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Old 22-01-2021, 04:38 PM #1
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Default My 2020 Music Countdowns [top 100 songs! #10-1]

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.

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Old 22-01-2021, 05:27 PM #2
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I need to get round to listening to La Roux and PFA
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Old 22-01-2021, 05:33 PM #3
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Supervision had some of her best work muddied with a couple of lacklustre tracks (in comparison, anyway). Definitely underrated as a whole, though.
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Old 23-01-2021, 05:14 PM #4
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Old 23-01-2021, 07:57 PM #5
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#40 - "The New Abnormal" by The Strokes
After 'Comedown Machine' in - I think? - 2014, I assumed the Strokes were dead and buried after their mixed reception to Angles/First Impressions on Earth, and the trashing that album received. So I was more than pleasantly surprised by The New Abnormal - a wholly new take on the Strokes' sound and a huge shift away from their tendency to try and recreate 'Is This It?', with some samples of The Psychedelic Furs and Generation X.


#39 - "Before Love Came to Kill Us" by Jessie Reyez
Something of an overlooked release; Reyez's debut in 2020 was pretty explosive and full of the production and mania that you might find in a 2000s M.I.A. record. Between the boastful 'DOPE' and the genuinely decent Eminem and 6lack features, there's a lot to make sure that she should be on my radar for a few years to come


#38 - "Leave It Beautiful" by Astrid S
Since placing highly on a Norwegian version of Pop Idol back in 2013, she's been releasing the odd single that's really excited pop fans (especially Scandipop fans, of which I am a proud member)... but no albums. 2020 saw her debut and - at ten tracks long - it's a little bit of a passing breeze rather than anything magnificent, but all ten tracks are very good indeed.


#37 - "Hotspot" by Pet Shop Boys
Considering the duo release an album probably as often as they change their bedsheets, it can be difficult to get excited about a new one... but something about this one struck a chord. Perhaps it was the urgent disco of 'Dreamland' featuring Years & Years (did it come before or after the recording for 'It's a Sin', I wonder?), perhaps it's the touch of industrial rock of 'Will-o-the-Wisp'... perhaps they're just always good.


#36 - "Fake it Flowers" by beabadobee
Aside from being exceptionally beautiful, and dominating Tik Tok for a month or so at the start of the first lockdown with that Powfu collaboration, it's difficult to pinpoint what about her made this record (and the singles building up to it) so engaging. She has a very direct, no-nonsense garage pop vibe that can usually be pretty boring, but there's a knack for writing a hook or melody that keeps me coming back. The Line of Best Fit described her as "a beacon of nostalgia for '90s kids", and that's pretty accurate.


#35 - "Zeros" by Declan McKenna
Probably just makes this list on the basis that 'Daniel, You're Still a Child' was basically a big nod to David Bowie's 'Fame'. Most of the album felt a little too nostalgic and directly-inspired (in the same sense that Adam Lambert can be very annoying since he's a tribute act at best), but the songwriting here was good and lovely.


#34 - "Suddenly" by Caribou
I'd sort of kept Caribou at arms length since I first found him (I think in 2009, with 'Swim') since he's certainly enjoyable but didn't quite grab me. Truth be told, I probably forgot about him until I heard Radio 1 playing 'Never Come Back' on the way to work one day and it just got my foot tapping. Lot of electro and house moments on 'Suddenly' that were a nice distraction from the world being on the cusp of COVID.


#33 - "R.Y.C." by Mura Masa
Pitchfork have a worrying fixation with trashing absolutely anyone who happens to come from the UK, and then someone from the Guardian went all Dezzy and gave it a 1 star whilst savaging the artist without much reference to the album itself, so the reviews for this were somewhat underwhelming... but **** 'em! Maybe there's a reason the Guardian can't keep afloat, and I'll be streaming 'Deal Wiv It' when they inevitably fold in three years time! A lot of different sounds and collaborations here - Clairo, slowthai, Wolf Alice, Georgia - all of which are worth checking out.


#32 - "folklore" by Taylor Swift
Thankfully, the list of publications paid to lie and tell us this was the album of the year was mercifully short. But putting aside my frustrations with modern music press and its fixation with such a bland artist, 'folklore' was a solid album indeed and a growth in songwriting and lyricism from Swift. I just... preferred the other one, and it's still to come in this list and after 'Reputation' the only way was up, really, wasn't it?


#31 - "Good News" by Megan Thee Stallion
Please tell me why I keep thinking she spells her name Meghan? It just seems an unfortunate setup for a Prince Harry punchline and it's something I need to snap out of. 2020 might have ended up with a side-project of Megan's ending up overshadowing her solo material, and debut album, but if you can look past the post-WAP landscape, 'Good News' was full of enough dynamite that made her fascinating as a solo artist. Maybe we'll all tire quickly of her signature "ahhh" in time, but for a debut album there's enough hits to make sure she endures.

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Old 23-01-2021, 09:00 PM #6
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“Real hot girl ****” at the start of songs is way more annoying than “ahh”
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Old 24-01-2021, 04:05 AM #7
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Seeking Thrills is easily in my top 5 for 2020 and Never Let You Go is probably in my top 50 songs.

Happy to see placements for Caribou, Mura Masa and Christine and the Queen's.
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Old 24-01-2021, 08:53 PM #8
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#30 - "Plastic Hearts" by Miley Cyrus
It's hard to think of a popstar who had more dramatic fluctuations in quality of output during the 2010s than Cyrus; so it was a huge relief when 'Midnight Sky' came along and stole the show in a year that was already stacked with The Weeknd, Dua and Gaga. The album that followed wasn't perhaps choc-full of treats as good as its lead single, but it wasn't exactly full of filler, either. Maybe that elusive covers album might've gone down better, though. Time will tell!


#29 - "Eternal Atake" by Lil Uzi Vert
At over an hour, 'Eternal Atake' can slightly outstay its welcome - especially when there are such duds as You Better Move or Chrome Heart Tags, but there are few people doing interesting things with trap and towards the end of 2019, 'Futsal Shuffle 2020' really ushered in an album that's rich with experimentation.


#28 - "Color Theory" by Soccer Mommy
Whilst by no means a sound that's going to shake the world to its core, or usher in a new genre - indeed it's quite taped to classic indie rock - there was something still refreshing about 'Color Theory'. I spent a good chunk of the year ingesting music like Beabadobee, and this is very much a maturer, American hue of the same fabric.


#27 - "KiCk i" by Arca
The Venezuelan transwoman has been subtly changing the shape of music production over the past decade with a rich catalogue of collaborations including Bjork, Kanye West, FKA twigs, and Frank Ocean - but her fourth studio album was probably my favourite yet. I've had trouble getting into her in the past, because her music is so avant-garde and overwhelming, but maybe the work from SOPHIE, Rosalia and Shygirl helped my weaker, accessible sensibilities.


#26 - "Energy" by Disclosure
It really doesn't feel like eight years have passed since they emerged and shook up the UK charts with their debut record. The hiatus that wasn't really a hiatus meant that this came around a lot sooner than one might have thought, and thank god - because their knack for roping in superstars for unexpected features and surprise hits hasn't faded. Kelis, slowthai, Khalid and Common are on hand, among others, this time around - and the end result is a record that isn't short of its title word.


#25 - "Disco" by Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue is not exactly someone that I would say is an albums artist. All of her iconic eras have passed with excellent singles that're usually followed up with a ton of filler; even 'Aphrodite', 'Body Language' and 'Light Years' had plenty of hits and then not much else. So I didn't really go into this expecting anything with longevity. Maybe it was the multiple lockdowns, but I'm struggling to name a dud track here; in lieu of one, is a vibrant, joyous album and a marvellous upgrade on that country nonsense she was attempting a few years ago.


#24 - "Women In Music Pt. III" by HAIM
Anything produced by Ariel Rechtshaid ends up being right up my alley; the man has a Midas touch with me. But that's not to discredit HAIM themselves, because the sisters really needed a step up in form from 2017's disappointing Something To Tell You. Hits like 'Summer Girl', 'Now I'm In It' and 'The Steps' really atoned for that, and you would think - given a year of normality - this would've been the soundtrack to the summer of 2020.


#23 - "The Slow Rush" by Tame Impala
Given that frontman Kevin Parker had been spending the five years since Tame Impala's last (Currents in 2015) writing for Mark Ronson, producing for Kid Cudi and The Weeknd, and creating Lady Gaga's worst ever lead single from an album, you can understand my apprehension with their comeback. In some respects, it failed to reach expectations - the production is a lot more crisp and retro in some respects, but also less interesting and experimental than they were on, say, Lonerism or Innerspeaker. All that aside, it was still an enjoyable listen and good enough to excuse the long wait and build-up.


#22 - "Ungodly Hour" by Chloe x Halle
We haven't exactly been starved for excellent R&B in the past few years, but even in spite of a wealth of competition, the Bailey sisters managed to elbow their way into the scene with one of the year's better albums and a series of slick awards show performances. They're sure to have bright futures; Halle is destined to be Ariel in an upcoming Little Mermaid remake, whilst Chloe's popped up in Black-ish and horror movies... but it's their music that I'll be keeping on the radar. Disney live-action remakes are never worth waiting for, anyway.


#21 - "Silver Tongue" by Torres
Four albums in now, and all of them have been wonderful. It's hard to undersell Torres, but it's hard for an independent musician to really steal focus when surrounded by the likes of Fiona Apple, St Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers and Laura Marling. At risk of sounding like a patronising aunt, I do worry she isn't getting the attention and love she deserves, because 'Silver Tongue' - whilst brief - packs a punch and is full of that rare thing: rock that's still exciting.

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Old 24-01-2021, 08:54 PM #9
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Seeking Thrills is easily in my top 5 for 2020 and Never Let You Go is probably in my top 50 songs.

Happy to see placements for Caribou, Mura Masa and Christine and the Queen's.
I really like 'Never Let You Go' but I think she released it in 2019 so the anal retentive in me was subconsciously like "NOPE, DOESN'T COUNT TOWARDS HER 2020 MERITS"
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Old 24-01-2021, 09:15 PM #10
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Evermore getting top 20

My favourite album of 2020, the lyrics are written so well imo
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Old 24-01-2021, 09:19 PM #11
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Plastic Hearts is sooo good
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Old 25-01-2021, 07:33 AM #12
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Good News deserved higher ! Happy to see it made the list though, amazing album.
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Old 25-01-2021, 05:32 PM #13
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#20 - "how i'm feeling now" by Charli XCX
When she released this, so soon after 2019's Charli and somewhat hurried together whilst under lockdown, she almost made the entire pandemic seem harmless and as though it hadn't impacted music at all. Her best album in a long time - and perhaps her very best - HIFN is captivating, full of raucous energy and doesn't really stay into unwelcome territories like some of her previous records tried (be that cheesy pop with 'Sucker' or misguided attempts at big-star collaborations that don't really linger long in the memory, like Lizzo, Troye Sivan or Rita Ora). Her albums can tend to get messy and lack clarity; no such worries here.


#19 - "Chromatica" by Lady Gaga
Charli might have kicked off lockdown with a party but Gaga kept it going with her keen eye for a music video, costuming and theatricality. After venturing down different avenues from her signature style to varying successes - thank you for ASIB, curse you for Joanne x - it was a fantastic return to her electro-pop roots in 2020 that kept the gays nourished. Whether it was the meme potential of the Chromatica II/911 interlude, turning the facemask into a couture accessory at the VMAs, or literally feeding them Oreos, she came back home and boy we missed her


#18 - "After Hours" by The Weeknd
Another artist who spent most of the 2010s experiencing diminishing returns came back this year with one of the biggest surprise pop records: The Weeknd has long disappointed since his R&B mixtapes at the turn of 2011, with grating pop singles scattered in among the great ones and turning most of his albums into forgettable dreck. No such issue here: 'After Hours' is a glorious 80s revival and whether he and Dua did it subconsciously or not, they really took the whole Stranger Things nostalgia high and smashed it out of the park.


#17 - "Shore" by Fleet Foxes
I'm sure I enjoyed 2017's 'Crack-Up' at the time, but perhaps it was the doom of 2020 that made this arrival on the horizon seem like a long lost friend; the folk band have been turning out stunning music since 2008 and 'Shore' isn't really any different. It feels at once sunkissed and snow-sheltering; a warm blanket or a cooling fan depending on your mood.


#16 - "Saint Cloud" by Waxahatchee
She's always been a name that's been on my periphery, but it took me until 2020 to try an album and I was hooked. A little more on the country side of things than a folk record, 'Saint Cloud' is high in the top tens of various music publications for a reason. It's poignant, it's pretty, it's inspirational and it's incredibly feelgood.


#15 - "Future Nostalgia" by Dua Lipa
I've already alluded to Dua's embrace of classic sounds above, so there's not much else to say really. She's dominated much of 2020 just as she has for the past four years; and whilst the constant flow of singles and collaborations has sometimes resulted in underwhelming material (looking at you, Calvin Harris), the idea to centre an album around this disco was inspired. Especially in a year that was yet to usher in others' discos (Kylie, Sophie Ellis-Bextor). Just: whatever you do... ignore the remix album. That was a mess.


#14 - "evermore" by Taylor Swift
Treated very much as an afterthought by music critics as they continue to heap praise upon 'folklore', my preferred of Swift's two LPs in 2020 was definitely the latter. The lyrics are more striking and personal - whether it's the tribute to her grandmother on 'Marjorie', a former friend on 'Dorothea' or conspiring to commit revenge-homicide on 'No Body, No Crime' - and there's something more cosy and familial about this record than her other release. A very fine Winter comfort indeed.


#13 - "Gaslighter" by The Chicks
Some bands are capable of changing their band names to avoid racist connotations without simultaneously suing artists of colour, and that's a nice breath of fresh air, isn't it? I wasn't familiar with the Chicks' music they put out during the tribulations of the Bush administration, so this wasn't so much a stellar comeback as a stellar introduction for me. Handled masterfully (as usual) by Jack Antonoff (recent albums with Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and the lady just above), this album unpacks one of the member's divorce with a heartfelt fragility. One particular highlight is 'Young Man', addressed to the divorcee's adolescent children, and there's something tender about the lines "You're of me, not mine. Walk your own crooked line, I promise you'll be fine. Take the best parts of him as your own life begins. Leave the bad news behind you".


#12 - "Sawayama" by Rina Sawayama
I only really listened to this for the first time just before (or after) Christmas, so I'm still catching up with her hype (although maybe the release of the disappointingly generic 'LUCID' months after this album killed the buzz somewhat? Discuss below). It was a slow burner for me, but really kicked into full swing around the middle of the runtime. Some great singles and music videos, that might've benefitted more from a year where we weren't confined to our bedrooms.


#11 - "Græ" by Moses Sumney
Aside from literally looking like a model, Moses Sumney had something else to stun with in 2020: Græ is an incredible project full of rich, lofty ideas and performance art. He's described often as the male version of FKA twigs, perhaps just because of the performative nature of his videos, but there's a quiet, soulful element to his music that sets him apart from her.

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Old 25-01-2021, 06:16 PM #14
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...so wonderful to see you rate Waxahatchee/Saint Cloud so high, Shaun ...she’s someone that I’ve been watching for quite a while and she’s pretty incredible......also Moses Sumney/Græ...I think it was LemonJames who introduced me to Moses back in the day and I would say, he’s one of my top listened to, artists......
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Old 25-01-2021, 06:17 PM #15
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...lots of these I haven’t heard the album yet but I’m enjoying the countdown...

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Old 25-01-2021, 06:28 PM #16
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Evermore is defo the better album of hers

Tis the damn season, tolerate it, long story short, majorie, evermore and right where you left me are all amazing
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Old 25-01-2021, 06:32 PM #17
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...something tells me, DouglasS...you might be a Taylor fan.....just a little wild guess...strangely I was just listening to Lover....the track, not the album...
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Old 25-01-2021, 08:11 PM #18
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The production on chromatica ruined it for me. Easily the worst production on a GaGa album yet and ruined what would’ve otherwise been an amazing album. Hearing the leaked version of babylon makes me wonder what this could’ve been if bloodpop didn’t get their grimy hands on it (they also worked on lucid by Rina, noticing a pattern?)
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Old 25-01-2021, 08:30 PM #19
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Oooh, a few albums to listen to that I haven't before. I'm glad Rina scored high, her album was one of my favourites this year.
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Old 25-01-2021, 09:44 PM #20
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I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Chicks album, deffo a stand out for me this year
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Old 25-01-2021, 10:32 PM #21
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No surprises as I'm a huge Strokes fan but happy to see the New Abnormal in there. It's their best album for years ( Although I did enjoy 2016 EP Future present past), completely different to their early music and definitely my album of the year! Also good to see HAIM's WIMPIII in there, love it
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Old 26-01-2021, 01:21 PM #22
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Thanks for the comments all, I was expecting this to get buried without a trace I haven't even thought about the order I want to put the songs in yet so I'll quickly finish off these albums and get to work trying to make sense of that
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Old 26-01-2021, 02:32 PM #23
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#10 - "A Hero's Death" by Fontaines D.C.
I'm hard-pushed to name a song that better kicks off an album than "I Don't Belong" does here; the Irish post-punk band came along with a second release in as many years and there's something so Joy Division and misanthropic and menacing about this record that really gave me chills at times.


#9 - "Miss Anthropocene" by Grimes
Look, no one who calls themselves a Grimes fan is really enjoying the bizarre soap opera of her personal life over these past couple of years. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to feel like my 2012 music tastes have been cast a spell upon, to turn into spectral ghouls in 2020/21 turning up at the Capitol, sacrificing cats and chickens, and marrying the richest man in the world and birthing his unpronounceable children. All I'm saying is: the madness is a little easier to take when her foot isn't easing off the gas in terms of the quality of her music output. There are elements of house, her signature ethereal voice whispers into your ear as you fall under her spell, and the club mixes combine to make this one of the most alienating and fascinating records she's released.


#8 - "We Will Always Love You" by The Avalanches
Sneakily dropped off at the very end of 2020, I'm still unpacking this 26-track monster by the Australian mashup kings... but at least we didn't have to wait another 15 years since Wildflower. WWALY presents itself as a pretty bleak and morbid record, dealing with concepts like death, grieving and leaving an impact on the world, but to expect bleakness from the Avalanches seems naive. Indeed, by track 10 we're in the throes of a disco, worshipping the sun. There is a notable increase in collaborations here: legends past (Tricky, Neneh Cherry, Johnny Marr) and present (Jamie xx, Blood Orange, Denzel Curry) are thriving, and putting together an album with the scope that only the Avalanches can really imagine.


#7 - "What's Your Pleasure?" by Jessie Ware
I'm at the point now where I have nothing but praise to lavish upon these albums, because Jessie Ware really did save music for a brief period this summer with one of many great 2020 disco records. This was inarguably one of the greatest: a modern pop classic that stands up well next to the likes of Robyn's Honey. Not one filler track dampens the urgency to dance, and Ware's voice serves as a soothing tonic throughout.


#6 - "Song For Our Daughter" by Laura Marling
I have to admit that there have been times, since 2008, where I've reacted to the news of another Laura Marling album with this energy. 2015's Short Movie and 2017's Semper Femina, in particular, underwhelmed me somewhat, so I was tricked not only by this album's title (no such daughter, yet) but also its content. SFOD is comfortably her greatest yet, or at least tied with Once I Was an Eagle, and whilst there have been hundreds of comparisons to Joni Mitchell over the past decade and a bit, there's never really been a voice - until now - to warrant the flattery and make it seem accurate.


#5 - "Róisín Machine" by Róisín Murphy
Murphy's solo material has always been good; I remember finding a track that was particularly memorable on some American dance TV competition (that song was Ramalama (Bang Bang)) way back in the middle of the 2000s and found it utterly bizarre and disconnected from the hits she'd released under the name of Moloko. I was only a teenager susceptible to pop and commercial rock at the time, so held it at an arm's length, but over time her music has grown on me considerably - and her cool drawls on some of this Machine are like those of someone whose authority cannot be questioned. She's the queen of dance music, and it never really seems in doubt at any point during this record.


#4 - "RTJ4" by Run the Jewels
They've only had the time of, oh, just the Trump presidency to mull things over and put out their fourth record, so when it dropped it felt less atomic than they have done in the past, perhaps only because we'd become so desensitised to the bull**** going on in America since 2016. I've always adored the duo; their rhymes and potency are matched only by Kendrick Lamar in recent years, and their ability to combine old-school sounds with modern production techniques just makes their material all the more explosive.


#3 - "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" by Fiona Apple
If this placing shocks you: please accept my apologies, because trying to set apart this top 3 when I gave them all the exact same score has been a nightmare. All three will surely go down as some of my all-time favourites: but let's first talk about Apple. Aside from being the latest in a long line of Scott username changes, FTBC stole every award in 2020 and it's hard to argue with that; few musicians channel the same emotional energy and poetry that she able to wield, and pairing that with sublime instrumentals means this, and she, is a match made in heaven. I've placed it below the other two purely because I've listened to - and wanted to listen to - the other pair more; there's not really any reason to call FTBC anything less than perfect.


#2 - "Set My Heart On Fire Immediately" by Perfume Genius
I sort of curl up into a ball and feel like sobbing with every Perfume Genius release, and they've all been good - but this was something else. His voice is always shaking with emotion and fragility, but an amping up of the orchestration on this record made it feel like he was finally playing out on IMAX. Classic rock and roll balladry kicks the record off with 'Whole Life', but we're taken on a journey that takes on psychedelic elements ("Jason"), baroque stylings ("On the Floor") and cold, metallic industrialism ("Your Body Changes Everything"), and the end result is a record that explores sexuality, body dysmorphia and the human spirit with a master touch.


#1 - "Punisher" by Phoebe Bridgers
So then: my favourite album was in my avatar the whole time. Don't let the anticlimax take hold, though, because Punisher deserves to be heard. The list of people who've contributed to this record in some way is astronomical, with help from members of Warpaint and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, producers of Fiona Apple and long-time collaborators like Conor Oberst... and in a way the list makes sense because the end result is something so rich and well put-together; every drumbeat precise and strategically placed. There's poppier, catchy elements like on 'Kyoto', but I think the thing that swayed this as being my record for 2020 came on its closing track "I Know the End"; there's surely no better descriptor of 2020 than hearing "the end is here" blast through your headphones, only for it to feel reassuring rather than frightening.

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Old 26-01-2021, 03:58 PM #24
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Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a top ten album ever for me, I know that sounds crazy because of how long it has (or hasn't) been out but it's so good and memorable in everything from lyrics to music.
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Old 27-01-2021, 07:42 AM #25
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...I was hoping that your profile pic was a clue, Shaun...although the top 3 especially are all amazing albums, Punisher would have been a personal top for me as well.../...her lyrics, just stunning from beginning to end........


....thank you, thank you...such a highlight thread....and also thank you for the Album Club last year because without that, I wouldn’t have been familiar with so many of the top albums.....
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