There was a huge pile of gold to listen to this past year. It seems that these trying times have motivated musical artists to unearth substance and soar into our desperate ears. There were already a plethora of good albums that came out in March, so you could only imagine how many more sad girl epiphany sounds have revealed themselves since.
Fiona Apple obviously stole the cake, releasing Fetch the Bolt Cutters, her first album in eight years after the groundbreaking album, The Idler Wheel… Somewhere in the stars, the Cosmonauts and Heavy Balloons are therapeutically screaming, unspooling the catharsis and Fetching the Bolt Cutters for themselves. Having started composing music when she was eight-years-old, Fiona Apple is an expert at staying true to herself. She has mastered communicating anger in a vulnerable way through her voice, letting herself free of musical constraints. The background vocals in Relay whale and echo after the line, “Evil is a relay race when the one who’s burned turns to pass the torch/ I don’t want to hurt myself even more.” The effects within this song are so magnificent, it sounds like someone who is caged in a far away nightmare. She has created a theatrical experience for us listeners, with splashes of dog barks and empty oil cans filled with dirt (Rolling Stone). Also, let’s not forget about the banging on the walls, we didn’t know we needed. There is a sense of pure lava and liberation at every turn. In an Elle interview, Fiona Apple reflects on people contributing to music as audience members, “I feel like the listener is part of the band or part of the music in some way. I feel like it’s a really beautiful part of being alive.” You matter too, listener! All you have to do is let sounds wow you. So let us dig in!
These are the best albums of 2020.
50. Swimmer- Tennis
49. Chaotic Good- Johanna Warren
48. Manger on McNichols- Boldy James
47. Silver Tongue- TORRES
46. Apparition- serpentwithfeet
45. SOURCE- Nubya Garcia
44. Someone New- Helena Deland
43. Gold Record- Bill Callahan
42. The Caretaker- Half Waif
41. Which Way is Forward?- Obongjayar
40. A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling- Magdalena Bay
39. Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2- Tkay Maidza
38. A Hero’s Death- Fontaines D.C.
37. Folklore- Taylor Swift
36. Mama, You Can Bet!- Jyoti, Georgia Ann Muldrow
35. Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs- Klô Pelgag
34. Ungodly Hour- Chloe x Halle
33. Have We Met- Destroyer
32. Mutable Set- Blake Mills
31. songs- Adrianne Lenker
30. Live Forever- Bartees Strange
29. Muthaland- BbyMutha
28. The Neon Skyline- Andy Shauf
27. Sundry Rock Song Stock- Yves Jarvis
26. As God Intended- Apollo Brown, Che Noir
25. Likewise- Frances Quinlan
24. Untitled (Rise)- SAULT
23. Heavy Light- U.S. Girls
22. I THINK I’M GOOD- Kassa Overall
21. Rough and Rowdy Ways- Bob Dylan
20. Ajai- Kenny Segal, Serengeti
19. Every Bad- Porridge Radio
18. The Slow Rush- Tame Impala
17. RTJ4- Run The Jewels
16. Mydata- Katie Dey
15. Man Alive!- King Krule
14. Punisher- Phoebe Bridgers
13. Anime, Trauma and Divorce- Open Mike Eagle
12. The Ascension- Sufjan Stevens
11. Saint Cloud- Waxahatchee
10. 925- Sorry
9. A Written Testimony- Jay Electronica
8. Kitchen Sink- Nadine Shah
7. Purple Moonlight Pages- R.A.P. Ferreira
6. Untitled (Black Is)- SAULT
5. Song for Our Daughter- Laura Marling
4. græ- Moses Sumney
3. Heaven to a Tortured Mind- Yves Tumor
2. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately- Perfume Genius
1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters- Fiona Apple
There were many other breathtaking albums from this year that weren’t able to fit on this list. These sounds came from Hachiku, Katie Von Schleicher, Lianne La Havas, Duckwrth, Tricot, Tricky, Quelle Chris, Soccer Mommy, Baxter Dury, The Flaming Lips, Sylvan Esso, Ohmme, Nappy Nina, BC Camplight, Fiver, Shabazz Palaces, Sam Gendel, Caribou, Tenci, Princess Nokia, The Avalanches, and Fleet Foxes. What a slam dunk year for new music!
Check out more end of year lists from these fellow avatar people: BPMHILL, Daw, and jpgchief
Indie Pong 