Music was such a crucial part of managing the unprecedented (at least in my lifetime) challenges of 2020, that I feel I need to do my music review of the year as comprehensively as possible. With this in mind, I'm staggering it in parts across December. For those who care most about the true standouts, and the dubious but enjoyable ritual of ranking albums, yes there will be a list at the end. I'll also do a reissues and compilations selection as well, but I'm still catching up with some things there. As usual, I am not making the claim that all these albums are masterpieces - some I've only managed to listen to once in full. But I would certainly argue that they are all worthy of your time - try to navigate your own way through!
75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band - Live At Tubby’s (Bandcamp)
75 Dollar Bill - Live At Cafe Oto (Bandcamp)
75 Dollar Bill - Power Failures (Bandcamp)
No new studio album from 75 Dollar Bill this year, but the combination of the pandemic and the support provided by Bandcamp increasing the share of revenue given to artists on ‘Bandcamp Fridays’ made for a busy release schedule nonetheless. Power Failures gathers together some previous unreleased recordings, while the two live albums capture Rick Brown and Che Chen at the height of their mesmerising powers. Perhaps of greatest interest is the broader vista provided by the expanded line-up at Tubby’s. Their combination of mediative drone, west African-influenced melody and rhythmic development continues to create powerful impact from minimal elements.
AC/DC - Power Up (Columbia)
Quite how they are still in existence is something of a mystery, but we should rejoice that AC/DC can continue to remake exactly the same album regardless of whatever turbulence is going on around and within them.
Actress - Karma & Desire (Ninja Tune)
Darren Cunningham’s latest edition to an increasingly substantial discography successfully unifies some of his more divergent concerns. There are gauzy, beatless atmospheres in which synthesisers provide the percussive drive, but there are also moments that briefly transport us to that most forbidden of places in 2020 - the nightclub, albeit tracks that feel like they foreground a sense of isolation and alienation rather than communal jubilation. It all has an eerie, early morning after the night before feeling. While the touchstone Actress album remains 2012’s outstanding R.I.P., this is an intelligent and meditative work notable for its collaboration with vocalists. Sampha’s wordless musings in the upper register on VVY are particularly striking.
Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Mohammed with Roy Ayers - Jazz Is Dead 002: Synchronise Vibration (Jazz Is Dead)
This second in the valuable series of recordings brought Younge and Shaheed Mohammed together with legendary percussionist Roy Ayers as he approached his 80th birthday. It is full of the kind of light, airy melodies easily associated with Ayers, and the lithe, gently simmering grooves are effective, although Ayers’ contribution is often surprisingly overwhelmed by other musical elements.
Adrianne Lenker - songs (4AD)
Adrianne Lenker - instrumentals (4AD)
Not content with having made significant contributions to the two outstanding Big Thief albums released last year, Adrianne Lenker continued to expand her musical language by releasing a set of two albums of her own. The collection of songs focuses strongly on her melodic and distinctive vocal qualities, casting her voice against adroitly plucked acoustic guitar. This creates settings that are both warm and fragile. Much more unexpected are the remarkable and beautiful instrumentals - two long compositions rich in texture, design and sonic detail (the scraping of strings, the sound of the room). Lenker is a superb musician, busy developing a distinctive, risk-taking presence.
Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
‘Spirit world travel is not recommended for the faint of heart or weak of stomach…’ A joyous and thrilling slice of rap-meets-psychedelia, revelling in wordplay and phrasing, this is one of Aesop’s strongest and most narratively coherent albums.
Afel Bocoum - Linde (World Circuit)
Malian guitarist Bocoum joined the great Ali Farka Toure’s band when he was merely 13, but didn’t get to release an album under his own name until he had turned 50. On Linde, his fourth album, the music grooves gently and lightly, aided by the agile presence of the now sorely missed Tony Allen. Inevitably, Damon Albarn serves as executive producer, his Africa Express projects having contributed much to increasing awareness of Bocoum’s abilities. The effortless quality of Linde, even when veering into unexpected territory (such as the reggae of Bombolo Liilo) is inspiring.
Against All Logic - 2017-19 (Other People)
A second compilation of music made by Nicolas Jaar (who also released two other albums this year) under his AAL alias, this is a more restless, more abrasive and more fierce set than its predecessor. AAL’s borrowings here are wildly inventive, from reassembling and recontextualising Beyonce’s Baby Boy on Fantasy to making aggressive and defiant use of Lydia Lunch on If You Can’t Do It Good, Do It Hard.
Aiofe Nessa Frances - Land Of No Junction (Basin Rock)
One of the year’s most encouraging debuts, Land Of No Junction draws upon a rich seam of esoteric pop influences to craft something melancholy but also tinged with warmth. Enhanced by the guitar and production contributions of Cian Nugent, Frances’ light songs often seem to float on the air and have the freedom and confidence to be understated.
Aksak Maboul - Figures (Crammed Discs)
Originally formed in Belgium in 1977, Aksak Maboul were a band blissfully unaware of genre boundaries. Since their initial disbandment, Marc Hollander went on to found the vital Crammed Discs label, for which his bandmate Vincent Kenis performed production duties (his contribution to the Congotronics series are particularly important). Listening to their first work in 30 years, it’s easy to speculate about their possible influence on similar sounding bands such as Sterolab or Broadcast. Figures is both a dense and playful work - it requires some navigation, but also yields plenty of mind expanding music.
A Lily - Sleep Through The Storm (Bytes)
A Lily is James Vella, honcho of the Phantom Limb label and a member of the band Yndi Halda. He makes patiently unfolding minimal electronic tapestries, of which this is the fifth example. There’s an evocative landscape quality to this music that feels human.
Alabaster De Plume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (International Anthem)
Timeless, gentle and beautiful laments that cut across genres from the London based saxophonist and composer who has now been absorbed into the increasingly vital roster of the Chicago label International Anthem. Also quite different from his protest or more rhythmically insistent music, demonstrating some compelling versatility.
Alan Braufman - The Fire Still Burns (Valley Of Search)
One of 2020’s more extraordinary stories - here is the return of Alan Braufman as a bandleader some 45 years after his debut album Valley Of Search (he spent some of the intervening time touring with Carla Bley, The Psychedelic Furs and others). Again working with Cooper-Moore and a tumultuous band, this is passionate, liberated and ultimately uplifting improvised music.
Alasdair Roberts - The Songs Of My Boyhood (Drag City)
The ever prolific folk songwriter and interpreter revisits the songs of his earlier band Appendix Out, recasting them as stark solo home recordings. The greater maturity in his voice imbues them with a new presence and impact.
Ale Hop - The Life Of Insects (Buh)
An absorbing, fascinating and often abrasive piece of modern electronic composition, musically encapsulating many facets of insect ritual and behaviour.
Alex Rex - Andromeda (Tin Angel)
Andromeda is a little less bracingly intimate and overwhelming than Trembling Bells drummer Alex Neilsen’s previous solo work ‘Otterburn’, but it’s still a deeply personal, inventive and sometimes wild work, ‘the product of two years in therapy, in the gym and on Tinder.’ It’s delivered with Neilsen’s by now familiar loose intensity.
Alice Boman - Dream On (PIAS)
Alice Boman was one of only a handful of artists I managed to see live in 2020, and I find her eerie songs enchanting - brittle in their arrangement and delivery but robust in their effects.
Allegra Krieger - The Joys Of Forgetting (Northern Spy)
This fine album seemed to slip a little under the radar this year - but it’s as subtle and well executed an example of singing and songwriting as I’ve heard this year.
Allysen Callery - Ghost Folk (Ban)
Whispery, eerie acoustic songs.
Ambrose Akinmusire - On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note)
The trumpet player and composer continues his mission to ensure that every album has an unmanageable title - but also that it contains some of his most meditative and emotive music.
Ana Roxane - Because Of A Flower (Kranky)
This ambient song cycle is one of the most beautifully textured and haunting releases of the year. Similar in tone and atmosphere to Julianna Barwick, but very much a powerful meditation of its own.
Andre Canniere - Ghost Days (Whirlwind)
The trumpet player and composer continues his prolific and consistently excellent run of albums, with a combination of sleek, agile grooves and insightful songcraft.
Andrew McCormack - Solo (Ubuntu)
Executed as cleanly and precisely as you might expect, this solo piano album provides a fresh perspective on McCormack’s improvising and rhythmic drive.
Andrew Tuttle - Alexandra (Room40)
A beautiful and superbly realised work that has provided a sense of balm and healing in this otherwise unsettling and stressful year. This music is so evocative and detailed, with a strong sense of place.
Andrew Wasylyk - Fugitive Light and Themes Of Consolation (Athens of the North)
Thanks to Steven Johnson for the recommendation on this one. I still don’t feel I know much about Andrew Wasylyk (an alias for Scottish multi-instrumentalist and writer Andrew Mitchell), but this album is meticulously arranged, languid and absorbing. The prominence of the bass lines puts me in mind of David Axelrod. It is the third in a trio of records exploring the Eastern Scottish landscape, and I now need to hear the other two.
Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brotherhood - LIVE (International Anthem)
Angel Bat Dawid’s performance at the 2019 London Jazz Festival was one of the great experiences of that year, somehow both physical and transcendent. This Bandcamp special live album captures the provocation, defiance and spirituality of her work.
Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell - How To Turn The Moon (Pyroclastic)
A set of intricate and spellbinding pieces for two pianos, filled with unexpected twists and turns, attention to sonic detail, melodic invention and playful wit. Also worth noting just how vital Kris Davis’ Pyroclastic label has become in a short space of time.
Annie - Dark Hearts (Annie Melody)
Every time I think Annie has fallen off the face of the earth, she returns with another brilliantly realised pure pop confection as if she has hardly been away. Dark Hearts is no exception.
Ann Margaret Hogan - Honeysuckle Burials (Downwards)
Very minimal but warm compositions, captured complete with audible movement and creaking in the background that makes this nature-inspired work feel very human and intimate.
Anthony Pirog - Pocket Poem (Cuneiform)
n a tremendous, sometimes terrifying trio with Michael Formanek and Ches Smith, Anthony Pirog really explores the dramatic impact, dynamic range and textural variety of the guitar here.
Antonina Nowacka - Lamunan (Mondoj)
An extraordinary wordless solo vocal album, with recordings apparently made in a cave near a Javanese volcano, and then edited in a Polish fortress (surely this is too good to be true?).
Aquiles Navarro & Tcheser Holmes - Heritage Of The Invisible II (International Anthem)
Half of Irreversible Entanglements explore their own sometimes mechanistic, sometimes expressive improvised sound.
Arbouretum - Let It All In (Thrill Jockey)
Arbouretum are a band I’ve neglected a little, despite long thinking I would likely enjoy their work. Let It All In certainly makes me want to dig back further - a combination of insistent melody, adept arrangement and thrilling exposition in the rock ensemble format. The title track also successfully re-bottled the essence of Wilco's Spiders (Kidsmoke) which is of course no bad thing.
Arca - KiCK i (XL)
Fresh from collaborating with Bjork, Arca made one of the year’s most aesthetically and musically bold albums, brilliantly designed if breathlessly exhausting.
Armand Hammer - Shrines (Backwoodz Studios)
With guest contributions from Pink Siifu and Quelle Chris amongst others, ELUCID and Billy Woods’ fifth album as Armand Hammer felt like a neat summary of contemporary hip hop talent, the woozy and intentionally wobbly production providing something radical, distinctive and disorientating.
Article XI - Live In Newcastle (Discus)
Superb live set from guitarist Anton Hunter’s larger ensemble project, combining two brand new compositions with developments of compositions from the group’s debut recording.
Asher Gamedze - Dialectic Soul (On The Corner)
The debut set from the South African drummer makes the drum kit into an expressive, lyrical instrument and is also a paean to resistance.
Ashley Paul - Ray (Slip)
Ashley Paul’s new trio is an intriguing and innovative set up - with Yoni Silver on bass clarinet and Otto Willberg on bass. The versatile and imaginative Paul sings, plays alto saxophone, clarinet, guitar and percussion. Impressively, this was recorded remotely during lockdown - but it sounds unified and interactive.
Autechre - Signs (Warp)
Autechre - PLUS (Warp)
Autechre continue to work on the principle that more is more, and gifted us with two excellent helpings of typically refracted electronic landscapes and ethereal ambience. A reminder that their music can be transporting and beautiful as well as cerebral.
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