Music Editor’s 2020 Picks
10. Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
If you’ve been following any 2020 music awards lists, including that of the Grammys, chances are you’ve heard or at least heard of Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers. This album is nostalgic in a dark way. It evokes the pain of adolescence and growing up and maybe even more so the realization that those times are constantly disappearing. Listening to Punisher makes me thirsty for my past with an eye towards my future, realizing that my youth is slipping through my fingers as I enter adulthood.
Favorite Tracks: Garden Song, Kyoto, I Know the End
9. Honeymoon - Beach Bunny
Like most current college sophomores, my freshman year did not exactly go as planned. If Punisher evokes dark nostalgia, then Honeymoon is its lighter counterpart. Listening to this album makes me feel like I’m living in a pastel colored coming of age movie that somehow makes everything around me feel better. “April” in fact was by far my most listened to song of 2020. This album genuinely captures the experience of wanting someone or something with your entire being, the concern that your yearning is unrequited, the pain of it not being so, and the bright side of coming out the other side stronger.
Favorite Tracks: April, Racetrack, Rearview
8. At the Moonbase - Slaughter Beach, Dog
Something about Slaughter Beach, Dog’s music has always felt emotionally intimate to me, almost as if Jake Ewald is in my living room telling me these stories over coffee. At the Moonbase transports me to a fantasy world in which human connection surrounds me, which is clearly not my reality nor is it most people’s in 2020. This entire album feels like a hug from a friend or a walk on a sunny day at summer camp.
Favorite Tracks: Are You There, My Girl, Thinking of You
7. Self-Titled - Shower Curtain
The entirety of Shower Curtain’s self-titled EP sounds like a dream. It is soft, ethereal, and makes me feel like I’m on a cloud. I first heard Shower Curtain at The Smell in 2019 with three of my best friends and was instantly hooked on the dreaminess of their sound. I’ve been listening to this record all year whenever I feel trapped in my head, or in my house.
Favorite Tracks: Should I Call You?, All That You Do, Time to Kill
6. Whatever, Man - BLACKSTARKIDZ
The summer before college, I taught myself to skateboard and skated along the beach every evening at sunset. I would put a speaker in my backpack and blast surf rock, but in hindsight I wish Whatever, Man had been released so I could have blasted it instead. This album is summery and lighthearted at its core. It is the positive energy and fun I think we could all use this year.
Favorite Tracks: BRITNEY BITCH, FRANKIE MUNIZ, CAMP WHATEVER
5. You and Your Friends - Peach Pit
If I am being honest, I expected this record to disappoint me. Not because of any negative judgment of Peach Pit, but just because Being So Normal is that good and easily one of my all time favorite indie albums. But You and Your Friends did not let me down in the slightest and entirely lived up to the anticipation. This album no doubt sounds different from Being So Normal but in a way that shows a genuine artistic shift that I honestly appreciate. Each song has a story to tell and does so beautifully. From the bright guitar solos to the melodies that get stuck in your head for days, this is an indie album for the record books.
Favorite Tracks: Feelin’ Low (F*ckboy Blues), Black Licorice, You and Your Friends
4. color theory - Soccer Mommy
color theory is nostalgic in the vein of Punisher but perhaps not as heavy as it reflects on themes of struggle and self discovery. This album has a lot of amazing features but my personal favorite is the focus on self reflection, as this is personally how I’ve been spending much of my own time in quarantine. While escapism in the form of songs about friends provides an important release, I found myself returning to color theory during those sleepless nights spent staring out my window wondering where my life is taking me.
Favorite Tracks: yellow is the color of her eyes, royal screw up, bloodstream
3. Voice Box - Why Bonnie
I first discovered Why Bonnie through the release of the single “Voice Box.” I instantly fell in love. Their music is largely expressed in the first and second person, almost bringing listeners into an intimate conversation with the song itself as the conversation unfolds. This direct address bolsters the emotionality of the album, as songs like “Voice Box” express a frustration with patriarchal structures and songs like “Athlete” express deeper insecurities on a personal level.
Favorite Tracks: Voice Box, No Caves, Bury Me
2. Is This Offensive and Loud? - Nat Vazer
If there ever was a perfect song to listen to while dreaming of spending time with friends and running around under city lights, “Higher Places” is it. As a whole, Is This Offensive and Loud? is the perfect balance of anger and joy, frustration and beauty. From school shootings to gendered beauty standards, Nat Vazer doesn’t hesitate to assert a stance with an emotional force. This lyrical assertiveness is balanced out by perfectly smooth instrumentals as to evoke a relatability from someone who is simply done with the bullshit.
Favorite Tracks: Higher Places, Like Demi, For a Moment
1. Two of Me - Momma
There are a lot of phenomenal albums on this list, but what separates Two of Me by Momma from the others on this list is simply the fact that before this album, I had never heard anything like it before and I have yet to hear anything similar to it since. The album itself revolves around a fantastical, purgatory-esque world as the duo imagines characters that might inhabit this space. Lush, grunge guitar melodies accompany the fictional lyrics in the vain of Sonic Youth. I am firmly obsessed with the combination of fuzzy guitars, apocalyptic lyrics, and fictional content. If you need a mental escape from a banal reality, this is the album for you. It is haunting in the most beautiful way.
Favorite Tracks: Bug House, Biohazard, Derby
