Ghost Cult continues our “End of Year Guest Post Extravaganza” with a slew of posts from bands, industry, PR pros, and more! We’ll be sharing lists, memories, and other shenanigans from our favorite bands, partners, music industry peers, and other folks we respect across the globe. Today’s post brings us a list from Kariti. Her debut album Covered Mirrors (Aural Music) was one of 2020’s finest.
A lot of music was released in this strange year and while I’ve never done an ‘end-of-the-year’ list before, I embraced this opportunity to recall the 2020 records I felt an instant gut-level connection to from the very first listen, here are seven of them in no order whatsoever:
Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin – “Stygian Bough Volume I”
Two distinguished artistic entities joined to make an emotionally crushing and at the same time somewhat uplifting record that will definitely make you feel things from start to finish.
Triptykon feat. the Metropole Orkest – “Requiem (Live At Roadburn 2019)”
I was there when they played it live as a commissioned piece at Roadburn and it was pure magic, a cathartic, spirit-evoking music to listen to alone in a cold dark room while burning olibanum incense.
Maud the Moth – “Orphnē”
Probably the most unusual musical discovery for me this year, dark and avant-garde yet catchy mix of baroque music, piano, gothic jazz, and everything in between topped by beautiful singing.
Cinder Well – “No Summer”
If Karen Dalton was born in Ireland and decided to write the score for a movie about 2020 the result would probably sound very similar to this collection of sorrowful ballads for bleeding hearts.
Bambara – “Stray”
Captivating gloomy post-punk-gothic-rock, masterfully crafted around the movie plot-like lyrics, as if Nick Cave and an obscure dark poetry author had a child and sent him to spend a rainy summer with Dax Riggs.
MSW – “Obliviosus”
I’m partial to the use of piano in extreme music and this is a perfect example of how right of a match it can be, I heard my husband listening to this record just recently and felt instantly drawn to it, discovering the deeply personal concept behind these songs only sealed the deal.
Midnight – “Rebirth by Blasphemy”
I miss Lemmy, this helps, also one of the best bands to see play live, whenever we’ll have that privilege again.