T
This was the year that London fell silent. A city that used to shake with the sound of music, be it from a 20,000-seat stadium, a dark space hidden under a railway arch, a cavernous warehouse, the cozy back room of a pub, a stack of speakers in the corner of a street. , or anywhere else, he was forced to turn down the volume.
But while live music has largely remained absent (despite the best efforts of commendably resilient venue owners who have tried to put on concerts amid all the restrictions and hardships), the capital has still managed. to produce a large number of albums. With no touring commitments and a seemingly endless amount of time to create, the city’s artists have delivered an onslaught of incredible new music, from simmering new age jazz and blazing UK drill, to complicated electronics and total rock. .
What exactly does a London album do? Our criteria are quite flexible, much like the fluid definition of what makes a Londoner, but we have stuck to albums published by artists who were born in the capital or who have spent significant periods of their lives here.
These albums are from London, but like the people who made them, their roots extend far beyond the city limits, and that is what makes our city and the music created here so special. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are our favorite full releases that came out over the last 12 months.
Beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers
Beatrice Laus, the Philippine-born, London-raised songwriter, is just 20 years old and clinging to the indie rock signifiers of the pre-britpop nineties: fuzzy guitar, soft, fuzzy vocals and the occasional jump to a messy volume, with the fervor of someone for whom the sound remains exhilaratingly new on their debut album. In Worth It, the mix of energetic riffs and her sweet, fragile singing voice are reminiscent of key women in alternative music of the early nineties, such as Tanya Donnelly from Belly, or the occasional Lemonhead Juliana Hatfield. Those who know her from her first Coffee acoustic sketch will notice a return to her early bedroom pop sound in the ghostly How Was Your Day ?, but elsewhere the guitars are on and she sounds powerfully confident, moving into the deeper past.
Beatrice Dillon – Workaround
One of the most intriguing electronic releases of the year was courtesy of Beatrice Dillon, the ever-inquisitive producer who spent years of training working in London record stores, reviewing their products and developing a broad sonic palette. With a steady 150 bpm beat, avoiding the usual rhythm of dance music, this album moves through hyper-modern club cuts and quirky abstractions, building a tapestry of rhythm and texture through various instruments: a synthesizer, a tabla , a kora. , and more. It’s an album that is both immediate and demanding of repeated listening: each time you do it, more is revealed.
Che Lingo – The Worst Generation
Wandsworth rapper Che Lingo faced the hype of being signed to Idris Elba’s 7Wallace label when introducing this stylish multifaceted debut album. He describes his experiences as a young black man growing up in South London – prejudice, love, mental health and more – with a shape-shifting flow that feels symbolically versatile. The production is slick and the features are crafty, especially the deep rumble of Kojey Radical on one of the most prominent tracks, Dark Days.
Dua Lipa – Nostalgia for the future
Many of her fellow pop stars panicked and put a tentative TBC on her next album plans (* cough * Gaga * cough *) when the world shut down in spring, but Dua Lipa thankfully took the opposite approach. She pushed the release of Future Nostalgia forward by a week, making sure its arrival perfectly coincided with that point of lockdown when we really needed to turn our dreary kitchens into makeshift discos (OK, this decision was undoubtedly motivated by the fact that the record was leaked online, but we like to think that it was at least partly motivated by altruism…) It’s quite cruel that we were largely robbed of the opportunity to dance en masse with these disco-pop bangers, when the clubs finally opened, Future Nostalgia it will cause chaos.
Help is an album daydream, one that is often swept up in its ruminant piano motifs, but occasionally haunted by ghosts of legacy and identity. On the track Alone, a blissful jazz instrumental sways with the vocal sample floating above it (“Stop touching me, it makes me uncomfortable,” says a manipulated voice). Elsewhere, Duval, the multidisciplinary creative who divides his time between London and Freetown in Sierra Leone, delves into the history of slavery and makes links to the oppression of modern artists by today’s music industry. However, it is an album never overloaded by its themes: it is an elegant and often beautiful marvel.
Emmy the Great – Abril / 月 音
While Emma-Lee Moss has received praise for her reflections on difficult relationships and breakups, her expert lyricism is even more alive here when she turns her gaze to herself, her hometown (Hong Kong, where she lived until she was 12). . before moving to London), and the complex relationship between the two. Folk-pop narration intertwines with Far Eastern-influenced sound and clever writing to create a charming and brilliant album.
Georgia – Looking for emotions
Neil Barnes’ daughter Georgia of Leftfield is effectively dance music royalty, and you can hear that heritage in the cavernous bassline of the irresistibly energetic second half of Started Out, the old-school home of The Thrill and the retro-futuristic rumble of Ray Guns. But what makes Seeking Thrills feel like a new beginning is Georgia’s new ear for the pop melody and her willingness to stop digitally altering her sweet singing voice. About Work The Dancefloor is a glorious run towards a glittering choir, while Never Let You Go and 24 Hours, which perform it near brilliant euphoria, confirm Georgia as a huge talent.
Drill had a great year in 2020, cementing its place as the dominant force at the top of the rap food chain in the UK, and was crowned by the chart-topping release of Edna. It’s a debut album, even if it’s a bit misleading to call it that, he had already delivered a number of mixtapes the length of the album, but this is the Tottenham rapper’s most powerful release to date. There are some major collaborations (Drake, Stormzy, and the Skepta boss among them) but Headie One is never outshined. Her reflections on pain, crime, and redemption are convincingly clear, highlighting a parade of punchy, elegant rhythms in 20 tracks. It is the sound of an artist who, after years in the music game, is just beginning.
After years of quite significant ups and downs (sharing the O2 stage with Drake; time in prison for possessing knives), J Hus is back doing what he does best and doing a fantastic job. How are you going to rule the world, you can’t even rule your life? wonders in Fight for Your Right. Musically, with his regular collaborator JAE5, he confidently jumps genres, from Repeat’s melodic dancehall, sung by Jamaican new star Koffee, to Helicopter’s spy-themed bass and No Denying’s mariachi horns and edgy strings.
Jessie Ware – What is your pleasure?
This flirty, old-school album provided much-needed escapism in this wacky year. There is no melancholy or longing here, instead we have sexual tension, hazy summer nights, and the electricity of connection. Musically, Ware has returned to his club culture roots, with a throwback to classic funk, dance and disco, though sizzling synths and intuitive production bring songs into this decade and his voice is louder than ever.
Lianne La Havas – Lianne La Havas
Released in the summer, Lianne La Havas’ self-titled third album was a delicious antidote to this year’s chaos. From the opening bars of its title track, Bittersweet, it was filled with songs that sounded like opening the window to a summer day, closing your eyes, and enjoying the breeze. It was the perfect soundtrack for relaxing at home (but not while working from home, it deserves all the attention) and it is sure to be divine live music when concerts are back in play.
Moses Boyd – Dark Matter
When the BBC first broadcast Jazz 625 in the early 1960s, with performances by artists like John Dankworth and Tubby Hayes, it documented a boom in British jazz. Earlier this year, the channel resurrected the show and dedicated it to the effervescent and varied scene that has emerged in recent years. It was hosted by saxophonist Nubya Garcia (more on her below) and Moses Boyd, both standard bearers of the new cohort. Catford’s Boyd, an exquisitely measured presence behind the drums, brilliantly highlighted much of what makes British audiences so exciting on his debut album: it flowed like water around the rocks of the genre, a confluence of traditional jazz. , Afrobeat, house, UK. garage and much more. An emblematic triumph of a scene that is sure to have a lot to give.
The album name here can be taken in various ways. It could be in a literal biological sense: the track’s title Before Us: In Demerara & Caura recalls ancestral roots, marking the name of the regions of Guyana and Trinidad where Garcia’s parents came from. Or it could be a reference to the various musical currents that are intertwined through music, drawing on jazz, dub reggae, cumbia and more. Of course, the Camden-raised saxophonist knows where her sound comes from, but this isn’t just an ode – it takes you to new places here. Source is a fascinating, unhurried adventure, spanning a dizzying hour of sound, sometimes brooding and other bustlingly exhilarating, but always excellent.
Rina Sawayama – SAWAYAMA
This debut is a throwback to the Noughties, but it’s equal parts nostalgic and futuristic. Family and identity are prominent themes (Sawayama was born in Japan but raised in North London). At STFU! She revisits the racist microaggressions she has experienced and tells them about those “expected fantasies” about her, well, you guessed it. But this also serves as a sweet love letter to London’s queer community, her chosen family. A fascinating and electrifying eclectic hit.
Tina – Music of positive mental health
Everything that comes out of Speedy Wunderground, the label around which an entire scene of new guitar music seems to revolve, generates a wave of anticipation. It’s no wonder, then, that the label’s first full-length album release has held high hopes. South London band’s debut Tiña doesn’t push the boundaries of Speedy’s other releases, but embraces their gorgeous, languid psych rock sound. Frontman Joshua Loftin wrote the lyrics to work through a mental breakdown: the result is an album that captures all the gravity and absurdities of such a situation, casually moving from lyrics about suicide, to humor to ease tension and anxiety. open-hearted compassion.
–
