In any subject, cultural representation, art form, or even place, writing a retrospective article of the year will inevitably share whatever focus it has with one thing: the global pandemic. The relentless nature of the COVID-19 changed our ways of dealing with social issues, judge our governments and institutions, and our actual lives. The virus also outlined how unjust our systems truly are, but the response to that particular problem was, in many ways, mediocre. This is definitely an unprecedented widespread event and will left most of us in the world marked forever.

The music industry in general and us as music consumers were affected in various ways. Concerts are, as of this point, still not a possiblility, although there’s people finding alternatives, mainly streaming. Artists are still releasing music, mostly recorded remotely even if it involves many collaborators, which shines a light on how necessary and seriously relevant is artistic expression through music.

Even if we are capable of dealing with the virus and continue on as normally as possible, it’s still very unlikely that things will ever be the same. For many people, the impact COVID-19 has had on their lives may be irreparable.

Nevertheless, I’ve said it in the past, and I will probably repeat it for the rest of my life: music it’s still there. Music is a release; both a medium for isolating from reality or a quick way to satisfyingly link us with it. The truth is, lucky me, I had some extra time to connect with many albums and it’s safe to say that despite it’s varying themes, the following records didn’t failed a bit in bringing me pure joy during 2020’s demanding experiences. That’s also the reason the list is now bigger.

Here are my 25 favorite albums of 2020 and as always, and probably more than ever, I invite you to share it, discuss it or only enjoy it as that is the main purpose of this list.

I wish all of you a 2021 that, at the very least, allows us to hug again.

Honorable Mention: We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches (Modular – 2020)

25. Un Canto Por México Vol. 1 by Natalia Lafourcade

My relationship with Mexican music is one big conundrum. I’ve never payed much attention to it but at the same time have never outright ignore it. It’s a fact nevertheless that the bulk of traditional Mexican music is gigantic and worth honoring. Natalia Lafourcade knows this too and she has the sheer talent and vocal prowess to pay homage to classic Mexican songwriters. Un Canto Por México Vol. 1 is another superb chapter in her expanding work that focuses on Mexican and Latin American sounds and textures. And it’s equally successful as its predecessors. Specially if you take in account that she adds a few originals and new arrangements of previous songs that showcase her bright and sweet songwriting. Her evolution from pop outlier to the vanguard of traditional Latin music on the international stage has been quite the spectacle.

Essential cuts: ‘Veracruz’, ‘Una Vida’, ‘Cucurrucucú Paloma’.

24. The New Abnormal by The Strokes

Well, here we are. Adding to the enormous list of unexpected events this year, The Strokes returned after 7 years with their best album since Room On Fire. That’s not an overstatement. The New Abnormal finds the newyorkers sounding again like a highly functional unit. Julian Casablancas’ vocal delivery is at its most compelling and the album’s best moments are the ballads that exploit this the most, surrounded by Hammond Jr. and Valensi’s intertwining and perfectly arranged guitars. The band crafted great melodies on this record and despite the approach of returning to a familiar sound as a result of an increased rapport, the risks they take in several moments here are worth it. May this album be the beginning of a new (more) interesting stage for The Strokes.

Essential cuts: ‘At The Door’, ‘Not The Same Anymore’, ‘Selfless’.

23. Likewise by Frances Quinlan

The solo outing is a rock category on itself. How many times, frontmen and frontwomen decide to put pause on their original band to create something on their own? Frances Quinlan is a special case because her band, Hop Along, was a solo project in the first place. But after ten years of sharing and touring with other three people she felt right to come out and do Likewise. And, although the three other members of her band appear on the album, it still a very commendable output with tons and tons of her unique narrative now applied to a more personal point of view. The album sounds unfettered and gives Quinlan’s peerless voice a new context that actually helps it sound apart of Hop Along’s work and makes it all the more rewarding for that.

Essential cuts: ‘Lean’, ‘Went to LA’, ‘Rare Thing’.

22. What’s Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware

Retro-sounding would be a simplistic way to describe this album. Jessie Ware, a severely underrated singer-songwriter that has released addictive pop for 10 years now, uses What’s Your Pleasure to engage on electro-pop, synth-pop, disco and funk mixing them in a collection of songs that pursues the most attractive of escapes. The relentless groove in songs like ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Step Into My Life’ and the piercing bass-lines of ‘Oh La La’ and ‘Read My Lips’ signal that the record’s approach that reaches back a few decades is essential thanks to Jessie Ware’s stylistic choices, songwriting and its excellent production.

Essential cuts: ‘Oh La La’, ‘Adore You’, ‘Step Into My Life’.

21. Ultimate Success Today by Protomartyr

Without saying that they’ve loosen up, the post-punk band from Detroit led by the ever-ominous Joe Casey, have crafted their most widescope album. Ultimate Success Today never abandons the punchy guitars of their decade-long career or Alex Leonard’s unmistakable drumming, but it does adds new expansive elements both to the instrumentation and in songwriting choices. Haunted by Casey’s mid-life crisis after the anniversary of the band’s debut, Ultimate Success Today uses that framework to push Protomartyr’s sound forward in its own unique way, continuing the build-up of their remarkable catalogue.

Essential cuts: ‘Processed By The Boys’, ‘Michigan Hammers’, ‘Worm In Heaven’.

20. Suddenly by Caribou

Leaving somewhat behind the intricacy and defiance of his past records’ approach to electronic music, Dan Snaith, in his fifth studio album as Caribou, finds room in his music for himself. Suddenly packs great melodies and superb beats, but Snaith’s voice takes the spotlight. Upon the album he relfexes on his relationships with his family and friends and how that has shaped his life and the nature of his journey through it. All of this surrounded by layered sounds that play with subdued electronics that court ambient music and of course tracks that require nothing of the listener but dancing.

Essential cuts: ‘Home’, ‘Magpie, ‘New Jade’.

19. Ultra Mono by Idles

It’s there in the first 20 seconds of opener ‘War’: Idles, one of the most engaging post-punk bands of the last decade, have not and will not recede one bit. Their third album, Ultra Mono, while a mild step-down from the outstanding Joy As An Act Of Resistance, keeps the momentum going, the critique ablazing and the sounds as hard as Idles can make them. The bashing of the socio-politcal state of the world and toxic masculinity is intact and the band achieves once more to keep every track as piercing as the last.

Essential cuts: ‘War’, ‘Mr. Motivator’, ‘Carcinogenic’.

18. Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Coming out of an stellar collaboration with Madlib in 2019, Freddie Gibbs, an Indiana rapper that has kept his great career in the underground, teams up with hip-hop producer The Alchemist in this collection of songs that bring out the best in each other. Alfredo mixes subdued, piano-based beats with sparse and slow production, anchoring perfectly Gibbs bars and diverse rapping style. Adding guests like Rick Ross and Tyler, The Creator and giving them their space and time, Alfredo comes out as a very enjoyable but still unique hip-hop record.

Essential cuts: ‘Scottie Beam’, ‘Something To Rap About’, ‘Skinny Suge’.

17. Song For Our Daughter by Laura Marling

Laura Marling is underrated. Her discography throughout the last ten years is considerably more consistent than most of her peers and she has at least 3 great albums under her name. Well, add the best one. Song For Our Daughter is Marling’s most reflective and piercing album as she questions loving relationships and discusses how things could possibly turn out if she ever has a daughter. The music is characteristically folky, but this time the intricate songwriting elevates each piece of instrumentation to help the album feel moving and deep.

Essential cuts: ‘Alexandria’, ‘Held Down’, ‘Song for Our Daughter’.

16. Untitled (Black Is) by Sault

Sault is an enigmatic British R&B  collective, whose exact members remain unknown and they have virtually no contact with the press. They talk through their music. In this project (one of two releases in 2020) the group combines funk, soul, hip-hop and groovy R&B to craft a detailed and wide-open discussion of the Black experience. This is Black music made by Black people and its resonance, specially in 2020, can’t be understated. Moreover, the album packs impeccable groove and combined with its companion album, it’s a decidedly poignant musical experience.

Essential cuts: ‘Hard Life’, ‘Wildfires’, ‘Pray Up Stay Up’.

15. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee

Katie Crutchfield, in her fifth Waxahatchee release, sounds free. It not only represents a new stage in her life, it is also a deeply personal recount of how the journey has been to this moment in particular. Written after deciding to get sober, the album explores the feelings of this new state against the backdrop of the previous pain. The songs are carefree folk-rock written with Cruthfield’s characteristic penchant for simple melody and instrumentation. After a decade of creating music with a peculiar haze, Waxahatchee’s focus in Saint Cloud results in a sound made for open eyes and wider spaces filled with one of indie rock’s most mystical voices.

Essential cuts: ‘Fire’, ‘Lilacs’, ‘St. Cloud’.

14. Miles: From An Interlude Called Life by Blu & Exile

The latest (and greatest) discovery I made in the year. Miles is a sprawling 95 minute hip-hop album from the duo Blu & Exile, and their first since 2012. In most of the tracks here, Exile’s beats and heavy sampling create an atmosphere of more classic-leaning hip-hop, creating a perfect background for Blu’s incessant and colorful rapping. The songs are long-winding allowing Blu to reflect on Black history, its influence on popular culture and music, and his own views and experiences with these themes. It’s all in there in the 9 minute centerpiece ‘Roots of Blue’, but Blu’s richly detailed poetry and Exile’s nuanced production allow for the whole experience to be worth every minute.

Essential cuts: ‘The Feeling’, ‘Music Is My Everything’, ‘Roots Of Blue’.

13. Songs/Instrumentals by Adrianne Lenker

Adrianne Lenker is on a hot streak. And it all comes to how good of a songwriter she is. After her great solo album, Abysskiss in 2018, and a double release with her band in 2019 (both awesome), she comes back again with a set of songs that turn out as her most personal. Songs, and its companion Instrumentals, were recorded in isolation in a pine cabin in Massachusetts. Of course, the thoughts that bloom off of this state, that in 2020 was wide-spread, influence the lyricism in the record. However this is the most upfront record Lenker has released both in the way she wrote these songs and the way she harness its atmoshpere to just let go.

Essential cuts: ‘Anything’, ‘Dragon Eyes’, ‘Forwards Beckon Rebound’.

12. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens

Every Sufjan Steven’s album release is bound to be special. This is, in part, because he actually never stops putting out music. But his proper albums, released every five years since 2005, are always interesting because of how much he will invest in them. The Ascension is, thankfully, no exception because it’s an ambitious 80-minute record comprised of songs that take Sufjan to a further exploration of his beliefs and existential conundrums. He does so with songs that use electronic sounds with different dynamics, instrumentation and ambience, whether is the thunderous chorus of ‘Tell Me You Love Me’ or the dramatic finale in ‘America’. This is yet another artistic statement from a musician that appears to be as tireless as he is faithful.

Essential cuts: ‘Video Game’, ‘The Ascension’, ‘Tell Me You Love Me’.

11. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

Being one of the most celebrated albums of the year was definitely a given when this record came out. Released just in the wake of the worldwide lockdown, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, only the fifth album in Apple’s 20+ years career, is as ground-shaking and bold as its predecessors. Recorded over a period of 8 years, mostly secluded in her house (used as an instrument), with several collaborators (including dogs), every song on the album is a unique piece of a rambling puzzle. Apple focuses in gut-wrenching accounts of her own sufferings and painful experiences, deep reflections of relationships and depression, and stating her place as a woman in the music industry and the world at large. You better fetch her those damn cutters.

Essential Cuts: ‘Shameika’, ‘Under The Table’, ‘Cosmonauts’.

10. Gold Record by Bill Callahan

On his last record, Bill Callahan, states he started “writing again”. This was expressed in the context of his newfound stable life. Being the inventive songwriter he is, Callahan continues on Gold Record the discussion about being married, having a child and the whole paraphernalia of settling down. His wisdom brings a certain glow to every song on the album portraying it as a cohesive effort, successful in showcasing Callahan’s vision. His homages to life, Ry Cooder and his own music (see: ‘Let’s Move to the country’) work because they are the result of a 30 years career from the artist once known as Smog who just wants to keep the wheel turning.

Essential cuts: ‘Pigeons’, ‘Protest Song’, ‘As I Wander’.

9. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers

Phoebe Bridgers sheer honesty has taken her high in the indie-rock scene. Punisher follows her acclaimed debut and her side-project with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, boygenius. It improves in its predecessor in every way imaginable: the potency of the songs, her impeccable songwriting and the piercing instrumentation. There’s the engaging music of ‘Kyoto’ surrounding Bridgers’ musings on her recent tour to Japan or the devastating analysis of a relationship in ‘Savior Complex’. Bridgers definitely brings her life and mind to the crafting of Punisher and every track is all the better for it.

Essential cuts: ‘Kyoto’, ‘Savior Complex’, ‘ICU’.

8. Song Machine, Season 1: Strange Timez by Gorillaz

The virtual band created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are an institution. Their output is far from perfect but it any case it’s true, their influence is unescapable. 2D and company had an uneven output during the 2010s, after the release of the great Plastic Beach in 2010, but it seems they’ve been gearing up to this. Song Machine strikes the ideal balance between the melodies and personality Albarn has given to Gorillaz and the ever-expanding (now huge) stream of collaborators and their penchant to explore many music genres. In every track here, the guest is given space within the context of a song who’s main protagonist is still Gorillaz. There’s plenty of reasons to be excited for the second season.

Essential cuts: ‘Momentary Bliss’, ‘Desolé’, ‘Aries’.

7. Women In Music Pt. III by Haim

I said it in my review, this is Haim’s best album. Women In Music Pt. III is an excellent exercise in crafting unapologetic and unfettered pop music. The Haim sisters bring their own personal experiences to the forefront, pay homage to the city that saw them grow as musicians and as women, and craft songs that tackle several genres in a pristinely produced set of tracks. Soft-rock, folk, R&B and perfect pop are combined to make WIMPIII a wonderful example of how the sisters have shattered the percieved roles they should fulfill in the music industry. The bursting nature of this album establishes them as LA luminaries without a doubt.

Essential cuts: ‘Don’t Wanna’, ‘Gasoline’, ‘Leaning On You’.

6. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius

Throughout the last decade, Mike Hadreas, writing as Perfume Genius, has explored the realms of what can be done with a pop song burgeoning with feeling. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately the singer-songwriter’s fifth album is an accomplished record that further explores this to great results. There’s bursting electronics, industrial rhythms, heavenly synths and gentle guitars, and at the center of it all is Hadreas’ voice and his reckoning with desire, aging and loss. Listening to Perfume Genius catalogue seems like a trail that has reached a high-point in the widescope nature of Set My Heart On Fire Immediatly, an album from an artist unlike any other in today’s musical landscape.

Essential cuts: ‘Without You’, ‘On The Floor’, ‘Nothing At All’.

5. Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas

English neo-soul singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas is one of the last decade’s answers to the need of a great performer of pure soul music. In her third, self-titled record, Lianne goes way beyond her previous output, harnessing the power of sould and R&B, and her vocal expertise. She creates songs with the soft and steady sound of the genre, but also manages to pack moments of outstanding magnitude. She even included a superb rendition of Radiohead’s ‘Weird Fishes’, an uncommon song to cover, in the middle of a record that broadly traces the process of a loving relationship. Lianne’s songwriting really shines as equally as her voice in what is her best effort to date.

Essential cuts: ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Weird Fishes’, ‘Please Don’t Make Me Cry’.

4. Circles by Mac Miller

“Everybody’s gonna die” sings Mac Miller. For me, a case study of how fame, substance abuse and depression, things once asssumed intrinsic to an artist’s life, eventually finish his or her life. The thing is, despise these factors, the death of an artist can still occur unexpectedly and in particularly harsh circumstances. Before his sad passing, Mac Miller was on a steady growth from his early, sloppy years to a more nuanced and caring approach to his music. Circles is striking evidence of this evolution. Track by track Miller is shown adding new ideas in his writing of approachable and frequently beautiful songs. May this be an example to analyze how we see, judge and talk about musicians’ personal lives and the implicit struggles of their art. R.I.P.

Essential cuts: ‘Circles’, ‘Good News’, ‘Everybody’.

3. Every Bad by Porridge Radio

Ground-breaking is an adjective that could be used to describe Porridge Radio’s second album, Every Bad, and it still wouldn’t hit the note. The english band, fronted by Dana Margolin, starts the album with her stating: “I’m bored to death let’s argue”, and that is less a confrontation than a direct expression of the need to burst when you have something to say, and she definitely has. Throughout the album Margolin ranges from sweet singing to outraged cries repeating her lyrics like a necessary mantra while the music the band composes around her is earnest and pulsating, morphing with each change of phrase and imploding when it feels the need to. The urge of the album is summarized in the cathartic climax of ‘Lilac’: “I want us to be kinder to ourselves and to each other!” Margolin pleads. Every Bad breaks ground and embraces hope all at the same time.

Essential cuts: ‘Long’, ‘Lilac’, ‘Sweet’.

2. Off Off On by This Is The Kit

When I first listened to This Is The Kit, the alias for British songwriter Kate Stables, I was dazzled. I got to know her supporting and lending her voice to The National’s last album, and it was a great presentation. With This Is The Kit, Stables has released music that embraces folk sounds without sticking to a formula, seizing rhythms and elements from many different inspirations. Off Off On excels on this. Excellently produced, the album flows with ease, with the smooth instrumentation, sometimes urgently and vibrating and sometimes with poise, framing Stables voice. I found myself returning to the album more frequently than I expected to, because it is inviting and holds you in a tight embrace as if Kate Stables is recounting her intricate stories of love, identity and the human experience, right to your ear.

Essential cuts: ‘This Is What You Did’, ‘Off Off On’, ‘Was Magician’

1. Shore by Fleet Foxes

It just resounded with me. In a year where everybody needed something to hold on to, a safe escape, a refuge, Robin Pecknold gave us one. This is the evidence that Pecknold has kept Fleet Foxes with purpose and filled with ideas to the brim. The music on Shore sounds far-reaching and poignant. The songs are focused in creating ear-filling sound, expressing tunes like a painter filling the canvas with carefully planned brush strokes. The most engaging part about this is that, not only the music invites you to take a moment and observe, Pecknold asks questions that, this year, went way beyond speakers. He pays homage to late musicians, he offers a hand in the middle of a crisis, and questions his own dealing with uncertainty and death, and copes with it. Fleet Foxes have the credit of an outstanding career, there’s few (or none) folks band like them and yet, aside from Pecknold’s amazing musicianship, what distinguishes them is the ability to create something grounded and expansive simultaneously. And there’s not better example of this than Shore, an album that sets you free with each listen while inviting you to deal forefront with what aggravates you, realizing that life itself is worth it.

Essential cuts: ‘Sunblind’ (my favorite song of the year, this was not a coincidence), ‘For A Week Or Two’, ‘Maestranza’.

Apple Music 🙂