Many great albums unfortunately didn't make the cut on my year-end list. Here are 10 albums that I enjoyed this year that I think are definitely worth listening to.
2020 has been a crappy year, folks. Despite all the isolation and tragedies, we have had a ton of great new music this year! Even though concerts have been a dismal, there have been many creative ways of live interactions with fans through live streaming and fun virtual performances throughout the year. We even had Bandcamp Fridays, where listeners purchased over $40 million (!) worth of music on the platform that is directly supporting the labels and artists that need it most. All in all, with all the chaos through 2020, we had some positive outcomes in music.
Now on to my annual year-end lists! Unfortunately, there are several albums that I loved this year that didn't make the final cut of the top 25 list. Here are my thoughts on these records that I still think are definitely worth your attention. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Dawes
Good Luck With Whatever
The new seventh record from L.A.'s very own Dawes is miles ahead from their previous record (which I wasn't a fan of). Good Luck With Whatever is thankfully a return to form for the band, focusing on Taylor Goldsmith's storytelling and solid production that sounds fun and playful. The band are back to the basics with nine solid tunes and kept the album tight with classic piano, drums, bass and guitar that screams Jackson Browne and Eric Clapton fanfare. If you're a fan of the band's second record, fan favorite Nothing Is Wrong, then you would love this one without a doubt. It doesn't feature the band's highest highs in lyrics like "A Little Bit of Everything," but it certainly gives you a run for its money on tracks like "Still Feel Like a Kid," "St. Augustine at Night," and "Didn't Fix Me." The songs are wholesome, fun, and classic Dawes, as they should be.
The Flaming Lips
American Head
On American Head, The Flaming Lips return to the notable moments of bliss, dreamy balladry from records like The Soft Bulletin from 1999, which is my personal favorite Lips record. There are songs about death and loss from drugs and police over harmonic passages, glistening instrumentals, and Wayne Coyne's lullabeye-like whispering voice. There's even an excellent Kacey Musgraves feature on the album as well on "God and the Policeman," which comes to no surprise considering the psychadelic influence in Musgraves' recent work. Like I mentioned when mentioning "When You Return / When You Come Down" in my Best Songs of 2020 list (which you should read right after this), the band certainly creates moving ballads that are as close as moving and emotional as "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" and "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton." The Lips' best record in years, still pushing for newer and exciting adventures, all while indulging in past sounds too.
Jessie Ware
What's Your Pleasure?
Jessie Ware's fourth album is her best one by far. What's Your Pleasure? features some of the most exciting and fun instrumentals she's ever sung on in her career with an all around effort for sleek, sexy, and fun vintage dance pop and disco. Similar to that of pop records before it, what makes this one so great are really the grooves, songwriting, and hooks. Ware's always had a fantastic voice, and warm and charming one that really grabs your attention. There are some elements of house music on "Mirage (Don't Stop)," some 90's dance ("Save a Kiss"), some disco ("Spotlight"). This album definitely has something for everyone and its track list leaves no room for error, which there isn't. After hearing her previous albums, I certainly wanted more groovy instrumentals for her to sing over and finally we have the perfect kind of record for Jessie Ware to be on!
Julianna Barwick
Healing Is a Miracle
Within today's electronic and ambient (and experimental) music scene, Julianna Barwick is amongst my favorites ranked up with Sarah Louise, Grouper, Mary Lattimore (which we'll get to later) and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, all being wonderful artists. Barwick's albums truly have a dream-like quality to them where the listener is always in a deep-eyed state of stillness and calm. Healing Is a Miracle is a meditative and calming experience for the mind. Her echoed vocals that seem to stretch for miles latched with electronics and synths provide a seamless, almost weightless listen. "Inspirit," the album's opener, certainly introduces the overall sound quite amazingly with its gorgeous composition and direction. There are notable guests as well, like Sigur Rós' Jónsi on "In Light" and the fantastic harpist Mary Lattimore on "Oh, Memory." She continues to make fluid and organic music that's as ongoing and naturally beautiful as the ocean waves.
Laura Marling
Song for Our Daughter
Laura Marling put out a beautiful tribute to her daughter on the fittingly titled Song for Our Daughter. A much more traditional folk album, she resonates her inner Joni Mitchell with acoustic tracks on piano and guitar. A simply put together record that can be appreciated for its small things, like the light and playful lyricism on "Strange Girl" or the softly sifting strings on "Fortune." The album is quite straightforward and easygoing, like a warm Summer breeze in a garden of petunias (or some other pretty flower). "Alexandra" exhales the best 60's/70's folk records and "Held Down" is a gorgeously gripping ballad with a moving vocal performance from Marling. Song for Our Daughter is the best folk album of 2020 hands down and features some of the best intimate performances this year too.
Matt Berninger
Serpentine Prison
The charismatic, depressive, and often deadpan National frontman returns by himself on Serpentine Prison. Well, by himself in name, because there are some great collaborators on his debut solo album featuring all around production from Booker T. Jones. The album is an easygoing sup of cough syrup, soothing but also full of dread and sadness. I always find an enjoyment in listening to Berninger's music (whether it's with his band The National or side project EL VY) and there's no exception in Serpentine Prison. The songs on here are very relaxing to listen to, like the swaying island-like guitar on "My Eyes Are T-Shirts," the gentle guitar strumming on "Distant Axis," or the horns on the title track. Serpentine Prison may not have the gargantuan instrumentation like a National record, Matt Berninger is still featured like one of the more prominent and interesting figures in the indie music scene he has been over the past 20 years.
The Mountain Goats
Getting Into Knives
John Darnielle's The Mountain Goats keep consistently coming up with new and interesting themes and ideas in their records. After making a record about pro wrestling in 2015, one about goth culture in 2017, and one about dungeons and dragons in 2019, The Goats decide to take another swerve in 2020. This time, the band go into personal tales here of course, all while focusing on themes that sound a little bit darker, a little bit sinister. "As Many Candles As Possible" is an absolute jam with some great organ breakdowns from organist Charles Hodges. "Get Famous" is another one that features a lovely horn section. "Corsican Mastiff Stride" is a straightforward strumming shuffle that is kind of beachy in my opinion. The majority of the moments from the record are surpassingly the ballads, featuring great key moments like "Picture of My Dress," "The Last Piece I Saw You Alive," and "Harbor Me." An all around great listen, Getting Into Knives features some really fun and beautiful Goats songs. As expected!
tricot
Black
10
The Japanese rock band tricot actually didn't release just one new record this year, but two! I wanted to include both of these albums, since they're both incredible feats full of bangers, math rock technical shifts, girl group pop vocals, and some amazing riffs and drums throughout. Black was released earlier in the year and featured a polished, perfected sound. 10, which was released a couple of months ago, celebrated the band's ten years with
some solid production but also more experimental cuts too. The band typically rides on waves of constantly superb combinations rock and pop, while keeping things interesting altogether. Tracks like "Afureru" are absolutely bananas and will crush your skull with their fast pace, killer guitars, and nonstop performances. "WARP" provides the radio-friendly hooks and guitar chords that we've come to expect from tricot. All in all, both Black and 10 are great achievements from the Japanese band, showing off their growth in performance talent over the years and even taking their sound even further.
Tyler Childers
Long Violent History
The country outlaw star and fiddler Tyler Childers took a surprising turn with his new record. As a surprise release and instead of continuing further with his more accessible rough country rock, Childers takes a step back to the more traditional sounds of the fiddle. As an esteemed fiddle player, Childers focuses on a completely instrumental fiddle album aside from the title track. As a result, Long Violent History is a record that not only celebrates the stylings of the fiddle, but also a reflection of the dark tragedies and inequalities that the country's past history has been, especially toward minorities in the South. The album is quite a meditative experience, reflecting on the historical past with a perspective of Childers, but it also can be enjoyed with its warm, inviting instrumentation of strings, drums, guitar, banjo, and, of course, the fiddle. The album's final track, "Long Violent History," summits Childers' frustrations over the fatal killings of black Americans over the past few years (and most notably this past year, really) and wonders if there is an end or sign of peace in sight. Hopefully, with Childers' optimism of hope and togetherness with his and his bandmates' performances, there will be soon.
Yelle
L'Ère du Verseau
The lovable and moveable French dance trio came back in 2020 with a bang on L'Ère du Verseau, a record that featured the group's iconic songs of feverish and melodic dance pop. Songs like "Karaté" and "Emancipense" add flare and combustion with its choppy and sharp production, while "Je t'aime encore" and "Un million" provide the cool down with some beautifully done balladry. "Noir" is classic 2007 Pop Up era Yelle, while "Mon beau chagrin" is a spoken word glitchy space trip. The trio provided an edge of darkness with their music this time around which I found to be interesting. Nonetheless, the music is still a bright shining array of dance pop tunes that are captivating, fun, and are all around full of motion and energy.
Comments