- En Attendant Ana – “Down The Hill” – Juillet (Trouble In Mind)
- Jeanines – “Everyone Should Be Warned” – Things Change (wiaiwya)
- Galore – “Silence” – S/T (Rocks In Your Head)
- Melenas – “En Madrid” Dias Raros (Elsa)
- Seablite – “High-Rise Mannequin” – High-Rise Mannequin (Emotional Response)
- Potpourri – “Postcards” – First Dance (Bingo)
- Nightshift – “Make Kin” – “Make Kin” (Trouble In Mind)
- Gustaf – “Design” – S/T (Royal Mountain)
- Lithics – “Hands” – Tower of Age (Trouble In Mind)
- Shopping – “Follow Me” – All Or Nothing (FatCat)
- Flowers – “Erik” – Erik (Slumberland)
- Candace – “DM-100” – Ideal Corners (S/R)
- Torrey – “Recording 119” – Recording 119 (S/R)
- Radiator Hospital – “Summer Movie” – New Depression (S/R)
- The Reds, Pinks and Purples – “I Should Have Helped You” – I Should Have Helped You (Burundi Cloud)
- SOAR – “Corner of a Room” – Soft Dial Tone (Lost Sound Tapes)
- Latitude – “I Love the Radio” – Mystic Hotline (Emotional Response)
- Axolotes Mexicanos – “Te Quiero (…)” – Uwu (Elefant)
- Habibi – “Angel Eyes” – Anywhere But Here (Muddguts)
- Soft Palms – “Not Love” – S/T (Everloving)
- Boyracer – “Girl in a Soul Band” – On a Promise (Emotional Response)
- Parsnip – “Treacle Toffee World” – Adding Up (Anti Fade)
- No se a quien matar – “Bacilococo” – Bacilococo (Casa Maracas)
- Baby Shakes – “Really Really” – Sweet ‘n’ Sour (Dimple)
- Ribbon Stage – “Favorite Girl” – My Favorite Shrine (S/R)
- The Stroppies – “Burning Bright” – Look Alive (Tough Love)
- Terry – “Take the Cellphone” – Take the Cellphone (Sub Pop)
- Lisasinson – “Volverte A Enamorar” – Volverte A Enamorar (Elefant)
- Brontez Purnell – “In Between” – White Boy Music (Post Present)
- Neutrals – “Personal Computing” – Personal Computing (Slumberland)
- Sweeping Promises – “Cross Me Out” – Hunger for a Way Out (Feel It)
- Lewsberg – “Through the Garden” – In This House (S/R)
- Cindy – “Falcon Heavy” – Free Advice (Mt.St.Mtn.)
- Peel Dream Magazine – “Too Dumb” – Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
- Virginia Wing – “I’m Holding Out For Something” – I’m Holding Out For Something (Fire)
- Cold Beat – “Flat Earth” – Mother (DFA)
- Primo! – “Love Days” – Sogni (Upset The Rhythm)
- Suzie True – “Bailey” – Saddest Girl at the Party (Get Better)
- Porridge Radio – “Circling” – Every Bad (Secretly Canadian)
- Mitimitis – “Todas las Fiestas del Manana” – Terror en el Autocine (S/R)
2020
Feel Good Weird’s Favorite Releases of 2020
FGW ♥ Reissues of 2020
- Hiroshi Yoshimura – GREEN (Light In The Attic)
- Admas – Sons of Ethiopia (Frederiksberg)
- Patrick Cowley – Some Funkettes (Dark Entries)
- Ranil – Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical (Analog Africa)
- Sharhabil Ahmed – The King of Sudanese Jazz (Habibi Funk)
- Thelonious Monk – Palo Alto (Impulse!)
- Elliott Smith – Live at Umbra Penumbra – September 17th, 1994 (KRS)
- The Heshoo Beshoo Group – Armitage Road (We Are Busy Bodies)
FGW ♥ Albums/EPs of 2020
- Moaning – Uneasy Laughter (Sub Pop)
- Against All Logic – 2017-2019 (Other People)
- Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
- SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) / Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals)
- Widowspeak – Plum (Captured Tracks)
- King Krule – Man Alive! (True Panther Sounds / Matador)
- Frankie Reyes – Originalitos (Stones Throw)
- Adrianne Lenker – songs / instrumentals (4AD)
- Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death (Partisan)
- Angel Olsen – Whole New Mess (Jagjaguwar)
- JPEGMAFIA – EP! (EQT)
- Hama – Music From Saharan Whatsapp 08 (Sahel Sounds)
- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Jon Batiste – Soul (OST) (Disney)
- Charli XCX – how i’m feeling now (Asylum)
- Candace – Ideal Corners (S/R)
- Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (Dead Oceans)
- Bosca Banks – Winner (S/R)
- Deeper – Auto-Pain (Fire Talk)
- Nicolás Jaar – Cenizas (Other People)
- Peel Dream Magazine – Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
- Duma – Duma (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
- Emily Montes – Emily Montes (S/R)
- Various – Care Not Cops (In This Together LA)
- Various – The Song is Coming from Inside the House (S/R)
FGW ♥ Singles of 2020
- Connan Mockasin – “I Want Troll With You (Gentle Dom Remix)” (Mexican Summer)
- Car Seat Headrest – “Can’t Cool Me Down” (Matador)
- Jamie xx – “Idontknow” (Young Turks)
- Burial, Four Tet & Thom Yorke – “Her Revolution” (XL)
- Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper & 9th Wonder – “Freeze Tag (feat. Phoelix)” (Sounds of Crenshaw / EMPIRE)
- Porridge Radio & Lala Lala – “Good For You” (Secretly Canadian / Hardly Art)
- RMR – “RASCAL” (CMNTY CULTURE)
- Dummy – “Pool Dizzy” (Born Yesterday)
- Aoife Nessa Frances – “Geranium” (Ba Da Bing!)
- Anderson .Paak – “Lockdown” (12Tones)
- Frank Ocean – “Cayendo (Side A – Acoustic)” (Blonded)
- Justin Bieber & benny blanco – “Lonely”
- Kurt Vile & John Prine – “How Lucky” (Matador)
- Whateverglades – “Don’t Call Me Baby / I Watch Over Me” (No Egrets)
- Fenn Rosenthal – “Dinosaurs in Love (feat. Tom Rosenthal)” (Dinosaur)
My Favorite 2020 Albums and EPs
- Pinegrove – Marigold (Rough Trade)
- Fleet Foxes – Shore (ANTI-)
- Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty)
- Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (Dead Oceans)
- Purity Ring – WOMB (4AD)
- Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated Side B (Schoolboy and Interscope)
- beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers (Dirty Hit)
- Frances Quinlan – Likewise (Saddle Creek)
- Into It Over It – Figures (Triple Crown)
- Standards – Fruit Island (Topshelf)
- Baths – Pop Music/False B Sides II (Basement’s Basement)
- Liza Anne – Bad Vacation (Arts and Crafts)
- Field Medic – Floral Prince (Run For Cover)
- Starchild and the New Romantic – Forever (New Romantic World)
- Yumi Zouma – Truth or Consequences (Polyvinyl)
- The Japanese House – Chewing Cotton Wool (Dirty Hit)
- Braids – Shadow Offering (Secret City)
- The Beths – Jump Rope Gazers (Carpark)
- PUP – This Place Sucks Ass (Rise)
- Rina Sawayama – Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
- Hayley Williams – Petals For Armor (Atlantic)
- HAIM – Women in Music Part III (Columbia)
- Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud (Merge)
- The Mountain Goats – Getting Into Knives (Merge)
- Dryjacket – Going Out Of Business (Lesser Matters)
Some Albums That Helped E. Lit Survive 2020, In Alphabetical Order:
The staggering volume of amazing music released in 2020 was the silver lining of one of the most challenging years of my adult life. Here are some of the highlights:
- Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide (Rhymesayers)
- AJ Suede – Knowhatimean? (self-released)
- Al.Divino & Futurewave – Kataklizm (self-released)
- Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk – Ocean Bridges (Redefinition)
- Armand Hammer – Shrines (Backwoodz Studioz)
- Arms and Sleepers – Corpus Dei (Future Archive)
- Awol One – Tony the Walrus (Speakerface)
- Batsauce – Shelter Skelter (Full Plate)
- Blockhead – Quar and Peace (self-released)
- Blu & Exile – Miles: From An Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science)
- BlUu Edwards – All We Need Is Kill (Wrecking Crew)
- Boldy James – The Price of Tea In China (ALC)
- Buckwild – Music Is My Religion (Kurrup Money)
- Brzowski & C Money Burns – The Subjugation of Bread (Milled Pavement)
- Cargo Cults – Nihilist Millennial (Wrecking Crew)
- Chester Watson – A Japanese Horror Film (POW)
- Controller 7 – Exhale01 (self-released)
- Controller 7 & Buck 65 – Billy (self-released)
- Count Bass D – CBD (self-released)
- Day Tripper – Langford Landscapes (Full Plate)
- Dillon & Batsauce – Self Medicated EP (Full Plate)
- DJ Muggs & Al.Divino – Kilogram (Soul Assassins)
- DJ Scientist – The Artless Cuckoo Vol. II (self-released)
- Doseone – G Is For Job (self-released)
- Dr. Oop & Nada Clue – Essential Business Vol. 1 & 2 (self-released)
- Ear Dr.Umz – Mental Picture Show (self-released)
- Ecid – Post Euphoria Vol. 3 (Fill In the Breaks)
- 80’s Babies – unLEARN (self-released)
- Escape Artists – Evergreen (Cathexis)
- Factor Chandelier – First Storm (Fake Four Inc)
- Factor Chandelier – Eastlake (Fake Four Inc)
- Fielded – Demisexual Lovelace (Backwoodz Studioz)
- 4-IZE – Look Into My IZE (Ultra Beast United)
- Gel Roc – Grandeur (Abolano)
- Googie & Henry Canyons – Hijinx (Backwoodz Studioz)
- Griff/Scorcese – Midnight Express (Insubordinate)
- Haphduzn – Visceral (self-released)
- Heliocentrics – Infinity of Now (Madlib Invazion)
- Henny L.O. & Ohbliv – Sages (Mutant Academy)
- Him Lo – Slapyagoddamnfaceoff (Grilchy Party)
- ialive – I’ll Wait Forever (Cold Rhyme)
- Ill Scholars – Ill Scholars (self-released)
- Illogic – Autopilot (self-released)
- Junclassic – The Hope Business (self-released)
- Ka – Descendents of Cain (Iron Works)
- Kay the Aquanaut & Maki – The Nautical Blue (self-released)
- Kid Abstrakt & Emapea – Jazzy Vibes (self-released)
- LAPIS – Third Person You (Fresh Selects)
- lojii – lo&behold (self-released)
- Lt Headtrip – Dreamery (We Are the Karma Kids)
- Lydia Liza & Big Cats – Oh Boy (self-released)
- Mestizo & Controller 7 – Couch (self-released)
- MidaZ the Beast – Where the Sidewalk Ends (self-released)
- Moodie Black – F U Z Z (Fake Four Inc)
- Napoleon Da Legend & Ro Data – The Stuff of Legend (Chong Wizard)
- Nation GVNG – Nation GVNG (Insubordinate)
- Nolan the Ninja – Talk Soon (Sport Cast)
- Observe Since ’98 – Royaume Du Sauvage (Loretta)
- Open Mike Eagle – Anime, Trauma & Divorce (Auto Reverse
- Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin – FlySiifu’s (Lex)
- Proe & MF Shalem B – Belove Below (Childproof)
- Pro Zay – Alley Muzik (self-released)
- Pseudo Intellectuals – A Late Stage Malaise (Lo Do)
- Ransom & Nicholas Craven – Director’s Cut: Scene 2 & 3 (Chong Wizard)
- R.A.P. Ferreira – Purple Moonlight Pages (Ruby Yacht)
- Rasheed Chappell & Buckwild – Sinners and Saints (Get On Down)
- Rigz & Futurewave – Substance Abuse (self-released)
- Roughneck Jihad – The Red Sentence (Expanded-Art)
- Salami Rose Joe Louis – Chapters of Zdenka (Brainfeeder)
- Señor Kaos & Illastrate – Kings of Vice (Ultra Beast United)
- Serengeti – AJAI (Fake Four Inc)
- ShrapKnel – ShrapKnel (Backwoodz Studioz)
- Sons of the James – Everlasting (Fresh Selects)
- Thundercat – It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
- Ultra Beast – Rush the Court (Ultra Beast United)
- Verbal Kent & The Other Guys – Blade of the Short Cut (HiPNOTT)
- Vic Spencer – Psychological Cheat Sheet (Old Fart Luggage)
- Vitamin D – Flips Vol. 1 & 2 (self-released)
- WateRR – Workshop of the Mind (self-released)
- White Horse – White Horse (Uncommon)
- Wrecking Crew – Raheem’s Lament (Wrecking Crew)
- Yppah – Sunset In the Deep End (Future Archive)
- Zilla Rocca & Chong Wizard – Midnight Sons (Chong Wizard)
Picking the very best of that bunch is difficult, but if I had to narrow it down to only 10 of those titles they most likely would be:
- Armand Hammer – Shrines (Backwoodz Studioz)
- BlUu Edwards – All We Need Is Kill (Wrecking Crew)
- Serengeti – AJAI (Fake Four Inc)
- Controller 7 & Buck 65 – Billy (self-released)
- Blu & Exile – Miles: From an Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science)
- 4-IZE – Look Into My IZE (Ultra Beast United)
- Ill Scholars – Ill Scholars (self-released)
- Open Mike Eagle – Anime, Trauma & Divorce (Auto Reverse)
- Chester Watson – A Japanese Horror Film (POW)
- WateRR – Workshop of the Mind (self-released)
DJ Aahh’s Shortwave Top 10 Z-to-A
- Yppah – Sunset in the Deep End (Future Archive)
- Wajatta – Don’t Let Get You Down (Brainfeeder)
- Thundercat – It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
- Sneaks – Happy Birthday (Merge)
- Romare – Home (Ninja Tune)
- Potatohead People – Mellow Fantasy (Bastard Jazz)
- Omar-S – You Want (FXHE)
- Moon Boots – Bimini Road (Remixed) (Anjunadeep)
- Jayda G – Both of Us / Are You Down (Ninja Tune)
- Emancipator – Mountain of Memory (Loci)
Deep Mission’s Best of 2020
As in A Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of years, it was the worst of years
Best Singles
- Cormac Russell – “Lotus Train” (s/r)
- Dream Aria – “Fairy Dust” (s/r)
- Enzo Monk – “Ballad of George Floyd” (s/r)
- Lizki – “Press Rewind” (Seayou)
- Preach – “Likor” (Seayou)
- Rosa Rendl– “Opportunity Lover” (Seayou)
- Samantha Margret – “Emotional” (s/r)
Best Covers
- Juliana Hatfield – Sings The Police (American Laundromat)
- Khalia – “Hallelujah” (K-Licious)
- Robbie Quine – “Sugar Sugar” (s/r)
Best New Releases
- Klo Pelgag – Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (Secret City)
- Jed’s A Millionaire – The Beautiful Ones – (Kona)
- Dylan Sherry – Western Sky – (s/r)
- Clown of God – Clown Times ep – (s/r)
- Various Artists – Tokyo Dreaming (WeWantSounds)
Best Re-releases
- Ammar el Sherei – Oriental Sounds (WeWantSounds)
- Omar Khorshid – With Love (WeWantSounds)