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our 50 favorite albums + eps of 2020

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preface: thank you for another year of great connecticut music!  below, you’ll find our favorite releases of the Worst Year on Record, but if you haven’t started scrolling yet, we wanted to say a few things before we get there.  first: thank you, how are you doing?  second: please note that this is our “favorite”, and not “the best”.  these are the albums and EPs that we spent the most time with in 2020, and in no way are we suggesting that Album X is better or more valuable than Album Y.    third: we’re not trying to be authoritative here.  the only reason why we make a list like this in the first place is to (1) hype connecticut, and (2) celebrate some of the music we loved this year.  that’s also why we have limited this list to one release per band / artist.  we want to spread the hype around!  fourth: “there’s too much indie rock”, yeah i know, next.  fifth: if you think this list is garbage, i’m not even sorry.  what would you want, us to do?  list the things that you liked?  instead, make your own list; go to social media and shout out the music that meant a lot to you; make sure [artist that you wanted to see on here] knows that they are appreciated, and tell them so!  every time we post something like this, we get several mean and passive-aggressive DMs.  sixth: this only contains albums and EPs; there were many splits and double-singles we loved, but they are not on this list.  the same goes for compilations (like the magnificent Free As Birds compilations and the Funnybone Records compilationseventh: this list is in alphabetical order.  it’s not ranked.  and finally: 50 albums may seem like a lot, but we started from a list of 125 albums we loved (not just liked; this is a slim majority of what we’ve listened to and liked in 2020) — if you or your friend are not on this list, we like your music!  we listened to your music a lot this year!  we think other people should listen to your music, too!  okay thank you for reading, goodbye goodbye goodbye.


Addy Edward – Playing Dead

One of our favorite artists to see live, part of the fun is watching Addy Edward (mem. Daniprobably) create lush arrangements with just himself, an acoustic guitar, and a loop pedal. The other part of the fun is hearing how these songs translate to a studio recording, where A.E. isn’t bounded to a single instrument. The songs on Playing Dead excel in both forms, as crescendoing acoustic songs and slick indie pop. Every song on his bandcamp released in 2020 is essential as far as I’m concerned.


Angelica Padua – Full Circle

one half (or one quarter, one third?) of Two Headed Girl, depending on how you do the math, Angie Padua’s first solo album lives up to the strong, emotional songwriting of her band. produced and recorded with Cam Pulaski, who plays in Two Headed Girl and releases her own music as Ice Cream Orphan, Full Circle is a lovely remembrance to the joys and heartache of college life.


An Historic – Thawing

The inspiringly prolific Adam Matlock released a few things this year (all of them are good), but none caught our ear as quickly and indelibly as Thawing. Experimental pop music, delivered with arresting lyrics, playful arrangements, and strong vocal hooks.


Beau Dega – Holy Cannoli

Hailing for Norwalk, Beau Dega released two records this year — the odds-and-ends compilation/retrospective OOF and the gorgeous Holy Cannoli. the one-two knock blow of “D.I.Y. Scene” and the title track alone make Holy Cannoli essential listening. For fans of people who have a playlist with both Beach Boys and Dandy Warhols on there somewhere.


Brunettes – A Brief Repose

Originally titled “A Brief Kick to the Face”, because that’s how it feels, Brunettes’ new album is fast and brutal. The songs are short, but each track has an album-worth of ideas. Not that you’ll notice too much, as they drop each 3-ton riff on your head.


Charter Ghost – Deathmusic

Occupying the space that you used to hold for Grizzly Bear and Deerhunter, Gustavo Colon’s impressive debut is loud, strange, catchy, and elaborate. I cannot believe this was recorded on just an iphone.


Chousand – GARY

If there’s a finer release in 2020 that has a song about the old toy Bop It, or a Smash-Mouth-themed Keanu Reeves love letter, I’ve yet to hear it. We were so inspired by the glory of Gary that we wrote a long-form review about it. (that was our last one in 2020!)


Chris Cech – Sloth

The bandcamp description of Sloth is “Hi hello. I wrote and recorded these songs. I hope you like them.” Well, hello Chris. Thank you, and I sure do! This is one of our favorite albums of the year. Gloriously loose and bristling with a checked energy. For fans of the Exploding in Sound roster.


Cinema Stare – Hum and the Glow

The finest Italian Straight-Edge band on the east coast, and perhaps in America. Hum and the Glow has been in constant rotation at the ctverses headquarters since its release. In an early track, Thomas Shreve talks about being drawn to things both beautiful and tragic, and that’s exactly what these songs are. Members of Seller, Mineva, Milkshakes, and Carlos Danger (those are four different bands, but it’d also be a cool band name altogether).


Daniprobably – Fishing

Shelved for a year while they worked on the 2019 Conditional Things (also in our Favorites of 2020), Fishing is an impossible mix of scraped knees, soulful delivery, and addictive melodies. Dan Capalbo took pain and spun it into perfect pop music. This was one of our most listened-to records of the year. Spotify listen-shamed me for listening to “Authentic Neurotic” 18 times in one day.


Donnie Alexzander – Dark Days

One of my favorite songwriters in Connecticut, what Donnie Alexzander understands better than most national bands is the concepts of space and silence. Songs are not overly-cluttered or impatient. They move at their own speed, blooming and expanding gently over time. And then when the time comes, they pull the rug out from under you with something like “Last Night”. Tender songwriting in the best possible way.


Dust Hat – Come Back

They played on the rooftop of Cafe Nine for godsake. Loud and fun, Come Back perfectly captures the energy, cheekiness, and warmth of the band’s live shows.


Eel People – A Preliminary Glimpse

In early 2020, Eel People released an incredible double-album: A Preliminary Glimpse of Tomorrow’s Grievances. Released over the course of two weeks, we’ve been totally enamored with the first half of the collection. Matt Falkowski and Rex Thurstan, are great songwriters in their own rights, but together they bring out the best in one another.


Evan Diem – More to Read

One of the most clever songwriters in the game, I’ll find myself semi-randomly remembering lines from Evan Debevec-McKenney’s songs during the day and breaking into a smile. Recorded along with Ben Mueller of Low Ceilings (who might show up later in this list), More to Read is a beautiful, lyric-forward folk record.


Evelyn Gray – Give Yrself What U Need

Released in (what at the time felt like) the worst part of the pandemic, as spring was winding down and we were all coming to the grips that there was no easy exit in sight, Evelyn Gray reminded us about the human, vital shit we need. The song (and the EP) is permission to give yourself slack. To accept that things aren’t all right. To just allow yourself to be a human. Give Yrself What U Need marks a new phase of Gray’s songwriting, as they incorporate new sounds and themes into their new music. Maybe we’ll get more in 2021? Please?!


The Family Stoned – Distraction Songs

Michael Slyne and the Family Stoned released four albums this year, and all of them are worth your ears. No End No Light has the very best album art (maybe our favorite of the year), but Distraction Songs was the one that we came back to again and again. For a truly uncategorizable band, Distraction Songs leaned into the sharper edges of the band, both in sound and in mood. “Sick and Losing Control” is one of our favorite songs of the year, even though it feels like a dry hand squeezes my heart when I listen to it.


Ghostwoods – Faded Silent Films

Dark, but laden with great melodies and sick grooves, Faded Silent Films is one of the best debuts of 2020. “Heaven” and “Deadwax” are simply too good to be true. Even though Ghostwoods keep us in a melancholy place for most of most of the runtime, ending with “4U” is a brilliant choice (a love song that namechecks the Webster Underground?!).


GlennVeryClose – Feelings

The feel-bad hit of the summer, Feelings is (as described by the band) “alt-indie-doom out of CT. Sadbois get loud.” Said it better than I could have. This is sludgy, antagonistic, and abrasive, and yet I can’t stop listening. Members of The 30th of February and Thejudasobscure.


Greta Stroebel – Dancer in the Heart of Paris

An incredible songwriter, there’s not much on Dancer in the Heart of Paris that isn’t Greta Stroebel’s voice and her acoustic guitar. But she’s such a commanding presence and charismatic storyteller that you’ll often forget how stripped-back this record is.


Jen Allen – Sifting Grace

An impossibly cool record, Sifting Grace is a smart, tasteful, and adventurous release from Jen Allen. Accompanied here by Kris Allen, Marty Jaffe, and Kush Abadey, Sifting Grace is our not only one of our favorite jazz records of 2020, but one of our favorite albums of the year. The album is made of “meditations on loss, renewal, discovery, and the quest to know and be known”, which all comes through on these brilliant instrumental arrangements.


Jenny Genius – Jenny Genius

Maggie Katz from Spit-Take has a new band! Joined by Dan Katz (also of Spit-Take) on bass and Chris Chew (of MightyMoonChew) on drums, these indie-pop gems are quick, catchy, and full of wit.


Jillian Caillhouette – Phases

The new album from Jillian Caillhouette is a must-listen in our house. A gorgeous mix of country, folk, and pop, Phases feels as musical as it does spiritual. Engineered at Pharaoh Studios, the slick production of Phases is a perfect counterpoint to Caillhouette’s soulful delivery and lyrics.


Justin Holden – Lust for Potent Universal Meaning

Justin Holden released two EPs this year that could not be more different, but both are fantastic. This is Fun is a sonically dense experimental electronic record, and Lust for Potent Universal Meaning is a grand, sweeping cinematic score. There’s something about the sparse musical arrangements to this record along with Holden’s soft vocals that leave me hanging on his every lyric.


Kath Bloom – Bye Bye These are the Days

Kath Bloom is a legend-tier songwriter, and her newest album, Bye Bye These are the Days is another victory lap in her storied career. Her songs are as close and sweet as ever, and Bloom’s delivery might convince you that she’s singing directly to you. There’s magic in the world and you can hear it on this record.


Kierstin Sieser – Shark Tooth Moon

Listen to the first forty seconds of Shark Tooth Moon — has anyone done more with less? Kierstin Siester (mem. Tiny Ocean) uses her first solo release in a decade to keep things humble (but not simple) with sparse arrangements, vivid lyrics, and an impossibly-good delivery. These songs freshly hatched from another dream realm, as if these songs arrived fully formed and could never have been anything than what they are.


King Bongo – World Power Love

Wonderfully, playfully psychedelic. King Bongo’s new full-length album is filled with glorious melodic hooks, swooning harmonious, and just enough weirdness to keep you on your toes. Ideal listening method: laying on the floor, spacing out, and placing yourself on the World Power Love river so that it might take you away.


Knowte – 20/20

KNoWTe always strikes a chord with us, and his new album 20/20 strikes 15 chords with us (one for each track — even the skits!). With expansive and engaged production, KNoWTe flourishes as both an emcee and lyricist on this album.


Laura Wolf – Quarantine Demos vol. 1

We mostly stayed away from self-described demos on this list, but we couldn’t resist putting Laura Wolf’s Quarantine Demos in our favorites of 2020. With the self-directed mandate to write a song “in some form, each day”, the half-dozen released tracks uploaded to bandcamp are some of our favorite recordings of the year, “mastered” or not.


Litvar – The Greatest Movie of All Time

Another appearance from Rex Thurstan (of Eel People) this time with Joe LeMieux (of Spray Bottle Fever). The debut of Litvar harkens back to the chilly pop of the mid-2000s, where it was cool to wear your heart on your sleeve and sing along with the radio (or AOL Music). A conceptual album built around a group of people chatting through AOL Instant Messenger, The Greatest Movie of All Time is a creative, fun exploration into nostaglia.


Low Ceilings – Learn to Sew

Ben Mueller’s new album as Low Ceilings continues his proggy-poppy folk adventures. Borne out of a place of grief, Learn to Sew is ultimately a playful album, teetering between places both dark and light, narrative and abstract. Coming off of the brilliant Least Favored Painting, Learn to Sew is a bigger, warmer record. Check out our interview with Low Ceilings!


Luke Ellingson – Like Wires Humming

The musical project of New Havenite Noah Silvestry, Luke Ellingson’s debut is remarkable. Sonically rich with lush production, a strong point of view, and centering each song around warm melodies, Like Wires Humming is one of our favorite albums of the year, and repeat listens are just as rewarding as the last. Check out our interview with Noah / Luke!


MightyMoonChew – 900 Grand

This one is hot off the griddle: a trio of Mooncha (guitars, vocals), Chris Chew (drums), and Mark da Mighty (synths). 900 Grand is the band’s debut after a few early teases, and it lives up to the band’s incredible pedigree but ducks your expectations. It’s a loose, lively album that feels semi-improvised at times and fully psychedelic at all times. Out of all of the bands I’d want to see live in 2021, MightyMoonChew is at the top of the list. As for the reference of the album’s title? If you know you know.


Mousequeen – Mousequeen

Dark electronic pop duo Mousequeen graced us with this all-too-brief trio of songs. Dense production and cool vocals make Mousequeen perfect for night drives with the windows down, letting the cold air whip your hair around.


Powerviolets — ~NO BOYS~

Violet Hetson’s debut as Powerviolets is biting, dark, and funny. Equal parts sincere and sarcastic, ~NO BOYS~ is anchored by Hetson’s charismatic delivery and strong sense of melody. The album closes on a brilliant note with “Smegma”, a post-punk downer that makes you question all the fun you had in the previous seven songs. Hetson cleverly subverts your expectations and leaves you lingering in the cold darkness of the album’s final notes.


Psychic of Orange – psychicADVANCE

With the look and sound of a GameBoy Advance cartridge, Psychic of Orange makes some of the best interplanetary pop music in the solar system. A unique blend of retro influences (you’ll hear duwop and swing in here along with the Nintendo easter eggs) and futuristic production, psychicADVANCE is a total blast.


Pulsr – The Three

Easily one of the most frustrating releases of 2020 only because (1) it is incredibly good, and (2) it’s so short that I demand more. Governor Ned Lamont is currently negotiating with the band on how to fill these Pulsr shortages across Connecticut. The Three is a beautiful trip into an inviting, fuzzy cloud of shoegazey indie rock. (Members of Waveform* and Sundots). Full disclosure: Jake Fucci may or may not be one of the editors of ctverses.


Quinn – Depression Nap

Quinn is a person, but Quinn is also a band. Did you catch our interview where we parse this apart on the podcast? Depression Nap is great for a lot of reasons, but the reason why we truly love it is because of how much of the album is formed around connection. Quinn’s music is like a dangling rope that you can grab to pull yourself our of quicksand. It’s something tangible and tactile, filled with excellent turns of phrases, intimate points of view, and a final track that will knock your socks off.


Raeann Fetcho – Worrywart

One of our favorite finds of 2020, Raeann Fetcho’s modestly-arranged Worrywart is a journey into someone consciousness. Like consciousness, the narratives are not always linear, as Fetcho’s point of view can change between lines, or non sequiturs appear in the middle of a chorus. And the album’s DIY production makes it all feel the more personal and intimate.


Semaphora – Sister Administrator

Another December release, we are still absorbing a lot of the musical and thematic pieces of Sister Administrator, but it’s a spectacular record, and one that is spectacular from the get-go. Laden with dense, intricate musicianship and soaring vocals, Semaphora’s music is as great as its ever been on Sister Administrator, the band’s second album. While Lydia Arachne does songwriting and arrangements herself on the record, it takes a full ensemble to approximate what you hear on the record. It’s heady if you want it to be, or relaxing if you need it so.


S.G. Carlson – Sing the Hits

Look, we love both Sing the Hits and S.G. Carlson and the Tines’ The Enemy is Listening. But we have to choose one of the two, and we’re going with Sing the Hits simply because there are more songs on it. Carlson is an incredible songwriter, and this album speaks to larger themes about doing work, being consistent, and having perspective. Of course, if you just want to jam out on these fantastically warm melodies, you can do that too, but everything about Sing the Hits works so well, you can explore it for months (like I’m doing now).


Siul Hughes – HUEMAN

Living up to the album’s title, Siul Hughes’ newest release is all about what it means to be human, filled with the pain, relief, and love that existence comes with. Perhaps one of the deepest lyricists in the game right now, but spinning each take like it might be his last. Be sure to check out our podcast interview with Siul Hughes.


Sketch tha Cataclysm and Mandy Moorehol – Hella Kafkaesque

Released in two volumes, Hella Kafkaesque is an exciting, exhilarating album. Pinpoint lyrical precision from Sketch and an imaginative creative production from Mandy Moorehol, the two created these songs completely remotely.


Space Camp – Overjoyed in this World

Bold as fuck and not for the faint of heart, Space Camp’s Overjoyed in this World is the band’s biggest-sounding record yet. It’s got a string quartet for crying out loud, and guest vocalists, and drum machines, and exploding trombones. Music so good I gasp every time I listen to it. Noise punk on the streets and music scholars in the sheets.


The Most – Of What We Have

Trippy, abstract, and downright mathematical in its precision. The musicianship of The Most is so sharp it could cut diamonds like butter. Of What We Have is a wonderfully knotted album, filled with an absurd amount of riffs and fun.


The Right Offs – Bardo

I thought I remembered somewhere that The Right Offs were working on a trio of EPs (Fire in a Theater and Fake Adjustments were the first two). I musta been wrong, because I was expecting another EP and got a goshdang LP. Bardo lives up to the hype that the band established for themselves with previous two EPs and amazing live shows. The band works even better in long-form, so I shouldn’t be surprised that when The Right Offs rejected the idea of “less is more”, it paid off in one of the year’s coolest records.


Them Airs – Doped Runner Verse

We agonized over including Doped Runner Verse or Union Suit XL in the list. Both albums are fantastic, weird, fantastically weird, and weirdly fantastic. Ultimately, we sided with Doped Runner Verse because it’s got “Shinbuster” on it, but both records are essential-listening in 2020 and 2021. Them Airs is imaginative, creatively rebellious, and straddles the line of scholarship and silliness.


Trey Moore – Future

Trey Moore released two equally fantastic EPs this year: Future and Goodbye Nirvana pt. 1. Because we’re only listing one album per artist in this list, we went with Future simply because the tie-breaker was how perfect the final track, “Dreams”, is. Equal parts future-looking pop and throwback 80s synths, Future is a dream of a 2030 that has boxy cars, impossibly long highways, and everyone’s in love.


Waking Up Now – Tales from Island Brook Park

Senator Chris Murphy, have you listened to Waking Up Now yet? Perfect shoegaze emo. Or I guess that’s what it is? There’s not really anything else like Tales from Island Brook Park.


Warbats – Temper Tantrum

Another one of our favorites of the year, Temper Tantrum is a loud, boisterous punk record. The trio is Stephany Brown on drums + vocals, Tom Stringer on synths, and Jon Conine on guitars. An incredible debut, we can’t wait until live music starts back up and we can holler these lyrics back at the band. Sorry but at our next birthday party, we’re only playing “Goodie Bag” for three hours straight.


Waveform* – Last Room

It was a busy year for Waveform*, who not only released this album, which is just as stellar as the 2019 Shooting Star, but also released the analog-only Skeleton Crew cassette and Dan’s People I Love album Lucky Magic. But we kept coming back to Last Room over and over in late 2020. It is the worn, busted couch that you love to sink into and let your mind seep out the door.


Woozles – Emoji of a Bee

When I listen to Emoji of a Bee, I’m overcome with how good a pop songwriter Conor Ryan is. Half of these songs were released as standalone singles in 2019, but don’t let that fool you from the bigger picture: this record slaps as a cohesive narrative. We especially love the way the album unfolds with “Forget-Me-Not” into a more meditative pace after the pop bangers of the first half.


Youth XL – Text Your Friends

Connecticut’s “Funnest Band” lives up to its title in their debut, Text Your Friends, an EP that captures the small moments of life: missing your friends, watching awkward Tinder dates from a distance, trying out yoga. Come for the catchy melodies, stay for the gorgeous harmonies. (Members of the Alex McGuire Band).


Zanders – Concentration Sixty-Four

An impossibly good record. Written over the better part of three years, the songs of Concentration Sixty-Four are elaborate, smart, and joyful. Don’t get me wrong, not every song is joyous, but each track seems to enjoy the mere fact of existing — the pleasure of a chord change, or a staccato piano riff, or a harmonious bass line, or an improvised drum fill. Because Zanders pleasures on the details, each song is its own storybook waiting to be explored. Oh, and every single song is catchy.


Zouchpotato – Give and Take

Lead guitarist of Crag Mask, Zayne Couch set out his own set of songs in Give and Take, a melancholy, mathy vibe that we can’t get enough of. Another great example of why Year End Lists should come at the end of the year and not December, or else we would have missed out on this wonderful record. We premiered the track “Inside Voice” just the other week!