The end of a year is always a time of reflection and this year it seems more important than ever. It’s no secret that 2020 has been an absolute shit show yet even with the loss of concerts and festivals, music has seemed to save us all. We’ve made it to the final days of 2020! That’s something to celebrate. To add to that celebration, the BANDED team shares our favorite releases of the year….
BECKS
To be truthfully honest, my listening behavior has been just as chaotic as this entire year. It seems I spent more time listening to singles rather than albums (outside of The Struts + Ozzy) which is pretty reflective of how artists are releasing their music these days. Here’s a handful of tracks that I’ve had on repeat throughout the year…
But before I share, I want to give a special shoutout to Nashville’s Sweettalker for releasing the EP of the century, Paradise. From beginning to end, it’s a musical masterpiece and an instant mood lifter. It could have singlehandedly gotten me through the year on a high note, but I’ll let Isabel tell you a little more about the EP….
Crown Lands: Self Titled EP
If you’re a die-hard classic rock fan then WOW do I have something for you. Crown Lands' self titled EP soothes a craving so many of us have been yearning for. My personal favorite track is ‘Sun Dance’, a captivating experience reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. Light up some incense and let this one play. You’ll thank me later.
Tetrarch: I’m Not Right [Single]
This may have been Tetrarch’s only release this year, but it’s all they needed. ‘I’m Not Right’ has racked up major attention on the radio, streaming services, and my most played list. Hard hitting and emotional, this one has been perfect for my workouts and honestly just getting lost in the music.
THEM EVILS: Where Ya Gonna Crash Tonight? [Single]
Everyone needs some damn good rock ‘n’ roll and Them Evils always delivers. ‘Where Ya Gonna Crash Tonight’ is a fun one I found myself belting in the car and dreaming of hitting the road to see shows again.
Shiraz Lane: Broken Into Pieces [Single]
Shiraz Lane is one of my favorite discoveries of 2019/2020. If you’re into The Struts or classics like Def Leppard, you’ll Love them. Feeling like a bunch of broken pieces myself, this was a great one to sing out into the abyss and groove into the guitar solo.
Joyous Wolf: Odyssey [Single]
A strong story line, incredible musicianship, and out of this world vocals. Joyous Wolf continuously delivers forceful and emotional tracks that keep me begging for more. Since discovering the band, I can’t remember a time they haven’t made it onto my most played.
Andrew Hagar: Cold Knife Karma [Single]
Since we’re keeping it honest here, I truly could not decide which of Andrew’s 2020 releases was my favorite. Cold Knife Karma brings the heat with a gritty and suspenseful feel that I just couldn’t get enough of.
JUSTIN
We all know and felt the blow of 2020, no reason for me to list and relive it, well …… besides the Tiger King part of this year ( we all loved that part). However shitty the rest of the year was, amazing music did not stop and in fact we clung ever more dearly to it and forgot the world around us. Here are my top 5 picks that got me through this shit storm.
Asking Alexandria: Like A House On Fire
Before you burn me for saying this, hear me out. I know this album received a lot of backlash ( A LOT ). However, I also followed Danny ( lead vocalist ) on his solo career and with We Are Harlot, and I greatly appreciated the bluegrass, hard rock fusion they did with this album. Is it the AA you know and love: No. Is it a well written album taking a different creative direction: Yes. A lot of these songs were on repeat for me.
American Slang: Death Drive
Do you like Every Time I Die? Do you like He Is Legend? Then you will love American Slang.
Their debut album is a total sleeper and was shown to me by good friend and bassist from Them Evils, Jake Massanari. Hard American rock, as simple as that. It’s a banger album and a low key hit.
Trivium: What The Dead Men Say
Now I will admit, I am not thee hugest Trivium fan; couple songs here & there and that’s it. However, when this album was released, it completely change my ears to hearing him. Sick riffs, great vocals, great lyric writing, and still a diverse sound on the album. This album made me Trivium believer and I’m sure may others as well.
Bring Me The Horizon: Post Human: Survival Horror
Yes I know this is not an actual “album” but an E.P., but it is pretty much an album in length. Regardless, from front to back this album almost took my number 1 spot. I didn’t like their previous album Amo at all, in fact it’s my least favorite of theirs. As soon as “Dear Diary” hit my play button, I knew this album was different and my hear opened for Bring Me The Horizon again.
Code Orange: Underneath
Number 1 was a close tie, but Code Orange as blow me away this year. Underneath came out in the beginning of the year and like every band, their tour for the album was canceled, so what did they do ? They rented out one of their venues scheduled and still preformed a live stream show for FREE, in fact they were one of the first bands to do a live stream before everyone else hopped on the bandwagon.
This album is pure rock art. Such a grunge Alice In Chains meets industrial Nine Inch Nails. It demonstrates the musicianship each member of the band possesses, and puts you on a journey you will want to relive over & over.
Code Orange is my top release for 2020, and it is well deserved.
IRIS
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me: Razzmatazz
In a year marked with struggle and strife, Salt Lake City duo I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (shortened to IDKHow) managed to transport listeners to a groovy retro dimension with the release of “Razzmatazz.” Mystical, magical, and utterly monumental this 37 minute tour de force exemplifies everything we loved about the 80’s. From the grandiose synths in “Leave Me Alone” to the smooth saxophone found on the closing track, “Razzmatazz” is an utterly remarkable album.
Architects UK: Animals [Single]
Architects UK shocked everyone when they announced the end of their two-year hiatus via the surprise release of ‘Animals.’ Drastically different than any of the music found on their 2018 release “Holy Hell;” the leading single from their 2021 release, “For Those That Wish To Exist” is an utterly crushing track. Brutal, cutting, and ephemeral, ‘Animals’ by Architects UK represents a promising new start for this UK-based band.
CHLOE
Although underwhelming in most facets, 2020 was stellar for new music. I discovered a myriad of new local bands in my home scene if Ft Worth, as well as the scene I’ve adopted in Nashville. Bands like Drumrz, Ashes, Titans of Siren, and Echo Pilot. This year I also discovered Phoebe Bridgers, and Dirty Honey.
Some of my old favorites released some BRILLIANT work this year, with Greta Van Fleet’s “My Way Soon”, Old 97s “Twelfth”, and the Network’s “Money Money 2020 pt II: We Told Ya So!” being amongst my absolute favorites. The myriad of amazing music this year is a shining beacon in this dark sea of a year that reminds us that tours and good times lie ahead.
ISABEL
2020 feels like the year where music responded to opposite but universal needs: tracks hit like a hurricane of nostalgia for other times and rich instrumentation, songs demanded to be danced upon to three o'clock in the morning even if the kitchen floor is the only dancefloor, escapism-core, intimate records about individual experienced yet universal understandable pain - and sometimes all of the above.
Sweettalker: Paradise
Sweettalker created a retrospective turmoil with their first EP: rich and colorful instrumentation with horns, violins, flutes, percussions plus groovy guitars, rampant background vocals, and adventurous lyrics. 'Paradise' is an EP that asks to be listened to multiple times and shows more of its secrets with every listen. Encapsulating the feeling of driving with the windows on a sunny day, Sweettalker know when to make a musical splash and when to open up the arrangement for new sounds - with heavier sounds on 'Born To Lose' or the transition between 'Far Away' and said song. But even with this abundance of lyrics and sounds, the EP knows when to skip a beat or place silence to make the next note even more remarkable.
Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher
'And when I grow up, I'm gonna look up from my phone and see my life'. In a year when screentime reached world record highs, 'Punisher' felt like an album for a world that was slowly falling apart. Phoebe Bridgers emotionally explores themes of touring, relationships, and living in general while achieving some truly stunning things: she finds a way to be universal through being specific, being relatable through being weird, being meaningful in the profound. The instrumental landscape gives her space for her truly astonishing lyrics and vocals and even surprises you a little bit - when the banjo in 'Graceland Too' comes in or when Julien Baker and Lucy Darcus harmonize. The album closes with the phenomenal and cathartic 'I Know The End' and the lyric 'Yeah, I guess the end is here' which feels like a weird closure for a weird year that was 2020 and makes 'Punisher' an emotional companion for the year.
Fiona Apple: Fetch The Bold Cutters
I really don't know what else to write about this LP that hasn't already has been written. 'Fetch The Bold Cutters' was the first Pitchfork 10 in a decade, has been the top of many AOTY lists, and has been called a masterpiece multiple times. But just listing off the critical reception of this album doesn't come close to the fascination this album holds. It is the musically embodied experience of self-selected isolation with home-made percussion and dogs barking in the background. It captures past traumas and current navigation in patriarchal structures. It is complicated, lyrically masterful, inevitable. But most important: 'Fetch The Bold Cutters' captured the feeling of holding on, of enduring emotions by making them felt. What a great experience.
Taylor Swift: Folklore
A year-end list wouldn't be complete without Taylor Swifts 'Folklore' - her (first) surprise quarantine album. Impressed on the first listen and the critical reception, the album turns out to be something that was on my mind the whole year (not solely but in part because the vinyl I ordered in July only arrived the day 'Evermore' was announced in December). Taylor Swifts' lyricism shines on this album as she mythologized her estate in Rhode Island, writes classical bridges on the fly, and steps into her capabilities as a storyteller about a teen-love-triangle.
Moreover, 'Folklore' shows how Taylor Swift gracefully can make a multitude of musical styles work - country, big bright pop, synth-electro-pop, and folk-pop - and make them emotionally available by her songwriting and lyrics.
BAYLEE
Tom Petty: Wildflowers & All The Rest
The deluxe edition of the 1994 album, Wildflowers, quickly became my favorite album of the year, following its release this year in October, 26 years after the release of the original cut of the album. The new tracks that were added, as well as the home recordings, added more to the legacy of Wildflowers, which is what makes it as enjoyable as it is and it also puts Tom Petty’s legacy on display.
Mandy Moore: Silver Landing
Mandy Moore released her first album in eleven years earlier this year and I found that the album was worth the eleven year wait after all. It showed more of her growth as a songwriter, musician, everything. Long gone are the days of singing Candy and now, we have Mandy singing folk tunes. Each song gets better and better as the album progresses, and I found it to be one of my go-to albums during quarantine.
Machine Gun Kelly: Tickets To My Downfall
Pop-punk is back and it’s here to stay, people. Machine Gun Kelly did something that we all needed this year: he brought in the nostalgia in his new album. Everything about tickets to my downfall just reminds me of why I fell in love with pop-punk in the first place and I think it’s the ultimate nostalgia album and one that will bring the genre back to the popularity it once was at several years ago. It reminds me of bands like blink-182, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, all of it. Plus, his duet with Halsey is surely one of the biggest highlights on that album.
KIKI
Velvet Meadow: In The Meadow [Single]
If you’re someone that vibes to the psychedelic rock as much as I do, Velvet Meadow is a must for you, which is why “In the Meadow” is the first track to my list. This Doors-y sound was a one way ticket straight to my music lovin’ heart, and this song has become a nightly ritual to lay on the floor and stare at my laser stars on my ceiling to.
Theodora: Close For Comfort[Single]
Now we all need that pump up song that constantly makes us feel good. This month, “Close For Comfort” by Theodora was mine, and it shall continue to be into 2021. The catchy beat blended with Theodora’s magnetic voice, you’re instantly pulled in. 60s... but also 90s... a surf rock sound to this ballad definitely takes you for a spin in the time machine.
The Fool’s Agenda: Black Dog Blues [Single]
Talk about a band that wants to keep the raw blues sound alive and well, The Fool’s Agenda released their first single after the release of their debut EP. The track, “Black Dog Blues” features a dazzling Raini Callahan showing off her spunk and grit with her killer vocals, and an electrifying Conor Reinold shredding up on lead guitar. These Salem, Massachusetts based rockers have all kinds of new music planned for 2021 that you won’t want to miss.
Crown Lands: Forest Song [Single]
Every good rock song needs a journey. “Forest Song” by Crown Lands is a journey I don’t regret taking. Canadian-based classic rock artists that give you deja-vu back to the Zeppelin days, these guys amaze me. The ear catching vocals, tied into those heart stomping drums, and let’s not forget that guitar solo MAN! can i get a ROCK N ROLL?! just... listen to these phenomenal musicians, you will not regret taking their journey of artistry.
Greta Van Fleet: My Way, Soon [Single]
When all else fails, just be you. Choose yourself. That’s the reminder that Greta Van Fleet gave me this year. “My Way, Soon” reminded me exactly why I hopped on a plane and travelled to see my favorite band of our time last December. Choose the road to your heart. We have one life. Wander wherever you go, sink your toes in the dirt, be grateful and make it yours. This track will always give me the raw excitement of choosing music and following my heart and being one with the earth. I will always choose the road. Thanks, Greta Van Fleet.
ANGEL
In 2020, I held onto music tighter than I ever have before. Music has always been my saving grace and where I’ve found my peace in the midst of chaos. It’s difficult to grasp onto the harsh reality that many of us haven’t experienced live music in a whole year.
Throughout Quarantine, I spent a lot of my time reading about the lives of many rock n’ roll legends. I also spent many nights dancing around my room as if I was in a venue with hundreds of other music lovers. When “cabin fever” would kick into maximum overdrive I had the melodies of a hundred musicians to keep me sane. 2020 was the year that came with a wide selection of brand new albums and singles. Without further ado, here are the records and songs that "rocked my soul."
Albums/EPs:
Petals For Armor - Hayley Williams,
Pressure - Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown
Shore - Fleet Foxes
Colored Seas - Velvet Meadow
Odyssey - Luna Cruise
Self-Made Man - Larkin Poe
Remote EP - Wallows
El Dorado - Marcus King
Strange Days - The Struts
Singles:
Deep River - Ida Mae (feat. Marcus King)
Raining for You - Ida Mae
Age of Machine - Greta Van Fleet
My Way, Soon - Greta Van Fleet
Blood in the Water - True Villains
Pretty Little Lies - RoZY
Get It Back - Pearl Jam
Shot In The Dark - AC/DC