The 2020 Soundtrack - A Year in 20 Songs

So here we are at the end of a very strange and difficult year. One thing that has brought many of us comfort is music. Providing the soundtrack to our sad and joyful moments, and our reflections on the times we live through, it has never felt more important.

Though the music industry may have suffered many challenges this year, so many artists have continued to write and record, often capturing and detailing the experiences we have all shared. Here is our top 20 tracks of 2020. A varied list of top quality songs and artistry, and we hope you’ll agree an excellent sample of incredible music from this past year.

The Strokes - ‘The Adults are Talking’ - The opening track from New York’s finest’s comeback record ‘The New        Abnormal’, this song captures the spirit of the Strokes. Driving rhythms, weary vocals and a huge chorus - they’re all here. Strip away some of the excess and this could have fit comfortably on their legendary debut ‘Is This It?’

Howie Payne - ‘Faster Than Light’ - Since disbanding The Stands, Payne has been carving out his own identity with a series of warm and well crafted acoustic recordings. This track finds him returning to the harmonic and electrically charged sounds of his early days, and is one of his finest efforts to date. A wailing guitar riff wraps around his yearning vocals to stunning effect.

Brendan Benson - ‘Richest Man’ - Jack White’s partner in crime has released several well received solo records over the years, and 2020’s ‘Dear Life’ was no exception. This is that albums best moment - a horn infused country rock song that dashes along at pace and finds Benson celebrating the good things in his life as he sings ‘I got two beautiful babies and one hell of a woman as my wife, got twice the love and half the money, must be the richest man alive’.

Taylor Swift - ‘The 1’ - The opening track to Swift’s sublime ‘Folklore’, this is a song of reflection and heartache but ultimately optimism. It set the tone for the record with it's understated instrumentals and Swift’s relaxed delivery as she sings ‘we were something don’t you think so, roaring twenties tossing pennies in the pool, and it would have been fun, if you could have been the one’.

Fleet Foxes - ‘Can I Believe You’ - SONG OF THE YEAR - Our favourite song of 2020, is this brilliant return to form for Fleet Foxes. It has it all. Driving rhythms, passionate stirring vocals, and an unforgettable melody. The whole song sounds like a chorus. A work of genius from Robin Pecknold.

Whitney - ‘A.M A.M’ - Whitney have been making soft lo-Fi indie rock their specialty since they emerged from the demise of the Smith Westerns and this track, from ‘Candid’, is no exception. It’s riff is unforgettable, melody gentle and soothing, and the vocals are hushed but well delivered. All in all a superb effort.

The Magic Gang - ‘Take Back the Track’ - The band's sophomore album ‘Death of the Party’ may have failed to live up to its predecessor, but this lead single is great fun. Frustratingly catchy, it channels 70’s cheese and the call and response of Carl Douglas’ ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ to create a feel good summery tune.

Red Rum Club - ‘Eleanor’ - Another feel good upbeat number (we needed plenty of those this year), this is a love song for its namesake delivered with just the right amount of funky rhythm to tempt a spin on the (kitchen) dance floor.

The Big Moon - ‘Waves’ - The Big Moon are known for big anthems and so it is interesting to hear them stripped back to little more than harmonised vocals and a piano. It works beautifully. The song is a melancholic reflection on a troubled relationship, as Juliette Jackson sighs ‘I never saw the tide come in I only saw the waves, I thought that you’d soon be back and things would be the same’.

Blossoms - ‘If You Think This is Real Life’ - The opener from ‘Foolish Loving Spaces’ grabs you by the ears from the get go. Driven along by 80’s flavoured rhythms and synths, the track pulsates behind Ogden’s cynical sermon. One of the best things the band have done since their debut.

Paul McCartney - ‘Long Tailed Winter Bird’ - The opener from the recently released ‘McCartney III’, this song set the experimental and freewheeling tone for the record. The whirling acoustic guitar and synth riff makes the listener think of the bird from the song’s title and the combination of chugging guitars and coo-ing vocals combine to stunning effect.

Passenger - ‘The Way That I Love You ‘- There is no doubt that this is a sincere love song that travels the middle of the road, but is it any less enjoyable for that? Not at all! A well crafted and moving love song reminiscent of Billy Joel, it captures the feelings of an earnest lover perfectly.

BC Camplight - ‘I Only Drink When I’m Drunk’ - Perhaps the strangest song on this list but a magnificent one nonetheless. Part spaghetti western, part cosmic soap opera, Camplight’s track is a paean to hazy boozy Manchester afternoons and captivates throughout but particularly at 2:55 when it emerges from the fog for an epic ending.

Declan McKenna - ‘Be an Astronaut’ - McKenna carried the weight of expectation for his sophomore album after the huge success of his debut. How to respond? Well this piano-led epic which wears the influence of Bowie on its spangled shoulders throughout is a pretty good answer. A song about childhood dreams and struggles with reality, it’s one of his finest songs to date.

Taylor Swift - ‘Betty’ - The only artist to get two songs in here (only fair when her album ‘Folklore’ is our record of the year), this one is a totally different affair. A country leaning, harmonica infused combination of her roots and new style, the track tells the tale of James who has lost his true love (the Betty of the title) and desperately ponders winning her back. It’s damn catchy and one of the finest and funnest moments on ‘Folklore’.

Dirty Projectors - ‘Overlord’ - Lifted from the bands ‘Windows Open’ EP, this track is all about the melodic vocal. Accompanied by nothing more than a simple drum beat and strummed guitar, the harmonised vocals build to a perfect chorus.

Paul Weller - ‘Village’ - Weller’s ‘On Sunset’ was a great record finding the rock legend trying his hand at warm soul fuelled ruminations. This is the finest, a tribute to home and identity that feels familiar from the first listen and places Wellers’ husky vocal front and centre.

Bob Dylan - ‘I Contain Multitudes’ - The opener to his first collection of original material in a decade (‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’), the songs finds Dylan in his best form for years. The rippling guitars provide the perfect backdrop to his weary and aged smoky vocals (sounding the best they have done for ages) as he reflects ‘I’m a man of contradictions, I’m a man of many moods, I contain multitude's.

Mac Miller - ‘Good News’ - This laid back and reflective song comes from Miller’s posthumous LP ‘Circles’. His world-weary vocals deliver a wistful reflection that creates a beautiful laid back atmosphere.

Laura Marling - ‘For You’ - The closing track of the truly sublime ‘Songs For Our Daughter’, this is arguably the best song on that album. It has a classic Marling sound but does not wear its influences too obviously and finds her experimenting with her boundaries as she mixes both a beautiful guitar solo and an atmospheric accordion interlude. A reflection on the depth of love, it is a delicate ballad that stays with you for days. A beautiful song and an exciting signal for where Marling may go next.