Congrats, you survived 2020.
While we can talk about how bad last year was, let’s talk about one of the few positives that occurred: sweet albums. Throughout the past 12 months, several bands and artists dropped some stellar pieces of music, and today we will look at 10 of those records, as well as some honorable mentions.
Note: before I continue, let me remind you that this list is my opinion. I haven’t listened to every single album that has come out in the past 12 months, no one has. These are just the albums I enjoyed throughout the year.
With that out of the way, let’s look at the best albums 2020 gifted us.
10. Enter Shikari – Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible (SO)
It’s been a long time since I listened to an Enter Shikari record. 2017’s The Spark showed the band swapping their electronic post-hardcore sound for something alt-rock sounding, and they carry that same sound into Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible. While I disliked the change on The Spark, Nothing Is True was able to capture my attention throughout the 44 minute record by adding in some of their old post-hardcore tones. Tracks like “THE GREAT UNKNOWN”, “T.I.N.A.”, “Crossing The Rubicon”, “{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }”, and “thē kĭñg” are some of their finest songs to date. Glad to be a fan again.
9. Four Year Strong – Brain Pain (Pure Noise)
Holy shit this was so worth the five year wait. Worcester’s finest have returned with another heavy-hitter. On their fifth album Brain Pain, Four Year Strong have shown that if something isn’t broken, don’t bother fixing it. With heavy breakdowns worth breaking a bone to in the pit (“Brain Pain”), to pop-punk fueled jams (“Talking Myself In Circles”), Brain Pain is the band’s best album to date. I cannot wait to sing these songs live with a crowd.
8. Taylor Swift – folklore (Republic)
Yeah, I’m shocked too. I put T-Swift on a best albums list. But my God is folklore beautiful. Ditching her pop persona for something more folky, Taylor channels in her inner singer-songwriter, making a record (scratch that, two records) that has her dwelling into alt-folk and chamber pop. And she pulls it off so damn well! Album opener “the 1” is a major departure from 2019’s Lover, and every single song blows you away, like the Grammy nominated “cardigan” and the kick ass “the last great american dynasty”. Color me impressed, Taylor.
7. Dogleg – Melee (Triple Crown)
Meet the new faces of emo. Michigans’s Dogleg have proven themselves on their debut record Melee that they are worth checking out. “Kawasaki Backflip” viciously grabs you and doesn’t give you time to breathe as the rest of the record takes you on one hell of a ride. Frontman Alex Stoitsiadis is an excellent songwriter and every song on the record shows how well he is at it. As Pitchfork put it, “It’s a record that’s as melodic as it is physical, where pent-up aggression turns into physical liberation.” Don’t sleep on Dogleg, there’s a reason I put them on last year’s Prenatt’s Picks list.
6. Hot Mulligan – you’ll be fine (No Sleep)
To quote Pitchfork again, “Hot Mulligan are on that emo bullshit.” The Michigan emo act have grown so much since their debut Pilot back in 2018, but they still have some time to grow. While it’s not a solid record like Dogleg’s Melee, it is a fun record, with songs about cars, faded pictures, and not fucking up. It’s their finest album to date, and I can’t wait for what they have in store next. Shoutout to Hot Mulligan Tadesposting.
5. Dance Gavin Dance – Afterburner (Rise)
2020 was supposed to be Dance Gavin Dance’s year. With several festivals lined up and a tour with Bilmuri already being advertised, COVID-19 had to kill all of that. So the legendary post-hardcore act did a livestream show (with a second one in December for Tree City Sessions 2). And on those livestreams, we heard some songs off of their ninth studio album Afterburner. And wow, Afterburner is one of DGD’s most unique records to date. Mixing in elements of pop, Latin, funk, and rap, DGD created something that Kill Your Stereo put as “intricate, catchy, emotional and deceptively complex.” Plus, hearing Tilian Pearson scream again gives me Tides Of Man flashbacks (see “Lyrics Lie” and “Prisoner”). And don’t get me started on “Calentamiento Global”. Multiples stab wounds, yeah!
4. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Epic)
The queen is back. Fiona Apple has never made a dull record, and once again she shines on her first album in eight years Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Released early during the pandemic, many critics found that the record’s message of confinement to be timely. Critics also called this her finest album to date. Fetch The Bolt Cutters has appeared on so many albums of the year lists, with places like Good Morning America, The New York Times, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, and Stereogum putting it at #1. Seriously, just give this album a listen to and you’ll see why everyone loves it.
3. ♥ GOJII ♥ – ALL MY HEART (HyperPop)
If you told me years ago that I would put an electronic album on a best albums of the year list, I would’ve laughed. That was until a friend who used to be in the furry fandom introduced me to the world of ♥ GOJII ♥. The Floridian agendered musican crafts what can only be summed up as magic on their glorious return to the HyperPop record label. The 37 minute album is simply star stunning, throwing you into a world of bright colors and flashing lights. Songs like “CRUSH”, “SPELLBOUND”, “U HURT ME”, “GOODBYE” and “DISTANCE” are beautiful, and “DISTANCE” still somehow gets me misty eyed. ♥ GOJII ♥, if you’re reading this, never give up on music. You’re beyond talented and I’d kill to see you in concert.
2. Jeff Rosenstock – NO DREAM (Polyvinyl)
Jeff, oh Jeff. You’re just full of surprises. On his fourth solo record (his second one released without any warning or press coverage), the former Bomb The Music Industry!/Craig Of The Creek composer creates a masterpiece that’s both fun and witty, “being packed to the brim but being so simple,” as Exclaim! puts it. “Scram!”, “The Beauty Of Breathing”, and my personal favorite “Monday At The Beach” are some of his best solo songs to date. Oh, and he dropped 2020 DUMP just recently, so check that one out, too.
Before we get to number one, let’s look at a few honorable mentions in no particular order.
- The Used – Heartwork (Big Noise)
- Into It. Over It. – Figure (Triple Crown)
- Run The Jewels – RTJ4 (Jewel Runners)
- Cro-Mags – In The Beginning (Mission Two)
- Machine Gun Kelly – Tickets To My Downfall (Bad Boy/Interscope)
- Broadway Calls – Sad In The City (Red Scare)
- Hum – Inlet (Polyvinyl)
- Silverstein – A Beautiful Place To Drown (UNFD)
- The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (Modular)
- Mundy’s Bay – Lonesome Valley (Pure Noise)
1. Spanish Love Songs – Brave Faces Everyone (Pure Noise)
The fact that Luke Spencer, better known online as Rocked and I both put this record at #1 is incredible, and we both share the same reasons as to why. Released shortly before COVID-19 started running rampant in the states, before we started quarantining and wearing masks outside, L.A. punk rockers Spanish Love Songs dropped Brave Faces Everyone, and album that was already being hyped up by fans as incredible. But as time went on during the pandemic, the meaning of the record changed and every single song started hitting differently. Spencer put it quite bluntly in his video, saying, “I can’t stress enough that Brave Faces Everyone is the defining anthem of 2020 from front to back.” No album this year has hit me as hard as Brave Faces Everyone, and I can’t recall how many times I’ve cried screaming out the lyrics to “Losers”. Vocalist/guitarist Dylan Slocum is this generation’s Bruce Springsteen. His ability to turn his experiences into beautiful, emotional charged hits is goddamn incredible. A songwriter like this comes only once in a lifetime, and Slocum is a goddamn poet who deserves your respect. To quote myself, “Brave Faces Everyone is an album that we can expect from SLS, but it’s a fine one at best. The ten tracks on it are packed with lyrics that will relate to any Millennial, and it’s got the punk rock tendencies to get your sad ass moving on the floor.” Get this fucking album right the fuck now.
Punk Goes Prenatt 