AF 2020 IN REVIEW: Our Favorite Albums & Singles of The Year

In a year that’s been like no other for the music industry, it feels a bit weird to make a best of 2020 list – there have been no tours, venues and clubs across the globe are in danger of closing their doors for good, release schedules were shuffled beyond recognition, and musicians have had to find other ways to make ends meet while those in the U.S. await the next round of paltry stimulus checks. With a situation so dire, the metrics have changed – should we ascribe arbitrary value to the skill of producers, songwriters, performers, and the execution of their finished projects, or simply celebrate records that made us feel like the whole world wasn’t crumbling?

Definitively ranking releases has never been the Audiofemme model for looking back on the year in music. Instead, our writers each share a short list of what moved them most, in the hopes that our readers will find something that moves them, too. Whether you spent the lockdown voraciously listening to more new music this year than ever before, or fell back on comforting favorites, or didn’t have the headspace to absorb the wealth of music inspired by the pandemic, the variety here emphasizes how truly essential music can be to our well-being. If you’re in the position to do so, support your favorite artists and venues by buying merch, and check out the National Independent Venue Association to stay updated on what’s happening with the Save Our Stages act. Here’s to a brighter 2021.

EDITOR LISTS

  • Marianne White (Executive Director)
    • Top 10 Albums:
      1) Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders
      2) the Microphones – Microphones in 2020
      3) Soccer Mommy – Color Theory
      4) Megan Thee Stallion – Good News
      5) Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
      6) Amaarae – The Angel You Don’t Know
      7) Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
      8) Adrianne Lenker – songs/instrumentals
      9) Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
      10) Lomelda – Hannah
    • Top 5 Singles:
      1) Kinlaw – “Permissions”
      2) Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am”
      3) Little Dragon & Moses Sumney – “The Other Lover”
      4) Yves Tumor – “Kerosene!”
      5) Megan Thee Stallion – “Shots Fired”

  • Lindsey Rhoades (Editor-in-Chief)
    • Top 10 Albums:
      1) Land of Talk – Indistinct Conversations
      2) Dehd – Flower of Devotion
      3) SAULT – Untitled (Black Is)/Untitled (Rise)
      4) Public Practice – Gentle Grip
      5) Cindy Lee – What’s Tonight to Eternity
      6) Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
      7) Benny Yurco – You Are My Dreams
      8) Eve Owen – Don’t Let the Ink Dry
      9) Porridge Radio – Every Bad
      10) Jess Cornelius – Distance
    • Top 10 Singles:
      1) Little Hag – “Tetris”
      2) Elizabeth Moen – “Creature of Habit”
      3) Yo La Tengo – “Bleeding”
      4) Caribou – “Home”
      5) Jess Williamson – “Pictures of Flowers”
      6) Adrianne Lenker – “anything”
      7) Nicolás Jaar – “Mud”
      8) Soccer Mommy – “Circle the Drain”
      9) New Fries – “Ploce”
      10) El Perro Del Mar – “The Bells”

STAFF LISTS

  • Alexa Peters (Playing Seattle)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Deep Sea Diver – Impossible Weight
      2) Blimes and Gab – Talk About It
      3) Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
      4) Tomo Nakayama – Melonday
      5) Matt Gold – Imagined Sky
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Stevie Wonder – “Can’t Put it in the Hands of Fate”
      2) Tomo Nakayama – “Get To Know You”
      3) Ariana Grande – “Positions”

  • Amanda Silberling (Playing Philly)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Frances Quinlan – Likewise
      2) Bartees Strange – Live Forever
      3) Told Slant – Point the Flashlight and Walk
      4) Diet Cig – Do You Wonder About Me?
      5) Shamir – Shamir
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Kississippi – “Around Your Room”
      2) Sad13 – “Hysterical”
      3) The Garages – “Mike Townsend (Is a Disappointment)”

  • Ashley Prillaman (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
      2) Lasse Passage – Sunwards
      3) Megan Thee Stallion – Good News
      4) Grimes – Miss Anthropocene
      5) Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Megan Thee Stallion – “B.I.T.C.H.”
      2) Perfume Genius – “On the Floor”
      3) SG Lewis & Robyn – “Impact” (feat. Robyn & Channel Tres)

  • Cat Woods (Playing Melbourne)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Jarvis Cocker – Beyond the Pale
      2) Róisín Murphy – Róisín Machine
      3) Run the Jewels – RTJ4
      4) Emma Donovan & The Putbacks – Crossover
      5) Various Artists – Deadly Hearts: Walking Together
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Emma Donovan & The Putbacks – “Mob March”
      2) Laura Veirs – “Freedom Feeling”
      3) Miley Cyrus – “Never Be Me”

  • Chaka V. Grier (Playing Toronto)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Lianne La Havas – Lianne La Havas
      2) Joya Mooi – Blossom Carefully
      3) Lady Gaga – Chromatica
      4) Witch Prophet – DNA Activation
      5) Tremendum – Winter
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Lianne La Havas – “Green Papaya”
      2) Lady Gaga – “Free Woman”
      3) Allie X – “Susie Save Your Love”

  • Cillea Houghton (Playing Nashville)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Chris Stapleton  – Starting Over
      2) Brett Eldredge – Sunday Drive
      3) Little Big Town – Nightfall
      4) Ingrid Andress – Lady Like
      5) Ruston Kelly – Shape & Destroy
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
      2) Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am”
      3) Remi Wolf  – “Hello Hello Hello”

  • Eleanor Forrest (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Grimes – Miss Anthropocene
      2) Rina Sawayama – SAWAYAMA
      3) Allie X – Cape Cod
      4) LEXXE – Meet Me in the Shadows
      5) Gustavo Santaolalla, Mac Quayle – The Last of Us Part II (Original Soundtrack)
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) CL – “+5 STAR+”
      2) Yves Tumor & Kelsey Lu – “let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out”
      3)  Stephan Moccio – “Freddie’s Theme”

  • Gillian G. Gaar (Musique Boutique)
    • Top 10 Albums:
      1) Dust Bowl Faeries – Plague Garden
      2) Ganser – Just Look At That Sky
      3) Oceanator – Things I Never Said
      4) Loma – Don’t Shy Away
      5) Maggie Herron – Your Refrain
      6) Pretenders – Hate for Sale
      7) The Bird and the Bee – Put up the Lights
      8) Partner – Never Give Up
      9) Bully – Sugaregg
      10) Olivia Awbrey – Dishonorable Harvest

  • Jason Scott (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Mickey Guyton – Bridges EP
      2) Katie Pruitt – Expectations
      3) Mandy Moore – Silver Landings
      4) Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
      5) Cf Watkins – Babygirl
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Mickey Guyton – “Black Like Me”
      2) Ashley McBryde – “Stone”
      3) Lori McKenna feat. Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose – “When You’re My Age”

  • Jamila Aboushaca (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
      2) Khruangbin – Mordechai
      3) Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon III: The Chosen
      4) Tycho – Simulcast
      5) Run the Jewels – RTJ4
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Tame Impala – “Lost In Yesterday”
      2) Phoebe Bridgers – “Kyoto”
      3) Halsey – “You should be sad”

  • Liz Ohanesian (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Róisín Murphy – Róisín Machine
      2) Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?
      3) Phenomenal Handclap Band – PHB
      4) Khruangbin – Mordechai
      5) TootArd – Migrant Birds
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Anoraak – “Gang” 
      2) Kylie Minogue – “Magic”
      3) Horsemeat Disco feat. Phenomenal Handclap Band – “Sanctuary”  

  • Michelle Rose (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
      2) Taylor Swift – folklore
      3) Shamir – Shamir
      4) Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?
      5) HAIM – Women in Music Pt. III
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Porches – “I Miss That” 
      2) Annabel Jones – “Spiritual Violence”
      3) Wolf – “High Waist Jeans”  

  • Sara Barron (Playing Detroit)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Summer Walker – Over It
      2) Yaeji – WHAT WE DREW
      3) Liv.e – Couldn’t Wait to Tell You
      4) Ojerime – B4 I Breakdown
      5) KeiyaA – Forever, Ya Girl
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Yves Tumor – “Kerosene!”
      2) Kali Uchis, Jhay Cortez – “la luz (fin)”
      3) fleet.dreams – “Selph Love”

  • Sophia Vaccaro (Playing the Bay)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Charli XCX – how i’m feeling now
      2) The Front Bottoms – In Sickness & In Flames
      3) Zheani – Zheani Sparkes EP
      4) Various Artists – Save Stereogum: A ’00s Covers Comp
      5) Halsey – Manic
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Charli XCX – “forever”
      2) Doja Cat – “Boss Bitch”
      3) Wolf – “Hoops”

  • Suzannah Weiss (Contributor)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Galantis – Church
      2) Best Coast – Always Tomorrow
      3) Overcoats – The Fight
      4) Holy Motors – Horse
      5) Suzanne Vallie – Love Lives Where Rules Die
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) CAMÍNA – “Cinnamon”
      2) Naïka – “African Sun”
      3) Edoheart – “Original Sufferhead”

  • Tarra Thiessen (RSVP Here, Check the Spreadsheet)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network – Ballet of Apes
      2) Ganser – Just Look At That Sky
      3) Death Valley Girls – Under The Spell of Joy
      4) The Koreatown Oddity – Little Dominiques Nosebleed
      5) Ghost Funk Orchestra – An Ode To Escapism
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Miss Eaves – “Belly Bounce”
      2) Purple Witch of Culver – “Trig”
      3) Shilpa Ray – “Heteronormative Horseshit Blues”

  • Victoria Moorwood (Playing Cincy)
    • Top 5 Albums:
      1) Lil Baby – My Turn
      2) A$AP Ferg – Floor Seats II
      3) Polo G – The Goat
      4) The Weeknd – After Hours
      5) Teyana Taylor – The Album
    • Top 3 Singles:
      1) Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP”
      2) Roddy Ricch  – “The Box”
      3) Big Sean & Nipsey Hussle – “Deep Reverence”

RSVP HERE: Romi of PowerSnap Streams via The Footlight Instagram + MORE

Photo Credit: Jeanette D Moses

PowerSnap is a Brooklyn by way of Tel Aviv three-piece punk band that embodies the pure spirit of weirdo rock n roll. The trio is lead by Romi Hanoch (who also sings in Ghost Funk Orchestra) on guitar/vocals with her high school best friend and bassist Noga “Nogi” Davidson, filled out by Mario Gutierrez on drums. Romi writes sad, angsty songs, hooks reminiscent of Billie Joe Armstrong and The Kinks and a vocal snarl like The Muff’s Kim Shattuck or Brody Dalle of The Distillers. We premiered PowerSnap’s music video for “Chemistry,”from their King Pizza Records debut EP Delatancy back in 2018, and they are set to release a new EP tentatively titled Disappointment sometime this year. Romi’s first ever Livestream happens tonight (5/22) via The Footlight’s Instagram at 8pm est (alongside Meg Mancini of The Rizzos, and Brian LaRue of Shelter Dogs). We chatted with her about the challenges of quarantine video making, her dream lineup, and the possible positive effects of lockdown on jaded music makers.

AF: What’s PowerSnap’s formation story?

RH: PowerSnap started with Noga (Nogi) Davidson and myself, when we met on the first day of 10th grade (which was also my birthday day) in a school in Israel. We were both in the Jazz department; me as a singer and her s a pianist. We became friends and a year later started our first band, Bar Vase. After a few years doing that and living together, we decided to follow our dream and move to NYC. We also decided to start a new band – PowerSnap. We had a couple different drummers when we started out; first one was Uri who was Israeli, then Paul who Nogi met through someone from the restaurant she worked at. One night I went to a DIY show and saw Mario Gutierrez play the drums and from that moment, I knew I want him to join our band. A year later, he did. And we’ve been together ever since.

AF: What are some musical and non-musical inspirations for the band?

RH: It’s quite remarkable how all of us have such different taste in music. I like punk and grunge and all that angsty shit, plus a whole lot of Beatles, The Who and other ’60s heroes. Nogi loves ’60s and ’70s stuff but not a punk fan. Mario and I share our love for ’90s punk-pop bands at times, but he’s also big on electronic music (which is noticeable in his solo project Nieces And Nephews). We all love Jack Black as a musician and a human being.

AF: What is your dream line-up and venue for your first post-quarantine show?

RH: Madison Square Garden. Paul McCartney (solo set) opening. Green Day second. We’re third. Top Nachos closing.

AF: PowerSnap recently did a IG takeover of Our Wicked Lady’s Instagram. What other venues and organizations do you recommend that people support during this time?

RH: So many places. Alphaville in Bushwick. Union Pool in Williamsburg (same owner of my favorite bar, Hotel Delmano), The Gutter in Greenpoint. Trans Pecos, TV Eye and Planet X. Also, whoever can afford it should buy merchandise from bands and artists. And of course any organization that helps marginalized communities. If you have it, pay it forward!

AF: You look and sound super cool in the “Seven Eight” video by Ghost Funk Orchestra! How did you get involved in that project, and aside from coordinating so many more people, what are some differences between working with an orchestra versus a three piece band?

RH: The way in which I got involved with GFO is a long and weird coincidental tale. To make it short: moved to NYC, went to an open mic night as a rapper, met some people who liked what I did, got tagged in Seth Applebaum’s FB post searching for female MCs. Meanwhile, met Greg Hanson at a show and heard about The Mad Doctors. Went to The Mad Doctors’ release show, met Seth who was the frontman, told him I was tagged in his FB post and that I rap, he said we should collaborate. Played one show with them as a guest and after that, was asked to join the band. Same story would also answer the question of how we got into the King Pizza Records community, but through Greg Hanson. Life is funny. The main difference for me is that PowerSnap is a band that I am the leader of. I write all the lyrics and most of the songs, I handle the administrative part and all of that hoopla. Ghost Funk Orchestra is a band that I’m beyond honored to be a part of. And that is what I am, a single part in that great machine, run by the genius Seth Applebaum.

AF: GFO has been doing some quarantine videos – what is the process of filming those like?

RH: I got the easy job as a singer. Seth tells us what to do and we do it. He records drums and guitar, syncs it up and sends it to us to record over. Then we send him our videos and he puts everything together. When PowerSnap did a quarantine video, it was a lot more work for me personally, because of the editing. But I love how it came out so please check it out on our social medias! It’s called “Outta Words” and we’re actually working on another one, to be released soon.

AF: You’re doing your first solo live stream on Friday via The Footlight – what’s your livestream set up like?

RH: This is gonna be my first live stream ever and I don’t really know what to expect. I do solo sets sometimes and I sing alone in my room often, so I’m imagining it’s a combo of the two. I’ll probably use my shitty nylon string guitar that I’ve had since I was 11, because I love that beautiful piece of junk. Gonna play five songs – some PowerSnap ones, and probably at least 1 terribly sad ballad.

AF: What’s a positive thing you can imagine for the music industry – and world – coming out of this?

RH: Oooh, that’s a tough one. Hard to tell if this will actually happen, but hopefully when we come out of this, the jaded ones among us will be reminded why we got into it in the first place. The joy. Maybe we’ll go back to appreciating where we are and what we do. I wish.

RSVP HERE for Romi of PowerSnap’s livestream via The Footlight’s Instagram 5/22 8pm est.

More great livestreams this week…

5/22 Low via Instagram. 4pm est, RSVP HERE

5/22 Brendan Benson (of The Raconteurs) via Instagram. 5:20pm est, RSVP HERE

5/22 Margo Price via Youtube. 9pm est, RSVP HERE

5/23 Del Water Gap, May May (of Poppies) & More via Baby.TV. 8pm est, $5-50, RSVP HERE

5/24 Memorial Day Meltdown with Nobunny, Pink Mexico & more via Sofa-King Fest. 12pm RSVP HERE 

5/28 Viagra Boys via Pickathon Presents A Concert A Day Youtube. 4pm est, RSVP HERE

5/28 Questlove’s Potluck virtual dinner party to benefit America’s Food Fund via Food Network. 10pm est, RSVP HERE