Nite Songs Best Of 2020 - Top 50 Albums Part 1 (50-41)

 

So here we go - the inaugural Nite Songs Top 50 Albums of the Year. And what a bloody weird year it’s been...

Twelve months ago I was genuinely convinced that I was done with music journalism for the foreseeable future. Pure Rawk, the webzine I wrote for at the time, had just gone into prolonged hibernation (soon to emerge though hopefully...) and I'd also just moved back to my native Bradford after a decade living in the south east. The plan was that I was going to get out and start living again, start going to gigs as a fan and enjoying them for what they were, finally get a new band of my own going seven years after the last one split up, learn to enjoy life as a music fan again really.

And then Covid happened. Gigs stopped. In fact, social life as a whole pretty much stopped. Bang went the idea of starting a new band, of going to gigs, of pretty much doing anything really as I also lost my job as the company I worked for cut costs (thankfully my spell on the dole would only last a month or two - I know plenty of people who weren't so lucky). All of a sudden I found myself stuck in a terraced house in Bingley with a lot of time on my hands. In between exercising and reading more than I arguably had in years, I slowly started gravitating back to writing about music again. However, with no output the only route was to start up a new blog of my own and that's how Nite Songs came to be.

The aim when I started the blog was that this was going to be a much more far-reaching blog musically than anything I'd done in the past - I wasn't just going to focus on rock music but I was going to try and dip a toe into a few more musical waters that, for various reasons, I hadn't really touched on in my previous writing gigs. I'd like to think that the Top 50 reflects that - here you'll find old school rock gods rubbing shoulders with gentle folkies, punks crossing paths with psychedelic freaks, indie mainstays sharing a chart with rap artists, bands who are gaining widespread acclaim throughout the alternative press appearing alongside virtual unknowns. Either way, I hope there's something in here for everyone and it helps introduce you to a few awesome records you may have missed amidst all the insanity of 2020.

As always when trying to whittle a list down there were a few bands who were unlucky not to make the final cut - the Supersuckers, Kurt Baker, Vice Squad, Cabbage, Black Angel, the Lurkers, Pauline Murray, Frank Turner & Jon Snodgrass and Professor & The Madman can all count themselves unfortunate to have just missed out and I’d certainly happily recommend their efforts from this year to anyone curious - follow the links if you want to know more.

Ready then? Okay, here we go...

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50. LAURA MARLING - "Song For Our Daughter" (Bandcamp)

In a year that's had its fair share of ultra-stressful days, sometimes you need an album to reassure you that life's gonna be okay and Song For Our Daughter is the musical equivalent of spending a rainy afternoon cuddled up under your favourite blanket and keeping the outside world at bay. Gentle and comforting, songs like Alexandra, Strange Girl and the gentle title track are an arm round the shoulder in a year when we needed it the most and show just what an accomplished songwriter Marling is, especially impressive as she also produced this herself.

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49. JARVIS - "Beyond The Pale" (Bandcamp)

Returning with a new band, Jarvis Cocker's latest album is one that needs repeated listening in order to properly appreciate with several of the tracks sprawling well over the five minute mark. Yet it's crammed full of Cocker's typically wry and spot on observations on the world with songs such as Am I Missing Something? and Must I Evolve? showing a self-awareness to go with his status as senior statesman of alternative music. Less immediate as his imperial phase with Pulp, Beyond The Pale is nevertheless an enjoyable and fascinating listen.

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48. THE VIBRATORS - “Mars Casino” (Bandcamp)

The reunion of the original Vibrators line-up on 2018's Past, Present And Into The Future yielded the group's strongest album for many years and it's heartening to report that Mars Casino (review to follow on the site soon) sees them continuing their rich vein of form with Knox's rock 'n' roll with a twist on songs like Jesus Stole My Little Dog and Garbage Can mixing well with John Ellis' more off the wall offerings like Big Black Sea. Add to that the talents of Chris Spedding (who the band cut their first recordings with many years ago) on guitar and you've got the sound of a band well and truly reinvigorated.

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47.  ROSETTA STONE - “Cryptology” (Bandcamp) (Review)

A band who jumped on the goth bandwagon that crucial year or two too late first time around, Cryptology sees Rosetta Stone going from strength to strength following their reunion a few years ago and putting out arguably their strongest and most cohesive album to date. Sounding like that great Sisters of Mercy comeback album we're all still waiting for, the icy vocals and spidery guitars on Valiant Try and Always Always were particular highlights and proved that Rosetta Stone really are back with a bang.

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46. SICK THINGS - "Sick Things" (Bandcamp) (Review)

Hailing from Canada, the Sick Things hark back to that glorious time around the turn of the millennium when garage rock and sleaze rock collided to create something pretty awesome with tracks like the Pistols-esque Take The Head From The Crown and the scuzzy Boogaloser putting these guys up as carrying on the legacy of the Backyard Babies and the Hellacopters. Any G'n'R fans looking for a new group of reprobates to get their teeth into could do a lot worse than checking these guys out.

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45. GIVVI FLYNN - "Tomboy" (Bandcamp) (Review)

A much delayed follow-up to 2013's under-rated Thieving From The Magpie's Nest, Tomboy sees Ginger Wildheart/Dowling Poole collaborator Givvi Flynn putting out a competent collection of songs. Throwing a heady mix of Britrock, '70s glam and power-pop into the pot, it's also an album which throws plenty of curveballs at you with songs such as Versions and Totally Thrown hitting you with an unexpected change of pace mid-song just when you least expect it. A varied and excellent listen.

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44. IDLES - "Ultra Mono" (Bandcamp) (Review)

Hands up, while a lot of the country were losing their heads over the Idles' 2018 album Joy As An Act Of Rebellion, I found it a bit inconsistent as a whole but Ultra Mono sees them stepping up the aggression with a much more lean and muscular set of songs. No longer sounding like a poor man's Fall, the furious likes of Carcinogenic and Mr Motivator see the group tightening things up and sounding focused and on point. The hype looks like it's finally starting to be justified here.

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43. PHOEBE BRIDGERS - "Punisher" (Bandcamp)

Punisher is the sound of what happens when dream pop turns into a nightmare. Seemingly an album of tuneful indie washed in warm synths on the likes of Kyoto and Chinese Satellite, the gentle music often hides a genuinely sinister and disturbing lyrical content such as on Garden Song, Halloween and Moon Song. A genuinely captivating album that sinks its claws into you and resolutely refuses to let go.

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42. THE EROTICS - "Let's Kill Rock 'n' Roll" (Bandcamp) (Review)

Recorded live without a safety net in the studio just before lockdown hit, Let's Kill Rock 'n' Roll sees New York sleaze rock veterans the Erotics kicking up a hell of a racket as only they can. Big and clever it very much ain't but the likes of No Way In Hell and Head Of The Low Class demonstrate, Mike Trash and co have a way with a catchy riff and hook that worm your way into your brain that very much can't be ignored.

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41. TV SMITH - "Lockdown Holiday" (Review)

In a year of stripped-back albums recorded during lockdown isolation, it was perhaps not a surprise that TV Smith, who's been putting out these sort of pared-back releases for a while now, would emerge with such an offering. Alternating between hope (Bounce Back) through despair (Let's Go Back To The Good Old Days) into furious anger (I Surf The Second Wave), this was Smith at his observant best and an alternately comforting and invigorating listen.