Favorite New (to Me) Albums of 2020: Part I

The following is a list of the top 10 albums that came onto my radar in or around the year 2020. Some of them were actually released this year, but most of them are older albums, some by defunct artists, that somehow managed to slip by until recently. I have a number of sources to thank for introducing me to these gems, from close friends to strangers on Reddit to the recommendation gods at Spotify.

So without further delay, I bring you part 1 of 5:

Bracket - Novelty Forever (1997)

I was unaware of Bracket altogether until 2020. They’re a pop punk quartet from Forestville, California, and they’ve been around since the early 1990s, but it seems to me that their heyday really came about in the late 90s with the release of two albums on Fat Wreck Chords. Novelty Forever was the first of these.

The album sounds like a less accessible version of one of Green Day’s early releases, with more challenging progressions, albeit in the form of overdriven power chords.

What most makes Bracket unique is that three of the four members often sing together, creating an array of interesting vocal harmonies that fill in the tonal gaps left by the rest of the instrumentation.

There are also a few instances of impressive lead guitar work, akin to some of the best solos from Superdrag’s John Davis.

My two favorite songs from Novelty Forever are “Three Gardens” and “Drama Queen.”

“Three Gardens” is a short, upbeat, and catchy tune, comprised of three verses that correspond to the three “gardens” of restfulness, secrecy, and selfishness. It has a tone of yearning and restlessness, conveyed by its droning vocals in the refrain, which contrast nicely with drums that cut through the mix.

“Drama Queen” is a sludgy, self-explanatory anthem that builds throughout the first verse to a powerful chorus, which repeats twice more as the song unfolds. The verses are constructed from a winding vocal melody that fits perfectly into a unique chord progression, accented by playful guitar licks.

This album would be great for fans of Green Day, Superdrag, or Lagwagon, particularly ones who are looking for something a bit more abrasive and less digestible to the mainstream.

Bobgoblin - Love Lost for Blood Lust (2015)

Here’s another decades-old band I only just discovered in 2020.

Known for their energetic live shows and matching flight suits, Bobgoblin is power pop trio from Dallas, Texas and, like Bracket, have been around since the early 90s. Interestingly, Bobgoblin changed their name for a few years in the early 2000s (to “Adventures of Jet”) after a brief major label stint in the late ‘90s, then subsequently broke up to focus on their families, but when they reunited in the early 2010s, they picked up right where they left off and recorded one of their strongest albums yet, Love Lost for Blood Lust.

This album is chock full of rich guitar tones, experimental time signatures, and swirling synth leads.

My two favorite tracks are “Danger” (for which they made a decent music video) and “White Lines.”

“Danger,” a song about the constant anxiety of modern culture, is a catchy single with great contrast between its dark and subdued verses and its elated, soaring chorus. It builds slowly from a stripped down first verse and then dumps the listener into a beautiful production. The synth compliments the layered vocals, the guitar wails at all the right times, and a delay is used to intensify the most moving part of the song.

A sharp contrast from “Danger,” “White Lines” is marked by angular guitars and an unusual time signature. It’s an upbeat song that hints toward society’s recent tendency to deal with the stressors of everyday life through the use of prescription drugs, and the song just rocks. Nothing like a good quintuple meter to keep the head-boppers guessing!