Paul's Best of 2020
This past year was a bizarre transitional period for me. Of course, COVID was a major part of that (feel free to check off the free space on your 2020-wrap-up Bingo card) - but this time last year, I was hunting for a job, having still not found my roots in Toronto after moving there 6 months prior. I was extremely lucky to nail something down a mere two weeks before lockdown began in March. The whiplash of rapidly beginning and stalling was a surreal thing. And for me, the soundtrack of these defining days of 2020 was largely made up of 2 albums - Phoebe Bridgers’ haunting sophomore effort “Punisher,” and the out-of-left-field experiment that was Car Seat Headrest’s “Making a Door Less Open.”
Punisher, an allusion to the emotionally draining act of hanging out with fans after a show, is itself a punishing listen. Garden Song sat on repeat for days on end in early March, as I walked laps around my block - the only real instance of outside time I got those days. The album as a whole is pensive and longing, with enough specificity to give her nostalgia trip a sense of focus. I distinctly remember listening to I Know The End for the first time, and being overwhelmed as the song wove through its set pieces, expanding out into the Nevada desert. If there’s a word to describe Punisher, it’s vivid.
In early April, I had occasion to drive through downtown Toronto to the lab. As I turned from my driveway onto an eerily deserted thoroughfare, the angular synth pulse and drums groove of of Car Seat Headrest’s slow-burn epic “There Must Be More Than Blood” dripped through my speakers. The album “Making a Door Less Open” was a departure for CSHR. And it was not particularly well received by many long-time CSHR fans. Luckily, I’m not a long time fan. This album, an off-kilter experiment with synthesizers anchored by a strong songwriting foundation, hit hard for me. Whether on the wry reflection of Weightlifters, the club-banging Deadlines (Thoughtful), or the indie lo-fi sound of Martin, it all just worked for me.
There’s too much on these lists/playlist to mention everything, but I do want to give note to “Call Me When It’s Over” by Max Bloom (of Yuck fame). In the pre-covid days, this was a song that stayed on repeat for weeks on end. It is a dreary, low-energy masterpiece that just barely preempted the apocalypse.
Top 5 Albums of 2020
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
Making a Door Less Open - Car Seat Headrest
This Front Room - Racoma
Suddenly - Caribou
Live Forever - Bartees Strange
Top 5 Songs of 2020
Call Me When It’s Over - Max Bloom
Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers
There Must Be More Than Blood - Car Seat Headrest
Dog Bones - Racoma
Violent Sun - Everything Everything
Favourite New Podcast(s) of 2020
Lingthusiasm
Oh Hello