"She said 'Why do you play all them sad songs? Who went and hurt you so badly?'
I just laughed and said 'Baby, them sad songs are the only things that make me happy.'
Yeah, sad songs make me happy."
- BJ Barham: American Aquarium
Well... this year fucking sucked. There's not much sugarcoating that. I'm well aware that my musical preferences don't exactly lie in the "uplifting bangers" category, but this year more than ever I skewed depressing. They say that art reflexively meets the mood of the people. Good job, art.
Without further ado...
Top Albums of 2020
Honorable Mentions: Larkin Poe - Self Made Man; Tennis - Swimmer; Huey Lewis & The News - Weather; Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1 & 2; Freddie Gibbs + The Alchemist - Alfredo
Early on in Melee, the Detroit emo rockers proclaim "Get drunk with your friends and stay at home...". This record was released March 13, 2020. The exact day a national state of emergency was declared. The line proved prophetic for the next... well... 9 months. And counting!
24) DUCKWRTH - SuperGood
23) Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
22) Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison
21) Moses Sumney - grae
20) Sierra Hull - 25 Trips
19) Katie Pruitt - Expectations
18) Brian Fallon - Local Honey
17) Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
16) Khruangbin - Mordechai
15) Bartees Strange - Live Forever
14) Kiwi Jr. - Football Money
13) Marcus King - El Dorado
12) John Moreland - LP5
11) Frances Quinlan - Likewise
10) Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions
9) Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
8) Sports Team - Deep Down Happy
7) Run The Jewels - RTJ4
6) American Aquarium - Lamentations
5) Drive-By Truckers - The Unraveling
4) Lilly Hiatt - Walking Proof
3) Tennessee Jet - The Country
2) Zephaniah OHora - Listening to the Music
1) Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern
Admittedly, I was fooled by DUCKWRTH's name and only listened to it because I thought it was some sort of Kendrick Lamar alter-ego. It's not, but it's still good! SuperGood is a collection of hip-hop that feels straight out of the mid 2000s, with the shimmery backing melodies to match.
The Boss' 20th record stands in stark contrast to 2019's Western Stars. Letter to You brings back much of the arena rock bombast that was recently sacrificed, peaking with "Ghosts" which will undoubtedly slide right into the E-Street live show when those are allowed to be a thing again.
The voice of The National didn't stray too far from the mold on this release, but that brought a comforting aspect to the project. The title track was the first release and is likely the strongest offering on the record. I'm interested to see if Berninger uses this project as a vehicle for more experimental sounds in the future.
Double albums are always concerning. By the end, they tend to drag. It's just so hard to put out over an hour of quality material. Moses Sumney's concept of the double album does not fit the narrative. grae is an artistic achievement throughout, but doesn't really peak until the "Bless Me"/"Before You Go" couplet that rounds out disc two.
Sierra Hull is a hall of fame level mandolin player (and member of Sturgill Simpson's current band and The First Ladies of Bluegrass), but she puts her own songwriting sensibilities on display here. 25 Trips is her fourth solo offering, but it's her strongest and indicative of untapped potential in the songwriting space.
Although she's got a bit more twang in her voice, Pruitt's songs conjure thoughts of the boygenius trio - Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. There's a bit more chorus to Pruitt's work (like literally, at times, a church chorus), but she should slide right into that stratosphere with moderate ease.
The former Gaslight Anthem frontman's third solo release strays farther from his punk roots than ever before, but with solid results throughout. At only eight songs, it clicks by a bit too fast, but there's something to be said for all killer no filler.
This record teetered on guilty pleasure throughout the year. It's somewhat formulaic bubblgum pop (and I hear they may also have gotten Tik Tok famous, smh), but the record is carefree fun. The second track "Cuffing Season" is probably the best demonstration.
Typically an instrumentally focused funk band, Khruangbin made a big change this time around: Lyrics! "Time (You and I)" is a great example of the improvement even a simple repeating lyric can bring. Aside from this release, the group also collaborated with Leon Bridges this year to spectacular results.
This debut record is a little schizophrenic, jumping genres seemingly every song. The result, though, shows some of the highest ceiling potential of the year. Aside from this record, he also posted a collection of National covers this year as a pandemic pet project.
As a debut release for this group of Canadian rockers, Football Money makes comparisons somewhat easy. From a historical standpoint, Kiwi Jr is Pavement. From the contemporary, they're Parquet Courts. What that really means is they're rapid fire, witty lyrics over jangly guitars, and I'd like more, please.
This record reached highs as significant as any other this year, but in total, the lows dragged it down a bit for me. Against steep odds, though, the future of blues guitar is a white kid from South Carolina. Toward the end of the record, "Too Much Whiskey" is a melodic tribute to Charlie Daniels, one of the many musicians lost this year.
At the risk of overselling it, traditional folk plucker John Moreland introduced a bit of electronic flair into LP5 and got some Bon Iver level results. This slow burn of a record showcases the gains that can be made from bringing a higher production value to songs that are already capable of supporting themselves.
This record technically launches a second solo project for Frances Quinlan - Hop Along started that was as well - but there's no doubt this is a departure from that band sound. Ever present is Quinlan's unique vocal cadence and approach. You either love it or hate it. Count me in the former camp. The record caps with a vast reimagination of Built To Spill's "Carry The Zero".
Although this may not stack up historically in the Isbell catalogue - an impossibly high bar for anyone - , it's still among the best offerings of this year. The best song on the record (and one of the better of the year) is "It Gets Easier", while the heavy hitting guitar comes out on "Overseas".
It seems like Katie Crutchfield and her Waxahatchee project are always afterthoughts in the grand hierarchy of contemporary songwriters, but that may change after Saint Cloud. This is the most country record she's released - hear that subtle change in her voice - and the avenue suits her. Production on the record was smartly handled by Brad Cook, and the whole release is better for it.
In the spirit of Arctic Monkeys and Blur before them, British indie kids Sports Team have a built in swagger on this debut record. The backing band displays versatility throughout, which never allows a sense of Britpop sameness to settle in. The lyricism alternates between scathing critique and tongue-in-cheek silliness, but neither is more effective than the other. I'm excited to see what these guys do next.
Ironically enough, for an album released in the backdrop of 2020, Run The Jewels have actually pulled the aggression back a notch on RTJ4. Previous releases were absolutely relentless. RTJ4 addresses the themes of the time in a more subtle manner. The writing content is given center stage here rather than the delivery, and overwhelmingly the results are positive.
Lamentations is a record full of inflection points. The songs are littered with characters - the North Carolina tobacco industry, the general south-east region of the United States, and even songwriter BJ Barham himself - facing proverbial forks in the road and staring down decisions. The whole message of the record is magnified by the current state of the world, but it would have been nearly as applicable any time in recent history.
The Truckers don't exactly specialize in the subtlety of songwriting that I typically enjoy. The lead singles off this record - "Thoughts and Prayers" + "Armageddon's Back In Town" - just beat you over the head with their goals, but the rollicking bar band still has a way of worming in your head and never letting go. A band this deep into its life cycle should not be this consistent, but album after album, these heathens deliver.
After rising to prominence with her last release, Hiatt cements her own place with Walking Proof. Oscillating between 80s Alt Rock styles and quiet Americana plucking, Lilly Hiatt (and all her friends that play on the recordings) present the most complete and lush sounding album of her career.
Longtime Cody Jinks co-writer Tennessee Jet doesn't release too much on his own, but this album is special. The tracklist includes two cuts Jinks previously recorded, but in both cases, The Country contains the definitive versions. Leading track "Stray Dogs" is on the shortlist for song of the year, whereas single "Johnny" could easily be a long lost White Stripes tune.
Merle Haggard. Those were the first words that came to mind on my initial pass through this record. I'd never heard of OHora before, but I quickly realized that anyone that had ever listened to his art has made the same comparison. It's not lazy. He's not a tribute act. His voice just sounds the same. And he can write the hell out of a song. OHora is among the handful of contemporaries proving that traditional country music is in good hands.
The first release on Oh Boy Records following John Prine's death could not have been any better. Lyrically, this is some of the best work of the last decade. It's heavy. Like most debut records, these songs are clearly lived in and perfected over years of tweaking. McKinley turned 40 just prior to the release. He blames his Cincinnati upbringing for his delayed entry into the music business - apparently the rust belt doesn't exactly encourage artistic license - but the experiences he had along the way are what propel this record into the stratosphere. After running the ten song gauntlet, you'll find the duality of Die Midwestern: It's one half pride and stubbornness in your upbringing, but it's also half self-fulfilling prophecy. It's also the best record of the year.
And that's that for another year. For whatever reason, I cannot get a Spotify playlist of songs to embed below, so I guess we're just skipping that on this go around. Whatever. 2020 strikes for one final time...
