2020 Music: Top 25 Albums of the Year

 Well, here it is: another year's gone by and from the 1000+ albums we listened to this year, these are the very top tier. Obviously just personal opinions, so you won't find much crossover with the established media's top albums of the year (although there is some). I hope though that you might be able to find something here that you haven't heard (worth noting of course that there are countless thousands upon thousands of albums released this year that we didn't listen to, as well) and might discover a new favourite. I hope I do these all justice to explain why they made a big impact on me.

25) Tomorrow Again - Saint Saviour (Art Folk)

Kicking things off with an album that theoretically should be higher, but it feels like an album that starts conventionally and only really finds its feet late in the piece. By the end of the first listen (and confirmed when I revisited it for this list), I was comparing Saint Saviour to Sufjan Stevens, as she has the same level of inventive folk creativity, infusing electronic samples and synth work to push the boundaries of a conventional folk composition and deliver unexpected musical twists. To my mind there’s a 4-track run here of “Animal, I”, “Paris”, “Kites” and “Taurus” that on its own could have been a short EP flirting with my top ten of the year. The first half of the album, while still good, feels like more typical and familiar folk that warms us up for the main event.

 

24) Électrochoc - Mrs Yéyé (French Electrorock)

I feel like I’ve come on such a journey with Mrs Yéyé and it was so gratifying to find on first listen and on relisten how much I enjoyed this album. For those who don’t pay assiduous attention to my music writeups (i.e. not Jez – hi, Mother!), Mrs Yéyé did my #1 album of our first music project in 2016 (“Cabaret Noir”) then followed it up in 2017 with “Hybride” which was my #9 album of that year. In 2018 she came out as a trans woman, and following a few dabbling with covers and collaborations on YouTube, this is the first output of wholly original material since that time. I did wonder if her becoming fully comfortable with herself might alter the sound of her music, but any such fears were quickly allayed. After all, her songs frequently explored themes of masculine/feminine (as in “Testostérone”) and questions of personal identity (as in “Je Ne Suis Pas une Erreur”), and if anything she’s added more intriguing variety to her musical persona. She still hits very hard on rock tracks like “Créve” here but there’s also playful pop, thoughtful ballads and outstanding electronic experimentation here that only adds to my admiration.

 

23) Celexa Dreams - Kyros (Progressive Synthpop)

I’ve gone back and forth on this album a bit, and I still don’t really know if I have head or tail of it. These guys tend to talk about themselves and sell themselves as a prog rock band, but the music is so synth-heavy that it feels kitschy if you take it too seriously, like it verges on power rock or hair metal kind of territory. If, on the other hand, you take that slightly ‘tacky’ quality less seriously and enjoy the bombast for what it is (most notably on the epic 14-minute “In Vantablack”), then it’s a really cool and energising album. Regardless of the intent and the reception, it’s skilfully constructed and composed for what it is, but I’d love this more if I could pin it down better into a clear genre ‘idea’.

 

22) Banana Skin Shoes - Badly Drawn Boy (Indie Rock)

It was very fortuitous that I included “The Hour of Bewilderbeest” as part of my retrospective of the Mercury Prize this year shortly before this album’s release, because Badly Drawn Boy’s 1999 album was one that felt like a subtler collection of music whose substance and quality grew and became more apparent as the album went on. This album, I would say, is more immediately catchy and poppy, but my awareness of the artist’s songwriting prowess kept me attentive for the subtle depths, and they are definitely there. Whether it’s an unusual bit of instrumentation here, a deceptively simple hook, or just a great lyric like “It’s true that not only do the good die young, but only the young die good” (from my #18 song of the year). Enjoyable music that rewards close listening and relistening.

 

21) some kind of peace - Ólafur Arnalds (Neoclassical)

Ólafur Arnalds is another artist who’s made my end of year list previously, doing my #19 album and #29 song of 2018, so this was another highly anticipated release. This one takes a slightly less classical focus, having more featured vocalists making them more ‘songs’y and less of a singular composition piece. While I would have been totally OK with another pure classical(/tronica) instrumental album, he evolves his sound here while maintaining his dreamy, unconventional piano chords and the subtle synth augmentations underneath. This album really requires concentrated listening to feel its full effect, and the rewards are definitely there.

 

20) Whoosh! - Deep Purple (Dad Rock)

I hinted at this in writing up my #10 song of the year (“Throw My Bones”), but this whole album is a wonderful bit of nostalgic old-fashioned hard rock. While only the drummer (Ian Paice) from the original Deep Purple lineup remains, the musical chemistry of the band is unchanged and could very well be the younger band in their heyday belting out these exact same songs. There’s plenty of great prog movements on here, slick guitar work and Paice definitely holds his own behind the drums given he must be 90 or something by now (he’s 72, incidentally). I just have a soft spot for these old blokes, and achieving such success recreating their classic sound is really impressive.

 

19) Sumach Roots - Jason Wilson (Indie Rock)

This is and remains the big surprise of the year. As Jez mentioned in his writeups, a “Jason Wilson” became a term for an album that won album of the week despite not having big highlight songs contributing to that. Having not expected this to be anywhere near my end of year list, it’s indeed become a “Jason Wilson” all over again, making both my and Jez’s top 30 (25 even?). In fact I’d rephrase my own definition of the term (Jez and I have had extensive debate about the exact definition) to be an album that you believe you don’t like that much as you can’t find any evidence for it – but you’re wrong. This is, indeed, a surprising album. There's an ease to its creativity that belies how unpretentiously entertaining it is. Wilson is making music for the fun of it, and it comes across. There's lots of cool jazz, reggae and even Celtic folk influences here and the songs all have this unique personality to them.

 

18) Kaloli - Nihiloxica (Ugandan Drumtronica)

There’s not a great deal I can add to my writeup of “Supuki”, my #30 song of the year from this album, because after that song kicks off this album with its relentless throbbing rhythms and otherworldly electronic atmosphere, it never lets up. Every song contains a great deal of oppression and menace, and it’s an amazing album to have on in the background while working or reading (which is how I do most of my music listening). The drumwork is also outstandingly technical and impressive and the arrangements give them all room to expand and grow throughout.

 

17) Emerald Seas - Seven Spires (Gothic Metal)

Another former album of the year entrant, Seven Spires did my #16 album of 2017 and have apparently slipped in quality by one ranking this year. This album struck me as excellent on the first listen through but then went off the boil until it was time to revisit for this list, when it really hit the target. These guys to my mind do the best line in Gothic Metal, utilising orchestral synths to add moody atmosphere to great guitar work and driving beats. Singer Adrienne Cowan perfects the tone with her skilful vacillations between soulful power and dark rage. They haven’t really evolved their tone since their debut, but I’m very pleased to have another album of consistently solid metal music like this. For their third album, I’ll see.

 

16) 100% Yes - Melt Yourself Down (Jazz Punk)

Source of my #9 song of the year, this is a great album of world jazz fusion. There’s what I termed a “psychojazz” feeling to a lot of the saxophone work on this album in particular where it takes improvisation into extreme freewheeling territory where anything goes (except of course subtlety). Underlying it all though is a great funk flavour with an Afro-Caribbean touch to it, and songs like “This Is the Squeeze” and “Crocodile” are pieces of music with so many constantly moving parts so it’s unflinchingly entertaining.

 

15) After the Great Storm - Ane Brun (Art Pop)

Ane Brun is a singer I’ve been aware of since 2009, when she featured on a song by the band Koop called “Koop Island Blues” which was the first song on my and Bec’s wedding reception playlist due to Bec’s recent discovery of it. But I genuinely hadn’t heard of or thought of her in all that time, and she’s been pretty prolific except during our music project – although she put out a followup to this album about three weeks after this. This is a funny one, because despite ticking a lot of the boxes for stuff I really like – it’s ambient dreampop, there’s a depth of feeling to the vocals, and there’s a lot of interesting slow-burn songs that build to dramatic climaxes – my appreciation tends to be more removed and more academic. I think it’s remarkably well-made music but it seems to know that, and feels a little sombre at times as well, and that drops it down to #15 rather than much higher where music of this ilk would typically find itself.

 

14) Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? - Fantastic Negrito (Contemporary Blues)

The eagerly-anticipated follow-up to my #1 album of 2018, this is certainly a worthy successor but also fell a little bit flat to me on the first listen (although it did take my album of the week award). It took a relisten to cement its spot in the top of the year, but I think the key difference between this and 2018’s “Please Don’t Be Dead” is the fact that on his previous effort Fantastic Negrito was really pushing the limits of blues music into fascinating new territories. Here he’s in those same territories but just playing around without innovating further. It’s not to say that this is intrinsically an inferior album (it’s great), but I don't feel as excited by the musical possibilities here, and the previous one really did the pioneering work that was so completely scintillating.

 

13) Flight of Ideas - Warm Digits (Krautrock)

Warm Digits are another band to feature twice on year-end lists, having done my #24 album of 2017, but this album is higher ranked not just because it’s a new year and anything goes, but this definitely feels like a superior album. There’s a bit more of a focus on featured vocalists here, or possibly the featured vocalists (most notably The Lovely Eggs on the nervously exciting “Feel the Panic”) add more of their own character here, and Warm Digits provide a solid dynamic beat and synth foundation to build on. At the end of the day this is really energising and enjoyable music that is great as working music particularly on the instrumental tracks, and just as great for sitting down and attending to the arrangements.

 

12) Take Your Power Back - Nahko and Medicine For the People (Eclectic Folk)

The source of my #3 song of the year, “Dear Brother”, this is a really excellent album of music that suffers just a little from having too much variegation across its songs so it’s ultimately hard to get a grip on what it’s really about. There’s a lot of powerful themes here, with racial injustice a frequent feature, alone with Native American dignity and how to make a real difference in the world. At times it’s also very uplifting, too, but sometimes (as with the sweet track “Garden”) it verges on tweeness, but I love the different little flavours of folk, pop and RnB that are introduced. Nahko Bear is clearly someone who doesn’t like to be boxed in, so this album giving him licence to branch out and attack lots of things on his mind both musically and emotionally is quite empowering.

 

11) Such Pretty Forks in the Road - Alanis Morissette (Art Rock)

This was a big surprise earlier in the year, and it was an even bigger surprise on relistening to realise how good it is. If you read other ‘best of 2020’ lists, they’ll make a big deal about another album from an alt rock singer-songwriter who got breakout success in the 90s, but this album from Morissette made a far great impact on me than Fiona Apple’s. Part of me suspects the reason is that I’m more familiar with Morissette’s aesthetic but I’d argue that a lot of the affection for Apple’s album comes from a similar place. And this album is so personal, and mature, grappling mental health and addiction but having a popular artist’s sensibility to throw in the uplifting “Sandbox Love” just when the album’s getting too heavy. It served to remind me that I need a bit of Alanis Morissette in my life.

 

10) Big Smoke - Five Alarm Funk (Funk)

There are quite a few albums who find themselves on this list purely by being lots of fun, and this is a perfect example of one. There’s not a huge deal of depth to the lyrics or composition on this album, but there’s a great deal of prowess with the brass and an understanding of how to keep the energy flowing throughout. It’s big, brassy funk with a no holds barred attitude that might even feel exhausting for how action-packed it is, but it’s just so entertaining.

 

9) A Pretty Picture in a Most Disturbing Way - YOHIO (Visual Kei)

I discussed YOHIO in my previous post, having done my #18 song of this year, and while I captured everything that I love about this album in that post, I’m obliged to write more here so that this doesn’t feel like a lightweight entry. Sigh. This is really quite a zany, wacky album that has a marvellous modern glam rock feel to it: there’s a great deal of flamboyance to YOHIO’s performance throughout, and a real Japanese sense of excessive personality and mercurial charisma. The music has the infectious feel of J-pop but that belies a very complex composition and arrangement, but it’s also impeccably produced to result in a byzantine but highly polished album.

 

8) As Long As You Are - Future Islands (Synthpop)

These guys have achieved the remarkable feat of hitting my top ten albums of the year twice, having done my #7 album of 2017 (as well as my #9 song of that year, “Ran”). And they’ve achieved that really without having an astonishing eclecticism to their sound, either: they just have an incredibly good handle on what they do. So I can’t really explain why I love them so much, but I was surprised at how well this album held up. Essentially they do thoughtful and provocative rock music but utilise synthesisers and keyboards to get there in a way that’s usually associated with fun, bouncy pop music. As a result they create music that has catchy poppy hooks with a songwriting depth so it’s catchy but without ever seeming kitschy.

 

7) S16 - Woodkid (Art Pop)

Every year I seem to have an album that’s deeply moving and affecting but drops down the list a bit by virtue of being excessively dark and oppressive. This is that album this year; this guy is seriously impressive when he’s on song, with a rich baritone voice that’s so deep and full of emotion. This is a really cinematic and dramatic album, full of big swells and builds and a lot of fascinating chord progressions that emphasise the oppressive darkness building. But despite that weight, it’s not really a dark or sombre album thematically, it's an album that is imbued with strong feelings of yearning and loss, and despite the noirish tones there’s a warmth to embrace here as well.

 

6) Between a Breath and a Breath - Dyble Longdon (Indie Folk Rock)

As I mentioned in my songs writeup, this was a bittersweet discovery to learn that a remarkable collaboration like this ended, with Judy Dyble’s passing, before we’d even gotten to hear it. It’s worth being grateful that we got it at all though, because there really is magic created when David Longdon’s instrumentation and voice meet with the remarkable storytelling quality of Judy Dyble. From the 11-minute “France” to the tidy but meaningful title track, this is an intricate tapestry of traditional-sounding folk music that manages to stay future-focused at the same time. There’s some driving rock interwoven with it as well, which helps to keep it energised but even in its most intellectualised moments, it’s still fascinating music.

 

5) Curse of the Crystal Coconut - Alestorm (Pirate Metal)

Yes, I kept warning you there’d be more mentions of pirate metal to come. As I hinted in my songs writeup, this album is just non-stop fun from start to finish, and in a year like this something silly and escapist like this is very worthy of a top five appearance. But what always strikes me about this album is that behind the play-acting, the very Scottish sense of irreverent humour, is an excellent album of driving metal music. The folk instrumentation – as with any folk metal – adds colour and melody, but the guitars and drums are really kicking throughout. The main thing though is that, despite their impressive commitment to the bit, these guys are obviously having a lot of fun with it as well, and that’s very infectious.

 

4) Someday Tomorrow Maybe - Lola Marsh (Israeli Noir Pop)

This was no doubt an inevitable appearance somewhere in my top 25 for those who’ve read my songs writeup, landing two songs in my top 20 including song of the year for “Echoes”. There’s a wonderful eclecticism on this album, including some really moving folk swells, some quieter more personal numbers like “Strangers on a Subway” but a lot of electronically-infused folkish pop that delivers a lot of cool attitude. I said early on that singer Yael Shoshana Cohen reminds me tonally a lot of Lana del Rey, except that I tend to find LdR puts me off because she’s excessively cold, whereas Cohen’s voice has an inviting warmth to it that infuses the songs with so much more feeling (incidentally in looking up how to properly spell Cohen’s name I found an early appearance of her on the Voice Israel, performing none other than “Video Games”). There’s a lot of eye-opening and show-stopping moments on this album but really they put their best foot forward with (IMO) the best song of the year.

 

3) The Ascension – Sufjan Stevens (Electrofolk)

This is I feel the one point of convergence between my best albums list and all of the music publications’, so in one sense it’s the one time when my personal preference veers towards ‘big important’ albums of the year, and in another more accurate sense it’s the only instance where music journalists got it right. This album was highly anticipated of course, not really knowing if it would be pure folk like Sufjan’s previous “Carrie & Lowell” or more electronic diddling like “The Age of Adz”. The result is actually somewhere in the middle: it’s very electronically focused, but the themes and songwriting and performance are very deeply personal, exploring themes of faith, penance and regret, and ways of creating meaning on this earth. If there’s a flaw which dropped this to only #3 of the year (shakes head in disappointment), it’s that it is quite indulgently long, and despite being consistently brilliant it does feel its length without going in wildly different directions throughout.

 

2) Tornado Mass for Voice & Synthesizer – Slow Dakota (Experimental Folk)

This album, examining the events leading up to and following a catastrophic tornado hitting the US Midwest, was a genuine bolt from the blue at the time. It even became a running gag for me that my new favourite genre was experimental spoken word music, after I awarded this my album of the week and runner-up to another album of the same (“Windows in the Sky” by Alex Henry Foster, which didn’t end up making the cut for this list). But behind the spoken word interludes and eclectic experiments being drawn together here, this is a really incredibly crafted collection of music. It’s at times neoclassical, at times traditional folk, and at the best (or perhaps the blurst) of times, it’s got a driving dance beat with an imagined conversation between a fictional president and one of his aides bearing some bad news about his wife. The main comparisons I hear though are Brian Eno as well as the likes of Gustav Holst and Edvard Grieg – particularly regarding the show-stopping moments in the midst of broader musical narratives.

 

1) The Normal Album – Will Wood (Cabaret Rock)

In the end there was no other possible choice. From the first time I heard this album it was in the box seat for my album of the year, if for no other reason than that it’s just non-stop manic, charismatic energy. In truth, the first track (my #5 song of the year) is almost enough to win album of the year on its own as it contains all the moods and all the brilliance and all the delicious sarcasm in one 6-minute package, and everything else that follows is a delightful bonus. At the end of the day though, the main reason there’s no other option to sit in this slot is that this album encapsulates 2020 to my mind: it contains all of the vicissitudes, the sudden unpredictable shifts and jerks, the anger and the introspection, but above all it’s an album about pretending to be alright (and normal) when you’re really anything but. It is 2020, but it’s like watching 2020 happen from afar, knowing that it’s being conducted and directed by a mad genius and I’m just there watching it for my entertainment. There’s something remarkably cathartic about that.

And in traditional form, here are the 'almost-ran' albums of the year, in order of least to most syllables, with tiebreaks broken by a random number generator:

Zan - Liraz (Israeli-Persian Electrofolk)

Mirores - Ani Glass (Dreampop)

Warnings - I Break Horses (Dreampop)

Quadra - Sepultura (Brazilian Groove Metal)

Hollow - Elephant Stone (Psychedelic Rock)

Fish Pond Fish - Darlingside (Indie Folk Rock)

10 - The Piano Guys (Classical Pop Fusion)

Optimisme - Songhoy Blues (Songhaï Blues)

Wonderbloom - Becca Stevens (Art Folk)

Le Cœur - Dandelion Wine (Australian Dreamfolktronica)

The Wildlight - The Gravity Drive (Indie Folk Rock)

Diamonds - The Birthday Massacre (Gothic Darkwave)

Mystic Familiar - Dan Deacon (Electropop)

Romarabeat - Romarabeat (Roma-Maghreb Jazz)

No Time For Enemies - Gangstagrass (Gangstagrass)

American Head - The Flaming Lips (Psychedelic Rock)

City of Sin - Dutty Moonshine Big Band (Jazztronica)

Making a Door Less Open - Car Seat Headrest (Experimental Rock)

K.G. - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Microtonal Psychedelic Rock)