So, 2020 then? A year where nobody was having fun, apart from members of the government at the expense of people’s lives but let’s keep this light, yeah? Despite the troubles, the pandemic had an amazing soundtrack to it. There were so many hours spent cleaning the house to these artists and without gigs that’s as rock n’ roll as things got in my life. Here are my top 10 albums of the year and firstly, my playlist of the year:
10: LIELA MOSS -WHO THE POWER
“There was always abandon, there was always deception”
The Duke Spirit singer changed direction with immense effect as she used her husky tones for eighties synth tinged doom anthems in place of the bluesy rock. It takes a few listens to fully access the landscapes she has conjured up. Deep bass and heavy drums add to an overall mood of sorrow. That’s not to say there aren’t catchy moments, opener Turn Your Back Around is sublime and Atoms At Me is a relentless anthem. Just don’t think I Think We’re Alone now style eighties.
9: IDLES – ULTRA MONO
“Fuck you, I’m a lover”
The Bristol snowflakes continue to be an avalanche. IDLES wear their punk principles on their chest but slay with kindness. Mostly. “Not a single thing has ever been mended / by you standing there and saying you’re offended” Joe growls on the viscous Grounds, Model Village is a fun tirade against small town mentality and The Lover is a gloriously self-indulgent rant against the band’s critics. Nobody is safe from the bands glare, even themselves. While it’s fair to say their verses are getting a bit samey, the musicianship has developed further. Their future is bright but they’re the kind of band that will purposefully fuck it up. Enjoy them while you can.
8:BUGEYE – READY STEADY BANG
“Electric fever sensation!”
Bugeye are exactly what 2020 needed. A pop punk disco band that’ll shake off your worries. With their ragged guitars and tinkly keyboards they could just easily be sent from 1995 to come save us. You’ll hear Elastica and you’ll hear Sonic The Hedgehog (yes, Sonic the Hedgehog) but Bugeye’s ability to write an earworm is all their own. Ready Steady Bang is so fun that it could ignite a Britpop revival all of it’s own. Every song is a banger.
7: THE BLINDERS – FANTASIES OF A STAY AT HOME PSYCHOPATH
“I am a gentle man of considerable charm and violence”
The Blinders developed their sound with album number two. They got darker, dirtier and grimier but not in the Stormzy sense. A lot of these songs sound as if they were written with the next series of Peaky Blinders in mind. They would and probably will fit into Small Heath perfectly, especially the opening Something Wicked This Way Comes which is only missing a Nick Cave vocal. Mule Track kicks likes one and Forty Days And Forty Nights charges along with all the energy of Arthur Shelby on his way to the drug dealer. Whatever The Blinders plan to to next, it’ll be interesting for sure. Perhaps the Call The Midwife soundtrack?
6: DREAM NAILS – DREAM NAILS
“One day we’ll make you pay”
This debut album flies by with ambition and ferocity not often heard. In just 25 minutes Dream Nails fight through issues such as toxic masculinity, sexual abuse, transgender politics and the suckiness of capitalism. To name just some. While there’s justified anger in the likes of Payback, a rage Against The Maschine style assault on the senses and the closer Kiss My Fist (“do you want us your screen / do you want to hear us scream”) there is also a lot of fun at play. Swimming Pool, a pisstake of fifies rock n’ roll being a prime example.
5: DOVES – THE UNIVERSAL WANT
“I feel your presence pressing on a nerve”
No band should return with this much splendor after such a hiatus. After eleven years Doves returned to a world very different from 2009. Not just because there’s a pandemic on but because the music industry is unrecognisable from eleven years ago. Yet, with their brand of soothing and soulful anthems Doves just slotted right back in. They felt just like home. Yes, the general formula remains but they’ve excelled themselves with what could be their strongest collection yet. The swirling and atmospheric For Tomorrow might even excel The Cedar Room. It is THAT good. Cycle of Hurt pangs with huge regrets as a beautiful guitar melody floats around it reassuringly. Like a comfort blanket to help with all the hurt. That’s Doves in 2020. WE didn’t just welcome them back, they welcomed us in..
4: FALSE HEADS – IT’S ALL THERE BUT YOU’RE DREAMING
“The loser leaves in a body bag”
Post punk and grunge combine with exhilarating results. The London trio’s debut is a brash, confident take and injected an energy into a 2020 where EVERYTHING took longer (shopping, working, crying etc). Rabbit Hole is cavalcade of riffs piled on existential angst. Wrap Up is a filthy dirge with added screeching solos. Ink makes it’s mark with an infectious chorus. Fall Around has an almost ditty like quality as they proclaim the Queen to be dead. A riotous album, the kind that some claim aren’t being made nowadays. They are, it’s just not enough people are listening.
3: JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD – EVEN IN EXILE
“Bondaged citizens make the best revolutions”
A concept album from the Manics frontman (with lyrics by Patrick Jones) about the Chilean musician, poet and activist Victor Jara. Even In Exile could easily have been a Manic Street Preachers album, in fact let’s just say it’s their official thirteenth album instead of Resistance Is Futile! Bradfield’s voice bring more gravitas to an already huge life story and it is done with affection and compassion. Recalling Jara’s music with a cover of La Partida, his political stance with the solemn There’ll Come A War and his family life on Without Knowing The End (Joans’s Song) – “I lived, I danced, I loved and I fought / This life I had to defend”. Thirty Thousand Milk Bottles is a celebratory stomp despite the subject at hand. Bradfield’s voice sound incredible but it’s worth noting his exceptional guitar work too. Here he does things unheard in the Manics. A resounding musical and political achievement in 2020 and we didn’t get much of the latter did we?
2: THE BIG MOON – WALKING LIKE WE DO
“Days like this I forget my darkness”
Walking Like We do is literally a bright light shining in the dark sky so The Big Moon have never been so aptly named. As far as we know they haven’t flashed their bums at anyone anyway. Their second album is like laying down in a silk sheet of musical beauty. Is that a thing IKEA sell? These are lovingly crafted songs, not just in the hooks and melodies but in the lyrical attention to detail. The guitars have been toned down for a more synth based collection but that is not to their detriment. It’s Easy Then has a choir like chant of a chorus and Waves is a relationship breakdown put to a lullaby, Holy Roller has a darker edge involving porno sites and red wine (“I’m gonna start a religion / Something to keep my hands busy”). Barcelona might be the stand out in a packed field of quality. It’s a song about a friend leaving for Spain. The lyrics of “I’m at the party wondering if it’s alright / For me to toast her future and drink heavy for mine” sum up the album succinctly -melancholia and joy together in harmony. And oh, what harmonies.
1: BLACK FOXXES – BLACK FOXXES
“THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO GO OUTSIDE!”
Triumph from the jaws of defeat and yet, in the best possible way, it still sounds like adversity. Black Foxxes looked to be over after the three piece lost a bassist and a drummer. Frontman Mark Holley surveyed the ruins and built from the ground. New band members came in and with album number three Black Foxxes have never sounded so vital. Musically there is a spring in their step as they push boundaries. Holley’s words however, are adrift from the new positivity. I Am builds from stark beginnings, an insular anthem howling “I AM ALONE!” before it kicks in and immediately drifts back into the abyss at the end. Sister song Badlands ups the ante, twisting the knife into a self-hate rage fest that pounds and pounds for eight minutes. Each second the guitars feel heavier and the tension more unbearable. The shouted refrain of “Now is not the time to go outside, now is not the time to go outside!” couldn’t be more 2020, In fact, as a mood board of the year just lay these nine songs out. The ambient Panic softly lulls you into a false sense of security before having an electronic meltdown. Swim is fucking glorious. Discordant strums mixed with soothing harmonies that surges into incredible soloing. Pacific is a brass led stunner, Think Morcheeba – until it breaks into a fit that sounds like Nirvana falling down the stairs. The Diving Bell is the final punch to the gut. A nine minute monster that cheekily claims “We can do better” You don’t think they can and then that heavy as fuck moment changes the mood. Black Foxxes will leave you exhilarated and overwhelmed. You’ll love every moment. Stay inside and play loud.
“Patience is a virtue” goes the saying and if that is true then fans of The Tuts are positively saintly. It’s been nearly four years since they went on their ever first tour supporting Kate Nash, with whom they were near permanent stage buddies in 2013. They’ve quietly been making a name for themselves by touring with the likes of The Selecter and Sonic Boom Six. I say quietly but that’s not really true is it? They’ve thrashed their instruments, shouted at us between songs and hair whipped any last doubts into submission. The Tuts make an impression which has manifested itself in a fan base that ranges from teenage girls seeing future versions of themselves to, rather paradoxically, middle aged men hearing glimmers of their lost youth in the racket emanating from the stage. It’s not been an easy journey to get here, there have been barriers in the way of their bid for world domination and I for one, was starting to have doubts if an album would ever surface at all. Ambition though is a beast that can’t be muted and Nadia Javed (vocals/guitar) Harriet Doveton (bass) and Beverly Ishmael (drums) have it in spades and a lifeline came through the medium of Pledge Music. They have entirely fan funded this debut which feels wholly apt considering how close the relationship between fans and band has always been. “Good things come to those who wait” goes another cliche but so too do fucking awesome things and The Tuts have delivered despite (or maybe because of) the weight of their own expectations. Update Your Brain feels like their destiny fully realised.
DIGITAL OBSERVATIONS 
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