Top 40 Albums of 2020

So then, I finally got my act together and finished putting together a list of my favourite albums of 2020. Considering the immense limitations that artists must have been subjected to in terms of recording music this year, there have been a surprising number of brilliant releases. 

Hopefully there's a few on here that you haven't heard before that you can check out. If you're interested in any of them, I've posted the relevant link to buy the album (mostly Bandcamp because they're awesome, but if you're lucky enough to have a record store near you, hit them up first!).

Before I get stuck in to the main list, I'd like to list a few 'honourable mentions':

Honourable  mentions 

Buscabulla - Regresa https://buscabulla.bandcamp.com/album/regresa

Fleet Foxes  - Shore https://fleetfoxes.bandcamp.com/album/shore

Caribou - Suddenly https://caribouband.bandcamp.com/album/suddenly

Taylor Swift - Folklore & Evermore https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/taylor-swift/folklore https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/taylor-swift/evermore

Mura Masa - R.Y.C. https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/mura-masa/r-y-c

William Tyler - New Vanitas https://williamtyler.bandcamp.com/album/new-vanitas

Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today https://protomartyr.bandcamp.com/album/ultimate-success-today

Inventions - Continuous Portrait https://inventions.bandcamp.com/album/continuous-portrait

The Strokes - The New Abnormal https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/the-strokes/the-new-abnormal

Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song https://kellyleeowens.bandcamp.com/album/inner-song

Phoxjaw - Royal Swan https://phoxjaw.bandcamp.com/album/royal-swan

Sufjan Stevens - Ascension https://music.sufjan.com/album/the-ascension

Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/rina-sawayama/sawayama

Black Taffy - Opal Wand https://blacktaffy.bandcamp.com/album/opal-wand

The Top 40

40) Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was

https://brighteyes.bandcamp.com/album/down-in-the-weeds-where-the-world-once-was

39) The Flaming Lips - American Dream

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/the-flaming-lips/american-head

38) Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death

https://fontainesdc.bandcamp.com/album/a-heros-death

37) Greg Foat - Symphonie Pacifique

https://gregfoat.bandcamp.com/album/symphonie-pacifique

36) Meridian Brothers - Cumbia Siglo XXI

https://meridianbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/cumbia-siglo-xxi

35) Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar

https://dandeacon.bandcamp.com/album/mystic-familiar

34) Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/nadine-shah/kitchen-sink

33) Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess

https://angelolsen.bandcamp.com/album/whole-new-mess

32) Moses Boyd - Dark Matter

https://mosesboyd.bandcamp.com/album/dark-matter-2

31) Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Viscerals

https://pigspigspigspigspigspigspigs.bandcamp.com/album/viscerals

30) Marlowe - Marlow 2

https://lorange360.bandcamp.com/album/marlowe-2-2

29) Laura Marling - Songs For Our Daughter

https://lauramarling.bandcamp.com/album/song-for-our-daughter

28) Idles - Ultra Mono

https://idlesband.bandcamp.com/album/ultra-mono

27) Natalie Slade - Control

https://natalie-slade.bandcamp.com/album/control

26) Grimes - Miss Anthropocene

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/grimes/miss-anthropocene

25) Touché Amoré - Lament

https://toucheamore.bandcamp.com/album/lament

24) Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/lianne-la-havas/lianne-la-havas

23) Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/gorillaz/song-machine-season-one-strange-timez

22) Sports Team - Deep Down Happy

https://sportsteamband.bandcamp.com/album/deep-down-happy

21) R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages

https://afrolab9000.bandcamp.com/album/purple-moonlight-pages

20) Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/charli-xcx/how-i-m-feeling-now

19) Tkay Maidza - Last Year Was Weird Vol. 2

https://soundcloud.com/tkaymaidza/sets/last-year-was-weird-vol-2

18) Julianna Barwick - Healing Is A Miracle

https://juliannabarwick.bandcamp.com/album/healing-is-a-miracle

17) Kevin Morby - Sundowner

https://kevinmorby.bandcamp.com/album/sundowner

16) Jacaszek - Music for Film

https://jacaszek.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-film

15) Eve Owen - Don't Let The Ink Dry

https://eveowen.bandcamp.com/album/dont-let-the-ink-dry

14) Nikitch & Kuna Maze - Débuts

https://nikitchkunamaze.bandcamp.com/album/d-buts

13) Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas

https://nicolasjaar.bandcamp.com/album/cenizas

12) Run The Jewels - RTJ4

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/run-the-jewels/rtj4

11) Santrofi - Alewa

https://outhererecords.bandcamp.com/album/santrofi-alewa

10) North Americans - Roped In

This ambient record with warm guitar tones is the most chilled, serene album I've heard all year, and never fails to relax me. Written by Patrick McDermott and recorded in LA, it also features William Tyler and Mary Lattimore (both included further up this list). This one gets bonus points for the lovely album art too, by Brian Blomerth. 

Fav songs: Rivers That You Cannot See, Furniture in the Valley, Run Down  

https://northamericanszone.bandcamp.com/album/roped-in-2

 9) JAF Trio - JAF Trio

The style of this self-titled experimental jazz (debut) album from Finnish-Danish JAF Trio reminds me a lot of UK jazz band Roller Trio, and not just because of the number of band members! I was drawn in as soon as I heard teaser song 'Ninth Row of the Fifth Floor' earlier this year and finally got around to exploring the rest of the album a few weeks back.

Fav songs:  Ninth Row of the Fifth Floor, Nostalgia, Det Er Dig

https://wejazzrecords.bandcamp.com/album/jaf-trio

 

 

8) Porridge Radio - Every Bad

It feels as though Every Bad has been a bit of a breakout album for Porridge Radio, and I think all the credit they've had for it has been deserved. I was really impressed by the honest and sometimes self-deprecating lyrics on this album, which rightly sit front and centre of most of these songs. The vocal performance of lead singer Dana Margolin, and clever use of backing vocals really adds another dimension to these songs.

Fav songs: Sweet, Long, Pop Song, Lilac, Circling     

https://porridgeradio.bandcamp.com/album/every-bad

 

7) Nubya Garcia - Source

This album shows Nubya Garcia at the peak of her powers, and she seems to be leading the pack of exciting young jazz talent in the UK right now. In terms of its sound, I think the album sits somewhere between the experimental style of a group like JAF Trio (as described above), and the classical tendencies of jazz icons of the past, often moving between these two regions of jazz within the same song.  

Fav songs: Pace, Source, Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be, Inner Game

https://nubyagarcia.bandcamp.com/album/source

 

6) Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders

This is another of what seems to be a long list of ambient albums that I've enjoyed this year. Soft reverb-y, delicate harp playing, which feel like the soundtrack to a walk through a Japanese garden takes you through most of the 40 minute runtime, but well-placed patches of synth and guitar work add a sinister, ominous edge to some of these songs too.

Fav songs:  Pine Trees, Sometimes He's In My Dreams

https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/album/silver-ladders 

 

5) Bananagun - True Story of Bananagun

This debut album from Melbourne-based group Bananagun fuses 70's psychedelia, afrobeat and hints of latin music, with each of these styles performed tastefully. They sound like a band having a lot of fun and I would love an opportunity to catch them live at some point, preferably in a sunny late afternoon festival slot with beer in hand.   

Fav songs: Bang Go The Bongos, The Master, People Talk Too Much, Freak Machine, Out of Reach, She Now

https://bananagun.bandcamp.com/album/the-true-story-of-bananagun

4) Ranil - Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical

Ranil (Raúl Llerena Vásquez), is a Peruvian singer, bandleader, record-label entrepreneur and (from Bandcamp) "a larger-than-life personality who swirled the teeming buzz of the Amazonian jungle, the unstoppable rhythms of Colombian and Brazilian dance music, and the psychedelic electricity of guitar-driven rock-and-roll into a knock-out, party-starting concoction". This album was a great surprise for me, and is an immensely fun listen from start to finish, combining a fresh, danceable set of tunes with a vintage quality to them.

Fav songs: Muévete Mi Amor, Lamento, Licenciado, Cumbia En Tu Soledad, La Tuctuructia

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/ranil-y-su-conjunto-tropical-limited-dance-edition

 

 3) Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

This album keeps creeping further and further up my list, probably reflecting the fact that the often dark lyrical content and mood sinks a bit deeper with each listen. The Elliott Smith connection which many others have written about, is definitely noticable (she even appears to subtly reference him in title track 'Punisher'), but never feels distracting, nor does it take anything away from Phoebe's own brilliant songwriting. Even lead single 'Kyoto', which on first listen might sound a like typical run-of-the-mill indie song, really comes into its own in the context of the album. Strings sections naturally weave their way into the album too, and always feel like they compliment the songs they appear on. A Sufjan Stevens-esque segment in closing track 'I Know The End' evolves into to an epic (and slightly harrowing?!) outro in the closing moments of the album and leaves you feeling overwhelmed. I think this is a sizeable step up from Phoebe's debut album.    

Fav songs: Kyoto, Punisher, Halloween, Savior Complex, Graceland Too, I Know The End 

https://phoebebridgers.bandcamp.com/album/punisher 

 

2) Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure

Other than odd songs here and there, I've never been hugely into Jessie Ware's music until now. But this album is a completely irresistable disco throwback from start to finish. And it feels like a fresh take on the era, with plenty of bangers, each packed full of catchy synth lines and vocals brimming with passion and confidence. It just feels like this album was released in the wrong year, because the home environment definitely doesn't do it justice.  

Fav songs: Spotlight, What's Your Pleasure?, Ooh La La, Soul Control, Step Into My Life, Read My Lips, Mirage (Don't Stop)

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/jessie-ware/what-s-your-pleasure

 

1) Adrianne Lenker - songs

Considering this album was recorded in the middle of a global pandemic, this selection of songs from Adrianne Lenker sounds surprisngly uplifting in many ways (even if the lyrical content is far from uplifting at times). I think the location in which this album was recorded (a secluded forest cabin in Western Massachusetts) goes a long way to explain how this album sounds; “I’ve kind of been away from everywhere for a while,” she explained in a recent interview with Loud & Quiet. “I’ve basically been living on the road for the last six years, ever since Big Thief took off when I was 23. I feel like I can develop a relationship with places now, no place more or less than anywhere else, so long as there are natural elements around”. The fact that this album is so understated is what impresses me the most (the title just being 'songs', and the way the album was just dropped out of the blue, shortly after Big Thief's tour was cut short abruptly). And yet the songs themselves sound like something that most artists would spend years slaving over. Adrianne Lenker is a special talent, and this album is yet another triumph to add to her growing list. 

Fav songs: two reverse, anything, heavy focus, come, zombie girl

https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/album/songs

  

Top 10 EP's/complilations/mixtapes of 2020

As a procrastination technique to avoid having to finish my 'Top 30 (or 40?!) Albums of 2020' post, I have put together this (much shorter and easier) list with my favourite EP's and compilations of the year. 

Disclaimer: I haven't heard enough EP's and compilations this year to do separate Top 10's for both(!), so here is my Top 10 combined EP's, compilations and mixtapes of the year... 

10) Little Simz - Drop 6 EP

Whilst the songs on this latest short and gloomy EP from Little Simz' Drops series don't reach the heights of last year's Grey Area, this self-reflective set of tracks was still an impressive listen, and leaves me looking forward to more in the future. 

Fav song(s): might bang, might not

9) Lurka - Rythym Hi-Tek EP

This was something I found by scrolling through the 'New Arrivals' page of the Boomkat site earlier in the year. Boomkat are an independant online record store based in Manchester, and whilst they cover a variety of genres, electronic music forms a decent chunk of their stock. This EP was a nice surprise, and it turns out there's been another three(!) Lurka EP's released this year (since this one) which you can sink your teeth into. 

Fav song(s): Minds Eye Tript

8) Yazmin Lacey - Morning Matters EP

Nottingham-based Yazmin Lacey is one of many promising names in UK jazz right now. Whilst this new EP isn't anything totally revolutionary in the context of her peers, I think each of these songs is really well written and accomplished. 

Fav song(s): Not Today Mate

7) Kassa Overall - Shades Of Flu

This was a surprise release in May, during the middle of lockdown #1, from Brooklyn jazz musician Kassa Overall, the title being a homage to Madlib's jazz remix album Shades of Blue. This thing was a lot of fun and exactly what I needed to hear at the time.

Fav song(s): Freedom Jazz Dance (Miles Davis)

6) Nailah Hunter - Spells EP

Another one of my favourite discoveries from Bandcamp this year, this debut EP got me through many difficult working-from-home mornings. The songs are calming yet captivating, and I am very excited to hear a full album from her in the future. 

Fav song(s) - White Flower, Dark Hill

5) Holden & Zimpel: Long Weekend EP

I've been keeping an ear out for any releases involving Polish clarinettist Waclaw Zimpel since seeing him out of curiosity at End Of The Road Festival a few years back (with Polish compatriot Jakub Ziolek, who also makes a couple of appearances on this EP). Here, Zimpel combines with producer and synth guru James Holden (who I wasn't particularly familiar with) to put together a stellar set of songs which were recorded over four days in Holden’s London studio back in the summer of 2018. 

Fav song(s): Saturday, Tuesday (feat. Jakub Ziolek)

4) Various Artists - Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993

This compilation was a chance discovery through hearing one of the tracks on Tom Ravenscroft's BBC 6 Music show a few months back. This compilation celebrates the jazz and soul label Black Fire Records with a selection of releases between 1975 and 1993. Personally I find it daunting to know where to start when exploring genres, labels or eras of music I am not familiar with, so compilations like this are a great way to sample a range of artists and pick a few to explore further. This compilation was consistently good and varied throughout, from the instrumental voyage in Juju's 'Nia (The Complete Circle)' to the excuberence of Wayne Davis' 'Look at the People'.  

Fav song(s): Juju - Nia (The Complete Circle), Wayne Davis - Look at the People, Okyerema Asante - Follow Me

3) Kurt Vile - Speed, Sound, Lonely KV

This EP brings out the gentler side of Kurt Vile's music. Whilst it is a thoroughly enjoyable listen throuthout, the undoubted highlight is 'How Lucky', a duet with the late John Prine (before he sadly died of complications due to Covid-19 earlier this year). It's hard to imagine a pair of musicians that fit together more naturally than this. The song captures the admiration that Kurt Vile must have had for Prine, and feels somewhat like a 'passing of the baton' moment. 

Fav song(s): Speed of the Sound of Lonliness, How Lucky 

2) Various Artists - Blue Note Re:Imagined 

This is a compilation of re-worked classic songs from the renowned jazz label Blue Note Records. Basically every up and coming jazz talent in the UK features on this (Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia and Emma-Jean Thackeray to name a few), and most, if not all, manage to put an exciting twist on the source material. This compilation is another reminder of the depth of talent in UK jazz right now. 

Fav song(s): Jorja Smith - Rose Rouge, Yazmin Lacey - I'll Never Stop Loving You, Melt Yourself Down - Caribbean Fire Dance

1) Various Artists - SOS MUSIC VOL. 1

A degree of recency bias may explain why I have put this as No. 1; I only heard this compilation a couple of weeks ago and I have been totally addicted to it since. Its a selection of tracks from LA-based record label SOS MUSIC, who, in their own words, are "dedicated to showcasing forward-thinking left field dance music from around the globe, with a focus on female, & non-binary producers". It's genuinly some of the most interesting electronic music I've heard in ages, and highlights the need for these talented producers to get more exposure. 

Fav song(s): rRoxymore - Price of Highest Consciousness, Nightwave - Sacred Heart, Umfang - Complete Your Collection