ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

i'm relistening to evermore and it's like... even the most meager song musically on the record ("champagne problems") kicks ass lyrically

https://i.imgur.com/OBXC0a5.jpg
#08: Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine - 715 points - 20 votes - 1 Nº1 vote

Roisin Murphy POX

“It’s this emotional core that helps make Róisín Machine such a sweaty celebration of the dancefloor, its redeeming power making it well worth its lengthy gestation.”
https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/roisin-murphy-roisin-machine/

“Roísín Machine is among Murphy's best works, a showcase for one of dance music's most endlessly fascinating figures.”
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/roisin_murphy_roisin_machine_album_review

banger

i didn't vote for this even though i do think of it as the ultimate róisín murphy album

good album and definitely too low given what's to come

great album

yeh great tunes

i was ultimately a bit disappointed by roisin machine, despite the great run of singles leading up to it i didn't care much for the new tracks and it ended up feeling less than the some of its parts

This one slipped under my radar, but was listening to it after it won on the tracks poll and the album actually flows really good like a party mix.

xxxps re Sault: Yeah, I secretly craved concision with this one myself. No such problem with with its twin. I inexplicably forgot Sault was still to come earlier. So, Rise is likely my one remaining horse in the race.

Glad this is top ten, wish it had been above Dua instead of below (still expecting Jessie to win).

please don't tell me the fucking 1975 is going to be top 5

Amazing record. Isn't this the first time Roisin has cracked our top 10?

you fucking savages don't deserve Gigi Masin

if roisin machine isn't your favorite "disco pastiche" lp of 2020 you might have corny taste and hey thats ok

JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY

I appreciated but never click with Roisin until this record

same

https://i.imgur.com/0BxAh32.jpg
#07: The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form - 716 points - 22 votes - 3 Nº1 votes

the 1975
I have become obsessed with 1975
poll on a conditional form

“Notes On a Conditional Form isn’t the most important thing in the world right now”
https://www.gigwise.com/reviews/3380472/album-review-the-1975-notes-on-a-conditional-form

“The 1975 have somehow put out an album”
https://www.nme.com/reviews/the-1975-notes-on-a-conditional-form-review-2656276

“It can feel indulgent.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-1975-notes-on-a-conditional-form/

good album and definitely too low given what's to come

― imago, Friday, 5 February 2021 16:54 (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Love Roisin, love Roisin Machine, voted for it, and yet it's comfortably my fifth favourite Roisin solo album

Really great that her profile has skyrocketed this year but hopefully her other records will get some residual attention now too. Take Her Up to Monto seemed to get totally buried

you fucking savages don't deserve Gigi Masin

― Überschadenfreude (sleeve), Friday, February 5, 2021 12:03 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Thank god I'm not the only one super grumpy about this

this is about as low as I could reasonably expect this to place

I'm surprised the Sparkle Division, Sevdaliza, and Boof records did not have wider ILM appeal!! Also Gigi Masin, yes

lol at Moka's pullquotes from those reviews

it is a good album though

I'm so burned out on The 1975 at this point

this top 10 has been brought to you by: bourgeois solipsism!!!

too low

19075

i am amazed that ppl are angrier about this placing than "if you're too shy" placing, good job y'all

I liked some of the 1975 singles this time but not this album

I appreciated but never click with Roisin until this record

― Warmed Regards, (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, February 5, 2021 12:09 PM bookmarkflaglink

Opposite for me; in love with Ruby Blue and Overpowered, only in like with everything since.

this is their best album

During the 00s there was this constant online talk about Radiohead, it just wouldn't go away so you lived with it
Some old farts were still arguing if The Beatles had invented reggae and every rock genre
ILM has the 1975

j0rd's posts in the 1975 thread still nail it; this is a continuum of sounds that don't necessarily seem related on first blush but have the "guided journey" quality of a mixtape someone made for you of their favorite emo, dance music, and whisper-quiet folk songs. i think it's amazing, still

i typed that all wrong but whatever you get it

also one of the best albums about anxiety i've ever heard

more like notes on a bad album ok ok I'm done lol

i think it's really their most likable and personable record which is funny bcuz the general sentiment (as expressed in the above posts and elsewhere) is "i'm so over these guys"

On my first listen it became clear that the album essentially simulated some sort of psychotic break about half/two-thirds of the way through and it was kind of breathtaking to behold

I don't think any of the top ten is really going to be my bag, but that's fine. In contrast with the tracks poll I feel like this year's albums roll-out has really shown off ILM's varied tastes in a good way (& not just because you guys voted for meeeeeee mememememe haha), so I don't mind the very top being stuff I don't care about.

https://i.imgur.com/moaT3Ii.jpg
#06: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia - 721 points - 24 votes

Dua Lipa

“Future Nostalgia was crucial for a year when these beats were as close to the club as fans could get. It’s a rush of uptempo dance glitz, with Lipa twirling the night away in the stilettos of queens like Madonna (“Hallucinate”) or Gloria Gaynor (“Don’t Start Now”) or Olivia Newton-John (“Physical”). “Baby, keep on dancing like you ain’t got a choice,” she commands in “Physical,” and as long as Future Nostalgia keeps playing, you can’t even imagine slowing down.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-2020-1096814/dua-lipa-future-nostalgia-2-1096828/

“It’s a sheer bliss that she can deliver these hard truths to a soundtrack that’s ridiculously leotard and leg warmers. Honestly, there isn’t a duff track on here. Every beat is elastic, every note and sample bold and shiny. Future Nostalgia is 37 minutes of pure sonic spandex.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/dua-lipa-future-nostalgia-album-review-tracklist-dont-start-now-physical-a9428896.html

All their albums after the debut sound the same to me, but I connected with this one most

wall to wall bangers

wow this will have to be the highest with no #1s?

I feel like I feel abt Dua Lipa the way ppl feel abt The 1975 (except a lot less angry) where I have listened to this album several times and have made a concerted effort to connect with it and I just.... can't, I don't get it at all

Yeah this is just great fun

Love a good hoppy dual ipa

The first and last tracks are the weakest.

this is labgrown ILMbait but I'm willing to concede it might be good fun at points