One of the very few positive things about 2020 was the music – some really good tracks and albums were released in spite of (and sometimes even because of) everything.

On this day I note my 14th year on last.fm and use its data to help reflect on my listening habits from the last year; here’s a look at my favourite music from 2020.

A L B U M S

In a year of uncertainty and constant anxiety it’s probably not surprising that the album I played the most was Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers. It’s almost boring, but in a good way – something soothing and comfortable that works both in the background and foreground.

Puscifer’s Existential Reckoning is a super solid album, it came highly anticipated and lived up to the expectations. All the tracks are strong and it’s easily their most consistent and cohesive album to date.

Last but not least, Grimes released Miss Anthropocene right at the beginning of the year, somewhat in the ‘before time’, and I played it to death. During quarantine I didn’t play it as much but happily returned to it in the second half of the year. It’s a very easily repeatable album.

Favourite albums:

• Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
• Puscifer – Existential Reckoning
• Grimes – Miss Anthropocene (Deluxe Edition)

Others I enjoyed, in no particular order:

• Taylor Swift – folklore  /  evermore
• Hatari – Neyslutrans
• The Weeknd – After Hours
• Jonathan Johansson – Scirocco
• Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
• Run the Jewels – RTJ4
• Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide

Albums I missed/overlooked in the past and really enjoyed last year:

• Jonathan Bree – Sleepwalking (2018)
• TV On the Radio – Seeds (2014)
• The Kills – Midnight Boom (2008)
• The Sound – From the Lion’s Mouth (1981)

Special Mention

After many decades performing with and writing for his band and the other artists he produced, my dad finally started a solo project – well kind of. It’s actually a duo comprised of himself and his McCully Workshop bandmate Gordon, but they’re creating the less commercial more progressive kind of music that they always wanted to.

The band’s name is McCully/Mackay and their debut album, recorded via correspondence earlier this year, is called the Unicorns Are Screaming and is available on all digital platforms. I’m working with them putting together videos for the tracks which will be released throughout the year.

It’s progrock, it’s (literal) dad rock from two veteran musicians and features complex compositions, impressive mastery of instruments and thought-provoking lyrics. If you’re curious please do check it out.

T R A C K S

Favourite track:

• Grimes – Delete Forever

Others I enjoyed, in no particular order:

• Puscifer – Bullet Train to Iowa  /  Fake Affront
• The Notwist – Loose Ends
• Dua Lipa – Cool
• Phoebe Bridgers – Savior Complex
• Hatari – Spillingardans
• Ty Dolla $ign – Ego Death (feat. Kanye West, FKA twigs & Skrillex)
• Jonathan Johansson – Är Du Passionerad?
• Cage the Elephant – Broken Boy (feat. Iggy Pop)
• Internet Girl – Staying In Bed Too Late (feat. Jimi Somewhere)

Tracks I missed in previous years and really enjoyed last year:

• TV on the Radio – Happy Idiot
• Eiffel – Minouche
• Jonathan Bree – You’re So Cool
• Trentemøller – In The Garden
• Balthazar – Bunker
• dEUS – One Thing About Waves
• The Kills – Getting Down

L I V E

It seems surreal to think that the year started off completely normally. Yet at some point, all across the world, each of us attended a live show unaware that it would be our last one like that for the foreseeable future.

The only festival I shot was Ramfest at the Hillcrest Quarry in Durbanville, it was also the last thing I shot. It was March 13 and already I was hesitant to even go but I’m glad I did, as the country was plunged into lockdown not long afterwards. It will be a while until large outdoor festivals come back.

In February I shot 3 shows at Mercury: The Dollfins, Vulvodynia and Crown the Empire. Those would sadly be the last shows I would ever shoot there as mercury became the first venue casualty of the pandemic and announced that they would not be able to reopen after the lockdown.

From January to March I shot 9 gigs at Aces ‘n’ Spades, the last of which was on March 6 and featured Crawling King Snake and Noblemen. Friday night gigs at Aces were such a constant and steady feature of my life that I often took them for granted;  as lockdown wore on it became increasingly unlikely that the venue would be able to reopen and, at the end of August, they broke the news that this sadly was the case.

This is the last photo I took at Aces, a bit messy and average I didn’t even edit it at the time. But these things always take on a new significance in circumstances like this, and in many ways this image sums up the usual vibe and energy of the legendary bar.

I’m so grateful I got to be a part of it all, thank you  for everything.

S E E K I N G  C O M F O R T  A N D  E N T E R T A I N M E N T  O N L I N E

The definition of live music has had to evolve in recent times with many turning to virtual performances and live streams. I enjoyed a few streams and listening parties for their intimacy and the sense of community they brought but found I liked them best for solo or acoustic artists and struggled to connect with more energetic and bigger bands through a screen.

For high energy I turned to old recordings of concerts – there are loads around and many are excellent. Some bands even broadcast them ‘live’ – Depeche Mode was a standout here, I thoroughly enjoyed their Live Spirits concert from 2018 which they streamed on Youtube back in June.

But for sheer entertainment value and unashamed optimism nothing beats Eurovision. I’ve been an ironic fan of the campy contest for years – the final is always around my birthday and in 2015 I subjected my friends to the whole 3 hour event as it streamed live. They were dubious but quickly converted.

This year however I shed the irony and embraced the contest with full sincerity.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of it is cringy and objectively terrible but most is just unmemorable at worst and some of it is objectively good but whatever combo of the above it’s always loads of fun.

Most of the finals and some of the semis are available on the ESC official Youtube channel and I highly recommend them, especially if you’ve exhausted Netflix and want a fun way to kill the hours. The last decade’s worth really have everything – hilarity, cringe, sincerity, slick productions, drama and objective bangers.

The 2020 contest had some really strong songs but of course the show was cancelled. Would-be host city Rotterdam still did a good job keeping the spirit alive with loads of online content.

If you’re still skeptical I’d recommend checking out these songs (studio versions):

Pop 

• Eleni Foureira – Fuego (Cypress, 2018)
• Luca Hänni – She Got Me  (Switzerland, 2019)
• Destiny – All of my love (Malta, 2020)

Indie

• Daði Freyr (Daði & Gagnamagnið) – Think About Things (Iceland, 2020)
• The Roop – I’m on fire (Lithuania, 2020)
• zalagasper – Sebi (Slovenia, 2019)

Eurodancy pop

• KEiiNO – Spirit In The Sky  (Norway, 2019)
• Little Big – Uno (Russia, 2020)

Ballads

• Gjon’s Tears – Répondez-moi  (Switzerland, 2020)
• Duncan Laurence – Arcade (Netherlands, 2019)

Traditional influence

• Go_A – Solovey (Ukraine, 2020)
• Pápai Joci – Origo (Hungary, 2017)
• Tulia – Fire of Love (Pali się) (Poland, 2019)

Misc bangers

• Mahmood – Soldi (Italy, 2019)
• Efendi – Cleopatra (Azerbaijan, 2020)
• Elina Nechayeva – La Forza (Estonia, 2018)
• Guy Sebastian – Tonight again (Australia, 2015)

And for a selection of some of my favourite live performances that span the spectrum:

• Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra (Iceland, 2019) – okay so I both ironically and unironically love this. Laughed gleefully the first time I saw it and still laugh every time.
• Jacques Houdek – My friend (Croatia, 2017) – everything about this/ him. The man sings a duet with himself, I mean it’s amazing.
• Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes (Sweden, 2016 – winner) – super slick performance and effects secured his win.
• Sergey Lazarev – You Are The Only One (Russia, 2016) – amazing staging and effects – how did they do the wall?!
• Conchita Wurst – Rise like a Phoenix (Austria 2014 – winner) – just epic, no other words.
• Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland, 2006 – winner) – more Spinal Tap than Spinal Tap.
• Sunstroke Project – Run Away (Moldova, 2010) – epic sax guy!!!

– – –

All in all I think big takeaway from 2020 for me was that we should take comfort in and be grateful for any small joys that can be found, whatever they may be.

We all know that the new year will not suddenly and magically change everything, tempting as it is to wish that it will. But things will change eventually, and I hope we’re all able to stay safe and sane through it all.