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 2016 - 29. THE AVALANCHES - WILDFLOWER

29. THE AVALANCHES - WILDFLOWER 

They did it. They came back. I'd been waiting 15 years for a follow up to Since I Left You which was such a breath of fresh air in 2001 - a dream album of samples - a vision, a quest and not just a mix-tape or something you just chuck on. It was something to get washed up in, escape on the beach in your head on the metro.

Wildflower doesn't fizz and chime and sway as much as the previous effort. However, it feels like an album full of episodes. And boy do those episodes build up the suspense. There's a sense of kinetic energy throughout the record that's only ruined by the atrocious  "The Noisy Eater" - a highly one-dimensional song about eating everything under the sun - MF Doom sailed that ship a while ago with Mm.. Food in 2004 - a fantastic culinary opus.

And he appears here on Wildflower on "Frankie Sinatra," the third track that absolutely picks up the intrigue, even though Danny Brown takes most of the spoils. Then follows some amazing guest appearances - most notable Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev -  but nothing can prepare us for the last track "Saturday Night Inside Out" which is pure poetry over beautiful wafted-in electronica and brings tears freshly delivered. Nice to have them back.