As we enter the back-half of the year, the Haulix team takes a moment to celebrate some of the best albums released thus far in 2020.
Believe it or not, we are only halfway through 2020. The year that just won’t end has already given us more than most as far as cultural shifts and life-changing headlines are concerned. From COVID-19 and murder hornets, to the suspension of live music and an inability to visit a movie theater anywhere in the United States, 2020 is challenging everyone to keep their head above water. It is also giving us some truly incredible records, and that is what we are trying to focus today.
Musicians in 2020 are more in tune with the state of the world than previous generations. Artists from every genre are discussing topics like politics and the economy in a direct manner, and very few are pulling any punches when about those in power. The music being created right now is doing more to unite people and bring us hope for a better future than any leader, and we believe more great songs are coming in the months ahead.
Picking our favorite albums of the year is a tradition that goes back as far as this blog. We never have the time to highlight every release that leaves a positive impact on us, but we did want to pull ten albums we believe are essential listening experiences. There is no ranking or order to the presentation here. We only ask that you set aside a little time to give each artist or group a chance to change your life.
Trivium – What The Dead Men Say
What The Dead Men Say, Trivium’s ninth studio album reflects on the past in hopes of saving the future. The band – Matt Heafy, Corey Beaulieu, Paolo Gregoletto, and Alex Bent – pull from everything they’ve done to deliver an album that serves as a thesis statement for Trivium’s career. It’s a relentlessly heavy, yet undeniably melodic exploration of existence that pulls from philosophy and mythology in equal measure to paint an elaborately-detailed portrait of what makes us human. Fans will hear hints of the youthful confidence that fueled Ember To Inferno and Ascendency, alongside the grit of In Waves and melancholy of Silence In The Snow. How Trivium combines these seemingly conflicting ideas gel is one of the record’s many wonders. That said, the real mastery lies in their ability to do so while also creating incredibly accessible music for new listeners. [Full review]
Run The Jewels – RTJ4
Run The Jewels could not have anticipated how much the world would need RTJ4 when they set its June 5 release date. Fan demand was already high, but after the last two weeks in America, the music of El-P and Killer Mike has a new sense of urgency. The booming beats and tongue-in-cheek lyrics on life and death in a broken system seep through your ear canal and take residence in your cerebellum. It’s a soundtrack to survival for a generation raised to believe that living under the surveillance of other people is normal that demands we strategize ways to create lasting change that benefits all people. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, but that’s okay because the outcome will be worth the struggle. [Full Review]
Best Ex – Good At Feeling Bad
Not one to fall into the tropes of Bukowski or Salinger that entangle many of her musical peers, Mariel Loveland’s style of storytelling is one of wide-eyed optimism presented in the face of uncertainty with unabashed honesty. She’s neither the hero nor the villain in her journey. Her perspective is that of a world traveler that has felt the overwhelming joy of mass acceptance and the cold chill of failure. Good At Feeling Bad is about what comes after all that, which is where the real adventure begins. Loveland knows anything is possible, and she’s open to whatever the next chapter entails. [Full review]
Lamb of God – Lamb of God
On their new, self-titled release, Lamb of God targets all the topics that most of us choose to ignore because implementing meaningful change often feels impossible. The band asks that we stop accepting a world where everything is on fire and demands that we do something about it. Everything from the opioid crisis, to school shootings and immigration, is put in the spotlight through some of the group’s heaviest production to date, all to make us pay attention to the broken state of civilization. If you’ve fallen victim to complacency, Lamb of God is here to deliver a wakeup call that will shake your bones and clear the cobwebs from your mind. It is a reminder that you are more powerful than you know, and it is your responsibility to use your strength for good. [Full review]
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit – Reunions
Reunions examines the role we play in the world around us. Jason Isbell and his band, The 400 Unit, leave no rock unturned in their search for answers to life’s biggest questions regarding purpose and grief. The album provides few solutions on either front but finds comfort in acknowledging that we are on this journey through the chaos of existence. If we can learn to love one another and shed the weight of stress and mistakes from our past, Isbell believes we can find a lasting sense of peace amidst the turmoil of our daily lives. It’s a big idea that some will think impossible, and he understands that. Rather than giving listeners an optimistic ear-beating, he focuses on crafting undeniably soulful songs in hopes people will reconsider our limitless potential for change. [Full review]
Dance Gavin Dance – Afterburner
Afterburner finds Dance Gavin Dance refining their talents while pushing the creative envelop wherever possible. It’s the kind of musical chaos and experimentation that would border on cacophony if it were attempted by anyone less skilled or in sync than the members of the group. Track to track, beat to beat, Dance Gavin Dance work to find new ways to catch fans off guard while simultaneously giving them precisely what they expect. It’s a magic trick of sorts, handled by musical magicians making seriously unserious music with the precision of fine craftsman. [Full review]
Dogleg – Melee
Dogleg, the latest in a long line of alternative bands to rise from the mitten state in recent years, is chasing dreams of changing lives and selling records with a passion unmatched by their peers. The band’s Triple Crown Records debut, Melee, speaks to that ferocity with ten songs built upon all the angst and stress of trying to survive in our modern times. It’s a cathartic collection of high hopes and broken dreams that reaches through the speakers with each note and lyric, urging listeners to get off their ass and influence positive change in the world around them. [Full review]
Body Count – Carnivore
Carnivore continues Body Count’s reputation for speaking their minds on the state of the world. It’s an album about taking life by the reigns, taking responsibility for your actions, and working to create the world you want to see. Body Count has grown tired of people complaining, especially when they’re not doing anything to influence change, so they use this record to ignite our collective desire to fight for a better life. They believe nothing happens unless you work to make it happen, and they use this record to urge listeners to take action. [Full review]
The Amity Affliction – Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them
Australian post-hardcore favorites The Amity Affliction are internationally recognized for their fierce lyricism and hard-hitting music. Their time in the spotlight has a devoted following of fans who wear their hearts on their sleeves with clenched fists and weary eyes. For them, the music The Amity Affliction creates is about more than trudging through the experience of existence. Fans know the group is writing to inspire rebellion, both from the world as we know it and from the people they were in the past, in hopes we all seek to reborn as better, more empathetic human beings. [Full review]
Hot Mulligan – You’ll Be Fine
Michigan’s Hot Mulligan is leading a long-overdue alternative uprising that emphasizes heart over tradition. Their music takes the moments in life most keep to themselves and leverages them through big hooks to create a welcoming, fully-transparent presentation that helps the group stand out from many of their peers. You’ll Be Fine teaches us how to be like them by urging us to get over ourselves before we become someone we hate.
