End of a Year 2020 - Albums Pt 1.

 *Staind Voice* It's been a while.

I haven't posted anything on here for eight months. I know it's not entirely out of character for this blog, but I've still been busy. Check out my new podcast and follow me on Twitter for fuck's sake. 

Part 2 is here.

I've had more time to listen to new music this year than ever before, due to circumstances I'm sure you're aware of. That means I've got 20 fuckin albums to talk about instead of the usual 10. I'm doing the rankings a bit different this year too. This year is gonna be a lot more personal, and that starts with dividing the albums into three categories based on listening habits.

Category 1: Good albums I didn't listen to often.

I only spun these albums like five times all year, despite thoroughly enjoying them. I feel like I'm going to revisit a lot of these down the line, but for whatever reason, they just weren't top of mind in 2020.

Ecostrike

20. Peace Maker - Peace Be With You (Self-Released)

This album is arguably the best thing I reviewed on my podcast. Peace Maker spits complex bars over mellow production with a gritty but honest sensibility. It's hard without having to front and smart without smelling its own farts.

19. Internal Rot -- Grieving Birth (Iron Lung)

I don't know how to contextualize this album because the world of DIY caveman grind is pretty new to me. Grieving Birth is brutal to the point where it's hardly even music. It's way too cool to leave off this list, though.

18. Ecostrike -- A Truth We Still Believe (Triple B)

The lyrics on this record push it into contention for one of the corniest albums of the year. I don't think you'll catch a single "cool" hardcore kid saying they like this. Fuck those kids though. Ecostrike moves further into their own lane and away from the cries of "Strife worship" on this album. They also write some of the best riffs of their career.

Three Knee Deep

17. The Fight -- Their New Aesthetic (Triple B)

Triple B are the masters of finding the best and most accessible bands in every subgenre of hardcore. The Fight, like Restraining Order, are playing basement music to festival kids. Their New Aesthetic is ferociously catchy d-beat with oi and street punk garnish that every stripe of hardcore kid can enjoy.

16. Three Knee Deep -- Three Knee Deep (Triple B)

Holy shit. Three Triple B records in a row! This album is incredibly fucking stupid, but in the most endearing and enjoyable way possible. The Florida band's first full length is a cacophony of mosh parts interspersed with numerous strange vocal stylings, including a rap song (featuring hardcore legend Danny Diablo). This might suck if it took itself even a little bit seriously. Luckily, 3KD are fully in on the joke.

15. Heavy Discipline - Heavy Discipline (Painkiller)

The saturation point of the Disembodied revival has been reached. Sanrio-hoodie-gate has laid the fashion-core posers bare. Discerning hardcore aficionados are now looking for something punk inspired but with a bit of crunch. Heavy Discipline scratch that itch. This is idiot hardcore for the thinking man. Or thinking man's hardcore for the idiot. Really though, it just sounds like Rival Mob. Who's complaining? Not me.

Gag

14. Burning Strong -- The Fire Rages On (From Within)

This album comes out strong with the 90's worship vibe of bands like Magnitude and Ecostrike, but it doesn't take long to roll over and show its Amazingcore belly. The stomp on Fire Rages On is all New Age, but the melody and structure conjure up ghosts of Have Heart and Bane. I don't know if that's intentional. Either way, people aren't browbeating that style to death these days. Burning Strong also manage to avoid the corny pitfalls of over-earnestness. This album is a winner for those reasons.

Category 2: Great albums that didn't thoroughly resonate.

These albums are (mostly) a cut above in quality, but didn't quite move me in the way my favourites of the year did. I don't think I'll revisit them often, but it would be silly to leave them off this list.

13. Seed of Pain -- Flesh, Steel, Victory (Plead Your Case)

This album kind of grew off me after being one of my early-year favourites. Still, it's ferocious, high energy, and full of ass-beating mosh parts. Seed of Pain nail the 90's metallic sound without the nu-metal bullshit I wish these bands would either lean into fully or completely avoid. This record gets a little repetitive, but on a good day it will have you bedroom moshing like an idiot.

12. Gag -- Still Laughing (Iron Lung)

I don't really want to like the new Gag, because the people in my town who go to these shows kind of annoy me. I don't have a choice, though. This record is too good. Still Laughing displays a deft songwriting skill, an infectious ear for melody, and a weirdness that's often imitated but seldom replicated. It's a great hardcore record, all in all. I probably would have been at the back of the show watching this with my arms crossed while idiots pogo'd into each other.

Freddie Gibbs

11. Conway the Machine -- From King to a God (Griselda)

The Griselda collective dominated online hip-hop discourse this year, dropping a staggering number of projects. Conway the Machine's "debut" studio album, From King to a God is the most interesting and well-crafted of them. The typical Griselda "64 bars over a piano loop" formula is here, but it's interspersed with actual attempts at songwriting and a desire to do something different production-wise. Mix that with Conway's expert pen and you've got something worth going back to.

10. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist -- Alfredo (ESGN)

Freddie Gibbs is one of my favourite rappers ever. He consistently appears on my year-end lists and 2020 is no different. The Alchemist doesn't hold up his end of the bargain on this album, otherwise it probably would rank a lot higher. Either way, Afredo is the most lauded "coke rap" album to come out in a year when that style dominated the discourse. It's also the best.

9. Mil-Spec -- World House (Lockin' Out)

World House is a late-year drop. I expect it to grow on me once I see it (again) in a live setting. Hometown heroes Mil-Spec take a big step forward from their already great 2018 EP Changes on this new record. The Revolution meets Revelation hybrid has been tweaked, with nods to bands like Leatherface and maybe even The Tragically Hip. Some physical copies of the 12" came with a beautiful 90+ page coffee table book, boosting World House to "must cop" status in 2020.

Young Dolph

8. Rat Cage -- Screams From the Cage (La Vida Es Un Mus)

I find D-beat to be miss more than hit. Bands can come firing out of the gate on a record, just to get bogged down by rhythmic sameness. Rat Cage completely avoid that pitfall by being unreal songwriters. The riffs are super catchy and creative. The vocal melodies are ripping and infectious. The band's feel for dynamics and transitions are immaculate. Screams From the Cage has an almost-pop sensibility, but it's being played sloppily at breakneck speed. Not bad for only playing two different drumbeats. 

7. Young Dolph -- Rich Slave (Paper Route Empire)

Young Dolph would be the biggest rapper in the world if he was flowing over snare-less piano loops. The Memphis rapper has all the braggadocios, pimp-a-liscious swagger of your favourite coke rapper. He just approaches his craft from a distinctly southern viewpoint. "Manny Fresh was my Jam Master J" he remarks on "Benz", a line that perfectly encapsulates this project. Dolph spits Cash Money inspired schemes over splashing hi-hats (including a few beats from the legendary Juicy J). The relatively out-of-vogue style mixed with the independent release made Rich Slave a bit of a sleeper this year. The substance is there, though.

~~~

That's the first part of my year end list. Part 2 is here. -- the rest of the albums and my favourite EPs. I might also do some extra fun shit this year, Who knows?