Jeff's Best of the Rest, 2020 Edition

As much as we hated this year, the music was solid. Here are the rest of my favorites that didn't quite make the 2020 cut:

* Foxanne - It's real (I knew it) (My #11, and if I had more time to spend with it I might have ranked it higher)
* Ben Eisenberger - Soloists (Might be higher with an earlier release date as well)
* Beadadoobee - Fake It Flowers
* Hazel English - Wake UP!
* Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
* William Basinski - Lamentations
* Vanessa Peters - Mixtape
* Taylor Swift - evermore
* Sorry - 925
* Sylvan Esso - Free Love
* Ailhbe Reddy - Personal History

* Annie Taylor = Sweet Mortality
* Sa-Roc - The Sharecropper's Daughter
* Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
* Purity Ring - WOMB
* Carla J Easton - WEIRDO
* Taylor Swift - folklore
* Alex the Astronaut - The Theory of Absolutely Nothing
* Zilched - DOOMPOP
* Skylar Gudasz - Cinema
* Mipso - Mipso
* The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers
* Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman

* Sierra Hull - 25 Trips
* Koven - Butterfly Effect
* Black Dresses - Peaceful as Hell
* Damn the Witch Siren - White Magic
* Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA
* Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
* Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming
* Orion Sun - Hold Space for Me
* Ringo Deathstarr - Ringo Deathstarr
* Billy Nomates - Billy Nomates
* The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick - Ways of Hearing

In addition, I liked a lot of songs this year, so instead of trying to keep this a 30 song playlist, I'm doubling it up. A little bit of everything in here; best consumed on shuffle.

What will next year bring? Who knows. Hopefully some live music and less pandemic content. But, most importantly? Good health. See you never, 2020.

Ken's Best of 2020 - #1: Run the Jewels - RTJ4

I don't think any album captures 2020 the way that RTJ4 did. If you were looking for escapism from your music this year, Run the Jewels were not the band to look to. The album came out right in the middle of protests denouncing the death of George Floyd and ongoing police brutality in America. Buildings were on fire, racist statues were being toppled worldwide... and RTJ4 came out. Even though it obviously was recorded long before the explosion happened, it felt like it was recorded smack in the midst of it. Run the Jewels are a political hip hop group, and this album perfectly captures the anger and rage rushing through the veins of many Americans. But, as serious as it is, it's a banger of an album. Somehow it's the perfect soundtrack to channel your rage through protests and have a party celebrating any victories you achieved. Plus, any album that puts Pharrell Williams and Zach de la Rocha on the same song, and it's an instant classic banger about how many founding fathers were slave owners? Sign us up.

Songs of note: "yankee and the brave," ooh la la," "walking in the snow," "JU$T," "pulling the pin," and "goonies vs. E.T."

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #1: Cartalk - Pass Like Pollen

It figures that my favorite album this year is one I almost missed entirely.

Cartalk, on the surface, isn't putting forward anything we haven't seen before. They're a singer-songwriter effort, but with plenty of buzz. Finally, I believe it was Jess Abbott of Tancred who raved about it on Twitter and I sought it out, and holy crap.

What's special about this is that the songs are so well-crafted, with some solid alt-rock sheen draped over the singer-songwriter confessionals. Songs like "Wrestling" feel ridiculously relatable, other songs like "Noonday Devil" present such an interesting mood with the lyrics interspersed with random elements (like a banjo!) that fit together perfectly.

Sometimes an album just speaks to me, and this one came in really loud. A near perfect album, especially in times that feel so uncertain.

Songs of note: "Noonday Devil," "Wrestling," "Arroyo Tunnels," "Car Window"

Ken's Best of 2020 - #2: Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

I never thought of myself as a huge Fiona Apple fan. When she released Tidal way back in 1996, I liked it, but I was never obsessed with it. It was good, but nothing that floored me the way it floored everyone else. Since then, Apple has drifted in and out of my consciousness with different releases. Earlier this year when she was set to release Fetch the Bolt Cutters, which was somehow only her fifth album, there was an incredibly strong buzz behind it, but I didn't expect a whole lot. Fetch the Bolt Cutters has blown me away every time I've listened to it over the last eight months. It showcases an artist doing exactly what she wants to do. It's creative and unique. It's beautiful and angry. There's been a lot written about how Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the perfect album for 2020, and I certainly can't imagine this album coming out any other year. You can listen to it perfectly on the surface level on just the creativity and vibe of the music, but the more time you spend with it the more you're going to dig in and get more out of it.

Songs of note: "Shameika," "Relay," "Ladies," "Rack of His," and "Newspaper"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #2: Little Hag - Whatever Happened to Avery Jane?

Usually Ken and I have more overlap than we do this year, but one thing we agree on is Little Hag. Ken found her first, and when he sent it over to me, it was relevatory. Very fun, very fresh, and very unique.

Her first album (and I know we're cheating a bit, since this is more of a compilation of tracks rather than a cohesive unit) under this name, Little Hag is like a diary with all the awkward parts included. It's referential (and self-referential) in ways that would be too cute by half if others tried to do it, and the self-deprication comes across less of a "woe is me" and more of an empowered young millennial who knows what she wants. It's great. More music should be like this.

Outside of Poppy, this was probably the album in heaviest rotation for me this year. Some of these songs will stay with me for years to come. If you missed out on this earlier in the fall, you owe it to yourself to listen to it now.

Songs of note: "Tetris," "Facebook," "Walk of Shame," "Predator"

Ken's Best of 2020 - #3: Sapling - No Sequoia

Sapling may be a hyper local to us Massachusetts punk band, but their release No Sequoia has been out all but three other releases on my top albums of the year list. How, you may ask? Obviously, it's a great album. But Sapling tap into my absolute favorite type of punk. It's not badass hardcore that will scare you with a threat of violence. Instead, Sapling will relentlessly mock you into nonexistence. The songs on No Sequoia are noisy, loud, obnoxious, and in your face. But they also have a killer groove and are some of the catchiest you will hear all year. They capture this amazing middle ground between noise punk that's purely noise and noise punk that's electronic noise. The songs bounce wildly from silly and fun to deadly serious and political, usually in the same song. Plus, you can dance to it, as long as you agree to mock the same people they do.

Songs of note: "Bikini BDRK," "Maria vs. Machine Maria," "Bitchshifter," "Everything Was Better," "Nice Guy," and "Fuck this Yuppie Barbeque"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #3: Poppy - I Disagree

Poppy tries hard to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle with an influencer sheen and an appreciation of pop music to successfully lampoon it ironically.

Then she found metal music.

What we saw glimpses of with "X" and "Scary Mask" got a full album treatment with I Disagree, and the result nearly defies description. It's sort of an American Babymetal - all the pop trappings and all the metal instrumentation. It's melodic and harsh, it's brooding with a bop - there's a lyric, "bury me six feet deep/cover me in concrete/turn me into a street" that is so vivid and dark and hilarious, it's almost unreal. And I love it. I love it so much.

Few albums this year made me stop and say "hey, you gotta hear this," but Poppy pulled that off. An early release this year, it's stayed in semi-regular rotation and got a lot of people to notice what she's been up to. Quite the feat.

Songs of note: "BLOODMONEY," "I Disagree," "Concrete," "Fill the Crown."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #4: Little Hag - Whatever Happened to Avery Jane?

One day late in the summer I started seeing posts from a musical artist named Little Hag on Facebook. I figured I would remember following someone with that name, so I did a little digging. Turns out Little Hag used to be Avery Mandeville of Avery Jane and the Mandevilles, who I discovered while making a Artists of New Jersey playlist for a family vacation. Discovering Little Hag was one of the true joys of 2020. I listened to Whatever Happened to Avery Jane? almost daily for the first few weeks after it was released. 

Whatever Happened to Avery Jane? is this perfect blend of pop and indie rock. It has this wonderful sense of humor that I simply can't resist, even though I'm probably (definitely) too old to love this album as much as I do. "Tetris" helps solidify that feeling with lyrics like "Everyone wants to fuck me / No one wants to see me cry" and "Text bitches 'til your eyes fall out." This is the kind of album that has me checking concert dates in Asbury Park to turn another family trip for donuts and tacos into a pilgrimage to see Little Hag... someday.

Songs of note: "Tetris," "Facebook," "No More Dick Pix," "Alexander," and "Encore - Live in Asbury Park"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #4: The Mastersons - No Time for Love Songs

I'm a sucker for a good family band.

I hadn't heard of The Mastersons prior to this year. A married duo who are part of Steve Earle's backing band, The Dukes, they put together absolutely beautiful folk/country music with some serious heart. The two know each other so well on this latest effort that the melodies, the harmonies, the songwriting - everything is in perfect sync. The album feels cohesive and whole in a way few albums do, and whether it's a song like the title track opener or "King of the Castle" (one of my favorite songs of the year), there's so much to love here in this total package.

Songs of note: "No Time for Love Songs," "There is a Song to Sing," "King of the Castle"

Ken's Best of 2020 - #5: The Bobby Lees - Skin Suit

I first discovered The Bobby Lees back in February. We received a promo email mentioning that their upcoming album was produced by Jon Spencer, which is going to grab my attention. I listened to "Coin" once and became instantly obsessed with the Woodstock, NY band. Their blend of punked up dirty blues (with an emphasis on the punk) is one of my soft spots for music. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion influence is heavy on Skin Suit, but not overwhelming. The Bobby Lees take JSBX's sound and go off in their own heavier, more intense direction. As I started falling down a rabbit hole of my new musical obsession, I went to their tour dates to see if they were playing near me. That's when I realized they had played the night before at O'Brien's in Boston with two other bands I like (Zip-Tie Handcuffs and Baabes). No big deal, upstate NY is semi-local, so I'm sure they'd be back soon, especially with a new album. Oh, 2020, great dasher of dreams... That could be one of the reasons I've locked onto this album so much. And ending with insanely great covers of "I'm a Man" and "Blank Generation" certainly doesn't hurt.

Songs of note: "Move," "Coin," "Guttermilk," "Riddle Daddy," "Wendy," and "Drive"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #5: Kathleen Edwards - Total Freedom

When a favorite artist takes some time off, you both feel good that they'e doing what they need to do to stay in form but also angsty about the lack of new output. Kathleen Edwards, an all-time favorite of mine, famously quit music and opened a coffee shop. That we recieved new music at all was a pleasant surprise, and that it was this good even moreso.

While Voyaguer was a solid record, it didn't feel like Kathleen Edwards in a lot of ways. Total Freedom embraces its title in every way, sounding like the record she wanted to make as opposed to, well, one more song the radio won't like. So you have an opener like "Glenfern" that sets the table, you have lead single "Options Open" that sounds like classic Kathleen Edwards, you have rock-adjacent "Hard on Everyone," and the next thing you know you have a great album.

There's some irony that Kathleen Edwards left music at what many saw as the peak of her career, and she chose to come back when we're all stuck indoors, lacking the very Total Freedom this album espouses. Either way, I'm glad she's back and well, and I hope it stays that way.

Songs of note: "Glenfern," "Options Open," "Hard on Everyone," "Ashes to Ashes."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #6: Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming

I Was Born Swimming is a masterpiece of an album. Squirrel Flower (aka Ella Williams) hits so many of my checklists for great songs. False stops, tonal changes, slow builds from quiet, thoughtful songs into giant epics... it's all here. "I-80" starts off the album and feels like it could be multiple songs. Squirrel Flower combines modern folk and singer/songwriter elements with 90's style indie rock in ways that we've heard before from artists like Lucy Dacus, but is going off in her own direction and style with these songs. "Red Shoulder" is a great indication if you're going to love this album or not. It starts off with Williams' quiet, plaintive vocals and builds into this noisy rocker with her voice keeping the same tone throughout. And then there is "Streetlight Blues," which is my top song of 2020 according to Spotify. It crams an absolute epic, giant song into just over three minutes and thirty seconds. 

Songs of note: "Red Shoulder," "Headlights," "Honey, Oh Honey!," and "Streetlight Blues"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #6: Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn - Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn

This one came to me as a surprise. While I've been a fan of Abigail Washburn for some time, Wu Fei was new to me. Boy, did I miss the boat. This is as much a beautiful music history lesson as it is a goreous cultural exchange. It's high art for folkies, and it's just so pretty.

Every time I listened to this, I felt transported. That's rare in the event of many albums, but as someone who is just as likely to reach for a pop album or some three chord punk, I shouldn't love the sort of interplay between American and Chinese folk standards. Yet I still find something new in each listen. I really love this record, and if you haven't heard it yet, you should, too.

Songs of note: "Water is Wide / Wusuli Boat Song (乌苏里船歌)," "The Roving Cowboy / Avarguli (阿瓦尔古丽)."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #7: The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers

To say that we were huge fans of The Beths' 2018 album Future Me Hates Me is an understatement. It was the only album both of us chose for our top 10's at the end of that year. Does that mean that I didn't enjoy Jump Rope Gazers as much. I don't think so. Future Me Hates Me benefitted from the excitement of discovering a new band that I truly love, plus I was able to see them live that year, so I was still riding high off of how great that collection of songs was live. Jump Rope Gazers is truly a great album. It's filled with these great upbeat alt-rock/pop songs with a fantastic sense of humor and impossibly catchy hooks. If you loved Future Me Hates Me, you already love this album, too. And if you haven't listened yet, you truly need to as soon as humanly possible.

Songs of note: "I'm Not Getting Excited," "Dying to Believe," "Out of Sight," and "Don't Go Away"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #7: clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned

I'm still surprised clipping. isn't huge after Hamilton.

clipping. is a rap group fronted by Daveed Diggs, who played Lafayette in the hit musical. They have a few albums out, but this one is probably my favorite. There's a solid theme that persists through the record, and feels as much a horror story in album form. Yeah, songs like "'96 Neve Campell" are more up-front and mainstream, but then songs like "Something Underneath" bubble up with a manic flow and interesting instrumentation. In a year with a lot of great rap albums, from Run the Jewels to Sa-Roc, this stands out because of how whole the entire package is.

Songs of note: "'96 Neve Campbell," "Bodies for the Pile," "Something Underneath."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #8: Laura Jane Grace - Stay Alive

There have been roughly a million quarantine albums released this year, but the best has been from Laura Jane Grace. None of them truly capture the feeling of being trapped in our house for far longer than we could have imagined while the world seems to be burning all around us. Stay Alive is such a loaded album title right now, and obviously Laura Jane Grace chose it for that reason. The vast majority of the fourteen songs on this album are just Grace and her guitar ("Shelter in Place" and "SuperNatural Possession" includes a drum machine) which gives the entire album such an intimate, personal feeling. It's a collection of songs about quarantine and the hopeless despair so many of us are feeling right now. It's not all doom and gloom to listen. Somehow Grace takes these feelings and uses them to inject a feeling of hope and community into the songs on Stay Alive.

Songs of note: "The Calendar Song," "Hanging Tree," "SuperNatural Possession," "The Swimming Pool Song," "The Mountain Song"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #8: Oceanator - Things I Never Said

Oceanator, the solo effort of Elise Okusami, is noisy and brash and awesome. It's one that I missed when it first came out, and kept going back to. The guitar work is amazing, the songs are both catchy and confessional, and the whole experience is one that feels like it's racing to its endpoint while not leaving anything behind. It's one of my favorites because it's so different, and yet has a very familiar feel.

Okusami has a very interesting voice in the indie rock landscape, and this debut full-length effort is a great starting point. Can't wait for what's next.

Songs of note: "I Would Find You," "Goodbye, Goodnight," "Heartbeat," "Hide Away."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #9: X - ALPHABETLAND

When Los Angeles punk legends dropped their album ALPHABETLAND seemingly out of nowhere back in April, my expectations were low. A legendary band releasing their first album in twenty seven years, plus it was their first album with the original line up in thirty five years? They've been touring as a nostalgia act for quite a while now, and I've heard plenty of these reunion albums, and usually the best you can hope for is not embarrassing. 

But ALPHABETLAND is great. Shockingly great. It stands right up with 1980's Los Angeles, which nobody could have expected. When bands can start touring again, this is going to be the rare occasion where fans don't politely wait through a new song or use the new material to use the bathroom without missing anything good. If you haven't listened to it yet, you truly owe it to yourself to give it a shot. Sure, the songs on ALPHABETLAND may be a little slower than some of the classics, but these folks are in their mid- to late sixties these days. Plus, X were always pretty mellow for LA punk, especially in retrospect. 

Songs of note: "ALPHABETLAND," "I Gotta Fever," "Delta 88 Nightmare," and "Star Chambered"

Jeff's Best of 2020 - #9: Deau Eyes - Let It Leave

At some point in time, "Paper Stickers" came up in my playlists and I fell in love with it. Some time later came Let It Leave, the debut album of Ali Thibideau project Deau Eyes. This is such a nice slice of indie pop that I kept going back to all summer and fall and remembering "hey, this is really great." It has enough small bits of different genres to keep you guessing, and rolls along in a way that it never wears out its welcome.

Definitely a welcome debut, and I can't wait to see what comes next. Just an incredible listen.

Songs of note: "Paper Stickers," "Some Do," "Full Proof."

Ken's Best of 2020 - #10: Lydia Loveless - Daughter

As acclaimed as it was, Lydia Loveless's 2016 album Real just didn't quite work for me. Part of it is that I'm just not really a pop guy, and it was definitely a pop album. I'm sure another part of it was that I loved 2014's Somewhere Else so much, and I was being a grumpy old man about the drastic change in sound. 

That brings us to Daughter. Daughter is definitely a pop album (just check out the "I Would Die 4 U" vibe on "Wringer"), but it works much better for me. The main reason is that it melds Loveless's pop sensibilities with her older country and rock sounds. I've always appreciated hybrid sounds, and the edge and twang helps make the pop a little more palatable for me. The songwriting on Daughter is second to none. The songs on Daughter channel Loveless's emotions about her divorce, and it's heartbreaking on some songs and uplifting on others. But that's divorce. There are many great divorce albums out there (Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and Bob Dylan's Blood On the Tracks immediately come to mind), but I have never heard an artist capture the rawness of a divorce quite like Lydia Loveless does here.

Songs of note: "Dead Writer," "Love is Not Enough," "Wringer," and "September"