Which records did our team turn to—and return to—during such a turbulent year? From the breakout albums by Anjimile and Squirrel Flower, who both made big waves beyond Boston, to the EP gems by acts like Alexander and a fantastic Cliff Notez and Dephrase collaboration, here are our favorites of 2020.
Giver Taker by Anjimile
Exploring their rebirth on Giver Taker, Anjimile also debuts a smooth, intimate and honest record. Anjimile, a trans and nonbinary artist who for years has been a key figure in Boston’s indie folk scene, crafts an autobiography with Giver Taker. Beginning with the track “Your Tree,” Anjimile is self-knowledgeable, hopeful, and reflective – themes that carry throughout the album. From “In Your Eyes” to “Not Another Word,” each song profiles a person struggling with their identity, exploring the fear of not being able to live up to others’ expectations or needs. They confront a person who does not understand them and who they are. The album is a raw vessel through which they analyze and reflect on significant change in every aspect of their life, evoking their rebirth through an explosion of creativity and self-love. —Lex
Space Garden by Optic Bloom
Fighting depression, recovering from trauma, tackling racial injustice, navigating gender and sexual identity: the themes captured in Space Garden are ones many of us struggled with during the pandemic. But with fewer serendipitous opportunities to connect with our communities and support systems, Optic Bloom’s captivating mix of hip hop, pop and electronica prove an essential companion and salve. Dephrase and Flowerthief build a safe space for listeners, surrounding them with crackling warm beats and familiar faces (Cliff Notez, Oompa, Tim Hall and Latrell James are all featured) and sharing the possibilities of blossoming into your authentic self. —Knar
Feel The Aura by Red Shaydez
Boston rapper Red Shaydez channels a sharp burst of the city’s creative spirit into Feel the Aura, which includes features from a flood of local artists such as Oompa and Cakeswagg. Red Shaydez’s best album yet, the project incorporates unique beats as a springboard for her clever and largely autobiographical verses about self-assurance, diligence, and the pursuit of self-growth. Feel the Aura is a vibrant antidote for a year of stagnancy. —Grace
Don’t be Nice by Lewis Morris
A hip-hop disciple of classic 90’s soul-era super-producers like DJ Premiere, RZA and J Dilla, Lewis Morris has—for years—provided Boston rappers with a steady supply of gritty, hard-hitting East Coast beats brimming with melodic strings and warm soul samples. His newest album, Don’t Be Nice, is his most polished and well rounded album to date, using song-sequencing techniques to connect ideas and concepts from track to track. Morris designed the album to be easily consumed in one sitting, and it shows. The album contains a variety of styles that all deliver at the highest levels of quality, from the self-analytical, introspective works we’ve come to expect like “Trustfall,” to his team-up with Brandie Blaze on his first-ever beef track, “Ribeye.” “Get a Job” is the album’s stand-out track, which pokes fun lyrically, using clever, nuanced flows over smooth melodies and—of course—Morris’ patented head-nodding beats. —Jared
EP1 by Alexander
Though Alexander released a solid full-length with Disposable America earlier in the year, something about the minimal EP1 better captured the loneliness, solemnity and mundanity that was 2020. “Healthy Fight” places us on the hamster wheel (“I still wake up / make it to work / and pay my rent / and somehow it seems that it really can’t get worse”) while the sluggish thump of percussion and guitar strums of “Tightrope” feel like hesitant stumbles forward. The vocals are reminiscent of the Conor Obserst tremble and the lyrics of Courtney Barnett’s blunt storytelling; the end result is a soft accompaniment to our time at home, alone. —Knar
I Was Born Swimming by Squirrel Flower
Squirrel Flower, the moniker of Bostonian Ella Williams, crafts a poetic debut with I Was Born Swimming. The record spins stories of failures and lost love. Tracks like “I-80” and “Red Shoulder” unravel an earthy album with poignant, turbulent lyrics that drift through like a storm on a summer night. Squirrel Flower’s notably unfettered writing shines through on I Was Born Swimming and is highlighted on tracks like “Seasonal Affective Disorder” and “Streetlight Blues.” Lyricially, the album is earnest and ethereal, sonically infused with an otherworldly tone. With I Was Born Swimming, Squirrel Flower showcases her ability as a songwriter, proving she has moving stories to tell. —Lex
I Wish Every Day Was Today by Mom Rock
Glammed-out alt-rock outfit Mom Rock’s 2020 release I Wish Every Day Was Today is an appropriate dose of manic, live-while-we’re-young catharsis for a year that has been anything but cathartic. Mom Rock knows this, too, singing about how “the spring that came was not the one that everybody said would come.” While sitting at a brief eleven minutes over four songs, this EP has enough catchy riffs and climactic build-ups to make any listener think they’re back in their favorite venue dancing with the crowd instead of stuck in quarantine. —Dylan
life like moving pictures by bedbug
bedbug sounds nothing like anything else. Their latest album, life like moving pictures, is an ambient in line with Brian Eno’s famous remark that such music should be “as ignorable as it is interesting.” That’s not to disparage bedbug’s music; life like moving pictures is sonically rich both in its foregrounds and backgrounds, with shimmering, ethereal melodies, all drenched in a collage of samples, textures, and environments as enrapturing as they are layered. (And don’t forget its subtly devastating lyrics: “Get out this city for kids / much smarter than me” on “attic of the videostore.”) “Cozily devastating” is an apt description. —N.MC
Social Absence by Cliff Notez and Dephrase
Local music titans Cliff Notez and Dephrase could not have come up with a better time to release their collaborative EP, Social Absence, than last summer. In the throes of a global pandemic, social unrest, and an upcoming election, the duo’s emphasis on the need for self-reflection, the dangers of workplace burnout, and the importance of mental health injected much-needed wisdom into our ears when we needed it most. Let’s hope we won’t need them as much in 2021. —David
Written In My Head, From My Bedroom by The China Blue
Timing is everything in relationships and in music, a concept Written In My Head, From My Bedroom lives in. “Fold” makes you wait nearly a minute and a half for vocals to kick in, and when they do, The China Blue offers a singular refrain before the echoing synths and saxophones fade out. On tracks like “Next to Me,” striking melody lines and achingly honest lyrics (“You were on your knees pleading for forgiveness / to a God you tweeted that you don’t believe in”) layered over bouncing drum machines, atmospheric sound effects, and intricate keyboard lines make the EP a standout. Written In My Head, From My Bedroom is not quite synth pop, not quite hip-hop, not quite ambient—it’s something liminal, in-between definitions. —Sally
Only For A Time by Eastern Souvenirs
Eastern Souvenirs’ sun-soaked album Only for a Time blends reflective and sentimental moods with catchy and uplifting hooks. His lyrics are simple but heartfelt and sincere. His instrumental beats are mellow and swirl like a daydream. In this album, Eastern Souvenirs is lost in a golden reverie. Similarly, the songs float high above like clouds and often become trance-like. The songs are layered and unique, sometimes bass and drum groove heavy, sometimes even symphonic. By the end they all come together to make up a tender and nostalgic album that captures the warmth of summer. —Tristan
Coasting by Honey Cutt
At first glance, Coasting—with track titles like “Orange Blossom Trail” and “Vacation”—might appear to be a straightforward surf pop album, content to float along breezy melodies and carefree instrumentation, evoking memories of warmer weather. And in this way, Coasting is the “vacation” from reality we all needed this year. But underneath the gentle waves runs a more somber current—one that captures the full storm of Kaley Honeycutt’s longing and heartache, alongside the boredom and frustration of suburban adolescence. The record’s dreamy tone is then revealed to be more about struggling to come up for air and reaching the mellow tides at the top instead of blissful daydreaming. Coasting’s raw take on bedroom pop and surf rock ring out truth in Honey Cutt’s clear voice and sharp lyrical play, but only just flirts with rocking the boat. —Julia