It’s easy to begin any ‘best of the year’ article by recounting how good or bad the year was. Although, in 2020, the world ground to a halt. In the midst of the pandemic, the first point many people turned to was culture. Binging Tiger King, discovering the trancelike power of Fleetwood Mac's music, and reading more comics to fill the shared-universe sized void left by Marvel's absence in film. This will be the first of three articles where I share the albums, books, and films that got me through the year and quickly became my new favourites - starting with music.
Mac Miller - Circles
Mac Miller’s death, at just 26 years old, sent an immense shockwave of sadness through the hip hop world and its population. While I hadn’t listened to much of his music prior to his passing, I recognised the impact and sheer talent Mac bought to every piece of music he graced. This impact was made clear by the tributes by the artists who were also close friends; Thundercat dedicating his most recent album (It Is What It Is) to Miller and the tail-end of Flying Lotus’ Flamagra featuring an orchestral odyssey titled “Thank U Malcolm”.
The first time I heard Circles was on its release day, taking a brisk walk through the woods on my way home from work. What struck me at first was just how calming the album was, from the acoustics of "Hand Me Downs", to the laid back synth work in “Blue World”. In Circles, Mac's lyrics hold the same honesty that I admired in his 2018 album Swimming, touching upon the fragility of fame and the overwhelming nature of it in a way that juxtaposes the braggadocio of most modern rap.
To an extent, it’s difficult to even classify Circles as a rap album, with the majority of it featuring some beautiful singing from Mac - particularly in the chorus for “I Can See” and across the deluxe edition’s standout track “Right”. The production, versatility, and humility this album presents in just under an hour is an exuberant display of talent and maturity from an artist who many considered a “party rapper” at the start of his career. However, Mac Miller's maturity on Circles differs from what we heard from Tyler, The Creator on Flower Boy or even from Frank Ocean on Blonde. This is because Circles reads more as a contemplation over a life, from start to finish, than a musing on new beginnings.
On the whole, Circles radiates with the sort of honesty and pensive contemplation that would feature at the end of the parties Miller rapped about on K.I.D.S and Best Day Ever - which, as many have discussed, brings the musical story of Mac Miller to a resound, marvellous, resolution.
Kid Cudi - Man on The Moon Part III: The Chosen
Kid Cudi’s performance across 2018’s Kids See Ghosts is a good half of why it earned a place in my top ten albums of all time. But when he announced the immensely anticipated final instalment of the ‘Man on The Moon Trilogy’, I was apprehensive. This was not because I didn’t think he could deliver, but more so that the sound of the previous two Man on The Moon albums felt dated in comparison to the catalogues of music that have since drawn inspiration from them. Coupling that with his recent solo albums lacking the same power and eclecticism as MOTM i and ii, I dampened my expectations. But, once I finished the album’s first full track, “Tequila Shots”, I was proven very wrong.
The one thing I cherish so much about this album is it’s dedication to simply being an album. Far too many times have I seen today’s rap artists lean on streaming, playlists, and repeated plays - putting out a splurge of music in one album and backing it up with even more music in a “deluxe” edition. While this works for some fans, I can’t help but feel it’s formulaic and leaves the album with more “meh” tracks than good ones. Man on The Moon III, like it’s predecessors, does none of that - favouring to similarly tell a sonic story over four ‘acts’ across the album.
While the first half pertains to cementing Cudi’s ground in an up-to-date version of his psychedelic rap sound that inspired the likes of Travis Scott, the latter half of Man on The Moon III is where Cudi truly excels. Tracks like “Solo Dolo, Part III”, “The Void”, and “Lovin’ Me” all feature that wonderful sincerity Kid Cudi weaves so well into his lyricism, flow, and melodies. The production across the board feels similarly expansive, shifting from rap to drill to indie and to R&B without losing the space-like tonality that is so distinctly Kid Cudi.
If Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven was an ending, Man on The Moon III is a new beginning. It’s simply brilliant, and sonically electrifying, from its ambitious beginning to its emotional end - which, as we hear from Cudi’s daughter in the album’s closing track, isn't even the end, but "to be continued".
Gorillaz - Song Machine: Season One (Strange Timez)
If 2020 ever had a time capsule like the ones 90s kids shows raved about in the late 90s, this album would definitely be dropped in there. With Song Machine, Gorillaz have made an outstanding return to form following their less-than-stellar back-to-back offerings of Humanz, and The Now Now. Produced over the course of 2019 and in the early days of the pandemic, the album was initially billed as a rolling series of releases that saw the band release one song per month. This went on until the sixth episode, where a full album with an immensely elective set of features was announced.
While these features might stir the same kind of worries fans reserved from Humanz, the balance is restored and finally teems with the same sonic clarity that fuelled their past collaborative efforts in Demon Days and Plastic Beach. On “MLS”, featured in the album’s deluxe edition, JPEGMafia raps and melodically skips over a bubblegum-pop-inspired beat before a light hearted chorus from Japanese girl group CHAI pushes the genre boundaries even further. The standard album’s closer, “Momentary Bliss” sees Slowthai rapping over a subdued rap beat that quickly explodes into a brashly extravagant punk anthem, abundant with energy and electrifying guitar work from by Slaves. That track alone rediscovers the rebellious sound found in vintage British rock that inspired some of Gorillaz's best music.
My favourite track, “Opium”, features the Dreamland duo EARTHGANG and is a marvellous melding of afrobeat, dance, and rap that never once feels dull across its seven-minute runtime. Backed up by some of the best vocal work across the album from Johnny Venus, and lyrics that lament on a post-pandemic, party-driven future, it’s something completely new for Gorillaz. Song Machine: Season One sees Gorillaz, once again, break the boundaries of genre to deliver an album that sounds fresh, engaging, and delightfully replayable. Plans for a Season Two are already underway, with a rumoured Tame Impala collaboration that could give a new spin on the psychedelia both bands infuse into their indie-based sound.
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