2020. Damn. Enough said. And hey... the year is only halfway over.
Since the year has been rough on everyone, we decided to scale back a little
and just go with our Top Five for this mid-year list. Each person selected
& ranked their favorite albums so far, and then a track from each has
been compiled in a Spotify playlist (it's all the way at the bottom of this
post). As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.
Please share your own Top Five with us and let us know if you discovered
something cool here that you were previously unaware. Okay here we go - The
Best Albums of 2020... So Far. - Bret & sarahQ
Bret Helm
Life on this Planet | Audra
05. Hilary Woods - Birthmarks
04. Myrkur - Folkesange
03. Moaning - Uneasy Laughter
02. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit -
Reunions
01. Bill Fay - Countless Branches
About My #1: "Everyone knows it. It's self-evident. This world ain't
safe in human hands." Eight years ago, Bill Fay's 'comeback' album, Life is
People, topped my year-end list. Here we are now, in dire times, and I can
only repeat what I said back then: if more people listened to Bill Fay, the
world would be a better place.
Sarah Quarrie Helm
Life on this Planet
05. Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of
Sorrow
04. I Break Horses - Warnings
03. Lanterns on the Lake - Spook the
Herd
02. Humanist - Humanist
01. Moaning - Uneasy Laughter
About My #1: As a child of the 80s & 90s and an overall awkward
person, there are particular attributes that draw me in to an album.
Post-punk, synth-pop, an overarching theme of anxious introspection? Sign me
up! Moaning's second album Uneasy Laughter is appropriately titled for the
music behind the cover. I am elated a new generation is carrying the torch
and persisting with an aesthetic spanning Joy Division, The Cure, Clan of
Xymox, Interpol and The Killers.
Keith Creighton
Seattle, Washington | Popdose
05. Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott -
Manchester Calling
04. Niall Horan - Heartbreak Weather
03. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
02. Adam Lambert - Velvet
01. Wendy James - Queen High
Straight
About My List: OK, I see why we've shifted to Top 5 for this
go-round -- and while it might make it easier to post, it makes it much
harder to narrow the list while still reflecting a quite exciting six
months in music history. First, the short list. Wendy James is having
quite the renaissance. Last year, Edsel celebrated Transvision Vamp with a
lavish box set that cemented the band's place as bonafide pop and punk
music legends. A few years prior, she released "The Price of the Ticket"
which was an all-star post punk tour de force. And here, some 30 odd years
since her peak of fame, she releases the defining masterpiece of her
career -- a double album that blazes across just about every musical genre
and sticks the landing 20 songs in a row. Not willing to pay $45 for the
import on CD, I dropped $9.49 on the MP3 DL and wound up eventually
springing for the CD (which is now $25 after tax/shipping) so I'm coming
out about $10 ahead once it arrives (hence, not in the picture).
But as exciting as that all is, Adam Lambert finally dropped the five star
album we were all hoping he'd someday make since his Idol heyday. Dua Lipa
has been the queen of Corona with a barrage of inventive viral quarantine
performance videos to promote her winning second album (which one reviewer
aptly described as having four different Madonna eras on a single disc).
Niall Horan proved he could be the Beatles to fellow One Direction'er
Harry Styles' Bowie. His first solo album was what one would expect from a
1D solo record (sappy teen ballads), but his sophomore disc is a rocker.
Watch his week-long string of performances and skits on Corden to see what
ringer he is to be a new king of all media. And finally, the fact Paul
Heaton is still churning out great albums in a non-stop 35 year streak is
simply amazing (especially considering all the beer he's consumed at
Liar's Bar).
Had we had five more slots to dole out, things would have gotten quite
exciting. Jessie Ware just dropped the sexiest futuristic 1970's
dancefloor banger album since peak-era Chic. Lady Gaga's "Chromatica"
absolutely slays. Carly Rae Jepsen's "Dedicated Side B" is as good as (if
not better than) Side A. Neil Arthur's Blancmange dropped THREE albums so
far this year, the latest, "Mindset", being his best since "Semi-Detached"
was my top album of 2015. And then there's awesome new albums by Nada
Surf, The Psychedelic Furs, The Airborne toxic Event, X and NME C86
darlings Close Lobsters (their first album in I think, 35 years). And all
this before the 8-disc Prince boxset bulldozes my ears some
September.
Rob Clark
Rockford, Illinois
05. Jehnny Beth - To Live Is To
Love
04. Shopping - All or Nothing
03. John Moreland - LP5
02. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt
Cutters
01. David Bowie - Is It Any
Wonder?
About My #1: It’s so good to hear these recently unearthed gems
from Bowie’s Earthling period, a favorite of mine, released to celebrate
what would have been his 73rd birthday. To me, the centerpiece of these
half dozen tracks is the mind blowing version of “Stay” completely
re-electrified by Reeves Gabrels. Close behind is a song that almost made
the final cut of the Earthling album, “Baby Universal." The EP is nicely
bookended with two very different versions of “The Man Who Sold the World”
but, honestly, it’s great to hear ALL of these songs.
Sean Benham
Chicago, Illinois
05. Loving - If I Am Only My
Thoughts
04. Ringo Deathstarr - Ringo
Deathstarr
03. Nils Frahm - Empty
02. Pure X - Pure X
01. Memorex Memories - The Life of
Riley
About My #1: I heard electronic musician Sean Harte of Memorex
Memories a few years ago on Bandcamp. He released a very good ‘Pictures of
Purple Skies’ just last Fall, but the follow up that was released
recently, out did himself. Very conceptual and moody, with limited
releases on cassette and vinyl. He posted quite a moving story behind the
title ‘The Life of Riley’ on Bandcamp. This phrase being an inspiration
behind his current work.
Jaymz Todd
Phoenix, Arizona
05. Bill Baird - Flower Children's
Children's Children
04. Ellis - Born Again
03. Greg Dulli - Random Desire
02. Gil Scott Heron - We're New
Again (A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven)
01. Jessie Ware - What's Your
Pleasure?
About My Selections: Groovy Psychedelic Mash, Wondrous Dreampop Nuance, Refined Cinematic Grandeur, Fresh Reimagined Classic, Disco Fantasy Delight
John Magness
Uttoxeter, England
05. Ren Harvieu - Revel in the
Drama
Ren Harvieu made her major label debut in 2012 and this is the followup. I
found myself sitting next to her in a small bar in Camden early last year
and didnt realise who she was until she got up and started singing. After
rediscovering her, I went to a small gig where she played these songs to
an audience of about 50 people. Half of the Magic Numbers were in her
backing band and Romeo Stodart is heavily involved in this album. It was
released on Bella Union which is owned and run by Simon Raymonde (ex
Cocteaus) so the pedigree is impeccable. Also, it's really good.
04. Phoebe Bridgers -
Punisher
I read a review of this album, and as often happens, immediately heard one
of the songs on 6Music. Apparently this is "the first great album of her
career" and much anticipated.
03. The Strokes - The New Abnormal
When I first heard the single "At The Door" I wondered what on earth The
Strokes were doing. However when you listen to the album you realise that
finally the Strokes seem to have made a conscious effort to move on from
their tried and tested formulae and done something really different and
complex. In addition, the sleeve itself is quite unusual, comprising a PVC
sleeve and the artwork based on a 1981 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat
(another member of the 27 club his paintings now sell for SERIOUS money).
Again you don't get this with CD. Finally anything with a Psychedelic Furs
credit has to be worthy of further investigation.
02. Tennis - Swimmer
I first heard Tennis after listening to a playlist Tracey Thorn had put
together. Sometimes you listen to an album and think that the artist in
question might just have delivered the best work they will ever do. I
didn't think they could improve on Yours Conditionally but they've delivered
a fantastic album with Swimmer, and again I just don't see how they could
improve on this. This ran Badly Drawn Boy close for my top spot and might still be
in the mix come end of the year.
01. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin
Shoes
BDB's first new album in 8 years, rubbish album title notwithstanding, is a
real return to form. Since the outstanding Hour of Bewilderbeast and the
soundtrack to About a Boy, his career seems in many respects to be a series
of diminishing returns. To a certain extent I got this album out of a
sense of sentiment rather than any high expectation, but for the past 3
weeks I've really enjoyed it. It encompasses a variety of musical styles
including Northern Soul (at least to my ear). It also has one of those
great gatefold sleeves which demonstrates why vinyl remains the best
medium to enjoy music.
Jesse Deitermann |
DJ Dreampop Jesse
Phoenix, Arizona
05. Little Dragon - New Me, Same
Us
04. Ride - Clouds in the Mirror
03. Jetstream Pony - Jetstream
Pony
02. Orlando Weeks - A Quickening
01. Tim Burgess - I Love the New
Sky
About My #1: I have chosen Tim Burgess' new solo as my favourite
album so far - not as a surprise to some - as Tim's songwriting has an
appeal to me. Many mash words together but Tim has a way a lot like my
other absolute faves - Stuart (Belle and Sebastian) and Kip (Pains of
Being Pure at Heart) - subtle and cheeky.
P.S. We do earn a commission if you purchase anything through the links in this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment