Yearly Digest 2020
Which albums helped Neformat’ staff get through this dumpster fire of 2020? From prog rock to polish hip-hop, we have quite an eclectic taste! It is by no means a TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR kind of list, we just want to share what we have been listening to during this whole year. So, buckle up, here it comes, 30 albums from Neformat.
Has been working in Neformat since 2019. Favorite music genres - punk, emo, hardcore, black metal, etc.
Coriky — Coriky
Coriky is a trio which consist of Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, Embrace, The Events, Dischord Records) on guitar, Joe Lally from Fugazi on bass guitar, and Amy Farina, MacKaye’s wife and his bandmate from The Events, on drums. All three members share vocal duties. Coriky members have been play together for a while now, and in 2020 they finally got ready to share what they worked on.
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Laura Jane Grace — Stay Alive
The band Against Me! should have been working on a new album this year, but… you know, Covid and everything. So, Laura Jane Grace picked up her acoustic guitar, contacted Steve Albini and, with his help on sound editing, put out the very personal and emotional record by herself.
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The Lawrence Arms — Skeleton Coast
Punk trio from Chicago with another great record. In 2018 they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band with the " We Are the Champions of the World" record and now they release the "Skeleton Coast", proving it once again that their signature sound is still the same quintessence which made the band great, so they keep pushing forward.
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Nothing — The Great Dismal
Everything’s made to be broken. Nothing band has done what was expected – great songwriting, melancholy, huge volume, 90’s alternative rock and shoegaze influences. It can make your head spin around, your own thoughts will lead you through the dark halls, but that is no surprise when you listen to Nothing.
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Worriers — You or Someone You Know
Emotionally charged punk release from Brooklyn, NY. "You or Someone You Know" is full of.. well.. worries, emotional burnout, regrets and impact of hardships and toxic relationships on a human being.
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Has been working in the Neformat editorial office since 2016. Prior to quarantine, his main duty was the Neformat Family Gig series organization, as well as writing reviews and articles. In summer of 2020, Yegor became an editor of the news section. His main music interests include screamo and various branches of -core (metalcore, deathcore, hardcore, etc)
Alpha Wolf — A Quiet Place to Die
Deathcore/hardcore from Melbourne, Australia. Their music is on pair with their band name – intensity and swagger are on top.
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Code Orange — Underneath
Aggression, great sound, catchy riffs and memorable songs that leave the scratches on your mind – it is all about "Underneath". Code Orange has outdone themselves on this album. It slaps HARD. And their online "pandemic special" gigs were just breathtaking.
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GHOSTEMANE — ANTI–ICON
"If you don’t know me by now, I don’t want you to", – Ghostemane raps on "AI". For real, it was kind of hard to miss Ghostemane over last few years. He toured North America with hardcore and metal bands like Jesus Piece, Harms´s Way, Code Orange and Vein. Earlier he put out the "black metal record" and disturbed worried parents as well as "metal elitists" by his image. But you cannot deny that his mix of trap, industrial metal, hip-hop and creepy sounds attracts the audiences. "ANTI-ICON" is his 8th studio album in six years and he will not stop.
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Hum — Inlet
It is the first LP since 1998 of this alternative rock band from Chicago. Their unpredictable comeback record is the 5th studio album called "Inlet". The signature mix of shoegaze, cosmic rock, 90’s alternative rock – everything we love about Hum is on this record.
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WLVS — Дорога до вечности
Long live emotional hardcore! The trio from Samara paints quite a gloomy picture about everyday struggle and inevitability of death.
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Have been writing for Neformat since 2018, Liza has become a part of the editorial team in 2020. She is a professional musician and had been playing in the orchestra for some time. Prefers massive instrumental sound of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, folk and classic music. Liza’s guilty pleasure – grunge of 90’s.
Caleb Landry Jones — The Mother Stone
The musical debut of the film actor Caleb Landry Jones is considered a success. His theatrical, psychedelic (sometimes on the verge of schizophrenia) music received positive reviews from music critics and art rock fans. Remarkably interesting album.
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Kansas — The Absence of Presence
The sixteenth studio album of classic American prog rock band and the second LP after Kansas´ founder and original vocalist Steve Walsh left the band in 2014. "The Absence of Presence" is a return to the band's signature sound of 70's.
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Neil Young — Homegrown
"Homegrown" is Neil Young's 40th (!) studio album, consisting of material recorded between June of 1974 and January of 1975. This album was recorded after the release of "On the Beach" and before the sessions for "Zuma". Like these two albums, much of the material was inspired by Young's relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress. The album was compiled and prepared for release in 1975, but "Tonight's the Night" was released instead, and "Homegrown" remained in the archives for decades.
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We Were Promised Jetpacks — out of interest [EP]
Scottish alternative rockers We We Promised Jetpacks shared five tracks in their EP "out of interest" – two of demo versions from the 2018 album "The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream", as well as three previously unreleased songs.
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10 years — Violent Allies
If you like alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock hooks, then the ninth 10 years’ studio album is for you.
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Has been writing for Neformat since 2016. His main interests are hardcore punk, metal and sunny Transcarpathia.
Black Curse — Endless Wound
The band from Denver, Colorado, promises to open a portal with their debut album "Endless Wound", where death and black metal have common principles, aesthetics and diabolical power!
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Choir Boy — Gathering Swans
Gothic dream pop/synthwave from Utah. Dreamy dance music of the good quality and emotional drive.
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Kruelty — A Dying Truth
Debut full-length album by Japanese band Kruelty, which plays a cruel and destructive mix of beatdown hardcore and doom/death metal.
Night — High Tides — Distant Skies
Swedish hard rock/trad metal band, which will steal your girlfriend, is back with the full-length album! Blue Oyster Cult, Dire Straits, UFO – the echoes of these bands can be heard on "High Tides - Distant Skies", great sound.
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SpiritWorld — Pagan Rhythms
SpiritWorld is an interesting and versatile band from Las Vegas. On their 2017 demo, they played a light punk rock with the elements of a desert alt-country. But on the debut full-length "Pagan Rhythms" something else awaits us. It is not clear why SpiritWorld changed so much, but now they have mixed the metallic hardcore of the Integrity spirit with the thrash metal revival sound of the Power Trip, and their lyrics have become shorter and more blasphemous.
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Has been writing for Neformat since September of 2018. He loves looking for new music, hosts Telegram channel called "Spinach Hits" and is the president of Turbojugend Kyiv. His interests vary from punk and hardcore to doom and black metal, from post-punk and gothic to filthy death and dirty speed metal..
Esoctrilihum — Eternity of Shaog
Esoctrilihum is a French one-man black metal band, based by the man under Asthâghul pseudonym. They put out the album imbued with chthonic Lovecraft horror. The great cover art made by Alan Brown, who also worked on Mastodon's "Emperor of Sand" cover. The album is long, it lasts more than an hour, but never gets boring. Asthâghul never ceases to get trumps out of his sleeves, whether it's the use of unobvious instruments, such as the kantele, a Finnish instrument similar to the harp, or chaotic rhythms, and never forgets about the speed, drama and "metallicity" of the album.
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Eternal Champion — Ravening Iron
What can I say? They did it again! The Americans Eternal Champion released heavy metal classic, which instantly received the praise of metal fans and music critics and has all chances to become cult. Ravening Iron is power, consists of the hit tracks and remarkable sound. Music to which you rush into battle!
High Spirits — Hard To Stop
High Spirits is "100% high-energy rock music" from Chicago. Refreshing riffs and melodic hooks from the very beginning start and to the end. I listened to this album probably the most this year and it always helped me to recharge.
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Napalm Death — Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
Veterans who are young by heart have released one of their best albums in a long time. Interesting to hear, full of noise, crust, and Killing Joke-type industrial, and some metal, of course.
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Raspberry Bulbs — Before The Age Of Mirrors
Fugazi, The Stooges and lo-fi black metal can be heard in the "Before the Age of Mirrors". It is the New York Raspberry Bulbs’ fourth full-length album and band's first release on Relapse Records, which apparently decided to strengthen its roster with punk blackers. But unlike their colleagues Devil Master, Raspberry Bulbs band has more in common with garage punk than with speed metal.
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Has been working in the Neformat editorial office since 2016. She began with a news editor position and later became the editor-in-chief. Yaryna considers the combination of managerial skills and love to the Ukrainian underground and music in general to be her advantage.
Gulch — Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
Gulch is a crossover hardcore band from Santa Cruz, California, that climbed the underground Olympus in the last three years. That was achieved by band’s demo tape of 2017, its super-powerful debut album (not full-length, too, released on 7- and 10-inches vinyl) of 2018 and promo of 2019. They have become one of those bands that everyone wants to see live thanks to multicams’ shot by hate5six. Gulch is a force to be reckoned with.
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House Of Harm — Vicious Pastimes
Boston Coldwave as the best soundtrack to rainy and gray days. The first releases of House of Harm have brought them worldwide recognition while their debut full-format album proved band’s status.
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Katarzia — Celibát
Nice modern Slovak pop music with good instrumentals and thought out lyrics that resonate with the thoughts and feeling of artist’s generation. This album is not that wholesome and energetic as the previous one "Antigona", but it still has something to attract a listener.
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PRO8L3M — Art Brut 2
PRO8L3M is a hip-hop duo from Warsaw, consisting of the DJ Piotr "Steez" Szulc and the rapper Oskar "Oskar83" Tuszyński. "Art Brut 2" is the sequel album of the PRO8L3M debut "Art Brut" released in 2014. This fresh continuation has already received the status of "Platinum" in Poland.
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Violet Cold — Noir Kid
Experimental one-man band from Baku. Post-black, blackgaze, elements of EDM, trance and synthwave, Violet Cold is truly something very weird. The album is available both with vocals and in the instrumental version, which is a nice touch.
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All Weekly Digest here.
