Albums of 2020

[epilogue]

I love the album but I can't listen to it very often. It's very emotionally intense, which I like, but it takes a very specific mood

Right like I appreciate that its good from a musicians standpoint but I can't figure out a situation in which I'd be pumped to listen to it

I find when I'm in the mood for exceptional art, that's a good time to get pumped for it. The album isn't easy listening but it's so rewarding.

[Norah]

I find it very easy to listen to because it's fantastic.

[Mike]

Are we talking FTBC or Punisher? I agree with you people when it's FTBC. I don't think it's depressing at all. It's intense and fierce and liberating.

[epilogue]

I find it very easy to listen to because it's fantastic.

Well sure. But you know what I mean.

[epilogue]

Are we talking FTBC or Punisher? I agree with you people when it's FTBC. I don't think it's depressing at all. It's intense and fierce and liberating.

[Mike]

And it's my most listened to album of the year so I'm one of the people who listen to it regularly.

[Chris_H_2]

FTBC will be the soundtrack if i ever punch my firm's managing partner in the face, quit my job, and walk out of the office with a new lease on my career. just a full buffet of emotions.

too bad none of that will happen though.

[i got bugs]

Ftbc def is the less depressing of the 2.. posted that line after listening to a bunch of the pb songs

[Rangi Guy]

Trying to give FTBC another go at the moment as it didn't grab me at all the first time I gave it a listen.
I don't hate it by any stretch, but I don't know that this would crack a top 10 for me

[liebzz]

I most appreciated the percussion on Fetch the Bolt Cutters, but it still won’t crack my top 10, but it’s always a matter of taste. I accept my largely limited listening. I know I am mostly in that classic rock mold, so I will skew away from a lot of contemporary releases. As far as a top 10 would go, it would be more in the line of:

1- Pearl Jam - Gigaton
2- My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall II
3- Painted Shield (I really loved this on repeat listens)
4- Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
5- Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
6- Trey Anastasio - Lonely Trip
7- Neil Young - Homegrown
8- Marcus King - El Dorado
9- Fantastic Negrito - Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
10- The Dirty Knobs - Wreckless Abandon

Honorable mentions to Phish (Sigma Oasis), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (Just Checked In to See What Condition My Rendition Was In), The Allman Betts Band (Bless Your Heart), Fiona Apple (Fetch the Bolt Cutters)

[surfndestroy]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

[liebzz]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

I think it’s meant to be a soul album with elements of southern rock rather than his usual, which is the reverse. That’s why I am okay with the production and sheen (it is a distinctly Dan Auerbach sheen on nearly every album he has produced for Easy Eye Sound). The songs on there are really fabulous, even if they are a departure from Goodbye Carolina. I agree the album before this one is his best so far, but that album is so good it’s hard to replicate so it made sense for him to do something different this time out.

[epilogue]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

I listened to this today because of this thread. I really dig it. Of course, it's worth noting that this is the first of his albums that I've ever listened to. So I can't speak to his previous work. But this record is really lovely. The closing track is gorgeous.

[surfndestroy]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

I listened to this today because of this thread. I really dig it. Of course, it's worth noting that this is the first of his albums that I've ever listened to. So I can't speak to his previous work. But this record is really lovely. The closing track is gorgeous.

I just gave it another listen and it's better than I remembered. The songs are still too concise for what I think his strengths are but I guess that's why I'll see him live when I can.

@epilogue - Do yourself a favour and check out Carolina Confessions by Marcus King Band. An absolute gem of an album

[epilogue]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

I listened to this today because of this thread. I really dig it. Of course, it's worth noting that this is the first of his albums that I've ever listened to. So I can't speak to his previous work. But this record is really lovely. The closing track is gorgeous.

I just gave it another listen and it's better than I remembered. The songs are still too concise for what I think his strengths are but I guess that's why I'll see him live when I can.

@epilogue - Do yourself a favour and check out Carolina Confessions by Marcus King Band. An absolute gem of an album

I'll definitely give it a go soon.

[verb_to_trust]

Man on the Moon III comes out Friday. Psyched.

[Brett]

This was a weird year for me in that the overwhelming majority of records I really found myself returning to, and flagging in my mind as "favorites of the year," were all instrumental/jazz albums. 2020 was a really bizarre year, both nationally/globally and personally, and in a lot of ways I found pure music articulating my feelings better than words and voices. Records I probably normally would have made more of an effort to get to know (Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, etc.), I enjoyed on the surface but found didn't really speak to me in the way I needed.

Favorites so far:
Avishai Cohen - Big Vicious
Wolfgang Muthspiel - Angular Blues
Joshua Redman - RoundAgain
Ambrose Akinmusire - On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
Gregoire Maret - Americana
Bill Frisell - Valentine
Bill Callahan - Gold Record

I also find it increasingly difficult to know how to incorporate new albums by longtime/sentimental favorite artists into exercises like this, but I played these a fair amount this year too:

Pearl Jam - Gigaton (some of the initial luster of this has worn off, but the best tracks have really held up well and overall it's a welcome addition to their catalog)
Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (I didn't find this to be the masterpiece some claimed it was, but again, probably half of it at least is superb and I listened to it a lot)
Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface (wonderful album, of this group it's probably the one I would feel most comfortable calling one of the best of the year hands down, not just a personal/emotional favorite)
Brad Mehldau - Suite: April 2020 (recorded immediately in response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- a bit rushed and not his best solo piano release, but solid, and genuine)

Record I enjoyed the least by an established favorite artist:
Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You

Favorite archival releases:
Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto
Neil Young - Homegrown/Archives Volume II

Still need to check out:
Jeff Parker
Nels Cline

Kevin, I love your new avatar (Dylan with Mario 3). I'm mostly on mobile these days, so I hadn't seen it before this. I don't know what sort of jazz you're really into, but I've been listening to more of it myself this year, mostly from a small Toronto scene, and thought you might enjoy the pair of albums that See Through 4 put out in the spring.

[liebzz]

8- Marcus King - El Dorado

I tried hard with this album. It's good but Goodbye Carolina was great. I am not a fan of the pop sheen on the album. Every song was considerably better live, and to me that points to poor production. Or it could be I was just a little broken hearted at the slickness of the album as compared to what I wanted it to be.

I listened to this today because of this thread. I really dig it. Of course, it's worth noting that this is the first of his albums that I've ever listened to. So I can't speak to his previous work. But this record is really lovely. The closing track is gorgeous.

I just gave it another listen and it's better than I remembered. The songs are still too concise for what I think his strengths are but I guess that's why I'll see him live when I can.

@epilogue - Do yourself a favour and check out Carolina Confessions by Marcus King Band. An absolute gem of an album

I'll definitely give it a go soon.

Carolina Confessions is my favorite of his as well, but all of his albums are really good. The first one is pretty much straight forward southern rock - his migration to integrating soul and some more modern elements start to present themselves in the self-titled second album, but it all comes together between the song writing and the balance on Carolina Confessions. El Dorado - the only album credited to him as a solo artist - is comparatively a wild left turn that puts the focus on soul through a Memphis filter, I think long term is a diversion which is part of the charm of that album.

[Kevin Davis]

I don't know what sort of jazz you're really into, but I've been listening to more of it myself this year, mostly from a small Toronto scene, and thought you might enjoy the pair of albums that See Through 4 put out in the spring.

Thanks for the suggestion! I am listening to False Ghosts, Minor Fears right now on Bandcamp, and it's great! It reminds me of some of the albums Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter recorded for Blue Note in the 1960's (Hancock's Maiden Voyage and Shorter's The All-Seeing Eye specifically), in those parts where it gets free but never too free, expressionistic but never abrasive, almost aqueous-sounding. The pianist especially is really catching my ear. Plus, I'm a sucker for themed/series-styled album art -- it makes me want to listen to all of them!

[burl jam]

My top ...4 of the year:

1. folklore - Taylor Swift
2. Gigaton - Pearl Jam
3. Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
4. Color Theory - Soccer Mommy