2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

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Holden
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2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Hi! I was thinking a small poll like this could be kind of fun, but if people really don’t like the idea just say so! This is the place to put lists for your favorite albums of 2020 so far, however, with some twists:
Rules:
1. Albums released from January 1st to June 30th of 2020 are eligible. No albums from July, though the deadline will be July 31st.
2. You may post as many albums as you’d like, but only the top ten will be considered for the list.
3. The point distribution will be 10 for 1st, 9 for 2nd, etc.
4. Like usual, EPs are allowed.
Have fun!
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Rob
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Rob »

With the 7.987 polls going around on this forum in the last 6 months, including massive decade and all-time album polls, there are actually people that had time to listen to 2020 albums? :o ;)

I only got around to two of them (Fiona Apple and Laura Marling) and just once.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Live in Phoenix »

Rob wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:01 pm
I only got around to two of them (Fiona Apple and Laura Marling) and just once.
I have an identical number of listens (in my case, Fiona Apple twice).
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by andyd1010 »

I would submit a list for this. I've listened to a fair amount of new albums this year.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jirin »

Sure. I'm doing a midyear listening tournament, I'll have a solid midyear list when it's done. Though I guess it won't include the Dylan album that's getting great reviews.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Just a reminder if I didn't make it obvious enough up above, albums through the end of June are eligible, including those not released as of today.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

This one is easy for me as I have been keeping up.

1. The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form
2. BTS - Map of The Soul 7
3. Poppy - I Disagree
4. Don Toliver - Heaven or Hell
5. The Chats - High Risk Behaviour
6. EOB - Earth
7. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
8. Humanist - Humanist
9. Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
10. Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By

The 1975 definitely hit it out of the park with their first 10/10 album and first 10/10 album in general in years IMO. I think these guys have mastered their craft. BTS also really impressed me. A lot of surprised this year, many newer faces as well as some oldies such as Ozzy and Eminem.

It is likely some of my newer favs will be dropping this year I hope Travis Scott, Post Malone, Oliver Tree, I hope they deliver
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Jirin wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:36 am Though I guess it won't include the Dylan album that's getting great reviews.
I'm sure that this will likely make my list. Love Bob Dylan, and it seems like everyone agrees this album is pretty amazing. It even has contributions from Fiona Apple on it, meaning she is on both albums this year that have at some point had 100/100 on Metacritic.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Sweepstakes Ron »

I've listened two one 2020 album (Grimes) and only once. I've still yet to listen to any album released in 2019 (not even Carly Rae or FKA Twigs, which I'd been hotly anticipating). I haven't even been doing the polls much, I just have disappointingly inefficient listening habits.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by rumpdoll »

Rob wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:01 pm With the 7.987 polls going around on this forum in the last 6 months, including massive decade and all-time album polls, there are actually people that had time to listen to 2020 albums? :o ;)

I only got around to two of them (Fiona Apple and Laura Marling) and just once.
For me its the other way around, I had to limit my poll participation because i'm listening to so much new music. I'll do a short list for this
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

Jirin wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:36 am Though I guess it won't include the Dylan album that's getting great reviews.
Crazy good reviews. Metacritic 100.

Edit: Sorry, already mentioned by Holden.
I feel like that
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Rob »

Holden wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:10 am
Jirin wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:36 am Though I guess it won't include the Dylan album that's getting great reviews.
I'm sure that this will likely make my list. Love Bob Dylan, and it seems like everyone agrees this album is pretty amazing. It even has contributions from Fiona Apple on it, meaning she is on both albums this year that have at some point had 100/100 on Metacritic.
It's interesting. Bob Dylan is my favorite artist of all time and obviously I was curious about the new one, but the preceding singles - while definitely entertaining - seemed to double down a bit too much on name-dropping of old cultural touchstones for the sake of it. This he has done in increasing numbers in his later years. Dylan post-Time Out of Mind is basically all about references, but I also feel that it has diminishing returns. Do the great reviews mean that he has build all this referencing into something as deep as Desolation Row again, his meta-textual masterpiece? I hope so. I wasn't as excited for the album as I normally would or should be for a Dylan, but my interest has been reignited. It comes out the same day as Phoebe Bridger's new one, which is also garnering great reviews. My favorite old-timer and favorite spring-chicken releasing music on the same day? I think I'm going to double my 2020-listening this weekend!
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

Yeah, I thought the preceding singles were just okay, Murder Most Foul being the best. I like Love and Theft, Modern Times and Tempest more, but maybe the album cuts will surprise me.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by mileswide »

I'll post a list, albeit once the eligibility period's elapsed!

Also hoping Rough and Rowdy Ways surpasses low expectations set by Murder Most Foul but I've been on a Neil Young tip in preparation for next month's poll, so Homegrown's the old codger album I'm anticipating most tomorrow...
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

Updated my top 10 now that Dylan dropped!

1. The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form
2. BTS - Map of The Soul 7
3. Poppy - I Disagree
4. Don Toliver - Heaven or Hell
5. The Chats - High Risk Behaviour
6. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
7. EOB - Earth
8. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
9. Humanist - Humanist
10. Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man

Omitted from top 10

- Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Nick »

My top 10...

1. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
2. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
4. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
5. Destroyer- Have We Met
6. Charli XCX- How I'm Feeling Now
7. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
8. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
9. Neil Young- Homegrown
10. Haim- Women in Music Pt. III

...and a ranking of everything I've heard...

Excellent Tier:

1. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
2. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Great Tier:

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

Very Good Tier:

7. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
8. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
9. Neil Young- Homegrown
10. Haim- Women in Music Pt. III
11. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist- Alfredo
12. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- 2017 - 2019
13. Makaya McCraven- We're New Again: a Reimagining by Makaya McCraven

Good Tier:

14. The 1975- Notes on a Conditional Form
15. Gum Country- Somewhere
16. Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher
17. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- Sideways to New Italy
18. Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud
19. Laura Marling- Song for Our Daughter
20. Thundercat- It Is What It Is
21. Soccer Mommy- Color Theory
22. Medhane- Cold Water
23. Grimes- Miss Anthropocene
24. Dan Deacon- Mystic Familiar
25. Disclosure- Ecstasy (EP)
26. The Strokes- The New Abnormal

Decent Tier:

27. The Weeknd- After Hours
28. Moses Sumney- grae
29. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony
30. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans
31. U.S. Girls- Heavy Light
32. Caribou- Suddenly
33. Perfume Genius- Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
34. Jeff Parker- Suite for Max Brown
35. Georgia- Seeking Thrills

Poor Tier:

36. Car Seat Headrest- Making a Door Less Open
37. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- Illusions of Shameless Abundance (EP)
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by rumpdoll »

just waited for Nadine Shah, she did not disappoint.
So here are 27 albums I liked this year. The ranking is of course very prelimitary

1. Sei Still - Sei Still
2. Holy Fuck - Deleter
3. Trees Speak - Ohms
4. Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink
5. Ghostpoet - I grow tired but I dare not go to sleep
6. Andrea - Ritorno
7. Loke Rahbek - Elephant
8. Califone - Echo Mine
9. Melkbelly - PITH
10. Thao & The Get Down stay down - Temple
11. Ultraista - Sister
12. Porridge Radio - Every bad
13. Hum - Inlet
14. Friends of Gas - Fatal schwach
15. Bibio - Sleep on the wing
16. Deserta - Black aura my sun
17. Mrs. Piss - Self surgery
18. Magic Sword - Endless
19. Lee Ranaldo - Names of north end women
20. The Orielles - Disco Volador
21. Medhane - Cold water
22. Jehnny Beth - To love is to live
23. Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown
24. Die Sterne - Die Sterne
25. Die wilde Jagd - Haut
26. Nation of Language - Introduction, Presence
27. Kinderzimmer Productions - Todesverachtung to go
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by TheLastEnemy »

Here's my top 10, out of well over 100 albums from this year:

1 Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
2 Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of Sorrow
3 The Electric Soft Parade - Stages
4 Bill Fay - Countless Branches
5 I Break Horses - Warnings
6 Algiers - There Is No Year
7 Cowboy Junkies - Ghosts
8 The Memories - Pickles And Pies
9 Myrkur - Folkesange
10 AJJ - Good Luck Everybody

There is very little to choose between all these albums for me, they could have ended up in any order, and several other albums could have made the list. I'm still hoping for a stand-out album.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Edre Depeche Head »

Updated my top 10 now that Bridgers dropped!

1. The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form
2. BTS - Map of The Soul 7
3. Poppy - I Disagree
4. Don Toliver - Heaven or Hell
5. The Chats - High Risk Behaviour
6. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
7. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
8. EOB - Earth
9. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
10. Humanist - Humanist

Omitted from top 10

- Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
- Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jirin »

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2. Sufjan Stevens - Aporia
3. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
4. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It
5. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
6. Caribou - Suddenly
7. Myrkur - Folkensange
8. HMTLD - West Of Eden
9. Moon Horch - Life On Other Planets
10. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter

11. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
12. Destroyer - Have We Met
13. Vanessa Carlton - Love Is An Art
14. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
15. Alien Nosejob - Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
16. Gemini Eye - Murdered Arc Remains
17. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
18. Chromatics - Faded Now
19. Moses Sumney - grae
20. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Jirin wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:59 pm
4. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It
Do you mean Set My Heart on Fire Immediately?
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jirin »

Holden wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:02 am
Jirin wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:59 pm
4. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It
Do you mean Set My Heart on Fire Immediately?
Right, that one is the older one.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Nick »

Nick wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:36 pm My top 10...

1. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
2. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
4. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
5. Destroyer- Have We Met
6. Charli XCX- How I'm Feeling Now
7. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
8. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
9. Neil Young- Homegrown
10. Haim- Women in Music Pt. III
The new Jessie Ware came out of nowhere and upended my top 10. Here's my new list. Fantastic album.

1. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind
2. Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3. Jessie Ware- What's Your Pleasure?
4. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
5. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
6. Destroyer- Have We Met
7. Charli XCX- How I'm Feeling Now
8. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
9. Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways
10. Neil Young- Homegrown
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by mileswide »

Everything I've heard this year with a Google Sheet enclosed documenting the same in case it helps you, Holden (the included month of release is just listed for my benefit)- ta for organising this!

1| Les Amazones d'Afrique | Amazones Power
2| Moon Hooch | Life on Other Planets
3| The Secret Sisters | Saturn Return
4| Moses Boyd | Dark Matter
5| Alexandra Savior | The Archer
6| The Big Moon | Walking like We Do
7| Alien Nosejob | Suddenly Everything Is Twice as Loud*
8| Chapelier Fou | Méridiens*
9| Laura Marling | Song for Our Daughter
10| Collocutor | Continuation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11| Enter: Shikari | Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible
12| Pressure Cracks | This Is Called Survival EP
13| chuffDRONE | re:actio
14| Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
15| NOISIΛ | Armajet EP (Original Game Soundtrack)
16| Wire | Mind Hive
17| Gengahr | Sanctuary
18| Sepultura | Quadra
19| Sløtface | Sorry for the late reply
20| Run the Jewels | RTJ4
21| Ludo Pimienta | Miss Colombia
22| Beatrice Dillon | Workaround
23| Pongo | UWA EP
24| CB Radio Gorgeous | EP
25| Mark Lanegan | Straight Songs of Sorrow
26| Paul Bergmann | Paradise EP
27| Sightless Pit | Grave of a Dog
28| Mercston | Top Tier
29| Algiers | There Is No Year
30| Gil Scott-Heron/Makaya McCracken | We're New Again - A Reimagining
31| Octave Noire | Monolithe*
32| Lady Sanity | Lying in Truth
33| Melt Yourself Down | 100% YES
34| Drive-by Truckers | The Unraveling
35| Boldy James & The Alchemist | The Price of Tea in China
36| Shabaka and the Ancestors | We Are Sent Here by History
37| Neil Young | Homegrown
38| Anti-Flag | 20/20 Vision
39| Trio Tekke | Strovilos
40| Katie Gately | Loom*
41| Jeremy Cunningham | The Weather up There
42| Dan Deacon | Mystic Familiar*
43| U. S. Girls | Heavy Light
44| Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela | Rejoice
45| Swamp Dogg | Sorry You Couldn't Make It
46| Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott | Manchester Calling
47| Jeff Parker | Suite for Max Brown
48| Ciśnienie & Lód 9 | Brass Album
49| Nine Inch Nails | Ghosts VI: Locusts
50| Muzz | Muzz
51| BC Camplight | Shortly after Takeoff
52| Ghostpoet | I Grow Tired but Dare Not Fall Asleep
53| MinaeaMinae | Gestrüpp
54| The Heliocentrics | Infinity of Now
55| Mob Tactics | Eject EP
56| Antilopen Gang | Abbruch Abbruch*
57| Khruangbin & Leon Bridges | Texas Sun
58| Brownout | Berlin Sessions
59| Jasper Hølby | Planet B
60| Gorillaz feat. Peter Hook & Georgia | Song Machine Episode 3
61| Vinnie Paz | As Above So Below
62| Bob Dylan | Rough and Rowdy Ways
63| EVERYTHING IS RECORDED | FRIDAY FOREVER
64| RAT BOY | GOVERNMENT VACATION EP
65| Zuzu | How It Feels EP
66| R.A. The Rugged Man | All My Heroes Are Dead
67| Poppy | I Disagree
68| Tame Impala | The Slow Rush
69| Sorry | 925
70| Little Simz | Drop 6 EP
71| dgoHn | Undesignated Proximate
72| Edre | Reflection Pt. 1*
73| En attendant Ana | Juillet
74| Squarepusher | Be up a Hello
75| Ultraísta | Sister*
76| Squirrel Flower | I Was Born Swimming
77| Moses Sumney | græ: part 1
78| Green Day | Father of All Motherfuckers
79| Tortuga | Deities
80| Obongjayar | Which Way Is Forward?
81| Lucinda Williams | Good Souls, Better Angels
82| ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead | X: The Godless Void and Other Stories
83| Nadia Reid | Out of My Province*
84| X | ALPHABETLAND
85| Gorillaz feat. slowthai and Slaves | Song Machine Episode 1
86| Cadet | The Rated Legend
87| Deena Abdelwahed | Dhakar EP
88| King Krule | Man Alive!
89| The Magnetic Fields | Quickies
90| Pinegrove | Marigold
91| Natalia Lafourcade | Un canto por México, Vol. 1*
92| Andy Shauf | The Neon Skyline
93| Code Orange | Underneath
94| Degs | Letters from Ndegwa
95| Bohren & Der Club of Gore | Patchouli Blue*
96| Intranaut | Fluid Existential Inversions
97| Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs | Viscerals
98| Sylvaine/Unreqvited | Time without End EP
99| Jadakiss | Ignatius
100| Owen Pallett | Island*
101| Porridge Radio | Every Bad
102| Tech N9ne | ENTERFEAR
103| Kvertelak | Splid
104| Paul Weller | In Another Room EP
105| Thundercat | It Is What It Is
106| Hamilton Leithauser | The Loves of Your Life
107| The Oreilles | Disco Volador
108| Lié | You Want It Real
109| The Strokes | The New Abnormal
110| Waxahatchee | Saint Cloud
111| Mats Gustafsson | Worn.Kissed*
112| Theophilus London | Bebey
113| Haru Nemuri | LOVETHEISM EP
114| Thy Cafalque | Naiv
115| Rina Sawayama | SAYAWAMA
116| Georgia | Seeking Thrills
117| Eminem | Music to be Murdered by
118| Holy Fawn | The Black Moon EP
119| The Soft Pink Truth | Shall We Go on Sinning So That Grace May Increase?
120| The Dream Syndicate | The Universe Inside
121| Westside Gunn | Pray for Paris
122| Bobby Previte & Jamie Saft | Music from the Early 21st Century
123| Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
124| JHus | Big Conspiracy
125| Fax Gang | FXG 3000 EP
126| Kate NV | Room for the Moon
127| Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit | Reunions
128| Frazey Ford | U Kin B the Sun
129| Yves Tumor | Heaven to a Tortured Mind
130| Ingrid Andress | Lady Like
131| Tamikrest | Tamotait
132| smokepiff | 2020 EP
133| Baxter Drury | The Night Chancers
134| Lychgate | Also Sprach Futura EP
135| Zguba | Pomór
136| Christine and the Queens | La vita nuova EP
137| Giorgi Mikadze | Georgian Microjams
138| Lanterns on the Lake | Spook the Herd*
139| TORRES | Silver Tongue
140| Mare Cognitum & Spectral Lore | Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine
141| R.A.P. Ferreira | Purple Moonlight Pages
142| Backxwash | God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him out of It
143| Ben Watt | Storm Damage
144| Sparks | A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
145| Bill Fay | Countless Branches
146| Tha God Fahim | Lost Kingz*
147| Grimes | Miss Anthropocene
148| La Roux | Supervision
149| Carla Bley Trio | Life Goes on
150| The Weeknd | After Hours
151| Childish Gambino | 3.15.20
152| Perfume Genius | Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
153| Serpent Column | Endless Detainnent EP
154| Yazmin Lacey | Morning Matters EP
155| 070 Shake | Modus Vivendi
156| Charli XCX | how i'm feeling now
157| Flatbush Zombies | now, more than ever EP
158| Hayley Williams | Petals for Armor I
159| MIKE and Jadasea | Old Earth EP
160| Conway the Machine & The Alchemist | LULU EP
161| Wednesday | I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone
162| Soccer Mommy | color theory
163| Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist | Alfredo
164| LOLA | The Sleeping Prophet EP
165| Mac Miller | Circles
166| Caribou | Suddenly
167| Bonny Light Horseman | Bonny Light Horseman
168| Gang of Four | This Heaven Gives Me Migraine EP
169| Boniface | Boniface
170| Stabbing Westward | Dead & Gone
171| Lady Gaga | Chromatica
172| Haunt | Mind Freeze
173| DJ Fresh with Curren$y | The Tonite Show
174| BTS | Map of the Soul: 7
175| Teejayx6 | 2020
176| Mick Jenkins | The Circus
177| Denzel Curry | 13OOD IN 13OOD OUT MIX
178| Susanne Sundfør | Self-Portrait OST
179| Destroyer | Have We Met
180| Easy Life | Junk Food (Mixtape)
181| Salaam Remi | Do It FoR ThE CulTuRe 2
182| Cask | Surviving on Borrowed Time
183| Drakeo the Ruler | Free Drakeo
184| The Word Alive | Monomania
185| TheHxliday | Broken Halls EP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Need to hear more before ranking: Derrick Hodge/Color of Noize | COLOR OF NOIZE

*Discovered through AM(F)

EDIT: Corrected Susanne Sundfør's name
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by bonnielaurel »

  1. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
  2. Maria José Llergo - Sanación
  3. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
  4. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
  5. Nicolás Jaar - Cenizas
  6. Poppy - I Disagree
  7. Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now
  8. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Reunions
  9. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
  10. Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia
Paul Weller would be in the top 10 as well, but his album was released on July 3rd.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by notbrianeno »

1. Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2. Charli XCX | how i'm feeling now
3. Grimes | Miss Anthropocene
4. The Weeknd | After Hours
5. Lady Gaga | Chromatica
6. Soccer Mommy | Color Theory
7. Against All Logic | 2017-2019
8. Jessie Ware | What's Your Pleasure
9. Arca | KiCk i
10. Tame Impala | The Slow Rush
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Rocky Raccoon »

Copied from my post in the ratings thread.

1. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters (9)
2. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (8)
3. Run the Jewels – RTJ 4 (8)
4. Haim – Women in Music Pt. III (8)
5. Waxenhatchee – Saint Cloud (8)
6. U.S. Girls – Heavy Light (8)
7. Beach Bunny – Honeymoon (8)
8. Badly Drawn Boy – Banana Skin Shoes (8)
9. Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter (8)
10. Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways (8)
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Madzong
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Madzong »

1. Pearl Jam - Gigaton
2. X - Alphabetland
3. Gorillaz feat. Peter Hook & Georgia | Song Machine Episode 3
4. The Strokes - The New Abnormal
5. Gorillaz feat. Fatoumata Diawara | Song Machine Episode 2
6. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
7. Haim - Women In Music Part III
8. The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form
9. Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways
10. Neil Young - Homegrown
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jirin »

Are we going to treat Homegrown as a 2020 album? Whenever albums were fully recorded years ago but not released until now I tend to think of them as being of their original year. Like I consider Hitchhiker a 1976 album. Especially when it's an artist whose unreleased stuff has been bootlegged as heavy as Young.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Jirin wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 1:59 pm Are we going to treat Homegrown as a 2020 album? Whenever albums were fully recorded years ago but not released until now I tend to think of them as being of their original year. Like I consider Hitchhiker a 1976 album. Especially when it's an artist whose unreleased stuff has been bootlegged as heavy as Young.
We are going by release year, so Homegrown does count.
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Madzong
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Madzong »

Holden wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:04 pm We are going by release year, so Homegrown does count.
Great news!
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acroamor
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by acroamor »

Would include Julianna Barwick's latest and the early leak of the new Bright Eyes album, but keeping it to just the first half of the year:

1. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
2. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3. Dogleg - Melee
4. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
5. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
6. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
7. Haim - Women in Music, Pt. III
8. Khruangbin - Mordechai
9. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
10. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Wisnu Tirta Aji »

Personally, I'm boring to posting too much top albums of 2020, almost all artists from around the world (America, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, etc.) who released their recent albums are popular artists. However, with top 10 albums only, my work is simple. Musically, my top 10 albums are 90% Country Music (like Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Little Big Town, etc.), 10% Indo Pop (like Ardhito Pramono, Isyana Sarasvati, Pamungkas, etc.), 0% Indie/independent (like Caroline Rose, Soccer Mommy, US Girls, etc.), and 0% popular music (like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, etc.), which means, I'm boring with some artists from Indie/independent and popular artists from above view. If there is a chance for Progressive Rock or Rock music in 2020, my favorite music genres, my top 10 albums given to them. However, because Progressive Rock or Rock music in 2020 were very different with Progressive Rock or Rock music in the best time, which was very close to Rock music, today Progressive Rock or Rock music were just memories. Now, listeners will listen to music genres like Country, Dance, Electronic, Hip Hop, Indie, Pop, popular music, R&B, Soul, and other music genres. However, I still have many chance to listen to new artists. Because I still love Indonesia, the number one must been given to an Indonesian artist first then the latter given to other artists from various music genres. So, here's my version of top 10...
1. Nadin Amizah - Selamat Ulang Tahun
2. Kenny Chesney - Here and Now
3. Diplo - Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil
4. Sam Hunt - Southside
5. Kip Moore - Wild World
6. Dustin Lynch - Tullahoma
7. Kelsea Ballerini - kelsea
8. Maddie & Tae - The Way It Feels
9. Carly Pearce - Carly Pearce
10. Ashley McBryde - Never Will

For Indonesian artists, from everything (Endah N Rhesa, Iqbaal Ramadhan, Marion Jola, Mocca, Stephanie Poetri, Ten 2 Five, and other Indonesian artists), only the best known, Nadin Amizah, who released her first studio album, Selamat Ulang Tahun (translated to English as Happy Birthday). And, again, with "Simple I Love You" out February ago, Mocca supposedly released their recent album sometimes in January until June 2020. However, they never released their album at this time and Holden only allowed top 2020 albums from January until June 2020. For Carly Pearce, I'm surprise that in Last.fm "i hope you're happy now" (but featuring Lee Brice) is very popular than her solo song, "closer to you", although both featured on her album, Carly Pearce. I think, she was better known for her song, "closer to you". Thanks.

Edit: Added more note and minor revision.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Albums
1 | Laura Marling | Song for Our Daughter
2 | HMLTD | West of Eden
3 | Haru Nemuri | Lovetheism EP
4 | Kiko Dinucci | Rastilho
5 | The Strokes | The New Abnormal
6 | Black Dresses | Peaceful as Hell
7 | Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
8 | Run the Jewels | RTJ4
9 | IDK & Friends | IDK & Friends 2
10 | Jessie Ware | What's Your Pleasure?




And songs for the hell of it
1 | Jessie Ware | "Remember Where You Are"
2 | TOPS | "I Feel Alive"
3 | IDLES | "Grounds"
4 | Anderson .Paak | "Lockdown"
5 | Dua Lipa | "Love Again"
6 | Laura Marling | "Fortune"
7 | HMLTD | "Loaded"
8 | The Strokes | "At the Door"
9 | Dua Lipa | "Break My Heart"
10 | joji | "Run"
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

prosecutorgodot wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:36 am Albums
6 | Black Dresses | Peaceful as Hell
I’m glad to see this album getting some love. I have a thing for electro-industrial pop, but this album is one of the genre’s high points; catchy at times but defiantly chaotic for pop music, with an end-of-world feel to the harsh and daring explorations of noise. Sadly, Black Dresses have broken up (although the reasons for them doing so were 100% justified) but I’m glad they left us with gems like these.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by votingbloc »

1. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
2. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
3. Boniface - Boniface
4. Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences
5. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure?
6. Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
7. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III
8. Lane 8 - Brightest Lights
9. Brian Fallon - Local Honey
10. Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by nquoid »

Long time lurker in these kinds of threads, never actually managing to get a list ready in time, but I've been keeping track this year!

1. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (9)
2. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (9)
3. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (9)
4. Haim - Women in Music Pt. III (9)
5. Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now (8)
6. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (8)
7. Run the Jewels - RTJ4 (8)
8. The Strokes - The New Abnormal (8)
9. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (8)
10. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (8)

Just missing out:
Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (8)
Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor (8)
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Romain »

Album:
1. Agnes Obel - Myopia
2. Muzz - Muzz
3. Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers
4. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes
5. Sages Comme Des Sauvages - Luxe Misère
6. Benjamin Biolay - Grand Prix
7. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
8. The Strokes - The New Abnormal
9. Rustin Man - Clockdust
10. Sondre Lerche - Patience
11. Cerrone - DNA
Last edited by Romain on Sun Jul 26, 2020 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Gillingham »

1. Slift - Ummon
2. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
4. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Days
5. Run the Jewels - RTJ4
6. Natalia Lafourcade - Un canto por México Vol. 1
7. Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
8. Caribou - Suddenly
9. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
10. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

Less than a week left if you'd like to participate in this!
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Schüttelbirne »

Here's my list. I could have done more, but forty seemed a got cut-off-point.
This is all subject to change of course; I'm rather bad at ranking.
Please don't compare the rankings to the ratings in the Rate-the-Album-thread; I'm very inconsequential. :?
There's also comments for a lot of albums.
Thanks to Holden for running this. I hope the formatting here isn't a problem.

1 | Kaja Draksler Octet | Out for Stars
A Slovenian pianist and composer who wrote a dissertation on the structure of Cecil Taylor‘s improvisations takes seven poems by Robert Frost and turns them into beautiful compositions. Draksler herself plays the piano, Onno Govaert is responsible for the percussion and Ada Rave and Ab Baars for the reeds (tenor saxphone and clarinet). My personal highlights are the vocal performances by Laura Polence and Björk Níelsdóttir and the wonderful work on strings by Lennart Heyndels (double bass) and George Dumitriu (violin & viola). This record is flawed , of course (few aren‘t). The biggest problem I have here is the order of the tracks. „Never Again Will Birds‘ Song Be the Same“ and „The Silken Tent“ shouldn‘t follow right after one another, since they‘re both very much based on silent improvisation, which makes this third of the record the hardest to go through. And the final track should be „Away!“ because it is simply perfect. That is not hyperbole: I have been listening to it for the past few weeks and I am convinced it will be in the Top 3 of the year for me. The instrumental section following the last verse sounds transcendent (and I know that‘s the most pretentious thing you can write, but sometimes it‘s true). And for the end of the track, Robert Frost himself recites the poem again (an old recording obviously, he‘s been dead for more than 50 years), and there obviously isn‘t a better way to end anything: „Unless I‘m wrong / I but obey / the urge of a song / I‘m bound – away! / And I may return / if dissatisfied / with what I learned / from having died.“
2 | Gard Nilssen‘s Supersonic Orchestra | If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours
Everybody likes a live recording of an experimental big band performance. Well, maybe not everyone, but I do. The band is composed of 16 musicians, most of them Scandinavian. There‘s an absolute overkill of saxophones here (7!), and three drumsets, Nilssen himself playing on one of them. The music is of epic scale and sounds enormous. Listening to this is a lot of fun. If you‘re interested, start with „Bøtteknott / Elastic Circle“. Here‘s a five-minute live performance, at the end of which they play the theme which always manages to delight me.
3 | Rob Luft | Life Is the Dancer
Rob Luft is a jazz guitarist (electric) who‘s only on his second album. He doesn‘t show off his technical skills; instead he plays together with a group of other musicians, including piano, saxphone, trumpet, bass and drums. Occasionally, Luna Cohen vocalizes. The resulting songs are very smooth sounding. This is certainly jazz fusion, but it‘s not the Miles Davis-type, but rather the Pat Metheny-type.
4 | Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey | Invisible Ritual
Multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey is one of those artists whose work I never had a chance to get into, but I know that he has a very dedicated fan base. Here he teams up with violinist Jennifer Curtis. It‘s eight tracks stretching over almost 77 minutes. Every one of these tracks has its own distinct style, some more quiet and brooding, others fast-paced and piercing (especially recommended is the fourth track). This is only for people who like long improv-heavy tracks.
5 | Lil Darkie | THIS DOES NOT EXIST
Released on the first day of the year, I‘ve listened to this a few times over the past months and it really holds up for me. Imagine a drug-addicted cartoon villain making an experimental rap album, then you can maybe come close to how this sounds. The songs here use a variety of styles, going from punk tracks to industrial rap to a song that sounds a bit like a version of Mac Miller‘s „Good News“, but better („COMPOSITION XI“).
6 | Bob Dylan | Rough and Rowdy Ways
I like to believe that this album was a spontaneous idea by Dylan because he was bored and didn‘t know what to do now that he couldn‘t play concerts. So he just decided to record some of the songs he wrote over the years and release them. I don‘t know how likely this is, but I think it‘s a nice idea. About the album itself: The lyrics are incredible (which is expected), but what was really surprising is how good he sounds here. I think his voice hasn‘t sounded this smooth (is that the right word?) in a while. I don‘t see a weak link here; my favorites are „I Contain Multitudes“, „I‘ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You“, „Key West (Philosopher Pirate)“, which is probably the best nickname anyone ever came up with for Dylan, and „Murder Most Foul“ (that bass sounds divine).
7 | Aksak Maboul | Figures
A Belgian Rock-in-Opposition group releases their first real album in forty years and it sounds like progressive synth-pop (if there is such a thing?). It‘s a double album stretching over 75 minutes and it needs more than one listen to get into it, but it‘s really worth it. The songs pack layers on layers which makes it fun to unpack. The only „problem“ is that I can‘t understand a word because my French is bad (very bad). Highlights are „Histoires de fous“, „Spleenétique“ and „Fatrasie pulvérisée“, but the absolutely best track on here is „Dramuscule“ which is incredible.
8 | Alexander Hawkins & Tomeka Reid | Shards and Constellations
Hawkins is a pianist, Reid is a cellist, whose previous efforts have brought her some acclaim. This is a wonderful collaboration where Reid is the absolute highlight. She shows the variety of the cello and the broad spectrum of sounds it can create. Two tracks worth mentioning are the most accessible one, a tribute to the saxphonist and free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler, „Albert Ayler (His Life Was Too Short)“ and my favorite, the centerpiece of the album, „Peace on You“.
9 | Einstürzende Neubauten | Alles in Allem
It‘s more Pop than I expected, but it totally works. The industrial soundscape underneath the vocals evokes an unsettling mood and the lyrics are also pretty good (if you understand German). The best track on here is „Taschen“.
10 | Sam Lee | Old Wow
Lee sings traditional songs about nature, some of which were re-written. He gets help from (among others) Bernard Butler (Suede‘s first guitarist) and Elizabeth Fraser (from the Cocteau Twins). The songs all sound great, but my favorite has got to be „Lay This Body Down“.
11 | Gina Schwarz | Pannonica
An ensemble who just decided they were gonna record an album, but then they had two days left, so they just recorded a bit more and turned it into a double album. The two halves of the album have a different sound. The first has more concise compositions, while the second half (the one I prefer) sounds more free and loose. A wonderful idea is the Cuts they do, where they improvise for one minute on a random word (like „quantum mechanics“). This seems to be the year of jazz guitar, so there‘s also some very obvious guitar playing on tracks like „Gm‘s Musicbox“. Schwarz herself is very present on the double bass, while the drums are a bit on the weaker side here, sadly.
12 | Keeley Forsyth | Debris
Forsyth suffered from deep depression, which rendered her literally speechless. She had to learn to speak again, an experience she drew from to create this album. It‘s a very quiet album, focused entirely on her voice, which has a lot of character. „Look to Yourself“ and „Butterfly“ are the tracks I found the most impressing.
13 | Orkesta Mendoza | Curandero
A group led by Sergio Mendoza who grew up around the US/Mexico border. The music reflects that. As far as I can tell, there‘s influences by Mexican folk music, but also by American rock music. The variety here is astounding. Every track has its own distinct flavor, yet they all fit together. Mendoza accomplishes the difficult feat of making music that combines different styles, but still creating a cohesive album. My favorite tracks are „Are We Better Now“ and „Eres Oficial“.
14 | Jonah Parzen-Johnson | Imagine Giving Up
One of the combinations I encountered fairly often this year and which has surprised me, is saxophone with electronics. It‘s not exactly something I expected to like this much. Parzen-Johnson is the first of three artists on this list who work with this combination and he does it the best, in my opinion. His music is incredibly colorful, using the electronics to enhance his saxophone playing.
15 | Nduduzo Makhatini | Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld
South African pianist Makhatini is really busy. This is his ninth solo album (he started in 2014); he also produces other artists‘ albums and is a member of Shabaka and the Ancestors and plays the fender rhodes on this year‘s We Are Sent Here by History. I actually prefer his solo album to that album. It consists of eleven tracks with very concise compositions stretching over 75 minutes. There‘s a few tracks where his wife Omagugu Makhatini sings, and she has a great voice which makes this album very worthwhile despite its length.
16 | Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit | Reunions
Isbell is a story-teller. Here you have stories about being a father, being a recovering alcoholic or being someone dealing with loss. It‘s country rock with great lyrics and vocals.
17 | Dimitrij Golovanov & Jan Maksimowicz | Beyond
Another combination of saxophone with electronics, this time with piano. This sounds completely different from Parzen-Johnson‘s album: The sound is far more desolate and the atmosphere created here is a dark one. The two instruments mix very well with the electronics resulting in a coherent album.
18 | Carla Bley / Andy Sheppard / Steve Swallow | Life Goes On
Having Carla Bley this low is breaking my heart a bit, but I really couldn‘t fit her any higher. Carla Bley has been doing jazz music for decades; she‘s one of the prime composers of the '70s. Her new release, however, sounds nothing like her albums from the '70s (except maybe Dinner Music, which I haven‘t heard yet). Instead it‘s classic ECM-style-jazz with piano, bass and saxophone playing together beautifully. The lack of drums doesn‘t hurt the pieces, instead it gives them a sort of airy quality. My favorite composition is the title composition „Life Goes On“, „Beautiful Telephones“ is also really good. „Copycat“ is still solid, but not on the level of the other two (and it includes a track called „Follow the Leader“ which is just 17 seconds long; I‘m still wondering about its significance).
19 | Bonny Light Horseman | Bonny Light Horseman
A supergroup consisting of Anais Mitchell, Josh Kaufman and Eric D. Johnson who re-interpret old folk classics like „Jane Jane“ and „The Roving“. They craft them into contemporary songs with a lot of feeling. The follow-up single „Green Green Rocky Road“ couldn‘t hold this level, unfortunately.
20 | Zebra Katz | Less Is Moor
Experimental Hip Hop with great production and very sexual lyrics. May not be for everyone, but it‘s one of my favorite hip hop albums of the year.
21 | Johanna Summer | Schumann Kaleidoskop
I don‘t know whether this classifies as classical or jazz. Summer is improvising on the piano using motives taken from Schumann‘s works (caleidoscope seems like a perfect description for what she‘s doing). Her piano playing is magnificent and coherent; the music itself is changing motives, themes and moods fairly often, so it certainly doesn‘t get tedious. Her approach is maybe best exemplified on „Knecht Ruprecht – Träumerei“. The best piano solo work I‘ve heard this year.
22 | Pottery | Welcome to Bobby‘s Motel
The obvious reference here is Talking Heads because the sound is really rather similar. A lot of punky fun.
23 | Wire | Mind Hive
24 | Jasper Hoiby | Planet B
This is supposed to be the first album of a larger cycle (I think four over the next five years) dealing with major problems of our time. This album is about climate change combining spoken word tracks with instrumental tracks. Hoiby himself plays the double bass, but the real star here is clearly saxophonist Josh Arcoleo giving the tracks texture.
25 | Stabscotch | 7 Is a Cycle
Noise rock with a lot of screaming. But in a good way.
26 | Horse Lords | The Common Task
This is very interesting rock music which is not easy to get into. I don‘t understand the term „math rock“ but apparently this belongs to that genre (maybe math rock refers to the abilities you need to have to understand the time signatures these songs are played in). There‘s also bagpipes. In rock music. Glorious!
27 | The Sorcerers | In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God
A British band playing Ethio-inspired jazz in the form of a soundtrack for a fictional movie. The entire concept is completely refined. The song titles start with „Opening Titles“ and include titles like „Crossing the Rope-Bridge“ or „Escape from the Catacombs“. All these songs are directly related to their titles and it actually feels like a soundtrack. The songs are longer than on many other soundtracks, and the songs have more profile than a lot of soundtracks normally do, so this may be something for soundtrack fans, but non-soundtrack fans shouldn‘t be worried. It‘s very enjoyable and a lot of fun.
28 | Katie Gately | Loom
Gately has a background as a sound designer and it shows in the deep texture of these songs. She‘s an incredibly skilled producer, but her vocals also stand out. „Waltz“ is easily one of the best songs of the year.
29 | The Mall | Zone
I don‘t know how to describe this; maybe something like: Shoegaze mixed with drums and Synth Pop? It‘s definitely incredibly interesting and worth listening to (it‘s just 23 minutes long).
30 | Moon Hooch | Life on Other Planets
Here comes the final combination of saxophone with electronics. Here it‘s two saxophones and a drumset, which provides the rhyhthm for these fast-paced songs. It‘s the sort of Nu Jazz you could use as dance music.
31 | Louise Bock | Sketch for Winter VII – Abyss: For Cello
Drone isn‘t exactly my favorite genre, but I do like it occassionally, especially when it‘s as good as this is. It‘s just half an hour long and consists of very relaxing cello melodies (but in drone style, of course).
32 | Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven | We‘re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven
McCraven reworks Scott-Heron‘s final album I‘m New Here. The music overall takes a supporting role to the vocals which is probably the right choice; it certainly is a great achievement. The tracks are pretty short, with a few exceptions, the prime example being the best track on here, „New York Is Killing Me“.
33 | Mark Lanegan | Straight Songs of Sorrow
34 | Jeff Parker | Suite for Max Brown
Jazz guitar. As I said before, this year has many great examples of its use, this here being one of the more popular jazz albums of the year. This being a suite means that the tracks are best listened to in the right order. The only song that could be taken out of the context, in my opinion, is „Go Away“. Generally it‘s a good jazz fusion record.
35 | Citizen Boy & Mafia Boyz | From Avoca Hills to the World
I am not an expert on Gqom, a subgenre of African House music, but this is really good. The beats keep on coming, but there‘s enough variety not to make it boring. My favorite track is „Woka“.
36 | Prezident | Alles ist voll von Göttern
I‘m not a big fan of German rap, because there‘s so much bad stuff, that I don‘t want to take the time to try to find the good stuff that certainly exists. This album is part of this good stuff; the beats are pretty good, but the highlight is obviously the lyrics. Prezident has a more, let‘s say „refined“ way of expressing himself than a lot of other rap artists do, which I like a lot. It also means that this is probably only something for speakers of German that don‘t mind a good chunk of nihilism in their rap.
37 | Pat Metheny | From This Place
Jazz guitar once again. Metheny is probably one of the most well-known jazz guitarists in the world and this new album doesn‘t disappoint. Even if the length of 75 minutes scares you of, you should check out the 13-minute-long „America Undefined“ which has one of the hardest-hitting finales of a jazz track ever.
38 | Rodrigo y Gabriela | Mettal EP
Two acoustic guitar players cover songs by Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer and it sounds amazing.
39 | Beatrice Dillon | Workaround
The solo debut by electronic musician Dillon who mixes samples from a variety of guest musicians playing conventional instruments like saxophone and cello, but also unconventional ones like kora or bodhrán. To me it doesn‘t feel very song-based and I couldn‘t tell you a standout track.
40 | Ulcerate | Stare Into Death and Be Still
I'm not sure if people here enjoy metal, but this is one of the better metal albums I've heard this year.
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Holden
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Holden »

My personal list:
01 | Porridge Radio | Every Bad
02 | Run the Jewels | RTJ4
03 | Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
04 | Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams | Aporia
05 | Car Seat Headrest | Making a Door Less Open
06 | Nine Inch Nails | Ghosts VI: Locusts
07 | Neil Young | Homegrown
08 | Nine Inch Nails | Ghosts V: Together
09 | Bob Dylan | Rough and Rowdy Ways
10 | Dan Deacon | Mystic Familiar
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
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Dan
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Dan »

Schüttelbirne wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2020 4:57 pm Here's my list.
Your discerning taste in music makes me think of forum members like sonofsamiam or (previously) Mindrocker, Jade Palooka and Charlie Driggs (how I miss them all), with the added benefit that you are enlightening us with comments about the music you like.

I’m sampling the albums on your list right now, and even if none of them will end up on my own list of favourite albums from 2020, I’m absolutely loving the breadth and variety of the music you’re into (and the adventurous nature of it) and I’m hopeful that one day I might become evolved enough to add some of those albums to my list.


What I’m trying to say is that I think you are awesome.
...will keep us together.
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Dan
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Dan »

1 | Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
2 | Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
3 | Laura Marling | Song for Our Daughter
4 | Sages comme des sauvages  | Luxe misère 
5 | Run the Jewels | RTJ4
6 | Jessie Ware | What's Your Pleasure?
7 | Perfume Genius | Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
8 | Bob Dylan | Rough and Rowdy Ways
9 | Waxahatchee | Saint Cloud
10 | Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit | Reunions
11 | Haim | Women In Music Pt. III
12 | Honey Harper | Starmaker 
13 | The James Hunter Six | Nick of Time
14 | Lina_Raül Refree | Lina_Raül Refree
15 | ДахаБраха [DakhaBrakha] | Alambari
...will keep us together.
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BleuPanda
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by BleuPanda »

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
3. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
4. Moses Sumney - grae
5. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
6. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
7. Caribou - Suddenly
8. Rina Sawayama - Sawayama
9. Run the Jewels - RTJ4
10. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
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Schüttelbirne
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Schüttelbirne »

Dan wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:14 pm
Schüttelbirne wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2020 4:57 pm Here's my list.
Your discerning taste in music makes me think of forum members like sonofsamiam or (previously) Mindrocker, Jade Palooka and Charlie Driggs (how I miss them all), with the added benefit that you are enlightening us with comments about the music you like.

I’m sampling the albums on your list right now, and even if none of them will end up on my own list of favourite albums from 2020, I’m absolutely loving the breadth and variety of the music you’re into (and the adventurous nature of it) and I’m hopeful that one day I might become evolved enough to add some of those albums to my list.


What I’m trying to say is that I think you are awesome.
Thanks, that's nice to hear. :D
We have two albums on our lists in common, and I've listened to 10 from your Top 15, 8 of which I liked, so I can give the compliment right back.
Last edited by Schüttelbirne on Tue Jul 28, 2020 6:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jackson
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jackson »

Dan wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 3:14 pm
Schüttelbirne wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2020 4:57 pm Here's my list.
Your discerning taste in music makes me think of forum members like sonofsamiam or (previously) Mindrocker, Jade Palooka and Charlie Driggs (how I miss them all), with the added benefit that you are enlightening us with comments about the music you like.
Seconded. I love reading comments on lists (even if they're only a sentence) as they can often get you to listen to stuff you'd otherwise skip over. And I am hoping for the eventual return of the three users you mentioned. Mindrocker is probably gone, but I recall seeing Charlie and Jade within the last 2-3 years. Either way, I've got some of their old lists saved :D
Jackson
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by Jackson »

1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure?
3. Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now
4. Christine & The Queens - La vita nuova EP
5. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire, Immediately
6. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
7. Magdalena Bay - A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling EP
8. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
9. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is)
10. Beatrice Dillon - Workaround
11. Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
12. Caribou - Suddenly
13. Run the Jewels - RTJ4
14. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA
15. Yaeji - What We Drew
sonofsamiam
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by sonofsamiam »

OK, here's a Top 28 (edited since I actually read the rules and removed July releases), though I really struggled with ranking this, and I can pretty much guarantee it will change. I need to live with some of these longer.

Lots of good stuff so far of course, though the year has felt quieter than 2019 -- hoping for a great second half.

1 | Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters

This feels a bit like a default, but 2020 hasn't offered up much in the way of immediate masterpieces to me thus far. That said, beyond the homemade percussion and "timeliness" that all the critics talk about, this really is a collection of consistently excellent, very striking songs. And that counts for a lot, and will remain its legacy.

2 | Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra | If You Listen Closely the Music Is Yours

Schüttelbirne basically said it, and anyone that knows me knows this is right up my alley ... a huge big band playing free jazz, tons of freewheeling sound, live, no less.

3 | Maria McKee | La vita nuova

This one came out of the blue, and how odd that another record came out with the name "La vita nuova" (and typical of McKee's luck, it will be entirely overshadowed by Christine & the Queens, see below). That said, I consider Maria McKee to be one of those lost artists, someone like Lou Christie in a way, who started very much in a genre and then, when becoming more ambitious and shifting out of it (and touching genius, by the way), got completely buried by the record label and the general public. "Life Is Sweet" was her "Paint America Love", but I sure wasn't expecting such a wonderful album 24 years on from that, and 13 years after her last. Fans of Bowie and Scott Walker at their most orchestrated should give this a listen.

4 | Kaja Draksler Octet | Out for Stars
5 | Katie Gately | Loom
6 | Phoebe Bridgers | Punisher
7 | Perfume Genius | Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
8 | Neptunian Maximalism | Éons

I really have no idea where to rank this. It's massive, in sound and length, and a weird mash-up of doom, drone, and avant-jazz. Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it goes on too long, but when it hits it REALLY hits, and many points for pure, unbridled ambition. Just a crazy album.

9 | Makaya McCraven / Gil Scott-Heron | We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven
10 | Moor Jewelry | True Opera
11 | Irreversible Entanglements | Who Sent You?

Moor Mother is certainly one of the most prolific artists out there today...she was on 3 albums that featured in my 2019 list (including one solo), and she has 2 more in my mid-year, one of them paired with Mental Jewelry as she takes on an onslaught of short no-wave (was NOT expecting that from her), and the other with her excellent jazz ensemble Irreversible Entanglements. That all said, she really does spoken word righteous anger like no other.

12 | Klô Pelgag | Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
13 | Charli XCX | How I’m Feeling Now
14 | Oranssi Pazuzu | Mestarin kynsi
15 | Moses Boyd | Dark Matter
16 | Laura Marling | Song for Our Daughter
17 | Jennifer Curtis / Tyshawn Sorey | Invisible Ritual
18 | Jessie Ware | What’s Your Pleasure?
19 | Yves Tumor | Heaven to a Tortured Mind
20 | Christine and the Queens | La vita nuova EP
21 | SAULT | Untitled (Black Is)
22 | Horse Lords | The Common Task
23 | Owen Pallett | Island
24 | Carla Bley / Andy Sheppard / Steve Swallow | Life Goes On
25 | Rina Sawayama | Sawayama
26 | Run the Jewels | RTJ4
27 | Shabaka and the Ancestors | We Are Sent Here by History
28 | Soccer Mommy | Color Theory
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: 2020 Mid-Year Albums Poll List Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

sonofsamiam wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:21 pm 8 | Neptunian Maximalism | Éons

I really have no idea where to rank this. It's massive, in sound and length, and a weird mash-up of doom, drone, and avant-jazz. Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it goes on too long, but when it hits it REALLY hits, and many points for pure, unbridled ambition. Just a crazy album.
Pretty much had the same reaction. Tons of ambition (two-hour behemoth, on top of the sprawling set of styles), probably one of the most ambitious albums of the year, but I don't think it manages to reach where its grasping. I don't really know where to rank it.
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