Best electronic albums of 2020: eat these special mention woozy foods

Let's visit some more special mentions: albums which didn't make the top 25 but are well worth a listen. "But Fat Roland," you wibble, "I've not finished the special mentions from yesterday." Well, it's not MY fault you filled up on leftover mince pies instead, IS IT. Now eat your special mentions. No, you may not borrow the ketchup.

I had this bunch filed under "woozy", and although I don't think that's an accurate description, they certainly transport us somewhere interesting. 

Actress's Karma and Desire (Ninja Tune), featuring vocals from Mercury winner Sampha, saw the beat-wobbler in a more ambient mode: the smoke rising from the nightclub vents rather than the club itself. The return of Darkstar with Civic Jams (Warp) placed us squarely under the stage lights, their burning siren songs feeling as elemental as ever, thrumming with (Wu) life. 

The bouncing bass and smokin' electronics of Fritz von Runte's The Last Album (Marshall Records) brought a cracking space jam to 2020, so fresh and so clean: it had Graham Massey and Bill Drummond on audio and word duties respectively. An album with a similar quirky independent feel was Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp) from, you guessed it, Oneohtrix Point Never. However, I was less convinced by the weird processed nature of Oneohtrix's ninth album, especially those vocals. One-y needs to borrow some guest vocalists from Fritz.

Speaking of vocals, Lyra Pramuk's voice on Fountain (Bedroom Community) was processed to heckery, and to tremendous effect. Comprising only her vocals, Fountain was an engrossing and unique work, and it feels like a crime to not include this in the Top 25. Seriously, give it a listen. Not so much in-the-club as outside the club listening to the queue chatter but slowed down a thousand times.

What's left in this little pile? Ah yes, there was Matmos's epic The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form (Thrill Jockey), which was three hours of bizarre 99bpm electronics with 99 collaborators, including Matthew Herbert, the aforemented Oneohtrix and Andi from Mouse on Mars. As PC Danny Butterman once said, this is "off the fricking chain". And finally, let's get back to woozy: Beatrice Dillon debut album Workaround (PAN) embraced the obscure, the minimal beats existing in some otherplace: not so much a nightclub as a cubist impression of a nightclub.

There are plenty more special mentions to come. Gobble them up. Gobble them right up.

 

Browse the rest of the Best Electronic Albums of 2020