As I sit here reflecting on the madness that has been
2020, it is easy to dwell on the amount of live music that we all missed this
year. That void, however, allowed us to digest more music at home than ever, both
on record and via streaming performances, and fortunately there were some
artists who really came through this year. This year was also one of my most
productive as an artist, but that recap shall be saved for another entry.
What follows is my Top 20+ of 2020. These are the records
that I could not stop listening to, and will likely continue to spin for ages
to come.
1) The Beths: Jump Rope
Gazers
With their second album, this wonderful quartet from New
Zealand accomplished the unthinkable – they followed their immaculate debut
with an album that is every bit its equal. I actually cannot think of another
band besides The Beatles who managed to pull off an opening two-shot so
flawlessly. REM may come the closest, in terms of perfection, though their
second album sounded completely different than their first while Van Halen II, which
was an outstanding follow-up to an immaculate debut, was more or less a carbon
copy, and nowhere near as iconic…same deal with King Crimson, and as good as October was for U2, it does not hold a
candle to the sheer brilliance of Boy. The
Beths, however, take the momentum gained with 2018’s Future Me Hates Me, and they build upon it without trying to be too
clever, too complacent, or straying too far from the point. Only the title
track, “Jump Rope Gazers”, deviates from their usual sound, it being a slower,
more reflective sort of song, but it still could only have come from this band,
and just might be the best song on the album. Elsewhere, the energy of
Elizabeth Stokes’ writing carries over to the grooves on this album and is the
kind that makes you flip the record over and over and over and over. As a
writer, singer, and guitar player, my adoration for her could not be higher. It
is impossible to get sick of this band and I can only hope that they can
maintain this path for their third album.
I keep thinking back to the last band who had a debut
album as good as The Beths. That band was Alabama Shakes, whose 2012 debut, Boys & Girls, is a timeless classic
and one of the very best albums of the last decade. It then took them four
years to craft a follow-up and, just like the Stone Roses and their long-anticipated
Second Coming, it was very successful
but also an overblown mess that ultimately killed the band.
The Beths, on the other band, managed to capture
lightning in a bottle twice and the result is not only the best album of 2020
but it is the album by which all that follows will be judged.
2) Motorpsycho: The All
Is One
Honestly, were it not for The Beths, this album would
have clinched the top spot with iron claws. Celebrating their 30th
anniversary as a band, Norway’s finest mark the occasion by not letting up one
bit. Depending on how you count it this could be Motorpsycho’s 21st
album, or it could be #27 or so. Whatever the case, this further proves that,
no matter which direction they take, this band can do no wrong. The All Is One is the third in a
loosely-configured trilogy that includes 2017’s The Tower and last year’s The
Crucible, and it is a double album tour de force that features some of the
band’s heaviest jams, some of their proggiest epics, and some of their most
tender, harmonically rich songs as well. At the center of the album is the
41-minute suite, “N.O.X.”, which spans the entirety of sides 2 & 3 of the
vinyl and goes in about as many directions as a piece can go – heavy, spacy,
tender, trancy, driven, detached, and
fiercely on point. For any other band, this suite would be a crowning achievement.
With Motorpsycho, it’s just another cool thing that they managed to pull off. Bookending
this suite are two sides of shorter songs that stand among the band’s best
work, especially “The Magpie”, which is one of the greatest songs of the band’s
entire career. The title track kicks off the album in epic fashion, with shades
of Yes and Genesis buried deep within that otherworldly Motorpsycho vibe.
Spacier and more lighthearted vibes inform songs like “A Little Light” and “The
Dowser”, which is one of so many songs that prove that Motorpsycho can pull off
delicate just as well as they do heavy. “Like Chrome” concludes the album with
a riff that sounds like a perfect finale. The great thing about Motorpsycho is
that even though they have been a band for 30 years, they are still relatively
young and so long as Bent and Snah stay healthy and never have a major
falling-out, there could easily be another 30 years ahead of them. And I will
hang on the entire time. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Whatever it is, it will be amazing, because this band can do no wrong.
3) Phish: Sigma Oasis
The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 effectively
shut down live performances and many bands had to resort to creative means in
order to remain afloat during those crazy times. Some bands simply went on
hiatus while others continued to perform, in some capacity, broadcasting their
craft into people’s homes on a pay-per-view basis. Fortunately, money is barely
an object for the four members of Phish so they used that opportunity to create
music and give back to their fans. For much of the time when everyone was stuck
at home, Phish hosted a weekly series where they would stream video of a full
show, for free. Sometimes those streams were recycled webcasts from the last
decade or so, and sometimes they were vintage snapshots of the band in their
youth. Elsewhere, Trey Anastasio took it a step further by renting out the
Beacon Theatre for eight weeks, staging a unique performance every Friday
evening in October and November, also for free. He also released two albums –
one live album with his solo band as well as a studio album that was created
totally in isolation during the initial lockdown period. On top of all that,
Phish had a new studio album in the can, their first in four years. While the
album had a release date planned for the fall, the band surprise-released it on
April Fool’s Day, of all days….again, for free.
For a band who relies on touring for income, and whose touring plans had
fizzled out for the year (and beyond), this level of generosity is
saint-worthy, made even more so by the fact that Sigma Oasis is the band’s finest studio offering in over two
decades. All of the songs are ones that have been in the band’s live rotation
for some time – “Evening Song” is the most recent, having been debuted during
last year’s New Year’s run, while “Steam” has been around since 2011. Recorded
in The Barn, this is the band’s first album to exclusively feature songs by
Trey Anastasio since 2000’s Farmhouse
but, while that album sounded more or less like a solo album with Phish as the
backing band, this new album brings Phish down to its essence. This is no more
evident than on “Everything’s Right”, which features one of the only instances
of a “Type II” jam on an album, giving a glimpse of what it’s like when this
song is played on stage. While this album never goes off the deep end, it also
does not restrain itself in the least. Having Vance Powell produce this,
instead of Bob Ezrin or Steve Lillywhite, was about as wise a move as they
could have made, as he is someone who knows how to get down to the essence of
this band – between Sigma Oasis and
Trey’s 2019 opus, Ghosts Of The Forest,
Powell has proven himself invaluable and he should be their in-house producer
from here on out. In fact, this album has been almost fully embraced by the
Phish online fan community, which is almost unheard of. This album is that good.
4) Fish: Weltschmerz
Fish has maintained quite an impressive solo career in
the 32 years since he left Marillion, filled with ups and downs, triumphs and
flops, and some of the most poetic rock & roll in the world. Weltschmerz is
Fish’s 11th solo album – and it is his last. Or so he claims - he’s
threatened retirement more times than I have. This time, it’s possible that he
means it, and if that is the case then the man is going out with a mighty bang.
This double album was a long time coming (his last album was 2013’s superb
Feast Of Consequences) and it features all the elements of prime Fish – long,
dramatic, ethereal epics, as well as shorter and punchier songs, and some of
the most literate, heartfelt lyrics from any writer. The entire album is killer
– every time I want to single out a particular track I am reminded of all the
other songs on this album. That said, the title track is explosive and others
like “Garden Of Remembrance” and “Rose Of Damascus” are beautiful and
meditative, while “The Party’s Over” spells it all out against an inspiring
Celtic groove. Fish has the kind of voice that can make any lyric sound deep.
Fortunately he has the pen to match. I really hope that this is not the last we
hear of Fish, but if this is his parting shot, he could not have possibly made
a grander exit.
5) Trey Anastasio:
Lonely Trip
We already discussed above how Trey Anastasio was the
hardest-working musical hero of the pandemic. Besides his offerings with Phish,
his live TAB album, and the eight weeks he spent at the Beacon Theatre, Trey
kicked it all off by dealing with quarantine the way that I would have – by
writing and recording music at home. Trey chronicled the creation of this album
through a series of very clever Instagram videos, which were fun, but to have
it all gathered in one package is a special treat. Most of these songs were
written with longtime lyricists Tom Marshall & Scott Herman and many of
them deal with life in lockdown. As is usually the case, even the bleakest song
in this set has a shimmering glimmer of hope. Many of these songs are of a very
different nature than what we usually expect from Trey, while others are
destined to be future Phish classics. While this album features Trey playing
all the instruments himself, most (if not all) of these songs were played by
TAB during the Beacon run, and all were opened up to reveal greater depths than
a bedroom album can offer. That said – and coming from a man whose entire life
consists of homemade solo albums – this is brilliant and one of my favorite
things this guy has offered us yet.
6) Fantastic Negrito:
Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, otherwise known as Fantastic
Negrito, is one of those rare artists who blast onto the scene, completely out
of nowhere, deep into middle age, and lay it down like they have been at the
top of their field forever. His masterful fourth album is the kind of record
that can fully, and eloquently, answer the question – what is “black” music? That question sounds about as broad as a question
could be, but this album seriously covers all of the bases. He refers to his
music as “black roots music for everyone” and he is right on the mark. You hear
elements of everything in here – soul, blues, funk, spirituals, gospel, folk,
hip-hop, afropop, rock & roll, and even a bit of jazz. Sometimes this
eclecticism occurs within the framework of a single song which is
mind-expanding, to say the least. This is also one of those albums that is so
full of intricate layers, and says so many things, that every time you hear it
you will hear something new. Every song is a masterpiece and there are few
albums that fill my soul in the way that this does. This should be required
listening for everyone.
7) Guided By Voices:
Mirrored Aztec
Bob Pollard resurrected the Guided By Voices
name in 2016 with the fully-solo album, Please
Be Honest, and swiftly assembled a new lineup that has proven to be the
most durable lineup in the band’s history. It is also – shockingly – the most
prolific. Since 2017, this lineup has recorded and released NINE full-length
albums (two of which are double albums) and have already announced plans for
more. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which being that, at least
for now, all of Bob’s work is channeled into GbV, rather than a myriad of side
projects. There is also the simple fact that, in this modern lineup of the
band, Bob has a group of players who can play pretty much anything. Some albums
are totally dominated by Bob while others feature contributions from the other
members, some of which are outstanding. Mirrored
Aztec is the second of three albums to come in 2020, coming about six
months after the excellent Surrender Your
Poppy Field. I quite liked that album and I have yet to hear the
just-released Styles We Paid For but Mirrored Aztec is my pick for GbV album
of the year. All the elements that make up GbV are here; Bob calls them the “4
P’s” – pop, punk, psych, & prog. The best albums contain a dash of each,
and this album, which also sports a really cool sleeve, is tops. Of course,
once I hear Styles We Paid For, it
may all change. It always does.
8) Blitzen Trapper:
Future Jokes Holy Smokes
The three years that separated Wild And Reckless and this year’s Future Jokes Holy Smokes was the longest gap in Blitzen Trapper’s
career. During that time, however, the band reissued 2008’s iconic FURR, with an extra LP of outtakes and
alternate versions, toured that album (the only time thus far that I have seen
them live), and took advantage of Record Store Day to issue two previously
unreleased albums as well as an EP of kid’s songs – or, the kind of kid’s songs
you would expect this band to come up with. So the landscape has not been
bleak, but new Blitzen Trapper is always always always cause for celebration
and this new album which, due to the pandemic, was not released with the level
of fanfare one would expect, is a really cool, laid-back, low-key affair that
picks up in that murky corner where Wild
And Reckless left off. Nothing on this album rocks too terribly hard.
Instead we are treated to ten songs that hover in the ethereal-folk realm,
anchored by that classic loping beat that is a signature of Blitzen Trapper’s
finest work. In fact, I think the band’s re-acquaintance with FURR was perhaps the biggest influence
on this record, as a lot of this reminds me of that classic. As always, the
songs are expertly written and as deep as ever. Eric Earley has a way of
expressing himself as a writer and a singer that puts you right there in the
depths of his soul, where every word he sings is heartfelt and
relatable…..seriously, he can make anything sound like a great story, and this
band has everything it takes to make those stories sound as convincing as they
can be. I cannot wait to see this band again.
9) Paul McCartney:
McCartney III
No one was exempt from coronavirus restrictions this
year, not even Sir Paul. As many songwriters did, Paul took advantage of this
forced downtime and got cracking on some songs. Some of them were brand new,
and some were unfinished from the last couple of years, that got set aside for
a rainy day. Fully performed and produced by Paul – his third such album, hence
the III in the title – there is a sense of immediacy to this material that
often gets lost in the big studio, high dollar quest for perfection. Paul has
said that he didn’t spend much time tinkering with these tracks, rather just
laying down his parts, mixing it, and moving on. One of the most dangerous
mistakes an artist can make is to second guess themselves. That strive for
perfection often strips layers of character along the way and what you are left
with is something that is too refined for its own good. By removing that part
of the process we get to hear what the song is actually supposed to sound like.
The result is one of the most satisfying releases of McCartney’s entire
post-Beatles career.
10) AC/DC: Power Up
47 years after forming, AC/DC deliver their
17th studio album and further prove that this band can do no wrong.
Featuring the classic lineup of Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, and
Phil Rudd, with Stevie Young replacing the late Malcolm, this band sounds every
bit as fiery as they did in 1980. Two things immediately come to mind when
listening to this album:
1) How is it possible
that this band has not yet run out of riffs? You would think that there was a
finite number of ways to rock a killer riff, but AC/DC just keeps them coming.
2) Brian Johnson sounds
just as good as he did 40 years ago, when he debuted with the band on Back In
Black. How is it possible to not only maintain your voice for that long, but to
maintain THAT voice for that long?
The
thing about AC/DC is this: they may have made the same album several times
over, which some people like to criticize them for, but it is a KILLER album.
Theirs is a formula best not messed with. This is a band that knows exactly why
it exists, is fully aware of its strengths, and plays into them perfectly. This
album rightly debuted at #1 in at least two dozen countries and, in fact, Power
Up had made it onto this list before I’d even heard it, because I just knew it
belonged here. And it does.
11) Kansas: The Absence
Of Presence
Another band that is celebrating 47 years
this year is one of the most enduring American prog outfits from the 70’s. Like
many enduring prog bands, Kansas has had its share of lineup changes and,
currently, only Rich Williams and Phil Ehart remain from the original lineup
that dominated the airwaves in their first decade together. Unfortunately this
means that longtime vocalist Steve Walsh is long gone but Ronnie Platt does a
hell of a job in his stead, on his second album with the band. 2016’s The Prelude Implicit was the first album
to bear the Kansas name in 16 years, and was a most triumphant statement of
purpose that is only bettered by this new set. The songs are heavy, dominated
by David Ragsdale’s violin, and the writing is outstanding. So many bands from
their era struggle to remain relevant, or fall into a bunch of cheesy,
underwritten material. Kansas, however, looks to their past as well as the
current prog scene, to come up with a set of songs that are as strong as, if
not stronger than, the best of their
work. Amazingly, the majority of the material on this album is provided by the
band’s two newest members – guitarist Zak Rizvi and keyboardist Tom Brislin,
who has played with everyone from Yes to Camel to Meat Loaf. These are
musicians who know and fully understand the spirit of Kansas, in their most
fundamental form. This new blood energizes the band and the material and
elevates this album to the highest echelon of their catalogue.
12) Bruce Springsteen:
Letter To You
47 years is the magic number this year, as Bruce is
another artist who made his debut in 1973. His career has had many twists and
turns over that time but he has always managed to stay true to himself and his
vision, both for better and for worse. The last decade has had its ups and
downs for the Boss. 2009’s Working On A
Dream was a decent album, mostly made up of leftovers from 2007’s Magic, and mostly having the same feel
and few landmark moments. 2012 brought about Wrecking Ball which was one of Bruce’s finest efforts. Two years
later came High Hopes which was a
hodge-podge of outtakes, re-recordings, covers, and a couple of new songs. Most
of it was pretty good but it hung together as well as an odds &sods set
would. Bruce then spent a couple of years working on his memoir, and then
taking it to Broadway for a year of fantastic (but identical) performances.
Finally, in 2019, Bruce unleashed a solo album called Western Stars, which had been recorded years before. It was a
beautiful set of hushed, understated songs that moved me, perplexed me, and also
failed to stick with me (give it time, they say….i will). Imagine our surprise when, barely a year
later, another album was announced. And it featured the E Street Band. Very
exciting. The album itself has its ups and downs. The opening track, “One
Minute You’re Here”, starts the album off in an extremely slow note, but then
picks up with songs like “Burnin’ Train” and the title track. The true power of
this album comes in the last five songs. “Rainmaker”, the only song on this
album to address “Trump’s America”, is one of the greatest things Bruce has done
in ages, and “Ghosts” is going to be a killer live tune. For this album, Bruce
unearthed three old legendary unreleased songs and gave each one a fresh new
treatment. “If I Was The Priest”, one of my favorite songs and the song that
first got John Hammond interested in signing Bruce to Columbia, is revisited
here in a version that literally gave me goosebumps from head to toe. Recorded
live in Bruce’s home studio over the course of five days last fall, this is
precisely the kind of album we should be hearing from the E Street Band and,
given the ease of the process, and the prolific nature of the Boss’ pen, there
should be many more albums like this to come.
13) The Psychedelic Furs: Made Of Rain
2020 was the year where all the geezers made good. Among
those geezers are the Psychedelic Furs, one of the greatest of the early 80’s
post-punk bands. After taking most of the 90’s off, the Furs regrouped in 2000
and have been touring steadily ever since. For some reason, however, they never
bothered to make a new album until now, which is something that had irritated
me for quite some time. Now that this album is here I am of two minds – utterly
bewildered at the fact that it took them 20 years to finally get around to
making an album that sounds less like a comeback and more like they’ve been
making records all along; and also thinking that if it actually took them 20
years to come up with an album as good as this, then perhaps the wait was worth
it. This album sounds modern but it is also unmistakably the Furs. Richard
Butler has one of those voices that will immediately transport you back to the
1980’s and the John Hughes universe, while still feeling fresh. I really hope
this is the start of a creative rebirth and not a long overdue exclamation
point. Either way, this album is a gift.
14) X: Alphabetland
Another band of geezers that brought the heat this year
is X, who released their first album since 1993’s Hey Zeus! The band never really
quit playing during that time, aside from a brief hiatus around the millennium,
and I have no idea why it took them so long to finally make an album but the
wait was worth it. The band, who still features all four original members,
sounds better than ever, playing with a level of energy highly unusual for a
band who is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of its
debut album. Straddling punk, rockabilly, and roots-rock, this album blasts
through 11 songs in 27 minutes and not one single note is wasted. X has always
been a band with such a level of cool that it is almost impossible for them to
disappoint, even when they have changed direction. Alphabetland, however, finds X in their purest form and is one of
the great late-career albums.
15) The Smashing Pumpkins: CYR
While not as old as the above-mentioned bands, The
Smashing Pumpkins are still a band of geezers and this new album, the second to
feature the ¾ original lineup reunion, finds William and the boys settling into
a very distinct 80’s electro vibe, almost fully to brilliant effect. With guitars taking a
backseat in a most dramatic way since 1998’s Adore, this album features one infectious synthpop anthem after
another. The only issue I have with this album is, being a double album, it is
just too much of the same for too long. I would have preferred more diversity,
but Corgan has never really worked that way – every album has its own mood and
its own flavor. The key, then, is to take this album in halves. What you get
then are two Pumpkins albums that, while very similar, most certainly belong on
this list. The title track, I would easily place into the top ten – or maybe
even top five Pumpkins songs of all time. Yet another late-period masterpiece
on this list.
16) moe.: This Is Not We Are / Not Normal
Celebrating 30 years as a band, moe. can now officially
be placed on a list of geezers who made good this year. In the years following
2014’s No Guts No Glory, moe.
continued to tour and, at times, bring out big batches of new material, to be
tested on the road. Along the way, bassist Rob Derhak had cancer and the band
was off the road for a year or so, as he dealt with that. It is beautiful to
see him back to full strength, and sounding better than ever. Given the wealth
of material the band had to work with, it was clear that they had more than one
album in the works. First came the full-length This Is Not, We Are, which was rush released to digital outlets
during the early days of the pandemic, finally receiving a physical release
this fall. At that same time, a double-10” EP was also announced, featuring
five additional tracks, called Not Normal.
The full length is great, and we are treated to solid studio renderings of
songs like Rob’s groovin’ “LL3”, and the wild instrumental known as “Jazz
Cigarette”, and Chuck Garvey’s “Undertone”, among others. It is a pretty strong
release in its own regard but the EP is where the true magic lies. Chuck’s “New
Hope For The New Year” kicks off the EP and is by far the best song in this
entire campaign, followed very closely by Rob’s closing epic, “Prestige
Worldwide” whose lyric gives both the album and EP its name, and Al Schnier’s
killer “ATL”, which is nice to hear in a studio rendition. Hopefully it won’t
be another six years until the next album, though this will feed us well in the
meantime.
17) Drive-By Truckers: The Unraveling/The New OK
If ever there was a year in which two Drive-By Truckers
album were necessary, it would be this crazy year. Kicking off with the January
release of The Unraveling, the
Truckers managed to sum up the last four years of Americana into 42 of
Patterson Hood’s most fiery minutes. Never one to shy away from what he is
really thinking, Patterson manages to say pretty much everything that we have all
been thinking. October brought The New OK,
their 13th studio album, and another 36 minutes of impassioned song
craft from this band. The only downside to these albums is the lack of Mike
Cooley songs – only three Cooley songs out of 18 between the two albums. As
much as I love Cooley’s songs, however, it is the anger and desperation in
Hood’s songs that are most necessary for these times, and he delivers in
spades. One of the most significant American bands of the last 25 years, and
maybe the next 25 as well.
18) Sherman Downey: New Beautiful
The majestic island of Newfoundland has given us many
wonderful treasures, from Mark Critch to Alan Doyle, Shanneyganock to Hey
Rosetta, fish & brewis to bakeapple pie, not to mention Ron Hynes, Buddy
Wasisiname, Black Horse, Republic Of Doyle, pan fried cod with scrunchions, and
of course the wonderful Fred’s Records, but nothing has found a warmer place in
my heart than the great Sherman Downey. His second album, The Sun In Your Eyes was one of the primary soundtracks to the five
months I lived on The Rock. His songs drip with Newfoundland charm, while
eschewing all of the traditional forms that one often expects from a NL artist.
Sherman is a singer and songwriter who spent as much time listening to The
Band, the Dead, Dylan, and Paul Simon as he spent listening to Ron Hynes or
Harry Hibbs. He sings songs that tell stories and even his saddest song is a
beautiful comfort. It took seven years for the third album to come, but the
wait was well worth it. All of his signature styles are present on this album, as
well as a few new directions, such as the McCartney-esque “Shiftwork”, and the
hushed pop grooves of “Romancer”. Every time I hear his voice, it brings me
“home”, and makes me about as happy as I can be. I can’t wait until I can get
back to Newfoundland, but so long as I have this album at hand, it’s never that
far away.
19) Tennis: Swimmer
Along with the geezers and old souls that make up this
list are artists whose sound and style put them in both categories, despite
being quite young. Tennis is one such band. This husband & wife duo, who
were both born in the mid-80’s, have a style that places them squarely in a 1978-1983
adult pop realm, from their sound to their style to their aesthetic (that
perm!). Had any of their albums come out during that time frame, no one would
have thought twice, and those records would have been huge. At least, that’s
what hindsight tells me. That said, bands who ride the retro train need to be
extra cautious in order to avoid being redundant – just because you sound like the
past, you still need to say something new, or there is no point. Fortunately,
this band pulls it off. They manage to sound perfectly fresh while at the same
time transporting me back to my childhood. Their fifth album, Swimmer, continues down that path and is
their strongest so far. The single, “Need Your Love”, instantly became a
favorite. A modern-day Captain & Tennille, hopefully their career will be
as enduring.
20) Rookie: Rookie
Speaking of old souls, Rookie is a young band from
Chicago who was very clearly raised on Cheap Trick, Badfinger, and Big Star, as
well as Foghat, Skynyrd, and Free. This band kicks. In fact, the first time
this band entered my radar is when I saw them open for Cheap Trick, earlier in
2020, before the pandemic and before their debut album even came out, and that
was one hell of a double bill. This is a band that sounds like a small midwest
town in the mid-70’s. Every song on this album makes you want to scrub the
grease off your hands, throw on some fresh duds, and cruise the strip, in
search of whatever may be going down. Time will tell if these guys have what it
takes to keep it together, and to keep down this path, but this is one fun
debut.
21) The Weeks: Twisted Rivers
The Weeks may have formed 14 years ago, but they were
just kids when they got together so they are still very young while also being
seasoned pros, and old souls to boot. These Mississippi boys have a gritty,
swampy take on Americana, with some memorable songs, killer melodies, and a
singer (Cyle Barnes) that reminds me of a cross between J. Mascis and Bobcat
Goldthwait, in all the best ways. There is something very comforting This is a
band that makes you want to dance, it makes you want to get busted up, and it
makes you want to jam. Six albums into their career, they aren’t necessarily a
band whose growth is blindingly obvious, until you look beneath the surface.
This album is a bit slim, at eight songs in 35 minutes, but once upon a time
that was a standard, and this album sits up there with all the best albums from
that period. At this point, it seems like The Weeks are in it for the long
haul. The world is a much better place for it.
22) Tobin Sprout:
Empty Horses
For most of his career, Tobin Sprout had to live in the
shadow of his wildly prolific pal, Bob Pollard. Like George Harrison in The
Beatles, Sprout always had to settle for maybe two or three songs per album,
during his time in Guided By Voices, his fragile voice and subtle songs a
perfect foil for Pollard’s various flights of fancy. Sprout’s first stint with
GbV ended in 1996 and the first several years saw a rash of solo albums, all of
which were quite good. His primary career focus is as a visual, gallery artist.
As that took center stage, his recording output slowed down considerably – while
he contributed to six albums during his 2012-14 return to GbV, this is only his
3rd solo album to come since 2003. Sometimes quality is better than quantity and,
fortunately, the wait for Empty Horses was worth it. On this record, Sprout
moves into a bit of an alt-country realm, with 10 songs that sound like Ryan
Adams meets Jason Molina, with a little Steve Forbert thrown in, and maybe a
little bit of Passenger in there as well. I do not think I would be off-base to
say that this is one of the most beautiful releases to ever come from the
Guided By Voices universe.
23) Sparks: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
This 2020 release marks the 24th studio album
by Ron & Russel Mael, otherwise known as the delightfully oddball art-pop
duo known as Sparks. Celebrating 53 years as a band, Sparks may not have
dominated the charts during that time but their level of influence is so deep
and so vast that music as we know it would not exist in the same way without
them. To listen to this new album, especially in the opening track, “All That”,
and the brilliant “iPhone”, with its most excellent refrain, “put down that
fucking iPhone and listen to me”, is to hear a band that, well into their
seventies, is still as fresh and as vital as ever, especially on the album-closing
“Please Don’t Fuck Up My World”, which pretty much says all that needs to be
said. Sparks is one of those bands that I have been dancing around for many
years, and am still getting to know their immense body of work. Records like
this make us instant pals.
24) Wishbone Ash: Coat Of Arms
Continuing with the theme of “geezers making good”, this
23rd studio album by Wishbone Ash was a most welcome addition to
their vast catalogue. While Andy Powell is the only remaining original member,
he manages to lead the band through one of the more spirited late-career
efforts. The opening “We Stand As One” was one of my favorite singles of the
year, while “Empty Man” manages to encapsulate pretty much every aspect of this
band in the course of one song. Wishbone Ash is one of those bands that went in
many different directions over the years and while their current work may not
be as groundbreaking nor as unique as Argus,
or other mammoths from their classic early period, they are still spirited and
the product of a band who still has something to say.
25) Wire: Mind Hive
The last band of geezers to make good this year are these
classic post-punkers who drop their 17th album and continue to forge
one of the most unique paths of any band. While elements of all periods of the
band are evident in this record, much of it is trippy but never quite as, um,
wiry as their most classic work. Much of this record is on the slower and
darker side while others, like “Catcused” and “Primed & Ready” are upbeat,
while “Off The Beach” is a very surprising strum-rocker, and others such as
“Oklahoma” are just plain unsettling. Wire has always been one of those bands
whose best work is unsettling. That they are able to keep it
fresh-yet-to-the-point after 43 years is no small feat. Bonus points for releasing another album this
year, 10:20, featuring stray tracks and newly-finished ideas that further
comfort and confound. One of the coolest bands of all time, and they keep
getting cooler.
Honorable
mentions also go to Alanis Morissette, Biffy Clyro, Blue October, and The Jerry
Cans, among many others, all of whom made albums that impressed me, but are
taking a little longer to digest – so many records and so little time.
In
addition to these killer releases, I also found myself in a few deep musical
obsessions, each of which wound up costing me a few bucks; none of which I
regret. There was a romp through the Jefferson Airplane/Starship discography
and, thanks to Discogs, I filled all the remaining gaps. That led to a severe
Quicksilver Messenger Service bender, and I swiftly purchased every album of
theirs that I did not already own, which was most of them. Fortunately that was
procured for relatively cheap and has paid off exponentially.
Lastly,
however, I got deeply obsessed with the Australian psychedelic powerhouse known
as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. I had two of their albums, which I
bought with a Christmas gift certificate last year, listened to them, and filed
them away for a rainy day. Well, apparently it was storming in the fall and it
was time to dig them out. Within weeks I owned their entire (vast) catalog on
vinyl and have been digesting them ever since. 16 albums relesaed in ten years,
and every last one of them is completely different, and each one a masterpiece.
It may have punished my wallet but it elevated my record collection to a level
of awesome that it did not even know was possible. I will be dissecting those,
and future albums, for years to come.
This was also one of my most productive years as a songwriter and musician, taking on several different projects, from recording to writing to refining to virtually performing. Details will be outlined in a different post, but suffice to say, it was busy. 2021 is already promising to be a busy and productive year as well. Through it all, I will listen to as much new music as I can. Until then, we will ride on the wake of this amazing year of music.
p/s:
Spotify listeners: Unrelated to the above is my playlist of singles from the year. The original playlist has over 400 songs and it was whittled to under 100 for a best-of.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74W80Eq4NkFPAJym4WiOMQ
For best results, hit "shuffle". It will do ya good.
