ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

I've played Binasu a few times and only "Kata" grabbed me but i will have to give it another go!

What? The 1975 sound nothing like Vampire Weekend.

But you know who does?

xxp

Same, tried with Fiona a couple of times with different albums over the years. Not really sure what I'm supposed to enjoy here.

anyone listening to kate nv for the first time today because of this poll should be sure to check out Binasu (2016). i liked her new one, but Binasu is a fucking monster, in a good way.

ditto with people listening to the Beths - be sure to check out their debut!

― Karl Malone, Friday, February 5, 2021 12:50 PM (fifty seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

Agreed Binasu is way better imo. Для = For is a relaxing little experimental album not to be compared with these

look, i always eyed 1975 with an arched modicum of distrust, but then "Jesus Christ 2005" came up on the EOY longlist and it hit me really hard. Should I check them out more? I'd be down with a UK version of Vampire Weekend?

― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Friday, February 5, 2021 12:50 PM (two minutes ago)

yeah give it a spin

What? The 1975 sound nothing like Vampire Weekend.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, February 5, 2021 5:52 PM (thirty-four seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

i've not heard much else by them. struck me as unabashedly preppy genre-dabblers with an indie-pop bent

xpost the title track "binasu", played at the right time of day, will actually transport you into an imaginary 1980s kate bush video that takes place in the woods

my word

this is the first Fiona Apple album I genuinely enjoyed and listened to on repeat. I think I kind of burned myself out on it, getting released fairly early in the year may have resulted in it getting unfairly moved down a few slots. Objectively might have deserved #1.

https://i.imgur.com/0POVAjZ.jpg
#04: Haim - Women In Music Pt. III - 906 points - 28 votes

HAIM

“Vivid pop satisfaction and razor-sharp songwriting are packed into every square inch of Women in Music Pt. III, the pointedly titled third album from L.A.’s Haim sisters. Here, you’ll find Haim’s trademark sonic throwbacks to Fleetwood Mac and Nineties R&B, but weirder and more daring than they’ve ever been before, thanks to Rostam’s innovative production and Haim’s ability to seemingly master any musical instrument or pop-rock style. What really takes center stage is a newfound emotional and artistic maturity, with songs that tackle the complexities of depression (“I Know Alone”), codependency (“FUBT”), and sisterly friendship (“Hallelujah”). “
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-2020-1096814/haim-women-in-music-pt-iii-1096932/

“The third album from the trio is far and away their best. Intimate, multidimensional, and wide-ranging, the songwriting shines with personality and a great curiosity for melody and style.”
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/haim-women-in-music-pt-iii/

...this does! God, ILM

The 1975 are a lot closer to the UK version of HAIM than the UK version of Vampire Weekend.

Agreed Binasu is way better imo. Для = For is a relaxing little experimental album not to be compared with these

― Evan, Friday, February 5, 2021 11:53 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

might have to give it another listen then because I feel it kind of peters out in the second half. first half is brilliant though, absolutely love "Inn" and "3Arms"

And if that's a bit of a stretch.

This was my introduction to Haim - great stuff.

Good fake Moka, now lets see the real number 4!

My most played aoty. Think it's easily their best. Better than Folklore :)

testament to how i'm not current with this kind of stuff. didn't realise Haim were even a going concern in 2020

April 17 isn't remarkably early in the year for Fiona. Though it's like oddly the earliest memory of lockdown times i have retained. Only "Heavy Balloons" stuck to me though

yeah, all the kate nv releases i've heard are uneven imo. but i'll still check out anything she releases because there are always at least a couple that always stick with me

haim album good, voted for "another try"

This was my introduction to Haim - great stuff.

― We’re Up All Night To Get Lochte (Raymond Cummings), Friday, February 5, 2021 12:57 PM (fifty-two seconds ago)

haim first album is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> this

xps (i live in Bristol BTW)

this was a big step up from Something To Tell You, probably their most accomplished so far, and yet... as much as I appreciated songs from this when they came up on my playlist, I never really felt compelled to listen to it beyond that. It was one of the cuts from my ballot.

WOAT album title obv

the album title is good not bad

Honestly didn't expect Haim this high (not even top ten tbh), but I only cherry picked a few keepers from this and rarely listened to the whole album.

i didn't mind that song that placed that sounded like bits of tusk
will check this out

#9-4 im hoping are fake placements otherwise what an awful top 10 its been and ugh taylor swift and jessie ware to come.

WIM III is miles better than the other two HAIM records - could easily see it or the Apple winning an ILXOR annual poll, but it’s a very strong year. Gasoline is a favourite.

Haim in this poll:

2013: #1
2017: #177
2020: #4

Checks out

Taylor #3, Sault #2, JW #1 is my guess

evermore and notes on a conditional form too low! my two favourite artists making my favourite albums of their careers, i'm still emotional about it

https://i.imgur.com/uIpxPSf.jpg
#03: Taylor Swift - Folklore - 919 points - 25 votes - 2 Nº1 votes

Taylor Swift - Folklore
Taylor Swift - POLLklore

“Folklore is Swift finding the beauty—and pop power—in stillness and reflection. Perhaps that’s the most we could hope to achieve in quarantine.”
https://time.com/5915313/best-albums-2020/

“Swift’s currency has always been emotional honesty, but now it feels less like showmanship and more like a personal reckoning. Folklore is a clear-eyed, subdued affair that reveals a little more magic with each listen.”
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/taylor-swift-s-new-album-is-a-fever-dream-you-won-t-want-to-wake-up-from-20200724-p55f4s.html

"Now I'm In It" is a 10 and it's not even on the album proper

When it comes down to it I think I perceive Folklore and Evermore as a double album released slowly.

folklore was the album I, selfishly, had demanded Taylor make since Fearless, and the imaginary ideal I held her subsequent albums up against to suggest they weren't quite there, or that her career lacked the final piece. Unfair and silly, of course, but then when she actually came out of nowhere and released that ideal Taylor Swift album it was everything I wanted. I didn't deserve it, but I got it. And it's one without any skips, only pleasant new surprises, x months later.

xp there were like 4 of those this year

ok real talk, should i listen to this album?

Wow, only 2 #1s to Evermore's 5.

*sigh* I'm guessing only Sault, Roisin and Fiona are going to be the things I feel deserve to be in the top 10. Very anticlimactic rollout given quality and surprises above

*absolute gritted teeth mode*

the Taylor Swift albums really weren't bad. in fact they were almost pretty good and probably worth hearing?

*resume normality*

I would have enjoyed seeing Evermore and Folklore tied for 78 like Annie in the tracks poll

I feel like the Grinch, my heart is several sizes too small to ever appreciate her

yeah I detest her but her music's okay haha

xxp you should!

Taylor mirroring Big Thief's placements from last year.

Really happy to see Haim so high. I'd written them off after that drab second album. Could well be better than Days Are Gone.

haim album is a little loose in the second half for me, but i do appreciate that they made a record that functions very similarly to the 1975 album, thereby fulfilling a prophecy i made in 2013