Albums of 2020

While the touring side of the industry has suffered an almost total shutdown since March, there has been a wealth of interesting albums released – including exciting work from Yorkshire artists such as I Like Trains, Harkin, Working Men’s Club, The Howl & The Hum and The Orielles.

These, however, are The Yorkshire Post contributors’ choice of the albums of 2020.

David Hodgson

BC Camplight – Shortly After Takeoff (Bella Union)

An unequivocally open conversational piece, Brian Christinzio’s mental health and death of his father are under the microscope, the album wonderfully encompassing different styles through lyrics that are as humorous as they are poignant. There are hooks all over the place, reeling in even the most casual listener and creating one of the most infectious listening experiences of the year. It can’t and indeed shouldn’t be ignored.

Nadine Shah – Kitchen Sink (Infectious/BMG)

Nadine Shah’s fourth release is an exploration of gender, of choice and personal responsibility, women leading the lives they want to lead, not those prescribed by societal expectations. Vocally Shah has never been stronger, providing the gravitas to the post rock blues and its brass percussion. Symbolically deconstructing traditional stereotypes through highlights Buckfast and Trad, Kitchen Sink is one of, if not the, year’s most essential listening.

Run the Jewels – RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG)

2020 provided a rich vein of material for RTJ4, vociferously dismantling the rise of racism, nationalism and police brutality throughout the US. If Killer Mike became a prominent spokesperson against the chaos, RTJ conveyed the same messages through intense and brutal rap. Walking through the Snow’s lyrics ‘I can’t breathe’ penned about Eric Garner but released during the George Floyd protests only serving to emphasise the importance of the album’s narrative.

Susan Darlington

Roisin Murphy – Roisin Machine (Skint)

In a year that pop rediscovered the joyful escapism of the dancefloor, Róisín Murphy was the undisputed queen. The former Moloko frontwoman’s fifth solo album, Róisín Machine, is a mash-up of 70s disco and house music that’s all about dancing away your heartbreak.

Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud (Merge)

Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield) ditched the bubblegum grunge and 80s synth of her last few releases to return to her more countrified beginnings on Saint Cloud. The Alabama singer-songwriter nonetheless brought a newfound sense of maturity and calm to her fifth album.

Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (Dead Oceans)

One of the busiest musicians in folk-rock, Phoebe Bridgers cemented her position as a witty millennial spokeswoman on second album Punisher. Introducing more stylistic diversity to her sound, from warm 90s fuzz to swirling horns, she managed to make the intimate sound quietly epic.

Andrew Steel

Midnight Oil – The Makarrata Project (Sony)

Almost two decades on from their last studio outing, the Aussie rock titans had lost none of their potent urgency on a First Nations-studded record of soulful power.

The Killers – Imploding the Mirage (EMI)

Wearing their eclectic influences more proudly than ever before, the Nevada arena titans fully embraced their heritage on a skyscraping anthem-laden outing stuffed with hooks.

Taylor Swift – Folklore (Republic)

Stripped of the overstuffed bells and whistles of recent efforts, the pop songstress crafted pure cinematic alt-rock with assists from Bon Iver and The National in a fine collection.

Duncan Seaman

LYR – Call in the Crash Team (Decca)

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s collaboration with singer-songwriter Richard Walters and producer Patrick Pearson fused spoken word with haunting musical soundscapes. “By some very unfortunate coincidence I think we’ve ended up writing an album about lockdown, even though that was never the intention,” Armitage said of this series of finely written observations on characters in crisis. A record of quiet power, it offered many pertinent insights for difficult times.

Cornershop – England is a Garden (Ample Play)

Tijinder Singh and Ben Ayres’ first album of a new material in a decade was a reassuring blend of T.Rex, the Velvet Underground, funk, psychedelia and Punjabi folk that was at once foot-stomping and thought-provoking. Released as the UK was plunged into lockdown, its melodic perkiness was much needed.

Jarv Is – Beyond the Pale (Rough Trade)

The debut album from former Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker’s new band was described as an “alive album”, featuring as it does live recordings and studio overdubs. Yielding two stunning singles, Must I Evolve? and House Music All Night Long, it showed Cocker at his pithy lyrical best.

Critics poll results

1. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

2. Roisin Murphy – Roisin Machine

3= Nadine Shah – Kitchen Sink

LYR – Call in the Crash Team

5. Run The Jewels – RTJ4

6= Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

Jarv Is – Beyond the Pale

8. BC Camplight – Shortly After Takeoff

9. Taylor Swift – Folklore

10. The Killers – Imploding the Mirage