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Great albums of 2020: clockwise from top: Agnes Obel, Phoebe Bridgers, Bob Dylan and Sault’s Untitled (Rise)
Albums of 2020 roundup: Out of crisis comes great art. A year of lockdowns, no gigs, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the second half of our roundup of favourite albums of 2020. Part 1 was here
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This week’s nine is filled with contrast, but also many 2020 themes …
Album reviews roundup: A selection of contrasts – some dark, 2020-slanted Christmas other recent seasonal releases and other recents and earlier releases, from Chilly Gonzales to Mark Lanegan and a Beethoven anniversary piece
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Nine more for the curious listener
Album reviews roundup: Great contrast mark this week’s group of nine, from Nick Cave’s solo concert album to the first Cabaret Voltaire for 26 years, vibrant pop and hip hop from Megan Lee Stallion and Tayla Parx to the beautiful minimalism of Ana Roxanne
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This week’s very colourful square of album covers is matched by the quality of the music
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection again reflects the times - divided political America to grief and isolation, but also presents an abundance of creativity, wit and musical invention crossing everything from jazz to hip hop
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Nine more albums of note
Album reviews roundup: Hip hop comes up strong this week with Black Thought and a recent Public Enemy release with heavyweight guests, but there’s not shortage of other highly original artists from Future Islands to Sylvan Esso
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Hair today … new album releases in random formation
Latest albums include exquisite soul and gospel with the divine voice of Lianne La Havas and the mystery band Sault, plus mischief from Jarvis Cocker, The Pretenders roll back the years, the return of the (no longer Dixie) Chicks
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This week’s picture puzzle starts with Phoebe Bridgers, top right
This week’s selection includes albums of marvellous melancholy and mellowness from Phoebe Bridgers and Norah Jones, topical disco, genre-benders Jockstrap and older material newly released from Neil Young and Bessie Jones
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This week’s album picks, beginnig with GoGo Penguin (top right)
One of the best from Bob in years leads out this week’s team of releases, alongside some outstanding work from former lead singers from other bands, including from Savages, The Macabees and Let’s Wrestle, among others
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Match the covers to the artists …
This week’s selection includes Lady Gaga throwing in the full pop kitchen sink, an apocalyptic concept from Deerfhoof, a witty debut by The Cool Greenhouse, plus Nicole Atkins, Blake Mills, PINS and more
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BC Camplight
This week’s roundup includes the finest yet from humorously dark BC Camplight, the Sex Education soudntrack by Ezra Furman, transcendant pop from Hazel English and a gorgeous compilation by the Studio Ghibili composer Joe Hisaishi
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Aldous Harding wins the prize for most unusual moves for her song, The Barrel
The first part of our selection of the pick of albums from 2019 by Song Bar readers and the Landlord editor, in alphabetical order by title, not a ‘best of’ or countdown. The second part is here.
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Stormzy
The final roundup of new albums of 2019 includes UK grime king Stormzy’s second LP, Anderson .Paak’s backing band, a St Vincent remix, a Burial compilation, and refreshing indie electronica from Melbourne in the form of U-Bahn
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Dan Leavers, Shabaka Hutchings and Max Hallett of The Comet Is Coming
This week’s roundup includes The Comet Is Coming’s second album of 2019, the first by the Who for half a generation, beautiful stark work by Carla Dal Forno as well as Doon Kanda and psyche by Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band
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FKA twigs
This week’s roundup is highlighted by extraordinarily alternative female artists - FKA twigs and Moor Mother, as well as a new solo album by Block Party frontman Kele, bringing another political edge
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New art … Ty Segall
A bumper selection includes a lauded 13th album by the Californian rocker, Mancunian musician Francis Lung, Mabel the daughter of Neneh Cherry, and a project for a new electronica soundtrack to a Buster Keaton film
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Knockout stuff: black midi
This week’s huge selection includes the buzzy experimentalists black midi, rave pop from Hot Chip, funk from Georgia Anne Mulgrow, beautiful folk by Bedouine, soul from Black Pumas, and original versions from the Prince vault
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Vera Sola, from the video for The Colony, from her debut album, Shades
The first of two roundups this week of album releases from the past month includes Damon Albarn reuniting with old friends, an upbeat Wave Pictures, the brilliant DUDS. Anderson Paak, and a debut by Vera Sola
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From the album cover of Titles With The Word Fountain, by Liars
Jon Spencer’s explosive solo to Marianne Faithfull’s gentle honesty, Bill Ryder-Jones love songs to music by the film director David Lynch, this week’s album roundup embraces a wealth of experimentation and styles
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Still from the 2018 remake of Suspiria, music by Thom Yorke
Otherworldly is recurring theme in this week’s releases, including Thom Yorke’s soundrack to the Suspiria remake, Julia Holter and Soap&Skin, plus pithy postpunk from Pill, and reinterpretations by Ty Segall
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Heads up for Wooden Shjips
Synth-pop from the Scottish trio, a new collaboration featuring Camera Obscura’s singer, psych-rock from Wooden Shjips, filmic country from Lindi Ortega, braggadocio from Rocky A$AP, and a great new Late Night Tales
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