MUSIC
The Best in 2020 Music
Top albums, runners-up, notable singles, and queer contributions
BY STEVE ERICKSON
The following are the
standout albums of the
year, the runners-up, and
notable singles that appeared
on other albums. LGBTQ
artists were well in the mix, as
they have been in recent years.
Gaika: “Seguridad” (NAAFI) Recorded
by a British rapper in Mexico
City with a collective of Latin
American producers, “Seguridad”
rejects the usual national confi nes.
Based in hip-hop but drawing
more on the sounds it has inspired
around the world (“Maria” dabbles
in reggaetón), the album uses Autotune
to make Gaika’s accent
more ambiguous. Paranoid, gothic
production treats synthesizers like
Viking horns of war. Out of all the
albums on this list, “Seguridad”
feels most like the future.
Rina Sawayama: “Sawayama”
(Dirty Hit) 2000s nostalgia is an
easy direction. But it’s not exactly
what pansexual singer Rina
Sawayama’s debut album does.
She benefi ted from having 29 years
of experience to draw on when she
wrote it, remembering the details
of a youth spent between Japan
and the UK on songs like “Akasaka
Sad” and “Paradisin’.” She takes
inspiration from the music that
was popular when she was living
through the stories she sings
about. She also trashes the rules
of cool to great effect: “STFU!” and
“Dynasty” take the toxic masculinity
out of nü-metal and turn it
toward maximalist pop, while other
songs draw on R&B and house
music. The deluxe edition released
in December is surprisingly worthy,
with the new single “Lucid”
and passionate acoustic versions
of several songs.
Taylor Swift: “Folklore” (Republic)
It’s easy to be cynical about
“Folklore.” After the relative fl ops
of the singles from her last two albums,
Swift has pivoted toward an
album-oriented sound infl uenced
by the NPR-core of The National
and Bon Iver instead of begging for
top 40 airplay. (“Cardigan” still debuted
at #1.) She approaches folk
Pansexual Rina Sawayama’s “Sawayama.”
music and the singer/ songwriter
tradition from a contemporary pop
perspective, and the synthesis
sparkles like crazy here. “The Last
Great American Dynasty,” “Mad
Woman,” and “Illicit Affairs” bring
out her gift for bright melodies
(while “Taste” bases an entire song
around one looped piano note) and
emotional vocals. Her second album
of the year, “Evermore,” pursued
the same sound to slightly
lesser impact.
Ashley McBryde: “Never Will”
(Warner Records) The second album
by country singer McBryde,
“Never Will” shows off her sharp
songwriting and storytelling, closing
with the title track’s declaration
of searching for success only
on her own terms. While many
songs are grounded in blues and
Southern rock, haunting ballads
like “Stone” and “Sparrow” are the
standouts. McBryde explores similar
situations from different angles:
her hit “One-Night Standards” celebrates
sleeping with a man the
narrator doesn’t know, but “Martha
Devine,” a vicious declaration
of revenge against the woman the
narrator’s cheating father slept
with, might be its fl ipside.
Polo G:“The Goat” (Columbia)
Polo G’s chosen lane — depressive,
DIRTY HIT
half-sung hip-hop with lyrics
about trauma caused by poverty,
drug abuse, and violence — is fully
occupied these days. But “The
Goat” proves he’s not a one-album
pony. Expanding on the simple,
beautiful melodies and personal
stories of last year’s “Die a Legend,”
he branches out into love
songs and conscious rap (“Wishing
For A Hero” is a timely reworking
of 2Pac’s “Changes”), with guitars
supplementing the keyboards. Not
every song works, but “21,” “33,”
and “DND” show how much more
he can mine from his troubled life,
and the joyful posse cut “Go Stupid,”
which alternates between piano
and synthesizer-based beats,
suggests a new direction.
Fiona Apple: “Fetch the Bolt
Cutters” (Epic) It feels obligatory to
include this album on a 2020 top
10 list. Anointed a classic the day
of its release, it was the fi rst new
album in a decade to which Pitchfork
gave its highest possible rating.
I must confess that I admire it
more than I listen to it constantly.
But when I do play it, I wonder
how it was possible to write. Apple
uses her entire band as percussion,
with some songs changing
rhythm three or four times, yet it
still works as a kind of pop music.
It’s extremely sharp post-Me Too
music, with two songs about rape
and others about the many forms
of shitty male behavior that stop
short of sexual assault. Her lyrics
are pointedly addressed to other
women. Including Apple’s previous
four albums, I’ve never heard music
that sounds exactly like this.
Backxwash:“God Has Nothing
To Do With This Leave Him Out of
It” (Grimalkin) Transgender Zambian
Canadian rapper suddenly
hit a new level of buzz with her
brief album “God Has Nothing To
Do With This Leave Him Out of It.”
Its fi rst sound is Ozzy Osbourne
screaming, sampled from Black
Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” and
she relies on further heavy metal
samples (as well as ministers and
Christian choirs), occult references,
and horror movie imagery.
But she’s not kidding around. “Into
the Void,” one of the best examples
of rap-metal I’ve ever heard,
describes a fi t of paranoia that’s
entirely justifi ed for a Black trans
women, while she uses Ozzy’s
voice to express her own suicidal
thoughts. In only 23 minutes, the
album traces a path toward selfacceptance
and hope.
Menzi: “Impazamo” (Hakuna
Kulala) South Africa has the world’s
highest percentage of HIV-positive
people and a severe problem with
violent crime. No wonder that its
dance music genre gqom sounds
so cold, with harsh rhythms played
over minimal chords and a notable
absence of melody even at its poppiest.
Menzi’s music oozes menace
— on the title track, distorted vocals
and drums emerge as though
creeping out of fog — making the
perfect soundtrack for a year where
the world seemed to turn to shit.
Ambrose Akinmusire: “on the
tender spot of every calloused moment”
(Blue Note) Jazz trumpet
player Akinmusire leads his quartet
on a varied 49-minute excursion.
This is volatile music, made
to express the emotions of a Black
man living through 2020, frequently
changing tone on a dime.
➤ BEST MUSIC, continued on p.15
December 31, 2020 - January 13, 2 14 021 | GayCityNews.com
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