Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Jirin
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

New Field Music is good but also blatantly copying Remain In Light.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

The year is basically 3/4s of the way over. Here are all the albums I've heard from 2020, ranked. And with a new number 1 album!

Excellent Tier:

1. Jessie Ware- What's Your Pleasure?
2. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
3. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Great Tier:

4. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
5. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
6. Charli XCX- How I'm Feeling Now
7. Destroyer- Have We Met

Very Good Tier:

8. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
9. Sufjan Stevens- The Ascension
10. Taylor Swift- Folklore
11. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
12. Neil Young- Homegrown
13. The Microphones- Microphones in 2020
14. Kelly Lee Owens- Inner Song
15. Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher
16. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- 2017 - 2019
17. Makaya McCraven- We're New Again: a Reimagining by Makaya McCraven

Good Tier:

18. The 1975- Notes on a Conditional Form
19. Idles- Ultra Mono
20. Haim- Women in Music Pt. III
21. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist- Alfredo
22. Gum Country- Somewhere
23. Fleet Foxes- Shore
24. The Flaming Lips- American Head
25. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- Sideways to New Italy
26. Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud
27. Porridge Radio- Every Bad
28. Laura Marling- Song for Our Daughter
29. Thundercat- It Is What It Is
30. Soccer Mommy- Color Theory
31. Grimes- Miss Anthropocene
32. Dan Deacon- Mystic Familiar
33. The Strokes- The New Abnormal
34. Angel Olsen- Whole New Mess
35. Medhane- Cold Water
36. Disclosure- ENERGY
37. Disclosure- Ecstasy (EP)
38. Dinner Party- Dinner Party

Decent Tier:

39. The Weeknd- After Hours
40. Moses Sumney- grae
41. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony
42. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans
43. U.S. Girls- Heavy Light
44. Father John Misty- Anthem +3 (EP)
45. Caribou- Suddenly
46. Perfume Genius- Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
47. Jeff Parker- Suite for Max Brown
48. Georgia- Seeking Thrills

Poor Tier:

49. Car Seat Headrest- Making a Door Less Open
50. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- Illusions of Shameless Abundance (EP)
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

I think I posted about Anna Jarvinen’s new album in the wrong thread but not sure which.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

Updated top 20, more recent releases haven't had much time to bubble up yet:

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
3. Sufjan Stevens - Aporia
4. Caribou - Suddenly
5. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
6. HMTLD - West Of Eden
7. Myrkur - Folkesange
8. Destroyer - Have We Met
9. Moon Horch - Life On Other Planets
10. Chromatics - Faded Now
11. The Flaming Lips - American Head
12. Pheobe Bridgers - Punisher
13. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
14. Perfume Genius - Set Your Heart On Fire Immediately
15. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
16. Delphine Dora - L'inttangible
17. Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways
18. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
19. Vanessa Carlton - Love Is An Art
20. Moses Sumney - grae

Heard recently and rising:
Agnes Obel - Myopia
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

The third quarter of 2020 has been the most fruitful thus far!

1 | ボリス [Boris] | NO
The latest from the legendary loud rock trio. It does not have standout songs, but it's the most consistently captivating thing I heard this quarter. The only dull part is the outro.

2 | Blu & Exile | Miles
Blu and Exile reunite for a jazz-rap / sunny hip-hop epic. When I'm listening to this, in my head I'm imagining a world where if Kanye had never become mega-popular off of his first three albums, and he ended up a struggling underground backpack rapper, this is the album that would result. Exile's production is what really kept me coming back, but this is no knock on Blu, who relates his life story.

3 | Chloe x Halle | Ungodly Hour
Given that this album comes from Beyoncé proteges, this is most certainly a mainstream pop album. But I think there is enough quirk and personality here that separates it from the pack. At this point, this is tentatively my pop album of the year. I would say, if you liked SZA's CTRL and you ALSO like mainstream pop, check this out.

4 | Imperial Triumphant | Alphaville
This has become a bit of a metal year for me, and this is a prime example. I guess the RYMers call this blackened death metal or something like that? I don't know the terms, but I mean to say this is not your Black Sabbath metal. There is a 9% jazz influence to sorta spice up the formula a little bit. But this thing just rocks your face off. It's great.

5 | Natalia Lafourcade | Un Canto por México, Vol. 1
Natalia Lafourcade has been gaining attention over the past few years starting with the "Coco" soundtrack, but this album is when I hop wholeheartedly on the bandwagon. This album took a while to grow on me. This is the refreshing taste of sunshine and joy that I needed to hear this year. The opener might be the most romantically happy and festive song I have ever heard. The rest of the album is a lot more toned-down, but the instrumentation is what elevates it. The high production value is what puts this over the Musas volumes, at least for me. The sound on this album might be too happy for some people, to the point of sounding Disney-ish, but I didn't mind. I invite you to take a gentle ride through various sounds in Mexican pop music, if you've heard Natalia's work yet or not.

6 | Matmos | The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form
This is my kind of electronic music. This is a three-disc, three-hour affair, but just like Kamasi Washington's The Epic, you don't need to hear the whole thing in one go. The first disc is the most rocky, so I'd recommend listening to this one last. But the second and third discs are amazingly well-transitioned sequences. Such an eye-widening experience.

7 | The Flaming Lips | American Head
And here we have another great experience. This MUST be heard in full. This is not new territory for the Coyne and Co., who are going back to the sounds that they are most known for, but it's still very good.

Honorable mentions:
Poppy | I Disagree
Thanks to Edre Peraza for putting me on through the closing track "Don't Go Outside." That is indeed my favorite track from the album, and set my expectations high. Unfortunately there are some gimmicky songs on the album (especially the opener) that have the abrasive-to-sweet transitions that I find oh so very corny. But there are also a lot of great tracks. If you ever had nostalgia for nu-metal and alternative metal, with a tiny J-Pop twist, then this might be your ticket there.

Against All Logic | 2017-2019
Another album I came late to. I actually prefer the off-kilter nature of this record over the straightforward house of its predecessor.

Neptunian Maximalism | Eons
Ambitious ethnic post-jazz(?) album indeed (three discs!), and I respect the hell out of it for that. But... I think the first disc is kinda boring and slow. The playing is a tiny bit amateurish. The second disc is the most captivating (I recommend starting here), and I did pull out a great ambient track "Eôs" from the third disc.

Sevdaliza | Shabrang
This is the most unique album I've heard this year. Maybe that's just because I haven't heard any of Tricky's stuff, and trip-hop still sounds very otherworldly to me. But if you could only hear one album this year, and you want to know what music has to offer in 2020, my humble ears would recommend this one. I'm not totally sold yet, but I'm thankful I heard this.

IDLES | Ultra Mono
These punk/post-punk guys are going to be one of those bands that keep putting out good records, but never quite wow me with an AOTY. What a wonderful blow to the head this album is, as you see on the front cover. There are quite a few people complaining that the politics are "dumbed down," but I think it's pretty much the same level. The song structures are more straightforward I suppose, but that just means they're going for the jugular every time. Not every piece of political art needs to be super-nuanced, in my opinion (the world can have both a Kendrick Lamar and a YG). Ultra Mono doesn't have as many standout tracks as Joy did, but it is more consistent.

Fleet Foxes | Shore
I guess I'll end things with this latest offering from Fleet Foxes, where Robin and the gang head to the beach, and play some groovier music. If you're a big fan of the debut self-titled, you'll probably enjoy it more than me. Also if you're new to the band, this could be a good starting point. I could write a lot about my relationship with Fleet Foxes, but I'll just say I suffer from the Nas-fan syndrome, where nothing Fleet Foxes makes seems to come close to their masterwork, even if they're still good.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more discussion (or really any discussion) on the new Annie album, Dark Hearts. Did anyone else hear it? I really liked it!
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by BleuPanda »

Here's my current ranking along with my rating out of 10:

Outstanding:
1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (10/10)
2. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (9.5/10)
3. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (9.2/10)
4. Moses Sumney - grae (9.2/10)
5. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song (9.1/10)
6. Roisin Murphy - Roisin Machine (9.1/10)
7. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (9.1/10)

Great:
8. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind (8.9/10)
9. Caribou - Suddenly (8.8/10)
10. Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (8.8/10)
11. Taylor Swift - Folklore (8.6/10)
12. Run the Jewels - RTJ4 (8.6/10)
13. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (8.6/10)
14. Charli XCX - how I'm feeling now (8.5/10)
15. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death (8.5/10)
16. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020 (8.5/10)
17. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (8.5/10)
18. Fleet Foxes - Shore (8.4/10)
19. Jehnny Beth - To Love is to Live (8.4/10)
20. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (8.3/10)
21. Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (8.3/10)
22. Kvelertak - Splid (8.3/10)
23. Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today (8.2/10)
24. Porridge Radio - Every Bad (8.2/10)
25. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 (8.2/10)
26. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter (8/10)
27. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (8/10)

Good:
28. Deftones - Ohms (7.9/10)
29. The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) - Gaslighter (7.9/10)
30. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (7.9/10)
31. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (7.9/10)
32. Neil Young - Homegrown (7.8/10)
33. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (7.8/10)
34. Thundercat - It Is What It Is (7.8/10)
35. Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (7.8/10)
36. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts VI: Locusts (7.7/10)
37. Georgia - Seeking Thrills (7.7/10)
38. Hinds - The Prettiest Curse (7.7/10)
39. Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas (7.6/10)
40. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (7.6/10)
41. Code Orange - Underneath (7.6/10)
42. Sorry - 925 (7.6/10)
43. Everything Everything - RE-ANIMATOR (7.5/10)
44. Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist - Alfredo (7.5/10)
45. Crack Cloud - Pain Olympics (7.5/10)
46. Lady Gaga - Chromatica (7.5/10)
47. IDLES - Ultra Mono (7.4/10)
48. J Hus - Big Conspiracy (7.4/10)
49. BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff (7.4/10)
50. Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers (7.4/10)
51. Haim - Women in Music Pt. III (7.3/10)
52. Makaya McCraven - We're New Again - A Re-imagining (7.3/10)
53. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman (7.3/10)
54. Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor (7.2/10)
55. The Weeknd - After Hours (7.2/10)
56. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels (7.2/10)
57. Torres - Silver Tongue (7.1/10)
58. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory (7.1/10)
59. Destroyer - Have We Met (7.1/10)
60. Mac Miller - Circles (7/10)
61. Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas (7/10)
62. Khruangbin - Mordechai (7/10)
63. Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess (7/10)

Above Average:
64. Keeley Forsyth - Debris (6.75/10)
65. Kiwi Jr. - Football Money (6.75/10)
66. Slotface - Sorry for the Late Reply (6.75/10)
67. Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline (6.75/10)
68. Bill Fay - Countless Branches (6.5/10)
69. Ben Watt - Storm Damage (6.5/10)
70. King Krule - Man Alive! (6.5/10)
71. Lanterns on the Lake - Spook the Herd (6.25/10)
72. Boniface - Boniface (6.25/10)
73. BTS - Map of the Soul: 7 (6.25/10)

Mediocre:
74. MisterWives - SUPERBLOOM (4.5/10)
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

Georgia Anne Muldrow - Mama, You Can Bet! is blowing me away. It's like a performance at a jazz club except with more R&B vocals.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Henry »

prosecutorgodot wrote: Thu Oct 01, 2020 5:02 am The third quarter of 2020 has been the most fruitful thus far!

5 | Natalia Lafourcade | Un Canto por México, Vol. 1
Natalia Lafourcade has been gaining attention over the past few years starting with the "Coco" soundtrack, but this album is when I hop wholeheartedly on the bandwagon. This album took a while to grow on me. This is the refreshing taste of sunshine and joy that I needed to hear this year. The opener might be the most romantically happy and festive song I have ever heard. The rest of the album is a lot more toned-down, but the instrumentation is what elevates it. The high production value is what puts this over the Musas volumes, at least for me. The sound on this album might be too happy for some people, to the point of sounding Disney-ish, but I didn't mind. I invite you to take a gentle ride through various sounds in Mexican pop music, if you've heard Natalia's work yet or not.

7 | The Flaming Lips | American Head
And here we have another great experience. This MUST be heard in full. This is not new territory for the Coyne and Co., who are going back to the sounds that they are most known for, but it's still very good.
Excellent descriptions. I am very likely to listen to both of the albums above based on your discussion.

Thanks!
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

“Letter to You” is probably my favorite album by an old name this year, definitely better than Rough and Rowdy Ways. Not hard to believe though, new Springsteen has been better than new Dylan for a while.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Some background: I haven't been the biggest fan of Gorillaz - my excuse is that they came up before my time, but maybe that's not an excuse given how popular they still are today. For the most part, the singles have always seemed like the highlights from their albums. The albums have been very deep with Gorillaz lore, which is tough to parse for a newcomer; the videos have been a huge part of their artistry and I'm not a video watcher; and that Gorillaz signature sound, the low-key trip-hop stuff, has never really clicked 100% with me.

With my Gorillaz background out of the way, I am really enjoying Song Machine, Season One. I think it is now my favorite Gorillaz album. It's just a collection of singles essentially, so that lore aspect is not a barrier. And every song is well-executed and has great features, but at the same time 2D/Damon Albarn doesn't get drowned out by them. The combination of 6lack and Elton John on "Pink Phantom" had no right to be so good, nor the JPEGmafia and Chai combo on the deluxe version. Damon worked really hard to make each song special, and I think he succeeded. In terms of being a collection of singles with a boatload of features, this is among the best I've heard. The instrumentals are just so juicy and flavorful. Damon laid out an amazing picnic spread, and I love taking little bites of everything, because everything is scrumptious.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

Visions of Bodies Being Burned, the new clipping. album, definitely impressed me. I don't know if "Halloween albums" are a thing, but this might fall into that category!
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I wanted to get some quick thoughts out since Ariana Grande just released a new album Positions (which would mean she released an album in each of the past three years, boom-boom-boom, just throwing out records like they're going out of style). Since I put thank u, next at the top of my list last year, it felt like something I should address. This album feels very rushed in comparison, which might sound funny given that people said the same thing about thank u, next, but man, put any song on the previous album against this one, and tell me which one is written better; I think it's obvious. There are some interesting attempts at "classical/baroque" production, and maybe some pretty good songs around the start of side B, but that's about it. I wasn't the biggest fan of Sweetener, but at least there were a few fun songs on that album. This is incredibly lightweight pop music, which really kinda astounds me, given the weightiness of the previous album. I probably should give this another go, but I was so thoroughly underwhelmed that I really don't want to.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

Another update. With only 2 more months left in 2020, and with November and December being traditionally slow months for new releases, it's safe to say that the following list will look very, very similar to my final EOY list.

Excellent Tier:

1. Jessie Ware- What's Your Pleasure?
2. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
3. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Great Tier:

4. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
5. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
6. Charli XCX- How I'm Feeling Now
7. Destroyer- Have We Met

Very Good Tier:

8. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
9. Annie- Dark Hearts
10. Sufjan Stevens- The Ascension
11. Taylor Swift- Folklore
12. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
13. Neil Young- Homegrown
14. The Microphones- Microphones in 2020
15. Kelly Lee Owens- Inner Song
16. Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher
17. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- 2017 - 2019
18. Makaya McCraven- We're New Again: a Reimagining by Makaya McCraven

Good Tier:

19. The 1975- Notes on a Conditional Form
20. Idles- Ultra Mono
21. Haim- Women in Music Pt. III
22. Róisín Murphy- Róisín Machine
23. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist- Alfredo
24. Gum Country- Somewhere
25. Fleet Foxes- Shore
26. The Flaming Lips- American Head
27. Adrianne Lenker- Songs
28. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- Sideways to New Italy
29. Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud
30. Porridge Radio- Every Bad
31. Laura Marling- Song for Our Daughter
32. Thundercat- It Is What It Is
33. Soccer Mommy- Color Theory
34. Grimes- Miss Anthropocene
35. Dan Deacon- Mystic Familiar
36. The Strokes- The New Abnormal
37. Jay Electronica- Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn)
38. Neil Cicierega- Mouth Dreams
39. Angel Olsen- Whole New Mess
40. Medhane- Cold Water
41. Disclosure- ENERGY
42. Disclosure- Ecstasy (EP)
43. Dinner Party- Dinner Party

Decent Tier:

44. The Weeknd- After Hours
45. Adrianne Lenker- Instrumentals
46. Moses Sumney- grae
47. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony
48. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans
49. U.S. Girls- Heavy Light
50. Father John Misty- Anthem +3 (EP)
51. Caribou- Suddenly
52. Perfume Genius- Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
53. Jeff Parker- Suite for Max Brown
54. Georgia- Seeking Thrills

Poor Tier:

55. Car Seat Headrest- Making a Door Less Open
56. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- Illusions of Shameless Abundance (EP)
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

The new Jonsi is excellent.

A few major changes toward the top of my list, Childish Gambino and Jehnny Beth surging to #3 and #4.

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
3. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
4. Jehnny Beth - TO LOVE IS TO LIVE
5. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
6. Delphine Dora - L'inattinginble
7. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
8. Rose City Band - Summerlong
9. Haim - Women In Music Pt III
10. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nassim »

I don't know why it only has 7 reviews on Metacritic, but the latest This is the Kit manages a great "average" of 86. (using quotation marks in here because and actual average would net it 81.5). Still, it's a lovely album, possibly lacking a track as great as Bulletproof but their most solid album start to finish for sure ; if you like indie folk, or female singer-songwriter, it's a very enjoyable listen.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nassim »

I don't know why it only has 7 reviews on Metacritic, but the latest This is the Kit manages a great "average" of 86. (using quotation marks in here because and actual average would net it 81.5). Still, it's a lovely album, possibly lacking a track as great as Bulletproof but their most solid album start to finish for sure ; if you like indie folk, or female singer-songwriter, it's a very enjoyable listen.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

I have a late year end top ten contender: SAULT - Untitled (Rise)

It reminds me a little bit of The Go Team, but without the cheerleadery stuff, less electronic and more R&Bish.

Edit: And now I find that is just the first half of the album. The second half has a major change of pace to just soulful indie-pop.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Future Critic »

My final top ten before I learn which albums I need to listen to from all the glorious EOY lists:

01. folklore, Taylor Swift
02. how i'm feeling now, Charli XCX
03. Saint Cloud, Waxahatchee
04. Women in Music, Part III, HAIM
05. Letter to You, Bruce Springsteen
06. Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
007. What's Your Pleasure, Jessie Ware
08. Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers
09. Song for Our Daughter, Laura Marling
10. Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

BleuPanda wrote: Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:27 pm 6. Roisin Murphy - Roisin Machine (9.1/10)
This is an excellent album and should be getting more attention on here. I'm curious though why you love this and the Dua album but not What's Your Pleasure, the other big album in this year's "nu-disco" mini-movement. I enjoy all three albums but would rank them 1) Jessie 2) Roisin 3) Dua. I haven't listened to Kylie Minogue's new album yet which is also in this category.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by BleuPanda »

Jackson wrote: Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:45 pm
BleuPanda wrote: Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:27 pm 6. Roisin Murphy - Roisin Machine (9.1/10)
This is an excellent album and should be getting more attention on here. I'm curious though why you love this and the Dua album but not What's Your Pleasure, the other big album in this year's "nu-disco" mini-movement. I enjoy all three albums but would rank them 1) Jessie 2) Roisin 3) Dua. I haven't listened to Kylie Minogue's new album yet which is also in this category.
Funny you should ask - I recently relistened to What's Your Pleasure and pushed it up to #5 for the year. I'll probably do another adjustment around the end of the year - with "Spotlight" looking to be my likely Song of the Year and several other songs really clicking with me, I wouldn't be surprised if it jumps above Punisher (Fetch the Bolt Cutters and Set My Heart on Fire Immediately both seem untouchable right now).


Here's my updated ranking:

Outstanding:
1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (10/10)
2. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (9.5/10)
3. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (9.2/10)
4. Roisin Murphy - Roisin Machine (9.2/10)
5. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (9.1/10)
6. Moses Sumney - grae (9/10)
7. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song (9/10)

Great:
8. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (8.9/10)
9. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind (8.9/10)
10. Run the Jewels - RTJ4 (8.9/10)
11. Caribou - Suddenly (8.8/10)
12. Taylor Swift - Folklore (8.8/10)
13. Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (8.7/10)
14. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (8.6/10)
15. Charli XCX - how I'm feeling now (8.5/10)
16. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death (8.5/10)
17. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020 (8.5/10)
18. Another Sky - I Slept on the Floor (8.5/10)
19. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (8.5/10)
20. Fleet Foxes - Shore (8.4/10)
21. Jehnny Beth - To Love is to Live (8.4/10)
22. Adrianne Lenker - Songs (8.4/10)
23. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (8.3/10)
24. Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (8.3/10)
25. Kvelertak - Splid (8.3/10)
26. Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today (8.2/10)
27. Porridge Radio - Every Bad (8.2/10)
28. Crack Cloud - Pain Olympics (8.2/10)
29. Clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned (8.1/10)
30. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter (8/10)
31. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (8/10)

Good:
32. Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You (7.9/10)
33. Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club (7.9/10)
34. Deftones - Ohms (7.9/10)
35. The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) - Gaslighter (7.9/10)
36. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (7.9/10)
37. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (7.9/10)
38. Nubya Garcia - Source (7.9/10)
39. Neil Young - Homegrown (7.8/10)
40. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (7.8/10)
41. Thundercat - It Is What It Is (7.8/10)
42. Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (7.8/10)
43. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts VI: Locusts (7.7/10)
44. Georgia - Seeking Thrills (7.7/10)
45. Hinds - The Prettiest Curse (7.7/10)
46. Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas (7.6/10)
47. Code Orange - Underneath (7.6/10)
48. Sorry - 925 (7.6/10)
49. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 (7.5/10)
50. Everything Everything - RE-ANIMATOR (7.5/10)
51. Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist - Alfredo (7.5/10)
52. Lady Gaga - Chromatica (7.5/10)
53. IDLES - Ultra Mono (7.4/10)
54. J Hus - Big Conspiracy (7.4/10)
55. BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff (7.4/10)
56. Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers (7.4/10)
57. Haim - Women in Music Pt. III (7.3/10)
58. Makaya McCraven - We're New Again - A Re-imagining (7.3/10)
59. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman (7.3/10)
60. Napalm Death - Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (7.3/10)
61. Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor (7.2/10)
62. The Weeknd - After Hours (7.2/10)
63. Doves - The Universal Want (7.2/10)
64. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels (7.2/10)
65. Torres - Silver Tongue (7.1/10)
66. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory (7.1/10)
67. Adrianne Lenker - Instrumentals (7.1/10)
68. Destroyer - Have We Met (7.1/10)
69. Mac Miller - Circles (7/10)
70. Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas (7/10)
71. Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink (7/10)
72. Khruangbin - Mordechai (7/10)
73. Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess (7/10)

Above Average:
74. Keeley Forsyth - Debris (6.75/10)
75. Kiwi Jr. - Football Money (6.75/10)
76. Slotface - Sorry for the Late Reply (6.75/10)
77. Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline (6.75/10)
78. Bill Fay - Countless Branches (6.5/10)
79. Ben Watt - Storm Damage (6.5/10)
80. King Krule - Man Alive! (6.5/10)
81. Ariana Grande - Positions (6.5/10)
82. Lanterns on the Lake - Spook the Herd (6.25/10)
83. Boniface - Boniface (6.25/10)
84. BTS - Map of the Soul: 7 (6.25/10)

Mediocre:
85. MisterWives - SUPERBLOOM (4.5/10)
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Schüttelbirne »

The seven albums I've rated with 9 or 10 points this year (in alphabetical order):

Kaja Draksler Octet | Out for Stars
Mary Halvorson's Code Girl | Artlessly Falling
Hen Ogledd | Free Humans
Rob Luft | Life Is the Dancer
Neptunian Maximalism | Éons
Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra | If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol & Whatsnext? ft. Dave Liebman | The Rise Up: Stories of Strife, Struggle and Inspiration
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

I've been listening a lot to SAULT over the last week. Both of their albums will make my list, though I kind of wish they had combined the best bits of both into one album, which could have been a true masterpiece. I'm leaning on placing Rise higher than Black Is as I think it's a little more consistent, though "Wildfires" is the best song out of both records.
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Listyguy
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

Taylor Swift released another album, and while I haven't heard it yet it seems like it's Folklore part 2.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

I’m listening to folklore again before I listen to evermore (also excited for the new Avalanches album today!) and before I feel like I didn’t really register just how strange this release (and evermore is sure to be) in the scope of Swift’s discography. I mean seriously, the idea of Swift collaborating with The National is abundantly strange to me, just something I would never have expected.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Pauler »

Holden wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:40 pm I’m listening to folklore again before I listen to evermore (also excited for the new Avalanches album today!) and before I feel like I didn’t really register just how strange this release (and evermore is sure to be) in the scope of Swift’s discography. I mean seriously, the idea of Swift collaborating with The National is abundantly strange to me, just something I would never have expected.
evermore is probably her most The National-sounding record. I love the idea of Matt and Taylor singing together but the final result "Coney Island" is probably among the weakest songs on the album. Meanwhile, the second Bon Iver duet "evermore" is superior to "exile"

There is this paragraph from Stereogum that sums up accurately about my favorite song off evermore: "happiness" featuring her best vocal performance on the album
The other evermore song that just kills me is “happiness.” That one might be fiction, and it might not; that’s not for us to know. Instead, it’s universal. Swift’s narrator is mid-breakup, contending with the idea that there’s no good guy and no bad guy. She’s been hurt, and she’s hurt someone. She’s trying to console someone else, and she’s trying to console herself, too: “There’ll be happiness after you/ But there was happiness because of you/ Both of these things can be true/ There is happiness.” Behind her synths and guitars and pianos build from a soft drone to a soaring tingle. It’s a masterful piece of recording and songwriting — an all-time top-10 Taylor Swift song, and maybe also the best National song since “Terrible Love.”
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

The Avalanches record was good but not great. Some songs stood out but as an album not all too amazing. Might make what looks like is going to be my top 50, but definitely near the bottom.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

The new Ichiko Aoba album is the current #1 album of the year on RYM. It is really, really gorgeous. Definitely give it a listen if you’re into chamber folk.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

Pauler wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 3:35 am
Holden wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:40 pm I’m listening to folklore again before I listen to evermore (also excited for the new Avalanches album today!) and before I feel like I didn’t really register just how strange this release (and evermore is sure to be) in the scope of Swift’s discography. I mean seriously, the idea of Swift collaborating with The National is abundantly strange to me, just something I would never have expected.
evermore is probably her most The National-sounding record. I love the idea of Matt and Taylor singing together but the final result "Coney Island" is probably among the weakest songs on the album. Meanwhile, the second Bon Iver duet "evermore" is superior to "exile"

There is this paragraph from Stereogum that sums up accurately about my favorite song off evermore: "happiness" featuring her best vocal performance on the album
The other evermore song that just kills me is “happiness.” That one might be fiction, and it might not; that’s not for us to know. Instead, it’s universal. Swift’s narrator is mid-breakup, contending with the idea that there’s no good guy and no bad guy. She’s been hurt, and she’s hurt someone. She’s trying to console someone else, and she’s trying to console herself, too: “There’ll be happiness after you/ But there was happiness because of you/ Both of these things can be true/ There is happiness.” Behind her synths and guitars and pianos build from a soft drone to a soaring tingle. It’s a masterful piece of recording and songwriting — an all-time top-10 Taylor Swift song, and maybe also the best National song since “Terrible Love.”
I definitely liked evermore more than folklore. By a pretty wide margin.
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

Also listened to Matt Berninger’s solo debut, and if anyone wants to listen I’d recommend it. It is exactly what you expect from him, sadly not surprisingly good, but a really solid debut that is less National-y then some might think, which is a good thing for me because if I wanna hear the National I’ll just listen to them.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by TheLastEnemy »

Holden wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 5:59 pm Also listened to Matt Berninger’s solo debut, and if anyone wants to listen I’d recommend it. It is exactly what you expect from him, sadly not surprisingly good, but a really solid debut that is less National-y then some might think, which is a good thing for me because if I wanna hear the National I’ll just listen to them.
Just a sidenote to this - I agree with you, but the Future Islands remix of 'One More Second' is preferable to the one on the album for me - more of a remake or a reimaging than a remix.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

My initial reaction is that Evermore is better than Folklore, but I will have to listen to them each a few more times before making my year-end list.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Rob »

Nick wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 4:48 am The new Ichiko Aoba album is the current #1 album of the year on RYM. It is really, really gorgeous. Definitely give it a listen if you’re into chamber folk.
Yeah, I hadn't looked at the 2020 list on RYM in a while, but something about the cover art and the genres just said to me that it might be the right album for me at the moment and I was right. Very lush, very beautiful. A strange mixture between Japanese folk, some tropical sounds and even Astral Weeks-style Van Morrison. The type of album that will never make a dent on AM's end of year album just for being Japanese, but I liked it a lot. Let's see how I feel after more than one listen.

I'm just catching up with this year a little the last few weeks. I liked a lot, but still notice I haven't even come near to listen everything I want to, let alone listening to things more than once. I really have to question all these artists releasing music like there is no tomorrow. I already asked them to take a decade-long break, but nobody listens to me!
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

The new Avalanches album sounds good to me on first listen, and I'm glad to see it's getting positive reviews. The singles didn't make much of an impression on me, but the songs sound much better in the flow of the album, which I remember being the case with Wildflower too. That album was a major grower for me as I better appreciated its flow and psychedelic influences after the shock the it wasn't "Since I Left You 2.0" wore off. Hope this new one has similar staying power. The list of collaborators is ridiculously impressive.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by BleuPanda »

I'm making my way through the EOY list; in the middle of Ela Minus's Acts of Rebellion, which will be my 100th album of the year! The most I've listened to from any previous year is 84 for 2017. I always make sure to listen to at least the top 50 in the EOY list, though I'm going to make sure to extend that to the familiar names in the lower ranks I've overlooked, especially in regards to electronic acts.

The strangest thing about Folklore and Evermore to me is that Bon Iver is now a repeat collaborator with both Taylor Swift and Kanye West - both the fact that either of them would be collaborating with the same people, but also Bon Iver of all artists!?
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I usually end the music year early, so here's what I found in the fourth quarter:

1 | Gorillaz | Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
For me this is on par with Thriller as a supreme collection of singles. The concept of the album grew on me a bit as well.

2 | Dirty Projectors | 5EPs
This is more a compilation, but since the EPs all came out this year, I think it's ok. I'm probably ranking this a bit too high, but man I could listen to their vocal harmonies all day, particularly of the women (I admittedly am not a huge fan of David Longstreth's voice, though even here it works). I like DP best when it's stripped down and organic, and it's just songwriting basics. It's my comfort food. I think the worst of the 5 EPs is the third, but everything else is pretty great, and has been stuck in my head all year. I'm glad DP can still thrive in 2020.

3 | Phoebe Bridgers | Punisher
For people who know my taste, this is probably the biggest surprise placement of the year, because I don't like indie. I heard this album back in June when it was released, and I pretty much had the reaction, "Oh boy, more indie crap," and I moved on. But there was one song that stuck in my mind, "Kyoto," which I was immediately drawn to upon its release as a single. And why is that? Bridgers wrote a true blue pop rock crossover. It's more than just an indie song, because of that dynamic rock feel, and those glorious horns (it's like catnip for a music nerd like me). It could reach audiences beyond the indiesphere, and I am evidence of this. I kept coming back to this song for 3-4 months. In autumn, when the weather started getting colder and I knew the leaves would start falling to the ground at any moment, I returned to Punisher to give it another go, and this time it hit me like a ton of bricks. Jeez some of these lyrics, like on "Garden Song," will crumble a concrete building into rubble. Then I started noticing other things that were not white bread indie: the country flavor of "Graceland Too," the weird freakout at the end of "I Know the End," and another rock crossover on "ICU." I realized it took me so long because Bridgers plays it extremely low-key, and you're not going to hear the subtleties unless you're ready for the quiet. Also, I tend to enjoy loud, in-your-face music. I'm not in love with every track, and I don't play sad music for fun, but this was a very respectable release.

4 | Boldy James & Sterling Toles | Manger on McNichols
Some of these songs had been worked on for over a decade, and it shows: The production is the most detailed and dense you'll hear on any hip-hop release this year. Some of the stories will stop you in your tracks as well. It's like a middle-aged good kid, m.A.A.d. city. I really like the sound of this. And with the title, I think it's a fitting listen for the holidays.

5 | Ichiko Aoba | Adan no Kaze
The first comparison that came to mind when listening to this was Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports. Except instead of an airport, this fits much more with scenery akin to that on the album cover: a body of water beaming with faded sunlight. I imagine that I'm looking at my reflection and the surrounding fauna in the glassy surface of a still pond. And this is such a unique musical experience that I had to immediately put it in my year-end list. I mean, come on, in a year when you're locked inside, this is the perfect escape. Like Punisher, this is a subtle release, but this time it's more about the silence and the atmosphere than the words (well, it's probably because I'm not fluent in Japanese, but give me a break). I would also like to recommend the rest of Aoba's discography, such as qp.

6 | Jeff Rosenstock | NO DREAM
Another catch-up album. Just really energetic, infectious, self-deprecating rock music, that the music gods have named 'pop-punk.' (What will they think of next?)

7 | Lianne La Havas | Lianne La Havas
A few months ago I called 2020 the year of metal for me, but I think I was a bit premature; it's actually the year of the female singer-songwriter. And the album that drove that home was this self-titled third album by Ms. La Havas. This album just sounded like coffeehouse music to me at first, but the songs were really well-written, and the singing was fantastic. And then I saw the coffeehouse aspect in a different way: I was a fan of live, acoustic rhythmic pop when I was in high school (take the Walk Off the Earth cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know," for example), the kind where it's guys in beanies slapping and sliding their hands on their stool drum thing. There's something really intense and intimate and "captured in this moment" about these performances that I gravitated to, and I think Lianne La Havas has these same hallmarks.

8 | Bring Me the Horizon | Post Human: Survival Horror EP
Hardest mainstream rock album of the year, immediately comes out of the gates with a speed that veteran headbangers would have trouble keeping with. It doesn't lose steam until the last third of the project. A good part of this album brings back old-school Linkin Park, the Linkin Park that won the hearts of millions of young listeners the world over in the early 2000s, not the conceptual, sound-effects-laden Linkin Park that won me over. However, there are strong conceptual vibes on this EP, which make this record worthwhile to people who wouldn't normally listen to this kind of music.

9 | serpentwithfeet | Apparition EP
This is the project that wins me over with serpentwithfeet, I like this weirdo R&B.

10 | Dorian Electra | My Agenda
People think 100 Gecs are out there, but to me, the true artist on the cutting-edge is Dorian Electra. I understood the appeal of 1000 Gecs, but I did NOT understand, and still don't, Dorian's Flamboyant. I mean, just listen to the new album's title track featuring the Village People. I find this album much catchier and slightly more down-to-earth than Flamboyant, and the zaniness draws me in. But I'm barely hanging on.

Honorable mentions:

HM | Chris Stapleton | Starting Over
While the songwriting is a bit one-note, I enjoyed the variety of song topics and concepts, especially for a country release. Just listen to "Maggie's Song." I also enjoyed Stapleton's conviction.

HM | Zeal & Ardor | Wake of a Nation EP
A lot of Algiers influence, but that's a good thing.

HM | Oranssi Pazuzu | Mestarin Kynsi
Another solid metal release, but I'd say skip the first track or two.

HM | clipping. | Visions of Bodies Being Burned
I preferred the noisier sister album There Existed an Addiction to Blood, but this was still good. Very crisp, clean recording and production.

HM | tricot | 10
I prefer this to Makkuro earlier this year, but I'm still waiting for the greatness that would capitalize on their awesome aesthetic.

HM | Conway the Machine | From King to a God
A pretty varied (in sound and subject) dope-dealer rap release. My mind was blown by one particular aspect...

HM | Illuminati Hotties | Free I.H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For
Doing Death Valley Girls better than Death Valley Girls.

HM | Liturgy | Origin of the Alimonies
A classical-metal fusion that was pretty sweet, but make sure to read up on the concept first.

HM | King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard | K.G.
I haven't heard too much microtonal music, so this was pretty refreshing.
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