ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

at this point in the rollout I would like to bid farewell to Loma, Ka, Bonny Light Horseman and a whole bunch of other great albums that I now accept may have been contenders but will not be placing

i think you could throw yves into the former category too personally

yeah that was another real disappointment for me, as others have said it went too rock compared to safe in the hands of love which was fantastic. 'rock frontperson' just doesn't really work for them. the hayley williams album was also kinda disappointing after the last two great paramore albums, i agree with brad and simon there.

morrisp, you don't even like "sit/stay"? that's probably the most grimes-could-have-done-this track on it. "we appreciate power" was co-written & co-produced by poppy's collaborators too.

can’t really see her placing higher than the Pa (in the Albums you started threads for category)

xp

i'd really hope loma still make it, basically everyone in the thread was very enthusiastic so it should still have a chance?

I don't think my #1 is going to place (tbh I never did)

can’t really see her placing higher than the Pa (in the Albums you started threads for category)

― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, February 3, 2021 4:35 PM (five minutes ago)

ha, certainly not if post count is indicative (which it has often not been so far, but still)

of the albums in the rollout that sounded like they could be interesting (there've been quite a few!) so far I tried the Ana Roxanne and the Charles Webster. AR was pretty, but not really my cup of tea. Charles Webster very much is tho, what a great album. especially loved the r&b-ish "Music">"Wait And See">"Secrets Held" sequence in the second half.

yeah that one really went places I wasn't expecting, though fwiw I thought the Burial remix was the weakest track by kind of a lot

I had Amaarae very high on my ballot. I still have faith in the electorate.

xp i think the burial remix works really nicely as the closer

that remix is not on the album tho? (not on Spotify anyway). I did like it, also Webster’s own remixes of that track.

I meant to add "though I do like it," it just wasn't as striking to me as the rest

hmm, I listened on bancamp

ah, closing track “The Second Spell” has W. Bevan=Burial in the credits while on the remix album there is “The Spell - Burial Mix”, which is significantly longer.

yeah the last track ("the second spell") is just an edit of the burial remix of "the spell"

ah ok, don't mind me then

alternatively, don’t mind me lol

never heard of hum b4 but this album is great
will check their old stuff
dont see smashing pumpkins comparison but get the era vibes

morrisp, you don't even like "sit/stay"? that's probably the most grimes-could-have-done-this track on it. "we appreciate power" was co-written & co-produced by poppy's collaborators too.

ok, this track isn't bad, I like the quieter bridge section - but it doesn't hit me the same way as the tracks on the Grimes album (I don't like "We Appreciate Power," ha ha!)

This Hum album is making me want to go to a concert more than anything else I've heard in the last year, just want to stand in the back and flop my head back and forth to the heavy heavy drums of "Desert Rambler"

Have hardly ever thought about Hum since whenever I last saw them on 120 Minutes; seeing them here is a surprise, to put it mildly.

Of today's batch, voted for Ariana and Slum of Legs.

I keep meaning to check out Pa Salieu and will def do so imminently. If he's from Coventry, I'm even more puzzled as to why the fake road sign promo item popped up in Dalston where I live. They must have been quite expensive to make/leave lying about, especially in the middle of a pandemic.

hum v deftones v malkmus

they must have the combined age of bob dylan

lol

Hum collate the best elements of grunge, shoegaze and the odd hint of doom. I'm hearing a lot of my favourite bands in there, but there's something else

i didn't check out this year's beths album figuring it was so soon after the last really good beths album that i didn't immediately need it or anything... go figure i'm listening now and i like it better than the debut

i also feel like a freak for liking the album art

yeh listened after they placed in the tracks
its a sweet little record

they're good fun! don't listen to them often, but if i was going to see them tomorrow night in a crowded bar i would be super excited (i know)

the beths' drummer is fantastic, and even more impressive how he manages to stay completely expressionless and still in his upper body while unleashing some seriously difficult and energizing fills

go figure i'm listening now and i like it better than the debut

finally someone gets it

My new guess for 78 is Bufiman

this would make me sad

i also feel like a freak for liking the album art

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, February 3, 2021 3:23 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

one of the best album arts of 2020!

the hum album is the best. i went back to it so many times and it never lost its savor.

random guesses for #78: bill callahan, tame impala, oneohtrix, kylie, protomartyr, lucinda williams?

Pa Salieu ended up winning the BBC's Sound Of...poll, which doesn't of course necessarily translate into more opportunities (poor Ray BLK!) but it might be a reason why he's been receiving more promotion of late. Really like the album, and had it in an early draft of my ballot but ended up deciding that others may have needed more love and points. One of those was Amaraae, so hopefully she's still in with a shot!

Aside from "Sugar on the Rim" I didn't really have the patience for the Hayley Williams album. The waterfall-style roll out with multiple EPs released across several months to then come together as the album was also quite infuriating. There's a new record out tomorrow, I understand, which purports to be even gloomier.

The only selections from my ballot that have placed thus far are Victoria Monét (also released new music this week!), Simmy (just as good as the first album in my opinion, though could've done with a bit of editing) and KeiyaA (a close cousin of Solange's When I Get Home). But many of my picks were hivemindy and I wouldn't be surprised if I voted for most of the top 10.

self-pitying 78 guess: black dresses. i promise that will be my only one

the Hum record seems cool, but I'm having a hard time getting past the drums-forward mix

i think pa salieu would be doing fine even without the bbc sound of win, hopefully he keeps up what he's doing

guys

the Malkmus album is kind of amazing

@ Moodles the Hum album is one of the best mixed rock albums I’ve ever heard— every element is distinct, the mixer loves a slow pan on the lead guitar (which I love too), and it’s impossible to really tell if they have a bassist because the low guitar is doubled so perfectly that it might as well be an effects send

The economy of the writing is delicious, singer’s voice is nourishing, I love this album— aside from the fact that the first two tracks tower over the rest (which is still great) this was the biggest “omg a basic rock album that I love” moment in memory

So, these are the same HUM from the song “Stars”? Or is it a different band because this sounds nothing like I expected based on “Stars”. Is that the equivalent for only knowing “Creep” by Radiohead?

it's the same band, it's their first album in 22 years. it's definitely a shift towards a slower, heavier, and more immense sound for them. "stars" was pretty representative of what they sounded like back then.

it's not a total left-turn for them but they're not just slavishly recreating what they were doing before either

fgti, I'll give it another try, but something was not clicking with me

Haha Stars - was that the song on Beavis and Butthead where they think the song's over after the intro? Been wanting to find out what that was for years

Onto Slum Of Legs. It's testament to the opening track that it sounded instantly familiar despite me only having heard it once about 5 years ago when, by complete hazard, my band supported them. Loving this so far

Or at least I think they played an early version of it, I might be wrong

i think the album had a prolonged gestation for various reasons so you could well be right

I’m still laughing at myself for briefly legitimately thinking emil.y was so shocked and crying tears of joy because Hum made the list at #36