My Top 20 Albums of 2020
Favorites from a year that went on and on and on…
I thought it might be funny if, instead of posting the annual end-of-the-year ranking of my favorite albums, I just posted a 10,000 character scream.
You know…
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”
(You get it.)
It’s been a crazy, awful year and nothing makes sense. Pretending that there’s anything normal about 2020 or that regular habits like “listening to and enjoying music” bear any resemblance to previous years is just plain nutso.
Looking back and re-listening to some of the albums I enjoyed early in the year, pre-pandemic, it feels like a zillion years ago.
When the lockdown arrived in March, the WAY I listen to music was completely disrupted. I used to listen to albums on my daily commute to and from the office. IN the office, my headphones were a reliable escape from open-floorplan hubbub and a great way to get work done.
But work-from-home and round-the-clock Zooms changed all of that. Frankly, I’ve listened to a lot less music since March. Just another bummer in a year full of ‘em.
BUT, happy days are around the corner! Right? RIGHT????!? 😩
So, in a desperate stab at normality, I’m going through the exercise. Here’s my probably-too-lighly-considered list of favorites for 2020.
1. Demo Club — Young & Sick
I’m just as surprised as you are to see this as #1 on on my list…but it just made me feel good. It dropped in April, when we didn’t know that we’d be locked in our houses for the rest of the year and I ended up playing it more than anything else. It’s a smooth, silky, feel-good electro-pop antidote to the darkness. And talk about work-from-home: Nick van Hofwegen wears ALL the hats on this one as the composer, producer, and performer; he even does all the album artwork. It’s frothy collection and may not break any new ground…but in a year where the real world had plenty of emotional heft, this go-to mood-elevator was worth its weight in gold.
2. SUPERBLOOM — MisterWives
Talk about value! This 19-track, hour-long collection gives you a whole lot to listen to. And there are some gems — the title track is one of my favorites of the year. There’s probably a tighter album in here, but hey, build your own. Lyrically, the marriage and break up of long-time bandmates lurks throughout. (I mean, the first track is titled “the end.”) But there’s still something hopeful about the collection, best captured in the funky “decide to be happy.”
3. The Neon Skyline — Andy Shauf
This concept album — the story of a single night that plays out over 11 songs — was released early in the year, in the “before-Covid” times. And if the night-on-the-town narrative doesn’t ring as relevant in our lockdown lives, Shauf’s signature melancholy is pitch perfect for the pandemic. It’s an album that feels like literary fiction — a guy goes out drinking and bumps into his ex, and that’s really all that happens over the 11 songs. Somehow, that seems exactly right during a year of introspection.
4. Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers
Well, this year WAS a punisher, that’s for sure. And darkness looms in every corner of this collection from Ms. Bridgers. But you can also hear the arched eyebrows (are “arched vocal cords” a thing?) in her lyrics, and the dry humor she brings to her observations are somehow comforting. Plus, she sings like an angel; if it’s the end of civilization as we know it, we might as well get sung into heaven by somebody with gorgeous pipes.
5. Cape God — Allie X
Glassy synthpop dipped in goth. (But, to be fair, it’s a light veneer of super accessible pop goth; your parents wouldn’t really mind if you took her to prom.) Alexandra Ashley Hughes is a classically trained performer, and when she brings in the strings and woodwinds on a track like “Sarah Comes Home,” it feels well earned and not just a production gimmick. Apparently, the album was inspired by a documentary about the opioid crisis, which sounds like an odd theme for a pop album, but somehow it works.
6. Color Theory — Soccer Mommy
The sophomore collection from Sophie Allison is no slump; it’s better than her debut and her debut was pretty great. Her voice feels like an amalgam of 90s-era Harriet Wheeler, Liz Phair, Sarah McLaughlin, Jonatha Brooks, and Rikie Lee Jones, but her lyrics are GenZ confessionalism. Parts feel like Explosions in the Sky found their dream singer. There’s a concept behind the album name — each third represents a different color — but that makes it sound overly precious and this isn’t. It’s just a great album by an artist that’s coming into her own.
7. Gentle Grip — Public Practice
This one made me feel like a teenager again. Specifically, that feeling when you’re 13 or 14 and you find yourself in some kid’s rec room, listening to records with a bunch of kids, and that super dreamy girl in the grade ahead of you puts on an album that you’ve never heard but you KNOW it’s way cooler than anything that’s on your turntable back home. The NYC-based quartet sounds like late-70s New Wave disco Blondie meets early B52s. Jangly guitars and shouty choruses will make you want to push the rec room furniture against the walls and copy whatever dance moves that cool girl is making.
8. The New Sounds of Late Capitalism — Star Parks
The throwback sound is a gorgeous time machine for your ears. Harkening back to the orchestral pop of the 50s-60s, the band said they wanted to reproduce that sound from a time when studios kept session orchestras on hand to fill out every track. As a result, Star Parks developed what they call “Burt Bacharach on a budget” and that sums it up nicely.
9. Fine Forever — Varsity
An indie-pop charmer with hints of Fleetwood Mac and Liz Phair. The quintet threw influences from the 70s, 80s, and 90s into a blender and came up with a collection that gives satisfying retro winks while being thoroughly modern.
10. Always Tomorrow — Best Coast
One from the pre-lockdown times, this one feels like it’s from even longer ago. Some of that is because all the things that I’ve loved about Bethany Cosentino for years are on display here — the sun-drenched California fuzz and her bright, rich, melodies that cut through, clear and strong. But this one also feels more grown up than previous Best Coast outings, without losing what made them such a feel-good favorite.
11. Freak Pop Novelty — Emmett Kai
At just 7 songs and 28 minutes, this is probably more of a taste of an upcoming talent than a fully-realized album, but it’s a great 28 minutes. Discovered via the Spotify (thanks algorithm!), his bio page said “his sound is parallel to your local audiophiles record collection, ranging from shoegaze, punk, glam, and r&b.” I’m not sure I really know what “shoegaze” is, but that all feels right. A favorite discovery this year.
12. Free Love — Sylvan Esso
Putting out three albums in 2020 (Free Love, a live album and another EP) probably earns Sylvan Esso a spot on this list for sheer work ethic! Their newest collection of 8-bit bops offers more silky electronic melodies, but they’ve stripped it back and simplified it a bit — well, as simple as an all-electronic dance duo gets — but they sacrifice zero toe-taps.
13. You and Your Friends — Peach Pit
I haven’t checked the green cards of every band on this list, but I sure feel like there are a lot of Canadians on it. Here’s another one: a Vancouver indie-rock quartet loaded up with catchy guitar hooks and clever choruses. Think GenZ Pete Yorn who just plugged in to play your backyard summer house party.
14. Disco Volador — The Orielles
Cosmic pop through a garage band aesthetic. With its woozy guitar, plaintive sax, and funky organ (yes, I just typed “funky organ”), there are musical echoes of Style Council and Talking Heads, but the breezy vocals are modern and charming.
15. Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa
One of the big hits of 2020, I’m not going to write anything about this funky disco smash that hasn’t already been written. It’s sparkling pop, crafted to perfection. Even if you wanted to begrudge it you can’t. It’s catchy AF and I dare you to put it on and NOT dance around your living room.
16. To Let a Good Thing Die — Bruno Major
Soulful crooning from this U.K. singer-songwriter is presented so simply and straightforward, the songs are almost like a magic trick — thick romanticism without too much shmaltz. Just lovely.
17. All in One — Jaunt
What I love about this album is you just feel the band GOING FOR IT on every song. It’s like they said, “Fuck it, we’re just going to make the album we’ve always wanted to make.” And it drifts from orchestral pop to jazz to funk and hip-hop and, as I result, I hear something new each time I listen. I’d make a Steely Dan comparison, but that’s probably not fair. Still, I love the ambition.
18. The Slow Rush — Tame Impala
Another album from “the before times,” this propulsive collection feels like a glimpse into a concert world that hasn’t existed since February — a psychedelic all-night dance party. It pulls in flavors of prog rock and house and soul that makes me think of early 80s “Owner of a Lonely Heart” YES.
19. Grand Plan — Dan Croll
This singer-songwriter crafts the type of idyllic power pop that will feel familiar to anybody who listened to mid-70s radio. With a voice that evokes Wings-era McCartney (um, the opening track is called “Yesterday”), this collection of soft rock jams feels both current and timeless.
20. Superstar — Caroline Rose
Rose made my favorite album of 2018 — Loner was loaded with hooks and humor. On this year’s Superstar (another pre-lockdown drop) the wry storytelling is still there, but musically, there’s less ear candy and more experimentation. While I didn’t wear this one out the same way I did her last collection, it was still a satisfying listen.
Other 2020 Honorable Mentions: Blue Summer by Cayucas; Ungodly Hour by Chloe X Halle; Quarantine Cassanova by Chromeo; Freeze, Melt by Cut Copy; Zeros by Declan McKenna; 5 EPs by Dirty Projectors; I’m Your Empress Of by Empress Of; Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple; Dreamland by Glass Animals; Mt. Bachelor by Goth Babe; Petals for Armor by Hayley Williams; Possession by Joywave; Silver Ladders by Mary Lattimore; The Fight by Overcoats; Set My Heart on Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius; two untitled albums (Rise & Black Is) by SAULT; We Fall Together by St. Francis Hotel; Future Past Life by STRFKR; folklore AND evermore by Taylor Swift; Swimmer by Tennis; Notes on a Conditional Form by The 1975; Hollywood Park by The Airborne Toxic Event; and Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths
As always, I encourage you to BUY your favorite albums of the year and support the musicians who made the music you love. For those that stream, here’s a Spotify playlist with one song from each of my faves listed above.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Kovacevich is a writer and creative director based in San Francisco.
