2020 In Review, Part Two
Getting Into Specifics… Or Not
If I were to describe my music taste with a single word, it would be “Non-Genre Specific”…
No oeuvre, however niche or broad, is beyond the boundary of my listening unless it is one notable for hateful messaging and toxic posturing either as part of its musical lineage or its progenitor’s own ignorance.
Having said that, where appropriate I have decided to break this whole exercise down by adhering to more commonly noted genres, half out of promoting healthy discussion/derision amongst fellow music nerds but also because, for me personally, keeping up with specific genre methodology is a fool’s game given how much content I normally listen to each year.
From 2010 onwards I have tried to listen to at least 300 new albums/mixtapes/EP’s per annum, and due to all this extra pandemic-imposed downtime, I managed to crack 500 this year. As a result, catch-all genre terms are the name of the game here, which appeals to my particular skein of opinionated laziness immensely.
It also stops me from falling through too many rabbit-holes and getting consumed by a different sub-genres; variety is the spice of life after all, and if I must be hemmed in by such things as rent, utilities and all other manner of basic living mundanities of capitalism, I can be a little more laissez-faire in at least one avenue of my existence, right?
(Though this could ultimately be more about trying to find a balance between work versus play and making sure I never take my escapism too seriously whilst simultaneously alleviating my sense of guilt over my lack of engagement with the rest of the world, but who’s really paying enough attention to care about any of that?)
ANYHOO, here is the first batch of my “genre-flected” listing malarkey for 2020…
Top 5 Classical Albums Of 2020
MJ Cole Presents Madrugada – MJ Cole
Classically trained two-step garage mainstay Matthew Cole delivers an impressive debut set of orchestral compositions that manages to imbue a sense of inner city majesty that is too often missing from similar classical crossover projects.
Silver Ladders – Mary Lattimore
The contemporary-classical harpist’s fourth album finds its creator in an ornately contemplative state caught between wistful nostalgia and dreaming ahead for the future, aided by Slowdive’s Neil Halstead on production duties.
some kind of peace – Ólafur Arnalds
The Icelandic composer’s fifth solo album offers spectral respite from a darkened world, offsetting his signature mournful piano pieces with softly distorted electronic beats and stirringly hopeful string sections.
Voices – Max Richter
An understatedly colossal celebration of community, Richter’s latest album is timely in its sentiments calling for peace and unity, his subtly engrossing pieces amplified by recitations of human rights laws from actors and archive recordings in various languages.
Yeo-Neun – Okkyung Lee
The prolific South Korean cellist continues to carve her own niche in the world of neo-classicism with her most critically lauded solo work to date, giving the world of modern classical music a much-needed multi-cultural shot in the arm.
Top 5 World Music Albums Of 2020
Amazones Power – Les Amazones D’Afrique
The world music supergroup continues to set hearts racing on their second album, a joyously urgent celebration of passion, dignity and identity that contains some of deepest soulful grooves of 2020.
Keleketla! – Keleketla
A wonderful collage of stirring stories from musicians all over the world, equal parts hopeful and dissenting, produced in collaboration with electronic music duo Coldcut and the library of the same name based in Johannesburg.
Optimisme – Songhoy Blues
The four-piece from Mali continue to grow more confident and ebullient with each release, their third album showcasing their exemplary polyrhythmic playing perfectly whilst also displaying an irresistible ear for infectious pop hooks.
Rejoice – Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela
Initially recorded ten years previously, this uplifting collaboration is made more poignant due to the passing of both of its iconic progenitors; Masekela in 2018 and then Allen in 2020 shortly after its release following re-recording sessions in 2019.
Wild Wild East – Sunny Jain
A vibrant clash of East-meets-West ideologies permeates throughout acclaimed drummer Jain’s latest solo release, ignited into being by the fallout from the 2016 US election and his subsequent attempts to reconcile his dual heritage and influences.
Top 5 Jazz Albums Of 2020
Dark Matter – Moses Boyd
Boyd delivers a gritty debut set as primary player, arranger and producer that serves modern jazz with a multitude of spellbinding underground dance music fusions and was deservedly nominated for the Mercury Prize this year.
Massive Oscillations – Waclaw Zimpel
Pushing deconstructionist jazz to new limits, Zimpel’s compelling minimalist pieces on his second album inhabit a world of sirens and screams, combining industrial drone with freeform improvisation to deliver some truly startling work.
Pyramid – Jaga Jazzist
The Norwegian jazz outfit’s seventh album arrives courtesy of Steven Ellison’s Brainfeeder label, which ought to give you an idea of the unabashedly inventive revelry on display across its four mammoth tracks.
Source – Nubya Garcia
Garcia’s debut album gives the listener ample opportunity to be awestruck both by her prowess as a performer and her ability as an arranger and producer, gracefully enmeshing various influences of reggae and Latin music into a gorgeously unified sound.
Wu Hen – Kamaal Williams
Henry Wu’s second album under his jazz moniker finds his sound in a sweltering swoon of a mood, evoking the sinister heat only a bustling city can provide with a languid sensuality that is hard not to melt along with as you listen.
Top 5 Country/Folk Albums Of 2020
Gaslighter – The Chicks
If the country music trio that America tried to forget had to come back full-force in any year it had to be 2020, and thankfully their first album of new material in fourteen years is the righteous ball of fiery feistiness that any self-respecting country music fan needed.
Shore – Fleet Foxes
On the flipside, an outfit that 2020 also seemed to be crying out for was Robin Pecknold’s celebrated band with their soothing brand of wistful folk, despite having to produce and record most of it himself because lockdown.
Song For Our Daughter – Laura Marling
Possibly the finest songwriter currently working in the UK, Marling’s seventh album retains all of her established melodic mastery and finely tuned tomes of hushed amusements and sorrows, and subsequently bagged her a fourth Mercury Prize nomination in the process.
songs and instrumentals – Adrianne Lenker
After releasing two albums with her band Big Thief last year, frontwoman Lenker repeated the trick this year with this gorgeous set of, well, songs and instrumentals, each piece as guilelessly assured and mesmerising as the last.
Summerlong – Rose City Band
An Americana-influenced offshoot from Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo member Ripley Johnson, album two finds a sweet groove that is impossible to resist, deftly balancing psychedelia and bluesy riffs with an assured effortlessness.
Top 5 Rock Albums Of 2020
Have We Met – Destroyer
Dan Bejar’s alternative rock project celebrates its twenty-fifth year of being with their most commercially ingratiating effort yet, which is no bad thing considering how well the 80s synth-pop-rock vibe seems to suit them.
Ohms – Deftones
Coming through with all guitars blazing, album nine from the not-nu-metallers helps ring in the new decade of what-the-fuckery with enough barnstorming energy and emotional purge for any and everyone in need of some decadent catharsis.
The Prettiest Curse – Hinds
Retaining their rambunctious energy whilst at the same time honing their songcraft with some of their most accessible work to date, there’s no reason why Hinds’ brand of sweet garage-rock-pop shouldn’t have caught fire bar a worldwide disaster or… oh.
The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo – Mr. Bungle
Released just in time for Halloween, this re-recording of the band’s demo tape from 1986 features new contributions from members of Slayer and Anthrax, resulting in quite the wonderful ruckus that is the stuff of every thrash metal fan’s dreams.
Ultra Mono – IDLES
Doubling down on the outspoken leftist rhetoric that characterised their earlier work, the pop-punk band experienced a bit of a “is-that-it” vibe from the press with their third album; it still kicks the shit out of most other rock music though.
Top 5 Alternative Albums Of 2020
Fetch The Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple
Answering to every abuse and indignity visited upon her with an unhinged ferocity as beautiful as it is dangerous, Apple’s latest release is an empowering listen, using fraught tales of despair to deliver her most galvanizingly relatable work yet.
græ – Moses Sumney
Moses Sumney isn’t one for labels when it comes to classifying his music, though being the volatile mix of tender balladry, arch contemplation and ribald swagger that it is certainly makes his second album a good shout for the sexiest album of the year.
Heaven To A Tortured Mind – Yves Tumor
Using his mischievous modes of digital chaos to create soulful protest music, Sean Bowie’s fourth LP is definitely the album whereupon in the future if I’m asked to recommend a piece of art that I feel represents 2020 best, this would be my pick.
I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep – Ghostpoet
Despite tempting fate by carrying the most relatable 2020 album title ever, Obaro Ejimiwe’s fifth album comes through strong with a collection of alt-soul mood pieces whose agitated neuroses burn darker and deeper with each listen.
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately – Perfume Genius
With his most critically acclaimed album yet, Michael Hadreas finds himself and his music at their most polished and accessible though not at the expense of his artistry, continuing to joyously push boundaries for queer representation in alternative-rock-pop.
2020 Hero Tribute #2
For being the most prominent example of a politician actually giving a shit and helping their country through the pandemic with equal amounts compassion, common sense and lack of interference from profiteering scam artists.
Which brings us to the end of Part 2 and halfway through the genre box-ticking section of my 2020 music review; for Part 3 I shall be taking a little detour into the realms of the audio-visual…
Until then, stay safe… xxxo
