Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

starchman46
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by starchman46 »

starchman46 wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:30 pm Albums that have impressed me the most:

Bill Fay- Countless Branches
Gemini Eye- Murdered Arc Remains
Mac Miller- Circles
Against All Logic- 2012-2017
Cornershop- England is a Garden
Enthusiastic additon: Hymns of Oblivion by William Basinski!
Jirin
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

New Myrkur album Folkesange is good. Though looks like she’s gotten a lot farther from metal and closer to folk.
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acroamor
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by acroamor »

All 20 albums I've heard so far this year, bunched into various quality levels and subject to change:

1. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
2. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
3. Dogleg - Melee
4. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene

5. Destroyer - Have We Met
6. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light
7. Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
8. Julia Holter - Never Rarely Sometimes Always OST

9. The Electric Soft Parade - Stages
10. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
11. Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony
12. Caroline Rose - Superstar
13. Thundercat - It Is What It Is

14. Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques
15. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
16. Caribou - Suddenly
17. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake
18. Wire - Mind Hive
19. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
20. Best Coast - Always Tomorrow
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

The new Childish Gambino album is his best yet. He’s been one of my favorite artists for a long time, but this feels like the summation of his musical career. The quirky and funny rapping of his first two albums are here, as well as the retro-R&B of “Awaken, My Love!” It’s the complete package.

Lyrically, he’s as fantastic as ever, portraying the common discontent, tension, anger and fear among many people like me right now. These twelve songs are perfectly crafted.

This is an album for our times. I’ll be listening to this all year :happy-partydance:
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Romain »

Rustin Man (Paul Webb) - Clockdust is my first "coup de cœur" of the year.
I find Tom Waits from time to time, sometimes minimalist melodies à la Robert Wyatt and a very beautiful voice for me.
I come back to it more and more and the album grows in me each time. Good from beginning to end.
A good 9/10 now.
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PlasticRam
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

The new Dua Lipa album Future Nostalgia is sounding good. Getting great reviews.
I feel like that
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andyd1010
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by andyd1010 »

PlasticRam wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:48 pm The new Dua Lipa album Future Nostalgia is sounding good. Getting great reviews.
Wow, just listened, and this is a gigantic step up from her first album.
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Listyguy
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

Sufjan Stevens' new album came out a few days ago, and I finally got around to listening to it today. I do like it, but I'm not a huge fan of ambient music, so I didn't love it or anything. There are a few standout tracks though (namely "The Runaround").
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

PlasticRam wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:48 pm The new Dua Lipa album Future Nostalgia is sounding good. Getting great reviews.
I was pretty skeptical going in, as I'm not huge fan of mainstream pop, but wow. This album is an absolute treat. Really, really good stuff here.
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Schüttelbirne
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Schüttelbirne »

A rough ranking:

1. Gina Schwarz | Pannonica
2. Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra | If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours
3. Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey | Invisible Ritual
4. Dmitrij Golovanov & Jan Maksimowicz | Beyond
5. Jasper Hoiby | Planet B
6. Stabscotch | 7 Is a Cycle
7. Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard & Steve Swallow | Life Goes On
8. The Sorcerers | In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God
9. Jonah Parzen-Johnson | Imagine Giving Up
10. Pat Metheny | From This Place
11. Ekmeles | A Howl, That Was Also a Prayer
12. Keeley Forsyth | Debris
13. Porridge Radio | Every Bad
14. Moses Boyd | Dark Matter
15. Beatrice Dillon | Workaround
16. Horse Lords | The Common Task
17. Rodrigo y Gabriela | Mettal EP
18. Lil Darkie | THIS DOES NOT EXIST
19. Moon Hooch | Life on Other Planets
20. Katie Gately | Loom
21. Wire | Mind Hive
22. Calibro 35 | MOMENTUM
23. Bonny Light Horseman | Bonny Light Horseman
24. Tim Berne's Snakeoil | The Fantastic Mrs. 10
25. Zebra Katz | Less Is Moor
26. Tame Impala | The Slow Rush
27. Jeff Parker | Suite for Max Brown
28. Makaya McCraven | We're New Again
29. Amanda | Durch die Ewigkeit
30. yMusic | Ecstatic Science

A few words:
My new number 1 is a double album by Austrian bassist Gina Schwarz and her ensemble, titled Pannonica in reference to Pannonica de Koenigswarter, an important patron of jazz music, especially for Thelonious Monk (the German Wikipedia also tells me she was the "personification of a female hipster" but cites no reference). The album is full of charming compositions and improvisations and the fun the ensemble had while playing it is palpable. Just an example: There's six very short pieces called "cuts": One of the musicians shouts a random word (we don't hear it, but it's the title of the cut), and all the members improvise around this word for one minute. "Cut V Quantenmechanik" translates to quantum mechanics and it sounds just like it. An incredibly fun album. Favorite track: "New Year's Eve"
If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours probably has the best album title of the year (so far, at least). It's a recording of a concert from last year and features exciting big band music. Favorite track: "Botteknott / Elastic Circle"
Invisible Ritual is a collaboration between violinist Jennifer Curtis and the very gifted drummer Tyshawn Sorey who together improvise in an exceptional manner. Favorite track: "Invisible Ritual: IV. -"
Pianist Dmitrij Golovanov and saxophonist Jan Maksimowicz create a desolate soundscape with the help of electronics on Beyond. Favorite track: "Birth".
Jasper Hoiby isn't interested in small things; instead he plans to make four albums about humanity, the ecology, artificial intelligence etc. in the coming years. If Planet B is a sign of things to come, we can be very excited. He mixes spoken word tracks with completely instrumental improvisations. It feels urgent without being preachy. Favorite track: "Interconnectedness", "The Dinosaur"
Stabscotch's EP is the highest placed non-jazz record here and they deserve it. It's rock containing violin and cello, but completely mixing them up, bringing in crazed-up vocals. Favorite track: "Blood Loves // Satyrs"
Carla Bley is basically a living jazz legend. Her 1971 album Escalator Over the Hill is one of the most difficult, but also rewarding listening experiences I've had in listening for the '70s poll. Her new album is much more quiet, but very enjoyable ECM-style jazz. The trio lacks a drummer, but they don't really need one with her wonderful compositions, like "Beautiful Telephones" (I'm not talking about that title) and especially the title composition "Life Goes On" (it really does). Favorite track: "Life Goes On: Life Goes On"
The Sorcerers make a fictional soundtrack for a movie that I would just love to watch because it sounds like a LOT of fun. Favorite tracks: "Opening Titles", "Summoning the Monkey God"
Jonah Parzen-Johnson is another saxophonist mixing jazz with electronics and the result is also pretty great. Favorite tracks: "Up", "Stand Still"
Pat Metheny's new album is a collection of easily listenable jazz pieces. I've heard people call it kitschy, but I don't care. Favorite track: "America Undefined"
Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble performing classical compositions (mostly a cappella). I love what they're able to do with their voices.
From a very bad experience comes Keeley Forsyth's debut album Debris. She suffered from depression, an effect of which was her inability to speak. The vulnerability of this very short record is deafening in its quietness (great expression, I know). Favorite tracks: "Look to Yourself", "Butterfly"

I don't have the time to go through all of these (man, it's so time consuming writing in English), so just a few additional words:
- Rodrigo y Gabriela are incredible and vastly underrated. They're using two acoustic guitars to incredible effect. Just listen to their cover of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" to know what I mean.
- Zebra Katz almost matches Prince in his horniness on some points of his album.
- All of this is of course subject to change.

EDIT: There are six "cuts" on Pannonica, not three.
Last edited by Schüttelbirne on Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jirin
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

I didn't like his previous stuff that much but the new Childish Gambino is excellent. Possible year end top ten, at the very least. Not on my current list just because I'm still in my first listen.

1. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
2. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
3. Destroyer - Have We Met
4. Grimes - MIss Anthropocene
5. HMTLD - West Of Eden
6. Moon Horch - Life On Other Planets
7. Keeley Forsyth - Debris
8. Gemini Eye - Murdered Arc Remains
9. Caribou - Suddenly
10. Alien Nosejob - Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
11. Myrkur - Folkesange
12. Poppy - I Disagree
13. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
14. Algiers - There Is No Year
15. The Drive By Truckers - The Unraveling
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

I'm very excited for the new Yves Tumor album. His last album I thought was good not great, but I'm really liking all the singles off this new one. It comes out on Friday.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Every year I think, "This is the year I'm going to end up hearing less music," but that doesn't look like the case for 2020.

Current list:

1 | HMLTD | West of Eden
This is weird pop that I wish there was more of. This album is loaded with fresh ideas, maybe not executed perfectly, but the brilliance of those ideas still shines through.
2 | King Krule | Man Alive!
I just like putting this on in the background while I'm reading or working, like an ambient album. I can still focus on it in the foreground as well.
3 | Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
Here we are, I'm buying into the hype. This is a really good pop album. However, with that being said, I do have a couple of reservations. First, Dua Lipa is a decent vocalist (she has the tone of someone like Lauryn Hill), but not great. The second has to do with the type of pop music this album is going for, which I would like to call "major label pop." If you throw this much money on an album, of course it's going to sound good. The music feels generally like a lot of other major label pop albums, with the same flourishes and production choices. An album this good only comes out once every couple years, but in the end, Future Nostalgia is only a desperately dug-up gem on the dead-end road of major label pop. On a side tangent, this is one of the reasons I love Kero Kero Bonito, because their music defecates on these major label pop cliches, avoiding the tropes of production and subject material, but then surpasses these big-money albums in terms of the core of pop, which is hooks and melodies.
4 | Trial of the Golden Witch | Nujabro
A guy rapping amateurishly over the late Nujabes' beats. This is mainly here because I like this vlogger's personality, and the sampled beats are great.
5 | R.A.P. Ferreira | Purple Moonlight Pages
A lyrically abstract guy over sorta psychedelic beats. They complement each other well. (I think this guy also goes under the name milo, but don't quote me on that)
6 | tricot | Makkuro
Fun, light (or as light as it can get) math rock.
7 | Horse Lords | The Common Task
Cycling instrumentation, sometimes getting dissonant and ear-splitting. Maybe a possible entryway into deeper and darker similar stuff like Swans. (Start with "People's Park")



Honorable mentions:
Clarence Clarity | Dead Screen Scrolls
Ambient album with epicness in the style of something Moby would do.
Dan Deacon | Mystic Familiar
I need to revisit this, but this was a pleasant mix of indie and electronics.
Kesha | High Road
More mainstream pop artists need to be as weird as Kesha.
Mac Miller | Circles
Low-key pop/R&B album, with lyrics that are worth studying just a bit.
María José Llergo | Sanacíon EP
I heard this because I liked Rosalía, but I feel like I basically got the same thing I've already heard, but not quite as good. To me it sounds like the label pushed this out because of Rosalía's success. I don't know if that is just because I'm not familiar with this music style. If you like Rosalía and want to hear more, check it out.

Looking forward to Moses Sumney's full album, Joji, MGMT (?), Rina Sawayama, Kendrick Lamar, Corey Feldman, Pusha T (?), Fiona Apple...
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

Just heard my first "great" album of the year. Here we go...

Great Tier:

1. Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind

Very Good Tier:

2. Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud
3. Destroyer- Have We Met
4. Dua Lipa- Future Nostalgia
5. Tame Impala- The Slow Rush
6. Makaya McCraven- We're New Again: a Reimagining by Makaya McCraven
7. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- 2017 - 2019
8. Thundercat- It Is What It Is

Good Tier:

9. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony
10. Soccer Mommy- Color Theory
11. The Weeknd- After Hours
12. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans
13. Grimes- Miss Anthropocene
14. Dan Deacon- Mystic Familiar
15. U.S. Girls- Heavy Light
16. Disclosure- Ecstasy (EP)

Decent Tier:

17. Caribou- Suddenly
18. Jeff Parker- Suite for Max Brown
19. Georgia- Seeking Thrills

Poor Tier:

20. A.A.L (Against All Logic)- Illusions of Shameless Abundance (EP)
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

Gonna have to echo the praise towards the new Dua Lipa and Yves Tumor albums. Definitely two of the year’s best so far.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by sonofsamiam »

Schüttelbirne wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2020 4:03 pm A rough ranking:

1. Gina Schwarz | Pannonica
2. Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra | If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours
3. Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey | Invisible Ritual
4. Dmitrij Golovanov & Jan Maksimowicz | Beyond
5. Jasper Hoiby | Planet B
6. Stabscotch | 7 Is a Cycle
7. Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard & Steve Swallow | Life Goes On
8. The Sorcerers | In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God
9. Jonah Parzen-Johnson | Imagine Giving Up
10. Pat Metheny | From This Place
Thanks for this post and your comments! It seems we are like-minded music-wise, can't wait to dig into these...
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

I'm enjoying the Yves Tumor album as well. There's something about his style that's very accessible while still fitting into the "weird" bucket. At only 36 minutes for 12 songs with no dead spots, it just flies by. Worthy follow-up to Safe in the Hands of Love, which was one of my favorites of 2018.

I also like the new Yaeji album What We Drew, though for some reason it's being labeled as a mixtape.

I've got plenty of listening to do with recent albums by Nicolas Jaar, Four Tet, Tops, Empress Of, and Thundercat that I still need to check out.
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PlasticRam
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

The Weeknd - After Hours 9.0
Grimes - Miss Anthropocene 8.3
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia 8.0
Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 7.5
Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind 7.4

Tame Impala - The Slow Rush 7.2
Caribou - Suddenly 6.9
Destroyer - Have We Met 6.8
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony 6.8
Lyra Pramuk - Fountain 6.7
Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 6.5
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud 6.5
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround 5.7

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My all-time album list at 700 albums:

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/galfond/ ... st-albums/
I feel like that
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

New Strokes is weaksauce.

Chromatics have a surprise release, I'm listening to it now.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Jirin wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:08 pm New Strokes is weaksauce.
I quite like the new Strokes. It's not blowing me away, but it seems like a nice evolution of their music without completely losing their core appeal. The only thing that I can really fault the album for is taking some ideas from other artists, but if they're doing it well, it's not really a terrible thing.
Probably the closer is the best song on the album...

What don't you like about it?
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

A new album from Laura Marling is always welcome. Song for Our Daughter is yet another solid, if unspectacular, album in one of the most consistent careers of the last decade. It looks like this may be getting the best reviews of her career (91 on Metacritic, 8.6 on ADM) so perhaps I need to revisit to see if it achieves the heights of my favorite of hers, Once I Was an Eagle.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nassim »

Fiona Apple's new album just got Pitchfork's first 10 in 10 years !!!
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Listyguy
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

Nassim wrote: Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:48 am Fiona Apple's new album just got Pitchfork's first 10 in 10 years !!!
I just listened to it for the first time, it's probably her best album to date. I need to process it further before making any sweeping conclusions though.
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Listyguy
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

I've listened a few more times now. It's a great album. I'm not as high on it as Pitchfork (I still give Grimes the edge at the moment for album of the year, but that could change), but it's certainly great. "Left Alone" is my favorite Fiona Apple song, and a lot of the percussion ideas that we see on songs like "On I Go" sound like a continuation (and improvement) on that sound. Other avant-garde ideas creep into the likes of "Heavy Balloon," which takes that song to another level. Combine this with Apple's lyrics (which as always are stellar), and some intriguing, complex vocal arrangements and you have all the makings of a classic.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

prosecutorgodot wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:29 pm
Jirin wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:08 pm New Strokes is weaksauce.
I quite like the new Strokes. It's not blowing me away, but it seems like a nice evolution of their music without completely losing their core appeal. The only thing that I can really fault the album for is taking some ideas from other artists, but if they're doing it well, it's not really a terrible thing.
Probably the closer is the best song on the album...

What don't you like about it?
It's hard to be specific since I'm remembering based on one listen a few days ago.

It presents the attitude of the early 00s British garage rock wave in a way that feels uncommitted and passe. Like they've entered the phase of their career a lot of the 60s and 70s acts spent the 90s and 00s in, unspectacular albums by people in their 40s and 50s trying to recapture the sound they pioneered in their 20s. It's like A Bigger Bang of The Strokes. Also I find the title groan inducing, "The New Abnormal". They're applying the 'Everything is stupid' tone of titles like "Everything You Think I Am, That's What I Am Not", only opportunistically applying it to a real crisis.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters has a 100 on Metacritic with 17 reviews already in, you normally only see albums break 90 when they have like 7 reviews. I'm sure it'll regress toward the mean a bit but that's still amazing.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

Jirin wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:32 pm
prosecutorgodot wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:29 pm
Jirin wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:08 pm New Strokes is weaksauce.
I quite like the new Strokes. It's not blowing me away, but it seems like a nice evolution of their music without completely losing their core appeal. The only thing that I can really fault the album for is taking some ideas from other artists, but if they're doing it well, it's not really a terrible thing.
Probably the closer is the best song on the album...

What don't you like about it?
Also I find the title groan inducing, "The New Abnormal". They're applying the 'Everything is stupid' tone of titles like "Everything You Think I Am, That's What I Am Not", only opportunistically applying it to a real crisis.
I also found the album mediocre, but the title predates the COVID-19 crisis in America. They announced the title at a Sanders rally in early February.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

I feel as though though Making a Door Less Open was pretty great (I gave it a 9/10) yet I don't see much talk about it. Controversial opinion maybe, but I honestly thought it was a significant improvement over Teens of Denial, which overall kind of disappointed me. The track "Hollywood" in specific sticks out to me as one that seems like it could be a song of the year contender, not unlike Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.

Add it to my (really small) list of albums this year that I’m gonna add to my All-Time pool
Porridge Radio | Every Bad
Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Car Seat Headrest | Making a Door Less Open
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nick »

Holden wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 1:22 am The track "Hollywood" in specific sticks out to me as one that seems like it could be a song of the year contender, not unlike Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.
I'm glad that there's someone getting enjoyment out of the song, but I think "Hollywood" is my least favorite song of the year so far. The vocals are beyond grating. Overall I thought MADLO was pretty mediocre, but man, "Hollywood" was something else, and not in a good way.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nassim »

Holden wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 1:22 am Controversial opinion maybe, but I honestly thought it was a significant improvement over Teens of Denial, which overall kind of disappointed me.
Teens of Denial is possibly my favorite album of the decade, so yeah, I'd call that controversial !

I enjoyed Making a Door Less Open, but it's still a letdown compared to Teens of Denial and Twin Fantasy.
I like the first 3 songs quite a lot though, that's the part of the album where the new sound merges well with CSH style, especially Can't Cool Me Down.
I'm divided myself on Hollywood, but at the end it's a very badass riff but maybe not much else.
Hymn is a big no-no, and the 2nd version of Deadlines is not different and rewarding enough to deserve to also be included, especially so close to the first one... 2 versions of the same song in an album is always a risk, and from the top of my mind, the only example I can find where it paid of is Yo La Tengo's Big Day Coming.
The rest of the album is OK but not outstanding, but probably the most disappoint track is There Must Be More Than Blood. Long Car Seat Headrest tracks are usually very rewarding (with Beach-Life in Death arguably being their best track, that's what Paste picked in their recent list and while it is not my very favorite, it is hard to argue against) but that one doesn't evolve much.

I think it's better than mediocre, but clearly not the outstanding music I fell in love with when Teens of Denial came out.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Gillingham »

Top five for now:
1. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
3. Caribou - Suddenly
4. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
5. Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats - Unlocked
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

Looking forward to new Magnetic Fields album in a week.

Current list: (31 total 2020 albums in my system)
1. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
2. HMTLD - West Of Eden
3. Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
4. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
5. Moon Horch - Life On Other Planets
6. Destroyer - Have We Met
7. Sufjan Stevens - Aporia
8. Myrkur - Folkensange
9. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
10. Poppy - I Disagree
11. Keely Forsyth - Debris
12. Caribou - Suddenly
13. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
14. Alien Nosejob - Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
15. Gemini Eye - Murdered Arc Remains
16. Jeff Parker - Suite For Max Brown
17. The Drive By Truckers - The Unraveling
18. Chromatics - Faded Now
19. Lily Hiatt - Walking Proof
20. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by notbrianeno »

Essential
Fiona Apple | Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Grimes | Miss Anthropocene
The Weeknd | After Hours
070 Shake | Modus Vivendi

Excellent
Soccer Mommy | Color Theory
Against All Logic | 2017 - 2019
Tame Impala | The Slow Rush
Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
J Balvin | Colores
Christine and the Queens | La vita nuova EP
Poppy | I Disagree
Lil Uzi Vert | Eternal Atake

Great
Dogleg | Melee
Caribou | Suddenly
Destroyer | Have We Met
Arca | @@@@@
Nicolas Jaar | Cenizas
Drake | Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Yves Tumor | Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Code Orange | Underneath
Halsey | Manic
Disclosure | Ecstasy EP
The Strokes | The New Abnormal
Empress Of | I'm Your Empress Of
Sonikku | Joyful Death
Megan thee Stallion | Suga EP

Good
Waxahatchee | Saint Cloud
Pearl Jam | Gigaton
Four Tet | Sixteen Oceans
Yaeji | What We Drew
Phantogram | Ceremony
Joey LaBeija | Enemies of Progress
Sam Hunt | Southside
Arca | ^^^^^
King Krule | Man Alive!
Various Artists | The Turning (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Decent
COIN | Dreamland
Purity Ring | Womb
Seven Lions | Find Another Way
Rina Sawayama | Sawayama
i_o | Rootkit EP
ACTIONЯƎꟼ⅃AY | Mind.EXE

Mediocre
U.S. Girls | Heavy Light
La Roux | Supervision
Kesha | High Road
Princess Nokia | Everything Is Beautiful
Russ | Shake the Snow Globe
Justin Bieber | Changes
Cold Butterfly
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

Bad Bunny, who’s YHLQMDLG is one of my favorite albums of the year so far, dropped another album yesterday. I’m definitely gonna have to check that out.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

Jirin wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 2:30 am 14. Alien Nosejob - Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
This is one of those that I need to hear just to see what an artist called "Alien Nosejob" sounds like!
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Madzong
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Madzong »

My top albums so far:

8/10

Pearl Jam - Gigaton
The Strokes - New Abnormal
Green Day - Father of All...
X - ALPHABETLAND

7.5/10

Georgia - Seeking Thrills
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff

7/10

Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
of Montreal - Ur Fun
Lanterns On The Lake - Spook The Herd
Hamilton Leithauser - The Loves Of Your Life
Porridge Radio - Every Bad
Caribou - Suddenly
Torres - Silver Tongue
"On a mountain range, I'm Dr. Strange"
Jirin
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

There’s a new X album? Have to add that to my list.
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Madzong
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Madzong »

Jirin wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 4:03 am There’s a new X album? Have to add that to my list.
Its really good! It was a bit of a sneaky release!

From Wikipedia:

"Alphabetland is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band X. Released digitally in April 2020, it is their first studio release in 27 years and the first with their original line-up in the past 35 years.[3] X released the album with no prior announcement to coincide with the 40th anniversary of their debut album Los Angeles and credited songwriting to all four members for the first time in their career. The release has received positive reviews from critics."
"On a mountain range, I'm Dr. Strange"
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PlasticRam
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

The Weeknd - After Hours 9.0
Grimes - Miss Anthropocene 8.3
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia 8.0
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters 7.9
Keiyaa - Forever, Ya Girl 7.6
Mac Miller - Circles 7.5

Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 7.5
X - Alphabetland 7.4
Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind 7.4
Kehlani - It Was Good Until It Wasn't 7.3
Tame Impala - The Slow Rush 7.2
Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes 7.1
Caribou - Suddenly 6.9
Tech N9ne - EnterFear 6.9
Destroyer - Have We Met 6.8
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony 6.8
Lyra Pramuk - Fountain 6.7
Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 6.5
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud 6.5
Blake Mills - Mutable Set 5.9
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround 5.7
I feel like that
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by prosecutorgodot »

I'm a bit late I suppose, but I've been sitting on it, and now I want to say something about the best singer-songwriter album of the year so far. Don't miss out if you haven't heard it.

Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter

After listening to this, I really wonder how anyone could want more from a folky singer-songwriter album. Each song is so lovingly crafted. Like seriously, how can this not be on par with Nick Drake's stuff? This is the type of album that will just get better as I get older.

Yeah, definitely a strong contender for my album of the year.

"Lately I've been thinking about our daughter growing old /
All of the bullshit that she might be told"
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

Magnetic Fields - Quickies is good. Not on the level of 69 and 50, but better than Distortion/Realism/i.

There's the usual songwriting wit. Like a song called "The biggest t*** in history". At the start of the song you think she's talking about breasts, and it becomes more and more clear as the song goes on that she's talking about birds.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

prosecutorgodot wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 5:27 am After listening to this, I really wonder how anyone could want more from a folky singer-songwriter album.
That's how I feel about almost all of Marling's 2010s albums! She is on another level.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jirin »

My all time rankings of Laura Marling albums:
#168: Once I Was An Eagle
#312: Semper Femina
#701: A Creature I Don't Know
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

Enjoyed the new Bad Bunny as expected. I'm also really loving the new Charli XCX album, which continues her blend of catchy exuberance with the avant-pop of artists like SOPHIE and 100 gecs. The at-home feel of the album is also a high point.
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PlasticRam
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by PlasticRam »

Cold Butterfly wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 5:25 pm I'm also really loving the new Charli XCX album, which continues her blend of catchy exuberance with the avant-pop of artists like SOPHIE and 100 gecs.
Yeah I like the new Charli too. I'm a fan of hers, as well as Sophie's.

Edit: Liking 1000 gecs too. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Jackson »

PlasticRam wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 6:26 pm
Cold Butterfly wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 5:25 pm I'm also really loving the new Charli XCX album, which continues her blend of catchy exuberance with the avant-pop of artists like SOPHIE and 100 gecs.
Yeah I like the new Charli too. I'm a fan of hers, as well as Sophie's.

Edit: Liking 1000 gecs too. Thanks for the recommendation!
How I'm Feeling Now is great stuff. I like it more than her album last year as it's much more consistent in style and tone, and it's the most similar thing she's done to her best album, Pop 2.
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bonnielaurel
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by bonnielaurel »

Here's my very provisional top 10. These albums will probably finish in my top 20/30 this year, but the order can still change after relistening.
  1. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
  2. María José Llergo - Sanación
  3. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
  4. Nicolas Jaar - Cenizas
  5. Poppy - I Disagree
  6. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
  7. Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now
  8. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Reunions
  9. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
  10. Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/bonniela ... bums-2020/
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Nassim »

Jeff Rosenstock's surprise release NO DREAM is pretty good, POST- has some great moments but No Dream keep delivering on fun and catchy songs, somewhere between early 90s indie rock (Dinosaur Jr, Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh...) and the more recent trend of pop-punk revival (PUP, Dogleg...). The final track, Ohio Tpke, is one of the standout tracks of the year so far, and a good encapsulation of Rosenstock's music.
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Cold Butterfly »

The new Freddie Gibbs album is excellent. This is the third straight year where he’s dropped a superlative album (first with Fetti in 2018 and Bandana in 2019)

There’s also a new Run The Jewels album coming out tonight. I’m excited for that.
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Holden
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Holden »

Damn, a new Run the Jewels album early? Guess the next albums on my listening list (Sex Machine and Benji) are gonna have to wait until tomorrow....
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
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Listyguy
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Re: Albums of 2020 Discussion Thread

Post by Listyguy »

Nadine Shah, who I learned about a few months ago from Moderately Acclaimed, is releasing an album later this month. The singles from it are pretty great, especially "Kitchen Sink," so I'm looking forward to the full album.
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