Ten albums I absolutely rinsed in 2020

My soundtrack to an insane year...

• Yes, we made it! No, not to Christmas, but to that time of year when everyone starts publishing their best-of lists. After the past 11 months, I think that’s something worth celebrating. Here’s my first one, the 10 albums that helped me get through this absolute punisher of a year …

(10.) Jump Rope Gazers - The Beths

Am I the only Kiwi who didn’t see The Beths perform live this year? I may not have seen the Auckland four-piece in person but Jump Rope Gazer, their second album, was played loud and often at our place, their second album sticking the landing with fuzzed out guitars and pop hooks in all the right places. Loved all of it, especially when Jesse Mulligan made them get all emo at the Aotearoa Music Awards.

(9.) WUNNA - Gunna

On my first listen, or the second listen, or even the tenth, I didn’t think Georgia rapper Gunna’s second album would be anywhere near my top 10 list. But there’s something about WUNNA’s woozy, meditative trap soundscapes that helps you just get in the zone and forget the outside world, whether you’re working from home, doing the damned dishes, or just collapsing on the carpet. Recommended.

(8.) Sideways to New Italy - Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Okay, first up, I hate their name. Hate it. But Melbourne five-piece Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever made a second album that made you forget about their stupid moniker, with their jangly alt-rock squirming with so many hooks they made you want to jump off the couch and just get shit done. If only we could see them play this live, the world would be good again.

(7.) From King to A GOD - Conway the Machine

Any of the Griselda crew, from Westside Gunn to Benny the Butcher, could be in this spot. Between them, they made so many albums and songs and mixtapes this year you could listen to nothing but Griselda Records releases and still not hear all of their output. To my ears, Conway the Machine’s From King to A GOD was the peak: slurred, soul-laced beats overlayed with menacing drug rap. Aka, the best kind of rap.

(6.) Fake it Flowers - Beabadoobee

Beatrice Laus is just 20 years old. She wasn’t alive when Courtney Love released Live Through This, Veruca Salt made American Thighs, or Garbage released their 1995 debut. But all of those records infuse Fake It Flowers, the Filipino-born Brit’s debut that marries major pop nous with the kind of carefree crunch grunge enthusiasts will love.

(5.) Alfredo - Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist

He’s never quite managed to meet the mainstream, but on Alfredo, Freddie Gibbs proves he doesn’t need to. The beats, from veteran The Alchemist, are laidback, summery and carefree, while Gibbs’ rhymes are deep and incendiary. But on Frank Lucas, he isn’t afraid to quote MC Hammer, and that gets a big tick from me.

(4.) how i’m feeling now - Charlie XCX

When I played this for Jack Tame on his Saturday morning radio show, he thought it was rubbish. He’s wrong! Like Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Boltcutters, how i’m feeling now made for a bruising lockdown listen as Charli XCX belted out anxiety-ridden anthems over agitated Nine Inch Nails soundscapes while listing all the things she missed about normal life. Fun fact: she did all of this from her LA bedroom in five weeks.

(3.) Ohms - Deftones

Regular Boiler Room readers will know how much I love me some Deftones. It was the next gig in my hood before lockdown struck. Apparently they’re pencilled in to still make that show sometime late next year. Until then, we’ve got Ohms to absolutely smash, an album that deserves to be played loud, hard and often, a mesmerising howl into the abyss. This hasn’t left my stereo since it came out in September.

(2.) RTJ4 - Run the Jewels

Timing is everything and Killer Mike and El-P couldn’t have released this at a more perfect time. The scathing, scintillating RTJ4 arrived just as America faced a racial reckoning, with riots filling the streets of major cities over the police killing of George Floyd. Just listen to Walking in the Snow, the album’s blistering centrepiece in which Killer Mike goes unapologetically apocalyptic. (Read my full review here.)

(1.) Fetch the Boltcutters - Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple spent seven years in isolation recording this masterpiece, then released it just as the rest of the world caught up to her vibe. This is heavy, raw and intense, the kind of music that requires all of your attention to fully absorb. Like, you know, when you’re stuck in lockdown and have literally nothing else to do except blast albums to take your mind anywhere else. Thanks Fiona!