ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

hadn’t heard the CS + Kreme until today. Its low-key but unsettling atmosphere reminds me of both Shackleton and Coil.

(the 78 artist has now been mentioned, but not named as #78)

xp also listened to the Alabaster DePlume and Azana albums for the first time, they are both beautiful

really good list so far

What a day, so many amazing records. Probably my favorite Thursday rollout yet. SIGN making it to 16 gives me the warm fuzzies. The Soft Pink Truth close behind as well. Great placement. I am pretty resigned at this point to accepting that my #1, Arca's absolutely brilliant KiCk-i, is likely not going to make it.

For those who love the Beatrice Dillon (which I also did, made my top 20 electronic records list, but not my ILM ballot) definitely consider checking out Laurine Frost's LENA.

now you mention it dan, the artwork for the cs + kreme is definitely very reminiscent of the covers that zeke clough did for shackleton and the rest of the skull disco crew

(the 78 artist has now been mentioned, but not named as #78)

― That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu), Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:43 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

megan

Yeah that’s Laurier Frost album is cool too!! Playful and kind of unsettling

(the 78 artist has now been mentioned, but not named as #78)

― That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu), Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:43 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

megan

― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:46 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Gigi

Laurine xp

I guess I could try again with the SPT because it was kinda freakin me out! Year of brimstead being scared by music lol

should

I really preferred the mixed version of the SPT record btw as opposed it being split into tracks

https://thesoftpinktruth.bandcamp.com/album/shall-we-go-on-sinning-so-that-grace-may-increase-mixed-version

megan

― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:46 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Gigi

― Evan, Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:55 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

a collab i'd love to see

(the 78 artist has now been mentioned, but not named as #78)

― That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu)

I could see it being Carly.

I guess “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never” fell below 78. I liked the idea of it, a radio station playing hits from a parallel universe

good description. the only reason it was on my list is i drove with it at night in a storm. Good time!

it would have been high on my list

another creepy but fascinating album! The “lost but not alone” video broke my brain

(the 78 artist has now been mentioned, but not named as #78)

― That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu)

The Killers was mentioned by Alfred when discussing Katie Pruitt

i loved the killers album but they clearly have no chance now

Gee, the Alabaster DePlume is quite something, so far. Not at all what I was expecting. I meant to check on that, seeing as the name kept coming up.

Ended up voting for Beatrice Dillon and Horse Lords from this lot, partly because of the time spent trying to determine whether I actually liked them meant that I likely played them way more than instant hits!

I found plenty of things to like about the CS+Kreme, Soft Pink Truth, J Hus and Kelly Lee Owens records too, so w00t. I think I shall down with a Destroyer record for the first time later and finally figure out what that's all about. The track that placed was intriguing, at least.

er, "...SIT down with a Destroyer..."

Listening to the Alabaster DePlume too, it really is nice without being soporific. It's lively, there's all these ideas running around.

oh is the 78 boof rebirth of gerberdaisy

boof

I guess “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never” fell below 78. I liked the idea of it, a radio station playing hits from a parallel universe

god the 77 rollout in that universe must be even worse

or much better

One of the few things on that aggregate AOTY list that has neither placed nor been mentioned here is something I voted for: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist. Waaay too late for that now, surely?

too much rapping

:(

Using similar methods: Moses Sumney for #78!

honestly though it fucking bums me out that so many great and cool rap records got shut out but we did get one executive produced by and featuring kanye fuckin west

other than that, pretty damn great results that have contained a lot more discoveries than I expected

I didn't come across a lot of great, or even good, rap records this year. But this place loves trap and mumbly shit, so I don't expect we'd be on the same page anyway.

Double Negative being an ilx #1 seems in retrospect like an anomaly

it really really was

honestly though it fucking bums me out that so many great and cool rap records got shut out but we did get one executive produced by and featuring kanye fuckin west

the carti record being great has pretty much nothing to do with kanye. obviously there's large sections of rap that are a relative blindspot here these days and it would be better if they weren't but idk why carti is the go-to to complain about that when it was one of the freshest and most exciting things in rap last year

the one rap album i really loved that i knew had pretty much no chance of placing was boldy james & sterling toles - manger on mcnichols which was a really late discovery for me but i was immediately blown away by it. really wild and free-flowing arrangements, kinda reminiscent of tpab but pushed even further

Live manger on mcnichols too, though it didn’t make my top 25.

Lol kanye. fucking. west. has nothing to do with whole lotta red which is a way better than rtj and other corny stuff that usually places

if anything its good in spite of him showing up

Ka's Descendents of Cain and Open Mike Eagle's Anime, Trauma and Divorce were two incredible records worthy of placing. Great year for rap. Had a good bit on my ballot

Instrumental hip hop as well - you got Knxwledge 1988 and The Twilite Tone's Clearing

Carti album may have been interesting and original but it put me in a powerfully terrible mood. I'm kind of curious as to why - it really was an inescapable pit of vipers, really hateful and nasty stuff. Credit to Carti for being able to generate such a reaction I guess but fuck him for ruining my day

An entire hour of being aurally chained up and beaten

ctrl f flo milli

i've tried to listen to that Low album a few times but it just reminds me of having an ear infection. I admire it more than I enjoy it.

never in my life have i appreciated bagpipes until just now when "The Radiant City" by Horse Lords came on, and then a MIDI version of the same tune played

Wow, this album is awesome. I thought it was just going to be math-guitar histrionics, but it's a total blend of sounds

I think that's why I was hesitant myself. Like I kept anticipating showy math-iness a few bars into the future, but I learned to relax.

My decades-late remedial Destroyer studies went pretty well. eg. I think I can dig why Kapputt gained a lot of support that year.

Horse Lords is like Sunn O)))'s Monoliths & Dimensions if they took out all the doom guitars and kept everything else + some mathy noodling. i like it