Second Quarter Review 2020
My Top 25 Albums released in April, May, and June
1. Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher
Punisher is an album about searching for things—in the sky, in your past and your future, in your own behavioral patterns—and not finding them. So one of its most obvious benefits is that it gives the listener a lot more space than usual for feelings like exasperation and ennui. But out of emptiness emerge other tools for survival, and this album is also about some of those very familiar human tools, including the instinct of faith and the mysterious persistence of hope. Actually, the more I listen to Punisher, the more things I think it’s about. Phoebe Bridgers has buried a lot of things in this album’s garden, and each time I come back to it, a new flower has bloomed out of its glitchy, folksy soil.
2. HAIM — Women in Music Pt. III
The extremely prolonged rollout of HAIM’s third album captivated me more fully than that of any album I can remember. The music videos not only were really nice to look at it—they also tapped into the sisters’ respective and collective charms, managed to present them as goofy regular Millennials who just happen to be especially stylish and confident, and painted a really compelling new tightness to the band’s already beloved indie-pop sound. Now that the entire album is part of my life, it almost feels like the first two albums—both excellent and well-celebrated in their own right—were just a path to get here. It really is their crowning achievement so far. I could do without a few of the samples (the annoying Australian boyfriend skit, the alarm clocks that still make me jump every single time), but otherwise this album is basically non-stop, satisfying, summery bops. The Haim sisters somehow sound both more casual and more professional, and the production is totally pristine. And it’s heartwarming how you can hear that they are proud of what they’re doing. They should be.
3. Laura Marling — Song For Our Daughter
Just like the first two albums in this list, Song For Our Daughter finds its author tightening the bolts of what her fans already love about her work. Her inimitable voice and intricate guitar work are still undoubtedly Marling’s foremost powers. But her lyrics on this album also feel more resonant than ever, as she doubles down on both tenderness and wit; and, as if that isn’t enough to make this a stunning collection already, I believe it’s also her most melodically compelling release since 2010's I Speak Because I Can.
4. Lido Pimienta — Miss Colombia
Some albums lodge themselves in your heart when you aren’t paying attention and then refuse to leave. I’ll admit that it took a few listens before I understood the rare beauty of Miss Colombia, probably because I’ve never heard anything like it. Toronto’s Lido Pimienta skillfully blends centuries-old South American musical traditions with electronic effects until you lose track of where one influence starts and the other begins. But it’s ultimately the immaculate rhythms—infused with a special kind of magic that I still haven’t found words for—that keep me coming back to these songs.
5. Empress Of — I’m Your Empress Of
The five spot doesn’t sound nearly high enough for how much I love this album. I continue to be really impressed with the way that Empress Of continues to push her own boundaries as an artist, and for that reason she is one of my favorite creators of any kind to follow. After moving confidently into pop on her last album, Us (which is still may favorite because it’s a very cute love album, and I’m a sap), she’s moved into the territory of genres like house or techno on I’m Your Empress Of. It’s amazing how well she pulls it off, and there are a lot of really fun tracks on here. But my favorite part is actually the beautiful musings that she threads among the tracks, between her and her mother about identity and womanhood.
6. Car Seat Headrest — Making a Door Less Open
7. Jessie Ware — What’s Your Pleasure?
8. Sports Team — Deep Down Happy
9. Johanna Warren — Chaotic Good
10. Perfume Genius — Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
11. Run The Jewels — Run The Jewels 4
12. Christian Lee Hutson — Beginners
13. Little Simz — Drop 6
14. Khruangbin — Mordechai
15. Bad Bunny — Las Que No Iban a Salir
16. Ray Lamontagne — Monovision
17. Ambar Lucid — Garden of Lucid
18. Moses Sumney — græ
19. Fiona Apple — Fetch the Bolt Cutters
20. Westerman — Your Hero Is Not Dead
21. Teyana Taylor — The Album
22. Nation of Language — Introduction, Presence
23. Thundercat — It Is What It Is
24. Future — High Off Life
25. Arca — KiCK i
Honorable Mention
Charli XCX — How I’m Feeling Now; Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist — Alfredo; Lady Gaga — Chromatica; Nick Hakim — Will This Make Me Good; Rolling B. C. F. — Sideways to New Italy
