The Best Of 2020. EP's and mini-albums

Top10 EP's and mini-albums (in alphabetical order)

Bullitt "Drawer Sessions" (p)BCore Disc 

This is the proof of the simple fact: Bullitt don't make weak songs at all. Even their outtakes are great. I really can't understand how and why they could put such delicious track as "Opening Harbours" aside.

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Calibra "Okavango" (p)Polar 

The first song contains a guitar line that sounds like a Two Door Cinema Club guitar line. Actually, I hate the sound of TDCC's guitars. In the light of this fact to get into this list looks like even more significant achievement than it really is. What's the answer? The songs. At the end of the day, the answer is always the songs.

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Detergente Liquido "Tu Tampoco Eres Como Antes" (p)self-released 

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Future Ark "John" (p)Leonora 

Starting with ethereal IDM at some point the music ascends to Alcest-like post-black only to return to fragile electronica in the end. Finland-born Tero Heikkinen (also of Kindata) has been residing in Sevilla for years where he managed to position himself successfully as an active contributor to the local indie music community. This is his second solo EP under Future Ark moniker.

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Honolulu "Gold" (p)Foehn 

Honolulu is a perfect example of today's world. The siblings of French origin, Lea & Quentin Mevel, reside in Barcelona and release their songs with lyrics in English and French via Catalan indie label Foehn Records.

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Madee "Under The Sun" (p)BCore Disc 

The Catalan cult favourites return to activity with this 4-song teaser for the forthcoming LP (to be released in the beginning of 2021).

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Margarita Quebrada "Luces" (p)Jabalina Musica 

The minimalistic Neue Deutche Wellesque synth-driven gothic rock meets The Pains Of Being Pure At Hearts'y naïve nugaze on this mini album created by Valencia-based trio under the wing of renowned indie label Jabalina Musica.

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Pumuky "Castillo Interior" (p)Keroxen 

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Scoff "City Lights" (p)self-released 

This EP is such a cool cocktail of Hole, Sonic Youth and obscure Canadian band Sully (highly recommended) prepared by the band from tiny Andalucian town Utrera (for me personally this town is best remebered for the perfect solomillo con salsa pimienta in La Brasa restaurant).

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Verkeren "ellllla" (p)Right Here Right Now 

The Barcelona-based five-piece returns after 4 years of hiatus with a pack of beautiful electro rock songs in the vein of The Killers or Dorian.

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The Best Of 2020. Compilations (and a split album)

I’m still devoted to the ‘solo performer or a band’ standard regarding the selection for the main Top50 list but the truth is, if I wasn’t that stubborn the list would be topped by a compilation. One of these compilations below. 

Conjunto Podenco/ Lullavy "Garabato" (p)Repetidor 

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Various Artists "Radar Keroxen Vol.1" (p)Keroxen 

That said best release of the year. Four bands (Gaf Y La Estrella De La Muerte, Conjunto Podenco, Pumuky, Saletile), two tracks per band. The perfect combination of four different approaches united by the commonly shared vision that only Canarians (and the Gaf bandleader/ Keroxen co-head Mladen Kurajica) can share. Gaf's "Watashi Wa Tako" is the best track I have listened to this year.

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Various Artists "We Are Never Alone. Songs of Vic Chesnutt" (p)No Aloha 

The indie label No Aloha Records has started its activity with this quite unexpected tribute to late American singer-songwriter - and this is that rare tribute where every cover version reflects simultaneously the persons of both author of the song and the musician who reimagines it.

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Various Artists "Yo La Tengo C(L)overs" (p)edita la servidumbre 

The huge 52 track tribute to one of the most critically acclaimed indie bands of the world. No surprise at all that this attempt was taken by the [world's best] record store Ultra-Local Records well-known for its friendship ties with Yo La Tengo. There is a suggestion that this comp says more about Spanish underground than of the Hoboken three-piece.

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Various Artists "De Zaragoza a Tokio: Viajando con Capitán Sunrise" (p)Confesiones Tirado en la Pista de Baile 

A lovely compilation of cover versions that celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Santi Diego-led indie pop vehicle. The bands of Puzzles Y Dragones and Detergente Liquido caliber were gathered by the blog Confesiones Tirado en la Pista de Baile to pay homage to one of the Spanish indie pop scene's most renowned bands.

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The Best Of 2020. Honorable Mention

Every time it gets harder because every time there are more albums in the scope as compared to the previous year. Back in the year 2013 when I did it for the first time, it was the case of ’the 30 best albums out of 55’ as my vision – that one of a neophyte – on the scene was pretty narrow at the time. This time it’s like ‘the 50 best albums out of 450’. In addition to the main Top50 list I’ve marked 68 albums more as the ones that deserved to be mentioned – but to mention them all is impossible to do. Thus, I have to cut off lots of flesh from the bones. Below you may find a list of 20 records in alphabetical order that haven't made it into the Top50 list. Some of them were featured earlier in this blog (Atalaya Roja, Bisquit, Lua Gramer, Sauna Bytes).

Alice's Cream "Medicina Carmica" (p)Flor Y Nata BNDCMP - nice take on the psychedelia-tinged hard rock made by La Alcarria indie scene mainstays.

Atalaya Roja "!Quemad Las Naves!" (p)self-released BNDCMP

Biscuit "Negligencia Programada" (p)La Castanya BNDCMP 

Biznaga "Gran Pantalla" (p)Slovenly BNDCMP - the best album of the ferocious social punk band from Madrid.

Como Vivir En El Campo "Siempre Te He Amado, Nunca He Dejado De Quererte, Toda Mi Vida Es Para Ti" (p)El Genio Equivocado BNDCMP - the least eclectic (as well as the most relaxed) record in CVEEC back catalogue.

Confeti De Odio "Tragedia Espanola" (p)Snap! Clap! Club BNDCMP - pop melodies are crossing garage rock guitars in this short thematically acerbic album made by songwriter Lucas Vidaur and Carolina Durante's drummer Juan Pedrayes.

El Nino Erizo "Y Mi Respuesta Es…" (p)Flor Y Nata BNDCMP - the band may sound old school at times but speaking of melodies - the hooks, catchy choruses, etc. - this album is more than worthy.

Isius "Fox & Castle" (p)Ernie Producciones BNDCMP - the second Isius' album in two years is more fascinating than its predecessor "Songs From Everywhere". It resembles some international indie stars like Nada Surf or even The Flaming Lips in their more straightforward version..

Kuartz "II" (p)self-released BNDCMP - the paisanos and soul brethren of Nina Coyote Eta Chico Tornado make Royal Blood sound like suckers.

Llacuna "Incendis" (p)BCore Disc/ Saltamarges/ La Agonia De Vivir/ etc. BNDCMP - sonically abrasive, rhythmically inventive and emotionally charged post-hardcore album whose sound pallette is broadened with such the rare instrument for the genre as trumpet.

Loss Leader "Songs About" (p)BCore Disc/ Saltamarges/ Waterslide/ etc. BNDCMP - the debut LP of the Madrid-based punk band that shares memebers with Wild Animals and Ulises Lima - which sounds like reference in its own right.

Lua Gramer "Destruir El Pop" (p)Clifford BNDCMP

Mostaza Galvez "Desventura" (p)Subterfuge SPTF - the perfect pop record that could be even better if Guille Mostaza and Frank Galvez added some touches of their live performances' rock feel.

Mourn "Self Worth" (p)Captured Tracks BNDCMP - after two albums that showcased their edgy noisy side the new one successfully demonstrates Mourn's melodic self.

Que Bailen Los Demas "Flip" (p)self-released BNDCMP - the country rock attempt of Detergente Liquido's helmsman Alberto Rodway shows that Alberto never loses his original world view. Just look at the song names: "I'd Like God Existed Just To Make Her Guilty", "The End Of The Man Who Met The Most Boring Woman In The World", "Song In English" (all these songs are in english in fact).

Roger Pistola "Quart Creixent" (p)Bubota Discos BNDCMP - the psychedelic folk-pop that draws inspiration from Beach Boys legacy, for the most part of album escaping comparisons to contemporary pillars of the genre (Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, etc.)

Salvador Toxico "Canciones Del Laboratorio" (p)self-released BNDCMP - the third LP of the former Algora guitarist Javier Castellanos features some of his best songs to date.

Sauna Bytes "Sauna Bytes" (p)self-released BNDCMP

Sensible "Precovid Sessions Vol.1, Vol.2" (p)self-released BNDCMP BNDCMP2 - Jose J. Martin (Gaf Y La Estrella de La Muerte, Estratega Pencherjevsky) has created two albums of laid back bedroom pop heavily influenced by the 80's. The second volume is a bit better for my taste but the first one contains one of the best tracks of the year - "Modo Avion".

Shitbrain "The First Songs" (p)edita la servidumbre BNDCMP - the collection of recordings by an obscure band led by Ed Matto (Glitterhouse, Beauty Fool Records) in array from meditative lo-fi to loud noise rock.

DOM "Emergency"

DOM "Emergency" (p)2020 Discos Delejos

At the first sight "Emergency" is less consumable than last year's "2019" by another Domingo Aleman's avatar Sunday German Flowers. However, it is clear that it inherits as to "2019" as to the past works of now-defunct combo Ruin Man Band (also led by Domingo) "Beyond Panzaburro" and "Paraiso". It may lack Ruin Man Band's dance groove or "2019"'s cohesion but it's still got a lot to offer. Lyrically "Emergency" is dedicated to the contemporary world issues (environmental crisis, the conflict of new human-centered values and capitalistic system, etc). Partnered again with his long-time ally Manuel Estevez, this time Domingo invited his frequent collaborators: the local Canarian mainstays Fajardo and Diego Hdez - along with less frequent ones Arico and Acid Buda - to represent his world view the best way. As all of the mentioned persons are far from 'your usual songwriter' type, the album boundlessly mixes leftfield electronica with trip hop, dub, freak-folk and even abstract hip hop to produce strange music that may seem too complicated at the first listen but causes the effect of dependency with every subsequent time you push the play button.

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Conjunto Podenco, Lullavy "Garabato"

Conjunto Podenco, Lullavy "Garabato" (p)2020 Repetidor

This is not that sort of homogenous split album. United by the imprint (Repetidor) and the recording space (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's La Caterva Grabaciones) sound-wise the bands - Catalan three-piece Lullavy and Gran Canaria-born combo Conjunto Podenco - differ a lot. 

While listening to Lullavy's lone LP "Ruina" (which is completely perfect for my taste) you might apply such tags as 'ethereal' or 'hypnotic' to their 2nd wave emo/post-hardcore odes, but this time the band took different approach to make the stripped-down 'flesh-and-bones' record like if it was produced by Steve Albini. So the result is considerably harsher than "Ruina". When Saul Ibañez sings here you can almost feel his vocal chords are bleeding. The songwriting is still great, "Si No Lo Piensas" is one of the best tracks that saw the light of day this year.

Conjunto Podenco is a tough subject to describe. The band consists of the persons more than well-known within Canarian music community: Fajardo (psych-folk singer-songwriter with successful solo career), Jose A. Lopez (owner of aforementioned La Caterva Grabaciones, recording engineer and producer of multiple local bands) and Angel Clavijo (head of local event agency Conexion Canarias). Based on this info it's hard to predict what their music would sound like before you start to listen to them, right? It's strange, but it doesn't get easier to debrief what you have just listened to afterwards. Like the most of the Canarian bands, Conjunto Podenco act beyond all possible limitations creating the music that seems completely uncategorizable. You may call them post-hardcore but please take in mind that they use post-hardcore angular rhythm base only as a thin layer below all and everything they place on top of it. You're hardly gonna define a cake by the glossy cardboard pad you put it on, ain't you?

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Diego Hdez "Paisajes Confinados"

 Diego Hdez "Paisajes Confinados" (p)2020 Discos Delejos/ Foehn Records

The prolific Canarian musician Diego Hernandez is not your average songwriter as he intentionally escapes any repetition, cyclic structures and linear melodies. His music is not 'songs' in the ordinary sense of the word. It's more like boat trip across the sea when at times it's calm and soothing and at times it's not. It may sound quite disturbing for an unprepared listener but it's not that kind of uncontrolled drift through the waves. It's just an expression of the non-linear mind of its auteur, and you can be sure that this expression is unique.

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Terry Vs. Tory "Heathers"

Terry Vs. Tori "Heathers" (p)2020 El Genio Equivocado

Jangle pop at its best with the references to everyone in wide array from Wedding Present to The Luxembourg Signal all the way through Trembling Blue Stars and earlier era Los Planetas along with touches of twee, C86 and dreampop. This genre experiences some kind of revival in recent years so the Sevilla-based quartet fits perfectly not only for the national music map #rightnow but also for the global trend confirmed by the critical acclaim of such releases as Desperate Journalist's "In Search Of The Miraculous" or Jetstream Pony's self-titled album.

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Pumuky "Castillo Interior" EP

Pumuky "Castillo Interior" (p)2020 Keroxen

It's never easy in the world of Pumuky. While having been stripped down to the core duo of brothers Jair and Noe Ramirez looked like streamlining of the internal communication, the creative process only got more complicated with both brothers having their own families now - in addition to them residing on the different islands. The necessity of finding the balance between making art and household duties significantly slowed the band's activities down. Now the new Pumuky releases are as frequent as your 29th of February birthday parties. 

Anyway, whatever they lose in output they compensate it in quality of songwriting. Recorded and mixed completely in Jair's own apartment the new EP still delivers every emotion Pumuky have always been honored for throughout their career. I still haven't listened to it via my home hi-fi system so as of now I can't check it out is there anything on the record that depicts 'bedroom origin' of it. But I don't feel like I have to. Everything I need to know about "Castillo Interior" has nothing to do with hi-end nuancing. So it might need a cheaper headset only to figure out what this record is. A piece of music as an antithesis to socializing. A soundrack of falling into the rabbit hole of your own mind. A sonic equivalent to hypnagogia. 

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Homeless "Youthful Ashes"

Homeless "Youthful Ashes" (p)2020 self-released

The third longplay of the gaditanos Homeless is another chapter in the band's own story of the constant evolution. Stylistically "Youthful Ashes" differs from "Solidos Platonicos" as much as "Solidos Platonicos" differed from "La Ciencia Lo Sabe". There's a clue to this (not 100% correct, it's just what I can consider what it looks like from the distance). The band is a part of the southernmost Andalusian bands community closely associated with the Grabaciones Sumergidas - recording studio based in El Puerto de Santa Maria - and the personalities behind it: namely, Juan Antonio Mateos (plays guitar in Homeless, fronts The Magic Mor, produces dozens of local bands including my own favorites Detergente Liquido) and Ernie Rodriguez (plays drums for The Magic Mor and Detergente Liquido as well as for Homeless right now, along with assisting Juan Antonio in production duties). So it seems like Grabaciones Sumergidas sometimes acts like a think tank, a trading post, a pool of ideas from which the musicians could drink using the pieces of those collective ideas for their own purposes.

The first major change of the pattern is pictured right on the sleeve. As the title shows, after two LPs sung completely in castellano Diego Pozo - the frontman and primary songwriter of the band - started to sing in English. The more habitual situation in the Spanish indie scene is when a band starts its career from singing in English and then converts to Spanish. “Youthful Ashes” is the opposite case. It’s neither good nor bad – just a thing worth mentioning.

While the English language is the first thing you notice when putting the record on, the advanced role of synths is the second. There is a pair of songs in the middle of the album ("Breaking Up" and "The Trip") where the synths take leading role to make them sound so new wavey you could feel like going back to the 80's. However, for the most of the tracks Linda Guilala-esque synths, fragile-sounding (please don't confuse it with 'thin' – ‘fragile’ is good, ‘thin’ is mostly not) guitars and crispy clean sound of Slowdive's "Souvlaki" are the main sonic dominants. Despite the mention of both Linda Guilala and Slowdive in one phrase, only minor dreampop influence is detected. Melodically the album pays more debt to post-millennial 'non-aligned' British rock acts - for example, "Behind Us" sounds like amalgam of IAMX and The Cooper Temple Clause. It also reminds me of the last year's magnificent "In Search Of The Miraculous" by Desperate Journalist. It's not about any direct comparisons - it rather feels like when listetning to both records I get more or less the same emotions. And just like "In Search Of The Miraculous", "Youthful Ashes" is another strongest contender to compete for the year’s end pole position.

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Da Souza "Salsa Agredolça"

Da Souza "Salsa Agredolça" (p)2020 Bubota Discos

I'm unaware if there is a term considering the new generation of catalan/balearic indie scene. El Petit De Cal Eril, Ferran Palau, Ran Ran Ran, Da Souza, Roig!, Jorra I Gomorra, L'Espiadimonis, to name a few - they're all united by the specific feel their music creates. Call them 'slacker indie' because of their palpable lack of ambition that never prevents them from making the great song, or call them 'fluid pop' as those songs intentionally avoid the firm structures in such a way that any catchy tune contains an element of suspense: would it last for long until the end of the song (yeah, I'm gonna use that line in my own song) or would it break to pieces with some unexpected pipes entering the scene, or a dominant synth line reminiscent of Tubeway Army's "Replica". I guess this is exactly what is called 'artistic freedom'.

Regarding this particular example of 'fluid pop' [tm] I would like to say the following: Da Souza's "Futbol D'Avantguarda" appeared to be kind of an indie sensation a couple of years ago, and it was really great. "Salsa Agredolça" is even better.

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Lua Gramer "Destruir El Pop"

Lua Gramer "Destruir El Pop" (p)2020 Clifford Records

With the name that sounds like an intention (it can be translated as “To Destroy the Pop Music”) this album provides us with the sweet girl/boy vocals placed in front of post-punk/ indie-pop blend seasoned with the nugaze sound. The way the sweet melodies of the verses are scorched by the bursts of fuzzed-out guitar noise of the choruses is probably to display the announced destruction of pop. I’d single out "Desastre" as the track that showcases the band's modus operandi in the most illustrative way and "La Comunidad" as the best track of the album. Under the bottom line, it sounds like the ideal record for the fans of both The Field Mice and Amusement Parks On Fire.

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3spada "cuaderna d3 bitacora"

3spada "Cuaderna d3 Bitacora" (p)2020

It looks like Paco Espada has created this album without any navigation system. It's like, "What's your destination?" - "My destination is somewhere". He drifts freely through the genres as diverse as neo-prog ("Epitafio d3 Seikilos"), groove metal ("Grey Garden"), funk rock with scratches and ethnic motives ("Just Sound"), cabaret-stylized modal jazz ("Cefiro") or even crossover ("No Way") with his abilities to add some bass-driven component into any given genre clearly on display. With such the heterogenous environment it's obvious that some tracks may work perfectly for you, and some may not. For me, the aforementioned jazz theme doesn't seem like the real deal while the rest of the album with the bunch of tracks forged in the metal-related subgenres got me completely satisfied.

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Sauna Bytes "Sauna Bytes"

Sauna Bytes "Sauna Bytes" (p)2020

From the very first sounds this album welcomes a listener with the elevated vocals and jangling guitars reminiscent of either the pre-Britpop (or even pre-C86) Foggy Albion scene or some 80’s post-punk heroes from Down Under (The Church’s “Heyday” is arguably the most evident influence). Talking about more contemporary – as well as geographically closer – reference points I would like to mention the Madrid-based quartet Pasavento or Sauna Bytes’ Comunidad Valenciana compatriots Peepshow – both bands are visibly following the same path of pro-Britain pop/rock heavily infused with taste, elegance, tone-setting synths and tight ‘exactly as much as required’ drum section. As those bands remain relatively unnoticed by wider audience despite the undeniably high quality of their output I can’t escape the feeling that the lower profile bands (calling them ‘second tier of Spanish indie’ would be offensive, I guess) are now making way more interesting music than the most of their top tier (when you add ‘top’ to ‘tier’ it ceases to sound offensive, though) ‘always-in-the-public-eye’ peers do.

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b1n0 "b1n0"

b1n0 “b1n0” (p)2020 Foehn Records

Look, a lot of the critically acclaimed records of today sound like they were created the following way: all tracks were burned onto a CD, than CD was placed into a grinding machine, and finally the record was glued together from the billion silvery plastic pieces removed out of the grinding machine. If you look regularly into the Pitchfork Media’s ‘best new music’ section you know what I mean - Arca, FKA Twigs, Rosalia’s “El Mal Querer”, etc. While b1n0’s eponymous debut album apparently belongs to the same ‘cross-everything avant-pop’ subgenre of experimental music the aforementioned musicians belong to, it sounds more, dunno… human? Like, “Well, we would like the robots having got their tunes to make love to, but we still shouldn’t ignore eukaryotes”. Thus, on the Arcameter b1n0 are way closer to Moses Sumney than to Jlin.

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Gonzalo Fuster "Almacenero Marx"

Gonzalo Fuster "Almacenero Marx" (p)2020 Discos Belamarh

Have you ever noticed that the most simple sounding music is often the hardest to describe? This is the case of “Almacenero Marx”. It sounds like it’s 60% silence or indistinct homemade ambient noises but how would you describe the other 40%? Free-form minimal no-wave neo-classical musique concrete acid jazz with sporadic laughter, interfamilial dialogues or a toddler's mutter used as vocals? Ok, let's put it like that's the real thing. Do you get the idea? Chances are you don't. It needs to listen to the record to get the idea of it. One-take spontaneity mixed with bedroom pop techniques mixed with avant-garde mind of the former El Ser Humano mastermind.

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Venezia Rojo Shocking "Playful EP"

Venezia Rojo Shocking "Playful EP" (p)2020 

It's good cuz the songs are damn good.

It's bad cuz it's only three song long.

For the fans of James, Idlewild, Galaxie 500. Mostly James.

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Sr. Chinarro "El Bando Bueno"

Sr. Chinarro "El Bando Bueno" (p)2020 Mushroom Pillow

I do believe "El Bando Bueno" might easily be considered the career's best for Sr. Chinarro as it's got everything for that. It's ideal, undoubtedly. Regarding his earlier legacy (let’s say, every album up to “Enhorabuena A Los Cuatro”), I mostly like all these albums but there always are the songs that I don’t like. This is the album where I like every particular song. I insist on there is no weak song on "El Bando Bueno". But for me personally, I still love his saddest, bleakest, most brooding releases (namely "Perspectiva Caballera" and "El Progreso") more than this one because this one sounds a bit too comfortable. It sounds like the man is... happy?

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Ballena "Odisea Ballena"

 Ballena "Odisea Ballena" (p)2020 Subterfuge

Their previous longplay sounded like the recording studio was haunted by Santiago Motorizado during the process. I don't speak about direct borrowings - it's rather like Ballena and The Band From The Other Side Of The Pond aka El Mato A Un Policia Motorizado shared the same atmosphere or the common mood. "Odisea Ballena", while following nearly the same path, is way more diverse than "Navarone". The band sounds like trying to push every boundary in every direction so some songs get wider, bigger, louder while the other ones get more poppy and lightweight. Looks like the law of the expansion of the universe in miniature and it's as cool as it gets because it's always cool when the music itself gets more sophisticated without making you into studying rocket science. 

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Nueva Vulcano "Ensayo"

Nueva Vulcano "Ensayo" (p)2020 BCore Disc/ La Castanya 

It's been five years since critically acclaimed "Noveleria" was brought to light. In the times of streaming such the long span of dormancy (though they’ve never been completely silent during this time) could be detrimental for any career in music but it’s obviously not the case of Nueva Vulcano. It's time to declare the following: despite the significant time gap between records little has changed for the leaders of Catalan post-hardcore scene. Picking up right where they left off back in the year 2015 they are stepping into the new decade with another piece of solid gold full of off-key vocals, angular bass lines and guitars that flow freewillingly around the rhythm section. You're not gonna confuse it with anyone else's. As far as I can see, in terms of critical acclaim "Ensayo" is destined to follow the path of its predecessors marking one more milestone in the career of the Barcelona underground kingpins.

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Fanaticos "Resiliencia"

 Fanaticos "Resiliencia" (p)2020 Flor Y Nata

While not the most original and authentic entity in the world, this album is an enjoyable set of songs for those who appreciates the melodicism and hit potential rather than the mere experimentation. Despite the presence of Ivan Ferreiro (with the different take on his own "Años 80" implanted into the album's best track "Todo") this is not the kind of record destined for hype and heavy rotation. So you could listen to the good pop song kinda embracing your own exclusiveness.

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