2020 in music
It's been a few years since I've made "albums of the year" lists in earnest; I think it's because I felt exhausted trying to keep up with new releases and when I did, ranking them felt pointless. In fact, Bandcamp is now deviating from traditional rankings — read why here.
This year has been... different, and I've actually found myself in a headspace to sink into albums a bit more (silver linings?). There were some established artists whom I finally clicked with for the first time; that's always nice after a musical drought. Here are a few 2020 releases that have summed up the year for me, in alphabetical order. They'll always remind me of chilly days walking through deserted streets and sweltering nights spent holed up coding & writing.
- Ana Roxanne - Because of a Flower
- Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now
- Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
- Destroyer - Have We Met
- Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
- Emily A. Sprague - Hill, Flower, Fog
- Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters ⭐️
- HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III ⭐️
- Joan of Arc - Tim Melina Theo Bobby
- Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song
- Khruangbin - Mordechai
- Lady Gaga - Chromatica
- Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
- Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders
- Moses Sumney - Græ
- Oceanator - Things I Never Said
- Owen - The Avalanche
- Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
- Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
- Shamir - Cataclysm
- Shamir - Shamir
- Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
- Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
- Taylor Swift - Folklore
- Taylor Swift - Evermore
- U.S. Girls - Heavy Light
- Wolf Parade - Thin Mind