Albums 2020

10 Best Albums Of 2020 According To The BBC (No Rock And Roll)

Posted on by JL

British TV moment BBC has revealed their top-10 of best albums of the
year led by FIONA APPLE and her fifth LP FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS.

“Named after a line delivered by Gillian Anderson in BBC miniseries The Fall, it’s a thrillingly idiosyncratic art-pop album that Apple mostly recorded at home; she even uses the bones of her dead dog for percussion. Her beguiling songwriting explores thorny issues such as depression, sexual violence and bullying, but Apple never loses her humour.” – BBC

Stream LP here…

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2. Ungodly Hour by CHLOE X HALLE
3. Rough and Rowdy Ways by BOB DYLAN
4. Future Nostalgia by DUA LIPA
5. Róisín Machine by ROISIN MURPHY
6. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately by PERFUME GENIUS
7. RTJ4 by Facebook
8. Sawayama by RINA SAWAYAMA
9. KItchen Sink by NADINE SHAH
10. Folklore by TAYLOR SWIFT

Short reviews of all albums here.

The Best 50 Albums Of 2020 According To STEREOUM

Posted on by JL

American Music website STEREOGUM (founded in 2002 – 320.000 followers on Facebook) has published its list of the best 50 albums of 2020. Their numero uno is Fetch The Bolt Cutters by FIONA APPLE.

“It’s the sound of one of her generation’s most gifted studio-pop musicians, someone
who could’ve once been considered a peer of Mariah Carey, getting explosively insular, navigating a perilous emotional landscape with a joyous sense of exploration. The mercurial and sometimes reclusive Apple made Fetch The Bolt Cutters at home, working with a small circle and expressively soaring through resentment and anger and depression without letting any of those feelings weigh down her giddy creativity.” – Stereogum

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2. Saint-Cloud by Waxahatchee
3. RTJ4 by Run With Jewels
4. Women In Music Pt. III by Haim
5. Folklore by Taylor Swift
6. Manger on McNichols by Boldy James & Sterling Toles
7. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never by Oneohtrix Point Never
8. Lament by Touché Amoré
9. Untitled (Rise) by Sault
10. Color Theory by Soccer Mommy

The full 50 best list here.

Soundtrack FRANK ZAPPA Documentary Now Available – 3 CDs and 5 LPs

Posted on by JL

29 November 2020

Last week a new FRANK ZAPPA documentary has been
launched, including a slew of rare and unseen footage from
the late genius’ VAULT.

The soundtrack with pieces of unheard music is available
too (more info below). You can stream the 68 tracks
on Spotify…

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You can buy the soundtrack. The special edition
contains 3CDs and 5 LPs. Details and tracklists here.

FRANK ZAPPA: Facebook

Too Good To Forget – ‘ENGLAND IS A GARDEN’ by CORNERSHOP

Posted on by JL

15 November 2020

There’s so much more to CORNERSHOP than their 1993 No 1 hit single Brimful Of Asha.

The band’s newest, ninth, album ENGLAND IS A GARDEN – released last March – shows again what Cornershop does best. Expressing their personal views on politics, culture and daily life in general and embedding them in irresistible pop tunes you hum, whistle and sing along after only one spin. Tunes that put a big smile on your face. Tunes you return to frequently because they make you feel-good. That’s what perfect pop music is all about.

The Guardian wrote: “Cornershop are reminiscent of Primal Scream – well-read, politically informed survivors of indie rock, who came to national attention with a well-chosen remix,
and are still happy to try any number of musical styles to please themselves as much as their audience.”

Ben Ayres: “You know, there’s no real cupboard we can be put in. We’re constantly
misfiled. That makes it harder for us. But isn’t there something brilliant in that too?”

Lead-single No Rock Save In Roll…

Full album…


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CORNERSHOP: Facebook

Easy rider…

TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 10 Knockout Albums Of The Year (So Far)…

Posted on by JL

The best longplayers so far in this science-fiction-like 2020. Ten cracking records that kept Turn Up The Volume safe at home, camping next to his vibrating speakers. Let’s roll…

‘Hot Slick’ by PINS (Manchester, UK)

These bad girls with ponytails will turn your summer into a daily party. Hot stuff for ravers, disco freaks, and funky night owls. Boogie in wonderland and move like it’s 1999 again.
Live for today, plan for tomorrow but go gaga right now, right here to this sweaty slick…

Stream/buy here…


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‘Dead Lips’ by DEAD LIPS (Los Angeles / Oklahoma, US)

When coolness meets outlandishness then all motherfuckers have to go. Surprising super team Deap Vally and The Flaming Lips dont’ talk shit, they surprise us with a gloomy-moody longplayer that makes you happy. Femejism battling the Pink Robots. Top stuff!

Stream/buy here…


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‘Bejahung’ by ELEFANT (Ghost Town, Belgium)

Sound-exploring desperadoes who open your doors of perception. Sonic crusaders who evolved into one of the most fascinating bands in this universe. Isolate yourself in your private quarantine and listen with disinfected headphones. Once in a lifetime experience!

Stream/buy here…


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‘Self-Surgery’ by MRS. PISS (US)

Keywords: bloodcurdling shrieks, goth inferno, pitch-black nightmares, underground hysteria, gloom & doom sisters in crime, bone-chilling frenzy, hellish commotion. These princesses of darkness take you on a razorblade roller coaster. Keep a sharp lookout!

Stream/buy here..


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‘Every Bad’ by PORRIDGE RADIO (Brighton, UK)

This up and coming gunslingers swing from amplified pop to emo punk and back
with glowing passion. Anarchic and sweet, chaotic and intense, zealous, and plainspoken with future indie star Dana Margolin as the driving force backed by a tremendous band. Without a shadow of a doubt on their way to world domination.

Stream/buy here…


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‘Epidemic’ by UNRULY GIRLS (Italy)

A head-twisting extravaganza of high-tech trash. A mind-blowing record with a diversified melting pot of jaw-dropping knockouts and petrifying brainfuckers as if you are listening to several albums at the same time. Alert your poor neighbours before you press play!

Stream/buy here…


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‘The Doctrine Of Infinite Kindness’ by THE MIGHTY ORCHID KING (St. Albans, UK)

A bold, existential, bizarro piece of psychedelic work. A sonic visualization of Stanley Kubrick‘s spectacular sci-fi vision ‘2020: A Space Odyssey. Otherworldly, metaphysical, mindboggling and rainbow-colored. Lose yourself in their nature caring stratosphere.

Stream/buy here…


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‘Trust No One’ by IZZY AND THE BLACK TREES (Poland)

Flamboyant and red-hot rock band out of Poland turning up the heat with sharp-edged riffs, jagged licks, hammering drums, and frontwoman Izzy‘s feverish vox in the middle.
A record serving a versatile cocktail of high-energy jackhammers and charged reveries.

Stream/buy here…


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‘Five Things’ by SMALLTOWN TIGERS (Pisa, Italy)

Imagine The Stooges having an earsplitting fight with The Runaways while the Ramones are sniffing glue in the producer room and you know what is coming your way, straight in the face. Eight firecrackers, eight uppercuts, eight smoking guns, and lots of middle-fingers.

Stream/buy here…


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‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ by Bob Dylan (US)

What can I say? Best singer/songwriter/poet/storyteller of all time (in my big book).

Stream here…

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Also thumbs up for…

‘925’ by SORRY  
‘Container’ by THE WANTS
‘Exquisite’ by MEKONS 
‘The New Abnormal‘ by THE STROKES
‘England Is A Garden’ by CORNERSHOP 
‘Type II’ by SEX SWING

Have a great summer, music junkies…