July 8, 2020 by A.S. Van Dorston

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) | Aug 28 | Norway | Buy
Elder – Omens (Armageddon) | Apr 24 | USA | Bandcamp
The Sonic Dawn – Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych) | May 01 | Denmark | Bandcamp
Custard Flux – Oxygen (Custard Flux) | Jul 03 | USA | 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
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
Shaam Larein – Sculpture (Icons Creating Evil Art) | Jan 31 | Sweden | Bandcamp
Bambara – Stray (Wharf Cat) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
Syvdoh – Death 1 Sylvdoh 0 (Iffy Folk) | Nov 27 | UK | Bandcamp
Slift – Ummon (Stolen Body) | Feb 28 | France | Bandcamp
Rick Hromadka – Better Days (SodaStar) | Jan 01 | USA | Buy
Lucifer – Lucifer III (Century Media) | Mar 20 | Sweden | Buy
Nothing – The Great Dismal (Relapse) | Oct 30 | USA | Bandcamp
Mother Island – Motel Rooms (Go Down) | May 22 | Italy | Bandcamp
Tame Impala – The Slow Rush (Interscope) | Feb 14 | Australia | Buy
Algiers – There Is No Year (Matador) | Jan 17 | USA | Bandcamp
Fuzz – III (In The Red) | Oct 23 | USA | Bandcamp
Lord Buffalo – Tohu Wa Bohu (Blues Funeral) | Mar 27 | USA | Bandcamp
Transit Method – The Madness (Brutal Panda) | Jul 03 | 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
Dune Sea – Moons Of Uranus (All Good Clean) | Nov 13 | Norway | Buy
All Them Witches – Nothing As the Ideal (New West) | Sep 04 | USA | Bandcamp
Gulch – Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (Closed Casket Activities) | Jan 01 | USA | Bandcamp
Bootblacks – Thin Skies (Artoffact) | Sep 30 | 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
Positive No – Kyanite (Little Black Cloud) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
The Primevals – Second Nature (Triple Wide) | Jun 26 | UK | Bandcamp
Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death (Partisan) | Jul 31 | UK | Bandcamp
Pottery – Welcome To Bobby’s Motel (Partisan) | Jun 26 | Canada | Bandcamp
IE – Aune (Shinkoyo) | Jul 17 | USA | Bandcamp
Rose City Band – Summerlong (Thrill Jockey) | May 15 | USA | Bandcamp
Black Sword Thunder Attack – March of the Damned EP (No Remorse) | Apr 23 | Greece | Buy
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
The Vapors – Together (Absolute Label Services) | May 15 | UK | Buy
Shaman Elephant – Wide Awake But Still Asleep (Karisma/Dark Essence) | May 29 | Norway | Bandcamp
Korine – The Night We Raise (Born Losers) | Sep 04 | USA | Bandcamp
Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi (Nuclear Blast) | Apr 17 | Finland | Bandcamp
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou – May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones) | Oct 30 | USA | Bandcamp
My Dear Mycroft – Heaven’s Entertainment (My Dear Mycroft) | Oct 30 | USA | Bandcamp
Gaytheist – How Long Have I Been On Fire? (Hex) | Apr 10 | USA | Bandcamp
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – K.G. (Flightless) | Nov 20 | Australia | Bandcamp
Paul Molloy – The Fifth Dandelion (Spring Heeled) | Aug 21 | UK | Buy
Valkyrie – Fear (Relapse) | Jul 24 | USA | Bandcamp
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
Spotlights – We Are All Atomic EP (Ipecac) | Mar 27 | USA | Bandcamp
The White Kites – Devillusion (Deep Field) | Sep 16 | Poland | 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
Hearts Fail – You Are Never Alone (Hearts Fail) | Oct 01 | USA | 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
Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto – Quartermass Seven (Madlib Invazion) | Oct 16 | UK | Bandcamp
Cryptic Shift – Visitations From Enceladus (Blood Harvest) | May 04 | UK | Bandcamp
Population II – À La Ô Terre (Castle Face) | Oct 30 | Canada | Bandcamp
Shedfromthebody – A Dead and Aimless Hum (Shedfromthebody) | May 17 | Finland | Bandcamp
Lykantropi – Tales To Be Told (Despotz) | Nov 06 | Sweden | Bandcamp
Nite Fields – A Voyeur Makes No Mark (Perfect Aesthetics) | Jan 01 | Australia | Bandcamp
Seeming – Monster (Artoffact) | Sep 04 | USA | 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
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – X: The Godless Void And Other Stories (Dine Alone) | Jan 17 | USA | Buy
Hilary Woods – Birthmarks (Sacred Bones) | Mar 13 | Ireland | Bandcamp
Witchwood – Before The Winter (Jolly Roger) | Nov 20 | Italy | Bandcamp
Country Westerns – Country Westerns (Fat Possum) | Jun 26 | USA | Bandcamp
Slomosa – Slomosa (Apollon) | Aug 28 | Norway | 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
Floodlights – From a View (Woo Me) | Aug 28 | Australia | Bandcamp
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
Ozric Tentacles – Space For The Earth (Kscope) | Oct 09 | UK | 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
Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wit’s End (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond) | Oct 09 | USA | Bandcamp
The Fuzztones – NYC (Cleopatra) | Jan 01 | USA

Posted in: Bandcamp, Listicles, Reviews, Videos/Singles

Tagged: Best of 2020 So Far, Butterfly, Cafe Racer, Coogans Bluff, Horisont, Midyear Rundown 2020, Spectres, The Earth Below, Wailin Storms, Wild Tinderbox