ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

Finally

66 is probably fine knowing another one will surely be coming up

Also, it sounds like farting mice behind the wall trying to build a nest.

tbf this description justifies the ranking over Perfume Genius

xp they're a weird band where some of the songs you might hate are someone else's favorites. They seem to have a unique combination of style and variation that makes it hard to debate the subjective qualitative merits of their tunes and gain a semblance of collective agreement

i think pom is right to characterize this record as hanging together less well than sign which is an unusually unified experience, but plus also feels more exploratory and dance-oriented (especially on tracks like "X4") and that is the autechre music i crave

I preferred Plus a bit more to Sign. It's a little meatier, and I had aural experiences while stoned and listening on headphones the likes of which I hadn't had since I first heard them in the late 90s. It's a really enjoyable Ae album

I had to check, but PLUS was a last minute cut from my ballot. It was a pretty tough cut to make, I really like it, but I wanted to give room for other stuff.

and i thought demurring about the moodymann album was going to be an unnecessary downer

when they release bad music i'll let you know jf

didn't know Johnny Fever disliked Ae. Thought there was a rule that if you liked Pavement, you liked Ae but apparently not.

i think pom is right to characterize this record as hanging together less well than sign which is an unusually unified experience, but plus also feels more exploratory and dance-oriented (especially on tracks like "X4") and that is the autechre music i crave

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, February 1, 2021 6:46 PM (thirty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

*raises hand* hi

xp who says I like Pavement (much)?

just checked and PLUS was my number 2. I doubt my number one will place, so *pops single party popper"

JF didn't you run the Pavement poll?

Yeah, I did. My 90s fanship of them has definitely waned over the last decade or so.

'marhide' is an excellent soundtrack to reading about and contemplating a Pavement fan losing his zeal for Pavement

Haha, what is the connection between Pavement and Autechre?

no idea

They were both slated to play Primavera 2021?

dog latin likes them, I think?

Nah, it's more that every morsel they put out is worshipped like it fell from God's hand. There's not much critical give and take. If Autechre releases anything, they'll be ranked in the poll.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, February 1, 2021 6:43 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is all fair and true. it's hard not to get philosophical about Autechre in a critical sense because there's not really such a good thing as "good" or "bad" Autechre - on the whole, fans just experience it and the experience is completely subjective. That said, I agree with many people (imago upthread) that the increasing length and impenetrability of their releases up until last year proved very testing, and I'm glad they kept this phase of their career to two regular-length albums that I can listen to all the way through in one sitting.

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.) at 6:41 1 Feb 21
I hate being bombarded by autechre at the supermarket

Haha, what is the connection between Pavement and Autechre?

― to party with our demons (Sund4r), Monday, February 1, 2021 6:50 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Dunno, just that in the 90s people I met who liked one seemed to like the other, or at least there was significant crossover to notice it.

Nice to see Perfume Genius make it. Kinda surprising this is the first time he's ever made our albums list. No Shape was slightly stronger but these last two have been the best things he's done.

Didn't get into Plus as much as Sign. I'm a very casual Autechre fan if that helps JF? They're very hit and miss.

The results today are making me feel a bit out of touch.

FWIW ecol4 is the keeper from PLUS

ecol4 is feeling v much like a follow-up to Surripere

SIGN was great but too many of the tracks seemed to hang around four-chord dirges and I just need a bit more something or other

i don't even really consider myself much of an autechre stan, i don't listen to them a lot, i only got it in my mind to try to listen to all of their records in the last year bc it seemed like a fun and interesting project, and what i have learned is that their arc is incredible and every album and ep has its own rewards lol

So I listened to the Jeff Parker all the way through now and it's interesting because I actually don't really know what to even make of it, like I'm often not sure what it's even supposed to be doing, but there are a lot of things going on, which makes me want to dig in more and break it down. (Both Pavement and Autechre were a bit like this too for me, actually, although Autechre crank out so much stuff that I stopped digging.)

Omg it's Monday - I completely forgot! Catching up - already a really diverse and interesting rollout. Voted for Perfume Genius and Kairon; IRSE! very high. That Kairon graphic was so pretty (as are they all).

autechre is fun, definitely don’t feel like listening to them all the time. their music is kind of like watching those videos of hydraulic presses crushing crayons and stuff... idk something really satisfying about hearing those crunchy computer sounds speeding through all sort of oddly shaped tunnels and funnels

https://i.imgur.com/86HXbG3.jpg
#65: Adrianne Lenker - “Songs” - 200 points - 9 votes

Big Thief - Two Hands

https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/album/songs

“Lenker's work continues to reimagine love and loss, and albums like songs are her way of turning those complex emotions into something timeless.”
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/adrianne_lenker_songs_album_review

Surprised this is this low

After the hype over the two Autechre albums (hype being a relative thing in this case, obviously) I gave them a try despite always having classified them as "interesting/not my thing." That remained true, but I put it on while I was cleaning the kitchen and it entertained me how every noise I made — water running, dishes clinking — felt like part of the tracks. So, still not my thing, but actually not bad to do housework to.

Songs really grew on me. I like Big Thief a lot, but at first pass this felt pretty slight, or pretty but slight. But then I wanted to keep listening to it, and each song really emerged, it's a sweet collection of tunes.

I didn't "get" this AL solo record as much as Big Thief

I love Autechre but this year’s offerings didn’t blow my socks off.

If I voted for Plus - don’t remember for sure - it’s because it was the more enjoyable of the two and because I was trying to get to 25 albums and the options were limited.

Lenker solo is too precious for me, or something

also so insular it becomes alienating

thought this was good but just wasn't in the mood for it this year. it happens.

I felt a bit burned out on Big Thief/Lenker after last year and this album didn't really suit my mood. Shocked to see it so low.

a shit, still not got round to listening to this despite being a huge Big Thief fan. maybe it's because i have an aversion to solo acoustic singer-songwritey music? is that what this is?

yeah, I'm an AL/BF fan but haven't connected with this (...yet)

how every noise I made — water running, dishes clinking — felt like part of the tracks

see, this would make it impossible for me to actually experience and enjoy the music.

nothing like people's autechre comments in a poll thread to highlight the fact that most people never got into / will never get into music as sound sculpture.

I felt a bit burned out on Big Thief/Lenker after last year and this album didn't really suit my mood.

Same. I didn't find the noodling compelling either.

Big Thief are just about the right side of "slight" for me. Took me a while to appreciate how luxuriant U.F.O.F. really is; it felt so whipsy and thin on first listen. Maybe that's why I'm put-off listening to a Lenker solo album

Meetings all day today, on a short break now, sorry to be missing this rollout, but as usual it is full of artists I've never heard of with descriptions that make me want to dive in. I have actually been jonesing for new jazz that doesn't sound like pastiche of old jazz and this Jeff Parker record, esp. "Go Awat," is exactly hitting it for me right now.

Enjoyed PLUS but despite my fave Autechre albums often being their most dishwasher-y it was such a joyful surprise to hear a conventional, gorgeous album from them in SIGN, and it sounding as great as in the ol' days.

https://i.imgur.com/SLheReL.jpg
#64: Run The Jewels - “RTJ4” - 204 points - 8 votes

Run The Jewels - El-P and Killer Mike

“Killer Mike and El-P have always traded dazzlingly intricate verses, all alliteration and propulsive rhymes, over inventive, nonlinear productions, and RTJ4 supersizes their outsider aesthetic without squandering any hard-won authenticity.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/07/run-the-jewels-run-the-jewels-4-review-a-remarkable-hit-rate

big thief fans should not miss out on "not a lot, just forever" imo. ymmv