It's officially the time of the year where I wrap up all my favorite music in a neat little bow. Here are my top 25 favorite albums of 2020.
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. With all the chaos through 2020, we had some positive outcomes in music.
Now on to my annual year-end lists! Here are my top 25 favorite albums of 2020 and my thoughts on each one of them. Enjoy and thanks for reading! Enjoy and thanks for reading!
(PS: If you want to cut to the chase, you can scroll to see the full list all the way at the bottom of this page.)
25.
U.S. Girls
Heavy Light
Leave it to Meghan Remy to create some of the most interesting and engaging pop music over the past decade with Heavy Light being no exception. Her eighth album under the U.S. Girls name is her most conceptual and collaborative album to date, featuring backing vocals and instrumental bits of xylophone and horns. Interludes of guest band members are scattered throughout the record, each answering questions on self reflection, youth, and emerging adulthood. There are throwback disco dance pop bangers like "4 American Dollars" and "Overtime," along with exciting reinterpretations of older U.S. Girls songs like "Red Ford Radio" and "State House." Unlike past records, there are more classically organic piano driven ballads on the album ("Denise, Don't Wait") as well along with 70's prog inspired cuts too ("The Quiver to the Bomb"). Despite its janky flow and lack of huge, heavy bangers like from her previous record, Heavy Light still remained a provocative and reflective record from U.S. Girls.
24.
Mary Lattimore
Silver Ladders
We got plenty (and I mean plenty) of great ambient and electronic music throughout 2020, including a new Mary Lattimore album. Silver Ladders is the new project from the harpist and ambient arranger and acts as a really beautiful and gentle companion or sequel to 2018's Hundreds of Days. The album features a fluid and impeccable flow with one song/piece flowing into the next with ease. The music itself is gorgeous with Lattimore's finger picked harp playing, lifting bass, and often times some darkened guitars, all layered into one dreamy, hazy state. "Pine Trees" is perfectly moving at pace with its gently nestled strings. "Til a Mermaid Drags You Under" is beautifully sinister with its deep, mesmerizing sound that will literally drag the listener into a darkened abyss during its over ten minute runtime. Silver Ladders is a stress relieving experience for me that I thank Mary Lattimore for making in a year where I needed it.
23.
Land of Talk
Indistinct Conversations
The follow up to Elizabeth Powell's stunning Life After Youth comes another album that attributes to her strengths as a singer, songwriter and performer. A much more stripped back and softer approach from her last record, Indistinct Conversations comes through with Powell's signature voice over some well crafted, reliable indie rock that's a little rough around the edges (just a little bit). Take the album's opener "Diaphanous" with its slow chug of guitars flowing into layers of charm and it's beautiful moving. There are slow burners that end up being gorgeous songs like "Weight of That Weekend" and the darkened nocturnal "Love In 2 Stages" (and also the amazing "Compelled"). There are faster paced and upbeat moments too, like the energetic "Look to You" and the stellar guitar riffs of "Footnotes." After the excellence of Life After Youth, hearing her once again on Indistinct Conversations felt like coming back to a reliable, well-crafted home. Sturdy, comfortable, and loving.
22.
Same Prekop
Comma
On The Sea and Cake frontman's latest solo effort, Comma, Sam Prekop takes us on a wonderful journey. Not really "us" and more like "you," since the album's core sounds and experiences sound so individual and upfront. The synth and electronic passages throughout the record are exquisite and engaging, showing Prekop's process to making electronic music upfront and personal. There are elements of ambience on "September Remember" or "Approaching," elements of straightforward groovers like "Comma," "Never Met" or "Wax Wing." All are soft, airy, and imaginative like the clouds above you: Comma truly is an experience that is different upon each listen, different upon each interpretation or perspective. Like much of the indie rock of The Sea and Cake, Sam Prekop takes us into yet another uniquely vast experience of personalized observations. Only this time, they're in the form of synths and electronics. The magic is still the same, nonetheless.
21.
Kate NV
Room for the Moon
The Russian singer songwriter's new album is an exciting turn into plenty of fun and different stylistic journeys. Room for the Moon was my first listening experience from Kate NV and it is an enjoyable one that will surely put a smile on your face. Her personality and charm are all over this record and it's glorious. She sings in English, French, and Russian throughout the album, adding more of herself within the lyricism (and I think she sings in more languages too). There are grooves of vintage krautrock, ambient, African, 80's dream pop, and synth pop throughout this fun little album. I get whiffs of Angel Deradoorian in her vocals: bits of dreaminess, ethereal vocal passages that are amazingly textured and layered, especially noticeable in "Not Not Not." There's a lot of quirk, oddball humor and sonic decisions being made on Room for the Moon that is extremely appreciative. Moments like "Du Na," "Lu Na," and "Plans" are a pure synth dreamscape. There are groovy odd hair raisers like the French "Ça Commence Par" and more accessible synth pop moments like "Telefon," the album's closer and personal favorite. Room for the Moon is an absolutely fun album from Kate NV that's full of variety, layers, and details to get into with each new listen.
20.
Gorillaz
Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
There were few things to enjoy through 2020, but new Gorillaz tunes are always a treat. Scattered throughout the year, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett provided some pretty fun and off the wall tracks. Altogether released an album, part one in a potential series, Song Machine features some of the group's most fun collaborations in years. No surprise, the record features some crazy guest spots with Elton John, Peter Hook, The Cure's Robert Smith, Beck, and St. Vincent just to name a few. The overall experience acts as a playlist or compilation of dance pop, new wave, cooky hip hop, and anything else that'll be thrown at you. With a year as chaotic as this was, Song Machine brings joy that will keep you preoccupied, even for one momentary bliss.
19.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
The Mosaic of Transformation
More ambient goodness came out of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith this year with her stunning electronic odyssey. Known as The Mosaic of Transformation, Smith creates a whole entire ecosystem of unique sonic excursions that flow, grow, and breathe in and out in a deep motion. The album's lead ten minute single, "Expanding Electricity," acts as a push for what the entire listen will entice: swaying strings, vocals that flow like a gust of wind, and versatile percussion and synths, all coming together in a magical, starry glow. The whole album's flow is in motion and seems to move in a way that reminds me of yoga: movements that are at peace, at mind, still, yet moving at the same time. Like Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore's new albums, Smith's The Mosaic of Transformation is an uplifting and meditative experience that truly heals the mind and soul. Ambient and experimental electronic music we need in 2020.
18.
Deradoorian
Find The Sun
Angel Deradoorian, ex-Dirty Projectors member and singer songwriter, pulled through with a new album that ended up being delayed for what felt like an eternity of time. Find The Sun finally was released and featured some really raw, garage-rock influenced moments that ended up being ethereal and bright (hence it's title). Deradoorian's new album seems to be more guitar driven than her debut solo record with tracks like "Red Den" and "Saturnine Night" bringing in influences of psychedelic indie and garage rock from bands like Deerhunter. "Monk's Robes" features harmonies as layered and gorgeous as the rising red sun, while the nine minute "The Illuminator" features woodwinds, a stirringly brilliant beat, speech, and backing ambient noise throughout (I also love the gongs). The hazy and nocturnal "Devil's Market" is another highlight as well. Find The Sun is another stunning achievement for Angel Deradoorian with plenty of different and sonic journeys to enjoy in the long term.
17.
Anna Burch
If You're Dreaming
Michigan resident and Polyvinyl signee Anna Burch went solo in 2018 with Quit the Curse, a sunny and reflective excursion on love, heartbreak, and identity. It was massively enjoyable by your truly and her follow up, If You're Dreaming, is another helping of exactly that. The album features sunburnt guitars, moody keys, and Anna Burch's dreamlike voice and tone. Compared to her last record, it is a bit moodier, quieter, and more of a slow burner, but that shouldn't shy away from the great songwriting on tracks like "Jacket," "Every Feeling," "Not So Bad," and "Tell Me What's True." There are brighter and upbeat moments, but the majority of the true winners on If You're Dreaming are the lush, gently rocking ballads from Anna Burch. Another great venture, Anna Burch is an up and comer who is one of the more exciting artists in indie rock and pop.
16.
Run the Jewels
RTJ4
The tag team duo of Killer Mike and El-P continue to release consistently great music that's purely uncut and sounds like the two are in rapid fire mode. RTJ4, the fourth Run the Jewels album, is arguably the duo's best to date. It's nonstop once again, featuring bolstering production and on point back and forth lyricism from both Mike and El. There are topics of the two as fictional runaway anti heroes on the introductory theme song-like "yankee and the brave" and also the fun braggadocios deliveries from the two on "out of sight" with a great appearance from 2 Chainz. There is a thoughtful testament to the police brutality and racism across the powerful "walking in the snow" that is even more important and resonates even more than it was initially released this year (before the protests and killings really started to ramp up). There is also a great collaborative track between Pharrell Williams and Rage Against the Machine's Zack De La Rocha on "JU$T." Overall, Run the Jewels have continued this freight train of fire on RTJ4, continuing on the rampage of bustling tracks that will in fact knock your teeth out. And I mean this in the greatest way possible!
15.
Kelly Lee Owens
Inner Song
The Welsh electronic and dance artist Kelly Lee Owens became and exciting newcomer with her debut self-titled record in 2017, which quickly became one of my favorites in recent years. Her highly anticipated follow up, Inner Song, seems to be more personal and identity driven. With more straightforward bangers like the climate change-fueled "Melt!" or the synth pop of "On" (her most accessible song to date), the album is even more inviting to newcomers. Not to say it's completely accessible; there are still some head turning oddball moments on the album too. Owens' rendition of Radiohead's "Arpeggi" is uniquely bass-driven and skeletal, all while almost matching the same intensity and flourishes brilliantly like the original. The John Cale-featured "Corner of My Sky" is the most intriguing track on the record with a "shattered glass in the clouds" vibe. Overall, Inner Song features the versatility and excitement of Kelly Lee Owens, even more so this time around with even more potential from Owens in the future.
14.
Everything Everything
RE-ANIMATOR
UK art pop and rock band Everything Everything has become one of the more exciting acts in the scene with albums like 2015's Get To Heaven. The band's latest record, RE-ANIMATOR, is a blend of the experimental side of the group with elements of endearing pop and rock. It's the closest thing the band has culminated since 2015 that is as exciting or bombastic. The horns and grooves on "Arch Enemy" and the hip hop influenced "Big Climb" feature that experimental and fun side of the band. "Violent Sun" and "Lost Powers" are sunlit indie rock tunes, while "It Was a Monstering" and "Moonlight" feature somber, chilling Radiohead influence. RE-ANIMATOR is a more palatable attempt at creating the unique sound that they've really owned, while also adding refreshing takes of new and old styles. Everything Everything are still engaging and talented with their songwriting, stylistic shifts, and production.
13.
Stephen Malkmus
Traditional Techniques
A true and blue baroque indie rock and Americana record in 2018 and an electronic dance excursion in 2019. What's next, Stephen Malkmus, a traditional folk and guitar record? You're exactly right! Pavement frontman and slacker / indie rock legend Stephen Malkmus came through with his third curve ball of an album in three years. Traditional Techniques may be a more straightforward folk and acoustic venture, but he still has his trademark wit and humor in the lyrics like the internet era "Shadowbanned" or "Xian Man." There are some really grand, ever winding instrumentation that features pedal-steel, acoustic guitar, flutes, and bit of banjo(?) as well. Some of the quieter, slower moments are truly enjoyable to hear again and again, especially "ACC Kirtan" and "What Kind of Person" Malkmus does it again with Traditional Techniques, adding a third gem to the triple crown of risk taking and career defying moves for the veteran.
12.
The Microphones
Microphones in 2020
The mind behind Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum, decides to reunite his The Microphones monicker with a new album. Fittingly titled Microphones In 2020, Elverum made a single entire 44-minute long song that details into the creative process from his Microphones beginnings to Mount Eerie to now. It's an incredibly reflective experience, hearing Elverum go heavily into detail about events in his personal life and he reflects on his life (from his childhood to emerging adulthood to his current state) and music career (from the early days of the Microphones to Mount Eerie projects to now). He even goes into meta territory on how to even categorize this album and how he came up with the album's title itself. When I mentioned that it's a 44-minute long song, I do in fact mean that. It's nonstop with its swirling and mesmerizing acoustic guitar, piano, and abrasive noise and horns from time to time. The song itself moves and progresses throughout both lyrically and instrumentally, making it a wonderfully engaging experience throughout. I personally am not too familiar with Elverum's work as much as I would like, but hearing the stories he's telling are incredible to hear to a newbie. I do recommend the visual counterpart to the album in which Elverum shares photographs detailing scenery and personal experiences (which you can find here). Microphones In 2020 is a huge highlight of the year and is an experience like no other. It's beautiful, moving, and really delves into Elverum's career in a unique and introspective way.
11.
Fleet Foxes
Shore
Released as a surprise to many, the Seattle folk outfit Fleet Foxes pull through with a sunlit, groove-filled follow up to 2017's Crack-Up. Rather than the full stylistic shifts and experimentation of their last record, Shore trades in for catchier hooks, groovier guitars and rhythms, and more straightforward progressions. Despite this, the album still has some exciting twists and turns, while having a few odd moments of stylistic shifts too. Shore reflects on isolation, life, and also death. Being inspired by the passings of influential artists like Richard Swift and Arthur Russell, "Sunblind" celebrates these musicians with what they have given to the world and also celebrates keeping your mind at bay by keeping touch with nature. The band creates some of the catchiest grooves in their career like "Jara," "Maestranza," and "Quiet Air / Gioia" and also some of the most radio-ready songs since their 2008 debut ("Can I Believe You"). The twists and turns include the Pet Sounds-heavy "Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman" and the album's closer, which resonates the large instrumentation of Crack-Up. Overall, Shore may not be the most memorable Fleet Foxes record (it sure is hard to follow up the band's three incredible releases) but Robin Pecknold and company create a blissful collection of songs that are a fun and joyful connection between human and the beauty of nature.
10.
Metz
Atlas Vending
The fourth studio album from the Canadian trio Metz bring the pummeling and driving sound of garage, punk, rock, and energetic noise they typically do. The writing, performances, and production are up another level from the band's previous material and they are also switching up stylistically too. "A Boat to Drown In" is the album's biggest single that is a different change of pace by adding instrumental buildup and progressions of noise that rise and become louder and louder, to a point where it ends up being beautiful with its ambience of noise. That may not make sense, but by listening to it, it will! The production is crisp and loud, but it's also very precise and well maintained with the madness of noise and riffs. The entire record has catchy grooves, guitars, rhythms, and most of all, hooks. There are so many hooks on this album that you will be humming for weeks and weeks to come (especially on tracks like "Draw Us In," "The Mirror," and "Hail Taxi" (which may have the most accessible hook in the band's catalog?). Metz keep getting better and better with attention to detail, craft, and overall performance on Atlas Vending. It's for sure the most fun garage and noise rock record of the year.
9.
My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall II
Five years after the release of The Waterfall comes the surprise sequel from the indie psychedelic folk and rock band My Morning Jacket. The Waterfall II has the knack for ever winding indie rock and folk rock that its initial one did, but it's a bit different than its predecessor. The album continues to have these themes of nature and self reflection from frontman Jim James, but the songs aren't as upfront or as noticeable. They're uncovered and are waiting to be listened to, to be deciphered. I listened to both Waterfall records extensively this year and both releases are incredibly nuanced and engaging. This one has the majority of the slow burners, the ones that need more patience and listening. Tracks like "Spinning My Wheels" and "Magic Bullet" aren't as instant as, say, "Compound Fracture," but the tracks are as just moving with their messages of identity and gun control (respectively for each). There are influences of Beach Boys like on "Still Thinkin" and "Beautiful Love" and there are some southern rocking jams ("Wasted," "Climbing the Ladder"). There are some incredible folkier cuts too like the acoustic "Run It," one of my personal faves. There's still that positive, peaceful vibe that Jim James always brings lyrically and spiritually to each track that is come to be expected like a security blanket. The Waterfall II is the sequel I didn't know I needed in 2020 and I'm fully grateful for it.
8.
The Killers
Imploding the Mirage
Did The Killers just pull off their best album in over a decade, since 2008's Day & Age? They sure as heck did! Imploding the Mirage is the band's best album in years and for good reason. The song craft, flow, performances are so fun, bright, and glorious that you'd forget that you were listening to a band that's been around for decades at this point. It's that refreshing and sounds like a youthful group, but a seasoned one (if that makes any sense whatsoever). The added production (on top of the already great songs) from Foxygen's Jonathan Rado and Shawn Everett truly make this album a success. There are amazing, supremely whimsical vibes of The War On Drugs' A Deeper Understanding record on tracks like "My Own Soul's Warning" and "Running Towards a Place" (the album that Everett also had a major hand in). There are a few nicely placed guest spots too from k.d. lang on "Lightning Fields" and Weyes Blood on the inescapable catchiness of "My God." There are Talking Heads influence on the quirky and ragged "Fire In Bone" and of course there is the heavy cool of Springsteen on "Blowback." The Killers sound better than ever on Imploding the Mirage and I certainly hope they keep it up with this album consistency for years to come.
7.
The Avalanches
We Will Always Love You
The third album by the legendary Australian band, We Will Always Love You, takes a sharp turn from The Avalanches sample-heavy groovy sounds of genre-melding pop, psychedelia, electro, and hip hop. Instead, the duo decided to ditch their hefty record collection and start from the ground up, creating an album that is dreamier, more melodic, and softer album than the two previous efforts. It's healing, moving, uplifting, and it's as shiny and bright as the starry night sky (and is influenced by death and space). The group still uses samples, though not as heavily, and are still carefully placing them into their music like a perfectly put together puzzle. The album also features an array of guests, including Kurt Vile, Mick Jones, Neneh Cherry, MGMT, Johnny Marr, and even Weezer's Rivers Cuomo. There are bangers like the star-studded "Wherever You Go" and Wildflower-like "Music Makes Me High," but also features quieter, more slow burning tracks like the heavenly acoustic "Gold Sky" and the album's choir-filled title track featuring Blood Orange. Being released towards the end of this year, I was actually waiting all year to hear this album. But, once it was finally released, it felt like the perfect time to listen. After such a brutal year, We Will Always Love You is a sonic journey through the cosmos that shares the importance of togetherness, love, and peace (all the things that we need to be reminded of its importance). An exciting album that I'm still processing since it came out a few weeks ago, it's a year end highlight and really encapsulates this year of great music. Congrats to The Avalanches for continuing to create amazing blissful music after 20 years and it makes me so happy.
6.
Róisín Murphy
Róisín Machine
There were many great records of vintage dance pop and disco that came out this year, but nobody (absolutely nobody) did it better than the newest album from Irish dance pop icon Róisín Murphy. Cleverly and perfectly titled Róisín Machine, Murphy literally sounds like a well oiled and perfected dance pop machine, constantly churning out hit after hit after hit into a seamless, nonstop dance party. When I say seamless and nonstop, I mean it: the tracks flow into one another like a well crafted and curated DJ mix.
Murphy pulls all the strings on this album and her personality is all over this record too. Some of my personal favorite tracks include the heavy (HEAVY) grooves on "Simulation," the timeless "Incapable," and the amazing "Murphy's Law." The fast paced "Jealousy" is a frenzy of grooves, "We Got Together" is the reliable power-anthem, and "Shellfish Mademoiselle" is the slick and smooth banger. Also, who can truly deny those spectacular grooves on "Narcissus?" Who am I kidding: all of these are bangers! It's extremely hard to pick one favorite truly and honestly. Not only is the flow seamless but the tracks can get lengthy (eight minutes, six minutes, five minutes). Even the extended cuts are amazing in the deluxe version of the album with eleven minute long cuts (I mean, maybe the "Jealousy" cut is better when shortened due to its intense loudness, but other than that these extended cuts are FIRE). After a legacy of great albums and songs, Róisín Murphy literally has nothing to left to prove. Boy was I wrong because Murphy is killing it on Róisín Machine, which her best album to date. Period.
5.
Chicano Batman
Invisible People
L.A. band Chicano Batman share their Latin roots with colorful instrumentation of genre blending of prog, soul, psychedelic, rock, and pop music). Invisible People is the band's transcendence to a bolder pop direction compared to their more rock influenced records. Not to say the band has lost any edge whatsoever, because that ain't the truth at all bro. The psychedelia is turned down a bit, but the hooks, grooves, and synths are turned up to balance it all out. This album was my first introduction to the band's discography and it did not disappoint.
The album's messaging and title itself, Invisible People, come from the many problematic roots of race and racism, how we categorize human beings as a whole ("Invisible People the truth is we're all the same / the concept of race was implanted inside your brain"). There are promotions of peace, love, and equality among everyone across this record, as well as stories of drug cartel run ins ("Manuel's Story") and sinister descriptions of lovers ("Pink Elephant"). The overall sound of the album itself is a psychedelic pop spectrum of color, flirtation, and happiness, whether you hear it from the funky guitar licks, booming bass, or the washing and swirling synths. The songs themselves are tightly performed with the group's quick and well versed tracks, while the band clearly sound like they're having a blast recording. Invisible People is a collection of undeniable pop tunes that flourish in a celebratory fashion and Chicano Batman's bolder turn toward indie pop is paying off handsomely. It's arguably the most fun album of 2020.
4.
M. Ward
Migration Stories
When you think that a singer songwriter and producer is ten albums in (and that's just solo, there are countless collaborative albums), does he/she have nothing left to provide that is new or refreshing? Well, M. Ward's defies this for certain with his immaculately crafted and gently produced tenth solo record. Migration Stories tells the tales of migration in an exploratory fashion, each song interconnected and fluid with the next. It's also arguably M. Ward's most consistent album in over a decade with a flow that continuously shares old tales with beautiful instrumentation that swells and glistens like the album's cover of a night city skyline full of ambience. Recorded with Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry and Tim Kingsbury in Montreal, Migration Stories sounds gorgeous and rich.
M. Ward sounds almost as quiet as a little flower that is swaying through a light breeze with his gently layered guitar playing and hushed vocal croon. "Heaven's Nail and Hammer" "nails" (haha) the record with its swaying guitars and harmonies that gently rock the listener back and forth into a slumber. "Chamber Music" creates a rich, atmospheric ambience that is spacey and vast. "Unreal City" (the album's sole upbeat tune) is a peppy galloping song that will purely put a smile on your face. It's a much more relaxed record to say the least and isn't the most accessible one in the M. Ward catalog. Don't let that shy away from the album's impeccably crafted storytelling and reinterpreted tales coming from M. Ward's grandfather's heritage and tales he's picked up along the way. All in all, Migration Stories is another unique album from M. Ward that is patient, quiet, and all the more personal.
3.
Phantom Planet
Devastator
Leave it to the adult alternative pop and rock band originating from the late 90's/early 2000's to create one of the biggest and best surprises of 2020. After a 12 (!) year absence of music, Phantom Planet releases a new album that encapsulates a massive breakup from frontman Alex Greenwald. Not only that, but Devastator remarkably covers ground on numerous styles and genres, all while Greenwald sings marvelously over these fiery, fun, and exuberant instrumentals. Not only was I not aware of the group's material (only their breakout hit "California") prior to listening, but Devastator is extremely fun, surprisingly risk taking, and sounds like the band hasn't been absent at all.
There are sunny, pop friendly moments (a la "Sweet Caroline") on "Party Animal." There is a chugging guitar explosion on "BALISONG," the band's lead comeback single. There is an absolutely exquisite and fun dub influenced pop rock tune that is fully reliant on love of an individual, being "Only One." There is acoustic beauty on "Dear Dead End," an Interpol-influenced sinister closer "ROTK," a moody rainy day ballad, "Waiting for the Lights to Change." Some of the most surprising and brilliant moments on the record include the moving heartbreak and distant love on "Torture Me," which absolutely explodes with glorious guitar-tinged noise towards its end, and "Gold Body Spray," an absolutely soul crushingly beautiful ballad with piano, strings, what sounds to be a fully fledged orchestra. There are so many great tracks, each one different from the next. Even with this, Devastator is such a fun album experience with its variety, but it still stands as one complete and seamless collection. Any of these tracks could be your favorite honestly. Devastator is the huge album for me in 2020, one that is full of surprises and is all and all, pure fun. What is there we need more and more of this year? This.
2.
Real Estate
The Main Thing
I don't think the New Jersey band knew how resonating this batch of tracks would be with its themes of isolation, devastation, stress, and hopelessness due to its release in March, before literally everything went down into flames. The Main Thing, Real Estate's fifth album, is remarkable in many ways. Not only is the band a reliable sound of relaxed, sunny indie rock, but they are simply one of the best at doing it. There is a sense of familiarity to every Real Estate album and The Main Thing certainly does that with its warm, quiet, gently performed guitars and Martin Courtney's softly spoken voice. Tracks like "You," "Friday," and "November" feature that classic Real Estate sound that's bright, sunny, and breezy.
This time, there is also a sense of differences too. These themes of isolation and loneliness come into ten fold on tracks like "Silent World," "The Main Thing," and "Shallow Sun." There is a jammy take of disco on "Paper Cup" is a surprising left turn, while "Also a But" features Julian Lynch on lead vocals and features some of the more challenging guitar lines and passages in the band's catalog. One thing's to note: it's the band's mellowest and quietest album to date, almost as quiet as the slower tracks from their debut self-titled record back in 2009. There are stylistic changeups that are more than enough to carry the album all while capturing the band's signature sound. I wrote the album review before the pandemic hit, before everything came crashing down. I didn't realize how relatable and moving these themes of isolation are until the year came forward with its worst. This album is nonetheless a shelter or safe haven from the dark, despite its themes. There are many things being weighted down at us: the pandemic, politics, climate change, racism, hatred. But staying true and positive to what's good in the world and how we can make the world a better place is what we need now more than ever. As Martin Courtney sings on the title track, "I will stay true, that's the main thing."
1.
Fiona Apple
Fetch the Bolt Cutters
During a time of isolation and loneliness, Fiona Apple sure came through with an album for the right time and right place. Fetch the Bolt Cutters, her newest album and first in eight years, comes during a time of isolation all homebound. Nobody can make a homemade, isolated and personal record like Fiona Apple! She legitimately made the perfect record for 2020 by being directly from her home: a raw, percussive explosiveness of an album including an emotionally stirring Fiona. She is demanding your attention through and through with her incredibly fiery voice, vocal prowess, and lyrics of feminism, identity, and even the "me too" movement. There are raw percussive moments all over the record, hearing her bang on bones, drums, walls and tables maybe(?) and you even hear her dogs barking on the record.
The songs and performances themselves are incredible and captivating in their own right. "I Want You to Love Me" has the album's best vocal performance with urgency and demand from her voice, singing about her desires to make someone love her. She even releases her inner dolphin, which is amazing in her own right. No joke, but if Fiona made an album just for dolphins, I'm down 100%. There's incredibly loud and powerful moments of confidence and standing up for yourself on "Under the Table," "Heavy Balloon," and "Shameika." There are many, many grooves and rhythms that are so catchy and shaking, it'll be stuck in your head all year long. There are so many great lyrical gems throughout the record, from "I would beg to disagree, but begging disagrees with me" to "Evil is a relay sport when the one who's burned turns to pass the torch" to "My dog and my man and my music is my holy trinity." It never ends, I can countlessly pick out amazing lyrics here and there. In 2020, there was no better or more perfect album for me than this one. It has everything I would want in a homemade, raw, and personal feat that no other artist could've managed. Fetch the Bolt Cutters feels like a bottled up Fiona just waiting to explode. And after all these years of waiting, we finally got to hear it this year.
The Full List:
1. Fiona Apple - “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”
2. Real Estate - “The Main Thing”
3. Phantom Planet - “Devastator”
4. M. Ward - “Migration Stories”
5. Chicano Batman - “Invisible People”
6. Róisín Murphy - “Róisín Machine”
7. The Avalanches - “We Will Always Love You”
8. The Killers - “Imploding the Mirage”
9. My Morning Jacket - “The Waterfall II”
10. Metz - “Atlas Vending”
11. Fleet Foxes - “Shore”
12. The Microphones - “Microphones In 2020”
13. Stephen Malkmus - “Traditional Techniques”
14. Everything Everything - “RE-ANIMATOR”
15. Kelly Lee Owens - “Inner Song”
16. Run the Jewels - “RTJ4”
17. Deradoorian - “Find The Sun”
18. Anna Burch - “If You’re Dreaming”
19. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - “The Mosaic of Transformation”
20. Gorillaz - “Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez”
21. Kate NV - “Room for the Moon”
22. Sam Prekop - “Comma”
23. Land of Talk - “Indistinct Conversations”
24. Mary Lattimore - “Silver Ladders”
25. U.S. Girls - “Heavy Light”
Honorable Mentions:
Dawes - “Good Luck With Whatever”
The Flaming Lips - “American Head”
Jessie Ware - “What’s Your Pleasure?”
Julianna Barwick - “Healing Is a Miracle”
Laura Marling - “Song for Our Daughter”
Matt Berninger - “Serpentine Prison”
The Mountain Goats - “Getting Into Knives”
tricot - “Black” and “10”
Tyler Childers - “Long Violent History”
Yelle - “L’Ère du Verseau”
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