Disclaimer:
I am only one man with limited time and, in 2020, I undertook a law conversion (hence the drop of in features in the winter), so if your favourite record is missing chances are I just haven’t heard it yet, so please share your favourite LPs below the line.
Equally, because I’ve been extremely busy, this list leans heavily on albums that I have reviewed (big names, big hype releases) as there are still a host of records I’m desperate to hear, but will not include without having listened to them in full (Thou, Pallbearer, Sasha Sloan, The Koreatown Oddity, Napalm Death, Thundercat, Idles, Against All Logic, Declan McKenna, Denzel Curry, 21 Savage, etc…).
The Best Albums Of 2020 Dec. 29, 2020 8:49 a.m.
Before we get to the best albums of 2020, I want to highlight the most unexpectedly delightful song of the year, “I Wonder What’s Inside Your Butthole.” Lisa Rieffel dropped her daughter Jolee s inspired, inquisitive song about the mysteries of the human digestive system in May 2020, at a time when many people had just started to process the fact that the pandemic was going to disrupt life for much more than a few months. It was a welcome bit of surreal levity, and a spark of connection for many, spawning a seriesofcovers (I m partial to this one). Jolee ended up recording her own rock version, as well as a hip-hop remix which almost sounds like a long-lost M.I.A. demo. There s a lot of 2020 ephemera and memes which have already been lost to the miasma of this strange year, but this was one of the few that continues to bring a smile to my face.
2020 has been a year unlike anything else we ve ever experienced.
The past 12 months have pushed us all to the brink, changing the role music plays in our lives in the process.
It s not exactly been a pleasant experience - we can say that with some certainty - but this year has also driven home a number of important factors.
Each of us, from freelance writers straight through to the Editor In Chief, are enormously grateful to have a platform with which to express ourselves, and also to support, showcase, and amplify the voices that stand out from the crowd.
It s been a hugely challenging year both for musicians and for the publications that write about them - our continuing role isn t something we take for granted.
The List: Stereoboard s Best Albums of 2020 Monday, 14 December 2020 Written by Stereoboard
Well, that was weird, wasn t it? 2020 will not be fondly remembered (aside from one particular bloke losing a big job) and 2021 is starting its race with some ground to make up, but as we locked down and stayed home the soundtrack was excellent at least. So much good music made its way into the world over the past 12 months, reminding us of what we have to cherish and also what we potentially have to lose. Here s our pick of the best of the best with a reminder: the artistic and creative industries cannot be allowed to wither and die. Support your local record shop. Support your local venues. Keep going.
Pitchfork + NME Release Their Top 50 (5 each) Albums of 2020
5. Perfume Genius,
[
write up]In a year of isolation and unattainable intimacies, Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas is our poet laureate of constant longing. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, his fifth album, celebrates the endless possibility and vulnerability of the body without losing sight of the fundamental absurdity of the human ordeal. Hadreas sings about misery and disconnection, about feeling unrecognizable to himself, about shepherding an inexperienced lover through his first gay encounter and picking his pockets afterwards. As on 2017’s No Shape, producer Blake Mills reveals the music with startling clarity and subtlety, bringing out lifelike strings and trembling synths through sound design as much as conventional production. In the warm thrum of “Describe,” the oceanic splash of “Without You,” and the barnstorming buildup of “Some Dream,” Set My Heart on Fire Immediately throws open doors to the