James' Best Music of 2020

10. Haim – ‘Women in Music Pt. III’
(Released June 26, 2020)

In 2020, Haim released their most compulsively listenable album yet with ‘Women in Music Pt. III’. I’ve always thought that Haim were an excellent singles band, but their albums were always a bit underwhelming. With ‘WIMPIII’, Haim really “stepped” up their game. Even with 16 tracks, it is an extremely breezy album that gets more rewarding with each listen. It sounds great in the early morning hours, or while chillin’ out on a hot summer day.

KEY TRACKS: “Don’t Wanna”, “Now I’m In It”, & “The Steps”

09. Taylor Swift – ‘Folklore’
(Released July 24, 2020)

Taylor Swift surprise released her eighth album this summer. Working with one of my favorite current producers, Jack Antonoff, and The National’s Aaron Dessner, Swift ventured into an indie-singer-songwriter direction that she had only hinted at in the past. It has resulted in her most sonically unswerving record. Many of the outstanding songs, like “The Last Great American Dynasty”, “This Is Me Trying” and “August” are less personal and more literary. ‘Folklore’ is a consistently beautiful record from one of this century’s most consistently excellent artists.

KEY TRACKS: “Exile (ft. Bon Iver)”, “The Last Great American Dynasty”, & “The One”

08. The 1975 – ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’
(Released May 22, 2020)

Indie Rock’s most divisive band returned this year with another epic album. With 22 tracks in 80 minutes, The 1975 stick to the approach that they have used since 2016: throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Their ability to genre hop is what drew me to the band in the first place, and it has kept me a fan ever since. Not everything works. (Opening your album with a five minute lecture on climate change may be powerful the first time you hear it, but it is eye-roll inducing the second time.) There may be too many instrumental interludes. But when the songs do hit, they hit really hard. My ‘Spotify Top 5 for 2020’ was comprised of nothing but songs from this album, and I wasn’t particularly surprised. The 1975 know how to write a jam.

KEY TRACKS: “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know), “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America”, & “Me & You Together Song”

07. Grimes – ‘Miss Anthropocene’
(Released February 21, 2020)

Grimes’ “sound for the end of the world” could not have been released during a more suitable time. ‘Miss Anthropocene’ is the soundtrack for falling into a black hole. It is a world unto itself from which there is no escape. At times, it was a little too on-the-nose for 2020. Sometimes it was a bit of an uncomfortable listen. But the songwriting is very strong, and the album’s thematic cohesiveness made for one the year’s best.

KEY TRACKS: “Delete Forever”, “4AEm”, & “My Name is Dark (Art Mix)”

06. The Strokes – ‘The New Abnormal’
(Released April 10, 2020)

The Strokes returned in 2020 with their first album in seven years. ‘The New Abnormal’ marked a bit of a departure in their trademark sound. The band is taking more chances, letting the tunes stretch and breathe more than they have in the past. But these new songs still sound like the band I’ve known and loved for almost the past twenty years. At this point in their career, The Strokes are seasoned veterans that know the intricacies of crafting an interesting tune. And Julian Casablanca’s vocals are as glorious and haunting as ever. (Bonus Points for releasing the album on my fifth wedding anniversary.)

KEY TRACKS: “Not The Same Anymore”, “Eternal Summer”, & “The Adults Are Talking”

05. Pottery – ‘Welcome to Bobby’s Motel’
(Released June 26, 2020)

‘Welcome to Bobby’s Motel’ is an onslaught of ideas. It sounds like a tightly wound jam band by-way of Talking Heads or Parquet Courts. Every song flows from one idea into the next in a relatively seamless way. ‘Bobby’s Motel’ is a whole lot of fun, whether rocking out in your car or vibing at a barbeque. I look forward to the return of live music. I just can’t wait to see Pottery tear the house down playing the songs from this funky debut.

KEY TRACKS: “Texas Drums Pt I and II”, “Bobby’s Forecast”, & “Hot Like Jungle”

04. Tame Impala – ‘The Slow Rush’
(Released February 14, 2020)

There may not be a better recorded album to be released this year than ‘The Slow Rush’. Tame Impala’s fourth album was labored over for years. Lead Impala Kevin Parker is a notorious perfectionist that spends countless hours making sure the bass pops, the keys bounce, and the drums hit just-so. The result is some of the finest psychedelic pop-rock the band has crafted yet. They are also a tight live juggernaut that I hope to get the chance to see in 2021.

KEY TRACKS: “Lost in Yesterday”, “Borderline”, & “Breathe Deeper”

03. Porridge Radio – ‘Every Bad’
(Released March 13, 2020)

“I’m bored to death, let’s argue…. I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe nothing’s going on…. everyone I know is down in the dumps about it.” So begins my personal soundtrack to the beginning of 2020 Coronavirus catastrophe. ‘Every Bad’ was released on March 13, two days after COVID-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic and the lockdowns began across the country. It is an album that captures the anger, the confusion, and the paranoia that permeated throughout the entire year. It is loaded with mantras that seemed to predict the feelings we would collectively go through in 2020. There are so many great ones, it would be excessive to list them all down. But one in particular has rolling through my brain for the last nine months: “I don’t want to get bitter. I want us to get better. I want us to be kinder to ourselves and to each other.” Amen to that.

KEY TRACKS: “Long”, “Lilac”, & “Pop Song”

02. Car Seat Headrest – ‘Making a Door Less Open’
(Released May 1, 2020)

‘Making a Door Less Open’ is the best front-to back Car Seat Headrest album yet. They are a band that has been on my radar since 2015. While I thought they have made some excellent singles in the past, I found their albums to be a bit of a slog. When the singles of ‘Making a Door Less Open’ started to trickle out, I was ready to be wowed. The album incorporates more synthesizers, and the songs are more focused. It starts off strong with the one-two punch of “Weightlifters” and “Can’t Cool Me Down”. It has a top tier penultimate track regardless of the format you listen to (“Life Worth Missing” on the vinyl edition; Song of the Year “There Must Be More Than Blood” on the digital version). All of these factors make for a highly compelling and endlessly re-listenable collection.

KEY TRACKS: “There Must Be More Than Blood”, “Life Worth Missing”, “Can’t Cool Me Down”

01. Hinds – ‘The Prettiest Curse’
(Released June 5, 2020)

My favorite album of 2020 is an impeccable collection of indie-pop rock songs. Hailing from Madrid, Spain, Hinds are a band I have known since they released their pretty solid debut single “Bamboo” in 2014. But the rollout for ‘The Prettiest Curse’ got me very excited to see what their third LP had to offer. Lead single “Riding Solo” drips with cool while recounting the weariness of life on the road. “Just Like Kids (Maui)” details the unsolicited advice and constant sexism the band receives as an all-female rock outfit in a dominantly male musical landscape. It’s sarcastic, it’s biting, and it rocks. “Burn” has my favorite vocal harmony on any song this year. I can’t wait to sing along in concert the next time they come to America. With ‘The Prettiest Curse’, Hinds made a record that made the bad times sound so good. In 2020, you truly couldn’t ask for anything more.

KEY TRACKS: “Riding Solo”, “Burn”, & “Waiting for You”

Gang of Youths – ‘Go Farther In Lightness’
(Originally Released August 18, 2017)

One of my favorite records that I heard in 2020 was originally from 2017. It came from a band I had never heard of before and that does not have a strong following in the United States. They were described as the sound of “every major 2000s indie band playing together at the same time”. Specifically, they were compared to some of my favorites: Arcade Fire, The National, The Hold Steady, and The Walkmen. When I heard about this album, I was amazed that I had never even read anything about it. It had won the Australian equivalent to the Grammy’s Album of the Year! I first queued it up on Monday, November 2^nd. With that first play, ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ became my soundtrack for the presidential election week. I listened to it over and over again, amazed by how much it mirrored the turbulent times. The album is extremely hopeful. It is exactly what I, and many others, needed in 2020. It is over the top. It is super emotional. And it rocks hard. Gang of Youths made an album that appeals to all of my favorite musical predilections; it is catnip to my ears. If you like epic rawk music, I couldn’t recommend this enough.

KEY TRACKS: “Fear and Trembling”, “Let Me Down Easy”, & “What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out?”