The 2020 end of year music lists thread

Stuff that wasn't on the Decibel list I might have included:

Neptunian Maximalism - Eons
Hum - Inlet (I know, not really metal but I would have pushed for it here)
SUMAC - May You Be Held
Deftones - Ohms (see Hum)
Old Man Gloom - Seminar IX
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough Vol 1
Elder - Omens
Pyrrhon - Abscess Time
Lowrider - Refractions
Primitive Man - Immersion
16 - Dream Squasher

somehow I knew Sault would be at the top of that Rough Trade list. They'll no doubt top a lot of lists this year, even with vote splitting.

Don’t much care for OMG & Bell Witch but I liked all the others. Love the NM, Deftones and Lowrider in particular.

Glad to see someone else that liked the Lowrider, kinda took me by surprise with how great it was!

Same, it’s one of my most listened to metal albums this year, by far!

7. Sweven, The Eternal Resonance, Svart

out on Ván Records, not Svart

Yeah, looks like Decibel fixed that on their list now.

somehow I knew Sault would be at the top of that Rough Trade list. They'll no doubt top a lot of lists this year, even with vote splitting.

lol while I was listing to (Rise) last week I was wondering how the ilx year-end poll is going to handle that. Because that's the kind of thing I think about. (I mean, I assume they'll be handled as two separate albums, and will probably still do well in the poll. But you could make a case for treating them as a double album. Same with the two Adrianne Lenker releases.)

I counted the two Autechre albums as one when submitting my year-end list to The Wire. I bet lots of other people will too.

I'm kinda into lists this year more than the last few because there has been sooooo much good music released, it's one of the few bright spots of 2020 but also overwhelming. And it's still coming.

The Lenker ones were released and reviewed as one package, so I don't see a challenge with that one. I could def see some vote splitting with Sault though.

I definitely see both the Sault and Autechre releases as separate albums. I also look at the Lenker ones as separate, but think there is more of a case to be made for putting them together.

they are literally packaged together in shops

Decibel list makes me feel it has not been an outstanding year for metal

Decibel list is missing a LOT. Including loads of stuff that other ILXors itt haven't caught

victory over the sun, fortress of the olden days, psalm zero, lychgate, mamaleek, azusa, salqiu, couch slut, biesy, hail spirit noir, fucking MYSTRAS, molde volhal, crisis sigil, wyrmwoods

all unmentioned, all worthy. it's always been a good year

oh man i missed a new couch slut record? what am i doing

this is possibly going to be an interesting list year. Other than Fiona Apple I don't know what the consensus albums are. Folklore? Rough & Rowdy Ways? Jessie Ware? Phoebe Bridgers?

unless the critics have gotten more interesting, yes

should be charli obv

should be Brandy!! haha

UNCUT's AOTY has anticipated the ILM poll winner for the past 2 years! This will not continue:

75. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song
74. Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown
73. Doves - The Universal Want
72. Tamikrest - Tamotait
71. Andy Bell - The View from Halfway Down
70. Bill Fay - Countless Branches
69. Honey Harper - Starmaker
68. Steve Earle & the Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia
67. Matt Berry - Phantom Birds
66. Six Organs of Admittance - Companion Rises
65. Garcia Peoples - Nightmare at Wit's End
64. Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink
63. HC McEntire - Eno Axis
62. Aoife Nessa Frances - Land of No Junction
61. Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface
60. Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
59. Julianna Barwick - Healing is a Miracle
58. BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff
57. Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela - Rejoice
56. The Lemon Twigs - Songs for the General Public
55. Khruangbin - Mordechai
54. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
53. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
52. Hen Ogledd - Free Humans
51. Haim - Women in Music Pt.III
50. Margo Price - That's How Rumors Get Started
49. Gwenifer Raymond - Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain
48. The Necks - Three
47. Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club
46. Roger & Brian Eno - Mixing Colours
45. Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was
44. Eddie Chacon - Pleasure, Joy and Happiness
43. Sarah Davachi - Cantus, Descant
42. Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine
41. Keeley Forsyth - Debris
40. Brigid Dawson & the Mothers Network - Ballet of Apes
39. The Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain
38. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman
37. Sparks - A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
36. Destroyer - Have We Met
35. Shabaka & the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History
34. Rose City Band - Summerlong
33. Bananagun - The True Story of Bananagun
32. The Flaming Lips - American Head
31. Afel Bocoum - Lindé
30. Cornershop - England is a Garden
29. Songhoy Blues - Optimisme
28. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels
27. Kevin Morby - Sundowner
26. Rolling Blackouts CF - Sideways to New Italy
25. Nubya Garcia - Source
24. Moses Sumney - Græ
23. Paul Weller - On Sunset
22. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
21. James Elkington - Ever-Roving Eye
20. Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
19. Brigid Mae Power - Head Above the Water
18. Frazey Ford - U Kin B the Sun
17. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is)
16. Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques
15. Fontaines DC - A Hero's Death
14. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers
13. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
12. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter
11. Jason Isbell - Reunions
10. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
9. Shirley Collins - Heart's Ease
8. JARV IS... - Beyond the Pale
7. Bill Callahan - Gold Record
6. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
5. Thundercat - It Is What It Is
4. Drive-By Truckers - The New OK
3. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
2. Fleet Foxes - Shore
1. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways

idk, we are getting a bit old here

Ok, now that it's shown up on two lists - is that Jarvis Cocker record really that good? Or is this just a lot of folks glad to have him back around?

Xpost Yeah, it’ll be up near the top.

Jarvis is our Bob Dylan

The Jarvis popalbum is hrrrrm fine; the Keeley Forsyth and Brigid Dawson albums from the middle of the Uncut list are both really glowering and wonderful and poss a bit neglected here

Yeah that Brigid Dawson record is so good.

6 Music's Albums Of The Year

MOJO:

75. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways to New Italy
74. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light
73. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Reunions
72. Wire - 10:20
71. Field Music - Making a New World
70. Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess
69. The Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain
68. The Homesick - The Big Exercise
67. Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown
66. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman
65. Beck - Hyperspace
64. The Lemon Twigs - Songs for the General Public
63. Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open
62. Ren Harvieu - Revel in the Drama
61. Chris Forsyth with Garcia Peoples - Peoples Motel Band
60. Doves - The Universal Want
59. Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers
58. Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club
57. Songhoy Blues - Optimisme
56. The Magnetic Fields - Quickies
55. Tim Burgess - I Love the New Sky
54. The Waterboys - Good Luck, Seeker
53. Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink
52. SAULT - Untitled (Rise)
51. Don Bryant - You Make Me Feel
50. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
49. Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
48. Nadia Reid - Out of My Province
47. Tricky - Fall to Pieces
46. Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets - Live at the Roundhouse
45. Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
44. Pearl Jam - Gigaton
43. Blake Mills - Mutable Set
42. Bill Fay - Countless Branches
41. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
40. Thurston Moore - By the Fire
39. HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III
38. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels
37. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
36. Drive-By Truckers - The Unravelling
35. Rose City Band - Summerlong
34. Maria McKee - La Vita Nuova
33. The Necks - Three
32. Coriky - Coriky
31. Taylor Swift - Folklore
30. Sam Lee - Old Wow
29. Thundercat - It Is What It Is
28. Shirley Collins - Heart's Ease
27. Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques
26. Khruangbin - Mordechai
25. Sparks - A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
24. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter
23. Shabaka & the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History
22. Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance
21. Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of Sorrow
20. Nubya Garcia - Source
19. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is)
18. Toots and the Maytals - Got to Be Tough
17. Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
16. Nick Cave - Idiot Prayer
15. Frazey Ford - U Kin B the Sun
14. Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela - Rejoice
13. Moses Sumney - Græ
12. Idles - Ultra Mono
11. Paul Weller - On Sunset
10. The Flaming Lips - American Head
9. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
8. Run the Jewels - RTJ4
7. JARV IS... - Beyond the Pale
6. Cornershop - England is a Garden
5. Fleet Foxes - Shade
4. Bill Callahan - Gold Record
3. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death
2. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
1. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways

This is not a terribly exciting list and as ever there's approx a 60% overlap with Uncut but there's some great stuff tucked away in the specialist top 10 lists (each compiled by a single writer).

Beatrice Dillon is no.1 in the "electronica" list with K-LONE, Soft Pink Truth, Luke Abbott and Katie Gately also in the top 10. L'inattingible by Delphine Dora in the "underground' list is gorgeous in a vaguely Broadcast + Focus Group vein; Apká! by Céu is a lovely bit-overlooked trinket from the "world" list.

Also there's a nice Moses Sumney feature in the middle of the albums list with some nice photos of Moses Sumney taken by Moses Sumney.

lol @ that #1.

I love that K-Lone album. beautiful record!

Yeah, it's so lush

I'm just looking forward to the Quietus and RA lists, tbh. The rest just have no appeal to my tastes, at this point.

the Keeley Forsyth and Brigid Dawson albums from the middle of the Uncut list are both really glowering and wonderful and poss a bit neglected here

― technopolis, Thursday, 12 November 2020 21:03 (one week ago) link

Yeah that Brigid Dawson record is so good.

― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 12 November 2020 21:09 (one week ago) link

I have it on right now and it's dope!! Getting some Cate Le Bon vibes, at least from this number ("The Fool")

Also looking forward to the Picadilly Records compilations one as I usually find some amazing stuff on there every year xp

Here's the Musicophilia end-of-year list:

https://www.twitter.com/musicophiliamix/status/1331894795778859008

I'll try that again...

The fifty-three months the year of 2020 have been... yeah. But musicians have carried us through.

From the 300 LPs and EPs from 2020 I bought this year, here are my very favorites. I'll link to every album's @Bandcamp page in the thread below.

What were your favorites? pic.twitter.com/7YXjbacQTG

— Musicophilia (@musicophiliamix) November 26, 2020

https://time.com/5915313/best-albums-2020/

tiwa savage!

Interesting list. Ungodly Hour is good, but it’s not all that.

Ugh at Grimes and Taylor Swift on that TIME Top 10 but otherwise a very solid list. Tiwa Savage and Fiona Apple, Chloe x Halle and Makaya McCraven make me particularly happy.

Top 10 songs list also online, good choices but not many surprises... makes me wish they had a top 50:

https://time.com/5914984/best-songs-2020/

Grimes totally deserving, IMO. Excellent album

the grimes album was quite mediocre but the taylor album was her very best

Amanda Petrusich's favorite album of 2020 ... is from 2018:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2020-in-review/the-best-music-of-2020

ok in what world does the time track list not have many surprises. i don't think many other lists are going to have any south african house tracks

xp the Etran de L'Aïr album is dope and placed pretty high on my 2018 list iirc

Yeah, that Time tracks list is ridiculously eclectic (even by ILM standards). These past few linked write-ups keepmentioning “the pandemic” too much, though (IMO). How about we forget about it for a few minutes while we enjoy music? I get that covid provided a certain context for these writers, but I can’t relate to that.

Maybe I’m an anomaly, but I don’t reflect on any the music I loved this year and think, “Ah yes – this was perfectly suited for these times of isolation,” blah blah.

HAIM seemed that way to me tbh

The Charli XCX album is the one true quarantine album.

yeah that one too

5against4, pt. 2:

http://5against4.com/2020/12/31/best-albums-of-2020-part-2/

https://finestkiss.wordpress.com/2020/12/30/albums-2020/

this joel lavoie album from the 5vs4 list is blowing me away

https://mikroclimat.bandcamp.com/album/souvenir

Anti-Gravity Bunny's drone list
https://www.antigravitybunny.com/?p=12746

Are most labels and bands just printing smaller and smaller runs of physical LPs and CDs these days? I'm somewhat surprised by how many albums I'm learning about from year end lists, only to find out there are all sold out everywhere. The Sault albums being one example, but also the Bdrmm and Jack Cades albums from that (really good) Finest Kiss list. I don't remember running into this nearly as often in years past. I know some of this is due to pressing plant schedules being already screwed up before COVID even factored into things, but this also seems to go for CDs just as much as vinyl.

tl;dr I can't remember a year end list season when I've had more than 10 records on my list that I'd love to buy a physical copy of, but literally can't.

Did the anti gravity bunny dude sell all his records in the end?

It's becoming increasingly clear that when it comes to smaller labels, you better be ready to buy something as soon as the pre-order is announced, otherwise there is a very good chance you've already missed the boat. It's a bummer to read about a new album that was only released four months ago, but is already out of print.

Are most labels and bands just printing smaller and smaller runs of physical LPs and CDs these days?

Speaking as someone who's going to be releasing records next year, yes. 500-1000 copies is really all that's sustainable at this point unless you're a pop act. I'm going to be doing runs of 500 CDs, and after that it's download-only unless demand proves to be absurd (it won't).

That totally makes sense, I get it. Just sort of puts a damper on the joys of discovering something that slipped by under the radar.

have your say: ILM's 2020 End of Year Tracks & Albums Poll / VOTING AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD

Some good stuff in this multi-pocketed bag:

https://www.sequenza21.com/2021/01/music-from-behind-a-mask-schells-picks-for-2020/

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/14/956649529/2020-best-jazz-albums-critics-poll

NPR jazz critics poll of 148 voters. In addition to best jazz album, there's a separate jazz vocalist list, reissue list, and Latin Jazz list

Maria Schneider's Data Lords was the critics choice — no surprise, though relative unknown Sara Serpa's victory in the Vocal category in a year when both Kurt Elling and Gregory Porter released new albums was. A Thelonious Monk concert recorded at the unlikeliest of venues — a Northern California high school auditorium — in 1968 was voted the year's prize rara avis (my catch-all designation for reissues and never-before-issued finds), and the 23-year-old alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins's Omega ran away from the pack in Debut.

2. Ambrose Akinmusire
On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note)

3. Eric Revis
Slipknots Through a Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)

NPR Latin Jazz from above

Latin
1. Arturo O'Farrill/The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Four Questions (Zoho)
Votes: 18
Bandleader Arturo O'Farrill translates the essential inquiry at the heart of W.E.B DuBois' tract, The Souls of Black Folks, into an epic symphonic exploration. How does virtue face down violence? O'Farrill and his orchestra respond with polyrhythmic vivacity and harmonic elation. Yet, the lightly spoken sections — Dr. Cornel West's contribution — invoke the deep suffering that prompted DuBois to write more than a century ago, and O'Farrill to compose today. –Suzanne Lorge

2. Aruán Ortiz With Andrew Cyrille and Mauricio Herrera, Inside Rhythmic Falls (Intakt) 11

3. Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola, Viento Y Tiempo: Live at the Blue Note Tokyo (Top Stop Music) 6

3. Diego Urcola Quartet Featuring Paquito D'Rivera, El Duelo (Sunnyside) 6

3. Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours, Chapter 10: Breaking Cover (Picaro) 6

6. Dafnis Prieto Sextet, Transparency (Dafnison Music) 5

6. Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band, José Martí En Nueva York (Greenleaf Music) 5

https://afropop.org/articles/albums-from-2020-highlights

afropop .org radio show/podcast blog

album titles in the link

Rocky Dawuni
Songhoy Blues
Elida Almeida
Aricia Mess from Putumayo presents Brazil-Samba, Bossa, and Beyond
Hailu Mergia
Groupe RTD
Gordon Konang
Linos Wengara Magaya & Zimbaremabwe Mbira Vibes
Modeste Hugues & Kilema
Artists for Peace & Justice- Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1
Ali Bilali Soudan
Herb Alpert
Andal Sukabe from Music from Saharan WhatsApp 7 Sahel Sounds
Penny Penny
Nahawa Doumbia
Ballake Sissoko
Oumou Sangare - Acoustic
Monty Alexander

^^ very enjoyable, thanks for posting

i need to make a point to listen to that regularly in 2021