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Wildewoman writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Allison Parssi
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from Assistant Music Director Allison Parssi.
My music listening this year was atypical. I listened to a number of mixes and playlists, very few full albums, and often wasn’t listening to music at all. All of these patterns offer a different set of challenges when compiling end of year lists. These are some of the albums and EPs that stood out for me in the chaos.
#1 Untitled (Rise) by Sault (Forever Living Originals)
This mystery group has done it again. After releasing their first two albums in 2019, the UK based collective gave us their third, Untitled (Black Is), and fourth, Untitled (Rise), records in 2020, just three months apart. They continue to carefully craft music that brings funk, Afrobeat, soul, disco, and house together alongside their poignant, political, and poetic lyrics. These albums go beyond protest music - they are records that bring the complexities of the Black experience to the forefront. 2020 showed us that Sault is incredibly focused and here to make music that resists as well as celebrates.
#2 Notes on a Conditional Form by The 1975 (Dirty Hit)
The fourth and final record from The 1975’s Music For Cars era is one that is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It is a sprawling experiment, filled with introspection that lends itself to living room dancing. It features numerous guest appearances including Phoebe Bridgers, FKA Twigs, and Jamaican dancehall musician Cutty Ranks as well as a handful of instrumental tracks. When thinking back as to why this record resonated so much with me, the answer was simple - it made me feel seen, and I think that’s something everyone looks for when listening to music.
#3 La vita nuova by Christine and The Queens (Because)
La vita nuova is the surprise release from French artist Christine and The Queens, and is her most powerful and emotionally charged release yet. The title and narrative throughout the EP is borrowed from the Latin text by Dante Alighieri of a love ended too early because of a sudden death. With Chris's musical rendition, her story is not dissimilar. We hear her experience these polarizing emotions resulting from a love unexpectedly evaporating and the loss of her mother. Her story stems from an overpowering grief, but grows to an empowering resilience through the six tracks. Chris has once again proven that she has an unparalleled vision and talent to bring heart-wrenching emotion into warped dance-pop.
#4 They Call Me Disco by Ric Wilson & Terrace Martin (Free Disco)
Chicago artist and activist Ric Wilson teamed up with LA producer Terrace Martin (Kendrick Lamar & Raphael Saadiq) for this four-on-the-floor EP. Wilson’s enthusiasm breaks through the throwback funk as he sings from personal and political places. The record joins disco and rap in a way that brings warmth and hope in the midst of uncertainty. While not on this record, a special shoutout goes to his powerful anthem “Fight Like Ida B & Marsha P.”
#5 SAWAYAMA by Rina Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
If I slept on one record this year, it’s this one. Rina Sawayama’s debut record is a sucker punch of '90s nostalgia and incredibly candid lyrics. Her sound fuses glossy, avant-pop with nu metal - think a combination of Evanescence and Britney Spears, with some FKA Twigs, in the best way possible. Among the range of club-bangers, guitar thrashers, and soaring pop songs, she sings about the experiences of being a queer immigrant, the effects of capitalism, and toxic masculinity. The record draws from every point of her identity and shows she is a star on the rise. Now, I am just waiting for the day when Sawayama and The 1975 tour together.
#6 Dance Without Me by DRAMA (Ghostly International)
Dance Without Me is the debut full length album from the Chicago duo Via Rosa (singer/songwriter) and Na'el Shehade (producer). Their soft combination of house and smooth R&B on this release is a beautiful visualization of a metamorphosis from heartbreak to complete self-love and acceptance. Rosa's lush, soulful vocals swirl over Shehade's glimmery synths as DRAMA gives us a dreamlike sequence of tracks that brings a late night into the early morning.
#7 ROSETTA by Dua Saleh (AGAINST GIANTS)
ROSETTA, named in honor of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, is the second EP from Sundanese-American artist Dua Saleh. It’s haunting nature builds to chaos as Saleh merges R&B, hip-hop, and art-pop through the six tracks. Saleh’s voice swirls over the lurking production. They simultaneously sting and cast a spell on the listener as they explore the tensions and intersectionalities of their identity.
#8 Anywhere But Here by Habibi (Muddguts)
Six years after their debut, the Brooklyn based band Habibi has graced us with some of their best work on their sophomore record. Their songwriting is sharp and dynamic as the group blends Beach Boy-esque harmonies, American psych rock, and Iranian pop music of the 60s. As a first generation Iranian-American, lead singer Rahill Jamalifard dives further into the modern intricacies of cultural identity and honors her roots by seamlessly weaving Farsi lyrics into the band's music. It’s a bright album, perfect for summer, that has the ability to whisk us away from the present.
#9 Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas (Warner)
After a five year hiatus, Lianne La Havas has returned to tell a story with her beautiful, self-titled third release. Writing and producing the album herself with a small group of trusted friends (including Nick Hakim, Aqualung, and Mura Musa), the songs are spacious, naturally meander, and focus on La Havas' intimate vocals and guitar work. La Havas brings us on the journey of her long term relationship - starting with the flirtatious production mirroring a playful beginning, through its insecurities and anxieties, eventual ending, and personal healing. By allowing herself to follow her musical intuition, La Havas has given us a cohesive and vulnerable record that is unmistakably her.
#10 Renaissance by Aluna (Mad Decent)
Aluna Francis (of AlunaGeorge) has stepped into the spotlight with her electrifying debut solo record Renaissance. Always making music in a white male dominated space, Aluna wanted to stake her claim as a Black woman in dance music. She took control of her production and songwriting, and allowed herself to explore the different facets within the genre. Thumping bass lines of funk, dancehall, house, and Caribbean dance are sandwiched in between the album's opener - a beautiful and sweeping personal anthem - and the wistful closing track. Aluna has "gone through the process of owning [herself], and this [album] is the celebration."
The Next 15:
11. Little Simz - Drop 6 (AWAL)
12. Duval Timothy - Help (Carrying Color)
13. Julianna Barwick - Healing is a Miracle (Ninja Tune)
14. Glass Animals - Dreamland (Wolf Tone)
15. Lido Pimienta - Miss Columbia (ANTI-)
16. Jess Williamson - Sorceress (Mexican Summer)
17. Hot Chip - Late Night Tales: Hot Chip (Night Time Stories)
18. Sotomayor - Orígenes (Wonderwheel)
19. Moses Sumney - græ (Jagjaguwar)
20. Clap! Clap! - Liquid Portraits (Black Acre)
21. The Seshen - CYAN (Tru Thoughts)
22. Nana Adjoa - Big Dreaming Ants (Bloomer)
23. Moodymann - Taken Away (KDJ)
24. Sylvan Esso - Free Love (Loma Vista)
25. Fleet Foxes - Shore (ANTI-)
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