Category: Worldwide

The 11th and final season of Shameless premieres this Sunday, meaning there are only 12 more opportunities for Emmy Rossum to return. Her character, Fiona, has been absent since leaving the Showtime series in season nine. In a normal world, Rossum making a cameo would have been difficult, but there is nothing “normal” about 2020.

Might she be back?

“Emmy is doing Angelyne, a show for Peacock, and they had to shut down in the middle of it and they’re not sure when they’re going to go back. She and I have talked, and I think she would like to come back for a brief something,” showrunner John Wells told Entertainment Weekly. “Whether or not that will be possible given what our shooting schedule is and what her shooting schedule is and where she’s going to be in the country, I have no idea. Again, not trying to be clever about it or anything. It will be based on circumstances when we’re ready to shoot, whether or not she’d be able to. But would love her to, I think she would like to, not sure it will be possible.”

The thing is, it’s not as easy as Rossum dropping by the set if she has a free day. There are COVID-restrictions and social distance guidelines to consider (the final season will tackle the pandemic). But if she can swing it, a “brief something” is better than nothing.

Especially if Fiona is the one who kills Frank.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

CNBC hosts Rick Santelli and Andrew Ross Sorkin went at it on Friday morning in a downright shouting match over COVID restrictions. Santelli, who’s known for his infamous 2009 rant that helped launch the Tea Party movement, kicked things off by launching into a fiery screed about how it’s not fair that “big box” retailers can be open, but restaurants are being closed as coronavirus cases continue to surge. Santelli was adamant that it makes no sense why parking lots are allowed to be jam-packed with shoppers, but dine-in seating has to be restricted.

“You can’t tell me that shutting down, which is the easiest answer, is the only answer,” Santelli argued. However, when Sorkin tried to explain that there is a very significant issue between the two (namely that shoppers are masked and largely silent while people eating in restaurants are not for extended lengths of time while also having extended conversations with dining companions), he was repeatedly interrupted, and the situation only devolved from there as Santelli refused to believe the science that packing restaurants is dangerous. Via The Hill:

“Well you don’t have to believe it, but you’re doing a disservice to the viewer,” Sorkin replied, before Santelli said, “You’re doing a disservice to the viewer. You are. You are.”

“I’m sorry, I would like to keep our viewers as healthy as humanly possible. The idea of packing people in restaurants,” Sorkin said before Santelli talked over him: “I think our viewers are smart enough to make part of those decisions on their own.”

CNBC’s Steve Liesman then asked: “How’s that working out for you Rick, look at the numbers.”

This incident is the first time that Santelli has run afoul with his thoughts on the pandemic. He was forced to apologize back in March after suggesting that it’d be “better off” if everyone got the virus to help preserve the economy. “It was just a stupid thing to say,” Santelli said during his show. “It is not appropriate in this instance, and we are resilient, both in the United States and in the globe, and that resilience will get us through. The idea of something so absurd, I just apologize, and I apologize to everyone on this segment and all my peers at CNBC.”

(Via The Hill)

Chance The Rapper and Jeremih’s 2016 holiday mixtape Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama is an odd bit of internet ephemera. It’s a fan favorite, yet fans can only stream it sporadically, as the two uploaded the project and its follow-up to SoundCloud originally but not to more mainstream services like Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. While Jeremih is currently recovering from a bad case of COVID-19, Chance decided to spread a little holiday cheer by releasing the video for one of the project’s songs, “Are U Live,” after holding onto it since 2017.

The video was directed by Cole Bennett (no relation to Chance or his brother Taylor) of Lyrical Lemonade at the start of his rise as one of hip-hop’s most sought-after video shooters, while the track itself was produced by ChaseTheMoney, a SoundCloud rapper go-to who has since produced for Dreamville and J. Cole on Revenge Of The Dreamers III and JID’s DiCaprio 2. Like plenty of Cole Bennett’s previous works, the video blends a low-fi aesthetic with a simple concept, as well a cheeky sense of humor with on-screen captions pointing out a failed “successful dap” and more. He even appears in the video, although you’ll have to have a sharp eye to catch his cameo.

The song isn’t what you’d call a traditional Christmas song, with its call-and-response, sparse beat, and the artists’ rap athletics. But the video displays their festive mood, with Santa caps and fairy lights aplenty decorating their red cup turn up.

Watch “Are U Live” above and listen to Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama below.

“I love all genres, but specifically, when it comes to indie rock, there is very much a simplicity to it. It’s very close to home, the culture of it,” KennyHoopla replies in response to a quote he’d shared on the aura of indie rock music. “A lot of people in the culture dress simple or very much themselves, not trying to overextend their personality. Even though that might not make sense or it might sound stupid, but I think that reflects in the music, and I feel like you probably know what I’m talking about.”

KennyHoopla talks about his style the way he makes his music — pointedly, thoughtfully, with a bias towards simplicity and (in the case of his favorite pair of Vans) literal Authentics.

When I share my plan to steal the phrase “overextending your personality” for future use, he ties it back to style, adding, “Once again as dumb as it sounds, it comes back to even just Vans, simple growing up in the neighborhood shoe. A neighborhood staple.”

Back when the Midwest born and bred indie artist was still answering to Kenneth La’ron and long before collaborating with artists like Travis Barker and sold-out shows was the norm, he was just a kid in the neighborhood. He cut his teeth on a wide range of music and fits, and, much like his sound, recalls his style coming together organically.

“It’s kind of what I had grown accustomed to. Growing up in a Black family around Black culture, and then my best friend at the time was this super emo Asian kid who wore headbands and multi-color socks and skinny jeans. Just all of my influences coming into one,” he reflects. “I feel like I’m multiple people, but I think that’s me. A lot of people seem like they’re just one thing, but I’m literally all over the place. Some days I’ll wear more of a baggy fit, but then some days I’ll just go put on some of my Hot Topic skinny jeans, some Authentics, and then the next day, some nice dress pants if I want to come off presentable, and some nice dress shoes but that’ll have a studded belt on it.”

He shares that embracing the limits of his humble upbringing with gratitude and creativity manifested into his unique aesthetic.

“Growing up I had clothes that didn’t fit me,” Kenny explains. “My mom picking my clothes out for me in the morning and me styling them and just having my take on them and just dealing with hand-me-downs. You have no choice but to adjust because you’ll have a sweater that isn’t big enough but then like pants that fit just slightly right and colors that are all over the place. All this stuff is just kind of thrown at you.”

Earlier this year, he released his critically acclaimed How Will I Rest In Peace If I’m Buried By A Highway?// EP, the success of which has pushed him to the top of multiple alternative radio lists and Billboard charts, thrusting him into a spotlight he seems cautious but grateful to step into.

“I think I’ve gained a lot of humility and gratefulness to my life, so that is something that I like to come across when I’m dressing. Very rarely do you ever see me flexing or wearing anything expensive,” he laughs. “I still can’t even afford anything crazy expensive.”

That desire to just be himself is not only innate, but grounded in his intention to be the kind of example he wishes existed when he was growing up.

“Everyone wants to be this figure, but all I’ve ever wanted to be was myself and the greatest, biggest, strongest version of myself,” he says. “So, it’s very important for me to be wearing Vans and dressing almost, you can call it normal, but myself, and expressing that. I know that a kid that felt just like me is going to be watching that and they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, I don’t have to have on leather pants and all this crazy sh*t.’ I know how that felt. Being like, ‘Fuck, I can’t afford that, but that is me, but I don’t look the part, or it’s not believable.’ But we’re changing that now.”

That aforementioned EP, led by an eponymous track that goes off audibly the way oscillating momentum laced with nostalgia would sound pressed through a speaker, has pundits scrambling to define his early-aughts post-punk slant as genre-bending. However, there’s nothing overly derivative about his sonics. What we seem to be hearing is just Kenny showing up as himself because, as he acknowledges, “When you’re being yourself, whether that’s positive or negative or whether you’re a faulty person or a very good person, you will be offering something new to the world.”

He takes a similar approach to his style, taking pieces that could be defined as rock staples and making them his own.

“Even something as little as bar lacing my Vans,” he notes. “I used to be super excited about them because I couldn’t afford them. And then I got a pair probably my junior, sophomore year of high school, and I have always been obsessed with bar lacing them or writing on them, or sometimes I’ll just put different shoelaces in them. A lot of times I put a yellow shoelace in one and a black one, but I’ve always looked at all the pairs of my Authentics as stories.”

Throughout our conversation, his Vans Authentics find themselves at the center. He talks about them with near-religious devotion, making it clear we’re discussing more than just shoes.

“I’ve just always been connected to the shoe. I think that’s how I make it, living in them, like truly experiencing in them.” When he stops at this point, lamenting that he “might sound stupid,” I interject that he doesn’t, but he may be psychic because my next question was whether or not he had a piece of clothing that makes him sentimental for a certain place or time.

“Yeah. It’s definitely the Vans Authentics,” he reiterates confidently. “They’re just classics, they’re a staple in my life. It’s one of my favorite silhouettes of a shoe ever. A lot of shoes or just tennis shoes are so extra or not enough at the same time, but I feel like the Authentics are very to the point and the shoe stays flat and it morphs to however you are. The more you wear them, the prettier and I don’t know, spiritual they get. I think it also speaks to not being impressed, not impressing. Just them being dirty and living through them. You walk into a room and it’s kind of like, I’m not trying to be perfect. I’m not trying to be clean. That’s always been how I present myself, I don’t have on this extremely clean outfit. And, if I do, the shirt is probably wrinkled. I feel like the Authentics are a very good shoe to do that with they’re very to the point.”

Kenny also reveals that his style gives him the opportunity to communicate when he can’t find the words.

“I think even having,” he pauses before continuing, “Okay, mental illness or whatever, that I’ve always looked at clothes as a second way to speak when you don’t want to use your voice. It’s just a second presentation, which is super fire. I look at it the same way as music. It’s art. You literally get to put yourself together and be whoever you want and express yourself however you want.”

Like many artists, Kenny was set to go on tour when lockdown canceled those plans in early March. Luckily, he’s set to make up for time lost with an international jaunt in 2021, and his packing list for tour doubles as both on-stage and everyday outfits.

“Definitely some Ksubi skinny jeans and a white tee, a nice boxy white tee,” he says. “I need some cargo pants. A nice hoodie, I just need that essential hoodie. Probably a more skinny black pair of pants. I have a problem with trying to get one of everything. I’m actually trying to work on making my own clothes right now. I’m on this mission to find what fits me perfectly.”

Despite his dalliance with slim-fit denim and straightforward shoe wear, Kenny’s propensity towards simplicity is also inherent in his beliefs about his music. Beyond the videos, merchandise, marketing, and even style, he recognizes his sound as the only true cornerstone.

“A lot of industry people, they’re like you have to drop a video with your song and everything has to have all of this stuff that comes around it, which I mean, I understand,” he says. “But, at the core, I’m someone that believes the music can live [on its own]. No matter how the cover art looks or however the rollout is, the music is what’s going to be there 50 years from now. No one’s going to be thinking about how it was rolled out, it’s just going to be the sound.”

“I see it as fun. I wish I could think of a more elaborate word, but I see all of this [as fun] because music and art is fun. I just see that as a chance to keep building on to the world,” he stops, before continuing, “But, you asked me how important it was, correct?”

Throughout our conversation, I notice breaks like this, to either request that I clarify my question or to give him space to clarify his point. However, as he explains the root of his preference of communicating through style and music over spoken words, that urge for transparency and authenticity makes perfect sense.

“To be honest, not that I was lying before,” he laughs, “I think that’s just what I have had to do. Everything feels so natural for everyone. I get envious of it and that’s why [what] I want to get out of my music is a community of people. I see all of these artists, I’m just talking from my heart, it seems like everything came together naturally for them. They met everyone around them naturally. For me, I feel like I’ve had to fight for everything and fight for people to just stay around me. I guess I’ve always been alone or in my own world. So, I kind of had no choice. I still don’t have amazing music videos, I’m not in love with any of my merch or anything. So, I guess it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time that I’ve just made sure that the music is as honest as it can be.”

Miley Cyrus is fresh off the release of her latest album, Plastic Hearts, an occasion she has marked with a new Rolling Stone cover story.

One topic she discusses at length is putting a focus on the music instead of the other things that come with it. Cyrus said that at some points in her career, it has felt like the “pop culture moments,” as she put it, somewhat overshadowed the actual music:

“I think that I’m really embracing — and everyone else is embracing, too — that the music is a priority right now. [Points to giant photo of her licking an ice cream cone shot in 2013.] Look at this f*cking wall. That wasn’t about the music for a moment. The music was driving it, but all those things from that era, especially with Bangerz, the pop-culture moments almost eclipse the music itself. I guess I’m just in love with the fact that for once it feels like it’s really focused on the music, and I think I felt that I almost took some blame for the distraction sometimes.

I remember comments saying, ‘Why the f*ck do you distract everybody with getting naked and shaking your ass when you’re a f*cking talented-ass singer?’ But because I did grow up watching the Cher show religiously, I love show business. I love entertainment. I love pop culture. I love unforgettable moments. I think there was a balance of me just loving making big media moments but also a sadness in the fact that I would think, ‘Did anyone even hear my song?’ When you think of ‘Wrecking Ball,’ you don’t think of the pain. You don’t think of me looking directly into the camera, breaking the wall, crying, reaching out. You remember me getting naked, and I don’t know whose fault that is. I don’t know if that’s mine or the way that our brains are programmed to think sexuality, for lack of a better word, trumps art.”

Touching on a similar point elsewhere during the conversation, Cyrus said her mother was “angry” at her for dancing on a pole at the Kids’ Choice Awards in 2009, saying, “I think even she felt it could be distracting from what I was doing. She knew the voice and talents that I could showcase. She was like, ‘What the f*ck? You have the biggest song. Can you just make it about the song? Why do you have to make it about being a stripper?’”

Read the full feature here.

Ever since The Mandalorian first debuted, Star Wars fans have been hoping the show would feature the most notorious bounty hunter of them all, Boba Fett, who frankly, is the entire inspiration for the Disney+ series. Well, they just got their wish and in a big way.

(SPOILERS from The Mandalorian Episode 14: The Tragedy will be found below.)

While Boba Fett was first teased all the way back in the season two premiere, there were questions about whether he would even appear in The Mandalorian again. Considering a spinoff miniseries was announced shortly after his brief cameo, a lot of Star Wars fans speculated that Boba Fett wouldn’t fully return until then. Fortunately, they were wrong. The classic bounty hunter played a prominent role in “Chapter 14: The Tragedy,” where he not only teamed up with Mando, but whooped an insane amount of stormtrooper ass before donning his iconic armor. And people are here for it. Morning hadn’t even hit in the East Coast, and already Boba Fett was trending on Twitter where the reactions are still pouring in. Clearly, this was the version of the character that Star Wars fans have been waiting for since his all-too-brief appearance in the original trilogy.

Further down in the nerd weeds, Star Wars fans were also quick to notice that the episode finally set the record straight that Boba Fett and his father Jango Fett are true Mandalorians. Until now, the official story was that Jango stole his armor and therefore wasn’t a real Mandalorian, but that is no longer the case. It is now canon that Jango was a foundling just like Mando.

Fans are also buzzing about what kind of team-up is going to happen in the final two episodes of the season because Mando has a helluva roster to choose from going into his confrontation with Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon.

Mando, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka going up against the Darksaber and Dark Troopers? Slap it in our dorky veins.

Approximately 25 years after it started, 2020 is finally coming to an end. As is customary in the music world, before one can look ahead, one must look back. The latest episode of Indiecast is no exception, with Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen reflecting on a year of excellent releases in the indie world to choose their ultimate top five. Featuring efforts from The 1975, Bartees Strange, Dogleg, Bob Dylan, and more, Hyden and Cohen have each respectively crafted their list of 2020’s definitive records. If you’re looking for more music that you might have missed this year, check out our full list of the year’s best albums here and the indie-specific list here.

As for new selections in this week’s Recommendation Corner, Cohen has been spinning I Had Everybody Snowed, the debut solo album from Taking Meds vocalist/guitarist Skylar Sarkis that has been a work in progress for nearly a decade. Hyden, on the other hand, has been enjoying 2020, the aptly titled latest effort from Magik Markers, their first in seven years.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 18 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. Stay up to date and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

In a video recorded in November, Austin mayor Steve Adler, a Democrat, urged residents of the Texas city to stay at home unless necessary… while he was vacationing at a beach resort in Mexico. As the Austin American-Statesman reported, “As he pressed the public to help stop the spread of the virus in recent weeks, Adler had not previously disclosed details of his private actions. He gave no indication in his Facebook video that he was outside the city as he discussed Austin’s rising number of cases and reviewed the number of hospital patients.”

It was a bad, hypocritical look from a Democratic politician, which as Trevor Noah explained in Thursday’s episode of The Daily Show, makes them just as bad as (if not worse than!) Republican anti-maskers.

“I’m sorry, man. Everyone has given up their lives and then you’ve got these politicians who are just hypocrites out here? What, you guys think corona respects your office too much to come after you? Because don’t forget: it got the president of the United States, it’s not going to be star-struck by Governor Hair Gel,” the host said, referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently attended a lavish dinner party at the French Laundry. Noah knows that Republicans are also having non-socially distanced parties, but “everyone expects them to do this… In a way, these Democrats are even worse than the anti-maskers because of their hypocrisy. At least when those dudes break the rules, they’re open about it.”

You can watch The Daily Show clip above.

There’s an excellent photo wherein a man is washing his car in the midst of a rainstorm — a redundant and pointless activity that is likely a signal of an impending downward spiral. If 2020 was good for anything, it’s the amount of inspiring indie music that has served as a glimmer of hope and kept us from that place of washing our car during a rainstorm. There were a lot of these bright moments in the indie rock canon this year, even when the world at large felt dark.

With many artists incorporating everything from jazz to R&B to folk to punk into the span of a single album, the term “genre-defiant” has lost all meaning, and much of what was released has instead implored the music world at large to take a step back and simply widen the definition of what “indie” music can be. Whether it be breakout debuts from Blackstarkids, Bartees Strange, and Dogleg, or defining statements from veteran acts like Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, and The Killers, 2020 had a lot to offer, musically.

It’s never too late to try and find the silver linings of a difficult time, so check out our ranking of the year’s 30 best indie albums below.

30. Sault – Untitled (Rise)

To tell the truth, it’s hard to know exactly what genre list to slot Sault into. Weaving together elements of jazz, soul, R&B, and funk, this mysterious duo offered up two game-changing albums in 2020, without really letting the world know much at all about them. But it’s the kind of music that needs no context besides the world that it’s released into, sounding like the sound of revolution as it appeared on the cusp of happening around us.–Philip Cosores

29. Ratboys – Printer’s Devil

On their previous releases, this excellent Chicago band functioned as a duo backed by a revolving cast of musicians. But on Printer’s Devil, Ratboys have morphed into a big-sounding rock band, with guitarist Dave Sagan’s fattened riffs pushing singer-songwriter Julia Steiner out of her introspective comfort zone and toward something more aggressive and commanding, evoking the glory days of super-catchy late-’90s pop-punk.–Steven Hyden

28. Samia – The Baby

After several short-form projects over the last few years, Samia’s long-awaited debut album The Baby showcases her most focused and refined work to date. Across its eleven tracks, The Baby creates a world that is lush and ambient, filled with biting lyrics delivered across a spectrum of different vocal stylings that revel in the process of learning how to be yourself, with nobody’s help but your own.–Zac Gelfand

27. Kevin Morby – Sundowner

After leaving his comfortable life in the big city, Kevin Morby returned home to the suburbs of his Kansas City hometown. The change was jarring in more ways than one. He was suddenly faced with differing political opinions as well as a sense of longing nostalgia during sunset. Pouring all these emotions into a 4-track Tascam in a shed on his property, Morby successfully captured the vastness of the American landscape (political and otherwise) in his serene album Sundowner.–Carolyn Droke

26. Blackstarkids – Whatever, Man

Blackstarkids got signed to Dirty Hit (The 1975, Beabadoobee) just a few days after sending the label a cold email. Just out of high school, the signing story is a testament to the young group’s versatility, one that is reinforced on Whatever Man, an album that is impressive in its scope, incorporating each member’s wide-ranging influences into one coherent and focused piece of work.–Zac Gelfand

25. Young Jesus – Welcome To Conceptual Beach

At a time when many artists seem content to mine the same relatively narrow sonic and thematic terrains of long-established archetypes — “the punk band,” “the confessional singer-songwriter,” “the indie-pop star” — this Los Angeles band strikes out with an uncommonly bold sound that aspires to the overpowering emotional directness of indie’s grandest classics from the ’90s and ’00s, while also exploring experimental, even esoteric instrumental textures deriving from jazz-inspired improvisations that often push their songs past the 10-minute mark.–S.H.

24. Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline

The Canadian favorite earned a Polaris Prize nomination for his previous album, 2016’s The Party, and his new release from the top of the year, The Neon Skyline, has earned similar acclaim. In a time when attention spans are dead goldfish short, Shauf uses his album as an impactful storytelling device that shows off his exemplary abilities both musical and narrative.–Derrick Rossignol

23. Jeff Rosenstock – No Dream

While Jeff Rosenstock’s intentions have always been pure, what sets his fourth album apart is how good he has gotten at sweetening his politically charged songs with irresistible pop touches like squealing synths, power-pop guitar jangle, and infectiously danceable rhythms. Rosenstock confirms every suspicion you have about how the system is corrupt and must be destroyed, and then his music reminds you that being alive still deserves to be celebrated.–S.H.

22. Thundercat – It Is What It Is

On his 2017 breakout album Drunk, LA jazz panjandrum Thundercat held back little, exposing all the goofy, gross, and horny thoughts on his mind. I hesitate to say he grew up on It Is What It Is, but the concerns are a little more farsighted and forward-looking. They’re also a little sad; in the years since Drunk, ‘Cat’s gotten a little older, he’s seen his close friend Mac Miller overdose, he’s gone through the same insane downward news spiral we all have and he’s emerged more or less intact, but not unchanged. He can still be a little silly — “Dragonball Durag” is a damn delight — but songs like “Black Qualls” show the cracks just under the surface. There’s a smile in his eyes but tears building in the corners — held back only by his acceptance of the hand he’s been dealt which, dammit, he’s going to play. –Aaron Williams

21. Jason Isbell – Reunions

Back in the aughts, Jason Isbell was a hard-drinking malcontent who struggled — against himself more than anything — to realize his potential. Over time, however, he would become one of the most respected songwriters in the game. His seventh album, Reunions, feels like the culmination of this evolution, with a collection of songs that feature some of his finest writing yet on the struggles to be good in a trying world, set to sturdy-as-ever classic-rock melodies.–S.H.

20. Jean Dawson – Pixel Bath

Jean Dawson grew up going back and forth between Mexico and the US, which led to a lot of musical exposure for the artist, which has resulted in a truly diverse new album in 2020. That descriptor gets thrown around a lot in music when an artist does two or more things well, but Pixel Bath has both indie rock and an ASAP Rocky guest spot.–D.R.

19. Grimes – Miss Antropocene

Whether she’s surviving on spaghetti for two years, unsuccessfully naming her first child X Æ A-12, or creating a sleep lullaby app, Grimes consistently proves she’s in a lane of her own. Her fifth studio album Miss Anthropocene reflects the same newfangled approach to pop by bridging dark synths with brooding lyrics and AI futurism while taking some surprisingly personal turns.–C.D.

18. Dogleg – Melee

Dogleg is a young band that thrives on stage, but even though they haven’t been able to tour behind their debut album, Melee is still clearly some of the best (punk) music 2020 has to offer. It’s an in-your-face album that also takes listeners inside the head of Alex Stoitsiadis, who tackles some personal issues with his full force.–D.R.

17. The Strokes – The New Abnormal

When it was announced that The Strokes were working with Rick Rubin, it was natural to assume that The New Abnormal would be a deliberate evocation of Is This It. But The New Abnormal, thankfully, is not that. It sounds, in fact, like an amalgam of the ’80s synth-pop and stoner-experimental chicanery of the previous two Strokes albums, but with stronger songs, like “The Adults Are Talking” and “At The Door.”–Steven Hyden

16. Beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers

The debut effort from Beabadoobee sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a teen movie, and that’s exactly what 20-year-old Bea Kristi was going for. Taking equal inspiration from the biggest grunge acts and lo-fi indie staples, Fake It Flowers is an epic film score for growing up, with moments ripe for a party, and others that beg for introspection. — Z.G.

15. Tame Impala – The Slow Rush

Although it might feel like decades at this point, the latest effort from Kevin Parker was released only a few months ago. Awash in blissful soundscapes and dissonant reverb-soaked guitars, The Slow Rush boasts Parker’s refined and increasingly undeniable pop hooks that make Tame Impala one of the most revered acts in modern indie.–Z.G.

14. Adrianne Lenker – Songs

It’s no secret that Big Thief vocalist Adrianne Lenker is an incredibly prolific artist but the past year has confirmed the notion. After the lockdown put the band’s two-album tour plans on hold, Lenker retreated to an isolated cabin in western Massachusetts. Her time in quarantine resulted in the tender album Songs, which showcases Lenker’s poetic songwriting while bringing her wooded surroundings to life through samples of babbling creeks and chirping birds.–C.D.

13. The Killers – Imploding The Mirage

The Killers have never been a band to be recognized by critics in the moment, with their albums gaining more esteem with each passing year. But the fans have always seen through that, with the Vegas rockers now showing more of a cultural footprint and influence than many of their “cooler” peers. So it’s nice to see their return to anthemic form, Imploding The Mirage, getting its deserved due from both sides of the aisle, as the band smartly looked to both collaborators and their own history to craft one of the most delightful and sturdy efforts of 2020.–Philip Cosores

12. Khruangbin – Mordechai

Khruangbin tried something different this year by linking up with Leon Bridges for the collaborative Texas Sun EP, but they had another project that was more in their traditional wheelhouse. Their wheelhouse isn’t exactly traditional, though, as they continued to develop their increasingly successful incorporation of disparate rock influences.–Derrick Rossignol

11. Perfume Genius – Set Me On Fire Immediately

As the album title vividly suggests, Mike Hadreas’ latest Perfume Genius album is dramatic in an in-your-face way. That is territory he has navigated successfully throughout his career, but he chases it here perhaps more strongly than he ever has. He previously told Uproxx of the title, “It’s almost like a greediness for fuller feelings.”–D.R.

10. Bartees Strange – Live Forever

The debut album from Bartees Strange is also one of the most innovative and exciting LPs of 2020. Taking cues from alternative rock, hip hop, jazz, and everything in between, the eleven track effort is what Steven Hyden calls “a showcase for an artist who seems equally capable of sounding like The National, Frank Ocean, James Blake, or the dozens of artists that fit in the wide-open space between those reference points.” — Z.G.

9. Soccer Mommy – Color Theory

Following the massive success of Soccer Mommy’s debut album Clean, the pressure was on for the 23-year-old to pen a compelling follow-up. Color Theory took on the challenge and then some by honing Soccer Mommy’s moody sound with layered production while using colors as lyrical and sonic inspiration. The album touches on themes of blue depression, yellow illness, and gray mourning through the lens of a 20-something still learning to find herself.–C.D.

8. Yaeji – What We Drew

“I’ve got waking up down,” Yaeji deadpans on her frenetic lead-off single, setting the tone for how muted her 2020 mixtape, What We Drew, will be. Singing and rapping in both Korean and English over foggy house production and jittering beats, she establishes herself as one of the year’s underrated pop stars, potentially a blueprint for how restrained voices might infiltrate the genre from the inside out. Leaning more into the producer role, but never backing off fantastic vocals and a flair for the dramatic, Yaeji is only just beginning to peel back her layers.–C.W.

7. Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass — Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions)

As Sturgill Simpson made clear speaking with Uproxx, his 2019 record Sound & Fury took that title to heart, with maybe an emphasis on the latter. But 2020 saw a Covid diagnosis and a canceled tour, with Simpson somewhat surprisingly sounding more at peace than ever on Cuttin’ Grass — Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions). The songs may not be new — they are bluegrass renditions of past favorites — but the spirit of them is something fresh, as Simpson finds a perfect marriage for his classic country croon. The resulting record was a beacon during a particularly rough year for his audience, with Simpson playing the role of steadfast captain with particular grace.–P.C.

6. Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind

Yves Tumor spent the past few years establishing himself as a compelling enough creative force to join the esteemed ranks of Warp Records artists. 2020 brought the experimental artist’s second album for the label, Heaven To A Tortured Mind, and it saw him present his adventurous tendencies in more accessible ways. As Uproxx’s Philip Cosores previously noted, though, “As much as this is the most accessible album in Tumor’s career, it’s by no means easy.”–D.R.

5. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

After the debut album Stranger In The Alps catapulted her into the mainstream, fans were curious to see where Phoebe Bridgers would take her eloquent indie music next. Proving her knack for stirring lyricism, Bridgers’ sophomore album Punisher is a collection of contemporary ballads for those coping with heartsick nostalgia, expertly striking a balance between soulful musings and refreshingly up-tempo tunes.–C.D.

4. Fleet Foxes – Shore

Though the album opens with a never-before-heard vocalist, Uwade Akhere, the surprise guest only makes the return of Robin Pecknold’s signature tenor all the more sweet a song later. On “Sunblind,” the strongest song of Fleet Foxes’ storied career, he celebrates and mourns, yearns and rejoices, replete with the harmonies and meticulously constructed melodies that have carried this Seattle band from warm, bedroom folk to songwriting legacies. Shore is a gigantic step forward for Pecknold and his mates, and more proof that the best bands only get better, and more believable, with time.–C.W.

3. Haim – Women In Music Pt. III

With a debut that put them firmly on the indie-pop map and a sophomore album that found some of that acclaim recede, the Los Angeles Haim sisters rolled into their third album with milder expectations from both fans and critics. And maybe that’s part of the reason why Women In Music Pt. III feels so titanic, as it not only eclipses the trio’s previous highs, it shows that we never really knew their potential at all. Some of the classic rock and ’90s pop touchstones that they’ve always cited are still there, but so is a firm identity that exists beyond the scope of their influences. Haim have truly arrived.–P.C.

2. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

A full-180 from the alt-rock revivalism of Waxahatchee’s 2017 LP Out In The Storm, Saint Cloud evokes the lived-in, earthy Americana of Katie Crutchfield’s hero, Lucinda Williams, whose 1998 classic LP Car Wheels On A Gravel Road is an obvious thematic and sonic touchstone. Sparking acoustic guitars and soulful keyboard tones echo through every track, with Crutchfield’s high, lonesome vocals positioned squarely at the heart of an understated country-rock mix. Her best album.–S.H.

1. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters

What makes Fetch The Bolt Cutters feel like a new high-water mark for Fiona Apple — is it possible to rank all five of her albums as tied for her best? — is how she has pared her music down to the barest essentials, while also deepening and broadening her lyrics, finding fresh nuances that eschew easy answers or reductions. This is her rawest record, but also her funniest, distinguished by sparse yet eccentrically detailed soundscapes that provide a backdrop for Apple to fully explore every aspect of her (and perhaps your) highly contradictory inner life. She’s furious and forgiving, full of love and hate, and capable of both eviscerating and soothing her subjects.–S.H.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.