ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

my #2

need to hear this

wow what a contrast in life experience between the last two artists

was expecting betty in the tracks poll but great to see the album here

xp to voodoo
heh mine too/two

i gotta hear this record wow

this Hum reminds me more of MBV with Om's drummer than anything else

Moka is a saint lol

I feel pretty confident that Brad will like this one

just realised i was taking the train to coventry every morning when frontline was released at least

being only 39 minutes long has already endeared it to me

the opening track has further done so

ok this sounds fucking GREAT

pa salieu is the first music ive liked from a uk rapper since j hus

do not make me listen to Dave again

being only 39 minutes long has already endeared it to me

― imago, Wednesday, February 3, 2021 12:56 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

u_u

wow what a contrast in life experience between the last two artists

― octobeard, Wednesday, February 3, 2021 1:51 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

idk why but i laughed hard at this

this is making up for Bob Vylan not being nominated for the tracks poll *waves sad England flag*

Love both Slum of Legs and Hum. Too low maybe but just glad they placed. Hum will have another chance to shine in the Metal poll im sure

Hum of Legs mashup pls

the Grimes album ended up being way better than it had any business to, although can't really touch the ILM pre-cover version

acquainted myself with the Pa Salieu album too late to put it high on my ballot (had it at #22, I think), but it's great stuff.

deej, pretty sure J Hus will show up soon enough too

https://i.imgur.com/N1SV9mX.jpg
#33: Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA - 342 points - 9 votes - 1 Nº1 vote

Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA

“From the raucous nu-metal to glittering R&B, ‘SAWAYAMA’ is an honest, genre-exploding self-portrait. Drawing on every aspect of her identity, Sawayama creates an expansive musical account of her personal history, all bolstered by her impressive experimental song-writing techniques.”
https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/rina-sawayama-sawayama-review-2647142

... this record never set me on fire but good for her

Next time round emil.y to beat Grimes pls.

Struggling to keep up this week, but god the Slum of Legs album is so fun. It resonates just like the fractals of the cover, exploding in every direction. Manages to cohere post-punk, noise, psychedelic folk and britpop in the most satisfyingly cacophonous way. Benetint & Malevolence (lol) and White Leather are highlights for me.

Also wtf it's just registered how low clipping. are. Thought they would be top 10 for sure.

with this and the grimes placement, the poppy album continues to be too low on this list

Aha! I thought from the no-placement in the tracks poll ILx really didn't like Sawayama, so wasn't expecting the album to show either. I'm not 100% sold on her myself, but did vote for 'Commes Des Garcons'.

I feel pretty confident that Brad will like this one

― rob, Wednesday, February 3, 2021 11:54 AM (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

re: pa salieu: omfg this is fantastic

*continues waving sad England flag*

RS has promise and I think I liked some of the singles, will have to listen to the whole thing

I might be paraphrasing another ilxor here, but it's difficult to know who Rina Sawayama really is as an artist. I love individual tracks (STFU!), but sometimes it feels like listening to a disjointed compilation. Also I much preferred RINA. Still good to see it here though.

Didn't vote for this but great album with many great songs. The "disjointed"-ness is a plus for me. Super creative and diverse, and nearly every song hits its mark while retaining a clear and consistent POV.

Maybe it's not super cohesive or consistent, but this album is a real good time IMO

I actually like Sawayama more than Poppy, even though I like them both. She's more varied, she can do the noisy bangers but also something like "Bad Friend."

going back to pa salieu it's a pretty fantastic fusion of uk, afro, and u.s. black music styles and it's so stylish and shiny and heavy-hitting. idk i just love the shit out of the album.

Rina: I prob voted this higher than I would now but the bulk of it is great stuff - stylistically varied but it all feels like it's coming from the same brain/era etc

The recent single (Lucid) from the deluxe edition poss does not augur well for the future. But this album is very much its own hugely satisfying thing

https://i.imgur.com/s1xmNn7.jpg
#32: Ariana Grande - Positions - 353 points - 14 votes- 1 Nº1 vote

ariana grande - positions (oct. 2020)

“Positions is minor growth, major strength and a solid step forward in the right direction for one pop’s most exciting stars.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/ariana-grandes-positions-1082923/

The Rina and Grimes albums both disappointed me last year. They're both too scrappy for me to really get into. After Rina's mini album and the Cherry single from a few years back I was expecting to go all in on this one.

my fifth vote to place, criminally underrated but not gonna rehash all that. probably.

her best record

Positions (album) fell off my ballot but it is a really immaculate little miniature and maybe my favourite Ariana popalbum now. Although Positions (single) is probably an even more perfect tiny jewel by itself

love the nearly ever-present strings and the super smart use of guests

this feels quite a low placement. what are you doing here on Rock Day, Ariana

Good album

closing track of the Pa Salieu is v great

mordy ruined this album for lj

I have a friend who is obsessive about Ariana so I've sort of got a soft spot for her now through association, still don't care to listen to her much though, ha.

I actually like Sawayama more than Poppy, even though I like them both. She's more varied, she can do the noisy bangers but also something like "Bad Friend."

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, February 3, 2021 1:19 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i feel the opposite. songwriting is stronger on the poppy, and the vision feels more artist driven to me vs the sawayama where i feel like 50% of the enthusiasm is coming from retro aughts pop pastiche

going back to pa salieu it's a pretty fantastic fusion of uk, afro, and u.s. black music styles and it's so stylish and shiny and heavy-hitting. idk i just love the shit out of the album.

― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Wednesday, February 3, 2021 12:21 PM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it is exactly this and i am so taken with it!!!!

going back in time and putting this on my ballot, sorry if we coexist with dinosaurs in the present as a result of my actions

my #1 (anyone surprised? lol)

*is stomped by apatosaurus* BRAD.

weirdly enough, that's actually what "No Warnin'" is about