Killer virus and political mayhem aside, 2020 wasn’t all that bad. There was some phenomenal music released this year. In fact, whittling this list down to just 20 tracks was a real challenge. Below are some of the tracks that I kept returning to this year.
(P.S. Don’t forget to also check out my worst songs of 2020 if you like lists. If you're a hardcore listophile, feel free to also check out my favourite songs from '19, '18, '17 and '16.)
20. ‘War’ – Idles
While my
feelings were lukewarm on the new Idles album, the record’s opener ‘War’ is absolutely
monstrous. Lyrically, the track is largely just Talbot making childlike gun and
sword sound effects and screaming ‘WARRR!’ at the listener, and yet there’s so
much energy thrown into it that it’s a total thrill-ride (the drums have all
the savagery of a blitzkrieg).
19. ‘Stupid Love’ – Lady Gaga
The pop
landscape saw a noticeable shift this year from moody downtempo numbers to
upbeat rambunctious bops – most likely to distract everyone from the depressing pandemic. Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ and The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ almost
made this list (they’re in the honourable mentions at the bottom), but Lady
Gaga’s ‘Stupid Love’ is probably my favourite chart-topper from this year. Its cyber-synths
and punchy drums go hard and the ‘freak out, freak out, freak out’
refrain is super catchy. The colourful sci-fi video is also very cool – it gives
me Power Rangers vibes and was apparently ‘shot entirely on the iPhone 11
Pro’.
18. ‘A Hero’s Death’ – Fontaines DC
Dublin post-punk
band Fontaines DC dropped their second album this year A Hero’s Death and
this is the title track. Slow-building descending guitars, vocal oohs and
motivational lyrics result in an oddly menacing pep talk. I particularly love
the lyric ‘life ain’t always empty’ – it’s a confirmation that life can
sometimes be inconsequential, but that there are small moments that can be
immensely meaningful. I still haven’t got a clue what’s going on in the music
video.
17. ‘Dragonball
Durag’ - Thundercat
Some of you may
dismiss this as just a silly song about a durag, but I think it’s actually a
profound psychoanalysis on our need to seek approval from others. Honestly, WHY
WON’T THEYJUST TELL HIM HOW HE LOOKS IN HIS GODDAMN DURAG??? Okay, so it really
is just a silly song about a durag – however it’s hilariously entertaining
(particularly the video) and the instrumental is deliciously groovy. It’s one
of the more light-hearted songs from the funky singer-bassist’s new album It Is What It Is.
16. ‘Daisy’ –
Ashnikko
Of all the
female rappers churning out trap rap bangers this year, Ashnikko definitely
seems to be one of the more creative. I’m digging the Arabian flavour of the
beat and the moaned out delivery of the chorus – the whole thing is incredibly
infectious. I also love her psycho bitch attitude. She makes me feel like an empowered woman.
15. ‘The Climb
Back’ – J Cole
After
being erroneously cancelled by Twitter, the North Carolina rapper climbed
back this year with this new suitably-named single ‘The Climb Back’. The
off-kilter self-produced beat is enchanting and the way in which he
continuously switches up his flow feels effortless. Some of the bars are also
really clever – my personal faves are ‘you’ll see how I flipped like
exclamation points’ (‘!’ upside down is ‘i’) and ‘blow your clothes half
off like a promo code’.
14. ‘Trolley Dash’ - Life Drawings
Life Drawings
are a rock four-piece from London whose lyrics ‘explore mundane observations
of everyday life, from rearranging one’s Tupperware collection to finding the
end of a roll of sellotape’. This track ‘Trolley Dash’ is themed around
panic buying in an imagined 2022 apocalypse (and was allegedly written and recorded
long before the coronavirus pandemic!). The guitars and vocal style is
reminiscent of The Fall, driven along by an infectious bass riff. My favourite
part is the demented yelling of ‘and make sure you put a divider down at the
end or else you’re going to pay for somebody else’s SHOPPING!’.
13. ‘Dreary Nonsense’ – Osees
This loopy noise
rock tune is only 90 seconds long, but it's an exhilaratingly busy 90 seconds.
In fact, the band manage to squeeze in two verses and a plethora of deranged
riffs (the opening riff is particularly deranged - it barely sounds like a
guitar). While it can be a struggle to keep up with this band’s prolific output
(and frequent band name changes), it’s worth it for gems like this.
12. ‘Moving Pictures’ – Tape Tension
The audio and
visuals to this song give me serious Toro Y Moi vibes. I love the dude’s dreamy
voice and the instrumental is sheer synth porn. Tape Tension is the project of
Minneapolis multi-instrumentalist and producer Jack Ross. He’s definitely an
artist to keep an eye on if you love chillwave/dream pop/synthpop as much as I
do.
11. ‘You Said It’ – KOYO
The opening bass
riff sounds a lot like the breakdown from Slipknot’s ‘Duality’. But as the song
progresses, it becomes clear that KOYO are nothing like Slipknot. The Leeds
rock group slowly and suspensefully build up the song into a satisfying
explosion of stabbing guitars and catchy belted vocals. It’s an explosive
prog-indie sound that I haven't heard from any other band. Read me interview with the band here.
10. ‘Ferdous’ – Overdrive
I usually turn
my nose up at any track with auto-tuned vocals, but this is auto-tune done
right. Combined with those deep synths in the background, it results in a
futuristic woozy aesthetic that I’d love to hear more of. It helps that dude
can also clearly sing and isn’t just using auto-tune as a crutch like half of
today’s mumble rappers (wow, I sound like a right old boomer). ‘Overdrive’ is
part of a new two track EP – you can check out the other equally hypnotic
single ‘Eventually’ here at Bandcamp.
9. ‘Shameika’ – Fiona Apple
Sometimes
comments from people who barely touch our lives can have the biggest impact on
us. This is what catchy and creative piano rock song ‘Shameika’ is largely about.
Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple’s personality really shines though in the track (which
she describes herself with the line ‘Tony told me he’d describe me as pissed
off, funny and warm’) and there are some truly striking lyrics in the track
such as ‘I wasn’t afraid of the bullies, and that just made the bullies
worse’. It’s my favourite track off of her brilliant new album Fetch The Bolt Cutters.
8. ‘Snail’ – Benee
'Like a
snail/ you're a guy'. The lyrics to this song are terrible, but regardless,
I can’t get enough of this new quirky track from Auckland pop artist Benee.
Both the beat and her vocal inflections are so bubbly and eccentric – the song
sounds like nothing else currently out there. It’s matched by an equally bubbly
and eccentric psychedelic snail-infested video that makes it all the more fun.
7. ‘Snow Day’ – Shame
‘It’s the
most beautiful thing you’ll ever see, and yet you walk right past it all the
time on your way to work!’ yells frontman Charlie Steen over tumultuous
drums and fiercely tremolo-picked guitars. My God, this track is spectacular.
It’s a densely-packed post-punk roller-coaster ride. The track constantly
shifts gears, building up to manic climaxes and falling away to make room for
the next exciting progression. It’s the most exciting rock song I’ve heard in
2020.
6. ‘REACHUPDONTSTOP’ – Baauer
‘Harlem Shake’
producer Baauer dropped a new album this year – and it contains some the
filthiest EDM tracks ever to be conceived. It was a toss-up between choosing
this track and ‘Planet’s Mad’ for my end of year list. This track just about
edges it. The kick drums sound like cannons and the choppy sampling sounds like
a war chant. The dreamy melodic synths that break up the track help to add some
prettiness (as well as making each drop hit ten times harder).
5. ‘Good News’ – Mac Miller
Recorded only a
few months before the rapper’s death, this single from Mac Miller’s new
posthumous album Circles is a difficult listen. It’s a glimpse
into his mind before he took his own life – you can hear him struggling to find
the energy in his voice as he vents his depressed thoughts. The most painful
part is hearing the brief moments of optimism that suggest he could have still
found a way out. The bittersweet tone of the beat really adds to the vibe of
the track.
4. ‘DIET_’ – Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats
Rapper Denzel
Curry and producer Kenny Beats are both fast becoming hip hop legends, and ‘DIET_’
showcases the best of what both artists have to offer. Both the frenetic
clanging beat and Denzel’s non-stop delivery make for an intense listen. Some
of the meanest and most playful bars Denzel has ever written can be found in
this song too including ‘if the game was a tooth, I’m a fucking pair of
pliers’. It comes of the artists' new joint EP UNLOCKED.
3. ‘Change’ – Wesley Gonzalez
I cannot get
enough of this song. The shimmering synths and groovy bassline are absolutely hypnotic,
and Wesley’s voice gives me serious Bowie vibes. As with all the tracks on
Wesley’s new synthpop record Appalling Human, it just feels so well-composed
and well-produced. The lo-fi quality of the video and his ‘normal guy’ image
are probably the reason many people are put off this track, but I personally find
it all the more endearing (it’s clearly intentional).
2. ‘Strongboi’ – Strongboi
Another
criminally underrated song – this eccentric bop released back in February is the
work of quirky duo Strongboi, made up of South African singer Alice Phoebe Lou
and producer Ziv Yamin. It contains a mixture of singing and rapping over strange
and funky layers of synths. The ‘Strong! Boi! Strong! Boi!’ hook is such an
earworm. I also love the VHS-quality video sporting awkward public dancing and
wacky shades (there’s a pre-pandemic sense of nostalgia to it).
1. ‘America’ – Sufjan Stevens
This phenomenal
over-twelve-minute single from Sufjan Stevens’ new album The Ascension
is close to perfection. The track is a commentary on the downfall of America in
2020 (released before the election) in which Sufjan seems to be questioning his
faith in God (or possibly humanity), summed up with the simple but powerful
hook ‘don’t do to me what you did to America’. It combines the
introspective vulnerability of Carrie & Lowell and the
larger-than-life epicness of Planetarium. The genre-bending
instrumental builds and builds to an almighty climax, while Sufjan's
exasperated lyrics seem to grow in despair. Towards the end it dissipates into
dark ambience as if giving in to the oppressive bleakness. But in the last
couple minutes, things brighten up - a suggestion that there is still a light
at the end of the tunnel and that, as bad as things get, there is always hope. It’s
the soundtrack of 2020.
Honourable Mentions:
'Blinding Lights' - The Weeknd
'Douha (Mali Mali)' - Disclosure ft. Fatouma Diawara