Spaghetti Blogonese's Top 25 albums of 2020

 

As the year 2020 was a showshit of a year, it was apt that the musical output was top-notch. Never before had I needed an LP to drop like it did on 11th December by The Avalanches - crafting a sumptuous concept album about love and light, against all the odds. Fleet Foxes continued to mesmerise with their fourth epic seasonal majesty, coninciding with the start of autumn. Crack Cloud, a bunch of recovered addicts from Vancouver knocked up a sublime debut of eccentric post-punk. Faten Kanaan hypnotised me with her meditative frozen landscapes - perfect for winter. Freddie Gibbs delivered on all his potential, by finding his stride over The Alchemist's hazy production - Freddie proving to be the ultimate street rapper.

Erland Cooper came in time for a spring, with a pastoral concept LP of folk and orchestral lore located off the north of Scotland. Nadia Reid, down there in New Zealand offered up a heart-achingly gorgeous folk record. Regarding explosive jazz, Shabaka & The Ancestors really came through with a rootsy, primordial investigation into where the origin of humanity lays. Dan Bejar brought the old Shadow Power (my student radio alias) vibes back with one of his career bests of surreal and vivifying songwriting and Oneohtrix Point Never followed up his stellar work on the Uncut Gems soundtrack by dropping his ninth album of spangly, dimension-bending white elephants.

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1. THE AVALANCHES – WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

2.FLEET FOXES – SHORE

3. CRACK CLOUD – PAIN OLYMPICS

4.FATEN KANAAN – A MYTHOLOGY OF CIRCLES

5. FREDDIE GIBBS - ALFREDO

6. ERLAND COOPER – HETHER BLETHER

7. NADIA REID – OUT OF MY PROVINCE

8. SHABAKA & THE ANCESTORS – WE ARE SENT HERE BY HISTORY

9. DESTROYER – HAVE WE MET

10. ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER – MAGIC ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

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11. CARIBOU - SUDDENLY

12. BONNIE LIGHT HORSEMAN – BONNIE LIGHT HORSEMAN

13. BC CAMPLIGHT – SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF

14. U.S. GIRLS – HEAVY LIGHT

15. THURSTON MOORE – BY THE FIRE

16. BILL CALLAHAN – GOLD RECORD

17. JARV. IS – BEYOND THE PALE

18. I BREAK HORSES – WARNINGS

19. THE STROKES – THE NEW ABNORMAL

20. WILMA ARCHER – A WESTERN CIRCULAR

21. MIKE POLIZZE – LONG LOST SOLACE FIND

22. THE SOFT PINK TRUTH – SHALL WE GO ON SINNING…

23. FIONA APPLE – FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS

24. CRAVEN FAULTS – ERRATICS & UNCONFORMITIES

25. EINSTURZENDE NEUBATEN – ALLES IN ALLEM

Albums of the Decade - 40. Anohni - Hopelessness (2016)

 40. ANOHNI - HOPELESSNESS (2012) 

Still up in here clearing the backlog - but Anohni - formerly of Antony and the Johnsons - made the most direct protest album of modern times, dealing with surveillance, drone warfare and climate change to name but three issues it tackles.

The stellar voice was still there - albeit over more of an electronic backdrop than that of the chamber-pop of yesteryear, but alas, the job was a good'un. It was aural nourishment to have one of the most unorthodox heavyweights land an album of such magnitude, especially with Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke at the production desk.

Anohni, sweet Anohni, where shallst they goeth next? 

top records of 2011 - 18. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

18. ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - REPLICA

Built outta samples. That means nothing though. This is nothing like DJ Shadow or The Avalanches. Nor is it anything like Returnal which featured highly on this very blog last year. That album felt like you were on board Deep Space 9 or some shit.

This though is a totally different animal. Taking 80's commercials and splicing them together. I am scrolling down on Metacritic about this LP to get some collective adjectives. Mad and weird and eerie and beautiful seems to be the common consensus. It makes me wanna say off-kilter and "makes me wanna smelter."

The burst of absurdism is dedicated to Aubrey Ford. His wit and competence to produce such output like "Go shuck yourself!" sends shivers down the spine. Thanks man.



CREEPY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r3cBP1xgag