminally underrated and underloved band of the late 90’s/early 2000’s (and they continue still, or rather Quetin Stoltzfus continues, under the name Light / Heat).  In 2020, the band reissued their third and last album (2005’s We’re Already There) on vinyl and I decided to pick it up.  With the purchase came a download of early demos and outtakes, which included a fully produced alternate version (not take) of “What Sees the Sky?” An extremely raw and rocking, up-tempo version.  Another unbelievable treat for me.

Blanks - Beyond These Walls EP

And of course there has been steady flow of EPs, singles, covers, and live sets from all directions that have been keeping my ears busy.  Highlights include:

• A new EP from Toronto's Blanks (Beyond These Walls) with four excellent new tunes -- I hear Dodos, Strokes, and Parquet Courts. 
  
• An unexpected digital single from the otherwise inactive Constantines (“Call Me Out”).
• A quasi-improvised live set of the Pure Phase Ensemble (this being the 9^th incarnation led by Adam Franklin) as a centrepiece to SpaceFest in Gdansk, Poland.
• An album of home recorded covers from Dean & Britta (

  

  Peel Dream Magazine - Moral Panics
  

  The Quarantine Tapes),
• Brighter Then, an EP by Real Numbers.
• A cover of Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man” by Tanya Donnelly
• The Mood Swings EP by Maddie Jay, which is way too poppy for me, but contains a top 10 song of the year for me, “Shakes”.
• Great jangly singles from Odd Hope, Pale Lights, and Neutrals, courtesy of Slumberland.
• A late 2020 7-song EP from Peel Dream Magazine (Moral Panics) that is better than the already great 2020 LP Agit Alterna.
  

 

Okay!  2021, what you got!?