Theoretically I should write something profound to preface this retrospective of my favourite albums from the previous 12 months, but to be honest I'm not sure I could actually add anything that hasn't already or which would otherwise dissolve into a potty-mouthed rant on the topic of the human race as the poster child for crass stupidity and selfishness…
In any normal year not only would I buy a shed-load of music, I'd also have regularly fought my way (literally!!!) across the Freeway system from Hell to any of the myriad of venues that are both the life-blood of the LA music scene and the musicians who play there... Last year just wasn't a normal year…
Thankfully - and for an industry not best known for caring about the welfare of its front-line workers - Bandcamp for one, stepped-up to the plate with their 'Bandcamp Fridays' campaign, whereby 100% of revenues was passed onto artists or labels. I, along with nearly 800,000 others eagerly subscribed. Hopefully - alongside live-streams, merchandise sales, etc… - all our efforts have helped to support not only artists, but as importantly, those venues...
But without any further ado, here are thirty or so of my favourite albums from last year (I almost whittled the list down to a nice round-numbered thirty, but I found it all a bit too stressful…) So no #tags, no categories and definitely no countdown. Just great music that helped me get through a rather surreal time…
It's probably safe to say that if Leeds' Manhattan Love Suicides had actually come from that Borough of New York - rather than from the title of underground filmmaker Richard Kern's 1986 movie - they might have made a rather larger impression on early-noughties indie kids than they did. This turns out to be those hipsters' loss, I'm afraid. The Manhattan Love Suicides were arguably the coolest, loudest, scuzziest, feedback-loving, alternative rock merchants that you've still probably never heard of… a band who sounded like the Shop Assistants on speed and who crafted 3-minute vignettes of C86 inspired fuzzy indie-pop melodies - which the likes of The Primitives readily achieved chart-success with - before crashing them headlong into a wall of reverbed energy and noise à la The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine... a joyous and riotous blast of raw, melodious, old-school noise-pop at its finest…
There's some pretty decent bands and artists emanating from La Belle France (several of whom will appear on this list), starting with Parisian indie-rockers En Attendant Ana. Their sophomore album was nothing less than magnifique, confirming the band's eye for composing catchy tunes that were chock-full of intuitive 80s / 90s indie-pop - jangly guitars and melodic post-punk with detectable influences of both Sarah Records and Postcard - and building upon the burgeoning reputation gained from their 2018 debut album "Lost and Found". The added injection of Camille Fréchou's brass was a master-stroke of Gallic 'je ne sais quoi', acting as the perfect foil to Margaux Bouchaudon's clarion vocals…
I seem to spend a lot of time listening to a lot of bands that remind me of the roster of the now sadly defunct Sarah Records, and you can definitely hear those influences in this refreshing album of hyperactive indie-pop from Extremaduran jangle-merchants Lúa Gramer. With their ability to create a sound that was both reassuringly familiar yet at the same time totally fresh and relevant, they repurposed all the best bits of indie past, crafting melodious ear-worming tunes layered with guitar arpeggios and swirling synths that rode a metronomic backbeat, as all the while Susana Merino cantó su corazón en español… The end result was that Lúa Gramer didn't so much as destroy pop as rewrite it…
Anna Burch's 2018 debut album, "Quit the Curse" was deservedly my album of that year. This, her sophomore release, although eschewing the "immediateness" of those jangly up-tempo indie-pop melodies of that album, was all the better for their omission. Instead, Anna focused on crafting a more intimate and minimalist canvas, resulting in a more nuanced collection of songs and the most consummate of studies of the marriage of melancholic, thoughtful and introspective lyricism to gentle, melodic indie-folk and pop. This approach ensured her soothing vocals were the deserved focal point of every song; the accompanying soundtrack beautifully framed them for an album that was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Meanwhile, Columbus band Snarls' debut album was filled with knock-out, forward-looking indie-pop tunes which at the same time could be seen taking a crafty sneak at the rear-view mirror at late 80s and early 90s indie… It was all here; two-chord intros, guitar riffs a go-go, fuzzy bass, mixed with a dash of shoegazy soundscapes, a hint of psychedelia and all gift-wrapped by the self-deprecating and confessional lyrics that Chlo White and Riley Hall's gorgeous vocals treated with just the right amount of slacker introspection. This was just the type of album which made you want to trawl a band's back-catalogue... Seriously, what was not to like here?
Eschewing both the Americana and rock influences of their earlier recordings, everyone's favourite Chiac-parlaying trio, Moncton, New Brunswick's Les Hay Babies returned with this stunning concept album which, thanks to its sympathetic accompaniments and production, bottled the sounds and styles of les années soixante - from early-bubblegum and those classic girl-groups, to flower-power, psychedelia and prog. rock - and was an 'aigre-doux' celebration of the life of determined and single-minded young girl as she carved-out a new life in the swinging and cosmopolitan Montréal of that era, as told through the long-lost and faded letters between her and her mother who was left behind in provincial small-town New Brunswick…
The first time I heard this album, I tweeted that "Minä, aina" was yet another example of why Scandinavia ws the epicentre of everything that's great about contemporary indie / noise-pop - until the Twitter pedants pointed out that actually Finland wasn't part of Scandinavia… Still differences of geography aside, this album was a maelstrom of absolute sonic goodness, resplendent with swirling guitars, hammering percussion, shimmering synths and ethereal vocals of Elge Väisänen. This was an album where shoegaze aesthetics met indie-rock via a mutual introduction from swooning dream-pop; the aural equivalent of the rosters of 4AD and Creation colliding head-long into one another… Even though Finnish is yet another language I don't even have a passing acquaintance with, all I could add was "Miss Olga 'Me, always'… Oh yes…"
Hazel English's debut album built upon the lilting folk-pop hues of her earlier EPs, and added a stylish 60s sheen to create a collection of memorable songs which were flush with gorgeous pop sensibilities and dreamy, hummable melodies and washed with shimmering guitars. The clever twist here was that Hazel's endearingly sweet and uplifting vocals served as a counterpoise to the songs' bitter-sweet lyrics which were oft to suggest that the path to true love could be quite bumpy. The end result was an album that ticked all this discerning listener's boxes…
There's an argument to be had with suggesting that Jess Abbott's acoustically re-recorded demos from her 2018 album "Nightstand" (and which was coincidently one of my albums of that year) not only stands on merit on its own accord, but is indeed better than the original, especially given the context in which that album was conceived and recorded. Indeed, this acoustic version - with its focus on lyricism and the projection of Jess' pitch-perfect voice centre-stage, felt warmer, intimate and more personal. This was an album of introspective and autobiographical indie-pop at its finest and the perfect album to hunker-down through the winter..."
Named after the monster from the Japanese Sci-Fi movie "The X from the Outer Space", Vigo indie-pop noise merchants Linda Guilala's career was celebrated with this compilation album that served as the perfect retrospective of the trio's career. A riotous non-chronological feast, the album featured 22 of the trio's infectious "Nugaze" mescal of jangly indie-pop which fused melodic electro-pop sensibilities with ear-worming melodies and hummable choruses, all neatly wrapped with Eva's dreamy vocals and the sonic maelstrom of shoegazy guitars. Madrid's Elefant Records is generally my general my go to spot for jingle-jangle indie-pop / rock estilo español, and once again the label came up with the goods…
It had been five long years, but 2020 saw the welcome return of Marie-Pierre Arthur and a collection of thoughtful and intelligent songs which blended elements of folk, rock and pop, and was filled with rich and bold textural arrangements, all coloured by orchestral strings, synths, guitars, resonant bass and percussion. On the one hand the album felt like a break with the past, but at the same time - for an artist who hasn't been afraid to reinvent herself, as she did with 2015's synth-infused "Si l'aurore" - this still felt unmistakably Marie-Pierre; an album filled with gorgeous melodies and seductively airy and melancholy vocals…
Detroit's Shadow Show debut album was an absolute belter filled with no-nonsense knock-out indie / garage rock that stood out from the crowd thanks to a healthy influence of 60s and 70s psychedelia, fuzzy guitars and absolutely spot-on vocal harmonies to highlight the sharp street-wise attitude of the songs' lyrics. As if this wasn't enough to grab the attention, the band added a contemporary indie-pop sheen alongside some decidedly savvy production values - with the band's bassist Kate Derringer at the controls - which added depth and structure, not to mention the unexpected chord changes, ensured everything sounded excitingly fresh and relevant.
There's a fine line which divides shoegaze from dream-pop, one which often blurs into a delightfully hazy aural smudge. And it's this smearing of the musical divide which bassist-turned-all-rounder Sheetal Singh focused upon with her stunning debut album; infusing infuses trip-hop beats, soothing synth tones and even a dash of Bollywood as well as mining her post-punk, shoegaze-hued past. This was a stereotype defying album - Sheetal describes herself as a "a brown woman in what is still a very white indie rock world" - and her soothing, breathless vocals helped to spell-out her autobiographical and pensive lyrics, tackling subjects from postpartum to cultural challenges and expectations for an album which wasn't afraid to confront society's perceived status quo...
To be honest, did I need another compilation album from L'Ange Rouge? Probably not… But did I want this one? That's another matter altogether… A cynic might argue that this 3-CD / 52-track collection was motivated by Sony Music getting their dibs on Mylène's extensive back-catalogue. That being said it has been expertly curated; a mix of her live stadium 'anthems' - "Rêver" (from the No. 5 Tour at the State de France, even if the version from "Live à Bercy" is - imho - the definitive one), "Désenchantée", "L'instant X", "Sans Contrefaçon"… a smattering of Greatest Hits; "Innamoramento", "Q.I.", C'est une belle journée", "Bleu Noir"… and songs which have been referred to as 'deeper cuts'; "Je te dis tout", "City of Love"… alongside her latest L'âme dans l'eau" - itself an adaption of the song "Ulay, Ho" by How I Became The Bomb. The truth is, I have most of these tracks several times over. However while this album might be considered the equivalent of 'comfort food' and a safe place into which to retreat - Let's be honest - after the year we've all had, this sounds like just the ticket…
Has an album filled with such heartbreak, melancholy and soul-searching reflection ever sounded so gorgeous? Over ten achingly beautiful - sombre - and timeless songs, viewed and narrated from perspective of one-sided love, Alexandra Savoir took lush 60s pop and combined with cool noughties Scandinavian angst - coloured from a palette of guitars and soft keys, with flecks of soulful horns which emerged from the shadows - played out as if scenes from a movie, vividly bathed in the detachedness of Alexandra's vocals…
With their sophomore album, Pamplona's Melenas once again demonstrated that inglés wasn't necessarily mandatory when churning out melodic - and melancholy - indie pop-rock tunes (and which to be fair, Argentinian duo Riel have similarly demonstrated for the best part of a decade). Here songs laced with elements of garage-rock and dream-pop, jangly, fuzzed and reverbed guitars, María's swirling synths and Lauri's metronomic percussion were coupled to astute lyricism - ideal for these still strange days - and Oihana and Leire's note-perfect harmonies. I suspect it also helped that there was a healthy influence detected from some early 80s arty post-punk of my youth, alongside the band also paying homage to Hatfield Poly's finest, Marine Girls, but this was an album that deservedly lingered long in the memory.
Just goes to prove that I do own albums that have proven to be somewhat popular, but as I was immediately attracted to the heartbreaking study of melancholy that was "Strangers in the Alps", it's not as if I was jumping on a bandwagon here. With "Punisher" Phoebe Bridgers delivered another masterclass in the study of dysfunctional relationships and the art of reflective and melancholy tinged autobiographical story-telling. Accompanied by primarily somber yet understated arrangements, Phoebe's words were this album's primary focus, while her voice remained its primary instrument. An album to escape to and lose yourself in Phoebe's thoughtful contemplation…
There's always been a hint of les années soixante / soixante-dix in the music of Maude Audet and this hauntingly melancholic album - filled with songs of regret, nostalgia and lost love and so achingly beautiful that it hurts - was rooted in both the Pacific Coast Californian and classic French-Pop styles of those decades (I'd argue that Maude captured the latter as expertly as Julie Brunet - aka Grenadine - did with her 2014 eponymous album). Here, Maude filled songs with soothing chamber pop arrangements, tinged introspective and sentimental hues to create a warming retro-styled ambience. This was an album which harked back to a simpler and more innocent time, and which turned out to be a perfect refuge to the turmoil surrounding us.
As I was moved to write, this was as good an album as was released last year. Featuring nine songs about life, love and mortality, that weren't so much covered as seamlessly re-worked and re-constructed to fit both Tanya Donelly's distinctive vocals and the Parkington Sisters' haunting and folk-tinged orchestral arrangements. Re-interpreting songs from artists as diverse as Leonard Cohen, Split Enz, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Mary Margaret O’Hara, the tracks while always remaining faithful to the spirit of the original were expertly stitched together so as to sound as if they could be original compositions, resulting in an album of beautiful coherence and flow…
You know how I said that Scandinavian bands were at the forefront of everything that was good about contemporary noise and indie-pop? Well - checks map - with this album, Malmö's Spunsugar were well and truly added to the list. This was a another standout album of Scandinavian-style shock and awe; a riotous melodic maelstrom of sonic soundshapes, built upon MBV-styled soaring and discordant shoegaze tones and ominous darkwave hues, alongside post-punk edginess and pulsating industrial rock, with smatterings of the Banshees' Gothic influences and some frankly inspired nuanced pop attributes thrown-in for good measure… add unexpected tempo changes and stunning vocals, and the end result was one staggeringly impressive debut album…
Yet another album on my year list that was influenced by the sounds - and in this case - the very glamorous and chic style of les années soixante, as Parisian trio Juniore sont revenus with yet more glorious and generous tranches of their effortlessly cool psychedelic fusion of Yé-Yé noir meets surf-rock a go-go. Songs powered by the metronomic drumming of Swanny Elzingre were filled Samy Osta's analogue synths and dreamy bass, and which complimented Anna Jean's twangy guitar and sultry Françoise Hardy meets France Gall vocals… This was an album that was deliciously dark and most definitely mysterious… As the band themselves were moved to say; "Ouh Là Là…"
For a brief 30 minutes or so I'm 21 again, saddling the pocket rocket and blasting up and down the M11 or A1(M) to catch any number of early-eighties - of what would now be classed as - indie-pop bands. The vast majority, were at the time routinely dismissed by sniffy critics - who thought they knew better - only to now be extolled as being some of that genre's major influences… So this album was a welcome chance to reconnect with my hirsute past as Hitchin's The Metatrons delivered a refreshing blast of female-fronted, jingly-jangly, sing-along and bounce-alongable early-eighties new-wavy post-punk tunes to remind me of just about every band of that era I liked. Songs were packed with knockout, ear-worming hooks and melodies, just the 'right amount' of fuzz, some deft touches with strings and Polly's clarion vocals… Ouf, what was not to like?
An album of effervescent pop, and one which outwardly mirrored those of a number of Ariane Zita's Montréal contemporaries, with its seamless mix of contemporary electro-pop and 60s / 70s retro… However, these arrangements purely served to counter-balance the melancholic air of the accompanying lyrics. With more than a hint of both Ariane Moffatt and Cœur de pirate percolating beneath the surface of several compositions, this proved to be a most accomplished and bewitching of albums.
As I dipped my toe back into the rabbit warren that is blogging, I eluded that here was an album whose narcotic properties would permeate from the feet to those dark recesses of the mind. Offering the unwary listener the opportunity to escape into a world of lush jingly-jangly indie-rock / pop - filled with references to The Sundays, the lush dreamy hooks of The Luxembourg Signal, not to mention the raw energy of Sonic Youth - the reality was these only served to mask the complexities and depth of the poetic, yet dark cerebral lyricism which permeated throughout…
In 2020 I finally fell helplessly under the charm of Chloé Pelletier-Gagnon, or as she's arguably better known Klô Plegag. This, her third album was an intoxicating mélange of poésie or poetic chanson, indie-pop sensibilities and the rich and textural baroque chamber pop-rock which has defined her earlier albums. A cathartic album - one which allowed Klô to exorcise the demons of her past was also replete with magical aural delights, which invited the listener to share her private world. This was also her most accessible and addictive album to date - one which was universally acclaimed by critics in her native Québec - and which ensured I'd have to re-evaluate my opinion about her back-catalogue…
Catalan singer-songwriter Maria Rodés burst into my consciousness back in 2018 with her album "Eclíptica" and she returned with "Lilith" to explore beyond the myth to right historical wrongs through a medium of expertly contemporised and reinterpreted folclórico alongside indigenous beats and rhythms all layered with thoroughly modern indie-pop sensibilities and coated by her lilting, seductive voice. Even if you don't speak or comprehend a word of Spanish (or Catalan!), this is an album you owe it to yourself to listen to.
Perhaps this album wasn't for the purists, but this was Fado revisited and re-imaged. Raül Refree and fadista Lina Rodrigues crafted an album of songs associated with the legendary Fado singer Amália Rodrigues, which while adhering to the traditions of Fado, eschewed the traditional guitar accompaniment for keyboards - piano, analogue synth and clavinet - and studio effects, to inject a contemporary and refreshing twist, one in which the aural textures created a sombre, monochromatic canvas for Lina's haunting, powerful and moving vocals. This atmospheric, sensory pervasive backdrop heightened the feeling of saudade - the sense of melancholic longing or nostalgia and at the heart of Fado - heart-wrenchingly sad, yet beautiful, songs which deal with hardship and loss…
Katie Crutchfield's fifth studio outing was the other album in my collection where my musical tastes appeared to align with mainstream music critics. So, I have to admit that it took me a while to press the 'buy' button. However, I had a sort of epiphany while researching Bobbie Gentry's "Delta Sweete" and so I took another - considered - listen, which I'm glad I did. The backstory to this album is one of discovery and renewal and also saw Katie return to her Southern roots, infusing songs with indie-folk and Country-rock - contemporary Americana - and the sounds of her native Alabama. It was a style which emphasised Katie's autobiographical songwriting skills and her perfectly-honed vocals. It took me a while to figure it out, but I suspect this was her best album to date…
There's a palpable excitement associated with discovering a band who manage to craft a sound which is both reassuringly familiar yet somehow feels totally fresh… And as anyone who has listened to their teasing 45s (Or whatever the digital equivalent is) over the past few years, Jetstream Pony are just such a band and whose burgeoning reputation was undoubtedly enhanced by a debut album that was an irresistible and seemingly effortless fusion of dreamy jingle-jangle indie-pop and cool-edged post-punk. This is a band who - unlike some of their contemporaries - didn't need to delve through dusty record collections for inspiration. With a CV that includes The Wedding Present, The Popguns, 90s noise popsters Turbocat, Aberdeen, The Luxembourg Signal - which ensures Beth Arzy appears twice in this post - as well as Ausburg's cool indie rockers, Endlich Blüte; they were actually there and this album stood testament to that musical heritage.
In an ideal world, Agnès Gayraud’s alter-ego La Féline would have released a new album to help me get through the year (as it was, the Alentour de Lune EP, which helped). Thankfully, Marie Leskimo - aka Eskimo - released an album of popular music - in all it's many guises - at its most intelligent and beguiling. This album was a masterful fusion of so many genres; experimental and ambient tunes rubbed shoulders with electro-pop synths and beats, as soulful piano ballads happily weaved between mainstream pop numbers, as multilingual Marie also showcased her bluesy jazz notes (the atmospheric "Marco M"). Her vocals were just as sublime, while Guillaume Joule's production provided the right degree of texture and balance…
An album, which featured the second appearance of a certain Ms. Beth Arzy, was filed with songs painted from a lush audio palette - compositions textured with subtle audible tones and coloured with generous brushstrokes of cinematic soundscapes - to deliver the most atmospheric indie-pop tunes which were framed by themes around the causality of time; which seemed quite an apt topic if I'm honest… This was an album sprinkled with the lush vocals of Beth and Betsy Moyer (including her 'hold my beer' vocals on the smouldering "Lost Hearts") and filled with plenty of jingle-jangle guitar pop, atmospheric synths and beats, influences as diverse as New Order and Ennio Morricone, and frankly enough hooks and melodies to tide you over well into the New Year…
In 2020 I made a conscious effort to explore artists who cantaron en español, several of whom I've bought albums from, tweeted and even blogged about… And then there was Argentine singer-songwriter-pianist Agustina Paz, whose album was as magnificent a collection of themed songs as was released last year. All showcased piano and Agustina's bewitching, heart-warming vocals. Every song was sympathetically and faultlessly arranged; accompanied by guitars, orchestral strings, brass and woodwind, and mixing contemporary pop styles with those of folclórico and Tango. To be honest, I'm still not sure I can actually convey how mind-blowingly beautiful this album was - even if I tried…
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