Best Albums of 2020 (30-16)

Some more of the best albums of the year.

30. Gaslighter by The Chicks

The Chicks have had a long, ubiquitous history. They’re one of the first acts most people think of when they think of country music, especially if they grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s. They don’t really need an introduction, but at the same time, they do hold an interesting place in the current modern landscape. They’ve always been beloved by the world over, but the infamous anti-Bush speech put them in hot water, forever being pinned to the idea of controversy and politics within country music. What’s been interesting though is how history ended up vindicating The Chicks after all. Now that we’re farther away from the tragedy of 9/11 and most people have realized what a horrendous decision going to war with Iraq was, so if there’s any time that The Chicks would make their big career comebacks, it’d be now. And for a while, I was curious as to whether or not The Chicks were going to lean into the whole “canceled” angle that they’re so well-known for. An emphasis on feminism and independence as they take back the controversy that ruined them (though The Chicks were still moderately successful even after the backlash), redeeming themselves in the public eye.

That didn’t really happen. They have political moments on the album, but the main arc of Gaslighter is Natalie Haynes struggling through her divorce. That’s part of why The Chicks took a break at all, actually. Natalie wanted to focus on her marriage and raise a family. The divorce took enough of a toll on her that she was willing to come back and express all through the stages of grief in song form. Honestly? This was for the better. As much as I love The Chicks’ firepower, I much prefer this album being a vulnerable exploration of someone’s divorce rather than an empowerment album that stresses so much on the comeback angle. It feels like the album Natalie needed to cope with such a difficult moment in her life, and the journey she goes through is incredibly moving. I love how the album starts with some of the angrier moments of her grief, but slowly you start to see Natalie’s armor chip away as she confronts the reality that she still has feelings for her ex-husband. Even after he cheated on her and treated her like garbage, there’s something to the good memories she shared with him, the magic of meeting and falling in love with him for the first time, that lingers in her mind and makes her wonder who she even is without him. This album’s writing is incredibly powerful, and even if it puts the other two members off to the side, they still accompany Natalie with absolutely beautiful harmonies that sell the emotion of all these songs. Not to mention Jack Antanoff once again outdoes himself with his phenomenal blend of pop and country that keeps the roots of The Chicks’ traditional past while still having the hooks and grooves to make this album at its best utterly incredible.

Top 5
1. Julianna Calm Down
2. Gaslighter
3. My Best Friend’s Weddings
4. Sleep At Night
5. Everybody Loves You

29. Your Life Is a Record by Brandy Clark

We follow-up a country divorce album with something completely different! A country break-up album! Geez, rough year for relationships. These aren’t even the last break-up or divorce albums on the list. But Brandy Clark’s journey was a fascinating one. An album I feel has been kind of slept on by even people who liked it. What do you do when you end a relationship that had gone on for so long that you literally can’t imagine life without them? Brandy has the same mixed bag of emotions as Natalie did, but her expression is a lot quieter. When she’s angry, she won’t yell or let loose. She’ll spit mean words against you, but she still keeps a poise that tells you she has everything under control. When in reality, the heartbreak can be too much to bear. The idea of your life is a record, and every person is a song in your long tracklist of memories and relationships is vivid imagery that echoes throughout the album. Because the truth is, no one knows your soundtrack better than yourself. If you’re a song in someone’s record, you don’t know what kind of song it is. She may be a sad song to you, but there’s no guarantee you’re the same on her own record.

Jay Joyce once again knocks it out of the park for this album. Willing to let Brandy’s melancholy be the focus of the album and simply provide the soundtrack of her grief. This album’s unique in its combination of contemporary country sounds along with subtle orchestral touches. The strings, flutes, and even horns leaving a whisper on this album’s distant yearning. Because that’s pretty much what this album is. Yearning for something that was lost. Reliving the memories and finding that happiness that is now long gone. I love all of these songs (eh maybe not “Bigger Boat” that one’s weird), but the song that ties all of it together is “The Past Is The Past”. The album’s coda where Brandy decides to finally leave this relationship behind and leave it as a memory. Even if it still hurts, even if you haven’t found the “closure” you wanted, after everything she went through on the album, this is the moment where she can’t live in the past anymore. There’s a future ahead of her. Whether it has her old partner or not. It’s the most personal Brandy has ever been, and it’s resulted in one of the best story arcs in any album this year. It confronts the truth and welcomes it with open arms, even if it may bruise you along the way.

Top 5
1. The Past Is The Past
2. I’ll Be Your Sad Song
3. Who You Thought I Was
4. Apologies
5. Bad Car

28. Gathering Swans by Choir Boy

This one caught me off guard. I’d heard some muted praise about this album from good friends of mine, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Actually, I didn’t expect anything this album gave me at all. Based on my friends’ taste, I expected something that leaned toward emo rock or maybe noise or industrial sounds that maybe wouldn’t be for me, but would work really well in certain spots. Instead, I was given a whole-ass synthpop album. One with very colorful and lush synths that still had that gothic edge with a lot of romanticism and over-the-top heartbreak. And you know what? It’s AWESOME. I loved this album! This is one of the catchiest and most vibrant synthpop albums I’ve heard in a while. It wears its influences on its sleeves, but Choir Boy’s charisma and a knack for darker imagery make this album completely unique. It still has those big hooks, but the atmosphere is slightly hazy. Like you’re navigating through a fog and you see merely glimpses of the one that got away, only for them to disappear into that fog the minute you get closer.

I think what draws me the most to this album is that it doesn’t really take itself too seriously. Obviously, it revels in its heartbreak and melancholy, but it does it in such a flamboyant manner that the whole thing almost feels like a farce. Not that these songs are ridiculous or insincere, but the theatricality is done so in a way where the heartbreak and the self-pity is in itself the spectacle. It makes sense that he borrows so much from the 80s, an era where every emotion the singers feel is treated like it’s the most important thing in the entire world. Adam Klopp’s vocals alone prove that in spades, and it’s probably the album’s greatest strength. Not only does he have such a tremendous voice that works beautifully with their synth melodies and hazy backdrops, but you feel the genuine passion behind every song while still finding yourself lost in the showiness of it all. It’s the kind of album you can put on just to experience a moment of total euphoria, while still having that longing loneliness that yearns for someone to fill the hole in your black heart.

Top 5
1. Toxic Eye
2. Shatter
3. Sweet Candy
4. It’s Over
5. Complainer

27. Tickets To My Downfall by Machine Gun Kelly

This was by far the biggest surprise of the year. Not even in terms of quality, just the fact that it happened and became such a big hit. 2020 signaled the rebirth of rock in the mainstream, taking new forms within trap and even pop as punk attitudes and concepts start leaking into some of the year’s biggest hits. If you had told me that pop-punk would start making a mainstream comeback in late 2020 early 2021, I would have been excited! I dunno how I would have felt learning that one of the pioneers of this new era was Machine Gun Kelly though. I mean, I never really hated him, but I didn’t have any serious investment in him either. I wasn’t wild about his sleeper hit “I Think I’m OKAY” either. So for not only this turn to be really successful, but that the album is genuinely great!? That’s incredible!

And it succeeds in a very simple, but effective area. It knows how to balance the ridiculous melodrama of teen angst while still keeping the earnestness that makes this genre feel real for people. MGK knows better than anyone how ridiculous this concept is. A 30-year old who came from a hip-hop background hiring blink-182’s drummer to make a whole album of blink-182 songs. Complete with the rough production, the childish lyrics, the fact that MGK isn’t a very good singer, and of course Travis Barker carrying over 80% of the album. But MGK is also old and worn out enough to know how real some of the childish angst of pop-punk can be. It’s not that they’re making mountains out of molehills, it’s just hard to express your depression and heartbreak when these feelings are so new to you. That’s the appeal of the most reckless and stupid songs on this album. Why I’m not bothered by some of the more childish moments on the album or find the complete refusal to grow up annoying. It’s because life can be difficult growing into an adult, and you’re bound to make mistakes out of your emotional impulses. Plus, there are moments on the album where it feels like the immaturity is dropped for a moment of honesty. Like when he talks about the people he lost in his life or fearing what will happen to his daughter if his depression gets the better of him. This album is at its best when you take it seriously… but not too seriously. Otherwise, it’s no fun.

Top 5
1. my ex’s best friend ft. blackbear
2. bloody valentine
3. forget me too ft. Halsey
4. lonely
5. drunk face

26. Shape & Destroy by Ruston Kelly

I wasn’t sure how Ruston Kelly could follow up Dying Star. If there is any album that has quietly become one of my all-time favorites, right up there with even his (sadly, now ex-) wife Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour from the same year, it’s that one. The thing is, that was a very lightning in a bottle moment for Ruston Kelly. It’s an album about the lowest point in his life, where he was at his most self-destructive before finding at least a shred of hope by the end of that grueling year. Now though? He’s in a much healthier place. He found his soulmate in Kacey Musgraves, he’s gone completely sober, he has a home he can call his own, things are looking up! Can he really make another album like Dying Star when he’s not in the dark place that made that album so brutally real? No, he can’t. I didn’t expect this album to be Dying Star, quite frankly. I just wanted to hear where Ruston Kelly’s excellent writing would take him next, whether that’d be back to where he started… or somewhere new.

More than anything, Shape & Destroy is an album about recovery. Where Kelly realizes that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and he powers through his depression to end up on the other side a healthier, better person. Thing is, recovery isn’t easy. Throughout the album, there are still moments of weakness where it looks like Kelly is on the verge of losing. That’s the unfortunate truth about depression, and especially getting past addiction. Even when you’ve gotten past the worst of it, it comes back. Kelly knows this, which is why some of the most potent moments on the album are the ones where that creeping insecurity comes back and affects his mental health. Even in his relationship, there are moments where fights and tension build between them and it hurts. Because Kelly knows he’s lashing out and fucking things up. He just hopes his wife could be patient enough to accept him at his worst. But at the same time, it’s not like Kelly has nothing to live for. Despite all the moments that haunt him or bring him back to his lowest point, he’ll do whatever he can to look on the bright side and be the best person he can be. Most of all, he can extend a hand to his audience and bring them along with him Invite them to cherish the moments of euphoria and peace that he feels at his best. And remind them that things are going to be okay, whether we know those better times are coming or not. Doesn’t matter if everything falls apart. He’s going to look ahead and say hallelujah anyway.

Top 5
1. Radio Cloud
2. In The Blue
3. Under The Sun
4. Alive
5. Mid-Morning Lament

25. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches

The Avalanches make albums that feel more like journeys through the musical worlds they build. I don’t think you can reasonably say any of their albums are alike. They all feel like their own separate movie, each with distinct atmospheres, motifs, and songs that stick in your mind long after you’ve experienced it for the first time. Since I Left You was a bizarre trip down old samples and twisting melodies that up until that point no one had ever heard before. Wildflower was a dreamy cruise down the colorful cityscapes and flowerbeds with as many samples, but also the addition of some guest stars to add their own flavor to the dreamscapes that The Avalanches provided. This leads to We Will Always Love You, which, in a strange twist, doesn’t really focus on the samples that made their previous work so recognizable. There are more guest stars than ever, and the production seemed to follow a very specific theme of loss and grief that soundtracks the sea of stars that lead to the great beyond. It’s probably their weakest album, admittedly, but it’s no less brilliant.

In fact, this album was sort of a grower for me. At first, I was mostly swept up by the atmosphere they cultivated. There’s more of a focus on single-type songs, but those singles are still distinct and wonderfully crafted. You’re not going to get these kinds of songs from anyone else. Whatever you expect out of that featured artist, you’re going to hear them in a whole new sound and style that subverts your expectations and proceeds to blow your mind. Plus, the album is still consistent with its dreamy atmosphere and odd sense of quiet melancholy. You feel like something’s off, but there’s rarely a burst of energy that the album builds up to. Mostly because this album’s focus on death and how the one thing that will always live on is the love you have for them isn’t much of a revelation. It’s more of an acceptance. Being able to embrace the fact that life is short, and to appreciate the moments and people that make you truly happy. A lot of these songs as singles were great on their own, but once you put them all together, you get an utterly beautiful album that I worry won’t get enough credit because of how late it came out last year. I’m still spinning its best songs. It’s truly an album to behold.

Top 5
1. Running Red Lights ft. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu
2. Gold Sky ft. Kurt Vile
3. Take Care In Your Dreaming ft. Denzel Curry, Tricky & Sampa Tha Great
4. Music Makes Me So High
5. Born To Lose

24. Heartbreak Weather by Niall Horan

Once again Niall Horan proves that he is and always has been the best One Direction member. Harry had a tremendous year, but I really hope that doesn’t mean Niall goes under the radar because Heartbreak Weather is one of the most underrated pop albums of the entire year. It takes the groundwork laid upon by Flicker, and while it doesn’t surpass it, Heartbreak Weather refines his songwriting and pop instincts with some truly tremendous moments. Niall has said that this is meant to be a concept album about the turbulent love life he leads whenever he goes through new love, break-ups, and the moments in between where the shallow sex and fading numbers can’t fully erase the heartbreak that lingers in his mind. I like how the album opens up with the title track, which reasonably should be the end of the album where the heartbreak weather goes away and it’s nothing but clear skies. Instead, the moment Niall finds security in his relationship, it falls apart once again and he’s left in the tornado of trial and error once again looking for someone to make him as happier as she used to do.

But it’s strange how an album with so much heartbreak and reminiscing still ends up being some of the most fun I’ve had with any album this year. It has its happy moments, its sensual moments, and of course its sad ones, but the album’s hooks are so memorable, so full of color, and some of Niall’s all-time best performances. I still prefer the warm intimacy of an album like Flicker, but I’ve really grown to love the synthpop bombast of this album’s best moments, willing to take risks and venture into new territory that shows Niall can be more than just a guy with a guitar. I’d even argue in some ways this is better than Flicker. There are fewer duds, and the songs have more personality and charm. I wish this album had a much more fruitful single run because some of these would stand up as the best on pop radio and deserve to rule the world. I don’t know why this wasn’t as big as Harry’s hits this year, it can go toe to toe with “Adore You” and “Watermelon Sugar”. I guess I do wish the album was a bit more concise in its sequencing and that we had more moments that were soft and intimate like “Put A Little Love On Me” and “Still”, but the fact that so much of this album is still genuinely incredible shouldn’t be ignored.

Top 5
1. Nice To Meet Ya
2. Heartbreak Weather
3. Put A Little Love On Me
4. Still
5. Everywhere

23. Honky Tonk Hell by Gabe Lee

Talking about this album is difficult. It’s so simple and easy to like that it’s hard to really explain why this excels above so many other country albums from this year. There’s no trick, there’s no secret ingredient, it’s just that fucking good. There are a handful of albums lower down on my list that can be described as “comfort country”. Country music that doesn’t innovate or try anything new or bold, but are so good at their job that it’s impossible not to get sucked into how boringly perfect it is. I’d probably argue that Honky Tonk Hell is the best of them this year. Gabe Lee is one of the most unique vocalists in country music, with his nasal delivery that’s full of passion and love for the music he creates. He has this persona who’s kind of a troublemaker, willing to raise hell and cause a ruckus, but is still grounded enough to take his relationships seriously and do some introspection when things don’t go right. In a way, his appeal is a lot like Morgan Wallen’s with a lot more maturity and knowing when to hit the breaks. You get the feeling that he’s been through a lot, and the moments where he lets loose are merely fun distractions for him.

The warm textures of this album alongside Gabe Lee’s voice are the bread and butter of this album. Regardless of what the lyrical content consists of, this album sounds amazing. It’s a refined, quiet, but still lively production style that can sell its wild moments as much as its softer moments. Plus, Gabe Lee has such a great knack for hooks and heartbreak anthems that you can’t help but get sucked into his wailing voice, while at the same time being captivated by his storytelling. That’s all there is to it, really. There’s not much of an overarching theme. There isn’t any moment that will blow you away. These are just phenomenal songs. I initially had this lower on my list of favorites, but as the year progressed, I found myself coming back to this album so many times. Even as I wrote this, I felt the urge to put “Heartbreaker’s Smile” on one more time. Because the joy receptors that song gives me every time I hear that chorus is unmatched. It’s music I can come back to again and again and still feel the same burst of emotion I felt the first time I heard it. There’s something really special about albums like that.

Top 5
1. Heartbreaker’s Smile
2. 30 Seconds At a Time
3. Honky Tonk Hell
4. Great Big River
5. All Dogs Go To Heaven

22. Anime, Trauma & Divorce by Open Mike Eagle

It’s always a good year whenever we get an Open Mike Eagle album. I don’t have a set list of my favorite artists of any genre, but Open Mike Eagle is probably in my Top 3 favorite rappers, maybe even my favorite if we pretend Kendrick doesn’t exist. There’s something to his relaxed flow and witty sense of humor while still being devestatingly real that always draws me in with every album. I don’t think he’s made a single album I wouldn’t call fantastic in any way. Though admittedly, Anime, Trauma & Divorce is probably my least favorite of his mainline albums, even if that’s not a detriment to its quality at all. It just doesn’t have his strongest material, which is fine, because “great” Open Mike Eagle is still fantastic and a cut above the rest. I can’t really blame him for this album not being as strong either, because I don’t think it’s really meant to be his best. 2020 was a rough year for all of us, but 2019 was even tougher on OME. So many things in his life fell apart that year, leaving him at the lowest point of his life. The biggest being his divorce from his wife and having to live his life single and suddenly become apart from the person he cares most about, his son.

His son actually appears a couple of times on this album, under the name Little A$e. And he’s way more of a presence on the album than OME’s ex-wife. Because ultimately, that’s not what he’s sad about. Yes, he does reflect on what was lost between them, but he’s more worried about what the divorce means for his relationship with Little A$e. Whether he’d end up a deadbeat in a way that taints his son’s image of him, or if he’s willing to put in the effort to be a father for the kid. Which is why despite the album being a spiral of uncomfortable moments, lashing out and dreary depression, the fact that it ends with “Fifteen Twenty Feet Ocean Nah”, a freestyle performance he made with his son on a cruise, is really heartwarming. It shows that even if OME hasn’t reached full peace in regards to where his life is headed, the fact that he can share this memory with him and his son that makes them undoubtedly happy is beautiful, and gives hope that maybe he can get through this after all. All of that and I haven’t even mentioned some of the other themes of this album. Like the way OME uses popular culture (particularly anime) to reflect on his own masculinity and what “power” means to him, or how the album can get kind of obnoxious and difficult to listen to at times, almost as if he’s sabotaging himself to just let this all end as soon as possible. But by the end, he’s just met with exhaustion. It’s why “Everything Ends Last Year” is the album’s most powerful moment. There’s no tears, or anger, or reconciliation. He’s just tried.

Top 5
1. Sweatpants Spiderman
2. Everything Ends Last Year
3. Death Parade
4. The Black Mirror Episode
5. I’m a Joestar (Black Power Fantasy)

21. Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa

I talked about how the best retro throwback songs are the ones that implement retro sounds while still being modern and populist in my best list, and I don’t think anyone has nailed that sound in recent memory as effectively as Dua Lipa. We’ll see what Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak can do with Silk Sonic, but that’s probably going to be pure throwback that’s only as popular as it is because Bruno is that good at recreating sounds of the past (I wrote this before the song came out and now I can say definitively: Yes, and that’s why it rules). Future Nostalgia takes those sounds of the pasts and turns them into a modern pop album. One that loves its disco pastiche while not making it the entire point. Future Nostalgia is such a perfect name for the album in this regard. You’ve heard these songs before, and yet, they’re also brand new and incredible to listen to.

I don’t know how else I can describe this album without repeating myself. There’s a reason why this is one of the most successful pop albums of the past couple of years. It’s full of shining gems and monster hooks that you could reasonably call any song on the album your favorite and no one would object. I had this weird period with this album where it felt like I got obsessed with one song from this album at a time. It started with “Don’t Start Now”, then it turned into “Physical”, then “Break My Heart”, then “Love Again”, then “Levitating”, then I got curious in the title track, and it keeps going back and forth and pretty soon I was revisiting this album more than even albums higher than it on this list. Sure, not every song is a winner, which is why it narrowly missed my Top 20, but holy shit. If you can’t find at least one song to take over your life, you have no clue what you’re missing. And honestly, Dua Lipa doesn’t even have that much of a personality. But she’s also the main reason why this album never feels like a shallow attempt to recycle sounds for an easy audience. It’s her presence as a performer, her electric voice, and how much she genuinely loves singing every song that makes these albums stand out above the rest. Anyone can make a retro throwback song, but no one can make a Dua Lipa song.

Top 5
1. Physical
2. Levitating [ft. Dababy]
3. Break My Heart
4. Don’t Start Now
5. Love Again

20. SAWAYAMA by Rina Sawayama

Future Nostalgia and SAWAYAMA are two sides of the same coin. Two albums that modernize old sounds and turns them into something wholly unique and memorable. But while Future Nostalgia is a pure disco revival, SAWAYAMA feels more like a melting pot. Her production primarily takes inspiration from 2000s pop and R&B with a sprinkling of nu-metal. Dua Lipa’s influences are obvious, but Rina Sawayama’s isn’t. Mostly because she has so many of them that they all meld into a sound that can only be described as Rina Sawayama. Both albums have incredible moments and some of the best pop songs of the year, but the reason I give SAWAYAMA the edge is for its ambition. I’ve never heard a pop album like this before! Something that keeps intact the tremendous hooks and exciting production while still being incredibly bold and risky in its execution. Taking inspiration from nu-metal??? How the hell do you do that on a pop album without being laughed out of the room?

A lot of what makes this album so incredible is how this feels distinctive to Rina alone. Not even just in production. Rina’s situation as a Japanese-born UK immigrant gives her such a specific story that colors parts of the album as she tries to understand who she is and what she wants to be. The whole album feels like an identity crisis. With so many different sounds and hooks leading to reckless decisions and a fear of facing the truth that feels almost adolescent. Not childish or self-destructive, but just young and dumb enough to revel in the moment while regretting it the next day. And that euphoria is the thing that Rina chases throughout the album. A moment of pure adrenaline and happiness that distracts her from the deep, insecure sadness inside of her. Still, she’s not strong enough to throw those feelings away, and the moments when she finally confronts them are the moments where those feelings of happiness are at their strongest. Seriously, the climaxes on some of these songs are downright magical. It’s probably what puts it above so many other pop albums this year. It goes above and beyond to really explore not just pop music of the past and present, but Rina as a whole and what her future looks like in her new home.

Top 5
1. XS
2. Chosen Family
3. Paradisin’
4. Bad Friend
5. Dynasty

19. Savage Mode II by 21 Savage x Metro Boomin

It’s weird to think I haven’t had a pure trap album resonate with me as a top-tier favorite until now. I guess since trap has always been more of a singles genre. It really only works if every song knocks it out of the park and isn’t too long as to completely drain the listener by the end. In this case, that’s why Savage Mode II is the PERFECT trap album. Which is weird, because I didn’t like what I heard from the first Savage Mode at all. “X” was my introduction to 21 Savage and I hated it. Though I’ve been told both Savage Modes are very different projects, and with how much 21 and Metro Boomin have gone through since that album, this could only be a refinement of their sound that will easily surpass Savage Mode I. What I didn’t expect was to be hooked onto this album IMMEDIATELY. The second I heard that beat drop on the opening song “Runnin”, I knew I was in for an incredible album. Which is exactly what we got.

21 Savage is at his absolute best. I’ve always felt iffy about his monotone delivery because it feels like he’s not as intimidating or cold as he thinks he is. Not the case on this album. His snarl and deep voice, alongside his slithery flows and murky hooks are at their absolute best. Savage has been improving a lot as a rapper for the past couple of years, but this is the album that cements him as a star. An equal amount of gangster swagger and even a bit of a romantic side to him that sounds terrific against Metro Boomin’s production. Who, by the way? This is also his best showcase to date. Few people understand the bassy, dark appeal of trap music quite like he does, and his imposing piano chords against the skittering trap percussion and booming bass make these songs so special and undeniably fantastic. One thing I’ve always struggled with in trap albums is sequencing and consistency. Certain songs on the album will be incredible and one of my favorites of the year, but there also end up being too many duds that can halt the momentum and make me want to skip so I can listen to the better album it could have been. None of this is present on Savage Mode II. All of these songs are not only excellent, but they flow into each other incredibly well thanks to the occasional interludes from Morgan Freeman and the slight arc of Savage’s loneliness and trying to keep himself afloat after a particularly hard heartbreak that borderline traumatized him. But even as he insists that he’s cold and distant, he still shows that shred of humanity that reminds us that he’s just getting through life like the rest of us. Even if he will shoot your head off at the drop of a hat.

Top 5
1. Runnin
2. Mr. Right Now ft. Drake
3. Brand New Draco
4. Snitches & Rats ft. Young Nudy
5. Said N Done

18. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz

I don’t think I’ve shared enough Flaming Hot Takes on this list yet so I guess I can start by saying this is Gorillaz’s best album. Yes, better than Demon Days and self-titled. The reason why isn’t even that complicated. The 2010s were a weird era for Gorillaz. Trying to find their place in a music landscape that seemingly passed them by. Even if critics loved Plastic Beach to death, everyone was divided on Humanz and The Now Now didn’t really get people’s attention outside of “Humility”. It only feels right that Gorillaz would do a sort of do-over on their careers and launch “Song Machine”, a project whose goal seems to mostly be to create a series of songs with no specific theme or style, collab with a bunch of artists, legacy or modern, and create their usual brand of trippy animated music videos. All in one package known as a “song machine”. Honestly, it’s a brilliant idea. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have cemented their legacies enough that they can allow their creative team to let loose.

And I think that’s why I consider season one of Song Machine their best album to date. There’s no pressure for them to prove themselves, they already have! Ironically, lowering the stakes and simply collaborating and making all new songs did, in fact, prove them further! The songs are catchy, the guests all do an incredible job, and of course, the videos are endlessly creative and fun! I really love how this doesn’t feel like it has to be tied down to anything. I’m not even sure how canon this is to the Gorillaz lore. Sure, the video for “The Lost Chord” calls back to Plastic Beach, but in general, it’s just a collection of the band hopping from place to place through beautiful animation that perfectly compliments the album. Even the deluxe tracks are pretty solid! Though they’re not as good as the actual album, which is good enough that you can easily come back to it again and again. There are so many gems on this album, and they honestly surpass so much of what they made in the 2010s. And I’m way nicer to Humanz than everyone else!

Top 5
1. Désolé ft. Fatoummata Diawara
2. Pac-Man ft. ScHoolboy Q
3. The Valley of the Pagans ft. Beck
4. Aires ft. Peter Hooks & Georgia
5. Chalk Tablet Towers ft. St. Vincent

17. Little Dominique’s Nosebleed by The Koreatown Oddity

When I first heard Little Dominique’s Nosebleed, I wondered to myself if this could possibly be the best hip-hop album of the year. I wouldn’t quite say that now, but it is by far the most fascinating. I was hooked by the album’s production right away. There’s a very specific production style in hip-hop that I really like that’s hard to explain. It’s a sort of clanky, rough, and patchy sound that keeps a steady rhythm alongside some jazzier production and feels more like a consistent freestyle rather than a full-fledged composition. It gives the rapper enough breathing room to be the center of attention, but does enough in the background to enhance the rapper’s performance and occasionally have that flourish that knocks your socks off. This album has all that, and it sounds GREAT. Koreatown Oddity’s gruff voice and snarky personality work so well against the clattering beat, but when he wants to be a bit more soulful or bear his heart to the listener, the production allows its jazz instrumentation to really swell and deliver some of the most potent moments in hip-hop this year.

And it all ties back to The Koreatown Oddity himself. Who is, in my opinion, the star of this album and why it’s such an essential listen. He’s an incredibly captivating storyteller, one who isn’t afraid to recount his trauma and the constant battle with mortality while still being lighthearted enough to laugh at the situation all these years later. It’s really interesting to see his brand of wisdom colored with so much wit and carefree acceptance of where he is. He’s been the subject of two near-fatal accidents, and the fact that he’s somehow still alive is funny to him. He’ll recall the things his mother said to him and how the sustained injuries created a new normal in his life that always feel like they’re on the verge of killing him if he’s not careful. But he’s not anxious about it or overly concerned with what’s going to happen if the next accident kills him for good. Instead, he just shrugs it off and smiles. He’s blessed to be alive. Might as well live in the moment. The Koreatown Oddity is so charming in his attitude that I can’t help but get sucked into everything he says. And when he feels at peace or happy to be where he is now, I feel happy for him!

Top 5
1. World’s Smallest Violin ft. Jimetta Rose & Corrine Atkinson
2. Weed In LA
3. Little Dominique’s Nosebleed Part 1 ft. Sudan Archives
4. Looking Back From the Future ft. Baby Rose & C.S. Armstrong
5. A Bitch Once Told Me ft. Ahlwee

16. God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out of It by Backxwash

If you aren’t on the Backxwash train yet, you have no idea what you’re missing out on. Backxwash is one of the most promising and exciting breakout artists of the year, and God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out of It is an incredible album that still kind of floors me every time I come back to it. Backxwash’s raw intensity while still having the gothic swell and knack for fusing metal, industrial, and hip-hop sounds into something so nightmarish yet enthralling is an undeniable talent. I LOVE how this album sounds! Backxwash is an incredible producer, one who knows how to capture that monstrous swirl of darkness and anger while having a real, emotional core at the center of it all. A lot of the album feels like it’s venting its frustration out onto the listener. One that screams and howls with all its might until it reaches a point of exhaustion.

I worry that not enough people focus on what a potent commentary this album is on religious upbringing and a conflict with faith and identity. Backxwash’s depression stems from a lot of resentment and yearning, begging for her family to accept her for who she is instead of choosing God over her. Her embrace of satanic, witchy imagery is practically a rebellion. The fallen angel feels more welcomed by the darkest forces than the people who are supposed to care for her. But still, Backxwash does have that remaining bit of faith within her soul. She still loves her family and wants them to accept her. So even after all this anger and deep, deep depression, she reaches out for them to see if they’ll take that final step. Whether or not they actually take it is unknown. I love how even if the album is very bleak and sad, there’s still a shred of hope inside of it. None of this is out of malice or hatred. She just wants to be loved. But she can’t change herself or revert back to the person she used to be just for her parents to take her back. Because her deviancy is what empowers her and turns into something that’s truly uniquely her. You don’t need me to tell her how her identity as a trans woman affects her religion. But maybe her embrace of darkness is also a factor. The fact that she can’t be the pure being they want her to be because it’s just not her. It really is true. God doesn’t have anything to do with this. It’s about her relationship with her parents, and whether that fracture could ever be healed.

Top 5
1. Black Magic ft. Ada Rook
2. Spells ft. Devi McCallion
3. Into The Void
4. Redemption ft. Will Owen Bennet
5. Black Sheep