Well, seeing as this year is crawling along at a snail's pace - here's ANOTHER 7 LPs to sink your ears into. From the raucous tenacity of Moor Jewelry's debut, to the sumptuous vibrancy instilled in Natalia's Lafourcade ode to her home country - there's much to be had here than your run-of-the-mill summer releases thus far.
Moor Jewelry: True Opera
(Don Giovanni)
The collaborative debut LP from Philadelphia post-punks Moor Mother & Mental Jewelry has at last landed: enforcing a destructive nature destroying all in its path. Encased in an elusive lo-fi sound production, the collaboration here seethes through with an unbridled, edged temerity similar to the likes of Daughters or Special Interest - adding yet another notch on the burgeoning belt of post-punk's current ascension.
Favourite tracks: 'Look Alive', 'Working'
Natalia Lafourcade: Un Canto Por México Vol. 1
(Sony)
The Mexican native Natalia Lafourcade continues to exude her best work to date: typified by this delightfully uplifting ode to her beloved home country. Marking her 9th studio effort, Lafourcade oozes untampered quality when it comes to embracing her established repertoire: soaring vocal melodies, vibrant guitars, piercing brass - all underpinned by the joyous community supporting her every step of the way.
Favourite tracks: 'Veracruz', 'Mi Religión'
Perfume Genius: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
(Matador)
Having underlined this latest project from chamber-pop's Perfume Genius recently (seemingly interlinked with the ethereal Weyes Blood), fewer words need be said to highlight the graceful prowess of this Mike Hadreas' latest LP. Forever tussling with the eternal struggle of love, situated in a world of hyper-masculinity within the outbacks of the United States, Hadreas once again delivers some haunting truths and crushing realities amidst the clamouring hold of romance.
Favourite tracks: 'Describe', 'Jason'
Backxwash: God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out of It
(Grimalkin)
While many of us have written off this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems as if 2020 has been one to remember for this up-and-coming Canadian rapper. Having released her debut EP in 2018, her self-produced debut LP arrived this May - supercharged with unapologetically brazen production and unnerving vocal lines eerily reminiscent of perhaps Injury Reserve and Lingua Ignota, this concoction has earned her a spot on this year's Polaris Music Prize longlist. The harrowing 22-minute journey will certainly set your sights on this promising rapper's career which is, thankfully, just beginning.
Favourite tracks: 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It', 'Black Magic'
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist: Alfredo
(ESGN/ALC/Empire)
If one promising note can be taken away from the music industry of this year, it's that the almighty forces of Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist finally collaborated (write this in the history books). This project is every bit as enticing to listen to as it is mouth-watering visualise. Gibbs effortlessly revels amongst Alchemist's glitchy, heavy-handed sampling - grinding through various gears of conscious rap, glistening soul, and infectious funk littered with luring features from head to toe. This is a rapping undertow which will draw you in for good.
Favourite tracks: 'Something to Rap About (feat. Tyler, The Creator)', '1985'
Run The Jewels: RTJ4
(Jewel Runners/BMG)
The pertinence of Run The Jewels' timing on this project proves almost everything. In conjunction with the Black Lives Matter movement resurgence following the death of George Floyd earlier this year, both Killer Mike and El-P have enlisted their 4th LP as their grandest statement yet. Standing head and shoulders above many of the other rap albums produced recently, the unflappable rap/production duo strike while the iron's hot - raging with red and white embers throughout the journey. The quintessential 2020 album.
Favourite tracks: 'yankee and the brave (ep. 4)', 'walking in the snow'
Jessie Ware: What's Your Pleasure?
(PMR/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope)
Lastly, but certainly not least, arrives Jessie Ware's latest dance-fuelled effort, What's Your Pleasure?. The 4th LP from the English singer-songwriter stretches together the notions of house, electropop and funk into a breathable experience under the ongoing lockdown restrictions. Bearing various similarities to A.A.L's 2012-2017 and Donna Summer, the infectiously upbeat vibrancy circulates through every single one of Ware's fibres - transmitting itself onto our disheveled selves as a desperate last-chance-saloon out of lockdown blues.
Favourite tracks: 'Remember Where You Are', 'Spotlight'
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