my top 23 (in memory of Genesis) with some comments on my top ten of 2020.....
23. Uniform - Shame
22. Bob Mould - Blue Hearts
21. Steven Von Till - No Wilderness Deep Enough
20. Kairon; IRISE - Polysomn
19. Wire - Mind Hive
18. Drain - California Cursed
17. The Residents - Metal, Meat and Bone: The Songs Of Dyin' Dogs
16. Eisturzende Neubauten - Alles In Allen
15. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
14. Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata
13. Couch Slut - Take A Chance On Rock N Roll
12. Rome - The Lone Furrow
11. Idles - Ultra Mono
10. Today Is The Day - No Good To Anyone
Steve Austin's 11th full length and fuck does
he still hate humans.....This is an amazing mixture of classic noise rock
with experimental metal arrangements....a constant reminder that to
truly be misanthropic you have to hate yourself the most
9. Brainbombs - Cold Chase
9th album by the Swedish noise rock legends and they finally added a
little production....a softer feel to their earlier work....but still
unbelievably relentless in the lyrical delivery and assault on the
listener....and still enamored with serial killers
8. Chief Tail - Chief Tail
It's not everyday an up and coming band formed out the dead and
infamous Richmond VA band PCP Roadblock gets to record their debut
with Steve Albini...the result is an absolute rocket ride down Am Rep era
noise rock....this album is short...dirty...and to the fucking point
7. The Goners - Good Mourning
this makes me think of Time To Die era Electric Wizard getting really
drunk and doing a bunch of blow then attempting garage punk
album.....really heavy b-horror film inspired lyrics....these Swedish guys
made a kick ass rock record....hands down
best album cover of 2020
6. Hum - Inlet
In 2015 my friend Carson and i traveled to Portland OR to catch a Hum
reunion show.....just a couple of months later we met again in Santa Cruz
to catch a Ride reunion and was nostalgic over these great 9 rock bands
getting back together and hopefully releasing new material....Ride did it a
year later and now Hum.....this is....in my opinion...and amazing
comeback....albeit a little repetitive....this album picks up right where
they left off 20 years ago.....which is fine by me
5. Jesu - Terminus
Justin Broadrick can do no wrong in my mind.....and this is just a
continuation of the feeling I feel like he has always tried to invoke with
Jesu....the last Godflesh album was an amazing return to that wonderful
pounding industrial sound....and this is an amazing return to long fuzzing
feelings of absolute despondency
4. Human Impact - Human Impact
There is no denning that i will 100% love anything Chris Spencer
touches....but putting a band together with ex members of Unsane, Cop
Shoot Cop, Swans, Angels of Light, and Flux Information
Sciences....FUCK....mind blown.....I remember
a few years ago when he release the fist UXO album and my friend told
me...."this just sounds like Unsane" and I responded with...."It sounds
like Unsane if Today is the Day wrote the guitar arrangements"....this
sounds nothing like Unsane....and is an album that forces the listener to
look at themselves and see the horrible things they have done to this
world....the musical arrangements are amazing as to be expected from
such an amazing group of musicians
3. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
My before mentioned friend got me onto this album mid year and I
listened to it constant for a couple of months.....there is no way around
it...Sophie Allison has amazing song writing ablity....she writes damn near
perfect songs that make me smile as much as they pull my deepest heat
strings....i thought for sure Color Theory would be my album of the year
until I found these last two and was floored
2. Hoaries - Rocker Shocker
I love noise rock.....this is nothing short of noise rock gold....I remember
hearing in an interview about Lubricated Goat that the Aussies will also
create great music because they ****ing love the Stooges....these guys
are from Dallas and rose from the ashes of the amazing band White
Drugs (RIP)...and they hold to that statement....this is noise rock at it's
best...to quote their label...."For **** sake, they even manage to make a
SADÉ cover work"
1. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Two really strange things happened for me this year......I agree with what
is considered the greatest book of 2020....The Boy, The Mole, The Fox
And The Horse....is the greatest book written and defines everything we
all really need right now....i literally dropped tears all over myself reading
it.....and I agree with this amazing multi Grammy nominated album as
being the best album of 2020.....a co-worker asked me if I had heard
this....I replied no and asked for a link...a couple of days later I pulled her
up on Spotify....I liked Garden Song.....loved Kyoto.....Really loved
Punisher.....fell more in Love with Moon Song....and absolutely melted
with I Know The End....I went back and listened to her career and it's all
really good....but not this good....this is what I will listen to when I reflect
on this contrived year.....especially I Know The End....the melancholy
beginning....the middle build up....fucking
amazing.....that scream at the end....she has managed to encompass all
of my emotions in this crazy year....and I will love her forever for this
album
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