2020 Real Music Review
Deeper - Auto Pain
Sometimes you need a little riff or juice punk post-rock to really wake you up again. This album was alive, got me pumped, and is the perfect “coasting down the highway” type of album. Auto Pain provides a bit of escapism even if it’s not feeling all that good. Somehow, this album would put me back into the good mood and keep me going even if its lyrical focus was about escaping the Apocalypse…. It’s got the same grit and punk as Fontaines D.C. but somehow manages to sound vocally like The Cure. Incredible baselines, spooky synths, and erratic guitar riffs. The darker corners of the lyrics somehow feel strangely bright and energized when all is combined.
Check out: Esoteric Life or Spray Paint.
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Beep bop boop.
Ok I mean I was there for Apple with The Idler Wheel and I am still convinced that Werewolf is one of my favorite songs ever written…but I have to agree with the Big Boy review companies..this album is wonderful. Apple is so talented to me because of her ability to write, sing, and produce. It’s a perfect marriage and Fetch the Bolt Cutters is no exception. I think it’s fantastic because it’s the type of female representation that I want. It’s pop without selling itself short. It’s folk without the expectations of lyricism and instrumentalism. I guess you could consider this Rock? Or perhaps Experimentalism? But the experimental pieces of FTBC feel necessary. Apple's ability to ground the album around the piano is also incredible. I can feel all of the emotion through her keys. The lyrics are stunning as well, likening herself to a fruit bat or “spreading like strawberries and climbing like peas and beans.” I love her use of outdoor metaphor and symbolism, marching on, cutting herself out of a cage, and speaking up at an annoying pompous dinner. I guess I want to be friends with Apple. I relate to her in some way…her honest feminism. It’s an amazing album with its down-to-earth presence and I feel like I could keep it spinning and continue to find new aspects that I can appreciate about this album. Bravo!
Check out: Fetch the Bolt Cutters, I Want you to Love me, and Under the Table
Dehd - Flower of Devotion
Yeah, I guess you could call me a Dehd head now. I think this album really hooked me with the amazing vocals. Lead singer, Emily Kempf expands on every word and uses their voice as an instrument to pull me in. The darker lyrics of loss and love and want to hold on or let go synchronized so well with the lush instrumentals. Each syllable is expanded on it puts me in a more dream-like state. Soft yet punk. Easy to swallow but with a bitter after-taste. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two vocalists too, their complementing singing styles really helped this album come together into something truly beautiful. I think Flower of Devotion will be a stand-out for years to come with its perfect grunge production, simple yet evoking lyrics, and it’s prolific confidence. I’m definitely a Dehd head.
Check out Loner, Flying, and Nobody
Touché Amoré - Lament
This is my favorite album of 2020. Stage Four, their 2016 album was a top one for me, but Lament hits all the right notes. It sounds like a Touché album through-and-through though it’s able to slow down and pull you in when necessary. Songs like Reminders and Limelight feel empathetic and real but instill the post-punk pit-ensuing energy that I want. It’s catchy, it’s versatile, and it’s a non-skip album. Having Manchester Orchestra on Limelight is very cathartic even if unexpected. It’s all extremely well-produced and feels empowering through lyrics that punch me in the gut when necessary, but still manages to pull itself out of the pit and into grounded reality. I could seriously listen to this album all the way through multiple times. Its post-hardcore at it’s best.
Check out: Come Heroine, and Reminders
Dogleg - Melee
This was the first album that got me this year and it’s still going strong! Not only my first album I gravitated towards, but this was also my first introduction to Dogleg, and I’m officially a fan. The high-energy DIY punk works so well through the Super Smash Bros theme of the album. The album is rock and its punk, exhilarating and bold. It’s the high-energy guitar and the youthful screams that make this album work so well. When all was pent up in the first few months of quarantine COVID, this album helped to diffuse some of the pressure and letting go when it felt too stressful. It’s a constant ride from cover to cover and a classic punk rock album that I’m sure I’ll love for years to come.
Check out: Kawasaki Backflip, and Bueno
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Oh Phoebe, her second album?! It’s nearly perfect. It’s eloquent, it’s a swell of instruments, it’s a flawless capture of human emotion. It feels like her heart on a plate; candid and real, yet playful and down-to-earth. It’s also a no-skip album in the sense that each song feels powerful in its own right. Each one has its own story, its own style, and its own composure. Given that, I also really enjoyed how each song on this album flows beautifully into the next to paint a bigger story. Unique, yet succinct. I think it’s apropos that this was the year that I fell in love with Elliot Smith, and Bridgers describes how he was one of the main influences on this album. With the conversational elements, the use of melodies, this album would make him proud. I also really appreciate including Dacus and Baker since their voices compliment each other so well. It’s stunning. I Know the End—what a way to finish it out! It’s existential dread at its finest and felt perfectly appropriate for this chaotic year. Grateful for this album, and will definitely be enjoying it for years to come.
Check out: Punisher, and Graceland Too
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
Another incredible album. Waxahatchee’s voice is unique in that it has twang but hesitates to be country. Feels like it could be indie, but still tucks nicely behind the veil of a feel-good country ballad. This album is powerful! It reverberates and positions itself as an honest ballad with heart and gusto. It’s folk in it’s best story-telling form and makes me heartache at times. I recall listening to Lilacs while some good friends and I were driving back from Truckee, enjoying a long camping weekend and boy did it feel perfect! I love how Wax will use her voice to swell and fill the lulls with the instruments. She’s fantastic at that! This album was the ideal “I want to see the world for what it is album.” It’s honest and brave and feels warm and gold-tinted. I feel fuzzy just writing about it. I could chug a Coors banquet and run into an alpine lake right now kind of a buzz. Cheers!
Check out: Lilacs and War
Bully - SUGAREGG
Ugh! Bully is just so good. Fells Like, their 2015 album is a personal favorite. SUGAREGG still stands true! SUGAREGG is wholly punk but with a sweetness to remind yourself that you’re still doing well, so keep going! Lead singer and now a solo artist for Bully, Alicia Bognanno, is a firecracker. She hooks you but then spells it out exactly how she wants. Her scream is sharp but direct and I am all ears! It’s a constant adrenaline rush, calmed by the deeper lyrics that describe Alicia’s recent diagnosis for Bipolar II. The whole album is deeply personal, yet somehow relatable. I love Bully because listening to it feels empowering. It makes me want to mosh and yell out the lyrics to Stuck in Your Head: “I wanna be in touch/Feel a little less disconnected without the crutch.” I want it all, it’s another perfect no-skip album. Give it a go!
Check out: Not Ashamed, and Where to Start
Samia - The Baby
Samia is also new to me, thanks to Spotify’s Discover Weekly, Big Wheel popped up on the playlist and I was instantly putting it on repeat. This is her debut album which is sincerely impressive considering the layers of honest lyrics, simple yet comforting instrumentals, and her powerful voice. Samia is real, and she’s sad, so, therefore, listening to Baby, I’m real sad but in the best kind of way. Her voice takes center-stage for this whole album and I am here for it. Her incredible range is sso easy to listen to and she uses her voice to capture the emotions for each song. Lyrics describe her feelings of loss, love, betrayal, and the pains of growing up. At 23 it’s the age where it all seems to happen the most. Baby might be Samia’s first, but it’s a strong start and I’m looking forward to more.
Check out: Big Wheel and Triptych
Slow Pulp - Moveys
Slow Pulp, this was truly the album that I needed this year. Guitar picks, a somber voice, depressing-as-hell lyrics. It was a strange comfort in this terrible year. I think I really love this album because of the connection between Alex G. It’s actually a big miss because I saw Sandy last year in SF and only caught the second opening, Tomberlin (also an amazing artist) but since I had never heard of Slow Pulp, the golden opportunity was sorely missed. In a lot of ways, Slow Pulp almost feels like the perfect combination of Sandy and Tomberlin; storytelling lyrics and the use of instrumentals to build and convey emotion, with the softer and sadder vocal style and lyrics. I also really dig the solely piano track, Whispers (In The Outfield). It feels very much like a Sandy move for its sheer instrumental bridge, something that I personally really love. The album is rounded out with a sincerely fun track, Movey. It feels out of place on the album for sure but somehow I love it there. It’s dancy, jazzy, bold, and fun. It’s unexpected and I love it.
Check out: Idaho and Falling Apart
Playlist
Below is a playlist with all albums and songs included. There’s a nice little bonus here with all of my favorite songs of 2020. I know it might be cheating, but if you listen to this album in order, you get a sense of all of these great artists, and then you can explore even more. It’s just too hard to pick just one and for what 2020 was, music was the one thing to keep me sane and I am so grateful for all of the great music of this year. Enjoy!