Continuing a Zögernd tradition, here I encapsulate the top bodies of musical work to debut in my ears during our latest revolution around the sun.

Johannes Brahms – Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift (1868)

Full of frisson-inducing placid beauty but also some absolute bangers. Notice how so many of the notes last longer than you’d expect them to. I wrote a little more about the piece here.

Sam Cooke – Night Beat (1963)

The guitar leads are kind of terrible. But if this album were too perfect we’d probably die hearing it.

The Cramps – Psychedelic Jungle (1981)

Campy vocal delivery, primitive riffs, facemelting snare delay — just the things to get you through the pandemic malaise.

Deerhoof – Milk Man (2004)

Mathy and weird but also fun and accessible. Just go with it.

Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) (1893)

Exciting, memorable melodies from wall to wall. Real meat-and-potatoes stuff. A wrote a little more about it here.

Landowner – Impressive Almanac (2017)

A proof of concept for the live band that followed, but I like the lo-fi/drum machine aesthetic best.

Norma Tanega, “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” (1966)

Perfectly imperfect performances of inventive, heartfelt songs from folk ballads to gospel stomps and even a march.

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Related

• ‘Albums’ of the ‘year’ 2020
• ‘Albums’ of the ‘year’ 2019

Pardon all the scare quotes. These as just some song groupings I discovered and dug over the last 12 months, give or take.

Whack World – Tierra Whack (2018)

My big thing lately is getting away from repetition, and this piece does that of necessity — each song is only a minute long. Thematically, stylistically, it covers an incredible amount of ground in its total runtime of 15 minutes. Also, I’m not sure the music should be separated from its accompanying video, which accentuates its careful crafting and sense of humor.

General Dome – Buke and Gase (2013)

Between the relentless stomping and unconventional plucking it’s almost possible to lose track of the hugely expressive and sneakily high-ranging voice tying it all together.

A State of Wonder – Glenn Gould (1955, 1981)

I eventually developed a strong preference between these two recordings of Johann Sebastain Bach’s Goldberg Variations. But having the chance to contrast two such different interpretations of the same compositions by the same superhuman performer is a rare treat.

A Good Thing Lost – The Poppy Family (1968-1973)

A magnificent voice backed up by ingenious pop craftsmanship. These songs ought to be part of the groovy pantheon, but I’d never gotten a whiff of any of them until this year.

For Certain Because – The Hollies (1966)

Delightful Britpop with just enough psychedelic spice, and fantastic two- and three-part harmonies.

Splendor and Misery – Clipping (2016)

The story of the sole survivor of an uprising on an interstellar slave ship. Glitchy beats created by, among other things, a dot-matrix printer like my grandmother had circa 1992. The album title is a reference to an unfinished Samuel R. Delany novel, one song references Ursula K. LeGuinn. How can I resist?

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Related

• ‘Albums’ of the ‘year’ (2019)

This time of year it’s de rigueur for music critics to proclaim the best albums to emerge during the prior 12 months. I listen to plenty of new-to-me music in the course of a year, but not all of it is in album format, and very little is new releases. So here are some music collections, discovered within the last year (or three), that have delighted me end to end. Entries are alphabetical by artist.

 

Blind Melon, “For My Friends” (2008)

The band’s best work, which may be a sacreligious opinion given that it’s post-Shannon Hoon and that the replacement singer is trying to sound like Shannon Hoon.

Busdriver, “Thumbs” (2015)

The most idiosyncratic rapper. Amazing feat.s. Mind-altering production.

David Byrne “Uh-Oh” (1992)

A rediscovery. I expected to find it mildly diverting, but it turned out to be super solid and fun.

Cibo Matto, “Hotel Valentine” (2014)

Curious, squiggly, glitchy sounds woven into songs that are by turns dancey and spooky. Another awesome band that went away for a little while then came back awesomer.

The Move, “Shazam” (1970)

Heavy psych rock with proggy twists and turns, including a detour into Bach and Tchaikovsky.

Rhye, “Woman” (2013)

Warm synths and understated grooves and that smooth, androgynous voice. Only problem is you can’t properly listen to this one anywhere the light is bright.

Esperanza Spalding, “Emily’s D+evolution” (2016)

A pretty rockin set from someone I thought of as more of a jazz artist. Some of the playing is a little showoffy but the songs are beautifully crafted and full of earworms.

The True Jacqueline, “An Adventure Somewhere Maybe” (2019)

Ambitious, exhilarating shoegaze. Everything sounds huge. 

Various artists, “Hip-Hop Essentials 1979-1991”

Tommy Boy released this magnificent 12-CD compilation in 2005 and 2006. Obnoxiously, all the cuss words are digitally reversed (i.e., censored). But all the best old-school stuff doesn’t have any cussing anyway.