One of the musical highlights for me in 2020 was the return of the legendary Faithless. Ten years after their last, and supposed final release, Rollo and Sister Bliss released All Blessed, the seventh Faithless album. Things were a little different this time around as Maxi Jazz was not involved with this release, although he does get a special thank you in the album credits for "passing the baton" to a number of younger vocalists and rappers that grace All Blessed, with Suli Breaks being the most prominent. Also missing for the first time on a Faithless album was Rollo's sister Dido who has sung at least one song on every prior Faithless full length. Dido did however feature on Rollo's 2019 solo album The Last Summer, released under the name R+, and if you are a Faithless fan and have not heard this album yet, I implore you to do so. It ranked as my favorite release of 2019.
So All Blessed marked a new era of Faithless but the one thing that has not changed are the great songs, of which there are many here. The two featuring vocalist Nathan Ball especially stand out, first single "Synthesizer" and the latest release from the album, "I Need Someone". Also featuring Caleb Femi, this one jumped out at first listen as primed for remixes and a single release. The song's universal message of needing love and human connection is emphasized in the new video just released to accompany it. Dancers from across the globe are interspersed in between clips of protests, calls for action, equality and peace, something this band has stood for from the start. It's a powerful video for a new Faithless classic.
Aaron Marsh is best known as the front man for the band Copeland, whose Blushing was one of my favorite albums of 2019. I just gave that album a headphone listen this past week as a matter of fact and grew to appreciate it even more than I already did. The production is outstanding and adventurous, it's a beautiful work. So I was intrigued to see that Marsh was releasing a solo EP in the same week I pulled the last Copeland album back out under the name GLASWING.
It would be difficult for me to describe I'm In The Checkout Line Of My Life any better than what was Tweeted out from the Copeland Twitter account. "If you love the electronic indie-pop side of Copeland with intimate vocals, haunting piano and lush layers, this should be right up your alley." That''s it. The perfect summary of this five track EP. First off, Marsh's vocals are such a prominent part of Copeland's sound, it's hard not to compare his solo work to that of his band. And here, they shine as always, oftentimes electronically altered, but never losing their emotional impact. The lush electronics were also prominent on many of the tracks on Blushing, so standout tracks like "When You're Smiling My Way" and "Feel Your Love" would have fit right in on that album. Marsh's solo material does however focus more on electronics and piano musically, with little in the way of guitars or a rock feel. At 18 minutes long, it's a concise collection of dreamy, ethereal love songs, showcasing Marsh's production skills and beautiful way with a lyric. A gorgeous EP from GLASWING.
Favorite tracks: "When You're Smiling My Way", "Feel Your Love"
I'm In The Checkout Line Of My Life was released as a digital download January 22nd, 2021 via Soundstripe Productions.
Findlay Brown has been quite the eclectic artist since his folk tinged 2007 debut album Separated By The Sea. He followed his critically acclaimed first release with a completely different sound on 2010's Love Will Find You, a favorite of mine from that year. His sophomore release was steeped in the tradition of 50's and 60's rockers like Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, quite the departure from the folkie sounds of his debut. There were more explorations into different musical styles across his next two albums as well as Brown proved himself to be an artist always looking to expand the boundaries of what his music should entail.
Early 2021 sees Findlay Brown release his fifth album, the captivating, and wonderfully titled, Being Young Is Getting Old. As you can guess from the title, this is a reflective work for Brown. I'll let his words, posted on his website, speak to the inspiration behind the title and subject of much of the music. "Being a musician, you can kind of put off growing up a bit. It is a bit of a Peter Pan lifestyle, which can be good in some ways, it's good to stay young at heart, but I started thinking a lot about taking responsibility for myself, and for my family in general, when I was making this record. It's essentially a mirror of where I'm at."
There is a very 70's vibe across the eleven tracks on the new album. It's heavy on acoustic guitar, very much folk/rock, but many of the songs are accentuated by the gorgeous string arrangements of Davide Rossi. Rossi, best known for his work with heavyweights like Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Goldfrapp, was involved with one of my favorite albums of 2020, LakeConstance, a collaboration with Aqualung's Matt Hales they released under the name Søren Lorensen. He adds the same layers of beauty for Brown across album highlights "The Wild Man Iron John", "Our Town (Boys Town)" and the touching title track. Brown creates his own magic on several songs that do not feature Rossi as well, including the spell binding "Lift You Up To The Light" and the unabashed love song "Hope Your Restless Heart Can Last". A lovely voice as always, and a lovely album.
Favorite tracks: "The Wild Man Iron John", "Being Young Is Getting Old", "Lift You Up To The Light", "Hope Your Restless Heart Can Last"
Being Young Is Getting Old was released as a digital download January 15th, 2021 via Nettwerk Records. There is no physical release of the album at the time of this post.
After reuniting in 2010, Gabriel & Dresden finally released their long awaited second album, The Only Road, in 2017 on Above & Beyond's Anjunabeats label. The Only Road was easily one of my favorite electronic releases of 2017, leaving fans of the duo hoping it wouldn't be quite so long before album three arrived. Thankfully that album arrived in early 2020.
Remedy, released in January, hooked me immediately and never let go, an album I revisited often throughout the year. As on The Only Road, most of the tracks here feature vocalists. Since there is no need to fix something that isn't broken, it's no surprise that Brittany O'Neal, who performs as Sub Teal, returns to provide lead vocals on six of the album's ten tracks. She worked with the duo on four songs off the previous album and the increased collaboration is welcomed, she is the perfect vocal compliment to their music. Two other tracks feature vocals, with Centre handling the duties on "Remember" while Jan Burton returns to collaborate on the fantastic and dramatic "Keep On Holding". Gabriel & Dresden take the spotlight on the album's remaining two tracks, the instrumentals "Luna" and "Twelve".
As on The Only Road, the songs on Remedy that feature Sub Teal are on a deeper level lyrically than much of what you come across in vocal electronic music. There is a melancholy to album opener "No One's To Blame", an exploration of the aftermath of a relationship. "Knowing death is our greatest fear" she sings on the astounding "Falling Forward" which is followed by the darker vibe of "All I've Got", a killer one-two punch on an album full of knockouts. On "Will I Change", Sub Teal asks the question, "Will I change before it's too late?" while Gabriel & Dresden take you on an emotional roller coaster of production. The first minute of the song is carried by a thumping dance beat which dissipates into a somber piano ballad before building back into an uplifting dance track.
I most often see the duo's music referred to as progressive trance, and Gabriel & Dresden recently took umbrage with the trance label attached to their music on Twitter. This is why I personally hate having to label every form of music out there, especially in the electronic genre. Remedy is euphoric, it is emotional, it is beautifully produced and performed. Sure, while there are elements of progressive trance, there are also pop song structures. Instead of attaching a label to it that the artists dislike, let's just call it what it really is. Great electronic dance music. Period. Remedy is my favorite album of 2020.
Favorite tracks: "All I've Got", "Falling Forward", "No One's To Blame", "Coming On Strong"
Remedy was released January 17th, 2020 on the Anjunabeats label.
Things are certainly never dull with The Flaming Lips and the band's long storied career has seen a lot of changes both within the lineup and in their sound. Of course there are always the fans who prefer their early stuff, before that period from 1999-2006 where they sold more records than they ever had, played to bigger crowds than they ever had and made what, for them, you could call more accessible music. But accessible music for The Flaming Lips is not the same as your typical radio friendly pop or rock music. There is still an astounding amount of experimentation in The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots and At War With The Mystics, so much so that this will never be a mainstream band, and I love them for that.
There were four full-length original studio albums after 2006's At War With the Mystics, nothing that captured the magic of that trio of gems, and included in there was the unlistenable noise of 2013's The Terror. There were also a bunch of EP's, cover albums, wild collaborations including that whole Miley Cyrus thing and offstage controversies that Wayne Coyne found himself in the middle of. Even though I wasn't digging much of the music the band was putting out during this time period, one thing never changed. They're still one of the best live acts on Earth and their live shows never suffered over these years and helped me keep the faith they'd put out an album that I loved from start to finish again. There were sparks of greatness on 2017's OczyMlody, but it would be 2020 when The Flaming Lips unleashed their next great album.
Of course it wouldn't be The Flaming Lips without a wild concept around the album. Coyne has stated American Head's story was based around Tom Petty's death. He imagined Petty's 70's band Mudcrutch playing his hometown of Oklahoma City, never leaving, recording an album, while developing drug habits. This basic premise then allowed him to include real life events and characters from his time growing up, including siblings and himself. For example, "Mother Don't Be Sad" is based on a story he's told many times over the years of how the Long John Silver's where he worked in his younger years was robbed. Except in this version, he was killed in the robbery and sings comfort to his mother.
With song titles like "At The Movies On Quaaludes", "You N Me Sellin' Weed" and "Mother I've Taken LSD", the drug references are certainly right out in the open, as he spins tales influenced by his brother's experiences and experiences of his own into his Mudcrutch storyline. Musically, American Head is The Flaming Lips at their most melodic and alluring. There aren't any of the harder rock tracks from the past, this is a slower, elegant folk/rock sound this time around and it's captivating all the way through. Tracks including "Will You Return/When You Come Down" and "Flowers Of Neptune 6" are as beautiful as anything in their catalog. Don't worry, there is still plenty of experimentation and psychedelia mixed in. Steven Drozd's work shines throughout. On "Brother Eye"' Coyne's vocals alternate between a dark, electronically altered menace and sweet, clear vulnerability against a backdrop of electronic bleeps and beats. "Dinosaurs On the Mountain" is one of several tracks that would easily have fit sonically on The Soft Bulletin.
American Head is the Flaming Lips album I've been waiting for since At War With The Mystics. It's cohesive, it's experimental but accessible, it's emotional and it's overwhelmingly gorgeous. It's The Flaming Lips at their best, reaching the levels of The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi once again.
Favorite tracks: "Will You Return/When You Come Down", "Assassins Of Youth", "Flowers Of Neptune 6", "Dinosaurs On The Mountain"
American Head was released September 11th, 2020 on Warner Records.
Yppah, yes it's happy spelled backwards, is Joe Corrales Jr. Born in Texas, but now based out of Long Beach, California, Corrales started his musical career playing in rock bands in high school before branching out into electronic music. Signed to the heralded label Ninja Tune, he released his first album as Yppah, You Are Beautiful At All Times, in 2006. He would go on to record three more albums for the label, with 2012's Eighty One giving him his biggest audience yet. Increased attention also came from movie and television placements for his work and it is music perfectly suited to soundtrack both film and TV.
Eighty One served as my introduction to Yppah's music. As a fan and follower of electronic music, especially good downtempo, I was immediately hooked. Although you can certainly compare some of Yppah's music to peers like Emancipator, Bonobo, Tycho and Pretty Lights, what sets him apart is his emphasis on live instrumentation and mixing other styles of music into his sound. Yes, most songs are grounded in heavy, hip-hop beats, vocals are often looped and sampled, there are layers of keyboards and synths, all the elements of good downtempo electronic music, but his early rock roots shine through with his extensive use of electric guitar, bass and, in many instances, live drumming.
Sunset In The Deep End marks a new beginning for Yppah. It's his fifth album overall, but first on new label Future Archive Recordings. Four years in the making, he pulled the album's ten songs from over 60 tracks and demos to coalesce into this brilliant whole. As much as I loved Eighty One, this new album sets a new high mark in Yppah's career. The production on this album is astounding, you can hear the care and time taken to create this art. It's one of those albums that I highly recommend you give a headphone listen to so you can experience the entire journey Yppah takes you on. The ten tracks of course are to be classified as electronic music, but also draw on Yppah's influences in rock and shoegaze, with a dreamy, psychedelia for good measure.
Shaunna Heckman provides ethereal vocals on album opener "Dreams Like You", a track with a shimmering piano motif, while Ali Coyle is featured on two tracks, the soothing "Autumn Phase" and "By Then It'll Be Too Late", a journey across psychedelic, rock and electronic genres. "Pieces" showcases Corrales on the guitar with chopped up vocal samples, it's one of my favorites here as is "Shadows Climb The Wall", a wintry, chillout track stunning in its dreamy mood and beauty. "Tree Ghost" is a pulsing wonder which ends with a fury of live drumming and beats while cinematic orchestral effects build around it. Needless to say, Sunset In The Deep End is a masterwork of electronic music, my favorite album from Yppah to date, and undoubtedly one of my favorite albums of 2020, just missing the number one spot.
Favorite tracks: "Shadows Climb The Wall", "Pieces", "Tree Ghost", "Shot Into The Sun"
Sunset In The Deep End was released February 7th, 2020 on Future Archive Recordings.
Sea Wolf's 2012 album Old World Romance was one of my favorite releases of that year, but other than the independently released 2014 project Song Spells, No 1: Cedarsmoke, things appear to have been quiet for the band. But behind the scenes they've been anything but. Front man Alex Brown Church actually wrote and recorded an entire album that was scrapped during what appears to have been downtime for the Sea Wolf project. His reason for scrapping it? He frankly realized it wasn't good enough for his high standards, the album wasn't cohesive and he decided to shelve it and start from scratch.
From the ashes of that unreleased album came Through A Dark Wood, a very emotional, personal statement inspired by a breakup he went through while recording that album he scrapped. With hindsight, he feels he was better able to put his feelings into words and song and the end result is the finest Sea Wolf album yet. Church isn't reinventing the wheel here, Sea Wolf's melodic folk/rock sound hasn't gone anywhere and provides great comfort to the heavier lyrical content. Yes, many of the lyrics deal with deeper subject matter, but they're accompanied by beautifully uplifting music, making this far from a maudlin affair. On "Blood Pact" he admits he may not know what is ahead in life, but has no choice but to carry on. "Forever Nevermore" documents struggles communicating in a relationship while on my personal favorite, "Fear Of Failure", Church lays himself bare. Looking ahead at an uncertain future, he implores to himself, "I have to be brave, even though I'm still afraid." It's a staggeringly vulnerable, beautiful song. As is the entirety of Through A Dark Wood. If cohesion was lacking in the album Church discarded, there is no such concern here. A fantastic album from start to finish.
Favorite tracks: "Fear Of Failure", "Forever Nevermore", "Under The Spell Again", "Blood Pact"
Through A Dark Wood was released March 20th, 2020 on Dangerbird Records.
As horrible as 2020 was, it at least gave me this. An album I've wanted to hear for a decade finally saw release. An album I thought would never see the light of day. An album I've talked about since I heard songs from it played live numerous times back in 2010 when The Silent Years were still an active band, playing shows around metro Detroit. So while it was recorded well over ten years ago, Spider Season, the band's third full length album, finally saw release in 2020. There weren't many bright spots in 2020. This was one of them.
If you look at my posts on this blog about The Silent Years, there was a lot of anticipation in 2010 for this album. It was given a release date of April 20, 2010 in fact. The band started playing songs from it live earlier in the year, starting with a show at the Blind Pig in January. Four songs were played that night, "Baptized", "Wolves", "Teeth Like Trophies" and "Maybe You Will" which for ten years I've been thinking was called "Maybe We Will", it happens. It was the last song, the one I had the wrong title for, that haunted me especially when I thought about this long lost album. Long story short, the band ran into problems with the now long gone label that was set to release Spider Season, it got held up in limbo, Josh Epstein had to fight to get the album back from the label, then was stuck having to figure out what to do with the album when he was successful in wresting it back from the label. In September, as the band closed out the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale, Epstein announced from the stage that they had found a label to release the album and all seemed right in the world again.
From there, I can't really tell you why Spider Season never saw release on this different label. Epstein's new project with Daniel Zott, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. really started taking off nationally around this same time frame in 2010 taking him to heights The Silent Years never quite achieved, and it's no surprise his full attention had to be focused on a group garnering more coverage and airplay than The Silent Years did. I held out hope that Epstein would release Spider Season as a download on Bandcamp or something of that nature, he even reunited The Silent Years to perform a song at a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. show at The Crofoot in Pontiac in 2014, but as the years passed it seemed this album would never see the light of day.
But lo and behold, what happens in the middle of this shit year? Epstein mentions on Twitter that Spider Season is being released, it's really happening. And with Jr. Jr. now running their own label, Love Is EZ Records, it makes total sense. Over ten years after it was slated to be released, Spider Season finally came out in September 2020. So the question is, how can an album I've anticipated for this long possibly live up to the hype I've built in my mind? Well, I already knew the four songs I'd heard live back in 2010, still recalled their melodies and how they sounded, they were that ingrained in my head. That still left me with eight songs to explore, plus see how the studio versions of the other four turned out.
Needless to say Spider Season does not disappoint. I've missed this band so much. If The Silent Years never record together again, this is a perfect send-off. I love their earlier work but this to me is their best album. Produced by Sam Farrar and Noah Passovoy with the band in Los Angeles, this was the one that was supposed to take them to the next level. They toured nationally and had received some national press, but these songs were among the most accessible in their catalog. Although every track is full of the experimentation and wonderful surprises The Silent Years brought to all of their music, tracks like "Teeth Like Trophies", "Wolves", "Baptized" and "Keepsakes" are hook-heavy pop/rock gems. A song called "Cages" with a line about people living in said cages seems just a tad too prescient given the year it was released. Every song is kissed by the touches that made The Silent Years special, exploring multiple genres, the horns, Cassandra Verras' keyboard and violin work, Epstein's masterful lyrics and the entire band's insistence on creating meaningful pop and rock music with substance.
Things are slowed down a bit on "Little Love", one of two ballads on the album. Warm vocal harmonies dominate this one, it's a beauty. And closing out the album is THAT song, the one I most wanted to be able to hear again, the achingly gorgeous "Maybe You Will", just as I remembered it, from the melody, the chorus to the ending harmonies. It puts the finishing touches on a great album and a great band. I can't thank Josh Epstein enough for deciding to release Spider Season. It deserved a better fate a decade ago, it deserves to be heard now, and the hometown fans are grateful it's finally out in the world.
Favorite tracks: "Maybe You Will", "Teeth Like Trophies", "Wolves", "Little Love"
Spider Season was released September 25th, 2020 on the Love Is EZ label.
Reunions is the only folk/Americana release to make my favorite albums of 2020 and that's simply because it's the best release of its kind from the year. Alabama's own Jason Isbell started as a member of Drive-By Truckers, before splitting from the band to start his solo career in 2007. Since that time he has cemented his reputation as one of our finest songwriters, and that is on full display on Reunions.
The fourth album with his band The 400 Unit, and seventh overall since going solo, Reunions wound up on so many national best of year lists for a reason. Musically, Isbell And The 400 Unit draw on everything from folk, country, rock and soul. Lyrically, this is the best album in my top ten of the year. Isbell has never shied from being open and outspoken about politics, the failures of our leaders, our failures and triumphs as humans, his battles with sobriety, the music business, family, love, you name it and it's that level of honesty that continues on Reunions. "What've I Done To Help" is both a reflection on personal shortcomings to make the world better, as well as a call out to the listener to ask the same question of themselves. "Only Children", a look back on a friend who died young, tugs at the heartstrings in its beauty. "Be Afraid" is a defiant anthem that sums up Isbell's disdain for empty songwriting and those afraid to take a stand for what is right as he sings, "We don't take requests, we won't shut up and sing. Tell the truth enough, you'll find it rhymes with everything." "St. Peter's Autograph" is a gorgeous ballad written for Isbell's wife, and band mate, Amanda Shires, vowing his support in helping her grieve the loss of a close friend. And "Letting You Go" addresses a parent's love for his child as he watches them grow into an adult, ready to branch off into their own life. Heady, emotional stuff from a master songwriter.
Favorite tracks: "Only Children", "What've I Done To Help", "St. Peter's Autograph", "Overseas"
Reunions was released May 15th, 2020 on Southeastern Records.
A look around my blog, and at my favorites from this year in fact, will tell you I'm a big electronic music fan and there were plenty of fine releases in the genre in 2020. Way Out West has been one of my favorite electronic acts since their debut album was released in 1997. The duo of Jody Wisternoff and Nick Warren returned in 2017 with the fantastic Tuesday Maybe, one of my favorite releases of that year. In between album projects both men produce for others as well as release solo material. 2020 saw Wisternoff release his second full length solo album, and first in eight years, with Nightwhisper.
After opening with a beautiful orchestral piece, "Morning U", Wisternoff delves into his trademark progressive house sound, parts of Nightwhisper certainly would sound at home on a Way Out West album. There are the more chilled, laid back tracks like the title cut, a collaboration with James Grant, "Andromeda" and "For Those We Know", featuring Mimi Page on vocals. Then there are the dance floor stormers, top among them "Here To Stay", "Story of Light", "Emochine" and "Something Real" featuring Jinadu on vocals. Wisternoff mixes instrumentals with tracks featuring guest vocalists to excellent effect and the album is paced wonderfully start to finish. Fans of Way Out West, and great electronic dance music in general, will not want to miss Nightwhisper.
Favorite tracks: "Story Of Light", "Here To Stay", "Nightwhisper", "Something Real"
Nightwhisper was released May 1st, 2020 on the Anjunadeep label.
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