Twostepcub's Biggest Hits of 2020: The End Credits - My favorite albums of the year...
With no equal my favorite album of the year (and this is a year Kylie released a disco album). Riding in on the neo-disco wave that just seems prescient of the chaos that would come in the spring, Ware's set is more than a booty-shaking record, but her most diverse and nuanced set to date. There simply are no songs I would even think of skipping over. From the slinky "Step Into My Life" to the smooth as silk "Spotlight" (in the Ellis-Bextor fashion) to the Goldfrapp-ish electronic euphoria of "What's Your Pleasure", Ware proved you can deliver a smart, controlled, yet emotional album you can move you body and your life to. I couldn't see how this could have been improved. Simply flawless.
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2. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately - Perfume Genius
Michael Hedreas, or Perfume Genius, delivered his fifth album this year, and the collection of dream-like vignettes helped me to escape this mortal coil to travel outside to another time and space when the literal version of that was dangerous. Pulling from different genres and moods, he painted an alternate world I could live in for just a little bit.
3. Disco - Kylie Minogue
Oh, my queen. You delivered the party album of 2020 for the party that never was able to happen. This would've dominated my summer vacation, but I could always fantasize, and stay alive. Kylie, my own age, proves that you simply cannot Soylent Green our musical treasures. And this tour would've been epic (thank you for the virtual Infinite Disco concert). "Magic" and "Supernova" are my favorites, and it's a crime that they didn't get a chance at radio here in the States.
4. Fun City - Bright Light Bright Light
Rod Thomas' fourth studio album continued in the "intelligent pop music" vein that made me fall in love with his music to begin with. A much looser album than the amazing but grounded Choreography, with lighthearted jams like "I Used To Be Cool", he still found time for some solitary introspection with "Saying Goodbye Is Exhausting", while his collab with Andy Bell from Erasure, "Good At Goodbyes", creates a fusion of the two. There's a lot of A-list pairings on the record, but there's no question its a Bright Light Bright Light set. The best in "gay" pop, and pop in general.
5 - Your Life Is A Record - Brandy Clark
It's funny how the industry is patting themselves in the back for the "renaissance" of women in country when Nashville is still overweighted to the bros and the boyfriends, with only a peppering of the female voice, which is starving the genre. Thankfully sales prove otherwise, as indie artists like Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark thrive, and Clark put out a stellar collection of stories that make country music so vital. Between the intense emotion of "Love Is A Fire" to the comic genius of "Long Walk" to the TV episode-worthy "Pawn Shop", Clark weaves a tapestry of life in real America away from the city without having to resort to a lyric phrase book.
6 - Notes On A Conditional Form - The 1975
This was my go-to "mainstream" rock record this year, with its ebbs and flows exploring Matt Healy's psyche again which proves to be a bottomless mine. From the deceptively comforting dance-rock "If Your Too Shy (Let Me Know)" to the quiet ponderings on identity of "Jesus Chris 2005 God Bless America", this is miles above your basic Maroon 5's.
7. Roisin Machine - Roisin Murphy
Unlike Kylie or Dua, Roisin made you work to enjoy your dance music, throwing down all sorts of genres and production styles in her new set. "Jealousy" is just amazing as a callback to the 90s revival of the 70s, but tracks like "Narcissus" take us on a totally different trip to space-disco. It took me a couple listens to truly get into this, but it was worth the time.
8. Be Water - Christian Sands
My favorite jazz album of the year comes from pianist Sands, who travels from the post-bop of the title track to the soulful instrumental cover of Steve Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" with a set that's more than just dinner music.
9. Shortly After Takeoff - BC Camplight
Brian Christinzio, or "BC Camplight", has had a rough go of it, and lays it bare along with some massive songs on his most recent album. "Cemetary Lifestyle" and "Shortly After Takeoff" are my highlights here.
10. Rose In The Dark - Cleo Sol / Untitled (Rise) - Sault
British singer Cleopatra Nikolic, or "Cleo Sol" was a part of two stellar soul albums this year, with her own solo delve into adult R&B, and her work with the group Sault, which was more alive and politically assertive. Both sides of the coin suit her so well.
11. What The Future Holds - Steps
Pop titans Steps return as if they never left with this bunch of songs with enough drama for a warehouse of drag queens. And that's just the way I like them. Reviving the Eurovision wannabe "Something In Your Eyes" is a bonus, and "What The Future Holds" is campy unadulterated joy.
12. The Neon - Erasure
The veteran synthpop duo's 2020 album got lost in the shuffle with the 'Rona and all, but it's a great update to their more direct pop work of their earlier years. "Hey Now (I Got A Feeling)" is a road trip ready singalong, while "Nerves Of Steel" serves up some righteous power that people don't expect from such a "legacy act".
That's it for now. Maybe I'll roll out some more but this dozen where the most played by me this year. Have a safe and happy celebration, and here's to a much better 2021. Cheers.
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