Best of the year

      It's been a strange year but the music has come thick and fast, despite the limitations of the pandemic which cancelled pretty much all touring and live music. Artists either completed planned recording sessions in time or worked around these limitations to produce a really wide variety of work. The following are my favourite ten albums and singles of the year. Enjoy..

Album of the Year

1  Fetch The Bolt Cutters

       Fiona Apple

       Arriving a matter of weeks after the  start of the first worldwide lockdown, this wild and brilliant album, Apple's 5th, took a direct wrecking ball to any doubts that the music industry was not involved in #MeToo. Apple sang powerfully about assault, abuse of power and coercion, over complex and unusual arrangements. The opening piano led one two of I Want You To Love Me and lead single Shameika recalled Tori Amos, whilst the title cut that followed payed homage to Kate Bush as Apple sung "I need to run up that hill, I will I will I will" as the sound of a hound barks in the background. 

       Whilst critics originally drew neat parallels with being physically in lockdown, that was mere coincidence. What it is, is a final frustrated plea to break free from the scars those experiences have left - more detail here - as Apple sings on the title track "they stole my fun, they stole my fun". In the year that progress was made in charging those responsible for such hideous crimes, it was important that this landmark album was finally released. Hopefully it helps in making the industry a safer place as well as remind us of what a brilliant acerbic singer-songwriter Apple is:

2  It Is What It Is
       Thundercat

     The soul album of the year, this catchy, fun and succinct album is everything we hoped Thundercat would make. Starting with the Stevie Wonder-esque Interstellar Love, he lays down his love of soul and jazz in the tracks which whirl through at breakneck speed. A celebration of life in the face of death and self-doubt.

3  Rough & Rowdy Ways
       Bob Dylan

         Launched at the beginning of the first worldwide lockdown, this was the first album of original music in a decade and a treat for Dylan fans to muse over and dissect. Veering between singing and speaking, Dylan almost creates a new approach with many of the songs with their light folky backdrops, with a hint in jazz in places. They're joined by a few blues numbers which are needed to lighten the mood, but it's those long songs towards the end such as Key West and Murder Most Foul that make this album, songs about life, death and everything in between.

4  Notes From The Underground
       High Contrast

       A recent album from Drum N Bass Welsh DJ Lincoln Barrett hit the mark, combining the latest technical jungle beats with an appreciation of the sounds and samples of Rave and the 2nd Summer of Love. Dance is all about finding new sounds, evolving sounds and paradoxically recycling sounds but none have gone back to Rave with such aplomb. An unexpected delight.

5  Mordechai

       Khruangbin

        A bit of a sleeper hit having released two albums of instrumental music before this their third album in five years and Time (You and I) the lead single crept in the public consciousness. Their sound of Thai and Iranian rock was developed with dub, Spanish flamenco and spoken word joining their musical palette to make an intriguing and beguiling album.

6  Shore

       Fleet Foxes

      Finding himself with fresh impetus after their last album that done so well despite a six year hiatus, bandleader Robin Pecknold didn't want to make the same mistake twice and so threw himself into recording his band's fourth album whilst telling himself to make it "warmer". The result was their most inspiring music since their debut and proof that Pecknold really has the bit between his teeth when it comes to creating great music. 

7  A Letter To You
       Bruce Springsteen

       Recorded live with his old friends in the E Street Band, Springsteen discovered some of the fire that has been missing from recent recordings as well as tunes, including some golden oldies written his debut 50 years ago.

8  Even In Exile
       James Dean Bradfield 

       A concept album on the life of Chilean activist, singer and poet Victor Jara and with lyrics by Patrick Jones - brother of Manic bandmate Nicky, the lead singer and guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers has not sounded this vital since the Welsh legend's peak at the turn of the century, adding a surprising array of musical sounds on the album with each of the eleven tracks hitting the mark, whether it's the beautiful acoustic pluckings of Under The Mimosa Tree, the rolling dramatic piano of Thirty Thousand Milk Bottles or the Chilean folk of La Partida.

9  RTJ4
       Run The Jewels

        Reminding everyone how powerful and frankly how good Hip Hop can be, the duo of Killer Mike and El-P released their best most consistent album yet, with not one track wasting their moment, from the hit signles of Yankee and The Brave, Ooh La La and Ju$t, to the astonishing Walking In The Snow, a tale of police brutality written before George Floyd including the prophetic "I can't breathe!".

10  Róisín Machine

           Róisín Murphy

        Released towards the end of the year, this is Roisin Murphy's second solo album and an ode to the era of Studio 54, when disco was slowly morphing into house, not that they knew it at the time. The resulting Hi-NRG is captured here brilliantly and unlike many of the popular dance albums this year it never lets up and not a moment is wasted. An underrated modern classic.

Single of the Year

1  Blinding Lights

       The Weeknd 

So good a song that despite it being released on the penultimate day in November last year, it is head and shoulders the song (and single) of the year. A pre-release lead single from The Weeknd's 2020 album After Hours, it finds him again teaming up with Max Miller who previously worked on the bouncy Can't Feel Your Face and coming up with something even more exhilarating that distracted everyone from the developing pandemic providing a genuinely positive and uplifting song to distract you. Glorious.

2  Be An Astronaut - Declan McKenna 

A slow burner of a song but far more interesting than say the similarly reflective People I've Been Sad by Christine & The Queens, this homage to Bowie and Elton, a brooding ballad didn't sound like a rip-off but a song all of its own as McKenna sang of the doubts and emotion no doubt many of us felt this year.

3  Dynamite - BTS

Bringing the same "funk and soul" as Uptown Funk, BTS broke America and indeed much of the rest of the world with this simple but effortless pop song. As soon as the world opens up again you'e guaranteed that BTS will be the biggest live draw in Pop when a new world tour kicks off.

4  Boss Bitch - Doja Cat

Whilst the explicit but ultimately boring W.A.P. by Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion blew up, a far better track was released by Doja Cat which amazingly managed to not contain a single obscenity. It didn't matter though because it's one of the club tracks of the year and catchy as hell.

5  Dragonball Durag - Thundercat

This year's funkiest single from Thundercat's wonderful fourth album It Is What It Is, Dragonball Durag recalls the sound of Seventies peak Stevie Wonder and the storytelling of Prince as he unapologetically expresses his love of this particularly type of clothing.

6  Jerusalema - Master KG feat. Nomcebo ikode

Released at the back end of last year before being remixed in the summer and going viral, this slice of South African house heaven manages to be both relax you and make you dance. A rare feat.

7  Rhythm Is Changing - High Contrast feat. LOWES

Those house piano chords are unmistakable having graced thousands of dance tracks in the early ninenties and this brilliantly blends House, Rave, Breakbeat with Drum N Bass for 2020 and most importantly it does what so many current 'dance' tracks do, it makes you want to dance!

 

8  Douha (Mali Mali) - Disclosure feat. Fatoumata Diawara

On their third full length ENERGY, Essex's finest stretched their dance chops to incorporate a wider range of styles such as R&B and African beats as their audience reaches new shores and they used the latter to particularly good effect, perhaps the highlight of the album.

9  Murder Most Foul - Bob Dylan

The lead single from his latest album, an extraordinary 16 minute trawl through some of the key moments of American history starting with the assassination of President Kennedy. Kept Dylan-heads busy during Lockdown as they deciphered the various meanings throughout this mini epic.

10  Time - Childish Gambino feat. Ariana Grande

Released with no tracklisting, just a series of numbers representing the time lengths of each track, Childish Gambino's latest album disappointed many but its single Time featuring vocals from Ariana Grande stood out with a spacey beat reminiscent of classic Prince.