Taylor’s Top 25 Albums of 2020: #25-21

It’s that time of the year again! This year, music brought us comfort, normalcy, and even a bit of reprieve from the chaos of a global pandemic. I’m back to count down my top 25 albums of 2020 beginning with #25-21. In this grouping, we’ll see a good scope of the different sounds of this past year. As we countdown, we’ll slowly arrive at my top 10, which was truly difficult to narrow down this year. Without further ado, let’s kick off the countdown!

#25: Touché Amoré – Lament

Four years since their last studio album, Touché Amoré picked up right where they left off. Relatively reserved to the hardcore and post-hardcore scene, the band hasn’t necessarily grabbed the mainstream attention it deserves. Despite being their best album in my eyes, Lament is also one of their most brash works to date. For those who don’t often delve into the yelling, screaming, aggressive nature of this sort of music, it can be hard to pick up.

If you have the ears for it, however, then Lament is a treat. It carries from start to finish in less than 36 minutes that flash by seemingly in half the time. With such a heavy sound, the vulnerability in the lyrics gracefully glides on the gut-punching instrumentals in a way that makes singer Jeremy Bolm one of the best in the business. Lament, even for those who don’t fancy heavy sounds, is worth a visit.

“I’ll test the water, I won’t dive right in. That’s too personal, I’m too delicate” – “Deflector”

#24: Porches – Ricky Music

2020 marked 10 years of musician Aaron Maine recording as Porches. What initially drew me into Maine’s music back in 2016 was his command over the music. Writing most of his work, Maine has a way of creating a mesmerizing synth-pop instrumental that could easily work on its own. Then, he adds lyrics about losing yourself, feeling distanced from others, and in the case of Ricky Music, the letdown of a breakup.

Despite never quite hitting that out-of-this-world moment on the record, Ricky Music is Maine’s most well-rounded effort to date. Even as a downer track transitions into something more upbeat, it all makes sense. This is the most we’ve been able to get inside Maine’s mind to date and it’s a hauntingly realistic portrait of someone eager for life but drawn back by its harshness.

“And then I hold myself close, and I stuff the sheet in my mouth. Dreaming of you, do you dream of me?” – “I Wanna Ride”

#23: Bright Eyes – Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was

Conor Oberst hasn’t lost his touch in the 11 years since the last Bright Eyes record. Of course, he’s recorded music since then as a solo act and with Phoebe Bridgers as Better Oblivion Community Center but Bright Eyes has always brought out Oberst’s best work. In their later effort, the group has gotten more ambitious than the subtleties of albums like 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, but it’s likely out of sheer strength. Not many indie artists can paint such broad strokes across multiple genres but Oberst and company have it down to a science.

I think the tricky thing about Bright Eyes is that I prefer the less-is-more moments of their work. Down in the Weeds… is more about the bigger-is-bolder approach. Still, the heartfelt lyrics I valued from Oberst back in my middle school days feel more applicable now in my 20s. Oberst continues to tell richer stories every time he invites us into his world. Hopefully, he and the Bright Eyes crew have many more tales to tell.

“Could be so damn mean, but you were always sweet to me. You swept me off my feet, and we went flying.” – “Stairwell Song”

#22: Fenne Lilly – BREACH

I think Fenne Lilly’s 2018 album, On Hold, was much more refined and calculated. That said, I much prefer the raw energy we get from the minute BREACH begins. There are a lot of things we can’t learn in life until we experience them ourselves. I think Fenne Lilly, despite telling us stories about discovering herself and what her heart and soul are made of, knows this too. Instead of telling people about the world, we take little trips to Lilly’s past, present, and future. It’s a gorgeous approach to storytelling in songwriting.

The strongest element of BREACH is Lilly’s use of melody. A few verses of the album, particularly in the songs “I Used to Hate My Body But Now I Just Hate You” and “Alapathy,” are among my favorite melodies from any album this year. In a year where so many of us were isolated from others, this album’s central theme of isolation feels cathartic and reassuring that sometimes being on our own is just what we need.

“I met you in November for a weekend/I loved you by December like a fool/You left me for a friend over the summer/I never had a chance to play it cool.” – “I Used To Hate My Body But Now I Just Hate You”

#21: HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III

HAIM made a huge entrance into the music scene with 2013’s Days Are Gone, but I didn’t love their follow-up albums quite as much. That was until this year’s Women In Music Pt. III. It’s Alana, Este, and Danielle Haim at their best, doing what they know best: sensible Pop-Rock with plenty owed to the 90s and 00s sounds on which they grew up. Many rising artists in Pop-Rock might lean into the style of what we’re hearing on the radio for their sound. Instead, they rely on their instincts.

It bodes much better for their sound to fall into what they know. By leaning seemingly more into the music they likely find inspiration from to drive them rather than guide them, they’ve built a much stronger sound. On top of the incredible album, they’ve gotten more interactive with their music, offering dance lessons to their songs on social media. It’s a fun energy we all needed in 2020.

“Is it destiny or just chemistry?/We’re living in such extremes/And life won’t wait around.” – “Another Try”