With many album releases delayed until later in the year, or even 2021, and others who were due to finish recording but were interrupted with quarantines, I figured there would be a noticeable dip in album releases. But it hasn’t really happened yet. Midyear I already have nearly 600 albums in my list, and there is a LOT I miss. I’ve covered most of the top 40 albums, and will include blurbs on the few albums I haven’t talked about yet so far. The other reviews are linked from the top 100 list down below.
Coogans Bluff – Metronopolis (Nois-o-lution)
When Germany’s Epitaph mixed prog with American Southern Rock on their landmark Outside The Law (1974) album, it’s surprising that more bands didn’t pick up on this tasty combo. They did, but it took over 40 years to simmer before bands like Crypt Trip, Bask and Monarch, and now Germany’s Coogans Bluff were ready to cook up their own batches. The Germans flavor theirs with some jammy jazz fusion elements, saxophones, mellotrons, Farfisa and Moog. You’d think they would sound more along the lines of King Crimson (which they do fleetingly, such as on “Creatures of the Night”), but then you have the easygoing countrified Americana of “Sincerely Yours” and “Hit And Run.” The contrasts could be jarring to some ears, but they merge together beautifully on the chooglin’ “Soft Focus,” and the Motorpsycho-level intensity of “Gadfly” in particular. “The Turn I & II” builds from a sinister atmospheric piece and is rockin’ by the close of part II. The subsequently released The C-Side of Metronopolis EP is an essential addition for those impressed by the first album, making for a most satisfying hour of adventurous psych prog.
Spectres – Nostalgia (Artoffact)
I’ve kept a wary eye on this gothy Vancouver post-punk/deathrock band for a number of years, just in case they broke through with something special. Their third album Utopia (2016) held some promise, and Nostalgia brings it to fruition. It’s a good thing, as I’d hate to see a great name like Spectres wasted on a mediocre band. Their fourth album sees a stylistic shift, introducing some jangle along the lines of The Chameleons, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Smiths. While I don’t think it was an essential change in order for them to progress (I wonder if fellow Vancouver jangly post-punkers Mode Moderne influenced them), the album is definitely alluring. And for someone like myself who can’t get enough of the likes of The Comsat Angels and The Sound, it’s like crack.
Thiago Nassif – Mente (Gearbox)
Thiago Nassif’s second album, Mente, features a major contribution from Arto Lindsay (co-production, vocals, guitar and songwriting). It’s the best thing he’s been involved with since Salt (2004), and the fiercest fusion of raging no wave with Brazilian art pop and it’s rich traditions (samba, bossa nova, Tropicália, MPB).
Wailin Storms – Rattle (Gilead)
I may be a sucker for gothic blues punk garage noir bands, but that doesn’t make me a sucker. I’ve got standards, and Durham, NC’s Wailin Storms exceeds them. All three of their albums of consistently fierce, but their latest is definitely something special. For every Nick Cave or Blixa Bargeld who settles into satiny adult contemporary balladry, there’s a young pack of ferals who reflect the appropriate amount of rage and horror appropriate for these times.
The Earth Below – Nothing Works Vol. 2: Hymns For Useless Gods (Unherd Music)
An initial blind listen might lead one to think that Mark Lanegan reunited with Screaming Trees, resulting in an ultra cool updated stoner/psych prog sound. Actually it’s the latest project from Mumbai, India’s Deepak Raghu (Shepherd, Rat King), and his best yet, combining the best of his doom roots with a timeless, soulful approach that makes this project special. A hint at the special sauce is nestled on their Bandcamp page — “The blood runs thick with Black Sabbath but the heart needs a bit of Roy Orbison.”
Cafe Racer – Shadow Talk (Born Yesterday)
To call Chicago’s Cafe Racer a psych band is an oversimplification. Their debut Famous Dust (2018) was a really strong start that mixed garage psych, noise pop and shoegaze. Their second album sees them evolving into something different, incorporating motorik kosmische grooves, and jangle pop along the lines of The Feelies and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, such as on my favorite track, “Seminal Art.”
Butterfly – Doorways Of Time (High Voltage)
Melbourne, Australia seems to have a new great band pop up every week. This time it’s Butterfly, offering up a smooth mix of 70s and 80s style traditional heavy metal, with just a touch of doom and proggy proto-metal, complete with twin lead guitars. Their relatively more relaxed tempos and extra attention to their tones and textures sets them apart from the pack this year. They can still get raucous, such as with the staccato AC/DC riffs that kick off “Climbing A Mountain,” and a super-fun stuttering tempo of a chorus.
Wild Tinderbox – Hardboiled Fire (Wild Tinderbox)
Garage prog is a fleeting concept that I’d only used once before to describe some of fellow Austin band White Denim’s early stuff. It’s kind of contradictory, because while prog is associated with fussy virtuosity, garage is meant to be sloppy and unpracticed. Nevertheless, some bands have toyed with that line, including Guided By Voices. Wild Tinderbox are far more wild and woolly than either band, with a freewheeling grungy hard rock/psych edge. This is their second album, and I hope to find out what they get up to for a third.
Fearing – Shadow (Fearing)
The debut album from Oakland’s Fearing combines the tastiest elements of goth, post-punk, darkwave, coldwave and a bit of shoegaze. Wooah death, with ice cold hands taking hold of me, NOM NOM NOM.
Horisont – Sudden Death (Century Media)
On the Swedish psych/hard rockers’ fifth album About Time (2017), the winds of change were afoot. While it’s the third consecutive outing of their sci-fi concepts, it was the first time they truly leaned into a Moog-heavy, polished AOR sound, particularly on “Without Warning” and “Boston Gold.” That’s risky territory, as that kind of sound generally signified the artistic decline of many a hard rock and NWOBHM band in the 80s. However on their sixth album, Horisont go full on prog pop along the lines of ELO’s Out of The Blue, while retaining the urgency of late 70s era UFO, and it’s fucking delightful. Pay no mind to the trolls, this is one of their most consistently enjoyable albums chock full of fun, melodic tunes with tricksy arrangements.
Spotify Playlist
YouTube Playlist
Best of 2020 So Far
- Motorpsycho – The All Is One (Rune Grammofon/Stickman) | Aug 28 | Norway | Buy
- Elder – Omens (Armageddon) | Apr 24 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Sonic Dawn – Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych) | May 01 | Denmark | Bandcamp
- Molassess – Through The Hollow (Season Of Mist) | Oct 16 | Netherlands | Bandcamp
- Colour Haze – We Are (Elektrohasch/Ripple) | Oct 09 | Germany | Bandcamp
- Protomartyr – Ultimate Success Today (Domino) | Jul 17 | USA | Bandcamp
- Spectres – Nostalgia (Artoffact) | Mar 13 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways To New Italy (Sub Pop) | Jun 05 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Custard Flux – Oxygen (Custard Flux) | Jul 03 | USA | Bandcamp
- Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity (20 Buck Spin) | Oct 16 | USA | Bandcamp
- Coriky – Coriky (Dischord) | Jun 12 | USA | Bandcamp
- Elephant Stone – Hollow (Fuzz Club) | Feb 14 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Bambara – Stray (Wharf Cat) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Slift – Ummon (Stolen Body) | Feb 28 | France | Bandcamp
- Algiers – There Is No Year (Matador) | Jan 17 | USA | Bandcamp
- Lord Buffalo – Tohu Wa Bohu (Blues Funeral) | Mar 27 | USA | Bandcamp
- Causa Sui – Szabodelico (El Paraiso) | Nov 13 | Denmark | Buy
- Sweven – The Eternal Resonance (Van) | Mar 20 | Sweden | Bandcamp
- We Here Now – The Chikipunk Years EP (Elektrohasch/Homemade Gifts) | Jan 17 | Brazil/Peru/USA | Bandcamp
- All Them Witches – Nothing As the Ideal (New West) | Sep 04 | USA | Bandcamp
- Gulch – Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (Closed Casket Activities) | Jan 01 | USA | Bandcamp
- Vincas – Phantasma (Learning Curve) | May 29 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Blinders – Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath (Modern Sky) | Jan 01 | UK
- The Pink Moon – Cosmic Heart Attack (Crispin Glover) | Nov 06 | Norway | Bandcamp
- The Primevals – Second Nature (Triple Wide) | Jun 26 | UK | Bandcamp
- Pottery – Welcome To Bobby’s Motel (Partisan) | Jun 26 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Lucifer – Lucifer III (Century Media) | Mar 20 | Sweden | Buy
- Rose City Band – Summerlong (Thrill Jockey) | May 15 | USA | Bandcamp
- Fassine – Forge (Trapped Animal) | Mar 27 | UK | Bandcamp
- Katie Gately – Loom (Houndstooth) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Resonars – Disappear (Resonars) | Dec 12 | USA | Bandcamp
- Ist Ist – Architecture (Kind Violence) | Jan 01 | UK | Bandcamp
- Shaman Elephant – Wide Awake But Still Asleep (Karisma/Dark Essence) | May 29 | Norway | Bandcamp
- My Dear Mycroft – Heaven’s Entertainment (My Dear Mycroft) | Oct 30 | USA | Bandcamp
- Paul Molloy – The Fifth Dandelion (Spring Heeled) | Aug 21 | UK | Buy
- Smalltown Tigers – Five Things EP (Area Pirata) | Apr 24 | Italy | Bandcamp
- Kings Of The Valley – Kings Of The Valley (Wonderful & Strange) | Sep 18 | Norway | Buy
- Kimono Drag Queens – Songs Of Worship (Copper Feast) | Nov 06 | Australia | Bandcamp
- The White Kites – Devillusion (Deep Field) | Sep 16 | Poland | Bandcamp
- Mother Island – Motel Rooms (Go Down) | May 22 | Italy | Bandcamp
- The Hanging Stars – A New Kind Of Sky (CRO) | Feb 21 | UK | Bandcamp
- Coogans Bluff – Metronopolis (Nois-o-lution) | Jan 24 | Germany | Bandcamp
- RVG – Feral (Fire) | Apr 24 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Turtle Skull – Monoliths (Art As Catharsis) | Aug 28 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Dead Visions – A Sea Of Troubles (Slimer) | May 29 | Italy | Bandcamp
- Frankie & The Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters (Reverberation Appreciation Society) | Oct 02 | USA | Bandcamp
- Karkara – Nowhere Land (Stolen Body) | Nov 13 | France | Bandcamp
- Crippled Black Phoenix – Ellengast (Season Of Mist) | Oct 09 | UK | Bandcamp
- Population II – À La Ô Terre (Castle Face) | Oct 30 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Lykantropi – Tales To Be Told (Despotz) | Nov 06 | Sweden | Bandcamp
- Cable Ties – Far Enough (Merge) | Mar 27 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Eternal Champion – Ravening Iron (No Remorse) | Nov 20 | USA | Bandcamp
- Kate NV – Room For the Moon (Rvng) | Jun 12 | Russia | Bandcamp
- Hilary Woods – Birthmarks (Sacred Bones) | Mar 13 | UK | Bandcamp
- Witchwood – Before The Winter (Jolly Roger) | Nov 20 | Italy | Bandcamp
- Country Westerns – Country Westerns (Fat Possum) | Jun 26 | USA | Bandcamp
- Thiago Nassif – Mente (Gearbox) | Jul 03 | Brazil | Bandcamp
- Witchskull – A Driftwood Cross (Rise Above) | Apr 24 | Australia | Buy
- Maggot Heart – Mercy Machine (Rapid Eye) | Jul 10 | Germany | Bandcamp
- High Spirits – Hard To Stop (Professor Black) | Jul 31 | USA | Bandcamp
- Rick Hromadka – Better Days (SodaStar) | Jan 01 | USA | Buy
- Straw Man Army – Age of Exile (D4MT Labs) | Jan 01 | USA | Bandcamp
- Emile – The Black Spider / Det Kollektive Selvmord (Heavy Psych) | May 01 | Denmark | Bandcamp
- The Buttertones – Jazzhound (Innovative Leisure) | Apr 10 | USA | Bandcamp
- Sons Of Southern Ulster – Sinners And Lost Souls (HT) | Jun 15 | UK | Bandcamp
- Figueroa – The World As We Know It (Nomark) | Jul 30 | Brazil | Bandcamp
- The Black Watch – Fromthing Somethat (Atom) | Oct 23 | USA | Bandcamp
- Public Practice – Gentle Grip (Wharf Cat) | May 15 | USA | Bandcamp
- …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – X: The Godless Void And Other Stories (Dine Alone) | Jan 17 | USA | Buy
- Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wit’s End (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond) | Oct 09 | USA | Bandcamp
- White Denim – World As A Waiting Room (Radio Milk) | Apr 17 | USA | Bandcamp
- Shadow Show – Silhouettes (Burger/Stolen Body) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Shopping – All Or Nothing (Fatcat) | Feb 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- The Homesick – The Big Exercise (Sub Pop) | Feb 07 | Netherlands | Bandcamp
- Death Valley Girls – Under The Spell Of Joy (Suicide Squeeze) | Oct 02 | USA | Bandcamp
- Vitskär Süden – Vitskär Süden (Vitskär Süden) | May 22 | USA | Bandcamp
- Haunt – Flashback (Church) | Jul 03 | USA | Bandcamp
- Idles – Ultra Mono (Partisan) | Sep 25 | UK | Bandcamp
- Dune Sea – Moons Of Uranus (All Good Clean) | Nov 13 | Norway | Buy
- Rattlesnake Milk – Rattlesnake Milk (Feels So Good) | Apr 28 | USA | Buy
- The Devil’s Trade – The Call Of The Iron Peak (Season Of Mist) | Aug 28 | Hungary | Bandcamp
- Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Epic) | Apr 17 | USA | Buy
- Fuzz – III (In The Red) | Oct 23 | USA | Bandcamp
- Fooks Nihil – Fooks Nihil (Unique) | Jan 01 | Germany | Bandcamp
- Uffe Lorenzen – Magisk Realisme (Bad Afro) | Sep 11 | Denmark | Bandcamp
- Acid Mess – Sangre De Otros Mundos (Spinda) | Nov 06 | Spain | Bandcamp
- Lunatic Soul – Through Shaded Woods (Kscope) | Nov 13 | UK | Bandcamp
- Loose Fit – Loose Fit EP (FatCat) | Apr 03 | Australia | Bandcamp
- It’s Immaterial – House For Sale (Burning Shed) | Sep 18 | UK | Buy
- Hollow Ship – Future Remains (PNKSLM) | Apr 01 | Sweden | Bandcamp
- Suzie Stapleton – We Are The Plague (Negative Prophet) | Jul 31 | UK | Bandcamp
- Blues Pills – Holy Moly! (Nuclear Blast) | Aug 21 | Sweden | Buy
- Smalltown Tigers – Five Things EP (Area Pirata) | Apr 24 | Italy | Bandcamp
- Valkyrie – Fear (Relapse) | Jul 24 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Lancashire Hustlers – Four Hands, Two Voices (Steep Hill) | Jan 01 | UK | Bandcamp
- Sheverb – Once Upon A Time In Bombay Beach (Ladies Of Reverb) | Aug 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Moons – Pocket Melodies (Colorama) | Jan 01 | UK | Buy
- Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost (Bad Omen) | Oct 30 | UK | Bandcamp
- Oh Sees – Metamorphosed (Castle Face) | Oct 16 | USA | Bandcamp
- Wailin Storms – Rattle (Gilead) | May 15 | USA | Bandcamp
