Quick Note:
I listened to about 300 different albums this year in the quest to study popular music a little deeper than I used to. The more publications I read, the more I realized that the scope of my regular music rotation was limited. With that in mind, I set off to listen to just about as much new music as I could, which consequently drove that sentiment even further. This ranked list of my favorites is not meant to be standard-setting for an objective measure of quality. Instead, it is in order of the full album experiences I want to share most, which usually correlates to how much I enjoyed it. Dear reader, I hope you experience the little but significant joy that comes from finding a new piece of music, and I would love to hear your thoughts on anything and everything music.
-Nick
The List:
50-41
50. TOKiMONSTA – Oasis Nocturno – Moody • Beat Sampler • Dance
49. Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline – Story-Driven • Playful • Folk
48. Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? – Sensual • Sing-Alongable • Disco
47. Quelle Chris & Chris Keys – Innocent Country 2 – Witty • Conscious • Hip-Hop
46. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters – Percussive • Fed-Up • Empowered
45. Charli XCX – how i’m feeling now – Edgy • Processed • Electropop
44. Dizzee Rascal – E3 AF – Energetic • Swaggy • Grime
43. Porridge Radio – Every Bad – Angsty • Sour • Rock
42. Mac Miller – Circles – Thoughtful • Heartbreaking • R&B
41. Roisin Murphy – Roisin Machine – Clubby • Positive • Disco
40-31
40. Braids – Shadow Offering – Shimmering • Spirited • Alternative Pop/Rock
39. Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders – Enchanting • Progressive • Harp
38. Chicano Batman – Invisible People – Indie Funk • Infectious • Rock
37. Immanuel Wilkins – Omega – Tilted • Melody-Driven • Modern Jazz
36. Artemis – Artemis – Sophisticated • All Women Supergroup • Jazz
35. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher – Poignant • Elliot Smith Worship • Indie
34. Gorillaz – Song Machine: Season 1 – Jammy • Road Trip • Pop/Rock
33. Nubya Garcia – Source – Rootsy • Juicy Sax • Jazz
32. beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers – Adolescent • 2000s Nostalgia • Indie Rock
31. Ambrose Akinmusire – On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment – Challenging • Solemn • Modern Jazz
30-21
30. Adrienne Lenker – songs / instrumentals – Calming • Acoustic • Indie
29. Little Dragon – New Me, Same Us – Groovy • Bedroom Dance • Electronic Pop
28. Jaga Jazzist – Pyramid – Prog • Instrumental • Jazz Rock
27. Bartees Strange – Live Forever – Pained • Emo • Multi-Genre
26. Deerhoof – Future Teenage Cave Artists – Odd • Prophetic • Rock
25. Nduduzo Makhathini – Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld – Epic • South African Rooted • Jazz
24. Common – A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 1 – Catchy • Inspired • Hip-Hop
23. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo – Blunt • Retro Beats • Hip-Hop
22. John Hassell – Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two) – Haunting • Drone • Electronic
21. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately – Angelic • Biting • Indie
20-11
20. Phantom Planet – Devastator – Sing-In-The-Shower • Theatrical • Alternative Rock
19. The Microphones – Microphones in 2020 – Patient • One-Track-Memoir • Indie Rock
18. Lido Pimienta – Miss Colombia – Ambitious • Extrospective • Pop/Folk
17. Moses Sumney – Grae – Rock • Experimental • Indie • Classical • Neo Soul • Blues
16. Fleet Foxes – Shore – Warm • Orchestral • Indie Folk
15. Shabaka & The Ancestors – We Are Sent Here By History – Ancestral • Beckoning • Jazz
14. Dirty Projecters – 5 EPs – Colorful • Creative • Rock
13. Boldy James / Sterling Toles – Manger on McNichols – Dark • Jazzy • Hip-Hop
12. Ohmme – Fantasize Your Ghost – Sweet & Sour • Grungy • Rock
11. KeiyaA – Forever Ya Girl – Experimental • Choppy • R&B
Top 10
10. Pinegrove – Marigold – Nostalgic • Sentimental • Indie Folk Rock
The New Jersey native Evan Stephens Hall has a voice you can fall in love with. There’s a slight twang that isn’t quite southern, but gives Pinegrove’s folk-tinted tunes a distinct slant away from indie rock. In Marigold, Evan abstractly details his experience in the wake of love lost, describing the feeling chaos and confusion while also rejoicing in the friendships that keep him going. While the lo-fi production aesthetic suits Pinegrove, the bands previous efforts feel underproduced. What’s special about Marigold’s production is that it strikes the balance of retaining the rawness while enhancing the overall sound and experience. The overall feeling of the record is one of comfort and optimism despite living in a world that can seem overwhelming.
9. Disclosure – ENERGY – Synth Heavy • R&B Inspired • Dance
Sometimes you just need good-ass beats. Disclosure delivers again with 16 bangers (I’ve included their EP, Ecstasy, in my consideration of this album’s ranking). The features are fantastic, the beats are fresh and different than their previous work, and as always, their chord progressions and the synths they use to deliver them are delicious spicy. If you listen to one song this year (well, after “WAP”), listen to “My High” featuring slowthai and Aminé. It is pure hype and embodies the purpose of the album, to be a motivation and energy boost. In fact, the track “Energy” samples motivational speaker Eric Thomas and it became the impetus for the album, “Where your focus goes, your energy flows. Are you feelin’ me?”
8. Thundercat – It Is What It Is – Fonky • Cheeky • R&B/Jazz
Thundercat knows how to make a truly fun record. “It Is What It Is” is that and more. Stephen “Thundercat” Brunner’s trademark humor and over-the-top bass is still present, but he adds in some existentialism following the loss of his close friend, the artist Mac Miller. At first listen, the record felt a little too light, but I think it is a reflection of his struggle to grapple with his grief. He begins the record feeling lost and spends the rest of the record exploring life’s absurdities, trying to find cool people to do dope shit with– everyone’s just floating in space anyway, so why not get high and make some music? That’s where Thundercat unsurprisingly shines, his ability to create novel and impressive tunes with collaborator, Flying Lotus. Every track, including the interludes, is funky, new, and stimulating. The record’s centerpiece is its closing track, “It Is What It Is”, a tearful goodbye to Mac featuring striking guitar embellishments and solemn bass playing. It is a dramatic ending to a solid Thundercat album– one of his best yet.
7. Sam Gendel – Satin Doll – Warped • Foreign • Experimental Jazz
Satin Doll is the most unique collection of ideas I’ve heard this year. As I wrote earlier last year, this album feels like it was conceived on a slightly different planet from ours. Gendel’s imagination runs wild here as his saxophone turns from jazzy horn to alien weeping. The accompaniments from bass and electronic drums are fitting and at times, creepy. This one is for jazz fans who are looking for something edgy or experimental hip-hop fans who are looking for something new.
6. SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) – Black Empowerment • Collaborative • R&B/Soul
The prolific, secretive UK collective has released 4 incredible albums since May 2019. The 3rd of which, released 3 weeks after the killing of George Floyd, is a celebration and affirmation of black culture. The album explores themes of police violence, black excellence, and staying true to your roots. Underneath these, the incredible music propels the message forward, at times raging and at times reassuring. Guitarist/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka (who had an absolutely fantastic album last year) joins producer Inflo, singer/songwriter Cleo Sol, and other mystery artists to create R&B and Soul landscapes onto which these artists painted their stories. This album is poetry and protest, a union of souls in mourning and hope, and if I’m honest, I do not think I specifically have the words or sufficient lived experience to do this album justice. I recommend you listen for yourself.
5. Lianne La Havas – Lianne La Havas – Charming • Soulful • Clean
Lianne La Havas is back with her best work ever. Readers who know me may be able to tell that I’m starting to play favorites with this list (Pinegrove, Disclosure, Thundercat, and Lianne La Havas were among my top artists at year start), but I still contend that Lianne has put out a collection of songs that stand up to any of the music released this year. Her clean guitar sounds sweeter, her voice stronger, and her songwriting more interesting than what appeared on her last album, “Blood”. The opening track, “Bittersweet”, features her voice soaring commandingly over powerful neo soul backing, beginning to detail a relationship gone south. The rest of the album continues along that path, a self-described “song cycle that depicts the stages of a relationship”. Highlights include a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes”, the striking production on “Green Papaya”, and the emotional “Sour Flower”.
4. Run The Jewels – RTJ4 – Badass • Political • Hip-Hop
“Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar!” screams Zach de la Rocha on “Ju$t”. It is one of the many hard-hitting moments on an album that demands your attention on all fronts. Killer Mike and El-P return on RTJ4 with unrelenting bars on everything that is wrong with race and politics in America. Along with thrashing beats and cleverly used samples come verses from the longtime duo which boil down to “We’ve been saying this shit for years and nobody listened.” They also switch between seriously witty lines and deadly serious one. Just for some examples, on “holy calamafuck”, El-P raps, “Thought crime designer, criminal minder // And I’m a born and bred in USA who chop and screw truth up // Think I got a case of the Mondays, on (Fire!)”, combining references from several media while delivering a commentary on the state. No lines are more cutting than Killer Mike’s line in “walking in the snow”, “And you so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me // Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, ‘I can’t breathe.’”
3. Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kinda Music – Smooth • Tight • R&B/Funk/Jazz
Not much to say on this album except that it is dope. Yussef Dayes’ light virtuosic drumming is the perfect compliment to Tom Misch’s creamy smooth guitar tone and his understated but sultry voice. The tunes give jazz a modern edge and give R&B a jazzy bend, as if that genre could get much jazzier. The surprise inclusion of Freddie Gibbs on “Nightrider” is MOST welcome. Possibly my song of the year, the track opens coolly– you can imagine yourself driving on a mostly deserted highway with Misch’s subtly psychedelic guitar melting on the car speakers. Gibbs’ gruff tone adds to the vibe, fusing his brand of rapping which contrasts with the clean beats of the two jazzers. Tunes like “I Did It For You” and “Julie Mangos” are funky, fun, and soothing, which is everything I was looking for. I hate to use the word smooth again, but this album was undoubtedly the smoothest experience I’ve had all year, and one of the best too.
2. Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter – Beautiful • Touching • Folk
I did not expect to like this album very much at first, but I have to admit, I have fallen head over heels for it. Laura Marling’s exquisite voice is the basis for a simple album with a depth of flavor. Melodies like on the radio friendly “Held Down” or the soft ballad “Blow By Blow” kept me coming back to this album over and over again, while the string arrangements like on “Song For Our Daughter” left me with enough to find something new every listen. Dealing with heavy topics in relationships, the instruments add proper weight to the UK crooner’s lines without being encumbering. It seems everything just snugly fits together for Laura on this practically flawless album.
1. Blake Mills – Mutable Set – Hushed • Haunting • Weepy
Blake Mills is my new favorite artist, and he should be yours too. Mills is a guitarist, producer, singer, songwriting, etc. from L.A., and has spent the past decade contributing his unique guitar playing to a wide variety of albums and produced a few great ones himself (including the above Perfume Genius record). Mutable Set, his third full length, is massively overlooked by music critics and is my album of the year by a mile. Let me introduce you. The opening track, “Never Forever”, starts barely audible, then gently increases in volume, allowing you to hear a processed electric guitar (probably, many of the sounds are hard to pin down the origin) sweetly, slowly repeating an ascending phrase. The acoustic guitar eventually joins at a walking pace, fingerpicking a few chords, but not revealing the character of the song yet. Mills voice finally arrives, setting the stage for a folk-like song. The track, and the rest of the album for that matter, proceeds to undulate in waves of energy, twisting and turning, one unexpected chord to the next. At once solemn, and at once optimistic, you never really know how you are supposed to feel. This is unsettling, but to me, it is just where I want to be. Mills takes you through a roller coaster in a dream where all of the passengers are silent and the noise of the metal structure and the wind is inaudible, but the mind wanders, wondering when the ride will be over and what is waiting at the end, if anything at all. The album is commentary on some of the problems in the world, and indeed the end of it. “Money is the One True God” is the purest example of that, suggesting the entwinements of religion and capitalism, while “Summer All Over” deals with climate change. He is even successful on the instrumental tracks, the most dramatic being the excruciating “Mirror Box”, which may be written to bring you to tears. In totality, “Mutable Set” is a captivating listen, an immersive experience which really needs to be on in the foreground to gain any meaningful feeling out of it. It is remarkably quiet and does not demand attention, but the more you give, the more you receive. I can confidently say there is no album I would rather share first with you, dear reader. Happy listening.
-Nick
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