December 8, 2020
A virus took to the air in the silence of winter.
But the music streamed across the sky and into our lonely lives.
Some of us listened for comfort. Some of us listened to forget.
Spring and summer brought the revolution. Our fists raised, a move toward the dismantling … long, long overdue.
The music propelled us. We marched in time. We sang. We grieved.
Suddenly it was fall, we were standing in line, masked but determined, leaning hard into democracy. When the votes were counted, we felt a possible reset. Some hope.
So we danced in the streets. Georgia on everyone’s minds. Our music, the victory playlist!
And now, as 2020 draws to a close, there’s a faint light at the end of the tunnel. There will be no going back. We can feel better days in our bones. We can see them shining in the distance.
Turn up the volume. The beat will push us forward.
To the music makers:
For your lyrics, your rhymes, your Instagram-lives, your virtual concerts, and your will to create and share your art, from the bottom or our hearts, we thank you.
To all:
We hope this list brings you joy from a year that tried to steal it. Mostly, our wish is that it becomes a soundtrack for the coming days. We might have to wait a bit longer to dance real close and sing together at the top of our lungs.
Hold on, y’all. Those days are coming.
The Bitter Southerner
Home: Water Valley, Mississippi & Fayetteville, Arkansas
This is the album we never thought we’d get. What began back in 2015 at The Echo Lab, a studio in Denton, Texas, has now found the light of day. After a series of unfortunate events, what was to be Water Liars’ fourth full-length album got put on the shelf. Fast forward to 2020 and the circumstances of a global pandemic that canceled all live performances for the foreseeable future led to an independent release that finally felt right. And as longtime fans of the band’s dark, brooding, lit-rock aesthetic, we’re quite happy to have this album in hand.
Our favorite track: “Roll On”
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Home: Miami, Florida
Beginning in the late ’80s, The Mavericks have essentially been the gold standard in a genre best described as Tex-Mex meets punk rock. The group reunited after a series of breakups and is going strong again. Surprisingly enough, this year’s release (appropriately titled) “En Español,” is the band's first release recorded entirely (you guessed it) in Spanish.
Our favorite track: “Recuerdos”
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Roots: Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta natives and sisters (not twins) Chloe Elizabeth Bailey and Halle Lynn Bailey are blazing a path through pop culture. Known for their roles in a growing array of TV sitcoms including “Grown-ish,” the siblings’ musical careers got a boost after being taken under Beyoncé’s wings. Not only that, the duo's Parkwood Entertainment release, “Ungodly Hour” recently received three Grammy nominations. Not a bad career start considering the two are barely into their 20s. It will be fun to see what comes next.
Our favorite track: “Do It”
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Home: Dallas, Texas
The phrase of the year, “I’m speaking,” (made popular by Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris) feels just right when we talk about The Chicks’ comeback. After 14 long years, this trio came roaring into 2020 SPEAKING. More pop than their country roots, “Gaslighter” is a mix of personal and political with songs that can be interpreted either way. On the surface, these tracks dive deep into the subjects of divorce and deceit. But this is not a sad record. These are songs about moving on. And while most of the tracks are blasting the patriarchy, there’s also some cheeky fun. We love the bebop “Texas Man,” and “For Her” is a beautiful love letter to our younger selves. Finally, in this particularly political year, The Chicks brought us a record with a song/album called “Gaslighter.” How freaking appropriate! We’re so glad they’re back.
Our favorite track: “Gaslighter”
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Home: Nashville, Tennessee
In a year when we are socially distanced from our loved ones, Jason Isbell’s “Reunions” hits the right notes. When the album dropped in May, we heard songs that sounded a lot like what we’ve come to expect from Isbell, but there were also tracks that felt fresh and a couple that took our breath away. “Reunions’” opener, "What’ve I Done to Help,” is a mirror of the self-reflection so many of us experienced in 2020. Like “Elephant” on Isbell’s album “Southeastern,” “Only Children” ripped our hearts out. “Dreamsicle” took us straight back to childhood in a year when our longing for simpler times was everything. All in all, “Reunions” is pretty classic Isbell. It’s also a record that leaves us wondering what he’ll do next.
Our favorite track: “Be Afraid”
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Home: Water Valley, Mississippi
We had the pleasure of debuting this record from Water Liars’ Andrew Bryant, and it’s only grown on us since. “Sentimental Noises” is a little different from Water Liars’ status-quo, but Bryant’s knack for storytelling remains just as strong. From the drum-driven, riff-heavy “I Wasn’t Ready,” to the whimsical instrumental “Noises,” this beautiful record explores the versatility of Bryant’s songwriting. The record’s greatest accomplishment, though, is how perfectly it showcases his distinct voice, so filled with longing that it can make even the most satisfied listener yearn for something.
Our favorite track: “I Wasn’t Ready”
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Roots: Flower Mound, Texas
On May 15 of this year, Jess Williamson released “Sorceress.” We listened, and the spell was cast. Her voice, high and fluttery (yet so powerful), takes us to a dreamy place where our heart’s in our throat and we feel a little dizzy. More pointedly, her tales of women strong as the earth delivered in Williamson’s breathy ethereal style feel perfect for our time. Drop the needle (or hit play) and listen closely as these sung stories breeze about in the air, sort of like the mysticism she sings about in all 11 beautiful tracks. You’ll hear joy, but also doubt, especially in her killer opener, “Smoke.” Like Williamson’s lyric, “… time did unfold like an infinite scroll,” 2020 has stretched on for 50 months or so. As we wait a little longer for our communal lives to resume, we’re more than happy to put “Sorceress” on repeat. We need this magic.
Our favorite track: “Infinite Scroll”
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Home: Raleigh, North Carolina
B.J. Barham sounds a lot like Bruce Springsteen (the textbook example of a working man’s musician with an uncanny knack for storytelling.) On the band’s latest album, “Lamentations,” American Aquarium delivers in top form, starting strong with “Me + Mine (Lamentations)” exposing the rifts and griefs that divide us and the ever-elusive American dream. There is a measured precision to both the songwriting and delivery that are tried and true. We’d be remiss not to mention a common sentiment expressed (track 8) by both Barham and The Bitter Southerner, which is that we both “believe in a Better South.”
Our favorite track: “Six Years Come September”
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Roots: Nashville, Tennessee
Sophie Allison, known to the world as Soccer Mommy, broke into the indie rock scene with her studio debut, “Clean,” in 2018. Since then, she’s toured with the likes of Paramore, Foster the People, and Kacey Musgraves. In “Color Theory,” she explores the intersection of color and emotion. “ … [H]ere are three main moods to the album that connected to colors,” Allison explained to Interview Magazine. “It kind of goes blue, yellow, gray — sadness, anxiety, sickness, loss, and mortality.” Using keyboard and string samples from worn-out floppy discs and shaping each recording around live takes, Soccer Mommy created an even larger sound this time around.
Our favorite track: “Circle the Drain”
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Home: Muscle Shoals, Alabama
The river of talent that flows from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is strong within the sister-songwriting duo composed of Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle on their fourth album, “Saturn Return.” Slagle stated in an interview with Rolling Stone, “The songs on this record will always feel like that lucky photo you accidentally capture, at just the right moment, in just the right light ... because it forever documented us as the women we were before the page turned into a new chapter — motherhood, adulthood, grown-up grief, career identity, cultural identity, lifelong love.”
Our favorite track: “Hand Over My Heart”
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Home: Nashville, Tennessee
Is Margo Price the new queen of Nashville? (A queen who doesn’t give a flying flip what old school Nashville thinks?) Along with being a brilliant artist and performer, Price mentors young artists and consistently fights the good fight. Now with this year’s “That’s How Rumors Get Started,” Price has taken a detour from her country roots to make a mostly rock-and-roll record. Sturgill Simpson (also on this list) produced the album, and the collaboration results in a new sound for Price. There’s definitely a ’70s rock vibe to the whole album. On “What Happened To Our Love?” and “Gone To Stay” she seems to channel Linda Ronstadt. In “Twinkle Twinkle” Price belts out: “If it don’t break you, it might just make you rich. You might not get there, and on the way, it’s a bitch. Gettin’ by, gettin’ high ...” It’s a good record. Price makes music for working folks like us. We appreciate that.
Our favorite track: “Hey Child”
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Roots: Georgia
Victoria Monét has written more hit songs than you can list on both hands, however, they’ve typically been for other artists. Full of electro-pop-funk jams, “Jaguar,” has Monét’s full spectrum of talents front and center and on her own terms. Her gentle, sultry vocals deliver lyrics that ooze with confidence and self-determination, as she sings about sex, love, and autonomy. “Ass Like That” and the title track “Jaguar” have everything you need for a lustful feminist anthem.
Our favorite track: “Experience”
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Home: Atlanta, Georgia
“Purple Noon” is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene’s fourth full-length album, and it doesn’t disappoint. Mixed by long time collaborator, Ben H. Allen, “Purple Noon” delivers a lush, cinematic soundscape. There is a strong hint of Sade’s influence on this album both sonically and vocally. Not a bad thing.
Our favorite track: “Paralyzed”
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Home: Nashville, Tennessee
When it comes to the art of writing a country song, it’s a revered few that have perfected the craft to the degree that Chris Stapleton has in “Starting Over.” He understands the importance of the small details and manages to skate right up to the edge of familiarity with his latest album. Songs like the title track, “Starting Over,” “Cold,” and “Joy Of My Life” are the type that manage to get stuck in your head before you’ve even finished the first listen.
Our favorite track: “Starting Over”
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Roots: Jackson, Kentucky
Don’t ever think you’ve got Sturgill Simpson pegged. Not ever. Following last year’s apocalyptic rock record, “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: Butcher Shoppe Sessions” is something totally different. For what is essentially a cover album of his own material, Simpson has assembled what is undoubtedly the finest group of bluegrass musicians anywhere on the planet (Tim O'Brien and Mark Howard on guitar, Scott Vestal on banjo, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Sierra Hull on mandolin). And damn if they don’t sound good.
Our favorite track: “All the Pretty Colors”
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Home: Houston, Texas
The Houston trio Khruangbin (pronounced KRUNG-bin) brings a moody melodic vibe to our list. “Mordechai,” Khruangbin’s third studio album, was released in June and is built from a mix of East Asian surf, West African chill, and a little bit of reggae. The mostly instrumental record’s breezy vibe feels like summer with the windows rolled down, a few songs sung softly in multiple languages (French, Spanish, Hungarian, Hebrew) reminding us of travel ... freedom. All the things we’ve craved this year. We read that bassist Laura Lee, back from an exhausting tour, went on a hike and had a spiritual awakening. Thus “Mordechai” was born. Awakening? Rebirth? All good reasons for this record’s psychedelic groove to feel like a perfect 2020 soundtrack.
Our favorite track: “If There is No Question”
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Home: Houston, Texas
Megan has had a helluva year this year. From dominating the airwaves, to being shot in both feet, to being named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. With so much surrounding her and her career, it’s hard to believe that she only delivered her first full-length album this November. With lyrical and musical moments that reference some of hip-hop’s most notable moments, “Good News” is a call back to the past while landing solidly in today’s musical landscape.
Our favorite track: “Savage Remix”
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Home: Atlanta, Georgia
There have been few silver linings in 2020, but when news of a new Goodie Mob album hit the internet in late November, there was a sense of unavoidable anticipation. It seems the events of this year were such that the Dungeon Family crew just couldn’t sit idly by. “Survival Kit” finds all of the original members in prime form, and on tracks like “Frontline” and “Prey 4 Da Sheep,” sounding as relevant as ever.
Our favorite track: “Frontline”
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Home: Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina’s, Sylvan Esso is back on our list. And while some reviewers have claimed the electro-pop duo’s latest doesn’t quite live up to its past records, we actually love it. “Free Love,” released in September, focuses a bit more on the narrative, Amelia Meath’s voice, and lyrics. The music is more pulled back from the duo’s previous efforts. But don’t worry, y’all, the happy bops are still there. Listen to “Ferris Wheel” and “Rooftop Dancing” to feel the euphoria of staying out late with friends … how things were before. Or, listen to Meath whisper a gorgeous love song in “Free.” Sylvan Esso is hot right now, and “Free Love” is good. Turn it up loud. Try not to dance. We dare you.
Our favorite track: “Ferris Wheel”
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Home: Asheville, North Carolina
This is our eighth year-end list and the third Angel Olsen record we’ve included. Her November 2019 show at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta was one of the last big concerts we saw before the world went sideways. It’s been obvious for a while, we love her work. In August of this year, Olsen released “Whole New Mess,” a record that features a few stripped-down covers of songs from her 2018 album. The remake of “(We Are All Mirrors)” is beautiful and even more chilling than the original. How is that possible? Angel sings like an angel, “Whole New Mess” was recorded in a church. We’re into it.
Our favorite track: “(We Are All Mirrors)”
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Home: Washington, D.C.
Bartees Strange has a musical dexterity that is rare. It’s a talent that has produced what is one of the most surprising and interesting releases of the year. Throughout his latest album, “Live Forever,” Strange covers a lot of ground stylistically while still maintaining a cohesive perspective throughout it all. In fact, on one of the album's tracks, "Mossblerd," he sings "Genres/ Keep us in our boxes." Suffice it to say, Strange blows the top off the box on this one.
Our favorite track: “Mustang”
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Home: Houston, Texas (Glasper), Winston-Salem, North Carolina (9th Wonder), Los Angeles, California (Martin, Washington)
Composed of super-producers 9th Wonder and Terrace Martin, alongside modern day neo-jazz giants Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper, it’s hardly an exaggeration to call Dinner Party a supergroup. Each of these seven songs is an exercise in restraint, a meditative loop locking you into an unavoidable groove. Listen closely and you’ll hear an incredible complexity — both musically and conceptually. And, what dinner party would be complete without dessert. In this case, they dish out a follow-up album by that very name. It’s a track-by-track recreation of the original album, only this time with a broad array of special guests ranging from Rapsody to Herbie Hancock.
Our favorite track: “Freeze Tag”
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Home: Montgomery, Alabama
In the mood for an anthem? Then skip right on down to “Crown,” track 7 of CHIKA’s tightly packed 20-minute album “Industry Games.” “Ain’t nobody gonna bring me down/ I’m on an elevator / I’m on to something greater / Ain’t nobody gonna take my crown … I could cry enough tears to fill the Chesapeake / Hold it together, girl / You deserve the world and if no one else will say it / Then I'll spit it to the mic in the studio when I lay it / Now play it when you discouraged / I know chasin' the impossible take some courage” Can we get an amen? Born to Nigerian immigrant parents and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, 23-year-old Jane Chika Oranika’s lyrically-nimble genius is making her and this album one for the ages. A March, Rolling Stone report says, “Chika describes her upbringing as a black, queer, plus-size woman as ‘no joke.’” Her serious rhymes (with each video set in a retro-style video game backdrop) demonstrate that CHIKA doesn’t play. We can’t wait to see what she does next.
Our favorite track: “Crown”
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Home: Nashville, Tennessee
Katie Pruitt is the newest star of modern Americana. She grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta with a conservative family, attending Catholic school. “Expectations” carries us through her self-discovery away from home, as she comes to terms with her sexuality and navigates the transition to adulthood. “I wanted to be honest / I wanted to be brave,” she sings on the track, “Georgia,” “But if my grandmother knew / She would roll in her grave / And my father would scream / He’d scream out in rage / He did not want a daughter whose soul wasn’t saved.” The tension that defined her coming-of-age is translated perfectly into music; her voice glides with ease the tone of a lullaby to that of a rock song, while the band seems to hang on each word. It’s not often that you see a debut record that introduces an artist so perfectly both musically and personally; each song is purposeful and necessary to tell Pruitt’s story. If you like to delve into songwriting check out her breakdown of each song here.
Our favorite track: “Expectations”
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Home: Atlanta, Georgia / Brooklyn, New York
Run The Jewels, composed of Atlanta-native Killer Mike and Brooklynite El-P, have always made music that calls truth to power. This time, the world was ready to listen harder. “RTJ4” came early, just days after Killer Mike addressed the city of Atlanta as the nation reeled from the news of George Floyd’s murder. As America’s attention shifted yet again to the systematic oppression our government upholds, Run The Jewels gave us a record that will fuel your rage and urge you to keep questioning the systems at play. The duo’s ever-impressive flow paired with brilliant lyricism makes for a record that is loud, angry, and a total earworm. The overarching themes of racial injustice, police violence, and corrupt leadership are tempered by the pair's refusal to take themselves too seriously, providing levity through hyperbole and dark humor. We’d suggest more than one listen — each new one seems to bring a deeper meaning.
Our favorite track: “Ooh La La”
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Home: Tulsa, Oklahoma
This poet has made our list before. In 2015, John Moreland’s “High on Tulsa Heat” blew us away. It was a good, good country record that landed at #4 that year, and cemented Moreland as Bitter Southerner family. Over the years, we’ve been to Moreland’s shows and followed obsessively, waiting for a new record. When “LP5” arrived in February, we heard the Moreland we know and love … only there was something new at work. This was a more diverse collection of songs. Each track spilled out of our speakers in a different way, taking us in a new direction. Unless “damn beautiful” is a genre, “LP5” is not easy to classify. (Labels are bullshit anyway.) Just take a listen. Tell us if you think Moreland’s lyrics sound prophetic for the year that was to come. Tell us if “LP5” isn’t one hell of a record.
Our favorite track: “East October”
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Home: Atlanta, Georgia
Sa-Roc is easily one of the fiercest emcee’s out there. There is an undeniable depth to her lyricism that is refreshing to hear. It’s conscious and complex. This album finds D.C.-native turned Atlanta-transplant in prime form. In Sa-Roc’s own words, “The Sharecropper’s Daughter,” a reference to her own father’s experience, is “a sonic reflection on the generational inheritance of trauma and triumph that shapes our humanity and influences the way we see the world.” On top of that, the album is a serious head-bobber.
Our favorite track: “The Black Renaissance”
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Home: Atlanta, Georgia
It’s safe to say that the spirit that birthed Atlanta hip-hop collective, Dungeon Family, more than 20 years ago is alive and well with the younger generation. Spillage Village is an octet of talent that includes some of ATL’s finest: JID, EARTHGANG, 6LACK, and newest addition Mereba, among others. As you might gather from the title, there is a wrestling with religion throughout “Spilligion’s” tracks. Sitting on top an instrumentation and production style that echoes that of Organized Noize is a sing-along chorus of vocalists that sound like just the apocalyptic kumbaya we need this year .
Our favorite track: “Ea’alah (Family)”
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Roots: Birmingham, Alabama
On “Saint Cloud,” Katie Crutchfield, who performs as Waxahatchee, weaves intricate stories about making those conscious and unconscious decisions to finally grow up. Between her last release and this record Crutchfield got sober and took charge of her adult life — reconnecting with her love, Kevin Morby, and writing some of the most beautifully crafted songs we’ve ever heard. In January and February, “Fire” and “Lilacs” were released as singles. In Lilacs, she sings, “I wake up feeling nothing / Camouflage the wavering sky / I sit at my piano, wander the wild whereby / And the lilacs drank the water. And the lilacs die / And the lilacs drank the water / Marking in the slow, slow, slow passing of time … ” On March, 27, eight days after a mandatory shelter in place was announced here in Athens, Georgia, Crutchfield dropped her best record to date. Over on Instagram, she said, “ … making it and singing these songs has been the joy of my life.” It’s an understatement to say the songs on “Saint Cloud” brought joy into our isolation and some Waxahatchee wisdom when we needed it most. For the rest of our lives, we’ll listen to this masterpiece and remember: Waxahatchee made the songs that marked the slow slow passing of time. The songs that helped us all grow up a little.
Our favorite track: “Fire”
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Home: Asheville, North Carolina
Attempts to classify or categorize Moses Sumney and his music quickly fall short. This is an album that takes you on an incredible journey across time and space, across musical genres. Featuring collaborators ranging from avant-garde bassist, Thundercat, to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Michael Chabon, the production on “græ” is a sonic tour de force. That said, Sumney’s voice itself is undoubtedly the most dynamic instrument featured on the album. This isn’t necessarily a casual listen, but it’s one that more than rewards the time invested. It is an album of multitudes at its very essence. As an epic 20-track collection, “Grae” was released in two installments, the first half released back in February, the second in May. According to Sumney in an NPR interview earlier this year, “it's a concept record about grayness. I wanted to take a concept and a word that is rather bland in a lot of ways and inject it with as much color and as much life as possible in order to explore the idea of living life between the margins, not existing on either side of a polarity or an extreme, in order to emphasize the idea of celebrating ambiguity and obscurity. Or if not celebrating, at least exploring it and pronouncing it with confidence.”
Our favorite track: “Virile”
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Home: Jacksonville, Florida
On May 26, 12-year-old, Keedron Bryant, made this post on Instagram from his home in Jacksonville, Florida: “just singing what’s on my heart, hoping this blesses someone.” The night before, his mother, Johnnetta Bryant, penned the lyrics of “I Just Wanna Live” after she and her son had watched the video of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. There were no words or songs to fill that moment, so she wrote her own and her son wrote the tune. Steeped in gospel music, his unaccompanied voice carried like a prayer, expressing the core of the Black Lives Matter movement — the hope to live freely and without fear. The video went viral with a record deal from Warner Records and praise from former President Barack Obama and Oprah — all before his 13th birthday in July! The song, born out of tragedy, became an anthem for the uprisings over the summer pulling together people from across the world. Born in Sicily, Italy, to missionary parents, Keedron Bryant’s voice brought the world to tears and gave us all the courage to stand for a better world. We are eternally grateful and can’t wait to hear what comes next from Bryant and his family!
