The 2020 Album Rundown: #20 - 16
Despite the Unending Misery of 2020, some good music came out. After not writing up a list of my favorite albums from 2019 (PUP’s Morbid Stuff, Tessa Violet’s Bad Ideas, and Big Data’s 3.0 are still in my regular rotation), I wanted to point out some stuff that might bring you some enjoyment as we move into what couldn’t possibly be a darker, more thoroughly depressing year than this one has been.
That’s all the preamble I have! Let’s talk about music!
Magic Sword, Endless
You may recall Magic Sword making an appearance with their last LP, Awakening, in the inaugural edition of the short-lived column “Jams of the Week(end)”. Endless feels like a natural extension of Awakening, maintaining that same sense of ethereal, engrossing synthwave (aka, “music to do crimes to”) while feeling a little more open and diverse. They’re not radically redefining their sound or anything, but it’s chunky, funky, and makes for a great introduction to the band.
The mid-album track “Prophecy” feels like an unearthed Daft Punk B-side in the best way, while the smooth bass-led groove of “Ritual” makes perfect accompaniment to a late night drive out of town. The title track closes out the album, and feels like a closing song. You could slap a set of credits over the blend of symphony and elongated synth notes and they would feel right at home together.
Endless is available on Bandcamp and Spotify.
Mat Zo, Illusion of Depth
I’ll admit, I’ve fallen pretty heavily out of the trance house scene over the last few years. I can’t point as to a reason why, but I think in the process of broadening my interests in other directions, the spacey, hypnotic build-and-release trappings from folks like BT and Infected Mushroom fell to the wayside. When a handful of folks on my Twitter feed were pointing to Mat Zo’s 2020 release as something to start paying attention to, I took the plunge and was immediately enjoying myself.
Illusion of Depth is a patently bizarre, dense album, from an artist I’d only heard maybe a track or two from in the past. There’s no slow introduction or ramp up to be found, as the opener track properly starts you “In Media Res” before positively flying through style after style of electronic music across the album’s 56-minute runtime. You’ll find club bangers, dreamscapes complete with acoustic guitar, and the kinds of dire drops that would make even a dubstep diehard turn their head in intrigue. Despite the variety, not one track feels out of place: there’s a singular, unifying vibe to the album that’s honestly impressive, given how much territory is covered here.
Illusion of Depth is available on Bandcamp and Spotify.
The Aces, Under My Influence
Back in 2018, I made a personal decree to try and find more women-led groups and woman singer-songwriters. It’s likely been one of the most important decisions I’ve made in terms of diversifying my musical portfolio, but above all else, it’s shown me how much fun gushy, glistening girl pop can be. It’s fun! Music can be up-its-own-ass, 47-minute-long-song prog rock and be great, but sometimes you just want to hear a righteous bass line and somebody crooning about how they just wanna be held.
The Aces are, apparently, a band that puts out albums under the…Red Bull record label? Okay, sure. What’s important is: their sophomore album, Under My Influence, is a collection of great, no-frills pop songs about lust, the psychological terrors of social media, and unrequited love. The single “Kelly” is what drew me to the album, but the thumping drive of “Can You Do” and the swinging reminiscence of “Thought of You” elevate it further. It might not be an album I spin in its entirety regularly, but there are plenty of individual tracks here that are examples of crisp, modern pop music.
Doseone, Sludge Life OST
SLUDGE LIFE is equal parts exploration-heavy video game, mood board, and killer collection of electronic tracks from Doseone. While I’m not here to talk about video games (yet, that’s next week), so much of what made SLUDGE LIFE work for me was the atmosphere brought forward from this remarkable soundtrack. It’s meditative, engaging, and full of thick, beefy synth riffs and hand claps. Recurring themes and motifs give the world some life, but I found myself listening to a lot of these songs long after I was done playing. It makes for great writing music.
Two vocalized tracks off the expansive, 89-minute soundtrack, credited to the game’s fake DJ BIG MUD, serve as a particular highlight for the album, as well as the dividing line between more energetic tracks and the “Sad Boy II” back half. This back half bids farewell to much of the thumping, brutal bass that defines the opening stretch, pushing calm, resonant synths to the forefront. If the first half is music to jam to, the “Sad Boy II” suite makes it all too easy to drift off to a glitchy, vibrating slumber.
Disclosure, ENERGY
Y’all, Disclosure made a much better album than 2015’s Caracal! It sounds like a diverse, lively follow-up to Settle!
Okay, so that might be a little harsh on Caracal, which features a handful of very good singles, but overall felt entirely too same-y and phoned in. ENERGY, with its fully-capitalized title and a bevy of slightly-less-explosive guest stars, manages to hew far closer to their original sound. With an extra splash of hip-hop and African stylings, it’s just a damned fun record to listen to, waxing and waning appropriately as time goes on. The title track borrows lines from the same motivational speaker that opened Settle, and it feels like there’s a very deliberate, repeated effort to have you remember where Disclosure built their legacy. Honestly, I’ll take it: it’s eminently danceable, full of fun little flourishes, but not overly complicated. This is house music to get down to.
A crucial note: the “standard” version of ENERGY is fine on its own, but in my mind, the “Deluxe” version - one that includes the Ecstasy EP from earlier in the year - is the definitive version of the album. “Tondo” alone is one of my favorite songs this year, overflowing with positive vibes. Look for that one, and don’t worry about the nine remixes!
The first chunk of albums, enshrined into history as the 2020 Beside the Dunes Liststravaganza is underway. Unless something goes horribly awry, we’ll have new posts every day up to the new year, celebrating my favorite albums and games of a year where we could all use an extra source of escape.
Until next time!
