[Shaun]

I was going to draft this all up in another blog post but I've been totally burned out of writing that for a good four or five years now so it's rather moot Instead I'll just stick to my tradition of sharing it on here - and now that the Song of 2020 game is over and done with, I can just share what I enjoyed listening to in 2020.

I ended up giving 92 albums and EPs a listen at some point over the year, and whilst some were one-listen-wonders, a good deal of the top 20 spent a lot of time on rotation. I think it was a pretty strong year, all things considered... probably the best for albums since 2016.

Anyway, for now I'll post 10 albums at a time with a little writeup about them, so here goes.

#50 - "Petals for Armor" by Hayley Williams
I'd never really been that much of a Paramore fan, so I wasn't really expecting anything much from Williams' first solo album - but I guess that also means I didn't go into it with anything to lose. It might've been a little too long, but it was a pleasant surprise and a fine way to separate herself from the music of her past. Bloody poor album artwork, though.


#49 - "The Universal Want" by Doves
One of two artists in this list to have been AWOL from the music scene since 2009, Doves are reliable in their ability to produce music in the same vein as Coldplay and Elbow but in a slightly more interesting capacity. They've always been Britain's favourite Radiohead after Radiohead. I just... don't really think this was strong enough to be a triumphant comeback.


#48 - "Notes on a Conditional Form" by The 1975
I think this album might be responsible for killing off interest in TiBB's Album Club and I can fully understand why; it's a frustrating listen, overstuffed with a ton of forgettable interludes and filler tracks. There were just... plenty of great singles and buzz tracks in the build-up to it that means I couldn't totally write it off, though, and they've still got the potential to craft a gorgeous pop song.


#47 - "Crave" by Kiesza
Having gone through quite a lot of emotional upheaval since her chart domination in 2014 (the loss of a close friend, a car crash that resulted in a severe brain injury), I expected her (late) comeback to be quite morose and stripped back. Instead, she dropped nine joyous songs that really deserved better from the listening public


#46 - "Dark Hearts" by Annie
Eleven years had passed in the build up to this since her last album, so she was something of an elusive Scandinavian queen whose return was welcome whatever the results. Her 2000s experimental-pop received tonnes of praise (her song 'Chewing Gum' was named the best song of 2004 by Pitchfork) and whilst this was a lot safer, and the landscape of creative pop has widened massively, it was still a nice comeback.


#45 - "Seeking Thrills" by Georgia
I must admit, after the excellence of 'About Work the Dancefloor', I was expecting a little more from her debut. The end result was a bunch of "nice" or "good" songs surrounding its obvious stand-out... but she's still someone with a great production touch and I'm interested to hear more from her.


#44 - "La vita nuova (EP)" by Christine and the Queens
Only six tracks long, but all of them were pretty bloody good. I don't really count EPs as that important, but I'd usually omit them from lists like these altogether so I guess I really enjoyed this more than most. Caroline Polachek pops up on the title track, and that's nice.


#43 - "Cape God" by Allie X
I guess I'd sort-of pigeonholed Allie X as someone a lot poppier and more electro-clashy than what was served on her second studio album. Canadians have a knack for surprising music, though, and I feel like with more listens there'll be more to unpack and enjoy.


#42 - "Rough and Rowdy Ways" by Bob Dylan
One of the most well-received albums of the year, but I guess I have a little trouble reconciling modern Dylan with the timeless classics of the mid-60s and as such this was something of a "pleasant" listen rather than anything mindblowing. Some of his finer balladry in recent decades though.


#41 - "Supervision" by La Roux
Reviews for this were a little harsh. I suppose the six year wait since the far superior 'Trouble in Paradise' definitely didn't help, but I think there was enough going on here to justify the wait. It's always hard for early releases to stand out, though, and I guess the excitement had waned since its early February arrival.