2020 In New Music Part 4

 Dan Penn - Living On Mercy (Last Music Co.) 

A soulful and affecting late period album from the great songwriter with a strong band vibe. 

Daniel Avery - Love + Light (Phantasy Sound) 

Daniel Avery & Alessandro Cortini - Illusion Of Time (Phantasy Sound) 

Mesmerising spectral ambience on the surprise third full length (and double set) from the productive Avery, alongside an empathetic and wide ranging collaboration with the Nine Inch Nails synth master. The track 'London Island' feels somewhat topical as I type this! 

Daniel Blumberg - On&On&On&On&On&On... (Mute) 

I remain baffled by the absence of this album from end of year lists. It's a major step forward for Blumberg (who has steadily been branching out into more experimental sound worlds and musical communities) and a hugely effective integration of melodic craft (McCartney-esque at times) with more abrasive moments of group improvisation. 

Dave Miller - Dave Miller (Tompkins Square) 

Brilliant guitarist and composer crafts an expert contemporary instrumental music synthesis. Sometimes sensitive, sometimes righteously groovy with Miller's shimmering guitar sound always irresistible. 

David A. Jaycock - Murder, And The Birds (Triassic Tusk) 

A folk music highlight of the year, Jaycock's sonorous, chiming, sometimes foreboding performances are deeply compelling. 

David Grubbs & Taku Unami - Comet Meta (Drag City) 

For all the justifiable attention Grubbs' former Gastr Del Sol musical partner Jim O'Rourke receives, it is bizarre how little is written about David Grubbs himself, especially when he produces music this striking and beautiful. A brilliantly integrated duo guitar work that juxtaposes malleable and expressive themes with more cerebral, puzzle-like structures and improvised lines.

David Nance - Staunch Honey (Trouble In Mind) 

Great songwriting meets raw and loose production values (although, given Nance's archival tendencies, one senses that these values are hard won rather than simply reached by osmosis). 

David Torn - Fur/Torn (Screwgun) 

Superb home recorded solo guitar album from this most versatile and flexible of musicians. 

Decoy with Joe McPhee - AC/DC (Otoruku) 

Cafe Oto offered a bonanza during the pandemic, even creating a sister label purely to release works created in lockdown (something I really need to dig deeper into). But this thrilling, visceral live set from the venue in May 2019 arrived first. Aside from the still vital presence of McPhee, it's fascinating and exciting to hear Alexander Hawkins on Hammond B3. 

Deerhoof - Future Teenage Cave Artists (Joyful Noise Recordings) 

Deerhoof with Wadada Leo Smith - Love-Lore (Joyful Noise Recordings) 

Deerhoof's 15th and 16th albums respectively, now thoroughly stress testing the notion that their every work remains essential (no sign of a drop in invention or quality). The collaboration with the great trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, creator of one of the most significant musical works of the past 30 years in Ten Freedom Summers, is unexpected but most welcome. And it includes the Knight Rider theme amongst many other curious plunderings.

Deradoorian - Find The Sun (Anti) 

The former Dirty Projectors vocalist is now establishing a distinctive and artful solo career. Working with brilliant guitarist Dave Harrington, Find The Sun is a gem glimmering in heat haze. 

Desire Marea - Desire (Izimakade) 

Compelling sensory, synaesthetic work from the South African artist. 

Destroyer - Have We Met (Dead Oceans) 

For a long while, each new Destroyer album would provide a completely different musical context for Dan Bejar's verbose narratives. This made it hard to get a handle on the musical identity of the project - but also made for fun surprises. This might now no longer be the case, as Bejar settles into a groove mining 80s pop production values. But his curious delivery and curveball songs are still very much worth exploring. 

Diana Jones - Song To A Refugee (Proper) 

Folk song cycle relaying refugee stories with a keen sense of musical tradition, delivered with a spry subtlety and with an idiosyncratic attack in the vocal delivery. A degree of kinship with Iris DeMent or Patti Scialfa on display here. 

Dinosaur - To The Earth (Edition) 

Trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd's Mercury nominated ensemble take an unexpected turn to explore acoustic arrangements. Deft, airy and sometimes playful music. 

Dire Wolves - I Just Wasn't Made For These Set Times (Centripetal Force) 

Dire Wolves - Flow & Heady (Feeding Tube) 

Two albums of meditative, meandering but sometimes mutable jams in which to get enjoyably lost. 

Dirty Projectors - 5EPs (Domino) 

Not an album as such, but a compiling of the 5 EP releases Dirty Projectors staggered through the second half of the year. Showcasing the current line-up, with each EP focusing on a different vocalist, this is the group at both their most unassuming and their most playful, with an emphasis on Dave Longstreth's way with an infectious but joyfully unusual melodic line. 

Django Bates - Tenacity (Lost Marble) 

Dazzling large scale arrangements including what might be the high watermark of Django Bates' ongoing Charlie Parker explorations, alongside four original compositions, film soundtrack choice Laura and a take on Star Eyes. Sadly, there's no way to embed from this one.

Dougie Poole - The Freelancer's Blues (Wharf Cat) 

Warped country songs with a dry sense of humour.  

Doves - The Universal Want (Virgin) 

A band it is comforting to have back. Doves still seem to do this kind of widescreen, soaring indie rock very well, not least because their dance music background still seems to inform it with hints of less square rhythms and a kinetic impulse. 

Drive-By Truckers - The Unravelling (ATO)

Drive-By Truckers - The New OK (ATO) 

Two new albums further adding to the already fearsome *volume* of the DBTs catalogue - and their increasingly politically engaged songwriting speaks to the moment with urgency and conviction. 

Duma - Duma (Nyege Nyege Tapes) 

Uncompromising, abrasive modern metal from Nairobi. 

Dumana + Kechou - Buffering Juju (Mushroom Hour Half Hour) 

Debut album from this Cape Town duo and showing considerable promise - integrating contemporary studio techniques and synthesisers with musical traditions. 

Duval Timothy - Help (Carrying Colour) 

Vivid and colourful but also melancholy and reflective, this album felt perfect for lockdown evenings.