I’ve split this year end roundup into three sections. First, you’ll get a rundown of the albums that I returned to the most over the course of the year (listed roughly in chronological order). Second, you’ll get a few songs that have earned a coveted spot on my running playlist. Finally, I’ll highlight a few late breaking releases worthy of your attention. Most things here were released in 2020, but not all. Above all, I hope you find something you enjoy.
Thanks for all the support in 2020, and here’s to a better 2021.
21 Favorite Albums of 2020
MEET THE WOO | POP SMOKE Pop Smoke’s murder early this year was tragic, yet he remained central to the musical conversation throughout the year. For me, neither of his 2020 releases had the same hypnotic pull as 2019’s Meet the Woo, which soundtracked countless late night runs through Brooklyn. We’ll never know what Pop Smoke might have done, but we’ll always have this one perfect document of his talent.
JUILLET | EN ATTENDANT ANA The latest dispatch from the Parisian quintet echoes jangle pop classics while managing to make the sound their own. There’s a sense of motion and purpose behind every note; songs ebb and flow, propelled forward by sparkling melodies. It’s indie pop perfection.
THE TRASHCANNON ALBUM | CAITLIN CANNON An album that tackles heavy subjects like incarceration, sexism, and alcoholism shouldn’t be this fun, yet The TrashCannon Album is just that: a laugh out loud funny set of country tunes with an emotionally resonant core. Easily my favorite country album of the year.
THE GOAT | POLO G On opener “Don’t Believe The Hype”, Polo G raps “I dig deep into my spirit when I spit into the mic.” It’s true. His plainspoken style imbues his songs with immediacy, almost as if he’s spilling his soul to you. His debut album Die A Legend was a favorite from last year, and The Goat continues his winning streak.
PURE X | PURE X After a four year hiatus, Pure X came back better than ever in 2020. The opening notes of their self titled album explode in a squall of feedback, and it never lets up from there. Prefering washes of sound to distinct melodies, this is rock music at its most impressionistic.
DIAS RAROS | MELENAS On their debut album for the always great Trouble in Mind, Melenas take the listener on a trip through indie pop history. Their songs combine motorik beats, washes of shoegaze fuzz, jangle pop hooks and girl group harmonies to stunning effect. Although my Spanish is rudimentary at best, Melenas’ music pulses with an energy that transcends linguistic boundaries
PANOPTICON! | DREAMCRUSHER I booked Dreamcrusher to play at a show at the now defunct Shea Stadium back in 2016. They were the absolute highlight of the evening and one of the best performers I’ve ever seen live (seriously, once we’re all vaccinated get to the gig!). I hadn’t followed their work closely since them, but they put out two epic releases in 2020 that demanded my attention. The first of those two, Panopticon!, finds Dreamcrusher poking pop structures through their trademark wall of sound. It manages to be catchy and abrasive all at once. It’s majestic.
SUBSCRIPTION DOUBLE SUICIDE =ZERO= | VARIOUS ARTISTS I was sold as soon as I read the description of this compilation on one of the first Bandcamp days: “seeds of hope for the coming post-pandemic parties.” Those parties still haven’t materialized, but these tracks from the Japanese electronic underground remain a delight all these months later. From woozy hip hop to etherial R&B and EDM inflected pop, there’s something for everyone here. Yet another reminder that there are thriving musical scenes all over the world, even if they don’t get the coverage they deserve here in the US.
YALC NITSUA MAILLIW | YALC123 William Austin Clay is an experimental pop mastermind and their latest project under the name Yalc123 is one worth your attention. A genre bending set filled with woozy synths and distorted vocals, you can hear echoes of everything from 8-bit video game soundtracks to trap. It’s a singular vision of pop music that sounds like little else out there.
FLOWER OF DEVOTION | DEHD It’s striking how much Dehd makes with so little. While their arrangements throughout Flower of Devotion are spare and cavernous (often little more than a single jangling guitar line, a rhythm anchored by the drums and bass, and vocals), there’s a lushness and layered complexity to everything they do. Written during a time of personal and global tumult, the album’s lyrics always seek out the light through darkness; it was a message that felt especially relevant throughout the year.
FAST EDIT | STILL HOUSE PLANTS On their sophomore album, Still House Plants present the most fully realized version of their fractured rock to date. Jessica Hickie-Kallenbach, David Kennedy and Finlay Clark create tracks that are constantly in motion, each part pushing and pulling against the others. It’s this dynamic tension that shines throughout, imbuing their sound with much of its power.
THE SAFEWAY | JIMOTHY LACOSTE Jimothy Lacoste’s string of singles over the past few years have been consistently inventive and joyous, and his debut album, The Safeway, did not disappoint. The line “listen to my music and experience my whole world” shows up on the album’s penultimate track, but that could easily be the thesis for the whole album. It presents a fully realized version of Jimothy and his universe, and it’s dazzling.
THINGS I NEVER SAID | OCEANATOR More than any other album I listened to this year, Things I Never Said captured the energy and joy of live music. It’s scrappy, melodic rock music that wears its heart on its sleeve. It’s the sound of basement shows and cramped clubs. Despite it’s apocalyptic lyrical overtones, it was a balm.
SOUL LADY | YUKIKA Future Nostalgia feels like many people’s consensus pick for the pop album of quarantine (and admittedly it’s a good one), but I spun Soul Lady more than any other pop album this year. An intoxicating mix of K-pop and city pop, these songs felt ebullient yet restrained. Pop at quarantine scale.
BILDUNGSROMAN | HIPERSON Hiperson’s music sounds less like conventional rock than sonic poetry. It’s most immediately obvious in the vocals, which contain both spoken word passages and conventional singing, but the instrumentals seal the deal for me. The band sculpts sound like clay, adeptly using its presence and absence to take the listener on a mystical journey. It’s a truly remarkable achievement from a singular band.
LONG HAIRED LOCUSTS | GODCASTER There are a lot of records I enjoyed this year, but I don’t know if any of them delighted me as much as Long Haired Locusts. The band’s infectious energy is evident from the album’s opening notes and never lets up. Whether they’re making puns off of Stevie Wonder’s name or just singing “sexy heffer” over and over again, this is music that refuses to take itself too seriously to deliriously fun effect.
PHILADELPHIA | SHABASON, KRGOVICH & HARRIS By twisting the sounds of new age into pop music, Joseph Shabason, Nicholas Krgovich, and Chris Harris created one of the most transfixing albums of the year. Their songs created transcendent moments out of the minutiae of everyday life. It felt like a respite from the madness of the year, serving as a reminder that there is beauty all around us, even in the most trying of times.
HEADSHOTS! | ANGRY BLACKMEN A searing set of political art rap that takes you on “a savage journey to the heart of the American dream”, Headshots! is a tour de force. Angry Blackmen feel equally comfortable tackling tough issues or throwing out pop culture references; the results are both timely and endlessly entertaining. Even though the album stretches a scant eighteen minutes, it packs in more lyrical brilliance than most albums twice its length.
AUTO | WENDY EISENBERG Wendy Eisenberg’s catalog is vast and varied, but Auto felt like both their strongest statement and a summation of their work to date. Restless sonic experimentation is a constant throughout this album; the first three tracks alone touch on sparse folk, avant-rock, and jazz balladry. It’s an album that simultaneously sounds like little else out there and a natural progression of Eisenberg’s singular craft.
SEND THEM TO COVENTRY | PA SALIEU The buzz around UK rap seemed to be slowly growing in the US over the past few years, but it really exploded in 2020. The success of Brooklyn drill pointed all eyes squarely across the pond, and the scene delivered. In my opinion, the most interesting project came from Pa Salieu. Although described as a drill artist, his debut mixtape transcended that label; you can hear the influence of everything from dancehall to African pop. The results are something special.
NIGHTMARE VACATION | RICO NASTY I recently stumbled across a perfect description of Rico Nasty’s music on Twitter: it’s music that makes you want to bite people. Her past projects leaned heavily on a hyper aggressive persona, and her debut album maintains that full throttle essence while expanding her sonic palette. The album’s hyperpop experiments (many of which were produced by 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady) are especially intriguing, but even the more straightforward tracks are a stellar showcase of Rico’s talent.
Six favorite additions to my running playlist
I run at least three or four times a week, and curating my running playlist is a bit of a personal obsession. I’m constantly adding and removing songs, figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Below are six songs that have earned a coveted permanent spot on the list in 2020.
The latecomers
Most year end lists are compiled before we even hit December, which means all the great music released at the end of the year typically gets passed over in this conversation. In that spirit, here are five great albums released this month that you may have missed in rush towards the end of the year.