I thought I started strong with introducing myself to new music this year. Right from January, I started following albums of the month lists and I thought I did find some good new albums. But then the pandemic happened and most albums were postponed so they could be released when touring was again possible. I don't think many people realised just how long it would take until that happened, so many of these albums were released later in the year anyway. In any case, when the pandemic started, I lost my momentum in looking for new albums. I got occupied by recording my own album and somehow I felt more comfortable listening to those old favourite albums of mine. I also listened to a lot of old jazz this year as I was reading more than ever and needed instrumental music in the background. Around the end of November, I started investigating albums I had missed this year. It proofed much more difficult than I had imagined to find good albums. There were good individual songs here and there, but it was kind of difficult to find albums that would've worked in their entirety. I still think this wasn't one of the best years in music, but I think I did manage to find a nice collection of albums to this list. Many of these only opened properly after listening to them many times. Only time will tell if I keep listening to these in the longer term.
This is an album I only found very recently. I've never heard of this singer-songwriter before and it looks like there isn't that much of his music available on Spotify. This is his third album, but it's the only one available on Spotify. The album is produced by Phoebe Bridgers. In terms of sounds, this is a lot better than Phoebe Bridgers' own second album. The pure acoustic folk sounds are intimate and beautiful. The album seems to be a classic break-up album, but with a one big difference. It seems that the storyteller was the one who ended it all and he's just sort of apologetic about it while thinking it was the right decision. A strange angle to a breakup album for sure, but makes it interesting. I will be interested to see where this guy's career takes him. Listen to the album on Spotify.
When Phoebe Bridgers released her debut album a couple of years ago, it was the best thing in music at the time. Her amazing airy voice was phenomenal, her songs really well written and even the sounds were fantastic for a modern folk album. Now, a couple of years later, I had to really consider quite long whether I was going to include her second album on this list at all. The album starts really strong and the first few songs would make it a worthy follower to her debut album, but then something happens and rest of the album is just quite boring. The melodies aren't very interesting and the sounds have changed from nice acoustic folk into this buzzy electronic, and frankly, kind of boring soundworld. Finally I considered the beginning of the album good enough to put it here on the list, but I would've expected better from Phoebe Bridgers. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I discovered Peter Oren a couple of years ago when he released his previous album Anthropocene. His deep baritone voice is very engaging. It makes you listen to every word he sings. I had the pleasure to see him live a couple of times a couple of years ago and he's even better live. This third album of his is about the suffering of animals in animal production, but many of the sentiments are also very fitting for this year of covid-19. There are lots of lyrics about being imprisoned and having a life without freedom. This is a bit of a mixed album in quality. The best songs like the opening track are really fantastic, but there are also some that don't really manage to flow nicely. Oren is at his best when he let's his vocals fill the room in menacing and melancholic tones. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The thing about the Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel is that she always sounds phenomenal, but there's not enough variety in her songs to make her albums phenomenal. There are some advantages in this approach though. When you're feeling tired or just want to wallow in hypnotic beauty, her albums work perfectly for this purpose, but when you're more alert, you maybe want more surprises. Despite this criticism, this is a fantastic album. The ghostly dream pop sounds and Obel's magnificent vocals are too good to ignore in the best albums of the year list. The main focus in Obel's albums is always on her vocals and the piano, but on this album there are some interesting electronic instruments as well, but they're being used really tastefully, which only improves the ghostly atmosphere of the album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I got acquainted with Tunng already almost ten years ago, but somehow I managed to almost forget they existed. Then I noticed they had released a new album this year and it proofed to be better than I anticipated. The album is filled with songs about death, which seems appropriate for 2020. There are quite macabre lyrics in many of the songs and there's some great black humour in the album. Tungg's music could perhaps in some sense be called folk, even though most of the instruments are electronic. There's something in the melodies and beautiful vocal harmonies that make me think of folk instead of electronica. There are also some fantastic psychedelic elements in these songs. The album gets a bit more boring towards the end, but the first half is quite fantastic. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Bonny Light Horseman is a folk supergroup consisting of Anaïs Mitchell, Josh Kaufman and the Fruit Bats frontman Eric D. Johnson. On this album, they're tackling a bunch of traditional folk songs giving new, more modern light to them. They have kept to the traditional sound of the guitars and vocal harmonies, but the production is somehow fresh and modern. You might draw similarities between this album and the Fleet Foxes debut album. I'm not sure if I should've really rated this album even higher than this because it sounds quite phenomenal now that I'm listening to it, but I guess it's down to my mood where it fits in at any given day. For fans of acoustic guitar picking, Americana folk and beautiful vocal harmonies, this is the album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I've been going back and forth with this album as to where to place it on this list. I sometimes adore this album and sometimes it almost says nothing to me. More recently, however, I've considered it quite brilliant. I think the only problem is that the first couple of songs are more boring than the rest of the album. Soccer Mommy, a.k.a. Sophie Allison makes beautifully raw indie folk. You can hear enormous amount of different influences in her music from bands I've listened to for years, but it's still not just a copycat we're talking about. Soccer Mommy proofs with this second album of hers that she has entered the big leagues of the indie circles. There's nice variety between lo-fi and rugged acoustic folk and airy and electronic indie pop throughout the album. This album requires a few listens to really sink in. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Jonathan Wilson is probably my favourite artist in the last ten years. The only reason this album isn't the number one this year is that Dixie Blur is not his best album. That isn't to say that this isn't a fantastic album. If there only was this album, it would be number one for sure. It's just that I know Wilson can be even better. Okay, enough about negativity. Like every other Jonathan Wilson album, I had to listen to this quite a few times before I understood just how amazing the album is. That's the great thing about Wilson's psychedelic multi-instrumentalist sound. It grows on you slowly but when it hits you, it hits you hard. The americana sounds on the album are once again pure bliss. His music sounds retro, but who cares when the result is so magnificent. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Leonard Cohen may be dead, but no worries, Jarvis Cocker has taken his place. Cocker's remarkable baritone voice has gotten even deeper as he has gotten older. The songs on this album have the likeness of Leonard Cohen albums of the late 80s, but the sounds are more modern and frankly better. I didn't much care for Cocker's solo career before this album. I mean, there were some good songs, but this project has brought back the thing that made Cocker so amazing on Pulp albums, seduction. The whispers remind me of my favourite Pulp songs, such as I Spy and This is Hardcore. Musically this album is also fantastic. There's a huge variety of styles combining electronica, rock and even house music. Jarvis is is back and what a comeback it is. Now I just wish I could see this album performed live. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I don't fully understand the rational arguments for why I made this album my number one this year, but I just love the album. The second album of New Zealand based The Beths is a perfect indie rock album. There's just enough scruffiness in the sounds while the songwriting is phenomenal. The melodies are catchy and almost every song on the album makes you want to jump along. Oh, how great it would be to see this band live. I guess the reason why I like this so much is that it reminds me of the things that made me fall in love with indie rock more than twenty years ago. There are definitely similarities to 90s alternative rock scene in these sounds. I have been feeling a bit down lately due to the extended covid-19 restrictions, but this album has made me feel happy over and over again and I've been dancing to them on my own in the kitchen while making food. Listen to the album on Spotify.
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