Best Albums of 2020 (15-4)
Some of the crowning jewels of 2020. Must-listen to albums regardless of what your music preference is.
15. Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Content Warning: References to police brutality
I always thought Freddie Gibbs and Madlib were a match made in heaven. Piñata is such a great album that Freddie could have easily just continued working with him for the rest of his career. And obviously, no disrespect to Madlib when I say this, but it’s kind of weird to think that Freddie outdid himself by working with The Alchemist to make maybe the best album of his career. Even in comparison to higher hip-hop albums on this list, there isn’t any other hip-hop album this year as tight and perfectly crafted as Alfredo. You remember every single moment off of this album because the beats and hooks are that fucking good. Freddie is on top of his game. He already has that husky charisma that always makes him a noteworthy presence on the microphone, but he really makes a name for himself on this one. It doesn’t surprise me that this album is so good that it built up a possible mainstream fanbase for him. I’m calling it right now, Freddie’s infectious and likable gangsta posturing is going to land him a charting hit within the next year. I would bet real-life money on it!
But it’s The Alchemist who I feel quietly steals the show in a lot of ways. Like I said, no disrespect to Madlib. The Alchemist may have this album, but he doesn’t have Madvillany. Still, Alchemist did a tremendous job on this album. These beats are so warm and beautiful, being able to capture the grime and danger of Freddie’s work while still providing that luxurious edge that makes it all look so, so cool! Plus, at its catchiest, these songs are going to stick in your head thanks to his knack for piano-driven trap melodies. It’s the kind of album you listen to at sunset. The skies turning golden as you reflect on where life brought you and smile because you’re not only still alive, but you’re thriving. More than anything, Alfredo is a celebration of where Freddie is now. With so many chances for him to get jumped and killed now behind him, he’s going to take life by the reigns and let it fly.
Top 5
1. Scottie Beam ft. Rick Ross
2. God Is Perfect
3. Frank Lucas ft. Benny The Butcher
4. Something To Rap About ft. Tyler The Creator
5. 1985
14. After Hours by The Weeknd
If I wasn’t sure about it before, I am now: This is The Weeknd’s best album. I have immense soft spots for Beauty Behind The Madness and Starboy, and of course, Trilogy is one of the most fascinating series of mixtapes of the past decade, but After Hours is the culmination of all of those projects’ best traits, and the ultimate climax of The Weeknd’s career up until this point. I was always uncertain as to where Abel was going to take his career after Starboy seemingly ended on a face turn. Even less so when My Dear Melancholy, implied he had fallen back into the hedonism that colored his earliest works. But it couldn’t be as easy as “make more drug and sex jams”, could it? The Weeknd found a moment of happiness and lost it. There’s got to be more to what happens next. Plus, now that The Weeknd has flirted with dark R&B and flashy synthpop, would the next step be to call back to the Trilogy era, will he double down on the pop sound… or both?
That’s exactly what happened. The Weeknd continues the arc that his character has had for years, falling back into the nihilism that kept him company for so long… but it’s not working anymore. It’s not numbing him or making him forget the pain he feels over the one person who truly loved him leaving. If anything, it’s making those feelings worse. The album’s sound is an immaculate combination of dark, modern atmosphere alongside the glitz and glam of 80s pop music. The hooks are at their strongest with this album, there’s not a single moment that feels like it drags or doesn’t sell the overwhelming emotions Abel is feeling. It’s got the theatricality of Las Vegas while having the dark, dangerous undertones of… well, Las Vegas. The constant clash of ideals is exactly what makes After Hours such an enticing album. You watch as The Weeknd goes back and forth from the cold kingpin who revels in his materialism and the hopeless romantic who knows what love feels like, wants to feel it again, and wrestles with the fact that he blew the one chance he got. The songs are fantastic, but it’s the arc of The Weeknd coming full circle and watching his humanity fight with his self-destructive tendencies that drive this as one of the best and biggest pop albums we’ve seen in a long, long time.
Top 5
1. Blinding Lights
2. After Hours
3. In Your Eyes
4. Save Your Tears
5. Hardest To Love
13. Never Will by Ashley McBryde
Ashley McBryde is bound to get the respect she deserves someday. She already got her start with “One Night Standards” turning out to be a decent-sized hit, but radio is still hesitant to fully embrace her. Still, she’s been quietly picking up traction, so I’m positive she’s going to have that big hit at some point in her career. For now, though, we have one of the best country albums of the year. One that arguably doesn’t do much to innovate itself. It’s contemporary country that has a slight Southern rock-leaning and a general focus on letting Ashley’s powerful voice soar through the clouds. Honestly, that’s all it needed. Ashley is a TREMENDOUS performer! She has a gentle motherliness to her voice that makes the slower songs as powerful and resonant as the ones where she spits straight fire. The rustiness of her voice works to her advantage, as when the album decides to lean into its roaring guitars and pounding drums, it can lead to some of the most liberating and powerful songs you’re going to hear on any album this year.
More than anything Never Will feels aged in the best possible way. Having gone through all the trials and tribulations of young adulthood, but still having that hunger looking for something more. Still, she has that thrill while still having enough wisdom to sympathize with people going through insecurity or uncertainty, hoping to guide them in the right direction. Never Will doesn’t really have a theme, but it’s an album whose greatest strength is the artist at the center of it. Ashley’s writing, her vocals, the way she works with the production all revolve around her growth as a person and an artist. It’s part of why I don’t mind that the album ends with “Styrofoam”, a dumb little song about the history of cups. It’s a moment where Ashley can take a step back and just be herself. Talk about how much meaning a silly little cup has in her life and how much she appreciates it. It’s a wonderful album, one that fills me with joy every time I come back to it.
Top 5
1. Hang In There Girl
2. One Night Standards
3. Never Will
4. Martha Divine
5. Stone
12. California by Rebecca Connelly
I’ve been championing this album all damn year. If you haven’t heard it already, you have no idea what a massive disservice you’re doing to yourself. Rebecca Connelly is by far the smallest artist on my list, only having a very modest following that I would have never found without Spectrum Pulse directly recommending me the album. Since then, it’s grown on me to unimaginable levels, and I wish this had a bigger audience because it deserves it! Rebecca Connelly makes a unique form of country music that has hints of pop within its otherwise rootsy sound, delivering a dreamy, contemplative series of songs that will delight you in one minute and hypnotize you the next. I’m always amazed by how good this album sounds. The instrumentation is so crisp and perfect, every note sounds like a warm hug wrapping around your body. That in combination with the beautiful melodies and compositions makes California one of the most pleasant and easy-to-like albums of the year.
But it’s always been Rebecca Connelly’s voice that’s kept me coming back to this album. She has a distinct, soft, caring voice that’s so beautiful that I’m amazed she hasn’t gotten more recognition for it. She’s been recording music for ten years, and you can tell with how poised and refined she is as she sings about love, her family, and the deep inner sadness that lies beneath a lot of the album. Still, the moments where that sadness fades away and her unending optimism takes shape are some of the most potent and astonishing triumphs in music this year. When you feel Rebecca’s understated joy and satisfaction, you feel it seep within your soul as the incredible compositions take you soaring among the clouds. It’s a blossoming flower that may see a few rainy days but comes out all the better for it. California isn’t particularly about anything, but it takes its time trying to find its own footing. Strolling through the city and appreciating the little moments that make life worth living, even if not all of it is ideal.
Top 5
1. My Love
2. So Near
3. Dark To Blue
4. Kiss Me
5. Empty House
11. songs/instrumentals by Adrianne Lenker
I’m gonna have to confess that I haven’t listened to any Big Thief albums as of the time I post this. At the time they just didn’t really interest me and I kind of pegged them as critical darlings that I probably wouldn’t get if I sat down and listened to them. The only reason I checked this album out is because my friend Rodrigo Pasta named it his favorite album of the year, and the way they described this album’s sound and themes was a really easy sell to me. I love sad girls, I love queer girls, I love sad queer girls singing about loneliness on their guitars. I knew this was going to have some effect on me. Turns out, it hit me a lot harder than I expected it to. There is no bullshit on this album. It’s so blunt and straightforward in its presentation that it’s almost off-putting. There’s the occasional swell, a couple of bonus instruments, but for the most part, it’s purely acoustic. Adrianne Lenker doesn’t even do much with her voice. She sings in a quiet whisper, never really allowing herself to let loose or find that burst of emotion to free her from her heartbreak. Even the companion album, instrumentals, acts very similarly. They’re two extended compositions, mostly acoustic, purely melancholic. It’s so understated that it makes you feel empty, lost, almost wishing for something more. And that’s fucking brilliant.
The title songs is very apt. Because that’s all they are. Songs that Adrianne had in mind. The main thing on her mind? Her ex-girlfriend, who had just broken her heart and where Adrianne was still deep in mourning over. There’s no overarching story about it though, it’s just reminiscing on memories of their relationship together and how, in her loneliness, she craves to feel her intimacy and love again. Yet, if you really read through the lyrics, you wonder how much of this relationship was really worth it. There’s so much detail in her lyrics, almost too much detail. You could see the warning signs that told you things weren’t going to last, and yet, Adrianne still attaches herself to these memories and yearns to see her again. She doesn’t want anything else, just her. It’s so personal that it’s borderline uncomfortable, and I think she knows that. I don’t think she wants you to pick a side, or even to sympathize with her. This is just her thoughts, her songs. How she sees it through her point of view. In a way, that kind of makes her an unreliable narrator. Then again, that’s what all songs are, aren’t they? Just one person’s side of the story, and whether or not you believe them or understand what they’re going through is up to you. That’s probably why I was so intensely struck by this album. It’s painfully honest and intimate. Like reading someone’s private diary. And hearing what she goes through, her heartbreak, and her complete lack of closure on the relationship that defined a part of her life… I get it.
Top 5
1. anything
2. not a lot, just forever
3. come
4. zombie girl
5. music for indigo
10. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
Content Warning: references to police brutality
This was an odd year for Run The Jewels. Which is weird to say because this was arguably a great year for Run The Jewels. This was the first time any of their albums cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard 200, and one of their songs very nearly charted on the Hot 100! It’s by far their most successful album to date and because of Killer Mike’s notoriety as an activist, all eyes are on them as their album released at the height of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests. I guess in a way that’s why this year is so odd for them. I’m just not sure where Run The Jewels’ brand of righteous political anger lands on the current political landscape. The movement has become a lot more than just “fight the power”. It’s realizing how much of the black deaths caused by police are systemic and rooted directly into our government, and merely holding up your fist and saying “black lives matter” isn’t enough anymore. And to be blunt, RTJ4 doesn’t say anything to innovate the current conversation. It’s had the same righteous anger and furious calls to action that they’ve always had. Considering Killer Mike has become a divisive figure among black activists, I do worry how much of this album resonates more with allies like me as opposed to the people most affected by police brutality and systemic oppression.
But that’s just me talking about the political impact of the album, which can go wherever it wants. For the album itself… Well, what did you expect? It’s Run The Jewels, one of my favorite acts in any genre delivering yet another collection of bangers with increasingly relevant commentary that, while it doesn’t innovate, still calls for revolution and fights against the oppression of their families. More than anything, it’s an album that’s fed up with having to rap about the same injustices that they’ve been rapping about for years. Because even when Killer Mike intends to reference Eric Garner when he says, “From a shriek to a whisper, ‘I can’t breathe”, hearing that so soon after George Floyd says the same thing literal DAYS before the album’s release is chilling. And they really don’t hold back on these songs. They tell you the truth whether you like it or not, ESPECIALLY if you’re someone who claims to be an ally but refuses to actually engage with the problem unless it makes you look good in front of others. But what will always amaze me about Run The Jewels is how they’re able to balance their hard-hitting politics with some incredible hooks. Every song is so memorable in their grimy, outlaw production where el-p and Killer Mike throw bars at each other with unflinching dedication and focus. It’s not quite on the level of Run The Jewels 2, but I do like it more than Run The Jewels 3 for simply having more songs that I came back to again and again. Tremendous work from the guest stars too! Always happy to see our semi-annual Zack de la Rocha verse, 2 Chainz was incredible on the album’s best song, thrilled to see Gangsta Boo kill it again, Mavis Staples and Josh Homme do INCREDIBLE on “pulling the pin”, God, so many incredible moments on this album. Every time I start doubting its true power as a battle cry for war, I come back to it and remind myself why I consider this duo a top-tier favorite.
Top 5
1. out of sight ft. 2 Chainz
2. walking in the snow ft. Gangsta Boo
3. JU$T ft. Pharrell & Zack de la Rocha
4. yankee & the brave (ep. 4)
5. a few words for the firing squad (radiation)
9. evermore by Taylor Swift
I contemplated on whether or not I wanted to put folklore and evermore in the same place, but I decided against that pretty quickly after letting this album sit with me and realizing how different it is from folklore. In general, folklore is a really sad album. It’s lost within the woods and looking for answers, whether they’re brave enough to handle it or not. evermore revisits those woods with familiarity. There’s a bit more comfort in traversing through its path of leaves and the vibe is overall brighter and more set on its aspirations. Granted, it’s not as emotionally potent or ambitious as folklore, but it doesn’t need to be. evermore is merely Taylor telling a variety of stories, taking more of a backseat and in some cases not even being involved. It’s interesting to see Taylor tell stories about people other than herself. So much of her career was built on her specific image and personal life, but since Lover in a way wrapped up her own personal storyline, she hasn’t felt the need to expand her story. She’s practically settled down, so why wouldn’t she explore other topics and characters that she may not have necessarily experienced, but still understands with all her heart.
And holy shit, these stories are beautiful! Taylor has always been a phenomenal storyteller, but this might honestly be her best showcase. Even more so than folklore in some ways! She slides into these characters so naturally, you wonder how many of them feature aspects of Taylor herself, whether it’s flattering or not. I wonder how much of this album will improve by the time we get into the fall months again? It definitely feels like an album that’s brighter, but still has that hint of melancholy that was more saturated on folklore. It’s a wonderful feeling though. Some of the songs here fill me with a warmth coming from Taylor’s soft voice and beautiful acoustics. Whenever she’s in love, she describes it so poetically that every word feels like a thought in your mind. And even when she’s a bit more somber and lonely, you can feel the sadness within her, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s just subtle, like those days where one little thing drops your mood a bit and you do your best to get through the day. Plus, Taylor allowed herself to get a bit more experimental on this album, trying different tempos, cadences, even topics that are outside of her wheelhouse, and yet she nails it with flying colors. I do feel that the album ends a bit clumsily, and after you get to “marjorie” the album might as well have ended. “closure” and “evermore” are among the weaker songs on the album. Still, some of the songs before it are among the best of Taylor’s career, which is still astounding to me after folklore already filled up half of her all-time best songs list. There are rumors that a third folk-like album from Taylor will come out this year, but honestly? If she did this for the rest of her career, I’d be more than okay with that.
Top 5
1. marjorie
2. tis’ the damn season
3. no body, no crime ft. HAIM
4. dorothea
5. champagne problems
8. Reunions by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Look, if you know me, you know Jason Isbell is going to make all of my best lists. He’s one of my all-time favorite artists, it’s like being surprised I put Marianas Trench on my list. You could argue that Reunions is one of the weaker post-sobriety Jason Isbell projects, but in all honesty, I think it’s on-par with The Nashville Sound. That was a turbulent album where Isbell found himself on the brink of self-destruction again but pulls through when it matters most. Reunions is similar, but it’s quieter about it. It feels more like Isbell holding his breath. Things are a little bit easier, but there are still little things that creep up on him as he tries to make it through a tough year. It doesn’t rock as hard as some parts of The Nashville Sound, but it certainly feels more anxious. Like at any minute, everything could fall apart and sink him back into rock bottom. Hell, it’s worth noting that Isbell’s own marriage was at stake during the recording of this album, and you can kind of tell in how much tenser and more complicated the production gets in spots. It’s honestly an album that you need to give a bit of time to really sink in with you. It’s pretty short and the songs on the outset aren’t as good as “If We Were Vampires” or “Cumberland Gap”.
Still, in a year where it felt like the world was on pause, that tension resonated with me throughout the year as a lost, unsure, but optimistic album that wants to believe in better times ahead. I found myself coming back to this album A LOT, especially the songs that try to find a shred of hope in a shitty situation. When you think about the years that Isbell has gone through in trying to build himself as a better person, that optimism resonates all the stronger. Because even now, he struggles to make it through the day. “It gets easier, but it never gets easy” is one of the most powerful lyrics of the year for a reason. But when the album ends with Isbell singing to his daughter and what’s going to happen in her future, the tension that held throughout the album finally eases up as Isbell finds some sort of peace. Even if he still fears that his insecurities and substance issues will bleed into her life, he knows she’s going to be better off than he is. And even then, he’s not in a bad place himself. But it’s hard, and Reunions is putting on a brave face and trudging through the hard times. It’s odd, because as a whole Reunions doesn’t do much differently than what Isbell has done before, but there’s still this unique air to it that makes it a completely different beast than The Nashville Sound. But they still have the same heart that makes them such incredible albums.
Top 5
1. Dreamsicle
2. St. Peter’s Autograph
3. Be Afraid
4. It Gets Easier
5. Only Children
7. Lamentations by American Aquarium
And yet, I found myself more drawn to another Americana band led by a man with a long and arduous journey to sobriety. American Aquarium was easily one of my favorite finds of last year. I explored the rest of their main discography earlier this year, and it was a treat to go through the fascinating progression from BJ Barham’s sleazy, drunk misadventures to someone who grew the fuck up and finally got his life back together. Funnily enough, I ended up starting with this album, so I basically went backward in seeing how BJ Barham grew as a person. Still, the fact that I felt every word he said on this album when he laments his regrets and failed relationships should speak to what a huge talent Barham is in writing about his life. Plus, Shooter Jennings helping out in production is a perfect match. It has the same rollicking energy that some of their past albums had, but with an added sense of refinement and maturity, that’s more grounded. It feels like the band genuinely grew up, and while that could translate to the album possibly being preachy or losing a lot of its energy, the band avoids that by simply learning to move on and chart their own path.
I think the album closer “The Long Haul” says it all. It outright takes the critiques that the band got for losing their original sound in favor of something more contemporary and sober, but it doesn’t regret leaving the “good times” behind them. Because Barham, as much as he loves the music he used to make, realizes that the damage done by his alcoholism was far greater than was ever worth it. Especially when you hear about the relationships and second chances that evaporated as a result of that stupid recklessness. Lamentations at its saddest is heartbreaking because it’s so frank in how truly shitty of a person Barham used to be. He looks back at bridges that have long since been burned to ash, and if no one from his past ever wants to associate him or believe he’s become a better person now that he’s sober, he doesn’t blame them one bit. I think what’s so heartbreaking about it is how accepting he is of this fate. As much as he wants to change the past, dwelling on it only reminds him of the monster he used to be. And going back through those older albums, as much as I love Dances For The Lonely and burn.flicker.die, I can’t be surprised someone that reckless and sleazy ended up being a burden on others. But by the time we get to “The Long Haul”, we realize that those burnt bridges in the past don’t matter anymore. He knows the best course of action now is to find new bridges to cross. Be happy with the music he makes now, his coming years of sobriety, and a new partner who’s willing to stick with him and help him be the man he’s truly capable of being. Redemption is possible, but not guaranteed. Damn if he isn’t gonna try anyway.
Top 5
1. Six Years Come September
2. How Wicked I Was
3. The Long Haul
4. A Better South
5. The Day I Learned To Lie To You
6. Expectations by Katie Pruitt
Content Warning: references to homophobia
I added this album last minute to my midyear list, and I wondered if it was going to end up as my favorite album of 2020 by the end of the year once I had time to really let it sit with me. It didn’t, but I’d argue that’s only because competition for this year was so stiff. 3-12 could easily shift whenever one album hits me more that day. Make no mistake, even if it ended up lower on this list than I expected it to, Expectations is the most promising and phenomenal debut album of the year. An incredible talent with an incredible team behind her making her break into country music and her unique identity as a younger queer person who simply wants to love and be loved in a world that wants to push back against her. Katie Pruitt is a star. She writes about her infatuation with her crushes with the naive earnestness of a young adult but has enough poise and maturity not to devolve completely into overdramatic melodrama. But even then, at her best, she kind of leans into it. She’s a small lesbian in a big world, and especially in her hometown in Georgia, there’s a pressure on her to be the angel that adults want her to be when her path devolves somewhere else. The album starts out so riddled with anxiety and uncertainty that you can feel the walls she’s trapped within. She could conform to what others expect of her, but that’s not going to make her as happy as deviating from the perceived norm. It never hit me what a gut-punch of a lyric, “I told the world and they still saw me as the same girl” was until reading it again a month or so ago and feeling completely, and utterly destroyed.
I myself have my own complications with my identity as a non-binary lesbian, and that’s before you realize I, like Katie, went to a Catholic high school. To be honest, I feel kind of blessed that a lot of my friends from high school that know about who I am are willing to accept me and embrace my identity, respecting it even when I worry they’ll just default to seeing me as the guy they met in high school. Katie definitely had it worse. At least I lived in a blue state and a part of the city that was always very liberal. Doesn’t solve my family situation, however, and Katie has it worse. To the point where she could barely see Georgia as her home anymore. Because the second they find out about who she is, they tell her she’s wrong and that she’s always been the person they think she is. But they’re wrong, which is why “Georgia” being the late centerpiece of the album is so powerful, leading into “Loving Her” and showing Katie in a much happier, much healthier state of mind with a long-term girlfriend and finally showing her love to the world without fear or judgment. I swear, the first time I listened to this album, my heart soared in a way that very few albums did. I got so invested in Katie’s story, the incredible production, and the themes of queerness in relation to Catholicism and coming of age that seeing her go from a tortured, closeted introvert to a loud and proud woman who loved her girlfriend and wanted to share it to the world is the kind of ending that always makes me so happy to watch unfold. The hurt/comfort that transitions into pure fluff. Simply incredible.
Top 5
1. Normal
2. Loving Her
3. Georgia
4. Out Of The Blue
5. It’s Always Been You
5. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
Content Warning: Intense music, themes of black death, police brutality and depictions of gore
Part two of clipping’s dive into horrorcore and it may be their best album yet. It’s hard to compete with the abrasive cruelty of CLPPNG, but none of their albums have consistently made me shrink in fear as much as this one did. I feel like I wasn’t kind enough to There Existed An Addiction To Blood. I could have easily put it close to my Top 10, maybe even name it my favorite hip-hop album of that year if IGOR was too pop to fit within that label. But I think where Visions of Bodies Being Burned clicks with me more is in how immediate it is. There Existed An Addiction To Blood was a slow burn. Listening to it feels like you’re being watched, and all you can feel is an unending dread that swarms over you as death is expected to be at your doorstep any minute now. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is the moment death shows up, and its moments of tension and fear strike you through the heart and leave you paralyzed before you can even react. This album can get INTENSE, and I found it even harder to come back to than I did There Existed An Addiction To Blood. Especially when they beef up the distortion and destructive production in a way that can be incredibly overwhelming. There are a handful of noise producers working on this album, and they do an incredible job painting that morbid picture of nightmares flashing before your eyes.
Where this album also differs from There Existed An Addiction To Blood is its content, which is focused more on the idea of spirits and revenge rather than the bleakness of the monsters lurking around the corner. You’ll get stories of specifically black historical figures haunting the people who killed them and every one of their future successors. A personification of white guilt that exposes just how much of this country has been poisoned with white supremacy and how black people will never know peace as long as the memory of those who were ruthlessly killed by cold-hearted so-called “heroes” lives on. It almost paints an uncomfortably sympathetic picture of these ghosts. Of course, they’re angry. Their lives were taken away from them by these people’s ancestors. As much as those people try to distance themselves from it, they can’t deny that it not only happened, it’s STILL happening. Daveed Diggs narrates these stories with a frightening amount of glee over watching these gruesome murders and horrific scenarios. The album isn’t asking you to moralize it. They just want the catharsis. And by the end, instead of the simmering flames from the burning piano symbolizing the restlessness of these souls, we get a quiet outro as the spirits find at least some form of peace. It’s only temporary, certainly shorter than “Burning Piano”, but it’s still there. It’s an album I can only watch from a distance, as I’m involved in the story of neither of these races. But it is something that really resonated with me from the first day I listened to it. Even if it scares the shit out of me.
Top 5
1. Body For The Pile ft. SICKNESS
2. Pain Everyday ft. Michael Esposito
3. Say The Name
4. Enlacing
5. Something Underneath
4. Sunday Drive by Brett Eldredge
Sometimes, you come across an album that was made for you and you only. Okay, that’s not entirely true. What you like the most other people will also love to the same degree. What I mean is that an album will come along and everything about it appeals specifically to you. Every instrument, every lyric, every minute of the album makes you so purely happy just because you love everything about it. That’s what Sunday Drive is to me. I’ve always considered Brett Eldredge one of my favorite country artists, mainstream or otherwise. Hell, he arguably IS the reason I got into country music, all the way back to his minor hit “Lose My Mind” back in 2015. At his best, Brett Eldredge is one of the most charismatic and likable country artists in the modern era. An infectious personality who can make you smile whether he’s being dorky and tongue in cheek or when he’s being sincere in his own charming way. Yet, I haven’t really found an album of his that really captures him at his best. There are definitely songs that capture Brett at his best, but full-on albums? That’s trickier because as a Nashville star, he doesn’t usually put that much effort into the album itself. He just makes several potential singles, which is what that 2017 self-titled album was. I don’t think he’s fully captured that magnificent album that shows off not just tremendous single potential, but what Brett can do as an artist… until now.
Sunday Drive grew on me so continuously because it was an album I could come back to and feel the same comforting happiness that it gave me the first time. This is definitely more of a passion project than his previous albums, as he hired the two producers behind Golden Hour to give the production that traditional pop-country flair, but more connected to its roots than Golden Hour’s dreamy synth touches. It’s a BEAUTIFUL album. It’s worth hearing on the production alone, which is so warm and drenched in rich textures that even if you don’t quite love the song, it’s still something that your ears will perk up to and fall in love with regardless. But Brett as a performer still does a lot of the heavy lifting. This is the best he’s EVER sounded. There’s not as much dorky energy as there was in songs like “Lose My Mind”, “Somethin’ I’m Good At” and “Love Someone”, but that’s made up for with more lowkey songs that still have that lovable cheerful energy. Although, the album is at its strongest with some of the ballads. Where Brett’s voice is full of passion and love and the pianos and acoustics are unbelievably beautiful against the stories he tells. Whether it’s about heartbreak, loneliness, or family. Every other day I’ll unearth a new song from this album that I suddenly start really obsessing over, even long after the album has left my rotation. It’s the sort of comfort food that makes me think about this album first and foremost when I look back on 2020 and its music. Sadly, since this doesn’t have much Nashville backing, it hasn’t had the success that it deserves to have. Still, when 2021 is starting to look up and you’ve got a single like “Good Day” soundtracking my year so far… Maybe he’ll get his chance.
Top 5
1. Sunday Drive
2. Gabrielle
3. Then You Do
4. Crowd My Mind
5. Good Day