Best releases of 2020

It is no secret that 2020 has not been anyone's year, least of all for those in the music industry. But no matter the circumstances this year threw, artists were still releasing material. They just merely had to adapt for a while. With that being said, here are 10 memorable albums released in 2020.

Wake Up, Sunshine - All Time Low

Wake Up, Sunshine, All Time Low's eighth studio album, released April 3rd, 2020. The album is comprised of, Number 1 single for 12 weeks on the ALTPress Alternative Charts; Monsters, Some Kind of Disaster, Getaway Green and finally Sleeping In. It was the album, that welcomed the throwback sound back with open arms, leaving behind the experimental phases of the previous album Last Young Renegades. It has a little bit for every fan, sombre and mellow tracks like Summer Daze, to a random interlude track, Pretty Venom. Fancy that nostalgic feeling of who All Time Low were at the beginning, Basement Noise, does that for you.

CALM - 5 Seconds of Summer

CALM, amply named with the initials of each band member, is 5 Seconds of Summer's fourth studio LP and is an intimate, raw insight into their world. It was an album that shone a matured sound and that bridge between every teen girl's heart-throb to young men living their life in America. By no means whatsoever can this album be classed as perfect but, it can be remembered as the album that allowed them to express a new sound, one that refreshingly shows their mature outlook on their music and a growth; we may never have seen, if they hadn't taken a break to explore what life had to offer them. Tracks like teeth, easier and no shame, are the standout tracks on the album and have quirky memorabilia about them. 

Father of all motherfuckers - Green Day

Although not hardcore fans favourite album, Father of All Motherfuckers, Green Day's thirteenth album, is arguably the most fun of them yet. The band known for their politics, this time took the opposing route and in many ways left their political heads at home, and decided to go down to the club and party. This album has not got a single stench of politics on this album, which is a strong potential why people aren't lovers of this album...well fans anyway, as it seems critics loved it. With garage-rock anthem Fire, Ready, Aim to take the rebel-esque imagery and heightening it 1000 percent, before mixing up-tempos to slower and more mellow songs like Oh Yeah, and seemingly transporting us back decades to the 50s with classic diner vibes of Sugar Youth. This lighthearted, fun, and in many ways bold LP has created that sense of confusion between Green Day's most iconic album American Idiot to modern day, politics-free Father of All Motherfuckers. It is confusing, and a brain twister so instead of trying to understand it or rationalize with it, let's do a Billy Joe Armstrong and say 'fuck it', let's have fun. 

Ordinary Man - Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne's twelfth studio album, Ordinary Man, released February 21st, 2020. Osbourne's first solo album in a decade, and most likely his finest in at least two maybe even three. It dabbles with a little bit of it all, mighty metal riffs, dark and brooding sounds, even a hint of gospel here and there. It has enough doom and bleakness to go around everyone. Offering a vast amount of ultimatums in your mind, Under The Graveyard will have you torn between which road to travel, and is the pure shadow and classic sounds of Osbourne himself. Rich in spirit, and dark in sound. But refreshingly, unlike many albums this takes away from the life Ozzy lived, full of alcohol, sex, and drugs, and surprisingly takes away from his age like, he is not a man in his early 70s battling for his life, but a young man on his early trails. 

Use Me - PVRIS

Use Me, PVRIS' third album, released August 28th, 2020, and features 3 songs that were on the bands' previous EP Hallucinations. For the first time, we finally know who Lynn Gunn truly is, and unapologetically so. It was a brave leap from hiding behind her defenses to being solely responsible for it all, no longer can she hide her true self. Everything you hear on this album is hers, there is no hiding between the lines, or writing in a nostalgic sense, from start to finish the album is a testament to moving forward, never looking back, and using the name she has built over the years to still make it mean something. Lead single Dead Weight is the track that describes it all, coming out of a "band culture" sort of situation to a solo creator, there is no turning back.

Nothing is True, and Everything is Possible - Enter Shikari

Nothing is True & Everything is Possible is Enter Shikari's sixth LP, collectively brings everything they have done in the past, and collated it into a 15 track album of them all, essentially a greatest hits of all their sounds, and tricks from over the years; neatly wrapped up into an LP. The overall messiness of the albums is a depiction of a creator's mind. Trying to embody a multitude of ideas, in a wonderful and yet questionable way. From cinematic explosion to dystopian sound effects, like flooded streams of colour.  

Cannibal - Bury Tomorrow 

Cannibal, Bury Tomorrow's sixth studio album opens with single Choke, which hits hard straight from the get-go, for an opener; it set the course for the remaining parts of the LP. The rest of the album is a set of crispy dirty vocals by lead Daniel Winter-Bates, that graciously befriends the clean angelic vocals of James Cameron. It's like a vocal dance-off between Bates and Cameron, like usual but it feels as though there is less spotlight on Cameron through this album, mainly on tracks like Choke and Imposter, even on title track Cannibal. However, quite literally under a microscope, Bates does an outstanding job of talking about his relationship with mental health, and the battles he faces. His violent calls become increasingly visible on Imposter, which shows no sign of weakness or fragility. 

Post Human: Survival Horror - Bring Me The Horizon

Post Human: Survival Horror, Bring Me The Horizon is still up for debate on if it is an album or an EP. However, the band themselves have said it is the first part of four EPs to be released. Written amid a pandemic, it explores sounds we have heard from them before and sounds that have been less in the spotlight but influences for many years like EDM. Features from Yungblud and Amy Lee shine through as the tracks on the album that are in many ways different than we've heard before. You expect from the title of the album, it isn't going to be cheery and One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death is no different. It is a mellow, balladesque song that lets Lee's vocals shine through.

Evermore - Taylor Swift

Evermore was the gift that keeps on giving. Taylor Swift secretly worked on her ninth album during lockdown, after confessing that she couldn't stop writing. With fingerpicked acoustic guitar and sombre piano throughout the album, this album is not a hitch-on-the-back of folklore but an album that merely accompanies it in a sister-like state and feels overall more experimental than Folklore. In true Swift fashion, Dorothea is the love ballad we all know the album would have. Champagne Problems is almost the opposing story to 2008 hit Love Story, which seemed to resonate with the fans a lot, now that along with Taylor, the audience has or is maturing.

GLUE - Boston Manor

Boston Manor's third album GLUE is dark, misanthropic yet creatively witty in its own way. As an album, it seemingly recognises that life in general can be testing and can be just as deceiving to the eye as songs can be. On the outside, songs on this album are talking about one thing, yet there is a constant deeper meaning within them, creating a never-ending dodecahedron, with more and more layers as it persists. On A High Ledge, is the melancholic tune, that resonates with the listeners that have been through traumatic experiences, many similar to those that lead singer Henry Cox did, whilst Terrible Love speaks to an audience who know how it feels to have themselves as their own worst enemy.  

Under the Tree - Sam Palladio

Sam Palladio, country music star and British actor, aptly known for his recurring role on NBC’s Nashville. The recent single Under the Tree is a classic festive track, written for the 2020 Netflix original, The Princess Switch: Switched Again. 

Photo from: Google

Co-written with country artist Cassadee Pope, the mellow tune is the essential rendition of everything that sums up Christmas. From “candy cane” kisses to “mistletoe calling” and “flour all over the kitchen”, the festive track explores it all; with an underlying beautiful story arc that makes the listener reminiscent of how the holidays are more than the material things, and is more about the blessings and gifts we already have. The soft, piano-led song is a heartfelt message to Christmas and celebrates spending the holiday season with the ones that you love; showing that the most important part of Christmas is not the food, presents nor the decorations but who you spend it with. After all, spending the festive season with the ones you love, is the most enjoyable part of the season, and the most warming.

If you’ve been looking for a new Christmas song to add to your playlists this year, this is it! It is a heartfelt, soft ballad, sure to get you singing along to it, like all the classic carols we hear, year by year.

18 underrated Christmas tracks every alternative playlist needs...

The end of the year is always a hit or miss, but why let it be a miss with a playlist that is just as grand as you are. We aren't interested in the carols that are played time and time again about 25 times a day on the radio stations...they are classics sure, but they get way too repetive after a while. Why not try these 18 tracks, to spice up that playlist and fall in love with the festive season again. 

1. Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass - All Time Low

2. Ho Ho Hopefully - The Maine

3. Christmas Lights - Yellowcard

4. Fool's Holiday - All Time Low

5. Ex-Miss - New Found Glory

6. Nothing For Christmas - New Found Glory

7. Santa Stole My Girlfriend - The Maine

8. The Christmas - The Summer Set

9. Right Where You Want Me To Be - A Day To Remember

10. Christmastime - The Smashing Pumpkins

11. The Christmas Song - Weezer

12. Christmas Card - Jimmy Eat World

13. Feels Like Christmas - Panic at the Disco

14. The Christmas List - Simple Plan

15. Christmas By The Phone - Good Charlotte

16. Yule Shoot Your Eye Out - Fall Out Boy

17. I Won't Be Home For Christmas - Blink-182

18. Mistress For Christmas - AC/DC

That Won't Save Us - Against The Current

 A new era of Against the Current (ATC) is here.

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On Wednesday 28th October 2020, ATC released their first new piece of material since their 2018 album, ‘Past Lives’. Produced by Matt Squire, this fresh release is an energetic, guitar-driven track entitled ‘That Won’t Save Us’, which arrived simultaneously with a moody, dark and characteristically fiery music video. 

It’s no secret that the gem of ATC’s sound is the ever-so present roaring guitar riffs of Dan Gow, which felt somewhat lacking in their previous album, whilst they delved down the route of a different sound; so unsurprisingly this album has brought them right back as a foreground for the song. Whilst being heavily guitar led, the drums certainly don’t go a-miss, they are prevalent throughout the track and add the perfect amount of rock that ATC are renowned for. With a lot of the sound, feeling very much of their ‘In Our Bones’ era. The guitar may be the shining star of the show, but the powerful vocals of Chrissy’s voice, easily pin this single as staple Against The Current sound. The explosive instrumental and the beautifully interlinked vitality of the vocals, along with some of the tempo changes in the bridge and final chorus really foreshadows Costanza’s mindset behind the writing of the song. It is clear from certain elements of the song that she was frustrated and angry with whatever was going on in her personal life and her professional life, enough for her to write a killer rock track like this one. 

The bridge is the biggest tempo change out of the two changes the song possesses, all of a sudden the liviness is somewhat held back and switched for a more mellow, balladesque feel and feels generally quieter than the rest of the track, because the guitar is no longer as vibrant as it was which pulls forward the angelic voice of Costanza but a few brief seconds, switching back to the all-so-powerful, heavily guitar-led pace. The final tempo change in this song is in the final chorus, where concomitantly it speeds up, which gives a sense of the tune coming to an end and the problem being resolved. It also adds to the lively, feel-happy beat.

If this release is anything to go by, ATC3 is going to be one hell of a rock album.

TWSU Music Video - YouTube

 

Skeletons - Bronnie

Over the years the ever growing pop-punk sensation that is Bronnie Hughes, has released some stand out tunes; becoming better as they go along. From her first EP, to her recent release, Bronnie has honed her sound. There’s a lot to be said for a musician that can release songs that are both raw and emotional to the core, whilst still being upbeat. It can be done by anyone, but whether it is done well is what’s in question. For Bronnie’s music, there is no doubt about it.

Her most recent single ‘Skeletons’ is the song that every die-hard Bronnie fan never knew they needed until it came. With a heart-warming opening melody to the raw rock vocals of the singer-songwriter, it cuts deep to the core with the overarching theme of mental health. The story behind the track is descriptively painting the picture of someone who is struggling in their life; with skeletons from the past that are still haunting them in the present day. In the past Bronnie has always been vocal about her strong stance on mental health awareness using her platform and her voice for something much more than just her career. It is so easy for artists these days to become too self-involved and in some ways forget their voice can impact more than just someone’s ears, but Bronnie is the fresh few amongst the younger generation of artists who really understand the power they have behind social media within their communities. 

The acoustically driven song, only sits at a very short 2:22 but does not stop Bronnie from putting her all in those 2 minutes. It explores a little bit of everything from a small and intimate feeling introduction to a much more powerful and loud bridge. However the most interesting part that draws you in is not actually the song itself, but the sound bite that closes the song. It was an interesting choice yet a cleverly placed sound bite of a recording that initially marries the ring out of the electric guitar with crackles. It doesn’t take away from the song but it does add a level of definition that most songs in the modern day rarely express. The poem that the listener hears was written by Mary Elizabeth Frye “Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep” is widely known for its symbolism of loss. More specifically the loss of a loved one. The poet wrote the iambic tetrameter poem in aid of a young Jewish girl, who was going through a terrible loss, one that Frye could relate to. Written in 1932, the poem still speaks volumes today, as the authoritative voice is almost demanding that there is no need to feel such sorrow, for they are still alive in spirit and soul. Physically they are gone but they are never truly gone. In relation to the song, the sonnet gives a whole new meaning to ‘Skeletons’ as it’s now no longer just based on someone who is trying to fight their demons, but it invokes a sense of what demons this person could be facing. Although not all of the sonnet is included in its entirety, its power is still very much shone, at arguably the pinochle point of the track. It was a creative decision that Bronnie should be proud of, as it makes the track stand out in its masses. 

Lines Included in the song:

Do not stand at my grave and weep, 

I am not there; I do not sleep,

I am a thousand winds that blow, 

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain, 

I am the gentle autumn rain.

Do not stand at my grave and cry, 

I am not there; I did not die.

One final note is the single cover, which is minimalist yet effective at not only drawing in the listener but not being the “shining star of the show”. It is designed in a welcoming and eye catching way but almost connotes the sound of the track. The well produced, graciously sung, acoustic track that is ‘Skeletons’. Does it deserve a listen? Definitely. In fact it deserves multiple. Not only will you get the classic rock undertones of Bronnie, and her sound but you also get a heart-tugging emotional song that is the perfect arsenal to any playlist.  

Harry Mackie - The Middle

For the past year, singer-songwriter Harry Mackie has been taking the Manchester Music scene to create a name for himself.  The 20 year-old artist, has already teased his new single 'The Middle' to multiple crowds at a local jam night down in the Printworks, amongst a series of live opportunities and events. As well as posting an IGTV video of the song, being played acoustically by himself in a public open space in local Manchester back in April. However it should be noted that this is not his first time releasing a song, so the young artist has some knowledge behind releasing his music. 

Album Artwork - Ben Lockett

His first two singles 'Bury Me' and 'Give Me It All' have come to be popular releases amidst his fans and have gained, more popularity as time has gone on, leaving fans slowly aching for more. Within the short amount of time since 'The Middle' has been made public, it has achieved a lot of talk amid his fanbase and other artists. 

'The Middle', is your run of the mill summer feeling tune, that makes you want to dance. It's rooted sound stems from one of the worlds most emblematic genres... Jazz, which comes prominently from the smooth waves of the saxophone. More importantly though, Harry has added his own flair and modern-day twist to these sounds and created something versatile and approachable for a vast audience. Not only has he married some of the most nostalgic sounds together; but the pop of the saxophone strongly pins this song as one of the grooviest tunes, 2020 has had the pleasure of getting. Although Mackie is meticulous for delivering such a rich sound, his attention to detail on this track has been one of the many reasons he is gaining so much traction. Unlike many young musicians, he has found his sound and found the juiciest ways to deliver; making his hardcore fans incredibly satisfied. 

It must be said that, the time and effort that has been put into this track is apparent but certainly not surprising. The way that the welcoming jazz-esque intro meets the exceptional vocals and the characteristics of the drums is a pleasing listen. Harry has a breathtaking voice and the slow pace of the song makes that shine. Nevertheless the biggest point of change in the song is by far the bridge; where the change of tone becomes apparent but invigoratingly so. The bridge does not mask or hinder the quality of the song in any way but the instrumental break draws the audience's attention to something other than the lyrics. This short break allows the listener to re-evaluate the song and bring back their focus for the remainder of the song.

Photo Credits - Jack Lewis (@jack_lewis_photography)

To sum this single up...it is a ridiculously catchy, and wonderfully funky tune, that allows the vocals to be the shinning star without it being overpowering. Straight from the get go, the musical intro and the abrupt outro gives an overwhelming sense of personality and is what draws you in to the song immediately. Harry's stunning vocals make this track fresh, innovative, modern yet inviting which for a young artist like himself is hard to achieve. He has poured the emotion of his personal experiences into a song that speaks volumes to a varied audience with its indie characteristics and its Jazz sounds, but like many songs the meaning is open to the listeners interpretation. It is clear that the song has been written this way, to grasp the audiences appreciation but it does not do it in such a way that is estranging the listener. It can be safely said that this is something that Harry himself and the incredible talented people he worked with should be proud of, as this track is nothing short of extraordinary. A rather enjoyable track for sure.

The Middle is available to stream on all platforms now!

Social Media Links; 

Instagram - 

harrymackiemusic 

jack_lewis_photography

armm_publication 

Call Me The Criminal - Minerva Daisy

Minerva Daisy, an 18 year old singer, songwriter based in Manchester, UK released her debut single 'Call Me The Criminal' on Friday 27th March 2020. Commonly known for her meaningful lyrics and empowered voice, she is constantly making steps towards a bright career as a musician.

Call Me The Criminal, is a melodic and balladesque take on the anger and revenge of a broken heart. Turning her emotional and raw heartache into a channeling soulful story of toxic love from start to finish, Minerva has truly captured the bruising of a broken heart and the stages of break ups. The track has a similar sense of this through the thoroughly driven instrumentation. Taking the wheel is her captivating piano playing that paves the way to guitar, drums and bass. The fade in of these instruments works in conjunction with, the mellow strums of guitar played by Alistair McKenzie and the underlining, fundamental rhythm of the bass by Tom Hetzel with drums by Amy Rogerson; which are arguably what makes the song what it is. Her strong, powerful and emotive voice is what makes the song feel authentic and capture the heart strings of the listener.

Straight from "screaming and punching through the days" to "you're the one that murdered this..." it is safe to say that Minni knew what she wanted to expose to the audience by putting herself in a vulnerable place, showing the strength of her talent. With that being said this single may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are the type of person that enjoys slower, raw pop with hints of soul and jazz then this single is the one for you and a must listen.



YouTube lyric video -

Where can you find Minerva Daisy:

Instagram - @minervadaisy

YouTube - Minerva Daisy

Facebook - minerva_music

Twitter - Minervadaisy1

Website - https://minervadaisy.wixsite.com/minervadaisyofficial 

Bury Tomorrow is releasing a sixth album this upcoming April...

British metalcore band Bury Tomorrow, have recently announced the arrival of their sixth studio album ‘Cannibals’, set to release April 03, 2020. The Southampton quintet is comprised of lead vocalist Daniel Winter-Bates, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jason Cameron, drummer Adam Jackson, bassist Davyd Winter-Bates and guitarist Kristan Dawson.

This album is a follow up to the fifth studio album, released in 2018 ‘Black Flame’ and is going to be launched by Music For Nations/Sony Music. The album will contain 11 new tracks, including 2 newly released singles; the title track ‘Cannibal’, which is a brutal and personal lyrical interpretation of the lead singer’s mental health struggles, and a rather dark time in his life. As well as ‘The Grey (VIXI)’. Bates has described it as “one of the darkest songs” the band has ever written. It is based on being on the edge, the defeating point of it all; essentially the lowest of all lows.

Here’s the album artwork:

The full tracklist looks like this:

Bury Tomorrow: Cannibal

1. Choke

2. Cannibal

3. The Grey (VIXI)

4. Imposter

5. Better Below

6. The Agonist

7. Quake

8. Gods & Machines

9. Voice & Truth

10. Cold Sleep

11. Dark Infinite