This isn’t a year many will look back on too fondly, and with tours postponed and album releases delayed, you’d be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t a great year for new music, but you’d be wrong. If you happen to have a lot of time on your hands, for whatever reason, give some of these a spin…
1.) Doves – The Universal Want
A triumphant return after a 11-year hiatus. Jimi Goodwin’s soothing tones are more welcome now than ever.
Stream: Cathedrals Of The Mind, Carousels.
2.) Biffy Clyro – A Celebration Of Endings
Balancing the bizarre with the mainstream has been Biffy’s challenge for the past 10 years and on this album they’ve struck the balance perfectly.
Stream: Cop Syrup, Tiny Indoor Fireworks.
3.) Four Year Strong – Brain Pain
A blistering, cathartic record that finishes as abruptly as it explodes into life.
Stream: It’s Cool, Young At Heart.
4.) Sports Team – Deep Down Happy
What if Art Brut but with actual singing? The best debut album of the year by a country mile, will leave you wanting to learn every last whip-smart lyric.
Stream: Lander, Here’s The Thing.
5.) Nothing But Thieves – Moral Panic
Combines all the best bits of their first two albums into a delightfully cohesive whole.
Stream: Can You Afford To Be An Individual? Is Everybody Going Crazy?
6.) Neck Deep – All Distortions Are Intentional
The way the first half of this album seamlessly flows together and the general production values show that this is a band at the peak of their powers.
Stream: Fall, Pushing Daisies.
7.) Mystery Jets – A Billion Heartbeats
Arguably the most zeitgeisty album on this list – written in 2019, but all the more relevant in 2020.
Stream: History Has Its Eyes On You, A Billion Heartbeats.
8.) Another Sky – I Slept On The Floor
Catrin Vincent’s fascinatingly androgynous voice lifts this haunting record into the realm of the extraordinary.
Stream: How Long? Fell In Love With The City.
9.) Sparta – Trust The River
Their first album in 14 years is a nostalgic treat that hits all the right notes.
Stream: Empty Houses, No One Can Be Nowhere.
10.) Creeper – Sex, Death & The Infinite Void
Goth-punk breakout stars defy logic by completely reinventing themselves as glam-rock crooners for their second album – a brave move that really paid off.
Stream: Cyanide, Napalm Girls.
11.) beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers
12.) Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter
13.) Orchards – Lovecore
14.) Travis – 10 Songs
15.) Electric Soft Parade – Stages
16.) Everything Everything – RE-ANIMATOR
17.) Fleet Foxes – Shore
18.) Spanish Love Songs – Brave Faces Everyone
19.) Twin Atlantic – POWER
20.) HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III
What’s to come in 2021? Hopefully a return to live music for many and the released of the delayed albums from Weezer and the Foos. As always, I’ll leave you with my video of the year, enjoy!