As I might’ve stated in the past, anything on this almost list could make the top 20 on any given day. Although they won’t make the top 20, I feel they are worth your time to check out. I placed a starter playlist of songs from these artists below.
Stuck Sunsets – Delitism. I don’t know what this is. Ended up in my playlist early in the year. It never left. It was released in December of 2020. Its’ genre is listed as Electronic. I see that, but I feel like it is more complicated than that. Tell me what you think.
Michigander – Everything Will Be Ok Eventually EP. Michigander has a soft spot in my heart. He played on the same bill with my own kids a couple times in Columbus. He was the odd man out at those shows. In a good way. I think Michigander might be the most underrated pop genius out there. Jam on this.
Clever Girl – Constellations. Straight up catchy indie rock pop. Sometimes it feels light, sometimes it feels heavy. I love the pop guitar strumming and in other parts the heaviness of this.
Gabriels- Love and Hate From a Different Time EP. Fun factoid: If you remember the year that Scotty McCreery won American Idol there was an artist that finished in the top 5 named Jacob Lusk. He was brilliant. Think Nina Simone. Well, he is the singer on this project and I pumped to see what is to come from them.
DJ Muggs the Black Goat – The Cypress Hill alum, Muggs was a part of at least seven full length albums this year. This one is just beats. If you like this, then definitely check out some of his work with rappers this year. Yeowulf’s stands out to me.
Badge Epoque Ensemble – Future, Past, & Present. If you had an affinity for my pick last year of Angel Bat Dawid this is more psychedelic, laid back, and a bit more listenable for the less adventurous then the maddening beauty of Angel’s album.
Wolfy and Rosie Tucker – Sucker Supreme to Study and Relax To. This is lo-fi beauty at its best. No album title represents itself as well as this one.
Matt Berry – Blue Elephant. What a fun album to figure out. Was it recorded in the seventies? Is it folk? Is that the actor from What We Do In The Shadows? Is this instrumental? Is it not? Go find out.
Hurricane Bells – Our World is 3D. A post rock gem.
Pat Metheny – Side-Eye (V1.V1). The legendary jazz guitarist teams up with two newer artists, pianist/keyboardist James Francies and drummer Marcus Gilmore, for a trio record that is so pure and exciting.
Isa Ma – Animal Heart. Here is the secret, this is Lisa Gungor’s new project. She dropped a couple of songs in 2019 and now we get the whole album. It is lovely.
Jazz is Dead – Gary Bartz. Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have created a dynamic jazz series with legendary saxophone artist.. This is #06 of 10. It is my fave. Great session recorded here with the 81-year old Bartz. Check out the whole collection at https://jazzisdead.co
Plankton Wat – Future Times. A psychedelic rock whirlwind. Super close to making the top twenty.