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Best Albums of 2020

Finally, 2020 has come to a close, which I'm sure everyone is thankful for. Everyone and their mother starts their list with a short story of how much 2020 sucked, so I'll avoid doing that because we're all very aware of that already. Instead, I'll just say, despite this year being terrible overall, it's been an absolutely amazing year for music. Part of that might be that I listened to more music this year than in any year prior (both in general and music from 2020). But still, I feel like this has been one of the best years for music in recent memory. The proportion of great albums I heard this year was much higher than, say, in 2019. There were so many stunning releases, but there were a few that can't make it onto this list for various reasons. So I'll start off with the Honorable Mentions of this year, which are all worth checking out in their own right. Most of them didn't make the list because they're not full albums, with one exception.

One more thing I should mention before beginning is that on Saturday, January 2nd, at 2 PM EST, I'll be doing a stream at https://www.twitch.tv/communistorc where I go through all the albums on this list, listen to a song or excerpt of a song from them, and discuss them with the viewers. I think it will be tons of fun, and if you'd like to watch it, then I'd be more than happy to see you there! I'll post a video of the stream onto Youtube afterwards (the vod on Twitch will almost certainly be muted because of all the copyrighted content) so if you miss it but still would like to watch it, I'll edit in a link below this paragraph once it's uploaded.

Anyway, while this list isn't even remotely definitive, and I didn't hear nearly as much as I would've liked to from this year, I still think all of the releases I'm going to mention are fantastic and worth checking out. So without further ado, let's start with the Honorable Mentions.

Honorable Mentions

Fax Gang - FxG3000

Fax Gang's debut EP is one of my favorite EPs of this year. It's a dreamy, lo-fi, hazy, and experimental cloud rap EP, with one of the best opening tracks from 2020. Breathe2 (In/Out) is a song I've just been obsessed with. It's so unbelievably catchy, and the last minute or so is simply breathtaking. What's better, is that the rest of the EP lives up to the stunning opener too, with Jailbroken and Jeopardy being my other favorites. The production is unique and incredibly intriguing throughout the whole EP. Fax Gang is releasing their debut album on New Year's Day, which will most likely be the first album I listen to in the new year because of that. I'm incredibly excited for that album, and if it lives up to this EP, then you can expect to see them again on my Best of 2021 list. If you only hear one EP from this year, make it this one.

Slauson Malone - Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak)

Slauson Malone's followup EP to 2019's excellent A Quiet Farwell 2016-2018 is every bit as interesting production wise, with the fascinating use of samples, and strangely familiar yet distant instrumentation. It has a neo-soul feel, but comparing it to Erykah Badu or D'Angelo would be such a strange and misleading comparison that it would be almost comical. This is much slower, much more pensive: distant, yet still comforting and familiar. This EP is the sonic equivalent of lying in bed in the midst of a depressive episode, with your mind at war with itself. The atmosphere here is truly incredibly well-crafted, and I'd highly recommend listening to this if you enjoyed his debut album, or even if you haven't.

Serpent Column - Endless Detainment

For any mathcore fans, Serpent Column's EP from this year is some of the most brutal, agonizing, chaotic music from the genre I've ever heard (in a good way of course). No other mathcore I've heard even compares to this level of sheer crushing havoc. In fact, very little music in general compares, possibly some free jazz albums, possibly some noise albums, but I could probably count on my hands the amount of releases that make me feel this positively scared for my life. Of course, when music is causing it, I love that feeling (I doubt I'd actually enjoy legitimately life-threatening circumstances obviously). My vocabulary to describe metal is sadly rather limited so I'm not sure what else to say, but if you're a metalhead, you've most likely already heard this, and you understand why I think this is some of the most intense music released this year. If you're a metalhead and HAVEN'T heard this, do yourself a favor and put it on when you have 22 minutes to spare. Worth noting, they also released an album titled Kathodos this year, also to acclaim, but I haven't heard it yet. That being said, I'm sure it's good, so if you enjoy this EP, check it out.

Fly Pan Am - Mirror Cracks Seeking Interiority

This single from the Canadian based experimental post-rock band Fly Pan Am is, by far, my favorite single of the year. I even reviewed it on rym, which makes it officially the only single I've ever reviewed. This single was the 6th part of a Constellation Records series of singles they released, where 100% of the revenue from the singles goes directly towards the artist. Worth noting, while I said that Fly Pan Am is a post-rock band, which is still true, there are heavy IDM influences in this 11 minute single as well. The three part structure works incredibly well here, with the closing section having this amazing groove that continually builds, and is an amazing way to cap off this already excellent single. Fly Pan Am already worked numerous unique influences into their 2019 comeback album, C'est ça, like shoegaze, noise, and a bit of IDM. Here the IDM is more prominent and it works beautifully. If this is the direction they choose to take for future releases, I'm very excited to hear what else is in store from them.

Boris - Volume Five "Pink Days"

Alright, so Boris is one of my favorite bands in general. When I saw they released a "new" live album with songs from Pink, Akuma no Uta, Dronevil, and other albums, I was pumped needless to say, since this is by far my favorite era of Boris. I say "new" because this was actually recorded in 2006, and actually was previously released as an archival compilation among other live shows. However it was put on Bandcamp for a Bandcamp Friday, so I bought it. Because it wasn't released this year initially, I decided against putting it on my list of best albums proper, but it's just so damn good I feel it needs a mention. This is nearly Boris's pinnacle of their noise rock period. I say nearly because the excellent Rock Dream live album with Merzbow exists, and is basically just a better version of this album, with a very similar setlist, but the addition of Merzbow's glacial noise really kicks it up a notch. Not to mention, Rock Dream has the best version of Feedbacker to ever grace my ears. So basically, if you haven't heard either of these albums, listen to Rock Dream first, and if you like that and want more, check out Pink Days.

Alright, those are all the Honorable Mentions out of the way, so it's time to get into the list proper. Without further ado, I present, Sophie's Top 25 Favorite Albums of 2020.

Top 25 Albums of 2020

25. Mamaleek - Come and See

At the start of the list, we have a noisy avant-garde metal release from Mamaleek, who were previously in the black metal camp on their earlier releases. This is an anxious, isolating release, with the screamed vocals sounding like someone in intense mental anguish. Most of the songs are fairly lengthy, all but one breaching the six minute barrier, and half of them stretching over eight. Luckily, there's plenty of substance here for the longer tracks to work well. This is an incredibly cathartic album, and if I knew the lyrics off the top of my head, I'd probably scream along to them (and piss off my family doing so). The guitar playing is excellent too, with lyrical yet depressive guitar soloing, and noisy walls of distortion both being present on this album. Personally, I'm a sucker for noise in music, so I love that addition. Overall, a very enjoyable album, though I find it is maybe a touch overlong. As such, I find there are other releases this year that are better, but this is still a solid number 25. Anything on this list is absolutely worth checking out, including this album, so don't let numbers be a barrier to you approaching something. This is only a ranked list because I have a lot of fun ranking things in general. Music is subjective and something I might find mediocre, might be your album of the year (I'm looking at you, Fiona Apple).

24. Anna Högberg Attack - Lena

This is a European Free Jazz album from Sweden. Anna Högberg plays saxophone for Fire! Orchestra, which I'm already familiar with, having heard both Exit! and Arrival. So, when I saw she released her own album with her band, Anna Högberg Attack, I was intrigued. And listening to this certainly paid off. She is an unbelievably talented alto saxophonist, capable of producing the screeching and sqwauking someone like, say, Peter Brötzmann might be known for, while also being able to play more straight with gorgeous melodies. Of course, she can play everything in between those two extremes just as well. The rest of the band is incredibly competent as well, with other members consisting of a tenor sax player, a trumpeter, a pianist, an upright bassist, and a drummer. The composition and soloing is also well done, with some songs sounding like hell is opening up, others being tense and stressful, and others being rather groovy. I don't find this album is groundbreaking or anything, however, as it does tread ground that's already been tread by other, better known European Free Jazz artists, but this is still one of my favorite jazz albums of the year in spite of that. Highly recommended for anyone into avant-garde jazz.

23. Sly and the Family Drone - Walk It Dry

Alright, yes, the band name is an excellent pun. But this London based band has much more character than just a funny name. I was already familiar with their 2019 release, Gentle Persuaders, which was a drony, noisy, free improv album. Walk It Dry, however, takes a more composed and structured approach, consisting of a hybrid between experimental noise rock and chaotic avant-garde jazz. These are two of my favorite genres, so this was already a great sign for me. This album has one of the most unique sounds I've ever heard in all honesty, with screaming sax, thunderous drums that would make Rashied Ali blush, electronics that add a layer of abstract chaos to the already tumultuous stew, and of course, noisy guitars. What's not to love? To add on to this, the album is immaculately produced, so all the sounds that I didn't even know instruments could make, sound positively gorgeous here. Everything is crisp and clear, and just bring my ears joy, especially on my nice Sennheiser headphones (this isn't sponsored, but Sennheiser, if you're reading this, I promise I can be a great shill). I admit, however, this album does get a bit exhausting by the end, simply because all the pandemonium on display is rather tiring after a while. Despite that though, I find this to be an excellent release, and I'd highly recommend it if it sounds interesting.

EDIT: The band has informed me there are no guitars on their albums. I suppose I misheard haha. Not quite sure what I heard, but I won't guess in case I'm wrong again. Anyway, great album, check it out.

22. Space Camp - Overjoyed in This World

Another really unique sounding record, this experimental rock(?) record is one of the stranger things I've heard all year. Stranger than Walk it Dry? Honestly quite possibly. The instrumentation is an incredibly bizarre combination of strings, horns, electronics, drums, v-drums, and some of the most powerful vocals (both male and female) I've heard this year. To say this record is experimental is doing it a disservice. This is a downright surreal and unsettling listen. At times this record is heavy and noisy, but at others, it's just deeply disturbing, and confuses me in a way I didn't know music could make me feel. Really, describing this album is an impossible feat, and trying to describe it is doing the album a disservice. It simply needs to be experienced, I believe. Go check out the tracks Fifth Grade Orchiectomy (excellent track title by the way), and especially check out Girders. The female vocals on Girders are positively stunning, and a bit infectious. The repeated line near the end "Let me be the great nail | holding a skyscraper together" is currently incredibly stuck inside my brain. The delivery of the line is simply mesmerizing. Anyway, if you're down to be disturbed, confused, and intimidated, check out the tracks I mentioned, and if you like them, check out the full album. It's only 24 minutes.

21. Horse Lords - The Common Task

This is another bizarre one (you might be starting to see a theme here), an incredibly repetitive, groovy, and almost krautrock-esque math rock album, with some of the most disorienting and complex rhythms I've ever heard. This album is positively hypnotic in its grooves and absurd polyrhythms. The opening track here just builds and builds upon itself, reaching soaring heights, like some sort of bizarre self-building skyscraper. The tension never boils over though, the tension itself is the main attraction. Journey before destination, to quote Brandon Sanderson. Really the only issue I have with this album is that The Radiant City is a rather boring track. If it were absent entirely, this album would likely be much higher on the list, probably within the top 15 or possibly even top 10. Everything else is simply mesmerizing and generally great though, so I would highly recommend this album.

20. Zopp - Zopp

Not everyone knows this about me, and if you only know me from this blog, you definitely wouldn't know it, but I used to be obsessed with prog rock in high school. I was the stereotypical obnoxious progressive rock fan, who only listened to prog and thought it was the pinnacle of music, and that everything else was inferior. Luckily, I broke out of that phase after a couple years when I joined my school's jazz band, and largely haven't looked back. The only prog rock I sometimes return to is the band Van der Graaf Generator, and the music of the Canterbury Scene, the latter of which this album takes inspiration from. For me, this is an incredibly nostalgic album, due to the Canterbury Scene influences. It has all the hallmarks of the scene, the fuzzed-out organ sound, the psychedelic mix of jazz and prog rock, the grandiose instrumentals and soloing, the melodic and catchy yet complex songwriting: all the hallmarks of bands like Caravan, or Hatfield and the North. It's probably nothing amazing to someone who isn't a fan of the genre or the specific scene, but for me this is a trip down memory lane, and I personally love it for that. Worth checking out for a prog fan, maybe not so much for everyone else, but for me this is so nostalgic and comforting I can't help but put it on this list.

19. Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now

The followup to her critically acclaimed 2019 album Charli is 2020's quarantine album, how i'm feeling now. The album opens on a bit of a sour note with pink diamond, which is obnoxiously loud for no reason, and by far the worst on the album. The good news is that everything else on the album is much more enjoyable. Charli XCX makes hyperpop, which is possibly my least favorite genre name out there, and this is the first and last time I'll be typing out that word on this blog. This is my first Charli XCX album, so I don't have a reference point with the rest of her work (or with the rest of the genre really), but this is quite a fun album. The songwriting is incredibly catchy and fun, while also being melancholic, with a focus on the current pandemic we're still living in, several months after the album's release. The production is loud and blown out at times, but it all meshes together nicely to create an excellent finished product. For an album made in six weeks, this is incredibly well produced and enjoyable overall. Making an album like this in such a short timespan is an incredible feat.

18. Paintscratcher - Life and Death

Full disclosure, I kinda know Robert, the creator of this album. I say kinda, because we've only ever spoken briefly in a Discord server we're both in, so maybe it's more accurate to say I know of him, rather than I know him. Anyway, that aside, this is a drone album, with bits of ambient and noise thrown into the mix at times. The Bandcamp description mentions influences like Steve Reich, Tim Hecker, and Yellow Swans, comparisons which are all valid I think. Since I love all those artists, this was a great find for me. There are two tracks here, the opener Life, and the closer Death, with the former being about 10 minutes longer than the latter. Both tracks are very long however, and each submerges you into a different world. Life is more vibrant and lush, but with a tension hanging in the air, like the tension of knowing that death is inevitable. Death is my favorite of the two tracks, the landscape it throws you into is surreal, dark, noisy, and stressful. The noise at times becomes the most prominent element in the music, at times almost being overwhelming. Of course, I love noise, so naturally Death is my preferred track because of it. Overall though, this is an excellent album, and that Robert has a better understanding of drone and noise than I likely ever will, while also being over a year younger than me, I have to admit I'm a bit jealous.

17. Rafel Anton Irisarri - Peripeteia

Irisarri is not an artist I was familiar with until this year, but this album is quite enjoyable. Peripeteia is another album that mixes ambient and drone like Life and Death right before it in the list, but it's rather distinct from Life and Death. Despite sharing some similarities, like a melancholic mood, and overlapping in terms of genres, Life and Death gets far noisier, more bleak, and just more overwhelming in general. This album, while definitely far from uplifting, is also comforting in its own way. It reminds me of being wrapped up in a blanket on a Winter night, staying warm inside for the time being, while knowing that you'll have to leave the comfort of your home tomorrow for work or school or whatever. It's a fairly somber album, but it's also relaxing simultaneously. It's great for critical listening, but also for just throwing on in the background while playing Melee or something (yes I play Melee, yes I know I'm a massive square). Also worth noting is that there is a continuous mix of this album tacked onto the end of the tracklist, which I think is the superior way to enjoy the album, without as many fadeouts or breaks between tracks.

16. tricot - Makkuro

Yes the cover art is just a black square, it's not that it hasn't loaded, don't worry. Anyway, tricot is a band I hadn't heard of til this year, but after this album, I'll definitely check out more from them. They released another album this year, but the other one didn't quite catch my attention right away, so I never got around to finishing it. I definitely want to hear their debut though. Regardless, those aren't the albums on my list, so how about this one? Well, it's sort of like math rock, but with loads of pop sensibilities. The riffs are angular and complex, but the song structures are largely pop based. There's even hooks: really catchy ones at that. Track 3, あふれる, is my favorite here. The hook is infectious, with these gorgeous layered vocals that sound positively massive. While I think the album isn't quite as strong on one or two songs perhaps, it's in general a really excellent listen, and really catchy at times. It makes me want to sing along, but unfortunately I don't know Japanese, I can't really. Definitely recommended for fans of math rock, or pop fans who aren't opposed to a bit of spice in the instrumentals.

15. Ichiko Aoba - "Gift" at Sogetsu Hall

Ichiko Aoba is one of my favorite discoveries this year. This is one of two albums she released this year, the other being the excellent Windswept Adan, which, well, we'll get to later. This is a completely different animal compared to Windswept Adan though. This didn't get as much attention or critical acclaim, partially because it's a live album I suspect. It's more like her earlier stuff, which was just her with an acoustic guitar usually, sparse, and at times lonely, versus Windswept Adan, which was lush and more heavily produced with more instruments. This album is rather great though, there's something about the atmosphere of this live album, where Ichiko Aoba is in a concert hall full of people, but none of them are audible, until after the fourth track when she asks them to clap. The acoustics are hauntingly reverberant, which gives this album an even lonelier feel. It sounds as if she's in an empty concert hall for most of the show, performing to herself. The songs themselves are fairly typical Aoba affair: comforting yet lonely singer songwriter / folk. Really it's the atmosphere this album has that makes it truly stand out from other Aoba albums. While I don't think it's the best thing she's released this year (we'll get to that later), it's still rather excellent, and if you're a fan of her music, I'd strongly recommend it.

14. Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra - If You Listen Carefully the Music is Yours

This album received a fair amount of acclaim in modern jazz circles, but was virtually unknown to the rest of music fans. What really is interesting about this live album, aside from the music of course, is the instrumentation. Everyone in the 16-piece band is credited as playing percussion, there are three bassists, and three drummers, including Nilssen himself. So the rhythm section is incredibly spicy here. The music is some of the best modern big band I've had the pleasure of listening to. The first 20ish minutes of the albums (which are the first two songs) are such a wild and blistering introduction to this album. Really though, this album touches on so many things I just love: big band, avant-garde jazz, excellent composition, forceful solos, excessively huge rhythm sections. It's such a fun and wild ride, and if you're even moderately into jazz, I'd strongly recommend it.

13. Avenade - Vice Versa in Such Things

Avenade is a pretty new artist. He released his first album in 2019, which received a decent amount of acclaim, and has already returned with his sophomore album. This album is kind of a mix between noise rock and shoegaze, which isn't something I ever knew I needed, but after hearing this album, I definitely needed it. The guitar tones can be aggressive at times, like on the opening track, but at other times they can be more typical shoegaze tones. It's an interesting combination of genres, that I never wouldn've thought of myself, but it works really well. The songwriting is interesting and dynamic as well, as most songs evolve considerably over their runtime. This isn't the best noise rock I've heard this year, but it's certainly up there. Overall, it's a very enjoyable listen, and I'd recommend it to shoegaze or noise rock fans.

12. Boris with Merzbow - 2R0I2P0

Noise rock giants Boris return with their third album from 2020, this time with the addition of longtime collaborator and noise titan Merzbow. While I liked NO, the other album I heard from them this year, this is much more typical Boris affair, which is definitely more my speed. Most of the songs here are taken from 2019's Love and Evol, which I found overwhelmingly mediocre. Luckily, the performances here are much more enjoyable to my ears, especially with the addition of Merzbow, whose harsh noise adds the spice that Love and Evol was missing to my ears. Merzbow's tracks are perhaps mixed a bit too loud I think, but it's not a huge deal, as Boris is still audible. The songs range from melodic with noisy accompaniment, to droning wastelands that feel oppressive to witness. The variety here is wonderful, and this is likely the best Boris album in years, which is what I said about NO when it came out, but this is significantly better than that. While it's not up to the same standards as Rock Dream or Feedbacker, realistically, very little is, and expecting that from them would be a mistake I feel. This is an excellent album, and well worth checking out for fans of Boris or Merzbow, or noisy things in general.

11. Neptunian Maximalism - Éons

This was the most acclaimed avant-garde album released earlier in the year to my recollection. I remember the hype around this album was intense when it first came out, and for a time it was my album of the year even. Upon relisten, I've cooled off on it a bit however, I find that it doesn't justify its length well enough to be just over two hours. But regardless, this is still a very fascinating album, that combines genres that are typically not combined. When was the last time you heard avant-garde jazz combined with drone metal, with a psychedelic twist to top it off? Most likely never. This album has such a unique sound to it, that I've never heard before or after really. It's split into three parts: To the Earth, To the Moon, and To the Sun, the last of which is my favorite, because it really cranks the drone metal influences up to their highest point. The longest track here is my favorite for the same reason; it's the most droning of all the songs here. I once heard this album described as a combination between Sunn O))) and Sun Ra, which while I find this to be an oversimplification, it's not a bad description (and it's rather clever I think). Anyway, while this album is very long (too long), it's still excellent, and incredibly unique. Recommended for anyone looking for something avant-garde that's either not been done before, or only done before rarely.

10. SUMAC - May You Be Held

Finally, we arrive at the top 10. I first heard of SUMAC from their 2018 collaboration with Keiji Haino, which I haven't heard yet, but I've been meaning to, since it's well received. This album is, like Éons, a combination of genres I've never heard before, though a very different combination to be sure. This is sludge metal, mixed with a bit of free improv. This album wasn't amazingly received, which personally I find is a tragedy. This does sludge metal extremely well, but when mixed with the free improv sections, it's kicked up to a new level. There are a few songs that are largely free improv, which I find quite enjoyable, but the real meat of the album here is the two longer songs (both over 16 minutes). Here they effortlessly weave together the two genres into a sort of "free sludge," heavy, but atmospheric. It's like nothing I've heard before, which maybe means I don't listen to enough metal (which is true for sure), but I still get the feeling this album is unique. I would recommend this for fans of sludge metal who want a change of pace from the usual sludge they hear.

9. Eartheater - Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin

This is an album I remembered hearing about, being confused by the cover, and not checking it out because of that. Later, a streamer I watch (who I took the idea to stream my year end list from) put this on his list. He played the song Below The Clavicle, which has this weird thing in the chorus, where Eartheater throws her voice incredibly high. The unusual vocals were enough to make me check out this album, right before I started work on this list (this was the last new album I listened before starting work on this list). And man, am I glad I gave this a shot. This album is sorta avant-folk, with some of the most interesting, ethereal production and instrumentation I've heard in a while. But the real feature of this album for me is the vocals. Below The Clavicle is a great example of this, but my favorite track is Diamond In The Bedrock; her voice is just so haunting here (and on most other tracks, but especially this one). For anyone into hauntingly beautiful folk, this is a strong recommendation from me.

8. MSW - Obliviosus

Another metal album, which is a genre I'm fairly bad at describing due to my relative lack of experience listening to it. That being said, I still enjoy lots of metal, as you can tell from this album being placed this high. This is primarily a doom metal album, from MSW, whose former project Hell has received a fair amount of acclaim. Sadly I haven't listened to any Hell, but I definitely will in the near future, because this album is fantastic. Songs alternate between the heavy and the melodic, with violins and female vocals sometimes appearing, but it's always melancholic. This album is just crushingly sad. It's great. There's no real weak points, but my favorite tracks here are the opener O Brother, and the sidelong closing title track. Anyway, this is a great listen, and I'd strongly recommend it for any doom metal fans, or those looking to get into doom metal.

7. Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi

Yet another metal album in my top 10, this one mixing black metal with psychedelia. Naysayers of this album (who are typically huge fans of black metal) will claim this isn't "real" black metal, or black metal for people who aren't fans of the genre. Luckily, I'm not really a fan of the genre (not yet anyway), so this album is a great introduction to it for me. The vocals are just positively nasty, in a good way of course. The best thing this album does is create tension incredibly well, I think. The album opens with a long intro that is so damn suspenseful, that when it finally erupts into the song's climax around five minutes in, it feels like hell has opened up, fire and brimstone let loose into the world. Every song is rather excellent, but no others hold the tension quite this well for quite this long, and then release it so dramatically. The psychedelic influences are a great addition too, with most tracks being heavily synthesizer-laden, adding to the atmosphere and anxiety. Overall, this is an excellent black metal album for people who aren't into black metal (me). Maybe diehard fans of the genre wouldn't like it as much, but I think it's excellent personally.

6. Moor Mother - Circuit City

Readers of this blog will likely know I've actually already done a full review of this album, and those who've read it should not be surprised by its placement on this list. If you'd like to read the full review, it's available here. I'll keep this paragraph relatively short in comparison to the review though. Moor Mother has been wildly prolific this year, releasing six studio albums (several of which are collaborations) and one live album. Of these, I've heard three of her albums, Moor Jewelery, a collaboration with Mental Jewelry, Brass, a collab with Billy Woods, and Circuit City, which was by far my favorite. This album is a four act free jazz manifesto, with Moor Mother's poetry laid on top of the free jazz backing. Her poetry is distinctly leftist in nature, speaking of how the powers that be make housing anything but a human right. She also speaks of how difficult it is to stand against a system, or a machine, so enormous, that opposition seems impossible. The poetry is incredibly powerful, and together with the chaotic free jazz accompaniment, it makes for one of the most stunningly charged musical experiences I've heard in a while. Recommended for fans of free jazz for sure.

5. Keiji Haino - The Meaning of Blackness

Like Circuit City, I have also done a full review of this album here. Keiji Haino is an incredibly prolific Japanese noise and free improv musician. I've heard several of his albums: both his solo work, and his work with Fushitsusha. Most things I've heard are rather excellent, but this is currently my favorite Haino release. This 88 minute live album is split into two parts, largely improvised, and incredibly noisy and experimental. Haino fiddles with electronics, drum machines, plays a hellishly noisy guitar, and sings (sometimes more like yells). Part 1 of this album contains a performance of Koko (which translates to "Here"), which is my favorite Haino song of all time. This isn't my favorite version of it, but it's quite excellent still. The real reason this album is my favorite Haino release I've heard is the variety on display. Haino constructs massive swells of noise at times, at other times he screams with some of the most positively terrifying vocals I've ever heard in my life, and then when playing Koko, he shows a more melancholic, gentler side. Plus the vocal freakout he goes into near the end of Part 2 is the most terrifying moment I've ever heard on a Haino release, and really some of the most frightening music I've heard in general. While Part 2 is maybe a touch long, this whole thing is 100% worth listening to all of, and is simply stunning. It's a massive voyage Haino takes you on. Highly recommended for fans of noise rock, or free improv, or Haino in general.

4. Sprain - As Lost Through Collision

Sprain are a Los Angeles based slowcore band (my favorite genre!), that released their debut self-titled EP in 2018. Comparisons to Low and Bluetile Lounge could absolutely be made for that EP, but they've changed their sound fairly significantly for their debut album. They're much harsher now, more aggressive, more post-hardcore inspired, while maintaining their depressive edge. There are clearly inspirations from Unwound and especially Lowercase here, and the band has basically admitted as such with their Spotify playlist of what they've been listening to, which contains both of those artists (sidenote, that playlist is unbelievably good, and just stuffed with amazing music.) Here's the reason I don't take issue with what some people are calling "Unwound and Lowercase worship": first of all, I adore both of those bands, and second of all, this "clone" is so brilliantly executed, that even if it is a clone, it's so good that I just don't care. And personally, I think calling them a clone of those bands is a little disingenuous, because while they're definitely inspired, they also put their own twist on the music sometimes. Take the chaotic avant-garde jazz inspired sax on Worship House, or the slow and heavy Everything: neither of these sound remotely like anything Unwound or Lowercase did. They're at least fairly unique, but more importantly, those songs are incredibly good. This whole album is great, and is a great listen for fans of post-hardcore, the more aggressive side of slowcore (Codeine, etc.), or the other bands I mentioned earlier.

3. Ichiko Aoba - Windswept Adan

Yes, I've done a review on this album too, right here. And yes, I gave it a 10, I still think it deserves it. All of my top three albums are 10s for me. This is the other Ichiko Aoba album on the list, much more lush and full of gorgeous instrumentation when compared to "Gift" at Sogetsu Hall, and the rest of her earlier stuff. It was a gamble to change her sound so dramatically, and people were worried about this album since she didn't even write most of the tracks herself, but the gamble paid off, as this album is simply fantastic. It's so serene and gorgeous, at times it feels like walking through a lush forest inhabited by magical spirits or something. At other times, it feels more like being at the ocean, either sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash, or floating on your back on top of the waves. It's folk and singer songwriter and its most peaceful and most mystical. There are ambient interludes here and there which I think could be a bit more fleshed out, like the song Prologue was, but that's extreme nitpicking. This album is simply gorgeous, and it deserves all the praise it got. Recommended to fans of Aoba's work, anyone who likes folk, or honestly, maybe just anyone in general. This album is so tranquil and so beautiful, I truly believe everyone could find at least something they like about it.

2. Will Wood - The Normal Album

This is a hard one to write about. It's sorta of a cabaret-inspired, piano heavy, progressive pop album, maybe anyway. As far as genres go, this one is hard to pin down, at least for me. But honestly, it doesn't matter what genre this is, because it is absolutely a stunning album regardless. For me, the biggest appeal of this album is the lyricism. While this album is instrumentally rather upbeat for the most part, this album is beyond dark lyrically, but it's so philosophical and sarcastic about all the subject matters that it never becomes overly bleak. To put it another way, this album never really made me sad, but it certainly had me laughing at points, or singing along, or just generally having a great time, despite the lyrical themes. The songs are so catchy and fun, which is a nice contrast to heavier themes of mental health, drugs, death, identity, gender, and most of all, what it means to be normal. This album asks the questions, what is normalcy, what does it mean to normal, is there even such a thing as normalcy? What its answers are, I'll leave to you to discover for yourself. But really, this is one of the best albums lyrically I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, pretty much every song is incredibly catchy in some way at least, and it's just a great time. The closing three tracks are simply stunning. Overall, I'd probably recommend this to anyone who's willing to listen to something a bit dark and experimental lyrically. It's not for everyone sadly, but I do believe it's an album everyone should try.

1. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020

Finally, we've reached number one, my favorite album from a year of great music, is Phil Elverum's latest album, and his return to using the Microphones moniker. This is the first Microphones album in 17 years, though Phil released an album in 2019 as Mount Eerie, so it's not like we've been waiting nearly two decades for a new release from him. This album is one 44 minute song, where Phil basically recounts his entire adult life and musical career. He goes into tons of personal details on his life, his musical influences, the creation processes, the names he's played under, how he's evolved and changed, and what it all means to him. Instrumentally, this record is classic Phil Elverum, but as a longform piece: looping guitars, playing a two chord vamp for a long instrumental intro, and slowly evolving, morphing, as more instruments come in and change the sonic landscape. This song evolves a lot over its runtime, but fundamentally is still the same song. It's about as cohesive as a 44 minute song can get. The same two chord vamp is present for a large portion of the song, which might sound repetitive, but to my ears it never gets old. The one thing I will say that makes me hesitant to recommend this album to literally everyone, is that I'm sure it might be odd to listen to such an open and autobiographical song if you're not familiar with Phil already. But for me, Phil Elverum is my favorite artist of all time, so this is, for me, a absolutely stunning record. I cannot overstate how incredible I think this album is. For context, I've given him six 10s, and this is one of them. But to elaborate further, this is my second favorite album from him, and the only reason it isn't first, is because he released my all-time favorite album, The Glow Pt. 2. I'd recommend that album first, and if you like it, I'd then suggest diving further into his discography, and using Microphones in 2020 to cap off your dive through his works. It'll be a much more impactful listen that way I think. Anyway, that's it, Microphones in 2020 is my favorite album from 2020. I hope you check it out in one way or another.

Finally, this list is finished. If you've made it this far, and especially if you've read all of this excessive amount of writing, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. This list took a ton of time to make. It took around six or seven hours to write, but beyond that, the amount of time I spent listening to music to prepare for this is more than I even know. It's almost certainly at least a few days straight of music listening, possibly more. But really, I had a ton of fun listening to all the music from this year, and a ton of fun writing this list. It's always fun to write about music I love, and this is by far the biggest undertaking I've done on this blog so far. Thank you to everyone who's read my blog, whether you've been here from its beginning, or this is your first post from me you've read. It really means a lot that I can share and talk about the music I listen to with my friends or even people I've never spoken with. Anyway, I've written enough for this year. Make sure to stop in for my stream like I mentioned at the start of this post if you can. Thank you all, so much.

EDIT: Just as a little bonus content, I have an RYM list where I've ranked almost everything I heard this year (minus a couple albums I forgot to add). If you're curious of my thoughts on other albums that didn't make the list, you can check it out here. Apologies to Fiona Apple and Phoebe Bridgers fans.