Favorite albums of 2020

In a recent podcast, business guru Seth Godin pronounced Rock Music dead..."45 years...a good run." Well, the old Rock beast has been declared deceased before, many times, but this time I started to think "Is he right? It does seem like I'm not hearing that much new rock anymore." But then I went to my ongoing iTunes collection and was surprised to find that no, there were actually quite a few new rock albums released this past year - 2020! Didn't we think all arts would be shut down all year? - and that many of them were very, very good. Here are my favorites, in reverse alphabetical order:

X
Alphabetland

Los Angeles rock/punk stalwarts X had a great run in the 80s, but as the decade wore on they suffered from relationship issues and diminishing musical results. Decades later, released in the early months of the pandemic, this album was just what real rock lovers needed.



WIRE
Mind Hive

This band was always more than punk when they started in the late 70s, and they basically invented the post-punk genre in the 80s. They've had an incredible run of quality albums, and their latest is thought provoking, mesmerizing, and exciting.



THOUGHTS DETECTING MACHINES
That Was The Year That Wasn't

Rick Valentin, songwriter, singer, and guitarist for one of my all-time favorite American bands Poster Children, records on the side as Thoughts Detecting Machines, a bit more electronic and motorik than his main band, but this music is compelling and always a great listen. He composed these songs and released them in two's on Bandcamp over the course of 2020, which was great because I had these little gifts to enjoy as the dreary year drug on. Here he remixed and remastered them all for official album release, and it makes for a fantastic one-sitting listen.



THELONIOUS MONSTER
Oh That Monster

I hadn't heard of Thelonious Monster (no relation to jazz legend Thelonious Monk heheh) until this year, but thanks to Alex Green's podcast "Stereo Embers" (check it out! It's excellent), that has been corrected. This band of LA rock scenesters led by Bob Forrest released some small label gems in the late 80s to early 90s but then faded from view...until now. This record is a blast: catchy tunes with loud guitars and lyrics with bite. On this track I hear a little bit of Paul Weller and the mod revival...and that's great.



THE STROKES
The New Abnormal

The Strokes hit it big way back in 2001 with their debut "Is This It." You probably heard it, at least once. It was great! They made a bunch of other albums after that, and I tried to listen to them all, but may have missed some. They just couldn't quite capture that first-time magic. Then, after a seven-year break, this album came along, and it's fantastic, strong and interesting songs all the way through. This video is quite clever, fun, and dark as well.



SPARKS
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

The super-collosal-amazing Sparks, led by the Mael brothers from Los Angeles, are nearing 50 years in the business, with at least 23 studio albums released by my count, and almost all of them absolute winners. This new album is just as good as the rest, with perhaps a little more emotional weight to some of the lyrics than in the past. Guess that happens with age (except for AC/DC...see below). This video might be my favorite song of 2020. It's a beautiful summation of a lifetime together, all in under five minutes:



RICK WAKEMAN
The Red Planet

Oh, and you thought no one was making instrumental progressive rock albums anymore? Well, you'd be wrong, very wrong. There are many, actually. But this one came from one of my favorite keyboard artists ever, Mr. Rick Wakeman (ex-Strawbs, ex-Yes, and many solo albums over five decades). Over 70 years old, unable to rehearse or record in person with his bandmates, and still he was able to put out this very good Mars-themed album. It doesn't quite reach the brilliant (or overblown, depending on your perspective) of his 70s solo albums, but at this stage of the game, I'm just thrilled it exists. And there's a signed pop-up version of the album available! (For only $70)



THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS
Made Of Rain

Further proof that age doesn't diminish real talent (until, of course, it finally does). Almost 40 years after their commercial peak, the Furs surprised me with this deep and great-sounding album. Richard Butler's smoky voice sounds unchanged (how can that be?), the lyrics are deep, and the songs are as inventive as anything they've ever done.



PRETENDERS
Hate For Sale

Okay I'm starting to notice a pattern here: Almost all my favorite albums are by artists or bands that have been around for 20 years or more. Gimme a break, I'm gettin' older! It doesn't take away from the fact that these are great albums. Chrissie Hynde, and her old cohort Martin Chambers on drums, are really clicking on this album. The opening title track is proof that their flame is still burning brightly.



PHANTOM PLANET
Devastator

Power Pop, brilliantly done. Ever since they hit (relatively) big in 2004 when their song "California" was featured on the teen soap "The O.C." in 2004, they've bubbled under the radar, and I've paid passing attention to them, if at all. But this album is really good, and this song in particular wins my award for catchiest tune of 2020. We need this kind of music in the world!



PEARL JAM
Gigaton

Did you think Pearl Jam was done? Maybe packed it up in the late 90s after grunge was dead and buried? Oh, not at all! They stayed intense but turned down the grunge guitars and turned up their creativity and other instrumentation. This album is quite varied, very thoughtful, and at this point they can do whatever they want and I will be giving them a good listen.



LIAR, FLOWER
Geiger Counter

KatieJane Garside had her moment of near-fame in 1992 with the twisted grunge band Daisy Chainsaw and their debut album Eleventeen. (If you like the grunge genre, check it out, it's very interesting!) She has soldiered on, as a solo artist with several side project names including this most recent one, as Liar, Flower. This album is a bit split, between quiet, slightly creepy songs with just vocal and autoharp, and more grungy tunes like this one. But the sum total of the album is quite compelling:



HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS
Weather

Well, this one is tantalizingly short, only seven songs. Huey Lewis was diagnosed with Meniere's disease, which causes hearing loss, as well as vertigo and other symtoms. Apparently it has no cure. But before the disease struck, they had cut these songs, and they are gems, as good as anything Huey and his News have ever done. How frustratingly sad.



FUZZ
Fuzz III

Ever heard of Ty Segall? He has yet to achieve mainstream success (what would that even look like anymore?), but as one of the most prolific rockers of the last decade, I don't think he much cares. He just keeps cranking out albums, often at a pace of more than one a year, and this one, under the moniker of Fuzz, is one of his most rocking, enjoyable ones yet.



THE FLAMING LIPS
American Head

Another great American band, fearlessly exploring their dark past with our collective dark (but beautiful) future, with incredibly evocative and emotional songs. Perhaps my favorite Flaming Lips album so far. The imagery in this video is very powerful.



DEAP LIPS
Deap Lips

Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips have been staying busy! This is a side project between them and garage rock duo Deap Vally. Very creative, more than the sum of its parts. I love the "blam, blam, blam" motif of this album.



CLOSE LOBSTERS
Post Neo Anti: Arte Povera In The Forest Of Symbols

Scottish indie jangle-popsters put out a little music in the late 80s and quickly called it a day. Or did they? In 2020 they released a new album, and it's fantastic. Just listen:



BLUE OYSTER CULT
The Symbol Remains

Unbelievable really that these classic rock stalwarts from the 70s would release such a great sounding, hard hitting album at this stage, but they certainly did. Best thing they've done in decades. Bravo! And there's something about Buck Dharma's voice that I just love.



THE BATS
Foothills

This little band that could from New Zealand, going strong over 30 years now, has never really got my attention...until now. (Thanks again, Stereo Embers: The Podcast!) After hearing an interview with leader Robert Scott - a cheerful, humble man - I gave this album a good listen with headphones one night, and was enchanted. While the album was released in New Zealand in 2018 it just got its American release in 2020, so I'm including it here. Because more fans of really good indie rock should hear this!



ANTON BARBEAU
Manbird

Another revelation via Stereo Embers (this guy finds the coolest people!), Barbeau is a quirky, individualistic pop/rock artist, and very inventive songwriter and studio music creator. After hearing a few samples of his work, I went to Bandcamp and immediately bought his entire digital library from his site. Very cool, very fun stuff. This album is one of his best, IMO.



AC/DC
Power Up

I'll finish (randomly...this is a reverse-alphabetical list, remember?) with the most conventional release. For fans of AC/DC, this album comes as quite a surprise, and a minor miracle, considering one core member had died, another was diagnosed with dementia (and had legal trouble as well), and the singer suffered major hearing loss while on tour back in 2016 and quit quite suddenly. So when rumors of them sneaking into a recording studio in Vancouver, Canada began, fans hoped that there might be a little something we could enjoy. Little did we expect a full album of classic AC/DC would emerge. Great to have them back! (Brian Johnson is 73 years old...how the hell does he do that with this voice?!?)



Well, that's it. There was plenty more great music released in 2020 of course. These were just some of my favorites. As always, if you look for "Best of The Year" lists (NPR, Allmusic.com, etc) you won't find many of these there. But that's why I do this list every year. One or two of these might just become one of your favorite albums of the year, too. Happy Listening!