#fiona / fake hero (sonic)
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Junk for my clockwork knight fan game:
Water=mega mack
Tiara has that 'love obsessed' with sonic since she was Fiona to tails.
I'm not sure if most/ all of the levels would be inside neo's island fortress.
EDIT: I have this emerl looking robot and I absolutely do not know if I should have a mega man arm for him. (Easier to draw?)
CAST SO FAR:
Tiara =Tongara III
E-121 phi = Ginger
Mecha knuckles = Oneon II
Enemies = fake scrapniks
*Le Bon = A moto bug that can jump.
BaroBaro = Rex the Rexon (idk what their neck is)
Pepperchaou the first = They are controlling the fake scrapniks and some of the real ones.
Soltia = Breezie (?) she's an android too btw
Prunchau = I DO NOT KNOW BUT I NEED AN EQUIVALENT.
*Silver = probably le bon?
Pa Zur = E 117 Sigma
Chelsea: Mecha sonic mk II
Bosses ↓⬇️↓
Crazy TV = Pizza tower esque boss (eggman screen)
Funky Snaky = Those huge caterkillers in lost world
Betsy boss & kitchen boss = Eggrobo twins
Jetter = I'm not sure but it will or could be a boss from adventure to heros
Iron Kong X = ZERO but rebuilt.
Paper Morphy = I'm not sure
Captain Octopus = A boss that Is in water.
King Gears = so far idk
Dragon= a specialized mech?
My fan game cast ↑
*I am still not sure who the bouncy ball and gingers horse will be.
1 note
·
View note
Text
Miles watched the other with a slight smile on his face. He could see that Steel was frustrated, but knew better than to antagonize him. The fox simply waited until his 'guest' made himself comfortable and continued. "I don't blame you honestly: when I was a kid, Scourge was my hero, my savior. He helped me escape the nightmare that was my household."
The mage placed his fingers on top of the crystal ball resting on the nearby table. The ball emotted a glow and started showing pictures, seemingly from Miles' perspective.
First was a picture of the Suppression Squad, truimphantly celebrating in castle Acorn, still barely teens. "We weren't a good team and Scourge was, well, himself. Rude, arrogant, a brute. But we listened to him and all was well. For us, I mean. We were quite horrible to anyone we didn't like." Next was a picture of the crew absolutely destroying a house that eerily looked like a fortified hospital.
"But then time passed, things happened. And suddenly Scourge disappeared for a long while. Then he returned. And he was green. And he had... Someone with him." Now the ball was showing Scourge and Fiona stepping out of the portal.
"That's when it all went off the rails. Scourge became obsessed with making us look perfectly opposite to Sonic and his team. I was lucky enough to be able to choose my new style." Prower paused and the next picture seemed shaky, as if Miles was trembling heavily as he watched... A young coyote getting one of his eyes pulled out.
"Patch became an example because he was the first to retaliate. Next was Boomer. He was forced to completely modify his body. Though he seemed to enjoy that more." Prower paused and then sighed. "Next part is... Especially gruesome. Are you sure you are still on board?" He asked with concern. It wasn't hard to fake, his eyes seemed so full of deep sorrow and regret.
Miles was milking his story for all it was worth, selsctively omitting some of the more personal details.
His lower eye twitched as the fox laughed and laughed. A torrent of emotions began to bubble inside of Steel, going from his stomach and burning in his throat. Disappointment but most important anger. Anger towards the other moebian, anger towards Scourge, but mostly anger towards himself. He had hoped beyond hope that he could save his future, but what if he couldn't? What if his home was doomed from the start?
No. He had come too far to give up now. His eyes darted to the side, now looking at the chair. Using his telekinetic powers, he pulled it back and sat down. "I...I should know more. If anyoneーeven Scourgeーposes a threat, I need to know how to stop them."
#tw: gore#tw: death#sorry it's so longggg#you don't have to match it btw#i just went off cause i am feeling so inspired rn
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fiona-centric tag dump...gonna be doing these for each character. hopefully i don’t forget them
#(fiona) visage#(fiona)#(fiona) aesthetics#fiona / pathetic king (scourge)#fiona / the only thing that mattered (nic)#fiona / fake hero (sonic)#fiona / suppression squad#fiona / destructix#tag dump
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
@mashounen2003
The whole thing with Fiona Fox (and Scourge, for that matter) is a mess, indeed. There's a lot of misinformation, as well as Flynn fans once again not wanting to admit their fav writer fucked it up big time. Long story short: Flynn tried to write an abusive villain (Scourge) and a reference to Joker & Harley Quinn (Scourge & Fiona), but never understood Harley was supposed to be Joker's victim
Flynn also grew fond of Scourge, who became his pet villain & a Mary-Sue. Scourge's abuse towards Fiona was shown, wasn't ambiguous, and unlike Penders, Flynn recognizes emotional abuse as a bad thing. But Flynn didn't do all the necessary steps to clearly send the message that Scourge was evil, so now everyone thinks Scourge is some anarchist sex-god anti-hero
Also, Fiona was portrayed as massively petty & mean; before Flynn's run, Fiona was painfully underutilized but had some interesting depth and the potential for an uplifting story. When Flynn turned her into Scourge's victim-- Sorry... "girlfriend", her personality changed completely. There are clues of Fiona having secretly been manipulated by Scourge since a long time before her "betrayal", but this all remained at subtext-level
As you probably already know, Flynn has a problem, not with his own ideas on morality, but with how he makes morality work in his stories' universe. He thought Sonic & the Freedom Fighters would think that traitors like Fiona are worse than genocidals like Eggman or abusers like Scourge. & his stories mirror some of that too. Scourge is undoubtedly a vile monster but is treated a bit better, while Fiona is just misguided and has untreated childhood trauma but is written as an alpha bitch
That's also why I don't like when fans wanna make Fiona a good guy again and they give her a "redemption arc" when, TBH, that's not the way to do it. More of that in this post in my "mashounen2003" blog: post/646874203783577600/a-couple-of-grievances-i-have-with-some-tails-x. I recommend to take a look at what I reblogged from other people about both Fiona & Scourge (use tags "Fiona Fox" & "Scourge the Hedgehog" if necessary).
Admittedly, I'm a bit biased in favour of many concepts from Archie (yeah, I'm a fake fan, I should feel ashamed, yadda yadda yadda), but I like Archie mostly for its potential, not so much for what was actually done with its concepts (minus a few genuinely great stories). I still dislike most of Archie but for its ideas' execution; its concepts are interesting. I'm willing to pair Tails with Fiona, but only after rewriting this from scratch and doing some "character deconstruction".
Sorry for the long chain of continues in your ask box. There are many things omitted by both Archie fans (because they skipped every comic issue before Flynn, they're spellbound by Flynn and can't admit he did something wrong) & Archie critics (because they just stopped reading after all the genuinely ugly shit, so they didn't look beyond that)
I'm still a bit conflicted myself. Flynn isn't like Penders, he's not an abuse apologist or rape apologist like Penders; Flynn did point out other characters' emotional abuse & crappy actions during Penders run; & Flynn's versions of Shadow -& the entire Team Dark- and Knuckles in Archie (not in IDW) are some of the best in the franchise (that's why fans accuse SEGA of keeping Flynn's hands tied 24/7 now). But... *sigh*
Flynn has good ideas, but he executes them poorly half of the time, and he's quite unprofessional. If the audience thinks something is really "cool" or a trend at a given moment, Flynn lets that "cool" or "trending" thing influence his work a lot. "House of Cards" happened largely because Marvel's "Civil War" event, as infamous as it was, also had record sales. Metal Virus was so stupidly depressing because The Walking Dead was still popular at some extent
And the same happened with Scourge & Fiona, albeit this'd only be evident 10 years later, when the 1st Suicide Squad movie was released. Jared Leto Joker was sanitized as hell, pretty much like Scourge; Harley was just arm candy for Joker while the abuse was never even mentioned (even though anyone who watched DC cartoons or read DC comics knows Harley is a victim and, not a long time later, gets away from Joker & becomes very much a hero), pretty much like Fiona and it was all because that "bad boy & bad girl" thing, devoid of the source material's context, was popular because there were many teenagers romantizing abuse. In Archie's case, Flynn fans lacked the context for Scourge's creation and didn't know about Fiona's previous appearances because they never wanted to touch the comics before Flynn's run (which I can understand, but still... they were still canon; moreover, Flynn outright referenced them time & time again until Archie's reboot)
I should have written all this on a post on my own blog. Once again, I apologize; I wrote this after being suddenly inspired & I didn't want that inspiration to go away. I also recommend reading "toaarcan" Tumblr account, maybe asking him about this; he can explain all this better than me, more patiently and in a more concise format, and he's useful as he has opinions different from the prevailing ones in the Archie-Sonic fandom and in the Sonic fandom in general.
I had to put your askes like this haha
I appreciate the perspective of someone who has read the entirety of Archie, the good, the bad and the very ugly. I go by hearsay and posts of other people, which is not enough to form a complete analysis
Huh, Flynn turning another female character into an asshole? Apparently he did the same with Rouge (to be fair, such an amateurish mistake was common at the time :\). Also Fiona being treated worse than Scourge? Sheesh...
I would like to see his Team Dark and his Knuckles in Archie, especially his Shadow. I don’t like justifying his mistakes with “mandates”, but with Shadow I can believe that he had to change his personality to follow the current canon one :\
Also yeah, Penders... I’m glad that the dude was pretty much exiled from the franchise and we don’t have to worry about him again, because man, what little I know about him makes my skin crawl.
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
I rewrote the part where Scourge and Sonic have that "Just like me convo" so it can fit my au of them.
____________________
Fiona cheating on him with his anti didnt make Sonic angry..
Fiona actively lying to him didnt piss him off, maybe annoyed him..but it didnt piss him off.
What did piss him off however was how she antagonized Amy and Tails, and how she seemed to preen at the slightest attention Scourge gave her..because she wanted someone to protect her..someone to care about her, he didnt know..and what set him off was how she slapped Tails away, mocked him for crying and all to impress his anti!
"What the hell Fiona!?"
Sonic snapped, though this just caused the vixen to roll her eyes before she looked at him..god her attitude was grating his nerves,
"What?" She mused as if she didnt just slap his best friend for no reason,
That ..that made him scowl, and without warning he moved- he wanted to actually..throw her, her attitude annoyed him, her disregard for his friends pissed him off- he hadnt accounted for Scourge actually protecting her, as when he moved..so did the green hedgehog and before he could touch Fiona a fist crushed into his cheek causing him to let out a sharp grunt and lose his footing for a brief minute, instantly turning his attention towards Scourge..he still had that same sleazy smile..taunting.
"Bad move, blue."
Scourge drawled out, and Sonic just clicked his tongue watching as Scourge slowly paced around him..hes been itching to fight him for who knows how long..that much Sonic knew, but Sonic just hummed,
"Oh so you can help other people besides yourself, I was beginning to worry you had no redeeming qualities!" He stated sounding visibly amused,
Scourge just scoffed lowly, "Please, thats not a redeemin quality, raise your standards." He sneered, and without warning he ran forward..and the fight began.
Amy had since charged at Fiona but Sonic could barely focus on that as Scourge kept matching him blow for blow..only thing was Scourge was a lot more violent..a lot more aggressive.
It wasnt everyday Sonic worked up a sweat fighting an opponent as not many people matched his speed..Shadow and Metal were the only ones..now Scourge had been added to that list of people that seem to want to kill him for no reason.
"Jeez its hard to believe someone so bitter could be me, like damn dude, did your favorite jacket get discontinued?"
Even during this fight Sonic didnt stop being taunting, as he landed on top of a rock- narrowly avoiding being kicked into a tree, watching as Scourge turned towards him, his eyes were surprisingly still shielded by his shades but Sonic could still feel him glaring at him,
Scourge moved again and this time he successfully swiped Sonics legs from underneath him and when Sonic fell the blue hedgehog instinctively moved to the side as Scourges fist came crashing into the floor were his head had previously been,
"Lets see you keep makin jokes when I break your fuckin legs." Scourge hissed- despite his words he sounded delighted by the thought, pleased with the thought of hurting him and hes use to this from Shadow and Metal, they were both assholes who worked with Eggman on their worst days and they just genuinely didnt like him that much but Scourge? Theyve only met three times before this and he didnt remember antagonizing the male enough to make him want to hurt him that much-
Scourge charged forward once more and Sonic quickly moved to the side, arm pulling back before he crashed his fist into the side of Scourges face as he had done to him earlier..knocking the shades from his face which caused his anti to pause briefly, glancing down at the shades for a millisecond as they landed on the floor, cracked and lopsided.
That millisecond was soon forgotten as Scourge retaliated..his body moved lower and his leg rose before he kicked Sonic straight in the chest causing the male to grunt, stumbling back at the force but the kick wasnt enough as Scourge had soon punched him in the stomach,
"God- I still got a few more jokes- first, those shades were lame anyways- not a joke but a fact!"
Sonic stated quickly, jumping out of the way from Scourge once more as the male just growled,
"Im not takin shit from someone who thinks 'Way past cool' is a thing people actually say!" Scourge retorted,
"Hey people said it before!"
"No ones ever said that shit before!"
It went on like this for what seemed like a few minutes with both of them arguing with each other, Sonic just wanted to see exactly why Scourge was going out of his way to hurt him- even trying to actually break his leg if he was given the chance..the rage was so weird..he knew antis were different but he didnt expect his anti to be so..angry, so violent- his anti seemed more like a very verbal Shadow with the way he kept attacking him,
"Ya know being an asshole isnt as rewarding as ya think it is right?"
Sonic questioned- grunting when he got into a tree, thankfully avoiding Amy as she chased Fiona around still, she had tried to help but Fiona kept distracting her.
"Pfft, its more rewardin than wastin my time saving a buncha useless dicks who dont deserve it!" Scourge replied, sounding amused by the sheer thought of saving someone else...Sonic couldnt imagine not wanting to save people..yeah sometimes he thought some people didnt deserve it but still,
"Youre still a Sonic! Still me- you should want to at least try and help people!"
"Why? Cuz thats what you do?"
Scourge just laughed and without warning he moved forward..punched him in the stomach, then his chest- he didnt wait for a retaliation as he kicked him into a tree, he found with the purpose to bruise and scar while Sonic fought to distance and distract-
His head spun for a split moment, the wind knocked out of him,
"You dont get it! Rulin people with fear and hate, is soo much better than tryna be some glorified saint!"
Scourge stated, his eyes were blazing..the rage was back..he looked nothing like him right now..something was off, Sonic didn't like how unhinged he was, how cruel-
"That isnt true, and it never will be."
Sonic declared and Scourge just sneered at him, laughing, fist pulling back as Sonic quickly moved from his spot, his knuckles slammed into bark instead of Sonics nose,
"When you finally realize not everyone deserves to be saved, when you see how much more freein it is to be above people than to depend on them- you'll be like me, all it takes is one bad day, one bad situation and you'll see that." Scourge hummed out, side stepping as Sonic went to kick him, only to have his leg grabbed and he was forcefully thrown down, causing him to grunt lowly, and without warning Scourge stepped on his chest, Sonic could only stare at him for a brief moment before he just grinned-
"Thats where your wrong dude, a bad day doesnt just make someone a villain..but a good day? A good day could change a lot, all it takes is someone showing you an ounce of kindness, someone showin you the love you never got and you'll be like me, a good person..maybe even a hero." He stated, grinning.
He expected another mocking laugh instantly, expecting Scourges foot to press down but for a brief minute..the green hedgehog paused, eyes widening ever so slightly, and for that minute Sonic was sure he got to him..he knew deep down Scourge wasnt evil, he could just show him he didnt have to be like this, he could help him..he didnt know anything about his anti besides the fact something was severely wrong with his mental state and he took too much enjoyment in hurting him but he knew he wasnt evil.
Then.. the green hedgehog just smiled, his expression hardening as if it hadnt changed in the first place,
"How naive."
He sneered and that slowly shattered Sonics hopes of getting through to him..he just dismissed his words-
"Not naive..hopeful." Sonic retorted, moving his arm to grab his ankle but his foot had moved towards his neck and Sonic jolted- the malice in his eyes was so..floundering..he could never imagine that look on his own face.
"Same thing." Scourge stated dismissively, and Sonic didnt get the chance to reply as a blur of yellow and brown crashed into Scourge, pushing the older teen to the ground successfully allowing Sonic to sit up instantly,
"Get away from him you bully!" Tails screamed, Sonic heard Scourge cursing and soon Tails was thrown back, causing Sonic to quickly move to catch him.
"Thanks bud." Sonic murmured, staring at Scourge who just fixed his jacket- appearing inconvenienced as Fiona neatly landing besides him as Amy ran up next to Sonic, "Stop running you coward!" The pink hedgehog hissed, Scourge just plucked out a warp ring from his jacket, just smiling at Sonic.. His smile was so..mean looking, it was too sharp..too fake,
"Til next time blue."
Was all Scourge said in a sing song like voice as he let Fiona into the portal first and he followed quickly after just as Amy chucked her hammer in their direction, who she was aiming at specifically he had no clue.
"Dammit! Stupid! Assholes, ugh!" Amy screamed, storming over to snatch her hammer up,
"Theyre such bullies! Why did I even like her!" Tails exclaimed, Sonic just frowned before he sighed quietly, glancing from Amy to Tails.
"Lets just go, theyre gone now, might as well enjoy the peace." He stated with a simple shrug, giving them a small smile, the smile made Amy visibly melt while it comforted Tails slightly, the young pink hedgehog was at his side instantly, clutching his arm- which he allowed for the time being while Tails was a little slower to approach him, still dejected.
He knew his anti despised him but he'll never get the reason why, and unfortunately..Scourge was too far gone to talk down from whatever path he was taking..the friendly route was no longer an option.
#j.p writes#sonic one shot#sonic au#sonic the hedgehog#scourge the hedgehog#tails the fox#amy rose#sonamy if you squint#archie comies#archie sonic#not shippy. cuz no#scourge get therapy challenge#sonic rewrite
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
PEMDAS - Special Year-End Edition - Albums
I love end of year lists because I like consensus, rankings and numbers. But consensus is all based on who gets to rank, and the people who get the most access to major publication rankings are white men, so the numbers are tainted by white supremacy, misogyny, and many other forms of bigotry.
Which makes it even more interesting to see what gets ranked where.
Here’s a Google Sheet I made of all the lists and I created a formula that basically measures how many times an album placed on a list as well as how high it placed on that list. I’m going to keep updating this list as it’s not done, but it’s fun to play around with right now!
According to my formula and the critics, the top 10 albums of 2020 (in order) are:
#1: Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
#2: RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
#3: folklore •• Taylor Swift
#4: Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
#5: Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
#6: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
#7: Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
#8: Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
#9: Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
#10: Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
I also have a fun, unranked albums list brewing. I’ll release that at the very end of the year.
Click below for all of the publication lists!
The 50 best albums of 2020 •• ABC | Double J
Dan Condon
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Crossover •• Emma Donovan & The Putbacks
The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala
UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
The Sharecropper’s Daughter •• Sa-Roc
Sideways to New Italy •• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet
Chose Line •• Benny the Walker
South West •• L-FRESH the LION
Far Enough •• Cable Ties
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Nyaaringu •• Miiesha
You Be the Lightning •• Tracy McNeil & The GoodLife
Mordechai •• Khruangbin
Suddenly •• Caribou
Our Two Skins •• Gordi
Down In the Weeds, Where the World Once Was •• Bright Eyes
græ •• Moses Sumney
Distance •• Jess Cornelius
King’s Disease •• Nas
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Batflowers •• Washington
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price
ENERGY •• Disclosure
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Paid Salvation •• A Swayze & The Ghosts
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
Ohms •• Deftones
Unity •• Gordon Koang
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Child in Reverse •• Kate Miller-Heidke
K.G. •• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Aloha •• Son Little
The Modern Medieval •• Something for Kate
II: The Next Wave •• Quakers
Rome •• Josh Pyke
Fallow •• Fanny Lumsden
Optimisme •• Songhoy Blues
Original Cast Recording •• Braille Face
Colour by Number •• Leah Flanagan
Ultra Mono •• IDLES
What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? •• Public Enemy
Feral •• RVG
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
The best albums and songs of 2020 •• BBC Culture
Nick Levine
Best albums of 2020
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah
folklore •• Taylor Swift
6 Music Recommends Albums of the Year 2020 •• BBC Radio - 6 Music
BBC Radio - 6 Music Staff
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Shortly After Takeoff •• BC Camplight
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah
England Is a Garden •• Cornershop
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
The Universal Want •• Doves
Deep Down Happy •• Sports Team
The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks •• Billboard
Billboard Staff
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
After Hours •• The Weeknd
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
My Turn •• Lil Baby
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Positions •• Ariana Grande
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Circles •• Mac Miller
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Manic •• Halsey
Tickets to My Downfall •• Machine Gun Kelly
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Rare •• Selena Gomez
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Colores •• J Balvin
The Album •• BLACKPINK
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala
Before Love Came To Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez
Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS
Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen
Atrapado en un Sueño •• Junior H
The Album •• Teyana Taylor
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Emmanuel •• Anuel AA
Love Goes •• Sam Smith
Suddenly •• Caribou
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
B7 •• Brandy
Southside •• Sam Hunt
Mesa Para Dos •• Kany García
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin
Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams
Kid Krow •• Conan Gray
Hecho en Mexico •• Alejandro Fernández
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Blame It on Baby •• DaBaby
Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020 •• Bleep
KiCk i •• Arca
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater
Cape Cira •• K-LONE
Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk
Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry •• Speaker Music
Help •• Duval Timothy
Karma & Desire •• Actress
Shadow of Fear •• Cabaret Voltaire
Tara Clerkin Trio •• Tara Clerkin Trio
The Best Albums of 2020 •• Complex
Jessica McKinney, Andre Gee, Eric Skelton, Edwin Ortiz, Khal, Angel Diaz, Will Schube, Shawn Setaro, Lucas Wisenthel
After Hours •• The Weeknd
My Turn •• Lil Baby
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin
The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala
Circles •• Mac Miller
Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn
Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke
The GOAT •• Polo G
From King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Wunna •• Gunna
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
A Muse In Her Feelings •• dvsn
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
So Help Me God! •• 2 Chainz
Angelic Hoodrat •• Kenny Mason
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Dark Lane Demo Tapes •• Drake
Young & Turnt 2 •• 42 Dugg
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Top •• YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Mt. Marci •• Roc Marciano
Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
One and Only •• Sheff G
Positions •• Ariana Grande
Limbo •• Aminé
UNLOCKED •• Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats
Anyways •• Young Nudy
Legends Never Die •• Juice WRLD
Industry Games •• CHIKA
Reasonable Drought •• Stove God Cooks
Spilligion •• Spillage Village
King’s Disease •• Nas
While the World Was Burning •• SAINt JHN
Only for Dolphins •• Action Bronson
Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 •• Lil Durk
Featuring Ty Dolla Sign •• Ty Dolla Sign
Detroit 2 •• Big Sean
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
Top 50 Albums of 2020 •• Consequence of Sound
CoS Staff
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Ohms •• Deftones
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Gigaton •• Pearl Jam
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
After Hours •• The Weeknd
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee
Likewise •• Frances Quinlan
Ultra Mono •• IDLES
Forgotten Days •• Pallbearer
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Suddenly •• Caribou
Everything Is Beautiful •• Princess Nokia
As Long as You Are •• Future Islands
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen
The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist
That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price
Giver Taker •• Anjimile
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Shamir •• Shamir
Lamb of God •• Lamb of God
Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
The Greatest Part •• Becca Mancari
Power Up •• AC/DC
The Liz •• Armani Caesar
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
American Head •• The Flaming Lips
The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny
The Top 50 Albums of 2020 •• Crack Magazine
Help •• Duval Timothy
Indigo Dream •• E.M.M.A.
Mas Amable •• DJ Python
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
Duma •• Duma
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Metal Preyers •• Metal Preyers
From Avoca Hills to the World •• Citizen Boy & Mafia Boyz
Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
To Feel Embraced •• Sparkle Division
Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Man Alive! •• King Krule
Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
Snoopy •• CS + Kreme
Dark Matter •• Moses Boyd
Pain Olympics •• Crack Cloud
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Cape Circa •• K-Lone
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Modern Bliss •• Roza Terenzi
Ten Billion Angels •• Zora Jones
Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake
Cenizas •• Nicolás Jaar
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry •• Speaker Music
Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn
Second Language •• Minor Science
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines
Deep Technik •• MoMA Ready
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu
Pillowland •• Jam City
Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
The 15 best albums of 2020 •• Entertainment Weekly
Leah Greenblatt, Sarah Rodman & Alex Suskind
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
After Hours •• The Weeknd
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
American Love Story •• Butch Walker
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Your Life Is a Record •• Brandy Clark
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
Exclaim!’s 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Exclaim!
Exclaim! Staff
God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It •• Backxwash
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Suddenly •• Caribou
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Pantayo •• Pantayo
Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
græ •• Moses Sumney
Have We Met •• Destroyer
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Ohms •• Deftones
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Legacy •• Aquakultre
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Devouring Ruin •• Wake
How Ill Thy World Is Ordered •• Daniel Romano’s Outfit
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
After Hours •• The Weeknd
Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
DNA Activation •• Witch Prophet
Peaceful as Hell •• Black Dresses
Where Only Gods May Tread •• Ingested
Circles •• Mac Miller
2017-2019 •• Against All Logic
Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas
Stygian •• Atramentus
ELEMENTS Vol. 1 •• TOBi
Reliever •• William Prince
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
Someone New •• Helena Deland
Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Sundry Rock Song Stock •• Yves Jarvis
Finds You Well •• Khotin
Underneath •• Code Orange
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
Total Freedom •• Kathleen Edwards
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties
The Best Albums of 2020 •• FLOOD
FLOOD Staff
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
græ •• Moses Sumney
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
After Hours •• The Weeknd
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Women in Music Pt. III •• Haim
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
My Agenda •• Dorian Electra
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater
Shrines •• Armand Hammer
That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
American Head •• The Flaming Lips
Si Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ •• Kali Uchis
Song Machine: Season 1 - Strange Timez •• Gorillaz
Moveys •• Slow Pulp
The Gigwise 51 Best Albums of 2020 •• Gigwise
Gigwise Staff
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
folklore •• Taylor Swift
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Ohms •• Deftones
Circles •• Mac Miller
The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury
Sex, Death & The Infinite Void •• Creeper
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
The Archer •• Alexandra Savior
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Mordechai •• Khruangbin
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Night Network •• The Cribs
I Disagree •• Poppy
Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language
Modern Dread •• Denai Moore
K.G. •• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Working Men’s Club •• Working Men’s Club
We Live Here •• Bob Vylan
Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep •• Ghostpoet
925 •• Sorry
Got To Be Tough •• Toots & The Maytals
græ •• Moses Sumney
Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Three Mile Ditch •• The Wytches
England Is a Garden •• Cornershop
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
In This House •• Lewsberg
Optimisme •• Songhoy Blues
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
Monument •• Keaton Henson
Seeking Thrills •• Georgia
Hyper Romance •• Jadu Heart
Container •• The Wants
The Prettiest Curse •• Hinds
In Waiting •• Pillow Queens
The Reson for Hardcore Vibes •• Joe & The Shitboys
Gorilla vs. Bear’s Albums of 2020 •• Gorilla vs. Bear
Chris
Someone New •• Helena Deland
Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT || Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT
Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu
Weaving a Basket •• Sea Oleena
Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake
Fires in Heaven •• Salem
Galore •• Oklou
What’s Tonight to Eternity •• Cindy Lee || Cat O’Nine Tails •• Cindy Lee
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Taken Away •• Moodymann
All the Time •• Jessy Lanza
Alletiders •• Alle
WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
Because of a Flower •• Ana Roxanne
How Much Works •• Sweet Whirl
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
The Don of Diamond Dreams •• Shabazz Palaces
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Hunger for a Way Out •• Sweeping Promises
Your Hero Is Not Dead •• Westerman
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Remote Control •• Discovery Zone
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
Help •• Duval Timothy
Yes •• Shinichi Atobe
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
I Was Born Swimming •• Squirrel Flower
Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
Mia Gargaret •• Gia Margaret
I Feel Alive •• Tops
Karma & Desire •• Actress
Crooner qui coule sous les clous •• Oï Les Ox
Bobby Joe Hope •• Jon McKiel
Motherhood •• No Joy
Land of No Junction •• Aoife Nessa Frances
acts of rebellion •• Ela Minus
Cave Vaults on the Moon •• Tan Cologne
Sundry Rock Song Stock •• Yves Jarvis
A Mythology of Circles •• Faten Kanaan
Man Alive! •• King Krule
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Good Songs for Bad People •• Drab City
Roped In •• North Americans
Sorceress •• Jess Williamson
Phoenix: Flames are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater
Fantasy Chapel •• Riches
Ride Lonesome •• Young Ejecta
Shimmering Basset •• The Green Child
Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore
The 50 best albums of 2020 •• The Guardian
Ben Beaumont-Thomas & Laura Snapes
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
folklore •• Taylor Swift
græ •• Moses Sumney
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon
Suddenly •• Caribou
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT
Gold Record •• Bill Callahan
Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
Circles •• Mac Miller
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Working Men’s Club •• Working Men’s Club
Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin
I Think I’m Good •• Kassa Overall
Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker
Positions •• Ariana Grande
Karma & Desire •• Actress
DISCO •• Kylie Minogue
Made in Lagos •• Wizkid
All the Time •• Jessy Lanza
Rare •• Selena Gomez
Three •• The Necks
The Album •• Teyana Taylor
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Have We Met •• Destroyer
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked •• The Line of Best Fit
The Line of Best Fit Staff
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
The Baby •• Samia
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
græ •• Moses Sumney
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
The Worst Generation •• Che Lingo
Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
I’m Your Empress Of •• Empress Of
We’re New Again: A Reimagining •• Makaya McCraven
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle
Beginners •• Christian Lee Hutson
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Show Pony •• Orville Peck
The Angel You Don’t Know •• Amaarae
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
The Amanda Tape •• THEY.
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Someone New •• Helena Deland
Whatever, Man •• BLACKSTARKIDS
folklore •• Taylor Swift
SOURCE •• Nubya Garcia
Without People •• Donovan Woods
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
Debris •• Keeley Forsyth
Warnings •• I Break Horses
So When You Gonna... •• Dream Wife
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
Now or Never •• Giggs
SISTER •• Mina Tindle
Circles •• Mac Miller
Mordechai •• Khruangbin
The Prettiest Curse •• Hinds
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
EDNA •• Headie One
Dark Hearts •• Annie
Best Albums of 2020 •• The New York Times
Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, and Lindsay Zoladz
Simmering Emotions, Louder Explosions Jon Pareles
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
græ •• Moses Sumney
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
SIGN •• Autechre
The Art of Taking One’s Time Jon Caramanica
Southside •• Sam Hunt
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Poems of the Past •• Powfu
Changes •• Justin Bieber
Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny
and 27 more for a chaotic year...
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin
Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher
Trap Tumbado •• Natanael Cano
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
City on Lock •• City Girls
Underneath •• Code Orange
From King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine
Dark Lane Demo Tapes •• Drake
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Positions •• Ariana Grande
A Rock •• Hardy
Violence in a Quiet Mind •• Haux
AUNTIE •• Ian Isiah
Atrapado en un Sueño •• Junior H
Levon James •• King Von
Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 •• Lil Durk
God Made a Woman •• Lauren Mascitti
LP5 •• John Moreland
Before Love Came to Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez
Rosetta •• Dua Saleh
Jesus Is Born •• Sunday Service Choir
Easy Money Baby •• Myke Towers
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
After Hours •• The Weeknd
The Dream •• Hailey Whitters
Top •• YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Rebel Yells, of Passion and Fury Lindsay Zoladz
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
No Dream •• Jeff Rosenstock
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
folklore •• Taylor Swift
The Best Music of 2020 •• The New Yorker
Amanda Petrusich
No. 1 •• Etran de l’Aïr
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Honorable Mentions:
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Un Canto por México Vol. 1 •• Natalia Lafourcade
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
The New Abnormal •• The Strokes
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Sheldon Pearce
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
græ •• Moses Sumney
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) •• Jay Electronica
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Thank You For Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle
WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Mutable Set •• Blake Mills
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
APOLLO •• Fireboy DML
Couldn’t Wait to Tell You... •• Liv.e
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
Descendants of Cain •• Ka
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
The 100 Best Albums of 2020 •• Noisey (Vice)
Noisey Staff
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT || UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
EDNA •• Headie One
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Bartees Strange •• Live Forever
My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét
Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke
BRAT •• NNAMDÏ
Shame •• Uniform
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu
Full Wack No Brakes •• Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz
Cruisin’ with Junior H •• Junior H
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Inlet •• Hum
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
Eternal Atake (Deluxe) •• Lil Uzi Vert
Lament •• Touché Amoré
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Rich Slave •• Young Dolph
Fires in Heaven •• SALEM
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
City On Lock •• City Girls
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
The Great Dismal •• Nothing
Welcome to O’Block •• King Von
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
Thank You for Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler
Àdá Irin •• Navy Blue
Featuring Ty Dolla $ign •• Ty Dolla $ign
Scacco Matto •• Lorenzo Senni
Grime MC •• Jme
Viva el Perreo •• Jowell & Randy
Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater
The Goat •• Polo G
Speed Kills •• Chubby and the Gang
Common Prayers •• Walter Martin
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher
Eternity of Shaog •• Esoctrilihum
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Corridos Tumbados •• Natanael Cano
The Prince of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist
A Muse in Her Feelings •• dvsn
KiCk i •• Arca
Circles •• Mac Miller
Rise Above Hate •• Unknown T
I Love You 2 •• Hook
WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
From a King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
12th House Rock •• Narrow Head
Watch This Liquid Pour Itself •• Okay Kaya
Growth & Development •• 22Gz
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Weight of the World •• MIKE
Auto-Pain •• Deeper
Bino Rideaux •• Outside
Tearless •• Amnesia Scanner
Made in Lagos •• Wizkid
U-Void Synthesizer •• Machine Girl
Take Time •• Giveon
Pure X •• Pure X
Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 •• Tkay Maidza
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Starmaker •• Honey Harper
So Help Me God! •• 2 Chainz
Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines
Descendants of Cain •• Ka
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne
Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? •• Fantastic Negrito
Just Look at That Sky •• Ganser
7G •• A. G. Cook
Vibras de Noche •• Eslabon Armado
Immersion •• Primitive Man
Supergood •• Duckwrth
The Weather Up There •• Jeremy Cunningham
Underneath •• Code Orange
El Androide •• El Alfa
Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas
SIGN •• Autechre
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Occupational Hazard •• Mozzy
The Freelancer’s Blues •• Dougie Poole
4 Da 304′s •• KentheMan
Best Music of 2020 •• NPR
NPR Music Staff
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Spilligion •• Spillage Village
Adès Conducts Adès •• Thomas Adès
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Source •• Nubya Garcia
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Expectations •• Katie Pruitt
Data Lords •• Maria Schneider Orchestra
Underneath •• Code Orange
on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire
JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét
Regresa •• Buscabulla
Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony •• ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala
A Small Death •• Samantha Crain
Pauline •• Ashley Ray
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution on Zanzibar) •• Siti Muharam
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
My Turn •• Lil Baby
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Spider Tales •• Jake Blount
Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz
Debussy • Rameau •• Víkingur Ólafsson
Muthaland •• Bbymutha
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
En Español •• The Mavericks
Thank You For Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler
The experience of repetition as death •• Clarice Jensen
Inside •• X Alfonso
Total Freedom •• Kathleen Edwards
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage / Metro Boomin
some kind of peace •• Ólafur Arnalds
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Giver Taker •• Anjimile
Don’t Feed the Monster •• Homeboy Sandman
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Paste
Paste Staff
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
songs •• Adrianne Lenker
græ •• Moses Sumney
Suddenly •• Caribou
Reunions •• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It •• Backxwash
Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
The Great Dismal •• Nothing
Welcome to Conceptual Beach •• Young Jesus
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Healing Is A Miracle •• Julianna Barwick
Youth Pastoral •• Ben Seretan
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Inlet •• Hum
KIND •• Thanya Iyer
Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta
acts of rebellion •• Ela Minus
Ultimate Success Today •• Protomartyr
Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle
Bonny Light Horseman •• Bonny Light Horseman
Speed Kills •• Chubby and the Gang
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Shadow Talk •• Cafe Racer
Source •• Nubya Garcia
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
The Baby •• Samia
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties
Celebrated By Strangers •• Catholic Action
Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas
Flower of Devotion •• Dehd
Just Look at That Sky •• Ganser
Somewhere •• Gum Country
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Pitchfork
Pitchfork Staff
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
græ •• Moses Sumney
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) •• Jay Electronica
Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
Have We Met •• Destroyer
The Angel You Don’t Know •• Amaarae
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
SOURCE •• Nubya Garcia
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth
Thank You for Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler
Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon
Melee •• Dogleg
Descendants of Cain •• Ka
The Passion Of •• Special Interest
Hannah •• Lomelda
Help •• Duval Timohy
Flower of Devotion •• Dehd
KiCk i •• Arca
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Room for the Moon •• Kate NV
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby
how i’m feeilng now •• Charli XCX
WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore
The 60 Best Albums of 2020 •• Pop Matters
Pop Matters Staff
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Outland •• Ital Tek
UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
3.15.20 •• Childish Gambino
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
Ohms •• Deftones
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Private Lives •• Low Cut Connie
Suddenly •• Caribou
Song Machine: Season 1 - Strange Timez •• Gorillaz
Keleketla! •• Keleketla!
Seeking Thrills •• Georgia
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
I’m Your Empress Of •• Empress Of
Before Love Come To Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
The Cycle •• Mourning [A] BLKstar
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975
The Universal Want •• Doves
We’ve Landed •• Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
Eno Axis •• HC McEntire
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
Ultrasonic •• Field Works
Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet
VOICES •• Max Richter
on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire
Neon Cross •• Jaime Wyatt
Cenizas •• Nicolás Jaar
To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth
Amazones Power •• Les Amazones d’Afrique
Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth
The Piano Equation •• Matthew Shipp
Making a Door Less Open •• Car Seat Headrest
Silver Tongue •• TORRES
BRAT •• NNAMDÏ
The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury
Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne
Wooden Cave •• Thin Lear
Quietus Albums Of The Year 2020 •• The Quietus
The Quietus Staff
Dances/Curses •• Hey Colossus
Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth
The Passion Of •• Special Interest
Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk
Energy Is Forever •• UKAEA
Help •• Duval Timothy
Be Up A Hello •• Squarepusher
Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah
Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu
Guerilla •• Nazar
Only Darkness Now •• Alison Cotton
Alles in Allem •• Einstürzende Neubauten
SIGN •• Autechre
First Seance •• Land Trance
Duma •• Duma
These Charms May Be Sung Over a Wound •• Richard Skelton
Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT
Debris •• Keeley Forsyth
Type II •• Sex Swing
Dark Hearts •• Annie
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
The Common Task •• Horse Lords
Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon
7 Weapons Series •• Howie Lee
Zoom •• Upsammy
Free Humans •• Hen Ogledd
Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker & The New Breed
Cumbia Siglo XXI •• Meridian Brothers
Serpent •• MXLX
Because Of A Flower •• Ana Roxanne
Forever Underground •• Phantom Posse
There Is No Year •• Algiers
Heart’s Ease •• Shirley Collins
Mestarin Kynsi •• Oranssi Pazuzu
Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore
DISCO •• Kylie Minogue
Edna •• Headie One
Mas Amable •• DJ Python
Have We Met •• Destroyer
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Glory Days •• Heather Leigh
Blues •• Lamin Fofana
Gold Record •• Bill Callahan
To Kiss Earth Goodbye •• Teleplasmiste
The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury
Barbarians •• Young Knives
Fast Edit •• Still House Plants
Jp4 •• Junglepussy
Loom •• Katie Gately
Flower Violence •• Blóm
A Late Anthology Of Early Music Vol. 1: Ancient To Renaissance •• Jennifer Walshe
Cantus, Descant •• Sarah Davachi
Big Conspiracy •• J Hus
Endless Wound •• Black Curse
if i don't let myself be happy now then when? •• More Eaze & Claire Rousay
Seven Storey Mountain VI •• Nate Wooley
L’Inattingible •• Delphine Dora
Rock Sutra •• Sun Araw
Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy
Heaven To A Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Visions Of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
Returner •• Closed Circuits
Scacco Matto •• Lorenzo Senni
Lamunan •• Antonina Nowacka
Future Teenage Cave Artists •• Deerhoof
Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes •• Nídia
SKEEN •• Mariam Rezaei
Winterreise •• Jerskin Fendrix
May Our Chambers Be Full •• Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
how i'm feeling now •• Charli XCX
Superstar •• Harry Pussy
The End Of Their World Is Coming •• Dead Meat
Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
KiCK i •• Arca
World Serpent •• Memnon Sa
Pedernal •• Susan Alcorn
Cwm Gwagle •• Datblygu
Beyond The Floor •• Geld
Trinity •• Laylow
The Big Exercise •• The Homesick
Malibu Liquor Store •• Shit And Shine
Couldn't Wait To Tell You... •• Liv.e
No Era Sólida •• Lucrecia Dalt
Abscess Time •• Pyrrhon
Thug Ambient •• Dale Cornish
Pillowland •• Jam City
Crabs In A Bucket •• Nines
Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss •• Regis
Prole Art Threat •• East Man
Evil Spirits Who Prowl About The World Seeking The Ruin Of Souls •• Haq123
Toutes Ces Horreurs •• Satan
Figures •• Aksak Maboul
Mind Hive •• Wire
2020 •• Magik Markers
Training Day 3 •• Potter Payper
Swirling •• Sun Ra Arkestra
Nah Nah Nah Yeh Yeh Yeh •• Luminous Bodies
Aux Pieds De La Nuit •• Nyx Nótt
6 •• Pharaoh Overlord
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Rolling Stone
Jonathan Bernstein, Emily Blake, Jon Blistein, Jon Dolan, Patrick Doyle, Brenna Ehrlich, Jon Freeman, Kory Grow, Christian Hoard, Joseph Hudak, Elias Leight, Angie Martoccio, Claire Shaffer, Rob Sheffield, Hank Shteamer, Simon Vozick-Levinson
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen
City on Lock •• City Girls
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
græ •• Moses Sumney
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Never Will •• Ashley McBryde
Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny
Positions •• Ariana Grande
Plastic Hearts •• Miley Cyrus
Rare •• Selena Gomez
Manic •• Halsey
To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Shamir •• Shamir
Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet
Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams
After Hours •• The Weeknd
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Private Lives •• Low Cut Connie
Got to Be Tough •• Toots and the Maytals
Traditional Techniques •• Stephen Malkmus
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee
McCartney III •• Paul McCartney
Haunted Painting •• Sad13
Alphabetland •• X
Aftermath •• Elizabeth Cook
Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton
Power Up •• AC/DC
The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist
Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams
Growth •• Kareem Ali
Love Is The King •• Jeff Tweedy
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Albums of the Year 2020 •• Rough Trade
Rough Trade Staff
Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Song For Our Daughter •• Laura Marling
Beyond the Pale •• Jarv Is
So When You Gonna •• Dream Wife
Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Bedroom •• bdrmm
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
Sideways to New Italy •• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
England Is A Garden •• Cornershop
Galore •• Oklou
Protean Threat •• Osees
Ultra Mono •• Idles
Suddenly •• Caribou
What Kinda Music •• Tom Misch + Yussef Dayes
By The Fire •• Thurston Moore
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Wu Hen •• Kamaal Williams
Wake Up! •• Hazel English
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Jump Rope Gazers •• Beths
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
Seeking Thrills •• Georgia
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
There Is No Other •• Isobel Campbell
Head Above Water •• Brigid Mae Power
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Old Flowers •• Courtney Marie Andrews
Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet
Loco •• A Certain Ratio
Ummon •• Slift
Coriky •• Coriky
Keleketla! •• Keleketla!
That’s How Rumours Get Started •• Margo Price
Introduction, Presence •• Nation Of Language
some kind of peace •• Olafur Arnalds
Walking Like We Do •• Big Moon
Bug On Yonkers •• Damaged Bug
WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
Home •• Romare
Infinity of Now •• Heliocentrics
3D Routine •• Mush
All or Nothing •• Shopping
Fading •• Pole
Flower of Devotion •• Dehd
Heritage of the Invisible II •• Aqulies Navarro + Tcheser Holmes
Blue Hearts •• Bob Mould
All the Time •• Jessy Lanza
WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD •• Nick Hakim
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Myopia •• Agnes Obel
Anywhere But Here •• Habibi
Man Alive! •• King Krule
Invisible People •• Chicano Batman
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep •• Ghostpoet
Cenizás •• Nicolas Jaar
Straight Songs of Sorrow •• Mark Lanegan
Friday Forever •• Everything Is Recorded
Pleasure Line •• Video Age
Happy Birthday •• Sneaks
Shortly After Takeoff •• BC Camplight
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Voices •• Max Richter
Even in Exile •• James Dean Bradfield
The True Story Of •• Bananagun
Making a New World •• Field Music
Only for Dolphins •• Action Bronson
Midnight Manor •• The Nude Party
The Juice That’s Worth the Squeeze •• Cherry Pickles
The Long Goodbye •• Riz Ahmed
Colourfield •• Dan Michaelson
Stray •• Bambara
Collector •• Disq
Gentle Grip •• Public Practice
Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes
Reunions •• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Tender Epoch •• Rudy De Anda
Bonny Light Horseman •• Bonny Light Horseman
Moveys •• Slow Pulp
Alphabetland •• X
The Land that Time Forgot •• Chuck Prophet
Up in the Air •• Bent
Mind Hive •• Wire
UNLOCKED •• Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
High Risk Behaviour •• Chats
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
Have We Met •• Destroyer
The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens
Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.
Articulation •• Rival Consoles
Mordechai •• Khruangbin
Marigold •• Pinegrove
It’s Only Us •• Monophonics
Debris •• Keeley Forsyth
Superstar •• Caroline Rose
Truth or Consequences •• Yumi Zouma
Mother Stone •• Caleb Landry Jones
The Best Albums of 2020 •• Slate
Carl Wilson
ALBUMS
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Likewise •• Frances Quinlan
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Diet Cig, Bully, The Beths, beabadoobee, Beach Bunny, Mitski, Torres, Down Time, and Emily Brown
Beginners •• Christian Lee Huston
Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was •• Bright Eyes
Artlessly Falling •• Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl
Pedernal •• Susan Alcorn
Zurich Concert •• Jaimie Branch & The Dave Gisler Trio
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Here It Comes Again [EP] •• Cate Le Bon & Group Listening
L’inattingible •• Delphine Dora
Solar Wind •• Joëlle Leandre, Robert Dick, and Miya Masaoka
Memory Game •• Meredith Monk & The Bang On a Can All-Stars
Fra Det Onde •• Fra Det Onde & Emil Nikolaisen
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
DISCO •• Kylie Minogue
Chromatica •• Lady Gaga
Positions •• Ariana Grande
The Album •• Teyana Taylor
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
After Hours •• The Weeknd
Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake
Songs for Pierre Chuvin •• The Mountain Goats
Getting Into Knives •• The Mountain Goats
Day of the Tiles [EP] •• Human Hearts
Island •• Owen Pallett
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
Gold Record •• Bill Callahan
Home Time •• Darren Hayman
Alphabetland •• X
Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT || Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT
We Are Sent Here by History •• Shabaka and the Ancestors
Dark Matter •• Moses Boyd
Source •• Nubya Garcia
Universal Beings E & F Sides •• Makaya McCraven
Swirling •• Sun Ra Arkestra
To Know Without Knowing •• Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience
Dutch from the 5th •• Dutchavelli
Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu
Stormzy & Skepta
Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines
J Hus, Headie One, Tion Wayne, D Double E, Blanco, Young T & Bugsey, Kojey Radical, AJ Tracey, and Ghetts
on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire
Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker
America the Beautiful •• Kahil El’Zabar
Omega •• Immanuel Wilkins
Good Days •• Chicago Underground Quartet
8: Kindred Spirits •• Charles Lloyd
Your Life Is a Record •• Brandy Clark
Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Southside •• Sam Hunt
Never Will •• Ashley McBryde
Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
The Way It Feels •• Maddie & Tae
But I’d Rather Be With You •• Molly Tuttle
Bridges [EP] •• Mickey Guyton
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Mt. Marci •• Roc Marciano
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
High Off Life •• Future
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke || Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke
Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin
Descendants of Cain •• KA
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Heart’s Ease •• Shirley Collins
Fretted & Indebted •• Alasdair Roberts || The Songs of My Boyhood •• Alasdair Roberts
Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti
Rejoice •• Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela
Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA
I Think I’m Good •• Kassa Overall
Love-Lore •• Deerhoof
Future Teenage Cave Artists •• Deerhoof || To Be Surrounded by Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough •• Deerhoof & Wadada Leo Smith || Surprise Symphonies •• Deerhoof
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Stereogum
Stereogum Staff
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Manger on McNichols •• Boldy James & Sterling Toles
Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never
Lament •• Touché Amoré
Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Inlet •• Hum
Hannah •• Lomelda
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975
Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
925 •• Sorry
Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens
Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan
World House •• Mil-Spec
No Dream •• Jeff Rosenstock
Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling
What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware
It Is What It Is •• Thundercat
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Viewing •• Stay Inside
Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress •• Gulch
Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones
KiCk i •• Arca
2017-2019 •• Against All Logic
The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf
The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist
Suddenly •• Caribou
Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
SIGN •• Autechre
Every Bad •• Porridge Radio
græ •• Moses Sumney
Southside •• Sam Hunt
Descendants of Cain •• Ka
Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language
A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.
FREE I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties
Take a Chance on Rock ‘n’ Roll •• Couch Slut
May Our Chambers Be Full •• Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
As We Suffer from Memory and Imagination •• Nuvolascura
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Best Albums of 2020 •• TIME
Raisa Bruner & Andrew R. Chow
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Gaslighter •• The Chicks
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Agüita •• Gabriel Garzón-Montano
We’re New Again - A Reimagining •• Makaya McCraven
Miss Anthropecene •• Grimes
Celia •• Tiwa Savage
The Best Albums of 2020 •• Uproxx
Uproxx Staff
folklore •• Taylor Swift
Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple
Spilligion •• Spillage Village
Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert
Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa
Circles •• Mac Miller
Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee
Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM
Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle
After Hours •• The Weeknd
Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial •• Roddy Ricch
Shore •• Fleet Foxes
RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels
My Turn •• Lil Baby
Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers
Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli
Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor
Cuttin’ Grass - Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions) •• Sturgill Simpson
Fine Line •• Harry Styles
Positions •• Ariana Grande
Black Habits •• D Smoke
What We Drew 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji
how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX
color theory •• Soccer Mommy
Live Forever •• Bartees Strange
Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius
Limbo •• Aminé
YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny
The GOAT •• Polo G
Rare •• Selena Gomez
Talk About It •• Blimes and Gab
Everything •• Kota the Friend
Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion
Wunna •• Gunna
SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama
Mordechai •• Khruangbin
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani
Imploding the Mirage •• The Killers
songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker
Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn
The Album •• BLACKPINK
Better •• Deanté Hitchcock
Queen of Da Souf •• Mulatto
Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy
The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala
A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica
Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee
My Agenda •• Dorian Electra
Heaven or Hell •• Don Toliver
The New Abnormal •• The Strokes
Behind-the-Paywall Lists:
LA Times
The Economist
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
My 75 Favorite Albums of 2020
Every year produces excellent music and 2020 was no exception. The exceptional thing about this year, though, is the loss of livelihood so many musicians suffered as a result of the pandemic. To better celebrate all I’ve listened to and loved this year, I’ve expanded my albums list from 50 to 75 albums and included a highlight track from each in the Spotify playlist below. If you like what you hear, why not throw the artist a few dollars on Bandcamp?
Check the Spotify playlist HERE.
Without further ado, my favorite albums of 2020. Happy New Year, and happy listening!
10. Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red: Carti’s long-awaited opus has only been out for a week, which is probably not a long enough time to give an album as sprawling and surprising as this one a full critical evaluation. But I do know when I’m hearing something that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard: this album rearranges hip-hop at the molecular level.
Whole Lotta Red is overstuffed with invention, the glitchy, expansive production giving Carti ample opportunity to glom onto the contours of the beat and experiment with his voice. That voice is the album’s main attraction: it squeaks, it squeals, it roars, it spits, it shudders, and organizes itself into irresistibly ignorant mantras (my current favorite is “Lamborghini parked outside, it’s purple like lean”).
Across its 24 tracks (which feels like too many, sure, but only the 5-minute long Kid Cudi-infected droner “Metamorphosis” overstays its welcome), Carti plays with listener expectations, annihilating rap songwriting conventions (why do you need verse-chorus structure if every line is a hook) as he defiantly proclaims his desire to be unlike anybody else. Though it bears some resemblance in sound and subject matter to Future’s Monster (and much of the production owes a debt to the work of Lil Uzi Vert’s favored Working Of Dying collective), Whole Lotta Red firmly establishes Carti as a totemic figure connecting mainstream and underground sounds.
9. BbyMutha - Muthaland: BbyMutha is a natural born spitter, armed with a drawly stutter-stepping flow that routinely annihilates unconventional instrumentals. She glows with supreme confidence and comfort in her own skin, especially when she’s dripping with disdain with those who’d dare refuse her the respect she deserves. A 25-track opus that earns every minute of its runtime, Muthaland is an engrossing immersion into Mutha’s world, balancing a fascination with the occult (“Sorry I don’t fuck with n****s who don’t fuck with Satan”) with grounding interjections from close friends and her four children. Boasting rockstar fantasies like “Heavy Metal,” bad girl anthems like “Nice Guy,” and dancefloor-ready jams like “Cocaine Catwalk,” Muthaland is a tour-de-force by one of rap’s singular voices, and if she’s really finished with music as she’s claimed (rappers never really retire, but Mutha has indicated she wants to focus full time on her Apothecary), the game will greatly miss her incisive punchlines and crudely empowering perspective.
8. Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead: In 2020, Mid-’80s sophistipop grew into one of my favorite comfort foods. Westerman’s Your Hero Is Not Dead struck me directly in the sophistipop sweet spot, evoking the attention-to-detail and synth-heavy craftsmanship of that era and pairing it with harmonic complexity and a piercing emotionalism that recalls his idol Neil Young. On songs like “Blue Comanche” and “The Line,” Westerman constructs tales as twisty as his melodies, economically exploring how people relate to each other at the beginning and end of romantic relationships. Westerman complements his tasteful palette of synth sounds with intricate and lyrical guitar playing, most notably on the sighing, gorgeous instrumental “Float Over,” which softly segues into the title track to end the album on a gently-rising high note.
7. WizKid - Made In Lagos: The focal point of the sub-Saharan Afrobeats renaissance, Lagos is having one of the most exciting musical moments of any city since Kingston in the early ‘70s. WizKid is one of the scene’s biggest stars, with an ability to combine the sonic tapestry of his hometown with Caribbean-influenced beats and vocal styles. Made In Lagos is a masterwork of sound design, bringing creamy bass, chicken-scratch speckles of guitar, tasteful interjections of saxophone and brass, and an intoxicating mix of acoustic and electronic percussion, all offered in service to an immaculate vibe that matches the album cover’s shiny, monochromatic color scheme. Made with lockdown in mind, the album eschews uptempo dancefloor workouts in favor of stress-relief and romance. WizKid plays the perfect host, tamping down his melodic flights of fancy and embracing a song-serving smoothness. He’s a warm and inviting presence throughout, laying out the red carpet for a cross-continental cast of collaborators like H.E.R., Skepta, Burna Boy, and Damian Marley. The result is a truly global pop masterpiece, capable of brightening even the dourest day of a miserable year.
6. Ka - Descendants of Cain: Firefighter by day and rapper/producer by night, Ka is a master of allusion. He organizes his thoughts into themed collections of metaphor, illustrating the bleak realities of street life with gnomic symbolism. On Descendants Of Cain, Ka’s strongest work to date, the enigmatic rapper expresses himself through a litany of biblical references, drawing parallels between ancient parables (he goes far deeper than the Cain/’caine double entendre that rappers have been using for decades) and the stark code of morality with which he lives his life. The 48-year-old hermit produced the project himself, creating an immersive sonic realm, crafting expansive, noir-ish backing tracks populated by late-night saxophones, sparkling pianos, and the occasional shot of sweeping strings. Once again, Ka’s music comes almost entirely without drums (certainly without “beats” in the traditional hip-hop sense–every once in a while, he adds an open hi-hat or a subdued shaker), the artist preferring to let his music swirl around his half-whispered words of wisdom. The album ends on a tearful, sentimental note with “I Love (Mimi, Moms, Kev),” in which the artist ditches the biblical lyrical conceit and expresses his love for his wife, his mom, and his best friend atop light percussion and a warm soul sample.
5. SAULT - Untitled (Rise): Rise is the second part of a diptych that SAULT recorded in response to the movement that exploded in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Black Is, the first part, is a great album (you’ll find it in the lower reaches of my 2020 list), but the mysterious UK collective fulfilled their immense potential with Rise, a propulsive, powerful, and danceable album that doubles as a thought-provoking examination of the nature of freedom and liberation. The album tackles weighty topics–police violence, fake-woke “allies,” protest, cultural appropriation–but handles them with an inspiring effervescence and a propulsion meant to usher right-thinking people into the streets. The music itself is an intoxicating marvel, combining elements from every trendy musical movement from the early ‘80s (post-disco, post-punk, house, hip-hop, whatever the hell ESG was) into a percussive and surprisingly cohesive cocktail. The album immediately makes its greatness known with its first four songs, one of the strongest opening runs of any album in recent memory: the swaggering, funky, keep-your-head-up anthem “Strong,” which features a drum solo from SAULT architect Inflo, the soaring, club-ready vamp “Fearless,” concept-establishing, string-heavy interlude “Rise,” and especially “I Just Want to Dance,” the best song ESG never wrote.
4. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters: Fetch The Bolt Cutters arrived with the kind of universal acclaim that can make some people suspicious. The Pitchfork review got a lot of attention, not just for its perfect score but for its bold statement that “no music has ever sounded quite like it.”
That statement might’ve been slightly hyperbolic. Fetch The Bolt Cutters has the kind of propulsive left-hand piano figures, chest-thumping percussion, and impassioned vocal performances that we haven’t heard since...the last Fiona Apple album. But the album deserves its experimental reputation. These songs mess around with song structure and melody in ways that resemble avant-garde singers like Meredith Monk, use overlapping vocals that occasionally evoke the works of post-modern composers like Luciano Berio, and echoing modernist composers like Edgard Varese in the way she wrings pathos out of rhythmic elements.
Though Fetch might be a slight step down from The Idler Wheel, it’s an invigorating listen, packed with the soul-baring confessionals that only Fiona is capable of executing. Combining literary wordplay with plainspoken directness, Fiona forces the listener to confront her trauma and contemplate her diagnoses of patriarchal ills. The songs are uniformly excellent–especially opener “I Want You To Love Me,” the most “traditional” song on the record, and “Shameika,” a burrowing childhood rumination with a happy ending–but Fetch The Bolt Cutters stands out to me as a collection of amazing moments: when the jig-like “For Her” fades into an unforgettably painful cadence (“Good mornin’, good mornin’/You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”), Fiona’s ground-shaking vocal intensity at the end of “Newspaper,” her dogs howling over the outro of “Fetch The Bolt Cutters,” the winking repetition of the title phrase on “Ladies.” Her albums display more than enough ambition to forgive the long gestation periods, but hopefully we won’t have to wait another 8 years for Fiona to bare her soul once again.
3. Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL: Embroiled in a Kafkaesque legal saga that shines a light on the worst aspects of our horrendous justice system, Drakeo The Ruler spent more than three years wrongly incarcerated for a crime he not only did not commit, but for which he was acquitted (for more info on Drakeo’s ordeal, read Jeff Weiss). He’s now mercifully a free man, mostly due to the work of his lawyer, but at least partially because of publicity generated by Thank You For Using GTL. Recorded over the phone from prison during the height of the pandemic, it’s a miracle that an album created under such sub-optimal conditions sounds as excellent as it does, but credit producer JoogSzn–who not only supplied the creeping, head-nodding backing tracks but recorded Drakeo’s phoned-in vocals–and engineer MixedByNavin for the project’s astonishing fidelity. Drakeo and Joog spent hours on the phone to record the album, in the process paying thousands of dollars to GTL, the predatory telecom company of choice for the L.A. corrections system, whose mechanical interjections serve as a constant reminder of the injustice that made the album necessary. Of course, a good story is a good story, but that alone doesn’t get an album on 2020’s most prestigious Best Albums list (mine). It’s a classic rap album, perhaps the best ever released by an incarcerated rapper, and a thumb directly in the nose of the D.A. and the LAPD. The album is a lyrical marvel, packed with winding wordplay and outlandish flexes, as Mr. Mosley takes aim at 6ix9ine, cackles at sorry-ass Instagram haters, and sneers at American-made cars (“To be honest, a Hellcat isn’t a foreign”). Each song has a carefully considered concept, the rapper’s punchlines building upon one another to make an airtight case for his status as L.A.’s top dog. He contrasts his own whip-crashing lifestyle with flashy wannabes on “GTA VI” and “Backflip or Sumn,” mourns a favorite department store on “RIP Barneys,” and proves he still doesn’t rap beef on “Maestro’s Tension.” The album’s masterstroke comes with “Fictional,” the final track, in which Drakeo exposes the prosecution’s use of his lyrics as evidence in criminal proceedings as the farce it is: “It might sound real, but it’s fictional/I love that my imagination gets to you.” Drakeo’s story was a rare bright spot in 2020, and a rare one with a happy ending. Just last week, the rapper released Because Y’All Asked, a studio-recorded version of Thank You For Using GTL, giving the album’s songs the clarity they deserve. But I think I’ll mostly return to the original, which will live on as an excellent album and a vital document of post-George Floyd America.
2. Pa Salieu - Send Them to Coventry: Hailing from the middle of nowhere–or, more accurately city in the English Midlands only known in the states for its middling Premier League team–Gambian-British artist Pa Salieu served up the most distinctive, visceral, and daring rap debut of the year. His style fuses elements of grime, drill, afro-trap, dancehall, and the darker edges of U.S. hip-hop into a percussive slurry, injected with the urgency of his struggle to survive. The magic of the album comes from the way Pa’s fluid flows interact with the shimmering and foreboding production (Felix Joseph and Aod lead the cast of the project’s sound architects), which is perfectly suited for cold city nights. He slips effortlessly into the pocket, toe-tagging the beats with a combination of aggression and trance-like meditation and uttering casually powerful pronouncements (“I'd make a killa riddim offa any riddim/The grind can never stop 'til I'm wrapped in linen”) that make you believe he’s Britain’s next great rapper. Pa keeps the vibe consistent throughout, but the moments that stand out are the moments when he locks into an unbreakable groove over no-frills production, like on singles “Block Boy,” “Betty,” and “B***K.” The artist’s wry sense of humor and brash confidence keeps the album from feeling bleak, but Send Them To Coventry wisely ends on “Energy,” a warm and bright ode to keeping your creative spark safe from the prying forces of fame and fortune.
1. Kassa Overall - I Think I’m Good: “I think I’m good”–a phrase that’s ran through my head throughout this shitstorm of a year. Sure, I postponed a wedding, cancelled trips, and saw my friends and family much less often than I would like, but I count myself among the lucky ones. Still breathing, still sane. Though it was recorded and released before the pandemic started, Kassa Overall’s I Think I’m Good became a lodestar of sorts for me. It’s a brilliantly introspective and deeply personal album about existing in enclosed spaces–whether a jail cell, an NYC subway car, or the inescapable prison of your own body.
Kassa Overall made his name as a jazz drummer, touring with icons like Geri Allen, but his solo music incorporates elements of hip-hop, classical, and trap to create a wholly original milieu. The album features contributions from over 30 accomplished voices, ranging from luminary Vijay Iyer, to Kassa’s saxophonist brother Carlos Overall, to virtuosic pianist Sullivan Fortner, to venerated activist Angela Davis. But all the disparate elements come together in service of Kassa’s deeply personal and engrossing vision.
Taking partial inspiration from Kassa’s struggle with manic depression, the music fluctuates between meditative calm and unbearable tension, mimicking the patter of an unquiet mind. Album opener “Visible Walls,” is a mesmerizing prayer for salvation soundtracked by fluttering harps, piercing woodwinds, and heartbeat percussion. “Find Me” buries a plea for help within a cacophony of sampled voices and rattling piano notes. Fortner’s piano guides us through the hauntingly devastating “Halfway House” and the Chopin-indebted “Darkness In Mind,” each highlighting a different stage of grief (despair and acceptance, respectively). The arc of I Think I’m Good concludes with the hopeful “Got Me A Plan” and “Was She Happy (For Geri Allen),” a Vijay Iyer-assisted tribute to his late friend and mentor.
It’s ironic that an album that so deeply explores the feeling of isolation vibrates with such a collaborative spirit. I Think I’m Good feels like an answered prayer–a community coming together to check on a beloved friend who’s gone through a tough time: “You good, man?” “I think so.”
Here’s the rest of my list.
11. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind 12. Shackleton & Waclaw Zimpel - Primal Forms 13. Bob Dylan - Rough & Rowdy Ways 14. Duval Timothy - Help 15. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 16. Moodymann - Taken Away 17. Secret Drum Band - Chuva 18. J Hus - Big Conspiracy 19. Headie One & Fred Again - GANG 20. Tiwa Savage - Celia 21. Andras - Joyful 22. Bill Callahan - Gold Record 23. King Von - Welcome To O’Block 24. Flo Milli - Ho, Why Is You Here? 25. Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills 26. Madeline Kenney - Sucker’s Lunch 27. Empty Country - Empty Country 28. Smino - She Already Decided 29. Destroyer - Have We Met 30. Yves Jarvis - Sundry Rock Song Stock 31. Ela Minus - Acts Of Rebellion 32. Creeper - Sex, Death & The Infinite Void 33. Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol. 1 34. Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades 35. The 1975 - Notes On a Conditional Form 36. Kate NV - Room For The Moon 37. $ilkmoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 38. Eddie Chacon - Pleasure, Joy and Happiness 39. Kenny Segal & Serengeti - Ajai 40. Bad Bunny - YHLQMDLG 41. Kahlil Blu - DOG 42. Califone - Echo Mine 43. Boldy James - The Price of Tea in China/Manger On McNichols/The Versace Tape 44. Bufiman - Albumsi 45. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter 46. Thanya Iyer - KIND 47. Jyoti - Mama You Can Bet! 48. Obongjayar - Which Way Is Forward? 49. Rio Da Yung OG - City On My Back 50. Young Jesus - Welcome To Conceptual Beach 51. Owen Pallett - Island 52. Oceanator - Things I Never Said 53. Shootergang Kony - Red Paint Reverend 54. Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia 55. Six Organs of Admittance - Companion Rises 56. Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia 57. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song 58. Polo G - The GOAT 59. Actress - Karma & Desire 60. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher 61. Porridge Radio - Every Bad 62. Yg Teck - Eyes Won’t Close 63. Mozzy - Beyond Bulletproof 64. Ratboys - Printer’s Devil 65. R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages 66. Ulver - Flowers of Evil 67. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA 68. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is) 69. Ezra Feinberg - Recumbent Speech 70. Davido - A Better Time 71. Hailu Mergia - Yene Mircha 72. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III 73. Half Waif - The Caretaker 74. Key Glock - Yellow Tape 75. KeiyAa - Forever Your Girl
#kassa overall#pa salieu#drakeo the ruler#fiona apple#sault#ka#wizkid#westerman#playboi carti#bbymutha
8 notes
·
View notes
Link
It’s only April, but Fiona Apple may have already given us the lyric of the year: “Fetch the bolt cutters, I’ve been in here too long.” Fetch the Bolt Cutters is, in fact, the title of both the song where she murmurs the line as a refrain and her first album since 2012. Apple couldn’t have known when she quoted the line, first uttered by Gillian Anderson in the BBC crime drama The Fall, that she’d be releasing the record into a world on house arrest. But Apple has always been spookily prescient about the mood of the culture, magnifying her own internal landscape until it starts to look like a near-future map of the universe.
As a young artist in the late ’90s she wrote piercing songs about, among other things, her experiences with sexual assault and mental illness—topics mainstream pop culture mostly avoided until well into the 21st century. Critics praised her music but mocked her preternatural candor; in retrospect, you get the sense that the presence of such a talented, articulate, tortured brain in the head of a beautiful teenage girl threw them for a loop. Two decades later, Apple has outlasted her haters and now lives a tabloid-proof life in Venice Beach. For company, she has her dog, a roommate and the roommate’s dog. When a reporter asked her, last year, whether she’d seen the movie Hustlers—which includes a scene where Jennifer Lopez strips to Apple’s 1996 hit “Criminal”—she replied, “If I were a person who actually left my house, I’d go.”
It figures, doesn’t it, that Apple was voluntarily self-quarantining years before the rest of us were forced to? She even did much of the work on Bolt Cutters at home, where she cobbled together a studio and recorded with the help of GarageBand and a three-piece band of veteran musicians (bassist Sebastian Steinberg, drummer Amy Aileen Wood and singer-songwriter David Garza on guitar), with whom she shares production credits. According to a recent New Yorker profile, Apple laid the rhythmic foundation for the album by leading the ensemble around the house, where they chanted and banged on homemade percussion instruments. Comfortable though its author might be in semi-seclusion, the album arrives as a message in a bottle from one castaway to a sea full of them. You bet Fiona Apple knows what it’s like to be bouncing off the walls of your bedroom—and your skull—with too much time to second-guess every choice you’ve ever made. How lucky for listeners that her unsparing introspection possesses the alchemical power to make us feel less alone in ours.
Mountaintop sage is a role that suits her better than enfant terrible ever did. Now that the culture is catching up with her, Apple has evolved in the public imagination into a sort of folk hero—trolling powerful sexists, reaching out to other artists who struggle with mental health, donating two years’ worth of proceeds from “Criminal” to refugees. In a 2018 video, she responded to a fan’s question about whether she still believed the words she’d notoriously muttered during a photo shoot in the ’90s: “There’s no hope for women.” Apple patiently explained that she was a scared kid back then and that the music industry in particular had changed for the better in recent years. “We’re gonna be fine!” she exclaimed, shifting into encouraging-big-sister mode. “There’s always hope for women. We are hope.”
Courtesy of Epic Records
That’s not to say she’s gone full girl-power cheerleader. Bolt Cutters can be quite dark. In “For Her,” Apple executes a devastating variation on the standard “Good Morning” with nothing but sparse, hollow percussion as a net: “Well, good mornin’, good mornin’, you raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in.” Like most the album, it’s a song that calls attention to its own construction, transitioning from one sound to the next with minimal artifice. What begins as a clapping, stomping jump-rope rhyme becomes a rhythmic chant whose intonations fall at the intersection of rap and R&B, then stretches into something bluesier. Finally, the shocking “Good Morning” line gives way to a layered, angelic chorus that feels like a sonic representation of healing. The song reportedly originated from Apple’s anger over the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
Her (mercifully non-literal) form of Trump-era rage coexists on the album with blunt dissections of her past, personality and public image. The incantatory refrain of “Relay”—“Evil is a relay sport, when the one who’s burned, turns to pass the torch”—makes for a timely indictment of our hate-poisoned political discourse but actually comes from one of Apple’s teenage notebooks. She vents her resentment at fakes, jerks, people who present their “life like a f—ing propaganda brochure.” (Never one to perform happiness she doesn’t truly feel, Apple is a conscientious objector to influencer culture.) Yet the song resolves with her finding the wisdom to break the relay’s chain: “I know if I hate you for hating me, I will have entered the endless race.”
Bolt Cutters takes a special interest in her relationships with women. Though she’s proven her feminist mettle over and over again, she has also taken more than her share of abuse from women—especially early in her career, when she was accused of giving girls eating disorders and allowing her 19-year-old self to be objectified in music videos. On “Ladies,” she repeats the title until its two syllables become meaningless, then slides into a lilting torch song for “good women, like you/Yet another woman to whom I won’t get through.” Still, Apple admits that she can be weird with, say, her exes’ new girlfriends. Amid a gentle metallic clatter, the title track opens with a plaintive, charmingly clumsy admission: “I’ve been thinking about when I was trying to be your friend—I thought it was, then, but it wasn’t—it wasn’t genuine.” Perhaps because having compassion for women also means having compassion for herself, she affords herself the same respect: “Kick me under the table all you want/I won’t shut up,” goes the sing-along chorus to “Under the Table.”
The record’s conversational tone, manifested in Apple’s talky delivery as well as in lyrics that scan as prose more often than poetry, creates a rare intimacy. And it’s echoed in compositions defined by their rough edges: hand claps; a cappella passages; sudden shifts in tempo; vocals that alternate ragged whispers, attenuated moans and bracing falsetto with her unmistakable throaty croon. Ambient sounds—the dogs barking, people talking—as well as seconds of near silence, made their way into the mix. As beautiful as the melodies and the epiphanies they carry often are, the songs are not what you would call “pretty.”
This makes the album a significant departure for an artist whose early style was defined in large part by sophisticated, bespoke arrangements created with collaborators like acclaimed producer and composer Jon Brion. Yet Bolt Cutters wouldn’t be the extraordinary experiment in aural and lyrical honesty that it is if it sounded too polished. The record is a missive from the mini-studio in Apple’s house to whatever confined space we’re stuck in these days, compelled as we are to spend a lot more time than usual in our own heads. It offers us a roadmap to understand who we are and make peace with who we have been; to take responsibility for our worst selves and protect our best ones; to come out of our ordeal stronger, wiser, but still self-critical. From Fiona’s lips to God’s ears: We’re gonna be fine.
0 notes