The jam is sober, don’t know what to do

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Best Albums of 2020 list...

#44 : All This Time - Jessy Lanza

It is testament to the allure of her sweet club-pop visions that Jessy Lanza’s breakout stemmed from her most insular work yet. When she sings, the effect is of catching someone unwittingly mumbling along to Janet Jackson through their headphones; her quicksilver vocal intimacy allows for flirtation and hurt to flicker through like electrical surges. The tenderness of Jam and Lewis, west coast hip-hop at its sugariest and the innocence of Japanese city pop are fractured by shivering dubstep and even the exuberant chatter of UK garage. Like a sky laced with pastel cirrus, it is effervescent and awe-inspiring.

And we're back to artists I've never heard of - but I'd have to say the description gave me hope I'd like it.  And I did - I'd say Grimes is probably the closest point of reference for me, which is never a bad thing (I saw Grimes live once - it's safe to say I kinda stood out from the rest of the audience), but there are lots of little hints of various other artists.  No particular track stood out for me, but I found it a pleasant sound - Wikipedia describes it as "ethereal soul" which seems as good a label as anything. 

"Customers also listened to" a load of people I've never heard of - who I'll either like or find intensely dull, as is generally the way with this genre.  So I'm glad I was pointed at this and enjoyed it, although I'm not sure I'll be revisiting it often..  Sugar Mommy still leads the way in the list so far, but this is definitely in the top 3 (out of a grand total of 7!).

#43 : Made In Lagos - Wizkid

Nigerian pop continued to establish itself more firmly on the international stage in 2020 with successful albums by Burna Boy, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems and more. The best of them all was this lilting, versatile record by Wizkid. Guest stars from across the Black Atlantic – Skepta and Ella Mai from the UK, HER from the US, Damian Marley and Projexx from Jamaica – create the sense of a diasporic dialogue, where reggae, dancehall, rap and Afro-swing seamlessly and sensually intertwine.

I'd never heard of Wizkid, but from the description I wasn't expecting to like this album.  However, whilst I wouldn't describe myself as a massive fan, I thought it was full of well-crafted, decent sounding tracks that kept my interest through a fusion of multiple influences and was way better than a load of the generic R&B nonsense out there.  "Piece of Me" stood out as the highlight for me - the combination of his voice with Ella Mai's worked really well.

Looking at his Wikipedia page tells me I really should have at least been aware of him - he's worked with a load of people from various musical avenues, some of whom are quite well known and some I've never heard of (I mean, with a name like Beyoncé, she's never going to make it, is she?)  However, my absolute favourite sentence from his Wikipedia page was "He grew up in an interfaith household with twelve female siblings" - I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like!  So, this is another album I won't exactly be rushing back to but I'm glad I listened to it.

#46/45 - An even odder pair
#42/41 - You gotta love some Kylie!