Album of the Year 2020
2020 has been a year to forget in so many ways. Life as we know it has ground to a halt as the COVID-19 virus has encircled and enslaved the world. The entertainment, and in particular the live music industry has been one of the most badly affected, with significant unemployment and distress, and closures of venues and promotion firms. We thank groups such as the Music Venues trust for their hard work in highlighting the plight of those in our industry and for what they have done to secure some government support and investment. We have seen musicians adapt and reach out to new forms of engagement, with virtual and online performances, and we thank you for keeping the rest of us going. Now, with vaccines on the horizon we can begin to look forward to a better 2021, but there’s still a long road ahead.
As we close out 2020, we also take a moment to think of all those affected. Not just the nearly 1.8m people that have lost their lives to this virus….. think on that for a moment, 1.8m people ! But also to the families left behind, those now suffering long term medical side effects, and all those left without employment and with mental health issues.
Despite all this, 2020 has been an incredibly creative year, with artists finding new ways to express themselves, and channel their emotions, and experiences into new styles and forms of music.
After a full year of operation, through these difficult times, here at LiveWire we had the idea to follow many others and have our highlights of the year. A set of awards, which in the scheme of things, what do they matter, but they are our views and who knows, one day someone might hold one up as a milestone in their career lol ! (We can hope eh ?!)
You’d think it was easy. Despite all the shit, 2020 has been an incredibly creative year, with so many artists producing such amazing material. And as a result, it’s made the process of deciding an album of the year, or song of the year nigh on impossible. As just a fan, if you asked me a music fan what my album of the year was, it would be a simple answer…. It’s x….. funny how things change when you formalise it into an ‘award’. Since announcing these, there have been hours upon hours of listening to music, of compiling lists, discussions, arguments, deciding, then re-ordering, arguing some more then finalising, before listening again and changing it again….. and so on.
Finally we came to a conclusion. At the end of the day, these are just our opinion. They don’t impact on the world or change anything, but we hope you enjoy our reflection on some of what we think is the best material out there at the moment. If you’ve not heard any of these bands, or seen them live, we hope it inspires you to get out there and do so. So without any further delay here are our choices for album, song and performance of the year, and our one to watch in 2021…. Enjoy !
Album of the Year
Because there has been so much excellent material produced during the pandemic, this was the hardest award to decide on…… by far. There have been exceptional releases from a wide range of genres and artists who all deserve a mention. The third studio album from IDLES ‘Ultra Mono’ wowed us late in the year, with a number of excellent tracks including ‘Grounds’ and ‘Model Village’, not to mention ‘A Heros Death’ the second album from Fontaines D.C. A change of style from the Irsh band, but a worthy follow up to ‘Dogrel’ Also of note were releases such as ‘Pantomime Villians’ from The Outlaw Orchestra, ‘The Joy of the Return’ from The Slow Readers Club, ‘City of Sin’ from the incredibly talented Dutty Moonshine Big Band, and a real gem from Australian all-girl punks PRIMO! With their self-titled debut album, harking back to a simple form from bands such as The Primatives.
But we finally came up with a top three. In third place, the outstanding album ‘Forever Blue’ from A.A. Williams. Although you can’t describe it as heavy, there is plenty of depth and weight to this album. Soaring strings, mournful piano and a forlorn style of vocals. An incredibly talented musician (playing piano, guitar and cello) it’s A.A. Williams voice that takes centre stage. It’s stirring and evocative, and elegent in it’s structure. For despite it’s darkness it doesn’t make you feel sad, and as a result, paradoxically, it maybe is both the saddest and most uplifting album you may hear.
Whilst the sonics couldn’t be described as ‘heavy’ per se, there’s plenty of weight to Forever Blue, whether in the soaring strings, mournful piano or the forlorn lyrical content. Williams is a multi-talented musician, playing cello, piano and guitar, but it’s her voice that impresses the most, her angelic lilts masking the moribund sentiments brought forth from her psyche. You think Paradise Lost are misery merchants? You ain’t heard nothing yet.
A.A. William’s much awaited follow up release ‘Songs from Isolation’ is out 12 February 2021, and can be pre-ordered here: https://www.aawilliamsmusic.com/songs-from-isolation
In runners up spot, we have the incredible album ‘Architecture’ from IST IST. Released in May 2020 the album is still a regular on the turntable at LiveWire Music. We gave this a 5/5 score and it will appeal to fans of bands such as Joy Division, The Slow Readers Club, Depeche Mode and Sisters of Mercy. Their style, like the album art, is quite stark, and feels very dystopian, almost monochromatic. It’s gritty, it’s dark, it’s deep and it’s incredibly powerful, but has it’s lighter almost humorous moments (such as ‘Drowning in the Shallow End’). One minute it’s pounding, the next it’s delicate and emotive. The track structure is also well thought out and runs well. A simply stunning album.
The new release ‘Live from the Attic’ a performance during lockdown of ‘Architecture’ in it’s entirety is released on 19 February 2021 and is available to pre-order here: 'LIVE FROM THE ATTIC' - 2LP RED AND BLACK SPLATTER HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL - IST IST (musicglue.com)
So, finally….. the wait is over – what is our inaugural album of the year ?
Well, that honour goes to the incredibly talented Hayley Ross and her debut album ‘The Weight of Hope’ which was released way back in February 2020. Born in Walton-on-Thames and now living by the sea in Brighton, Hayley Ross has always been fascinated by water and the sea, and she dreamed of being a mermaid and has been converting a fishing trawler into a home. And the sea is a huge influence on her debut album, especially highlighted in tracks such as Barracuda and Lay Me Down. This is an album to literally immerse yourself in, sit back and enjoy. Slow, moody, delicate and haunting it truly is an experience. There is no single weak song on this album, but the highlight for me has got to be Come Back.
Atmosphere is in no short supply over the 13 tracks included here and the album showcases a wide range of influences with Come Back’s girl-group Motown intro, and Big Black Car delivering one of the moodiest moments on the album with a distinctly jazz feel to it to the 90s feel of Kids Again. The acoustic Jangled is one of the best songs and it’s one of the few times that Hayley’s voice drives the song rather than being blended with the instrumentation. Go Slow is another moment that strips away the swirling music to put Hayley’s amazing vocal talents on display, and it’s tracks like these where she shines the brightest.
The album has a delicious mix of simple singer-songwriter type moments where Hayley is simply backed by either a piano or acoustic guitar, but it also has a more experimental, dreamy and wandering side to it. Hayley’s immense talent shows through, and it’s clear to see why she’s become a favourite of the IDLES AF Gang community in recent times.
A must for any record collection. Not just an album but a beautiful journey of expression and discovery.
For more information on Hayley, check out these links:
