22 Albums of the Year-So-Far… Louder Than War writers choices, July 2020

22 Albums of the Year So Far… 

Just some of Louder Than Wars writers choices from Jan – July 2020

In the weirdest year in living memory is ‘the album’ actually important any more?  Or are individual tracks or the playlist ‘the thing’?  Maybe we’re old-fashioned.. but here are our picks of the year-so-far:

The number one was by an overwhelming majority.  All of these twenty-two are the ones which had multiple votes from a hastily-arranged panel of 22 contributors to the site.  Numbers five onwards are in a pretty random order. The alleged LTW Manchester-bias is not in evidence.  Roughly a third of the artists have female members – but for a quick straw-poll conducted on Facebook, it’s a pretty fair representation of Louder Than Wars collective tastes in older and new-ish acts that matter and who are making great music in 2020.  Enjoy. Discuss. Buy!

1.  The Lovely Eggs ‘I Am Moron’ (Egg Records)        Review

2.  Pigs,Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs. Viscerals  (Rocket Recordings)  Review

3.  Jehnny Beth – To Love Is To Live (20LO7)    Review

4  Bob Vylan – We Live Here            Review and Interview

5.  Nightingales – Four Against Fate  (Tiny Global Productions)  Review

6.  Baxter Dury – The Night Chancers  (Rough Trade)  Review

7   Michael ‘Tell Your Friends’ (Cracked Ankles Records)  Review

8   Nadine Shah –  Kitchen Sink   Interviewed by John Robb

9  Porridge Radio – Every Bad  (Secretly Canadian)  Review

10.  Sparks –  A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip …. (BMG)   Review  Interview

11.  Run the Jewels: RTJ4  (Jewel Runners)  Review 

12  The Total Rejection  – The Time Traveller’s 3rd Will And Testament (Raving Pop Blast!)     Review

13  Cornershop – England is a Garden (Ample Play)   Review 

14  The Cravats   – Hoorahland     (Overground)    Review 

15  Pottery – Welcome to Bobby’s Motel    Buy/Listen

16  Public Practice – Gentle Grip (Rough Trade)    Buy 

17  Wire -10:20 (pinkflag)     Review

18  Suzie Stapleton  -We are the Plague  (Negative Prophet)   Review

19  Andy Shauf  – Neon Skyline  (Anti)       Review

20   Punks Against Sweatshops – Give Sweatshops the Boot Vol. 1   (40 artists from Jello Biafra, Steve Ignorant to Menstrual Cramps and Petrol Girls – an amazing compilation album…)   Review     Buy from here 

21    Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Epic Records)     Review

22    Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways  (Columbia)    Track review

Albums which should’ve been there include ones by ….

Ist Ist, Superdrone, Babybird, Columbia Mills, Ezra Furman,  Jessie Ware, HMLTD,  Def Robot, Badly Drawn Boy,  Everything Is Recorded, Clara Engels, The Wind-Up Birds,  Lucinda Williams, Ren Harvieu, Dream Wife,  Drift.,  Strokes, Keeley Forsyth, Sam Lee, Joan As Police Woman, the Speedways, Moses Sumney, Snowgoose, , RVG, Brendan Benson, Neil Young, Pablo Solo, Becca Mancari, Jade Hairpins, Warm Digits, Duncan Reid and the Big Heads, DiabloFurs, Starless, Natalie Pryce, Nine Inch Nails, Neubauten, Charlie XCX, Bdrrm, Tim Burgess,  Perfume Genius, Kate NV, Dana Gavinski,  Easy,  Exit Stance, Lounge Bar Orchestra, The Gist, It’s Karma It’s Cool, Spygenius, The Newds, the Dream Syndicate, MFC Chicken, Psycho Comedy, Moaning……

Listen to the Louder Than War top 22 on Radio Alty

Compiled by Ged Babey from nominations by John Robb, Nigel Carr. Melanie Smith, Naomi Dryden-Smith,  Wayne Carey, Phil Newall, Keith Goldhanger, Gus Ironside, Ian Canty, Andy Brown, Paul Evangelista, Nathan Brown, Ian Corbridge, Neil Hodge, Elliot Simpson, Paul Clarke, Nathan Whittle, Gordon Rutherford, Paul Grace, Martin Matthews, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Cooper and Ged Babey.