TOP TEN RECORDS OF 2020 ACCORDING TO RYAN!
With 2020 going the way that it has music has been more vital than ever to lift our spirits while many of us have been forced to stay at home, limit our social interactions and generally grapple with the direness of this year. But there has been some comfort in the form of new album releases rocked with the new classic look of face mask and over-ear headphones. We here at Get Some Magazine have compiled 10 albums that we believe to be some of the greatest releases this year with some notable 2020 shoutouts that could have easily been on this Top 10.
Kicking off with…
10. Haim - Women in Music Pt III
With Women in Music Pt III, the Haim sisters deliver their most comprehensive and lyrically direct album to date. Danielle Haim speaking with Apple Music stated “We didn’t care about genre or sticking to any sort of script. We have the most fun when nothing is off limits”. In result, Women in Music Pt III is highly diverse sporting country anthems, experimental electronic beats courtesy of producer Rostam, disgustingly distorted guitar riffs and uplifting R&B-tinged indie pop. Although an uplifting record, the Haim sisters tackle a variety of issues each of them have experienced in the build-up to the record including depression, seeking help, grief, and health issues (Este’s type 1 diabetes). The album is fun-filled while also laced with plenty of melancholic moments drawing on raw experience crafting a mature and highly-exciting release.
9. Oliver Tree - Ugly is Beautiful
Oliver Tree is probably one of the most dedicated musicians of the current era creating himself into a bowl-cut meme who always seems to be in character. He’s rude, basically doesn’t give sh** and seems to do whatever he pleases. However, his music seems to be more him than his created character speaking on not being taken seriously, rejection and constantly feeling like an outsider. Ugly Is Beautiful carefully blends the best of the 90s boasting Beastie Boy-like raps, catchy pop-rock hooks, damning grooves (“1993”) and stylistically indie garage-rock hits. The blend of genres on the record is pretty outrageous summing up Oliver Tree and what inspires him to make the music he makes. Although Oliver Tree admits that the album didn’t go entirely to plan with there being countless issues with Atlantic Records leading him to tell them to “go f*** themselves” and later stating that he’s “become so jaded with the industry that this is my last album”. It could be one of those stories where it ends before it begins. A promising debut record that shows unlimited potential to then potentially be his last as the 27-year-old is disheartened by the music industry.
8. Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour
Ungodly Hour is arguably one the best R&B albums released this year, with their first album and YouTube success grabbing the attention of Beyonce who then later signed them under Parkwood Entertainment - that’s how you know it’s good. Their sophomore album release is absolutely heavenly with Chloe x Halle taking the lead in songwriting, arrangement and production. The album experiments with various sounds and textures fitting somewhere between pop and classic R&B while the duo’s vocals are more harmonious and striking than ever before. Ironically sporting angel wings on the album cover, Chloe x Halle show the world who they really are as they state that “a lot of the world sees us as like little perfect angels, and we want to show the different layers of us”.
7. The Weeknd - After Hours
After Hours is an album that broke countless records this year firstly by exceeding the record for the most global pre-adds in Apple Music history, with over 1.02 million users. The leading single “Blinding Lights” produced by the one and only Max Martin then went onto become the soundtrack of the year setting the new record for the most weeks spent on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Artistically, the album reinvents The Weeknd following his most commercially viable records Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy. The reinvented Weeknd tackles an 80-inspired dream-pop aesthetic coupled with the iconic R&B balladry that has made him the star he is today. After Hours is The Weeknd’s most comprehensive and stylistic full-length album to date with the reinvention of his persona and musical influences proving more fruitful than ever before.
6. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
A large step forward from Dua Lipa’s breakthrough self-titled debut album, Future Nostalgia pulls a 180° creating a timeless retro-futuristic sound as the title would suggest. It’s classic 80’s revivalism that has proved so popular in the last couple of years done to the most professional of standards. Dua’s smokey vocal tone is infectious behind the varied instrumentals which combine elements of 90’s pop, electro-disco and Jamiroquai-esque grooves. Standout tracks include the highly-catchy and instant pop-classic “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now” which boasts a dramatic grand piano pre-chorus and a bassline that both Chic and Daft Punk would have rocked with at their peaks. The record wears its influences on its sleeve while remaining an original take on some of pop music’s classic eras. The most fully-fledged pop record of the year - without a doubt.
5. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
A long 5-year wait after Tame Impala’s highly successful sophomore record Currents, Tame Impala deliver a different take stylistically and lyrically contemplating on memory and the uncertainty of the future - a theme that is so prevalent this year especially. Although not perhaps the album expected from fans, there is no doubting the quality of the record and tracks such as “Breathe Deeper”, “Borderline” and “Is it True” that have taken lead in promotion following the album's release. The record is probably one of Kevin’s most honest and personal works to date in terms of the lyrical position he takes on the album. Mood-wise the album is very different to his previous works acting as a sweet pop-infused psychedelic trip rather than the more in-your-face psychedelic rock aesthetic Kevin is usually so in favour of.
4. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
Released in June 2020 while American cities were breaking out in response to police brutality and racial inequality, Run The Jewels take aim at killer cops and tackle themes such as the prison-industrial complex through hard-hitting beats and highly intricate rap verses. The album constantly refers to examples of police brutality and racial injustice in Trump-era America with guest appearances from the likes of Zach de la Rocha, 2 Chainz, Josh Homme and Mavis Staples. Run The Jewels never fail to disappoint and RTJ4 is no exception, offering one of hip hop’s most exciting and level-headed productions of the year. RTJ4 was the album America needed offering tough but true words on a nation in crisis.
3. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA
Japanese-British artist and model Rina Sawayama surprised us all with her critically-acclaimed debut record SAWAYAMA. The record is deeply personal and entirely genre-fluid, mixing elements of electronic music, pop, and even nu-metal exhibited in the song STFU! which sounds like it could have come from an early Linkin Park or Evanescence record. Her album recontextualises genre for her own artistry highlighting how diverse an artist she is. Lyrically, the album is a bit of a self-portrait with Rina confronting her own heritage, nostalgia and self-confidence. Her and collaborator Clarence Clarity reinvent how we typically perceive pop music embracing the experimental and splicing-genre for an entirely unique feel and pop voice.
2. Mac Miller - Circles
Mac Miller’s discography seems to get better and better with every album release, and although Mac unfortunately passed before the release of Circles, it still stands as his finest work. The posthumous album was set as a counterpart to his 2018 release Swimming and with the help of collaborator Jon Brion and Miller’s family, the record came to fruition in January 2020. The record is deeply emotional exploring themes of rejection, isolation and loneliness with the single “Good News” being the first to be released - a track that I can openly say brought me to tears on first listen. Like many of the tracks on the album, it is very minimal with Miller’s emotive lyricism and unique tone at the forefront. Circles is the closest album that sees Mac deviate from his original rap persona to an accredited singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist that he has become through his extensive musical journey. Apart from the hit-worthy Disclosure-produced “Blue World”, the album is very natural in sound and instrumentation leaving room for Miller’s most notable and sombre lyricism. It's sad to know that Mac won’t progress past this album but Circles was undoubtedly the best send off any Mac Miller fans could have ever asked for.
1. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Following the release of Phoebe Bridgers debut album and the critically acclaimed collaborative record, Boygenius with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, the anticipation towards her sophomore release was high to say the least. And Phoebe delivered, and then some. Phoebe’s songwriting on the record is highly diverse and multi-dimensional, at times leaning towards the style of singer-songwriter Elliot Smith. The record is highly subtle and understated with the emotion of the record playing a key factor in the record's success and critical reception. Phoebe’s voice is hauntingly beautiful singing bittersweet melodies that would resonate even with the most emotionally unavailable. The album is entirely alive in feel although aching in isolation and longing. A record to stand the test and one revealing the bare-bones of Phoebe Bridgers as a solo artist, much like her skeletal album outfits.
Honourable mentions:
Dominic Fike - What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Disclosure - ENERGY
Smashing Pumpkins - CYR
J Hus - Big Conspiracy
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Kacey Johansing - No Better Time
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony
Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything else has Gone Wrong
Ariana Grande - Positions
Shores - Fleet Foxes
Wizkid - Made in Lagos
Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure?