My Favourite Music: 2020
The Albums
- Bonny Light Horseman — Bonny Light Horseman
My favourite album of 2019 album was the Fruit Bats’ Gold Past Life. So, you can only imagine how excited I was to discover Eric Johnson had a new record coming out in 2020. Bonny Light Horseman is a collective featuring Johnson, multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, and folk-singer turned Broadway darling Anais Mitchell. The album is a collection of old folk standards that harken back to the Napoleonic Wars, Biblical stories, and Appalachian oral traditions, which Mitchell has called “astral folk”. The album is a pure album, from start to end. After a year of listening to the lead-off single, “Deep in Love” still haunts my heart at every play. With beautifully subtle musical arrangements and balanced vocals from Mitchell and Johnson, the album is atmospheric at every turn. “The Roving”, “Blackwaterside”, “Magpie’s Nest”, “Lowlands”, and “Bright Morning Stars” are woeful songs that highlight the heart at the center of traditional folk music. However, as organic as the album sounds, the subtle production is bold and modern, reminiscent of the Van Morrison album that inspired their sound. This is the type of album worthy of headphones, a drive in the country, or a long walk in the woods. The senses deserve some time with Bonny Light Horseman.
2. Zoon — Bleached Wavves
Hamilton’s Daniel Monkmen’s album at first listen has all the famous hallmarks of shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, or fellow Hamiltonians Sianspheric. However, there is one major difference. On a second listen, Monkman’s aboriginal roots shine through, and it is this combination where Monkman strikes audio gold. Although this innovative sound — which Monkman has christened “moccasin-gaze”- is most evident on “Infinite Horizons”, it reaches its zenith on “Was & Always Will Be”. Monkman’s wall of guitar noise rolls over traditional first nation drum beats creating a sound that is both traditional, familiar, and totally new. Zoon’s sonic overload assaults the ears on tracks like “Vibrant Colours” and “Brokenhead”, where his repetitive driving drones could be on repeat for an hour and not get boring. Bleached Wavves is a joyous noise that I was not expecting. It took me out of myself and allowed me to lose myself in the music. It also made me think of what this must sound like live. I miss live shows.
3. Pinegrove — Marigold
The fourth album from New York’s Pinegrove is a complicated album to enjoy. In short, lead singer Evan Stephen Hall took a year off amid accusations “of sexual coercion” with a female with whom he had a relationship. He has never denied responsibility, and the lyrics and tone of Marigold seem to reflect his coming to terms with his decisions. Their Alt-Americana sound is still central to Marigold, but the songs are far more melancholy than former records; but, I am good with that. However, what is interesting about this melancholy is the self-reflection. With every song, Hall sings honestly of the darkness that appears “Endless” or in a “Moment” that he “can’t see past”. It would be easy for the emo-Americana to sink into despair, but instead, Hall gives us a glimmer — although not too much — of the future ahead. On “Endless”, he declares, “But I don’t think it goes on endlessly…the horizon’s lifting away from me”. The theme of rebirth is even more evident in “Hairpin” when he sings, “I can’t wait to go home to be there when the new world comes”. If this theme is not apparent enough, the penultimate track tells the allegory of a dying insect determined to survive. Then, as if to give us the time to reflect, Pinegrove ends Marigold with the title track, a 6-minute ambient coda, in which we may consider the marigold; a flower both synonymous with grief and despair, but also with the rising of the sun, and the coming of spring. Marigold seems like an album thematically perfect for 2020. However, given Hall’s times and actions, Marigold will never fully be seen for the genius that it is. And that is what makes this record so difficult.
4. Kathleen Edwards — Total Freedom
It seems impossible to talk about Total Freedom without talking about Kathleen’s 2012 album Voyageur, an album that I still believe is one of the last ten years’ best albums. During a 7-year hiatus from the music industry (when she opened a coffee shop called Quitters in Stittsville, Ontario), Kathleen wrote Total Freedom from a place of reflection, as opposed to Voyageur, which was written from a position of raw emotion. Freedom begins with “Glenfern” in which Edwards reflects on her life in Hamilton, her early years in music, and her marriage to her guitarist Colin Cripp. This reflection on her marriage continues on the album’s standout track “Hard On Everyone” in which she channels a War on Drugs-like guitar line. However, despite her struggles with depression, drinking, and love, Edwards finds the space to reflect on the things that bring joy to her life. Friendship in “Simple Math”. Her Dogs in “Who Rescued Who”. However, the internal peace that makes up the album is most evident in “Bird on the Feeder” where we can relax in the knowledge that despite the heartbreak of Voyageur, Edwards is at peace in “total freedom, with “No one to need”.
5. The Avalanches — We Will Always Love You.
I first stumbled upon The Avalanches back in 2016 when they released their long-awaited sophomore album Wildflower (and the fantastic video for “Because of Me”). Instead of 16 years, it only took four years for the band’s third album We Will Always Love You. Now, I should point out that one of the things I hate the most about modern music is the term “featuring”. Usually, because collaborations like this usually reek of record company gerrymandering (remember how many songs featured Janelle Monae after 2011) and shelling pop music to the lowest common denominator. However, The Avalanches work with artists they genuinely appreciate, so the collection here is not “up-and-coming” or “crossing genres” (looking at you, Adam Levine), but is interesting (not a list of Top 40 performers) and comes from a place of genuine fandom. Superorganism’s Orono Noguchi starts off the album with a clip of her breaking up with her boyfriend when she was 14. True music fans will also note the inclusion of The Clash’s Mick Jones, The Smith’s Johnny Marr, Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell, Terence Trent D’Arby, Neneh Cherry, and Kurt Vile. Yet, the stellar guests are Leon Bridges and Rivers Cuomo, whose lines merge seamlessly into Avalanches’ soulful grooves. The samples are where Tony Di Blasi and Robbie Chater strike pure gold. Plucking Smokey Robinson on “We Will Always Love You”, The Shirelles on “The Divine Chord”, and Sharon Jones (RIP) on “Music is the Light” are masterful. Still, nothing is better than sliding The Alan Parson’s Project’s “Eye in the Sky” into “Interstellar Love” as Leon Bridges’ lays down some classic-sounding soul. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait 16, or even four more years, for The Avalanches’ next album.
6. Chris Stapleton — Starting Over
Chris Stapleton’s latest record reads like a tribute to his influences. On tracks like “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice”, “Watch you Burn”, “Whiskey Sunrise”, and the absolutely rip-roaring “Arkansas” Stapleton taps into the southern rock of CCR and Lynyrd Skynyrd. On Arkansas (which I might place as the best rock n’ roll song of the year), Stapleton belts out that when you are in Arkansas, your “Havin’ so much fun that it’s probably a little bit against the law”. The album also includes a flurry of gospel-inspired roots songs like “Maggie’s Song” (get over the comparisons to The Band), “When I’m with You”, and “Cold” that embody Stapleton sound, one that blends traditional country sounds with the soulfulness of The Staples Singers. However, the most magnificent moment on the record comes on the album’s opening title track, “Starting Over”, where Stapleton’s stripped-down guitar sound acts as a bed for his Kentucky soul. This song is gorgeous. This album will no doubt get some play as we enter into the coldest months of the year. A record like this warms the soul and is pure joy.
7. Frazey Ford — U Kin B the Sun
Former Be Good Tanya Frazey Ford released her third solo album, and like its predecessor Indian Ocean, Ford has found a home in the warm rhythms of southern soul. In many ways, U Kin B the Sun reads like a sequel to Indian Ocean. Although the album addresses dark matter, Ford’s lyrics are hopeful. On the lead-off single “The Kids Are Having None of It”, she addresses youth in a post-Parkland America, adding that “they can’t be taught to hate”. This affection for today’s youth is continuously on display in U Kin B the Sun. For example, the chorus to “Money Can’t Buy” repeats the phrase “you’ve got a light that money can’t buy”, a shot at the generations before whose apathy has brought about many issues dear to Ford, but also evidently important to today’s youth. On the beautiful-sounding, “Golden” Ford declares, “Get higher and love yourself”, a call for optimism and self-love, in troublesome times. The beautiful organ on U Kin B the Sun (courtesy of Phil Cook) brings a warmth to the album that makes it all the more inspiring. The musical backdrop allows Ford to continue to build on the folky-soul she tapped into on Indian Ocean. The fact that Ford’s latest record went relatively unnoticed in Canada is shameful. This album was a gem, and worth celebrating.
8. Rich Aucoin — United States
Haligonian pop-rock experimentalist Rich Aucoin has a penchant for pop-rock like few others. Over his years of recording, and biking around Canada and America for charity (Aucoin has been dubbed The Maritimes’ Forest Gump), he has recorded a series of masterpieces, including 2011’s We’re All Dying to Live. In 2018 Aucoin biked from Los Angeles to New York, and in doing so, crafted an album about the United States and its current identity crisis. The singles “Walls” and “Reset” are where Aucoin’s masterful songwriting (and video production) is on display. On “Walls” Aucoin addresses the literal wall that the Trump presidency dreamed of, while more explicitly addressing the metaphorical walls that “separate our humanity”. Yet, “Reset” is the gold standard on United States. It begins with a driving baseline that pushes to a dramatic Arcade Fire-like militant chorus (reminiscent of Aucoin’s 2011 single “It”). The production of “Reset” works perfectly; despite the anthemic chorus and the catchiness of the song, the listener can’t help but think of the severe nature of gun violence in America. The album closes with the pared-down “American Dream” where Aucoin — dripping with Lennon and Bowie — declares, “You can never win, and that’s the heart of the scheme, I don’t want to lose my life, to the American Dream”. In a year when we were so transfixed with our neighbours to the south, Rich Aucoin created a soundtrack for a divided nation.
9. Mt. Joy — Rearrange Us
Los Angeles’ Mt. Joy’s second album is lush with Tucker Martine’s (Decemberists, My Morning Jacket) production. His production with magnificent bands allows him to ensure a band as talented as Mt. Joy is on full display. The title track “Rearrange Us” is a perfect example of just how good they are as a band. As Piano/Organist Jackie Miclau, drummer Sotiris Eliopoulos, and bassist Michael Byrnes lay down a groovy bedrock, Sam Cooper’s stunning guitar work and Matt Quinn’s blue-eyed soul takes center stage. The instrumentation is exemplified on the album’s groovy “Let Loose” which sounds like a deep cut from some long-lost 70’s blues-rock band. Yet, the band’s folky sound, which is not unlike early Head & The Heart, is equally displayed throughout the record. Mt. Joy’s folksy sound is obvious on “Every Holiday”, the Christmas anthem for 2020, in which Quinn reflects on getting through the holidays while in the depths of depression, and includes the standout line on the album “Merry Christmas babe, I hope we make it through”. Try and hold back those tears. The fact is that Mt. Joy is a beautiful example of 70s Americana and should be on just about every radio station in the country.
10. Royce da 5’9” — Allegory
Detroit’s Royce da 5’9” has been a central figure in the Detroit hip hop scene for over 20 years now. However, with Allegory, Royce has stepped out of his friend and frequent collaborator Eminem’s shadow (Bad Meets Evil) to bring us an album that speaks directly to many of the issues that were front and center in 2020. The album starts with an off-key piano backing the education of the young in the culture of commodification. Royce spits out, “credit is for the privileged, and profit is not my amenity. I am just here to get popped by the cops”, and sounds more like Gil Scott Heron than his modern-day hip hop contemporaries. Heron is not the only hint of the ’70s at play in Allegory. The horn line that slides along “I Play Forever” could have come from any Marvin Gaye album. Similarly, Royce’s use of The Linton’s “Lost Love” on “Overcomer” conjures up the sounds of classic soul. Of course, these samples work perfectly with the theme of economic disparity, which was a key theme in much of the music from this era. The damaging realities of capitalism are (as you no doubt assessed from the album cover) the predominant theme of Allegory and one that fuels Royce’s message that “we want in”. Could that message be more consistent throughout Allegory? Yes. Could the album be slimmed down? Yes. But, overall, this is Royce’s best album ever and a standout record for 2020.
Great Singles from great records that didn’t crack the top 10.
Best Cover: Ellis — Lover
Everyone knows I like a great cover. This shoegaze version by Hamilton’s Ellis tapped into the Taylor Swift version so perfectly, I forgot she wrote it.
Best Local: 347aidan — Dancing in my Room
I have always loved supporting local. This Cambridge teen — who looks like the love child of Harry Styles and Pete Davidson) put out some great stuff this year, but this was a great single.
There Must Be More That Blood — The Car Seat Headrest
Velodrome — 2nd Grade
Deleter — Grouplove
Even if I Tried — Jenny O
The Robber — The Weather Station
Oh Canada — Nadia Reid
A Rat Without A Tale — Daniel Romano
Animal Noise — Model Child
Say The Name — Clipping.
Future Islands — For Sure
Grey & Blue — Kestrels w. J. Mascis
Jitterbug Jettison — Haf N’ Haf
Funeral — Handsome Ghost
Adore You — Harry Styles
Runner — Hovvdy
Neon Skyline — Andy Shauf
Tell-Tale Heart — Riverby
Salut — Nnamdi
Cars in Space — Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Wound You — Hawksley Workman & Sarah Slean
You and I — Caribou
Save Your Tears — The Weeknd
Easy to Love — Oscar Lang
Can I Believe You — Fleet Foxes
Stranger — Trixie Mattel (Featuring Lavender Country)
