STACK #195 Jan 2021

MUSIC FEATURE

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Our darling and distinguished music writers have combed through their submissions of this year, and chosen their very top records; together these albums comprise STACK 's Music Class of 2020, featuring the best country, pop, indie, electronic, rock, and all the slivers between.

DENISE HYLANDS

HOLLY PEREIRA

CourtnEy Marie Andrews Old Flowers I just want to give Courtney Marie Andrews a big hug. On Old Flowers , this Arizona-raised and Nashville-based artist shares the most heartbreaking and soul revealing year of her life. This is a break-up album, a collection of stories blossomed from the end of a nine-year relationship, revealing her heartache, loneliness and acceptance of self. Musically minimal –

The Cribs Night Network On the brink of breakup, this Yorkshire punk- rock trio put legal woes aside to create their first entirely self-produced record. The Jarman brothers see off the tumultuous time with the Motown-inspired opening track Goodbye , their striking softer side on full display. Reinvigorated and unstoppable… the trio wear their hearts on their sleeves, with some of the album’s lyrics their most passionate and endearing. Eight albums in, The Cribs are still as vital as ever – in their own words, “still the same kids screaming in suburbia.” (Sonic Blew/PIAS) HONOURABLE MENTION: YvesTumor, HeavenTo ATortured Mind An artist that defies regular categorisation, the album makes forays into electronic music, experimentalism, minimalism, pop, R&B and even a sprinkling of jazz…a heady cocktail of sounds that makes for an intoxicating listen. (Warp/Inertia)

JEFF JENKINS Bruce Springsteen Letter To You

featuring only three musicians with the main focus on her amazing voice – you can’t help but be captivated by Andrews’ raw, natural vulnerability. Majestic melancholy from the heart, alas a broken one. (Fat Possum/Inertia) HONOURABLE MENTION: Kacy & Clayton and MarlonWilliams, Plastic Bouquet Plastic Bouquet … documents new friends discovering their lifelong shared passion for Western, country, folk and troubadour traditions. From the country rhythm of the Carter Family to ’60s folk pop sounds of Nancy and Lee, this is a stunning album filled with airy space, twang, and soothing vocals. (New West)

In a world of fear and division, Springsteen has given us an album of understanding and hope. As JFK said, ‘What unites us is greater than what divides us.’ Springsteen has crafted a classic that shows that the personal is more important than politics… This is old-school communication: genuine, personal, believable… He still believes that music can save us. (Sony)

HONOURABLE MENTION: Gordi, Our Two Skins

Our Two Skins shows that Gordi is a great artist, one who’s not afraid to share her innermost thoughts and emotions. Bubbling with a restless, nervous energy, Our Two Skins is a mesmerising masterpiece. (Liberation)

46 JANUARY 2021

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