Music has always been the great connector. It s an antidote to the sense of alienation and loneliness many feel in society in general, and that in 2020 grew even deeper as we were asked to actively practise social distancing and isolation.
In a year like no other, country music a genre whose roots derive from themes of home, landscape, hardship and resilience has soared 15 per cent in streaming time, according to MRC Data/Nielsen Music, with almost all other styles of music losing streaming listenership.
Perhaps a collective craving for the regular ol times explains why country music, replete with visions of land, relationships, heartache and courage, has thrived during our months-long, mandatory stay indoors.
Paul Capsis and iOTA blow the lid off in Rapture
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The Headland, January 16
With Paul Capsis and iOTA singing, and a subtitle like A song cycle of desire and ecstasy, murder and mayhem , it seemed worth risking an outdoor show in the fickle La Nina summer. Then you learn that the 14 songs constituting
Rapture are from a forthcoming musical conceived by four people including director Michael Kantor, and, on the basis of this concert, that musical certainly deserves a life.
Paul Capsis in Sydney Festival s Rapture.
In the mood for . Sydney Festival picks for those who canât decide
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In the mood for . Sydney Festival picks for those who canât decide
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Letâs face it, last year was
rough. So, if you just canât rouse yourself to choose a show or two to see at this yearâs Sydney Festival, sit back, take our advice and youâll soon find yourself at a bee hive, a beauty pageant or a dance party washing away the blues of 2020.
The crowning glory is Swift’s version of I Contain Multitudes, from Dylan’s new album Rough and Rowdy Ways. “It’s a love song, and a prayer,” she said of the song. “And it’s about his life, but it’s also about what art and music and literature can mean to humanity. And to me that’s an extraordinary thing to meditate on, particularly when our social interactions are so limited.” All of the above could be said of Blonde on the Tracks itself.
– Andrew Stafford
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You
We Will Always Love You is a miraculous-sounding record, infatuated with the universe and the infinite nature of energy, light and – especially – sounds that echo in the void for eons. Sample-based music is inherently tactile; artists like the Avalanches pick up and tool around with old vinyl that’s traded hands before. And on this record, they’ve leaned into that tactility and the sensoriality of music, turning images into sound and back again (Star Song
The best and worst albums of 2020 From Katy Perry’s complete fizzer to Kylie Minogue’s incredible release, here are the standout albums of 2020 and the ones that didn’t make the grade.
Music by Cameron Adams
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Subscriber only It was the year we turned to music, but what were the best albums 2020 gave us? National music writer Cameron Adams picks out some of the finest, and a few of the duds.
1. THE AVALANCHES - WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU 2020s best album is also peak 2020. Melbourne duo The Avalanches created this third album in lockdown - funded by JobKeeper - while working remotely with musicians around the world. And it delivered the deeply immersive soul-hug and long-overdue hit of joy we d all earned. As expertly curated as an art house movie, you ll get Jamie xx speeding up a beat or Johnny Marr s guitar fingerprints and the most glorious cast of vocalists. It s melancholy but still euphoric, with fewer samp