Doug's 2020 Music Recap! New Stuff and New-To-Me Stuff...
What a year eh? Wow. Not sure who said it but I saw a tweet at some point that said “I can’t wait to get back to ‘precedented’ times again….” 2020 tested us in many ways and I don’t need to go into all the details - every person on the planet is familiar with them in some respect.
Meanwhile I don’t mean to minimize the pandemic and the people we lost when I say some good came out of this year. For starters it was actually a very good year for new music. Music has always gotten me through and this year that role was even more important than usual. So let’s recap some of the best of the year - not just the music that was new in 2020 but also a few choice albums that were new to ME this year that I discovered. I never stop searching for all the best tunes from multiple genres and eras, so let’s get to it.
Favorites released in 2020:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR - PEARL JAM GIGATON
Hands down on this one - no debate. Probably my favorite Pearl Jam album since Ten and the one that helped get me through the anxiety of the first lockdown. Something about the song “Alright” put me in a surreal place while walking around my neighborhood getting my exercise in… when the world stopped and nature started to reclaim the world. Was the soundtrack to what I was feeling in that moment of borderline pan-ic/actual pan-dem-ic and yet such a calming effect on me. I saw a hawk on the grass right next to the curb - 10 yards from me. I’d never seen that before. This LP will always mean so much to me.
Others…
Third Root - Passion Of The Poets
Great hip-hop with old school roots - rhymes that flow that you can understand and good grooves. And these guys actually have responded and thanked me for my comments and shares on Instagram which I appreciate. They get it.
Steve Kilbey - Eleven Women, Chryse Planitia, and Songs From Another Life (Music of Antiquity) **The latter two titles with Gareth Koch
A special shoutout to Steve Kilbey. I’ve written at length about The Church and how much those guys mean to me, but Steve Kilbey in particular went live every Monday night on Instagram to play solo acoustic sets in his living room and once again they helped me keep my sanity in the scariest part of the year during all the fear and uncertainty of the first big lockdown. It was a way to feel connected and to get the soothing comfort of LIVE music of The Church. Steve put his heart and soul into these performances and even announced one week that he would attempt to write 10 new songs in one week to be played the following Monday. This is not surprising since frankly sometimes it seems he’s always writing and creating at this pace - ha. These songs ended up becoming his newly released solo album Eleven Women - each song about a different woman. So cool to be a part of that! He also collaborated with Gareth Koch - a classical guitarist and a delightful guy I’ve connected with online as well on TWO albums. They’re both fantastic - check out the tracks “Ophelia Without Wine” and “Heart Is Heavy” from Chryse Planitia. As for Songs From Another Life (Music of Antiquity) I’ve never heard of an album like this. Through research they’ve tried to recreate the music of the ancients of the pre-Christian era with this one, and it’s a fascinating listen. Check out this article about it.
Smashing Pumpkins - CYR
Pronounced like “sear” the Pumpkins released a bunch of these tracks one by one over the course of several weeks before they let the whole thing fly, and it’s a double album. So far so good on this one, and the title track is a worthy addition to Pumpkin classics. Very synthy overall but don’t be fooled, they’ve used guitars to sound like synths and vice versa on this one. Still digesting this one but I love it.
Secret Machines - Awake In The Brain Chamber
This one is a bit of a grower that didn’t make the best first impression on me - the first single “Talos’ Corpse” was released ahead of the album and I wasn’t sold. First listen of the album I wasn’t sure. Oddly enough I read a review (maybe on AllMusic.com) that said great things about the album and convinced me to go back with a more positive attitude and….it worked. I dig it. Meanwhile these guys will always have some credibility with me for Now Here Is Nowhere and a live show that blew me away opening for Kings Of Leon at the Royal Oak Music Theater 15 years ago. Good to have them back and with material recorded years ago by late founding member Ben Curtis, guitarist and brother of singer Brandon Curtis.
Rose City Band - Summerlong
Nice follow up to the debut from last year. I just love the vibe - both albums are fantastic. Check out “Reno Shuffle” - my favorite track on the album.
R.A. The Rugged Man - All My Heroes Are Dead
This guy has been in the rap game for years but I had never heard of him. This man can FLOW. Wow… and this album is loaded with guest appearances by heavy hitters such as Chuck D and Ghostface Killah! Good stuff. Some of it fun, some of it harrowing, all of it good.
The Pretenders - Hate For Sale
This is the first Pretenders album I’ve really sank my teeth into in many years, and it’s so damn good I’m going back and checking out any I’ve missed. I’ve done Chrissie Hynde an injustice by undervaluing her output over the last couple decades and that changes now. Meanwhile if you’ve ever liked the Pretenders you’ll dig this album. Plenty of muscle and plenty of beauty, Chrissie is in perfect voice and the songs are strong.
The Psychedelic Furs - Made Of Rain
Hard to believe they finally decided to create something new. No John Ashton on guitar but it’s stilly a worthy entry in the Furs catalogue. They were literally the last and only of all my favorite first wave alternative bands to continue touring strictly as an oldies act without any new material since 1991 (aside from ONE song in 2001). It’s about damn time, and it feels like a creative step - not some rehash. Not sure if it’s classic status yet - still digesting, but I do like it.
Nada Surf - Never Not Together
These guys have somehow not forced their way into my heavy rotation over the years despite me loving everything I’ve ever spent time with that they’ve released, and the new album is no exception. They just always deliver on the songwriting. Great band.
Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of Sorrow
Always been a casual Mark Lanegan fan… I like the stuff I know from Screaming Trees and his contributions to Queens Of The Stone Age & Mad Season have always been great. Why I never bothered with his solo work I don’t have an answer for, but after his performance on the Alice In Chains tribute this year I took a peak at his catalogue and saw he had a new one out so I gave it a listen. I’m so glad I did, and I’m not surprised. The standout track on this album so far for me is “Churchbells, Ghosts”. An aching yearning prayer that you can just feel…
The Muggs - Slave To Sound, Vol. 5
I love these guys. Local Detroit band that deserves to be heard. They’ve been at it for a long time and this new studio album is more of the same boogie bluesy ROCK that they are known for around here. Great stuff.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G.
These guys are as deliciously weird as their band name would imply and I love it. Not sure where to start in describing them - from Australia, very prolific and seem to love metal as much as they love middle and far eastern sounds. The mix is oddly awesome.
The Greyboy Allstars - Como De Allstars
The world’s best acid jazz combo for over a quarter century mixes in some Latin rhythms for Como De Allstars. Careful - you’ll need some space to move when you put this on.
Fuzz - III
Ty Segall’s stoner metal project returns with another heavy batch of grooves.
Drive-By Truckers - The Unraveling and The New OK
The boys return with two new albums that feel like companion pieces. The Unraveling was about well, the unraveling - pre-COVID, whereas The New OK examines where society continued to go in the pandemic. They don’t pull any punches and the songs are great as always.
Cornershop - England Is A Garden
This is my first Cornershop album even though they had kind of been on my distant radar for decades. I dove into this one and discovered how much I can love a song with lyrics in Punjabi (“Slingshot”).
Azymuth, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge - Azymuth JID004
Brazilian jazz project that I’m really loving. Fantastic playing and grooves.
The Allman Betts Band - Bless Your Heart
The second generation of the Allman Brothers carrying the torch and the vibes. A great batch of songs that I can’t wait to get out on the road with when this pandemic slows down…
AC/DC - Power Up
An inspired AC/DC album that rocks with Brian Johnson back in the fold. It’s AC/DC - you know what you’re going to get - and it feels good.
Prince - Sign O’ The Times (Super Deluxe)
Not new music obviously, but we’re starting to see more evidence that there is indeed some treasures in Prince’s vault that we had heard about for so long. Lots of gems that had never been heard before by anyone - a real gift to get more Prince music from this era.
All Them Witches - Nothing As The Ideal
Just heard this for the first time about a week ago as of this writing and it’s very cool. Nice trippy stoner metal - think I’m going to be a fan of these guys…
KRS-One - Between Da Protests
I had to personally cancel Ice Cube this year and it hurt. I don’t do that often believe me. I had to do it to Mel Gibson years ago and that sucked too, but I draw the line at antisemitism. Cube has lost his mind, and he was my favorite rapper. So I was happy when KRS-One released a new one with some commentary on the times. I always want to hear what he has to say - I’ve been listening to him rap on and off for over three decades now.
Let’s now get into some music that wasn’t new in 2020 but was still new to me:
T Rex - Slider & Electric Warrior
I suspect I wasn’t the only one that made a point of digging into a little T Rex this year after their Rock Hall induction. These albums hold up well - they’re great. I knew a handful of T Rex songs but had never listened to an album all the way through. Marc Bolan was the real deal.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - in general
Already mentioned these guys earlier but repeating it here because you should go back and check out Nonagon Infinity - what a bizarre and thrilling ride… Almost designed to be one long speedy trip to oblivion with many high pitched yelps along the way that could really be played on a loop, you’ve probably never heard an album like this. I hadn’t.
The Obsessed - The Obsessed, Lunar Womb, and Sacred
Scott “Wino” Weinrich is an underground stoner metal legend that you may not of heard of… I’ve actually been listening to a lot of his stuff over the years such as his bands Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand along with a little bit of St. Vitus but for some reason I hadn’t spent much time with his original band The Obsessed and I discovered that there was a new Obsessed album released in 2017 called Sacred. And it’s awesome…. So I went back to the beginning to check out the self-titled debut and Lunar Womb released in 1990 and 1991 respectively. I needed these. Awesome stoner metal - heavy but not inaccessible with Wino’s signature growl.
Metal Church - Damned If You Do
Another long time metal band that is still making great music, Damned If You Do kicks ass - released in 2018.
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Rolling Stone put out an updated top 500 albums of all time list in September of this year, and yes there is a ton of garbage on the list. The list largely is a joke in my opinion. However, Joni Mitchell’s 1971 album Blue was #3 and I figured why not - I’ll take a listen. I’d never heard the album before and I still don’t have a full grasp of the context and what made this album so important, but I could tell something noteworthy was going on as I listened. I’ll return to it - it’s a good idea to do this type of thing once in a while.
James Brown - The Payback
I can’t remember why I threw this on one late night, but here’s another artist that was obviously massively influential whose music I only knew as a casual fan. I love the tune “The Payback” and I dig the groove the Godfather of Soul was in in the 70’s so I checked out the album and I wasn’t disappointed.
Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
I had heard “Charlie’s Girl” on Sirius a few years ago and had it in my iTunes after grabbing it from Shazam. Always thought it was a cool tune but hadn’t gotten around to listening to the Coney Island Baby album. Well Bob Kulick passed away this year - an unsung favorite of mine and older brother of Bruce Kulick who was Kiss's guitarist in the 80’s and 90’s. Bob had originally auditioned for Kiss back at the beginning, and while Ace Frehley obviously got the gig, Bob remained close to the band. That’s actually Bob playing the lead solo on “Larger Than Life” from the Alive II album for example. Bob played on the 1978 Kiss / Paul Stanley solo album and later toured with Paul when Paul went out on a solo tour in 1987 which I saw at The Ritz in Roseville, Michigan. So when Bob died this year and I read his tributes and obits I found out HE’S the guitarist on Coney Island Baby! Who knew? And what a great album… I’ve been listening to more Lou Reed lately and I recommend this album.
William Duvall - One Alone
William Duvall continues to be a great fit for Alice In Chains who continues to release amazing albums. William actually wrote possibly my favorite song on the latest album Rainier Fog “So Far Under”. So when I found out he had a solo album I had to check it out. It’s great - a largely acoustic affair and the opener “Til The Light Guides Me Home” is fantastic.
H.E.R. - I Used To Know Her
H.E.R. is not some pop starlet / manufactured brand. She can sing, write and play. Piano, guitar - she’s a true talent and I’m a fan. She was fantastic on the Prince Grammy tribute show early in the year - loved her rendition of “The Beautiful Ones”. I Used To Know Her is filled with great tracks and I think my fave is “Carried Away”.
Thoughts? Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments - I NEED NEW MUSIC!!!!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
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