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anthonyknaape · 1 year
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jezfletcher · 3 years
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1000 Albums, 2020: The Big Lists
Hey folks, I’ve written up my top albums and my top tracks of 2020, but there’s so much music released in a year, and restricting myself to just 30 albums, and 50 tracks is a difficult task.
As a result, I’ve compiled a longer list of my top tracks and albums (without write-ups), for your perusal. This is obviously more for the sake of completeness, but are here in case you’re interested in finding out if I at all rated something you liked this year (or, if you’re Sam, if you want to actually do a detailed comparison).
Want playlists? I’ve got playlists for you too:
My Top 50 Countdown - which I posted yesterday. This provides a sorted countdown of my top tracks from #1 to #50. (50 tracks)
My Top Tracks - a longer list of all the tracks I really rated highly this year. This accounts for a much larger number of artists, and includes most of the tracks I’ve listed below. (169 tracks)
My Top Tracks & Albums - a playlist containing all my top tracks, plus selections from all of my favourite albums of the year. (216 tracks)
My Top Tracks, Albums + Much, Much More - Are you game? Contains a huge, varied collection of music that we listened to this year. I really enjoyed all these tracks, and they provide a much broader collection of albums, artists and genres. (1,014 tracks)
Anyway, without further ado here’s my Top 200 Tracks, and Top 100 Albums:
Top Albums of 2020
100. Winnetka Bowling League - Congratulations (power pop)
99. Locate S, 1 - Personalia (art pop)
98. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (pop)
97. LukHash - Transient Offworld (synthwave)
96. The Drowns - Under Tension (street punk)
95. The Mystic Underground - Wrapped in Riddles (electro disco)
94. Jonathan Wilson - Dixie Blur (Americana noir folk)
93. Mighty Oaks - All Things Go (indie folk rock)
92. Kiesza - Crave (synthpop)
91. Dance Gavin Dance - Afterburner (post hardcore)
90. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats - Dogs on the Leash (Celtic punk)
89. Warm Digits - Flight of Ideas (krautrock)
88. Dandelion Wine - Le Cœur (Australio dreamfolktronica)
87. Marc Scibilia - Seed of Joy (indie singer-songwriter)
86. Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings (Scottish indie rock)
85. Savant - Void (complextro)
84. Cordovas - Destiny Hotel (Americana folk)
83. TTRRUUCES - TTRRUUCES (wonky pop)
82. The Claudettes - High Times in the Dark (Chicago piano blues)
81. Dustbowl Revival - Is It You, Is It Me (post country)
80. Sea Wolf - Through a Dark Wood (indie folk rock)
79. Cory Wong - The Striped Album (funk rock)
78. Someone - ORBIT II (psych pop)
77. Days N’ Daze - Show Me The Blueprints (H-town thrashgrass)
76. Blossoms - Foolish Loving Spaces (indie pop)
75. Kyros - Celexa Dreams (prog synth rock)
74. Dub Pistols - Addict (dub)
73. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (dreampop)
72. The Hanging Stars - A New Kind of Sky (psychedelic folk)
71. Neon Trees - I Can Feel You Forgetting Me (indie pop)
70. The Corner Laughers - Temescal Telegraph (folk pop)
69. 3D Stas - Eleven (soiltronica)
68. Pantayo - Pantayo (kulingtang gong pop)
67. The National Parks - Wildflower (folk rock)
66. Pigeon John - Gotta Good Feeling (underground rap)
65. Novo Amor - Cannot Be, Whatsover (indie folk rock)
64. The Explorers Club - The Explorers Club (sunshine pop)
63. Poppy - I Disagree (bubblegum metal)
62. Overcoats - The Fight (indie pop)
61. Chemtrails - The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable (psychedelic garage pop)
60. Joywave - Possession (indie pop)
59. Heart Bones - Hot Dish (indie pop)
58. Mitochondrial Sun - Mitochondrial Sun (darktronica)
57. L.A. Salami - The Cause of Doubt & A Reason To Have Faith (post blues)
56. Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open (alt rock)
55. Tunng - Dead Club (folktronica)
54. Butch Walker - American Love Story (glam rock)
53. Polly Scattergood - In This Moment (experimental pop)
52. The Beautiful Fear - The Waltz of the Moonshine Blind (prog rock)
51. The Altogether - Silo (acoustic pop rock)
50. KES - We Home (Trinidadian soca)
49. Man Man - Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between (experimental rock)
48. Creeper - Sex, Death & The Infinite Void (horror punk)
47. Darlingside - Fish Pond Fish (indie folk)
46. Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible (electronicore)
45. Trixie Mattel - Barbara (drag country)
44. City Mouth - Coping Machine (indie pop rock)
43. Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was (indie rock)
42. The Texas Gentlemen - Floor It!!! (heartland rock)
41. Will Wood - The Normal Album (cabaret rock)
40. Maeve Gilchrist - The Harpweaver (harp folk)
39. rook&nomie - me&you (experimental pop)
38. Steep Canyon Rangers & Asheville Symphony - Be Still Moses (orchestral bluegrass)
37. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (art pop)
36. Sea Girls - Open Up Your Head (indie pop rock)
35. Michael Franti & Spearhead - Work Hard & Be Nice (reggae fusion)
34. Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (experimental electronica)
33. Ultrahappyalarm - Critical Daydream (happy hardcore)
32. The Living Tombstone - zero_one (Israeli electro rock)
31. The Flaming Lips - American Head (psychedelic rock)
30. Saint Saviour - Tomorrow Again (experimental folk)
29. Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey (psychedelic rock)
28. The Jerry Cans - Echoes (Inuit neo-folk)
27. Aloud - Sprezzaturra (blues rock)
26. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - PHB (psychedelic soul)
25. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions (alt country)
24. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes
23. MOBS - Cinema Paradiso (80s pastiche pop)
22. Jason Wilson - Sumach Roots (eclectic folk)
21. DMA’s - The Glow (Australio indie rock)
20. Cornershop - England Is A Garden (chamber psych)
19. Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion (baroque breakcore)
18. Eleventyseven - Basic Glitches (synthpunk)
17. Kate Rusby - Hand Me Down (indie folk)
16. Indigo Girls - Look Long (folk rock)
15. Another Sky - I Slept On The Floor (indie rock)
14. Courteeners - More. Again. Forever (post britpop)
13. Dutty Moonshine Big Band - City of Sin (jazztronica)
12. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk)
11. Beans on Toast - The Inevitable Train Wreck (drunken folk rock)
10. Joe Wong - Nite Creatures (baroque pop)
9. Luis Pestana - Rosa Pano (experimental electronica)
8. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (art pop)
7. MisterWives - Superbloom (indie pop)
6. Lola Marsh - Someday Tomorrow Maybe (Israeli noir pop)
5. Dyble Longdon - Between a Breath and a Breath (chamber folk)
4. Hugo Kant - Far From Home (downtempo nu-jazz)
3. The Lemon Twigs - Songs For The General Public (alt rock)
2. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - K.G. (microtonal psychedelic rock)
1. Ada Rook - 2,020 Knives (electropop concrète)
Top Tracks of 2020
200. Sea Wolf - Forever Nevermore (indie rock) 199. Steep Canyon Rangers & The Asheville Symphony - Easy to Love (orchestral bluegrass) 198. Dandelion Wine - Too Late She Cried (experimental pop) 197. Aloud - Oh Danny (blues rock) 196. Car Seat Headrest - Weightlifters (anti-folk) 195. Michael Franti & Spearhead - I Can Still Feel You (reggae fusion) 194. Dance Gavin Dance - Lyrics Lie (post hardcore) 193. Post Animal - Post Animal (psychedelic rock) 192. La Oreja de Van Gogh - Menos Tú (Spanish indie folk) 191. The Hanging Stars - Heavy Blue (cosmic country) 190. Oneohtrix Point Never - Long Road Home (experimental electronica) 189. Will Wood - I / Me / Myself (cabaret rock) 188. Butch Walker - You Gotta Be Just Who You Are (glam rock) 187. Brothers Osborne - Muskrat Greene (country) 186. Tycho - Easy (downtempo IDM) 185. The Altogether - Brown of Gold (acoustic pop rock) 184. Dua Lipa - Cool (pop) 183. Circa Waves - Jacqueline (indie dance rock) 182. Sangatsu No Phantasia - Rendezvous (Japanese pop rock) 181. Moonchild Sanelly - Bashiri (South African future ghetto punk) 180. Needshes - Love (Uzbek indie pop) 179. The Explorers Club - Ruby (sunshine pop) 178. Osi & the Jupiter - Appalachia (pagan folk) 177. Thievery Corporation - The Forgotten People (Symphonik Version) (orchestral world triphop) 176. Enter Shikari - Marionettes (I. The Discover of Strings) (electronicore) 175. Zuzu - How It Feels (pop rock) 174. Los Mocosos - Viva Los Mocosos (latin funk) 173. DJ Plead - Going For It (mahraganat) 172. Igorrr - Camel Dancefloor (baroque breakcore) 171. Someone - Pull It Together (psych pop) 170. Dizzee Rascal - You Don’t Know (grime) 169. The Corner Laughers - The Accepted Time (power pop) 168. The Claudettes - 24/5 (rock and/or roll) 167. The Ballroom Thieves - Tenebrist (neo Americana) 166. Joe Wong - Day After Day (baroque pop) 165. Porter Robinson - Something Comforting (complextro) 164. Jason Wilson - Happy Little Sisyphus (indie folk) 163. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Be Afraid (alt country) 162. Hayley Williams - Dead Horse (indie pop) 161. Badly Drawn Boy - I Need Somebody to Trust (indie pop rock) 160. Bleached - Stupid Boys (bubblegrunge) 159. Man Man - Lonely Beuys (experimental rock) 158. Dustbowl Revival - Dreaming (neo Americana) 157. The Texas Gentlemen - Easy St. (neo Americana) 156. Maeve Gilchrist - The Storm (harp folk) 155. The Drowns - Them Rats (street punk) 154. Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer - Frolicholic (chap hop) 153. Zutomayo - Obenkyou Shitoiteyo (Japanese jazz rock) 152. Jonathan Wilson feat. Mark O’Connor - ‘69 Corvette (Americana noir folk) 151. Dub Pistols feat. Natty Campbell - Sound Sweet (dub DnB) 150. Cordovas - I’ma Be Me (Americana folk) 149. The Birthday Massacre - Enter (gothic darkwave) 148. KIDS - The Mourn (indie rock) 147. Kyros - Rumour (prog synth rock) 146. Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott - A Good Day Is Hard To Find (pop rock) 145. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats - James Brian (Celtic punk) 144. The Fizz - The World We Left Behind (MOR pop) 143. Beans on Toast - World Gone Crazy (indie folk) 142. Liraz - Shab Gerye (arab groove) 141. 47 Soul feat. Shadia Mansour & Fedzilla - Border Ctrl (Palestinian shamstep) 140. 3D Stas - Dislocated Minds (soiltronica) 139. Bright Eyes - Tilt-A-Whirl (indie folk rock) 138. Darlingside - Ocean Bed (indie folk) 137. Once and Future Band - Freaks (psych pop) 136. Prizm - We Were Young (synthpop) 135. Z Berg - To Forget You (dreamfolk) 134. L.A. Salami - Things Ain’t Changed (post blues) 133. Kero Kero Bonito - It’s Bugsnax! (hyperpop) 132. Days N’ Daze - Addvice (thrashgrass) 131. Sufjan Stevens - Tell Me You Love Me (art pop) 130. Fiona Apple - Shameika (art rock) 129. Dutty Moonshine Big Band feat. HypeMan Sage - Big Band Fam (jazztronica) 128. Five Finger Death Punch - Leave It All Behind (nu metal) 127. Sundara Karma - Artifice (art pop) 126. TTRRUUCES - Lost Boy (wonky pop) 125. Theory of a Deadman - Ted Bundy (post grunge) 124. The National Parks - I Can Feel It (folk pop) 123. The Innocence Mission - John As Well (ambient folk) 122. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - The Hungry Wolf of Fate (microtonal indie rock) 121. The Jerry Cans - Atauttikkut (Inuit folk rock) 120. Sufjan Stevens - Lamentations (art pop) 119. Pigeon John - They Don’t Make Em Like Me (jazz hip hop) 118. Michael Franti & Spearhead - Lay It All Down (reggae fusion) 117. ARASHI - Party Starters (J-pop) 116. Neon Trees - Used To Like (indie pop) 115. Savant feat. Jahari Medina - Zealot (complextro) 114. Alestorm - Tortuga (pirate metal) 113. MisterWives - Valentine’s Day (indie pop) 112. Alex the Astronaut - Happy Song (indie folk pop) 111. Big Freedia feat. Kesha - Chasing Rainbows (bounce) 110. Cory Wong feat. The Hornheads - Click Bait (instrumental funk) 109. Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche - I Think I Am a Soul (neo Americana) 108. Victoria Anthony - Temporary Tattoo (synthpop) 107. Novo Amor - I Feel Better (indie folk rock) 106. Harper Bloom - Walk My Way (indie folk pop) 105. Badly Drawn Boy - Is This a Dream? (indie pop rock) 104. Bywater Call - Arizona (blues rock) 103. Mitochondrial Sun - Chronotopes (voidgaze) 102. Kronkel Dom - Giftig (Deutsch rap house) 101. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Riot (nu disco) 100. Woodlock - Collateral (indie folk rock) 99. SKIES - It’s Alright (pop rock) 98. Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr (Italian indie pop) 97. Warm Digits - False Positive (neo-krautrock) 96. Winnetka Bowling League - Come To The Beach (power pop) 95. ViVii - Whistle (folk pop) 94. Fame on Fire - Roxanne (post-screamo) 93. Tunng - Death Is The New Sex (folktronica) 92. Feuerschwanz feat. Melissa Bonny - Ding (neue Deutsche härte) 91. Jamie Cullum - Don’t Give Up On Me (jazz pop) 90. The Living Tombstone - What I Want (Israeli electro rock) 89. Walk Off The Earth - What’s Love Got To Do With It? (indie pop cover) 88. Hildegard von Blingin’ & Cornelius Link feat. Friar Funk - Pumped Up Kicks (bardcore) 87. Loma - Don’t Shy Away (ambient rock) 86. Pantayo - Heto Na (kulingang gong pop) 85. Gin Wigmore - H B I C (indie rock) 84. Dyble Longdon - Crossbones (chamber folk) 83. DMA’s - Never Before (Australian indie rock) 82. Mighty Oaks - Tell Me What You’re Thinking (indie folk rock) 81. Circles Around the Sun - Landline Memories (instrumental prog rock) 80. Blossoms - Your Girlfriend (indie pop rock) 79. Grimes - 4ÆM (industrial pop) 78. Ada Rook - 2,020 Knives (electropop concrète) 77. Walk Off The Earth - Oh What A Feeling (indie pop) 76. AWOLNATION - Radical (stomp pop) 75. Little Big Town - Bluebird (alt country) 74. Dutty Moonshine Big Band feat. HypeMan Sage - Outlaws (jazztronica) 73. Hugo Kant - Everything Is Transformed (downtempo nu-jazz) 72. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Intrasport (microtonal indie pop) 71. Stuck On Planet Earth - Higher Than The Drugs (dance rock) 70. Kesha - Potato Song (Cuz I Want To) (pop) 69. joan - want u back (indie pop) 68. MisterWives - Love Me True (indie pop) 67. Butch Walker - Fuck It (I Don’t Like Love) (glam rock) 66. Heart Bones - This Time It’s Different (indie pop) 65. Anamanaguchi feat. meesh - Pop It (glitchhop) 64. Poppy - Concrete (bubblegum metal) 63. Creeper - Cyanide (alt rock) 62. The Lemon Twigs - Only a Fool (alt rock) 61. Purity Ring - stardew (dreampop) 60. Curt Cannabis - Falling Sensation (indie rock) 59. Custard - Funky Again (Bluey’s dad rock) 58. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts - Newcastle Charm (power pop) 57. Indigo Girls - Howl at the Moon (ectofolk) 56. Cornershop - Highly Amplified (chamber psych) 55. ShockOne - Follow Me (drum n bass) 54. Yelle - Karaté (French hip hop) 53. Ultrahappyalarm - Wanna Cam??? (hyperpop) 52. Biffy Clyro - Tiny Indoor Fireworks (Scottish alt rock) 51. Heaven Pegasus feat. rook&nomie - Nomi (pop rock) 50. L.E.J. - Pas Peur (French chamber folk) 49. Avec Sans - Altitude (vapor pop) 48. Trixie Mattel - Malibu (pop rock) 47. Beans on Toast - Logic Bomb (jazz folk) 46. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk) 45. Marcelyn - Guilloteens (experimental folk rock) 44. Little Big - Hypnodancer (funeral rave) 43. Walk Off The Earth feat. Harm & Ease - Toxic (eclectic pop cover) 42. Stormzy feat. Aitch - Pop Boy (grime) 41. The Fratellis - Six Days in June (pop rock) 40. MOBS - Big World (80s pastiche pop) 39. The Lemon Twigs - The One (alt rock) 38. The Cuckoos - Weekend Lover (glam rock) 37. MisterWives - It’s My Turn (indie pop) 36. Sammy Brue - Pendulum Thieves (alt country) 35. TheFatRat feat. Laura Brehm - We’ll Meet Again (pop EDM) 34. Starbenders - Holy Mother (glam rock) 33. Minh Beta - Let’s Fight COVID! (Vietnamese coronavirus pop) 32. Kiesza feat. Lick Drop, Cocanina & Shan Vincent De Paul - Dance With Your Best Friend (pop) 31. Ultrahappyalarm - Messy Gyaru (happy hardcore) 30. Saint Saviour - Taurus (chamber folk) 29. Kate Rusby - Love of the Common People (indie folk cover) 28. Seazoo - Honey Bee (indie pop rock) 27. City Mouth - Sanity For Summer (indie pop rock) 26. Cory Wong & Chris Thile - Bluebird (jazz-bluegrass crossover) 25. rook&nomie - soft atrocity (hyperpop) 24. Will Joseph Cook - Something To Feel Good About (indie pop) 23. Courteeners - Better Man (britpop) 22. MOBS - School’s Out (80s pastiche pop) 21. Luis Pestana - Sangra (experimental electronica) 20. Hugo Kant - High Gravity (downtempo nu-jazz) 19. The Flaming Lips - Mother I’ve Taken LSD (psychedelic rock) 18. eleventyseven - Battlecats (synthpop punk) 17. Igorrr - Lost in Introspection (baroque breakcore) 16. Polly Scattergood - In This Moment (spoken word triphop) 15. Dent May - Hotel Stationery (indie fuzzpop) 14. Another Sky - Fell In Love With The City (indie prog rock) 13. Lola Marsh - Like In The Movies (Israeli pop rock) 12. Ada Rook - Reverie (JH Ligation Experiment 1) (breakbeat electropop) 11. Trixie Mattel - Video Games (country folk cover) 10. KES - Na let go / (when ah) Jamdong / (with d) Boss Lady (soca) 9. Emerson Hart - Lucky One (heartland rock) 8. Uncanny Valley - Beautiful the World (AI dance pop) 7. Villagers - Did You Know? (indie folk) 6. Chemtrails - Uncanny Valley (psychedelic garage pop) 5. Andy Shauf - Try Again (indie pop) 4. Lola Marsh - Echoes (Israeli pop rock) 3. Sea Girls - Do You Really Want To Know? (indie pop rock) 2. Kishi Bashi - Never Ending Dream (indie pop) 1. Dyble Longdon - Obedience (chamber folk)
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jeffdeegandesigns · 6 years
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One at a time. The Steer Skull Buckle. #beltbuckle #skull #sterling #18kgold #preciousstones #sprezzaturra #womensfashion #menswear #pittiumo
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faeofheart · 4 years
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❝ sprezzatura. i have heard it means ‘ the effortless display of grace ’. ❞ -vivi !
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“ i think... it’s more than that, “ they’d heard the word before, once. obscure words were fun to know, and could sometimes give context for a thing you could not name. “ it’s not just the effortless display of grace. it’s.... making something that took effort, seem like it took none. it’s like, if i offered you a dance, and we spun around this room as ethereal as air, as pristine as a painting, as fluid as the river... to others, it would seem effortless. we would know, however, how much effort it took -- how careful we have to be, to seem like we’re not being careful. how easy we make it look, to mask its true difficulty. that’s sprezzaturra.” 
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Sprezzaturra II. @kunstaandelek #art #arte #artwork #artist #artistsoninstagram #atelier #abstract #beauty #beautiful #contour #drawing #eelkevanwillegen #instagram #instadaily #instapic #picoftheday #photography #photooftheday #pantarhei #sculpture #sculptor #metal #waves #wanderlust https://www.instagram.com/p/CCDHQwHHObY/?igshid=ie3wgn068ppb
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grotto-esque · 6 years
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sprezzaturra as life-philosophy
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logolepsy15 · 6 years
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Sprezzaturra
(Noun)
The ability to make one’s action seem effortless or to disguise one’s true desire, feeling or meaning. 
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Hit the spot. #sprezza #barberie #elegantebarberie #classic #style #mensstyle #sprezzaturra
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charleyph · 8 years
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#EleganceNeverFades
@charleyph x @gentlemen_wear_daily
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anthonyknaape · 2 years
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jezfletcher · 3 years
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1000 Albums, 2020: Albums #30-21
This is the first of six posts wrapping up my and Sam’s 2020 Music Project. Once again, as we have for five years now, we’ve hit 1000 albums from the year. In fact, this year, we listened to 1074 albums released in the year (December 2019-November 2020, inclusive), plus 102 throwback albums (not from 2020), and 1698 entities in total, which also includes tracks released as stand-alone singles, EPs and the like.
While we listen to the same set of music, Sam and I have quite divergent tastes, and his choices will be quite different from mine. But I’m hoping for a couple of high-profile crossovers. There are certainly a few albums this year that we both very much enjoyed.
As a programming note, I’m ordering my posts slightly differently this year, in order to keep Sam’s anticipation of my posts as high as possible (after all, he’s the one who most cares about this). Rather than giving the long list of “almost ran” albums right at the start, thereby eliminating all the real contenders, I’m going to count down my Top 30 albums ten at a time, after which I’ll reveal the longer list of outlier albums #31-100. That way, he’ll be thinking “ooh, will Butch Walker be in his top 10??” right up until the last post. Except I’m bound to disappoint him, because Butch Walker comes in at #54.
After I’ve finished the albums, I’ll list my top tracks in two posts: the first will be the outliers, the second will be actual writeups of my genuine favourite tracks of the year. Usually I provide my top tracks without much commentary, but this year I’ve got a collection of ~30 tracks or so that I do want to say something about individually.
Before we get there, though, let’s look through the first set of my top albums of the year.
#30. Saint Saviour - Tomorrow Again (chamber folk)
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A great collection of music, with an ethereal folk quality running through it. But they elevate it with chamber instrumentation, in particular some very fine string arrangements. These work perfectly with soft vocal harmonies, and some oddly catchy riffs. It is, in some ways, quite sullen, but the otherworldly quality stops it from ever being less than fascinating.
My favourite track here is a real stand out: Taurus. It fits beautifully with the rest of the album, while also being the exemplar of what makes the album good. The haunting piano riff, which is eventually doubled with intersecting vocal lines is just a beautiful piece of music.
Recommended track: Taurus.
#29. Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey (psychedelic rock)
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This was an album that took out an Album of the Week award in February, but it was one that I didn’t necessarily think a lot of for the rest of the year. When I came to relisten to it, I was reminded again that this stood out. This isn’t your regular psych-infused indie rock. It has a hardness to it which helps, but more that that, these folks play with harmonic and melodic shifts that don’t necessarily make sense. It almost feels like a new tonality at times—just enough to catch you off guard and make you constantly re-evaluate where you’re balancing in listening to a track.
My favourite track off the album is the self-titled Post Animal, but to be honest, there’s a great deal on the album of similar quality—it’s the combined weight of all of the great stuff that propels this into my Top 30 albums of the year.
Recommended Track: Post Animal
#28. The Jerry Cans - Echoes (Inuit neo-folk)
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An album I liked well-enough on the week we listened to it (it took out the third place spot to two albums which are now below it in the list), it took until relistening for me to get it into my head that it was genuinely the best and most interesting album of the week. Combining mildly folk-infused pop rock with Inuit-language lyrics and judicious use of throat-singing, this is the kind of album which you’re forced to consider on its own terms.
Mostly, though, it succeeds by being catchy, well-written rock. The folk parts are just icing on the cake, and provide it with a differentiating point that really help elevate it when you’re comparing it to other top albums of the year. There are a number of good tracks here, but I’ve picked Atauttikkut, one of the ones completely in Inuit and with the best incorporation of the rhythmic throat singing at an appropriate point.
Recommended Track: Atauttikkut
#27. Aloud - Sprezzaturra (blues rock)
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This is a surprising entry for me, and it’s likely to surprise Sam as well, as this is another that didn’t stand out that much in the week I heard it. But on the numbers, it was definitely an album that warranted a relisten. And once I’d taken the whole album, rather than just the isolated track I added to my “revision playlist”, I saw what a rich collection of music it was. It’s not specifically limited to blues—it takes in a lot of jazz and soul influences, in the way of an artist like Lake Street Dive (#3 album of 2016 for me). And there’s variety across the album, which makes the whole album a much richer experience than listening to just your favourite track or two. I mean, isn’t that the great point of an album in any case?
Picking out a single track, as a result is difficult, and the one I singled out the first time doesn’t even feel necessary like the best candidate. Instead, I’ll go with Hungry Land, which almost takes a bit of jazz-era Chicago or E-Street Band kind of crunch to it.
Recommended Track: Hungry Land
#26. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - PHB (psychedelic soul)
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Again a band which can really pump out those jazz influences, these guys also play with nu disco, experimental pop and dreampop to give a surprisingly diverse album. It’s an album that’s often based around those driving jazz riffs though, even when you get a good danceable track like my top track Riot.
Quite surprisingly, despite this being one of my top albums of the year, I don’t think it’s among their personal best work, meaning that there’s ample room for the 2022-ish PHB album to really blow me out of the water. They’re capable of it.
Recommended Track: Riot
#25. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions (alt country)
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This is one of the rare albums where my list will agree with the bulk of the “best albums of the year” lists. It doesn’t happen often—I like to think it’s because I listen to a shit-ton more music than the average music journalist, but this is probably kidding myself. Anyway, despite not agreeing very often, this is a match, and it’s a fine album. Isbell has a strong sense of honest songwriting, and can put together something that’s heartwrenching in both tone and lyrical content. Tracks like It Gets Easier are hard-hitting numbers, while others provide much needed levity.
My personal favourite track on this album is Be Afraid, which has a great hook in the chorus, which feels neatly rhythmically contorted.
Recommended Track: Be Afraid
#24. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes (indie pop rock)
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Part of our music project this year was listening to all of the albums which won the Mercury Prize for album of the year, from Primal Scream’s Screamadelica right through to this year’s winner Kiwanuka from Michael Kiwanuka (which we actually heard as part of last year’s music project). Amusingly, Badly Drawn Boy’s album The Hour of Bewilderbeest, which won the 2000 Mercury Prize came up not long before we discovered a new album from the group, 20 years later. And this is a very fine album. It has that quality I love in established artists’ later work, which is that they feel a sense of freedom of what they’re creating. Here, they’re much less serious and affected than in Bewilderbeest, allowing a fuller sense of humour and fun to their lyrics, and providing more of an upbeat drive.
There’s no less complexity to the songwriting though, and there’s some biting satire to the content. But it’s put into a remarkably delicious container. Often you don’t realise some of these poppy numbers are ascerbic as they are. A couple of really good tracks on here, but I think my pick is Is This a Dream?.
Recommended Track: Is This a Dream?
#23. MOBS - Cinema Paradiso (80s pastiche pop)
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There’s always a place for pure pop in my album lists, and MOBS not only provide us with pure pop, they throw it through the magic 80s synthpop filter. It comes out blasting the other end with cheesy neon energy and a oiled-up saxophonist wearing leather pants. It’s high-energy stuff, pulsating with a kind of groove and energy that is too often eschewed in modern popular music.
There are two tracks I particularly love here, Big World and School’s Out, both of which take funk and disco rhythms and throw all the pastiche of the 80s on top. All with a rich, bassy production quality that sounds a lot more modern. I will say that I thought early on that this might be higher in the list than this, but on relistening it felt a little more like a “solid” album with a couple of really great fun tracks on it.
Recommended track: School’s Out
#22. Jason Wilson - Sumach Roots (eclectic folk)
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This is an album that over the year since its January release has become something of a meme between Sam and me. Because it was an album we both really liked overall, and yet for both of us, it was difficult to point to any individual songs that seemed to really illustrate why the album was good. Hence the term “a Jason Wilson” entered the parlance, meaning an album that we liked despite the seeming lack of individual standout tracks.
Partially, the reason this is good is its eclecticism. It kind of runs through various modes of melodic folk, perhaps with reggae influences being something of a touchpoint across the album. Wilson assembles a good ensemble of musicians to match his flow, and there’s a consistent feeling of coherence as a result. While it’s hard to pick out an individual track, I personally like the double/half time reggae of Happy Little Sisyphus, which has its own relentless quality as though it’s constantly driving its own rock up a hill. But again, this feels like an album that you can’t gauge just by listening to a single track in isolation.
Recommended track: Happy Little Sisyphus
#21. DMA’S - The Glow (Australio indie rock)
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A really good collection of music from the Australian group here. I would have said I “surprisingly liked” their 2018 album For Now, but this is an album I absolutely embraced. It’s also an album I’d somewhat forgotten about until I did relistening at the end of the year. It won my Album of the Week back in July when it was released, but it largely didn’t feature in my thought process for the end of the year until I realised what a concentration of great tracks it has. Criminals, Round & Around, and title track The Glow are great pieces of enjoyable pop rock, infused with just enough aggression and drive to give them an edge.
My personal favourite track though is Never Before, which swoops upwards with an almost ethereal, psych-channeling vocal line, still while bringing the crunchy guitars and driving beat underneath to move it forward. But there’s a lot that’s good on this album, and while this might not canonically fit the definition of “a Jason Wilson”, it’s also an album which feels like it becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Recommended Track: Never Before
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croquissartoriaux · 9 years
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An untidy style deserve you WORK on it, buddy. Actually you just look untidy...
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pitchersandpoets · 10 years
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Long short sleeves, tucked-in T, gold jewelry and dad jeans.
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anthonyknaape · 2 years
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@menneedmorestyle
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