Favorite Albums of 2020
The following is a collection of my favorite albums from the past year. These albums impacted my life or met where I was in my life in a profound enough way for them to be cemented in my reflection of the past year. Each album stands out as a whole, top to bottom, front to back. They are listed by their release date.
As I looked back on these albums to create this list I was reminded of the very complicated and complex year I, and many of us, have had. Somewhere between January when this list was started and December when this webpage is published I had a birthday, graduated college, had an amazing career experience, moved to a new place (nonetheless a city after my whole life in the suburbs), started my master’s degree, and finally started to become the person I knew myself to be. All the while, music-- especially these albums-- were there the whole time as a score to my everyday life. All these albums were there for me when times were uncertain: the beginning of the pandemic, being home long-term unexpectedly, nationwide protests for racial justice, the middle of the pandemic, moving to a new place, a nail-biting election, and the worst the pandemic has been in this country. But music was always there for me. I hope music, and some of the albums below, do the same for you.
Thank you to everyone who has helped over the past couple years in the manifestation of my love for music into Music Stream Dreams, and a special thank you to those who helped me in the making of the following content.
Be well, be safe, be healthy. Here’s to whatever 2020 has been and the great music it gave us. Here’s to whatever lies ahead in 2021.
The Live Series: Songs Under Cover
by Bruce Springsteen
Although originally released in 2019, Songs Under Cover only found its way to streaming services in 2020. It is one of many compilation albums as part of a larger collection called The Live Series. These 15 songs are just some of the many Springsteen and the E Street Band have covered while on tour all over the world. I was originally excited to see this released because it contained a cover of Purple Rain, performed April 23, 2016 at the Barclays Center, which I had the pleasure of seeing live. Springsteen finds a way to make these songs his own as the E Street Band’s sound is prevalent and transform these songs into large arena rock and roll.
Stand Out Songs: Can’t Help Falling In Love (Live at Wembley Arena, London, UK – 06/05/81), Boom Boom (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY – 05/23/1988), (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher (Live at HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY 0 11/22/09), Stayin’ Alive (Live at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, AU – 02/26/2014), Purple Rain (Live at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY – 04/23/16)
I Disagree
by Poppy
This year, digital pop artist Poppy made a u-turn into a full metal genre album called “I Disagree”. The album opens with some pop undertones but quickly changes over into heavy guitar and screaming that engulfs and carries you through the rest of the album. Initially, I was turned off by the potent metal and heavy rock influences, but with each listen I found myself drawn deeper and deeper into the meaning and undertones of each song. I never thought I would enjoy such a heavy and hearty rock pop album, but the year 2020 finds us in situations we never thought possible.
Stand Out Songs: I Disagree, BLOODMONEY, Anything Like Me, Sick of the Sun, Don’t Go Outside
Circles
by Mac Miller
This promiscuous album of Mac Miller’s is the follow up to his 2018 album “Swimming.” I find this album to be a resolution to the roller coaster of emotional albums that reflect his life. I went into the album with hopes of a happier ending than what I was left with from “Swimming.” “Circles” gave me just that. Although not a “happy” album by stereotypical standards, I felt uplifted knowing that Miller was in a happier place toward the end of his life.
Stand Out Songs: Circles, Complicated, Blue World, Everybody, That’s on Me, Surf
There Is No Year
by Algiers
Singer Franklin James Fisher’s roaring voice returned this year leading Algiers in the band’s newest album, “There Is No Year.” No different than their past two albums, the content of this album is not shy of its criticism of politics and society-- Fisher’s vocals are indicative of the pathos of each song. The instrumentals on this album are cinematic, creating everything from the eb and flow of a stormy ocean to the destruction and terror of an erupting volcano. With this album Algiers was able to continue similar harmonic and vocal themes with enough progress to evade the shadow of their previous album.
Stand Out Songs: There Is No Year, Dispossession, Losing is Ours, Chaka, Repeating Night, We Can’t Be Found, Void
Texas Sun
by Khruangbin and Leon Bridges
Has there been a better pairing this year than Khruangbin and Leon Bridges? Both groups are stand out performers in both their style and sound, and decided to come together to make a four song EP about their shared love for the state of Texas. Bridges’ age-old vocals pair perfectly with Khruangbin’s hypnotic melodies. It was wonderful to hear each group raise up and support the other and allow them to shine in the spotlight as each deserves at this point in their respective careers.
Stand Out Songs: Texas Sun, C-Side, Conversion
And It’s Still Alright
by Nathaniel Rateliff
A somber and drawn back Nathaniel Rateliff presents music that can only come as the product of a divorce and losing a close friend. Although the general sounds of the album aren’t uncharted territory for Rateliff, the lyrical composition is an exploration of newly felt emotions of loss. Lyrically, the songs take you on a deep journey through recollection and vulnerability. The album ends with some of the saddest yet most personal lyrics from Rateliff yet-- “If now you sleep forever, rush on, rush on.”
Stand Out Songs: What a Drag, And It's Still Alright, All or Nothing, Mavis, Time Stands, Rush On
Supervision
by La Roux
Big box stores like Macy’s and JC Penney should be jealous that Elly Jackson-- also known as La Roux-- took their fitting room soundtracks and made them into something people actually want to listen to. La Roux’s disco-inspired angelic vocals give the somewhat beige and already-heard-of instrumentals a bit of life and substance. Although not revered as her best work, I believe this album has the most consistent sound as a whole in comparison to her other two albums. Although at times the instrumentals can be a bit repetitive across songs, the body and soul of the album is coherent as a whole and each song works together to make the idea whole.
Stand Out Songs: 21st Century, Automatic Driver, International Woman of Leisure, Everything I Live For, Gullible Fool
The Slow Rush
by Tame Impala
The reigning ~Coachella vibe~ master and Australian musician Tame Impala returned with his fourth studio album “The Slow Rush.” This might be one of his most enjoyable albums in the sense that you can hear the fun, exploration, and creativity involved in its making. The album is built on a foundation of psych rock with influences from many prior decades, all mixed together with lyrics that explore death and one's place in the world.
Stand Out Songs: One More Year, Borderline, Posthumous Forgiveness, Breath Deeper, On Track, Lost in Yesterday, It Might Be Time, One More Hour
Swimmer
by Tennis
“Swimmer” is the most recent album by the decade-old indie pop married couple duo Tennis. Singer and songwriter for the group Alania Moore brings her charming and hypnotic vocals to every song without compromise. The instrumentals on this album are complex but follow a very simple beat allowing for a smooth listen and easy concentration on what each song is portraying. The album is about growing up and life’s uncertainties becoming a bit more certain. Love, health scares, death, and reflection-- some things many of us have had to start to comprehend during the past year’s events.
Stand Out Songs: Need Your Love, How to Forgive, Runner, Swimmer, Tender as as Tomb, Matrimony II
Expectations
by Katie Pruitt
With a lyric like “I used to be ashamed, to write her name in a song, but if loving her is wrong, then I'm not going to stop, you can turn the damn thing off,” Katie Pruitt shows she is done compromising herself in her music to please others. The country music singer-songwriter's debut album doesn’t bow down to anyone. Pruitt puts herself wholeheartedly into every song with lyrics about her sexuality, coming out, and her self-expression, fusing the lyrics with instrumentals and pulling in ques from rock, folk, and pop music.
Stand Out Songs: My Mind’s a Ship (That’s Going Down), Expectations, Normal, Grace Has a Gun, Georgia, Loving Her
3.15.20
by Childish Gambino
A dreamscape of an infinite white void mixed with the techno world of tron are fused together to make a funk, pop, electro, and soulful album from the illusive Childish Gambino. The genre-bending technique of Gambino brings new light with haunted sounds of a vision of the future from the mid-century American idealized industrial dream. With each song he explores the space around him and pushes it to new extremes while using artists like Prince, Funkadelic, and Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther: The Album as precedent for sound and style2
Stand Out Songs: Algorhythm, Time, 19.10, 24.19, 35.31, 42.26, 47.48, 53.49
Saint Cloud
by Waxahatchee
The start of a new day, life, and year. This album brings love and joy to everything one experiences in their lifetime. The songs on “Saint Cloud” are like watching a valley of flowers bloom after a long winter’s snow has become a memory. The easily strummed guitars, laid-back drums, and authentic, distinct voice of Katie Crutchfield are reminiscent of a spring day on a back porch as the sun dances across the sky. This album speaks to the many facets of life and its ups and downs. Waxahatchee reflects and reminisces on the places that shape a person and their temporal memories.
Stand Out Songs: Can’t Do Much, Fire, Lilacs, Hell, Ruby Falls, St. Clouds
The Loves of Your Life
by Hamilton Leithauser
Hamilton Leithauser’s previous two albums cemented his position in the alternative music scene very early on. After taking a few years off, he returns with an album comprising the stories of others-- those that make up day to day life. Each song is a glimpse into the possibility of someone around you and each is soundtracked to moving, precise, cinematic instrumentals.
Stand Out Songs: The Garbage Man, Isabella, Here They Come, Cross-Sound Ferry, Wack Jack, The Old King
Song For Our Daughter
by Laura Marling
Laura Marling’s sixth full length album is a sweet, sentimental, and heartfelt letter to an imaginary child. The messages and meanings in each song show a deep and passionate feeling for one another, one that the human condition strives for in a parental role. Marling’s lyric and vocals on this album are one of the most personal and authentic performances of any album this year.
Stand Out Songs: Alexandra, Held Down, Strange Girl, Song for Our Daughter, Fortune, The End of the Affair, For You
Heaven to a Tortured Mind
by Yves Tumor
Electric and hectic, but in the best way possible. Every second of the album, from Tumor’s vocal performance to the wailing guitars, transcend the space it was recorded in. There is a dichotomy between the lyrics and the instrumentals but they manage to come together in a strange yet familiar harmony. The title of the album is only given more meaning by the aesthetic of the audial package. From the emotions of a mental breakdown to the empowering process of building oneself back up, Tumor created an album that is an anthem only worthy of this new century of uncertainty yet hopefulness, showcasing how perseverance remains.
Stand Out Songs: Gospel For a New Century, Kerosene!, Dream Palette, Super Stars, Strawberry Privilege, A Greater Love
The New Abnormal
by The Strokes
After seven years since their last album, The Strokes might have released one of their most complete, cohesive, and concise albums since their first two. “The New Abnormal” feels familiar yet also new, fresh, and current. The band’s more than two decade history together seems to have contributed to the quality of this meal of an album. Appetizers like “The Adults Are Talking” and “Selfless” get you in the mood for what is to come with entree dishes like “Bad Decisions,” whose collaborator Billy Idol left his influence all over, and “Eternal Summer.” The album ends with sweet, mellow, and reflective tunes starting with “Why Are Sundays So Depressing” and ending with “Ode to the Mets.” If you like The Stroke’s early work off of “Is This It” and can't appreciate “The New Abnormal,” I question your judgement; that same band showed up in all of its glory with this album.
Stand Out Songs: The Adults Are Talking, Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus, Bad Decisions, Eternal Summer, Why Are Sundays So Depressing, Not The Same Anymore
Invisible People
by Chicano Batman
If you enjoy the music of Tame Impala but don't listen to Chicano Batman, what are you doing? They’ve been around just as long and with each album, they solidify their right to be heard. Their newest album brings in multiple influences including funk, soul, and some Brazilian jazz to define the alternative, west coast, psych rock experience that is “Invisible People.” My favorite part of the album-- and each song in its own right-- is how you can feel the joy that came from the experimentation and iteration in making this complete body of work.
Stand Out Songs: Color my life, I know it, Invisible People, Manuel’s Story, Pink Elephant, The Way, The Prophet, Wounds
New Conditions; Luna
by April
“New Conditions” is the debut EP by Irish singer-songwriter, April, which was followed by her second EP, Luna. The two were released within six months of each other, and both showcase the lyricism of April that tackles love, relationships, heart break, and loneliness. The style is a fresh take on electric and pop instrumental combinations. Catchy choruses are sprinkled over a lo-fi driving beat. As we wrap up this year, I can’t wait to listen to future projects by April.
Stand Out Songs: New Conditions, What I’d Do For You, The Impossible Task of Feeling Complete, Forever (To Feel Like Tonight), Watching You Disappear, Luna
How I’m Feeling Now
by Charli XCX
Make an album in a month, I dare you. Don’t think you can? Charli XCX could, and did. At the beginning of lockdown this past April, the uncertain times forced her and her boyfriend together, and their relationship changed for the better in major ways. This album is a very complete, open, and honest telling of the emotions she experienced, which are intertwined into the album in every note and beat. The techno styled instrumentals can sometimes be a bit irate and hectic but they match the mood of the lyrics well, and tend to resolve themselves by the end of the song. The album completes with a summary of the relationship to that point in time, and finishes off with a message of hope and optimism for the future accompanied by an ever persistent beat.
Stand Out Songs: forever, claws, 7 years, enemy, c2.0, party 4 u, anthems
They Call Me Disco
by Ric Wilson and Terrace Martin
The latest EP from Chicago musician Ric Wilson is a collaboration with producer and musician, Terrace Martin. The six songs take you into a world of warm day grooves and moods that bring you back to times of boom boxes, struttin’, and days out with friends and family. Nostalgia played a huge part in this EP, and it shows in colorful and playful instrumentals and lyrics. It’s hard to categorize this under one genre, as parts of new and old hip-hop, R&B, disco, electric, soul, and funk music combine to make this EP whole. I highly recommend checking out Ric Wilson’s solo music, especially his recent single “Fight Like Ida B and Marsha P”; they showcase his immense skill, potential, and influences.
Stand Out Songs: Don’t Kill the Wave, Move Like This, Chicago Bae
Notes on a Conditional Form
by The 1975
At over an hour and a half long, this album takes you on an odyssey magnitude of a journey with the one and only The 1975. On every past album, the group started by a reinterpretation of a song named the same as the band. On this new album, however, they handed the song to Greta Thunberg, who did a nearly five minute spoken word about the need for climate action. The song ends with her saying, “So, everyone out there, it is time for civil disobedience. It's time to rebel.” It then immediately jumps into a song based out of the British punk-rock scene, a new territory for the style of The 1975. After such a bold intro, the rest of the album forces the listener into a state of self reflection of one's own self and place within the larger picture. To be able to be better we must first understand ourselves: who we are, where we are, and why we are. The album brings together the usual indie-pop sound that they are widely known for, but also some beautiful acoustic weeping songs and symphonic instrumental interludes. If there’s one take away from lead singer Matty Healy’s lyrics, it’s that humans are complex individuals, but we all strive for a common goal of self understanding and fulfillment, and work together for a greater cause.
Stand Out Songs: The 1975, The End (Music For Cars), Frail State Of Mind, The Birthday Party, Yeah I Know, Roadkill, Me & You Together Song, Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied, Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know), Bagsy Not In Net, Guys
RTJ4
by Run The Jewels
Very rarely does an album meet the moment at exactly the right time. Run The Jewels, the collaboration between Killer Mike and EL-P, recorded this album at the end of 2019 and had it mixed, produced, and ready to release by around March of 2020. Originally set to be released at the end of June, the Run The Jewels team decided to move the release up to June 3, just after the beginning of America’s most recent racial injustice awakening. The album confronts everything from the negative effects of capitalism, constantly being watched, America’s failed prison system, the school-to-prison nexus, cops that kill, and the toxicity of power. There is no other album whose energy, voice, tone, and forces better encapsulates the summer of 2020’s racial reckoning movement in America.
Stand Out Songs: yankee and the brave (ep. 4), ooh la la, out of sight, goonies vs. E.T., walking in the snow, JU$T, pulling the pin, a few words for the firing squad (radiation)
Muzz
by Muzz
Muzz is the unlikely but very welcomed supergroup of 2020. Their namesake album is written and produced by three members: Paul Banks of Interpol, Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman, and Matt Barrick of the Walkmen. The three have been playing together and making demos since 2015, and this most recent album of theirs perfectly blends together each member’s respective styles and influences. Dark undertones lay the groundwork for a rolling hill of emotions and soft changes with drastic effects. The lyrics are accompanied by transformative brass performance from The Westerlies, strings by Rob Moses, woodwinds by Stuart Bogie, and backing vocals by Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero. Each weaves themselves into every song, increasing the contrast and emotion of each song.
Stand Out Songs: Bad Feeling, Red Western Sky, Everything Like It Used To Be, Broken Tambourine, Knuckleduster, How Many Days, All Is Dead To Me
Long Time Gone
by The Prison Music Project
It's one thing to sing the stories of those who can not, but it's another to concede your power and privilege and hand the microphone off to the owners of the stories themselves. This 15 song album features nine incarcerated or formerly incarcerated Americans. Organized and produced by Zeo Boekbinder, this album was created to bring attention to mass incarceration and the industrial-prison complex system in the U.S. It is fitting that Boekbinder brought Ani DiFranco on to help produce the album; both of their influences, as well as the guests they brought on, dictate each song's style and instrumentation. There is no moment on the album where the vocal and instrumentations do not compliment each other. I hope that when you listen to this album, you’re able to take away that these people, who have found themselves a part of a failed system, are still individuals with their own voice, story, soul, and persevering fight to be better, just like the rest of us.
Stand Out Songs: Breakthrough, Monster, All Over Again, Coffin Song, I Can’t Breathe, Midnight Deal, Nowhere but Barstow and Prison, Just Another Link in the Chain
Ungodly Hour
by Chloe x Halle
The progression from groups like TLC and Destiny's Child are responsible for today’s powerhouse sister duo, Chloe x Halle. Over the course of their past albums, the two have pushed their music to even greater heights in the form of their 2020 album, “Ungodly Hour.” Breathtaking, soulful, driving, and divine barely begin to describe the musicianship on full display at every turn of the album. This album shows what the previous one couldn’t: confidence in their place in the music industry. Chloe x Halle and this album are unapologetically strutting down a runway and trailblazing into a new generation of musicians.
Stand Out Songs: Forgive Me, Baby Girl, Tipsy, Ungodly Hour, Overwhelmed, Don’t Make It Harder On Me, ROYL
Pick Me Up Off the Floor (Deluxe Edition)
by Norah Jones
This sobering album shines a new light on the skill and craft of Norah Jones as she uses her singer-songwriter experience alongside her influences in jazz, Americana, and folk to bring new depths to pop music. Her lyrics on this album, for the first time, come first from poetry and then developed into song and verse. Driving and fluctuating instrumentals guide the mood of the album through emotions of life, loss, and renewal. With each listen, the album's subtle complexities present themselves in whimsical and playful colors.
Stand Out Songs: How I Weep, Flame Twin, Hurts to Be Alone, Say No More, This Life, To Live, I’m Alive, Stumble on My Way, I’ll Be Gone
Rough and Rowdy Ways
by Bob Dylan
Like staring into a fire while reflecting on the past, this album is a new type of project for this generation-defining musician. The album starts with a bleak self-reflection from Dylan in “I Contain Multitudes.” From there, he brings you on a journey through heavy blues guitars and downbeating instrumentals. The allusively poetic lyrics help Dylan hide behind the mystery and fog that surrounds his character. The album ends with similar emotion to how it began, with one of Dylan’s most ambitious, reflective, and dreary songs ever. “Murder Most Foul” is a retelling-- a collecting of sorts-- of his life. He uses the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as a starting point and backdrop. Within everyone’s life there are moments that define and become engraved into the minds of masses; it appears as though this tragically historic moment became just that for Dylan.
Stand Out Songs: I Contain Multitudes, False Prophet, My Own Version of You, I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You, Goodbye Jimmy Reed, Crossing the Rubicon, Muder Most Foul
Untitled (Black Is); Untitled (Rise)
by Sault
The mysteriously anonymous group Sault returned in 2020 with two surprise albums just three months apart from each other. Both of these albums perfectly score the moment-- and the now international Black Lives Matter movement-- in ways that many bands try to do, but never achieve. The first album, “Untitled (Black Is),” captures the grief and mourning felt around the world and calls for change. With the death of George Floyd, we saw the world shift very quickly; this album uses influences of soul, funk, Afrobeat, alt-rock, indie, and more to capture a global moment, perhaps more effectively than any photo or video could. The second album, also a surprise release, is a continuation of the message of the first. Instead of highlighting outcry and grief like “Untitled (Black Is),” “Untitled (Rise)” is a celebration of Blackness and Black excellence through captivating songs with poetic lyrics that are complimented by skillfully scored instrumentals. The album ends with “Little Boy,” a hymn of sorts, using the sobering vocals of Cleopatra Nikolic (also known as Cleo Sol). It's a reminder of the words and teachings Black parents must give to their sons who will inevitably be discriminated against by law enforcement, and then providing a glimmer of hope in the form of “One day you’ll find out that God is one of us.”
Stand Out Songs: Out the Lies, Hard Life, Don’t Shoot Guns Down, Wildfires, Sorry Ain’t Enough, Bow, Why We Cry Why We Die, Eternal Life, Monster, Pray Up Stay Up, Strong, Fearless, Rise, I Just Want to Dance, Son Shine, The Beginning & the End, Free, Uncomfortable, Scary Times, Little Boy
Woman in Music Pt. III
by HAIM
The earth-shattering sister trio HAIM returned this year with one of the most complete and harmonious albums of 2020. The three sisters did away with the pre-prescribed notions of themselves and their music to create “Woman in Music Pt. III.” The album opens and closes with beautiful tenor sax and contains some of the most introspective, timeless, and groovy lyrics, drums, guitar, and bass playing with help from collaborators and friends. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this album-- it is easily one of my favorites from this past year.
Stand Out Songs: Los Angeles, The Steps, I Know Alone, Gasoline, 3 AM, Don’t Wanna, Another Try, I’ve Been Down, Man From the Magazine, FUBT, Now I’m In It, Summer Girl
Mordechai
by Khruangbin
The eccentric trio that is Khruangbin released their third official album this year. What I enjoyed most about this album was the very choreographed, yet spontaneous songs. Although this sound is a bit new and different for America, self-described as “shadow rock” by the band, it is something very universal as the band describes their many worldly influences in interviews: Asian, Latin, and South American. The trio’s sound has been perfected over the years as heard on this album's immaculate mixing where each instrument shines but doesn’t overpower any other.
Stand Out Songs: First Class, Time (You and I), Connaissais De Face, Pelota, One to Remember, So We Won’t Forget
14 Steps To a Better You (Relapse)
by Lime Cordiale
In an interview, the duo known as Lime Cordiale stated that “We take our music seriously, but we don’t take life too seriously.” “14 Steps To a Better You” is the perfect manifestation of that way of being. The laid back heavily refined grooves are the backdrop for some of the most nonchalant sounding lyrics I’ve ever heard, yet they are purposeful and driven. Songs like “That's Life” and “No Plans To Make Plans” show the very carefree and unseriousness the band has for life, yet they don't let it pass them by. In the extended album, “14 Steps To a Better You (Relapse)” songs like “Unnecessary Things” and “Reality Check Please” continue to add to this unseriousness of life, but show the seriousness the duo takes in the music making and production process.
Stand Out Songs: That’s Life, Unnecessary Things, Robbery, No Plans To Make Plans, On Our Own, Reality Check Please, Screw Loose, Elephant In The Room, Dear London
Ugly is Beautiful
by Oliver Tree
The complex and stand out style of Oliver Tree finds its audible form in “Ugly is Beautiful.” The loud rock does not let the listener forget who’s the center of attention. Songs like “1993,” “Miracle Man,” “Alien Boy,” and “Introspective” show Oliver Tree’s influences and wide range in styles and genre bending. The album, and the character of Oliver Tree, are best summed up with the following adjectives: complex, contradicting, juxtaposing, and refined.
Stand Out Songs: Me, Myself, & I, 1993, Let Me Down, Miracle Man, Alien Boy, Hurt, Introspective, I’m Gone
græ
by Moses Sumney
Soulful to the bone, Moses Sumney returns with his sophomore full length album, “grae.” The poetism that is the backbone for the whole album is a beautiful reminder of the talent and introspective nature of Sumney. The creation of this album is littered with big name collaborators including James Blake, Thundercat, Jill Scott, and FKJ. What's more impressive is that Sumney is able to make the mass amount of vulnerability in this album sound mysterious and sensual. He describes this album as his exploration into the true meanings of gender, sex, identity, and intamicy with oneself and with others. This album is one of my favorite vocal and lyrical performances of 2020 because of Sumney’s deep and reflective writing and wide ranging vocals with an immaculate falsetto.
Stand Out Songs: Cut Me, In Bloom, Virile, boxes, jill/jack, Colouour, also also also and and and, Polly, Bystanders, Me in 20 Years, Keeps Me Alive, Bless Me
Folklore
by Taylor Swift
A surprise album from Taylor Swift seems fitting for 2020; music doesn't stop when the rest of the world does. “Folklore” is on brand with the rest of Swift’s albums because its contents are centered around a relationship. However, this album manages to stand out from the rest due to the addition of Aaron Dessner of The National as a collaborator, and Jack Antonoff. With the help of Dessner and Antonoff, Swift takes the album into a lo-fi, bedroom, alternative genre, breaking away from the usual pop oriented genre she's most closely associated with. It's this new sound she uses that made this my favorite album of hers.
Stand Out Songs: the 1, cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile, seven, august, illicit affairs, betty, hoax
Dreamland
by Glass Animals
Glass Animal’s 2020 album “Dreamland” is their biggest success since their first album “ZABA” in 2014. “Dreamland” is the perfect title for this album; the instrumentals are full of reverbs and light airy synth sounds. Summer vibes come through in the lyrics and energy in songs like “Your Love (Deja Vu)” and “Heat Waves.” The whole album takes the shape of a reflection on a current relationship with interludes of the voice of the family of singer Dave Bayley. The album does a great job at summing up a moment in life and ends with Bailey's child saying “bye bye,” a fitting bookend to the album.
Stand Out Songs: Dreamland, Tangerine, Hot Sugar, Space Ghost Coast To Coast, Your Love (Deja Vu), Waterfalls Coming Out Of Your Eyes, Heat Waves
Omega
by Immanuel Wilkins
Philadelphia native and jazz saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins’ debut album Omega is one of the most fruitful instrumental jazz albums in the last decade. Wilkins’ transformative and emotional saxophone playing provides scores the message he sends out with each song. In a revival of the roots of jazz music, this album is about the struggles of the oppressed which is evident in songs like “Ferguson - An American Tradition,” “The Dreamer,” and “Mary Turner - An American Tradition.” If you like jazz, if you like saxophone and if you like jazz trios, listen to this album with a clear and receptive mind to the true message that is being communicated.
Stand Out Songs: Ferguson - An American Tradition, The Dreamer, Mary Turner - An American Tradition, Grace and Mercy, Part 2. Saudade, Part 4. Guarded Heart, Omega
Show Pony
by Orville Peck
“Show Pony” is the followup to this illusive Canadian country singer/songwriter’s debut album “Pony.” Although he hides his face behind a fringe mask, his disguise does not stop his voice from traveling far and filling up any space it’s given. On this EP, Peck adds to the growing movement of redefining the cowboy for contemporary times. In songs like “No Glory in the West” and “Drive Me, Crazy,” he exposes the emotions of a country man and cowboy, something that historically has never been shown or represented. Show Pony ends with a bolting duet with Shania Twain on the song “Legends” and then a beautiful and moving cover of Reba McEntire’s Fancy.
Stand Out Songs: Summertime, No Glory in the West, Drive Me, Crazy, Legends Never Die, Fancy
SOURCE
by Nubya Garcia
This album is a beautiful new combination and culmination of decades of jazz movements. Nubya Garcia’s first full-length album “SOURCE” brings together jazz fusion, modern jazz, reggae, afrobeat, and soul. With each listen, it becomes more and more evident that each note and rhythm is an extension of Garcia’s growing and evolving essence. Garcia and “SOURCE,” along with many new and rising European jazz musicians of color, are pushing the genre into new and exciting territories with the multiplicity each album embodies.
Stand Out Songs: Pace, The Message Continues, Source, Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be, La cumbia me esta llamando, Boundless Beings
What It Is
by Sly5thAve
Sly5thAve takes a new direction on his new album, “What It Is.” After finding his fame with magical jazz covers of hip-hop songs and an album of Dr. Dre-inspired songs and covers, Sly5thAve pops back up in 2020 with an R&B and soul album fused with jazz and his wickedly talented saxophone skills. Singing, rapping, and instrumental features of friends and collaborators are all over the album. This album brings Sly5thAve to a new light and shows the possibility of a jazz musician inspired by decades of soul, R&B, rap, hiphop, and funk musicians.
Stand Out Songs: Boulevards, What It Is, C - Side, Daddy Warbucks, The Night, Right Here, More Or Less, With You
Giver Taker
by Anjimile
Boston-based singer/songwriter Anjimile released their debut album “Giver Taker” this past year. The album finds itself rooted deep in their own identity and understanding of self while taking inspiration from Sufjan Stevens. The album’s theme comes from an understanding of redefining oneself in their own image, something that Anjimile is no stranger to being a non-binary and transgender individual. Thus, songs like “Maker” and “Giver Taker” find themselves in a deeper understanding of what it means to be. The album finds its sonic individuality with hints, cues, and insertions of African-inspired beats and cadences.
Stand Out Songs: Your Tree, Baby No More, In Your Eyes, Not Another Word, Maker, Ndimakukando, Giver Taker, To Meet You There
A Day in a Yellow Beat
by Yellow Days
Sit back and let the soul and funk of Yellow Days’ new album take you to a place of tranquility. With each song, the album brings you closer and closer to those laid back summer beach vibes. The 23 songs and some odd number of interludes create the space for intensely chill bass, synth, and drums. This album is a great listen for a mid-Sunday afternoon sunset watch or a lengthy car ride to the most perfect beach trip.
Stand Out Songs: Let You Know, Who’s There?, Come Groove, Open Your Eyes, !, You, The Curse, Let’s be Good to Each Other, Something Special (Interlude), I Don’t Mind, Treat You Right, Love Is Everywhere
Shore
by Fleet Foxes
A surprise album from Fleet Foxes brings happiness, pleasantness, and feelings of nostalgia. “Shore” is a 15 song album filled with floating instrumentals that ring in the beauty of memories and simpler days. Think to September at the shore, when all the summer tourists are gone but the beauty of summer remains. Long walks on the beach as the water glistens with warmth and the light of summer’s promise still ever-present. This album’s magic is in how much it stands out from the rest of this year’s releases. It is optimistic, yet grounded, it is new and different, yet familiar.
Stand Out Songs: Wading In Waist-High Water, Sunblind, Can I Believe You, Featherweight, A Long Way Past The Past, Maestranza, I’m Not My Season, Going-To-The-Sun Road, Shore
Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones
by The Neighbourhood
The fifth album from California-based alt-rock band The Neighbourhood shows they still have the magic that gave them their initial recognition. The band's sweet instrumentals continue to support the lead singer, Jesse Rutherford, as he explores a new territory for music in the use of a character. Not unlike the character of Ziggy Stardust, Rutherford’s character-- Chip Chrome-- finds himself an addict to the internet and all the toxicity that comes with it. What can be seen as a criticism for internet culture could also be seen as a form of self-reflection. The band’s usual synth pop and west coast sunset wave aesthetic brings the internet age theme to new heights, as it perfectly matches the tone of the lyrics and vocal performance.
Stand Out Songs: Pretty Boy, Lost in Translation, Devil’s Advocate, Cherry Flavoured, BooHoo, Silver Lining, Middle of Somewhere
Roisin Machine
Roisin Murphy
Irish musician Roisin Murphy dove deep to provide an electrified, disco-inspired album. Each second of this album is perfect for strutting down the middle of the street like it’s your own personal runway. The courage Murphy has to start the album with “I feel my story is still untold, But I’ll make my own happy ending” shows the amount of sheer confidence in everything she puts her energy into. With each song, the energy and time can be heard as every note and beat seems purposeful and labored over. Powerful bass and drum machines drive each song into a blissful groove.
Stand Out Songs: Simulation, Something More, Selfish Mademoiselle, Murphy’s Law, Narcissus
Thunder Jackson
by Thunder Jackson
The self-titled debut album from Thunder Jackson brings a revitalized energy across all 11 tracks. The alternative rock album intertwines many different forms of electronic music into each track, providing variation connected by the incredible distinct voice of Jackson. What makes this album so good, especially as a debut album, is that it shows the artist’s versatility in style, content, and deliverability. The contrast in emotion in songs like “Institution,” “Caroline,” and “Colours” shows that Jackson can deliver a variation of songs while maintaining enough consistency and focus that each song still sounds uniquely him.
Stand Out Songs: Institution, Find Yourself, Let It Roll In, Caroline, Colours, Led Astray, Lucky
As Long As You Are
by Future Islands
I first got into Future Islands in 2018 when a friend showed me their 2014 album Singles. Since that day, I have listened to each of their albums and grown into a fan of their music, messages, style, and distinct sound. Their new album, “As Long As You Are,” fits well into their continuing story as a band. This album shows that they can still craft a completely thought out album that is refined as thoroughly as their earlier work. Samuel Herring’s distinct vocals alongside the band’s instrumentals continue to define a space of the band’s own. Similar to the past albums, some of the songs tend to be about relationships. With “As Long As You Are,” it feels as though Herring is in a much healthier relationship in which he acknowledges, respects, anc champions the other person’s individuality.
Stand Out Songs: Glada, For Sure, I Knew You, The Painter, Moonlight, Thrill, Hit the Coast
Letter To You
by Bruce Springsteen
Over the past four years, Bruce Springsteen has released his memoir, a Tony Award-winning Broadway play called “Springsteen on Broadway”, and a beautifully reflective solo album, Western Stars. The next step in this chapter of his life is “Letter To You”, and its accompanying film. Springsteen might be one of the hardest working and most deeply reflected men in the rock business right now. “Letter To You” is the first album with the E Street Band since his 2014 album “High Hopes,” but it sounds like not a day has passed since The Boss and his band last played together. To top it off, this album was recorded in less than a week with each song performed by the full band at the same time, live. The album's lyrics come from a place of age and aging. What I like most about this album is that it reminds me of the energy and song writing of some of Springsteen’s early work that he is most known for. If you can't appreciate the album’s messages, sound, and energy you need to at least respect the craft and showmanship of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Stand Out Songs: One Minute You’re Here, Letter To You, Janey Needs A Shooter, Last Man Standing, House Of A Thousand Guitars, Rainmaker, If I Was The Priest, Ghosts, Song For Orphans, I’ll See You In My Dreams
Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Deluxe)
by Gorillaz
Does an album made in quarantine get better than this? Each of the 17 songs on Gorillaz’s seventh studio album is a masterful work of collaborative art. The album is filled with some of the biggest and best names in music from all genres and styles. While each guest’s mark is evident on each song, the whole album still feels like a Gorillaz album. The songs take you down a long, winding map of cohesive emotions and stories; each song’s feature artist begins to sound as though they’ve been a part of the band the whole time. Take it seriously when I say that this album is worth multiple listens through in its full 65 minute glory.
Stand Out Songs: Song Machine: Strange Timez, The Valley of The Pagans, The Lost Chord, Pac-Man, The Pink Phantom, Aries, Friday 13th, Desole, Momentary Bliss, Opium, Simplicity, With Love To An Ex, MLS, How Far?
Razzmatazz
by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
This debut album from the duo known as I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME delivers a bright and punchy selection of pop-rock songs. The band finds themselves in the same space as The Killers and Panic! at the Disco, a band that one of the members toured with for a couple of years. The album “Razzmatazz” is a complete and holistic view into the power and possibilities this band has. The songs range in sound from an acoustic piano and vocal performance to heavy drums, synth, bass, and howling vocals.
Stand Out Songs: Leave Me Alone, Mad IQs, Nobody Likes the Opening Band, New Invention, Clusterhug, Kiss Goodnight, Lights Go Down, Need You Here, Razzmatazz
Black Takes; Rapture
by Hollow Sinatra
These two EPs from Hollow Sinatra showcase a sound I can best describe as abandoned industrial R&B rock, with a similar sound to “Heaven to a Tortured Mind” by Yves Tumor, but with more grunge and wailing vocals. I came across Hollow Sinatra first with “Rapture,” his most recent EP, and quickly became engulfed in his cries of frustration. “Rapture” showcases these frustrations and emotions that many of us have, and turns them into a tangible vocalization of the swirling, complex nature of this past year.
Stand Out Songs: Yard, Off a Bridge, Watching the Ship Burn, Rat, False Prophets, Crisis, I Am Not Okay with This, New Day