"Charles' record takes cues from movements all over the American map. There are hints of Southern folk and alt-country, Midwest Americana, and West Coast acid rock."

As a young jazz singer and bassist, Kate Davis shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Ben Folds, Alison Kraus and the actor-turned-musician Jeff Goldblum. But in 2018 she decided to switch lanes — she co-wrote Sharon Van Etten’s nostalgic indie rock hit ‘Seventeen,’ then in 2019 released her own highly celebrated indie-rock debut, Trophy. Yet even with her impressive resume, covering one of America’s most beloved singer-songwriters is tricky territory to wade into. Nonetheless, that’s exactly what the New York-based indie rock musician did this past summer by recording a cover version of Daniel Johnston’s 1984 album Retired Boxer.

The Wombats’ gift of making indie pop sound fresh and effortless continues unabated on its fourth album. Guitars shine like mirror balls, rhythms invite fresh dance-floor poses, and sky-high vocal melodies inspire the kind of sing-alongs that ensure you extra space on the bus. Their penchant for clever wordplay might cause head scratches—cue “Lemon to a Knife Fight” and “Out of My Head” for prime examples—but make perfect sense in The Wombats’ world.

Proof rings out with force and feeling on Hilang Child’s superlative second album, Every Mover, released on Bella Union. In 2018, Riman delivered a serene, textured debut album in Years, rich in sound and feeling. The “lonely, pressured” aftermath of Years found Riman grappling with “rough self-esteem and anxiety issues”, amplified in part by social media’s ‘fulfilment narratives’. Duly, he set out to navigate and overcome these mindsets, drawing deeply on his own insecurities and those he recognised in others.

Never one for easy categorisation, the on-going adventures of David Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors project are especially genre-agnostic on the 5 EPs released throughout 2020. The neatly-titled 5EPs collates these songs into a mammoth compilation. Each set of songs sees a different band-member taking over lead vocal duties, and indeed the flavours of these tracks stretch the breadth and width of the musical spectrum. The likes of ‘Self Design’ and ‘Empty Vessel’ deal in funk and house-inspired rhythms, while ‘Moon, If Ever’ and ‘I Get Carried Away’ are staunchly minimal in instrumentation, but undeniably 1960s pop in melodic sophistication.

Loneliness, isolation, alienation, the need for connection and community. The salient themes of our times resonate with a haunting, predictive and vital power on the third album from London four-piece Landshapes. Released through Bella Union this December, Contact is an album that digs deep into the past, looks ahead to the future and burns with vivid life in the present, where its mind-expanding soundscapes, beguiling melodies and resonating emotions exude a tremendous in-the-moment vibrancy.

Missio is a powerhouse duo from Austin, Texas comprised of Matthew Brue and David Butler. Their partnership has yielded a unique brand of alternative that has captivated audiences worldwide. Missio follows-up 2019's The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man with their third full-length album, Can You Feel The Sun.

The beloved band’s 15-track set, which features fan favorites ”Such Great Heights,” “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” “Sleeping In” and “Natural Anthem,” along with a cover of Beat Happening’s “Our Secret” and a rare live take on Dntel’s “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan,” was performed live at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA, during their 2013 reunion tour. This 2020 release of Everything Will Change was remixed by Don Gunn and remastered by Dave Cooley earlier this year, from the recordings that were originally released as part of the the 2014 concert film.

Today, Dirty Projectors release Ring Road, their final EP of 2020, completing the cycle of five and culminating their “most ambitious and earnest endeavor thus far” (Aquarium Drunkard). Each installment has been its own stylistic and emotional ecosystem, featuring band members Maia Friedman, Felicia Douglass, Dave Longstreth, and Kristin Slipp taking turns in the lead vocal spotlight. Now, that mosaic ideal of the full-band Dirty Projectors is recapitulated as their voices come together all at once on the fifth and finalRing Road EP.

22-year-old singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist Paris Jackson makes her solo debut with a song and music video titled “Let Down.” This notably marks her inaugural solo release for Republic Records. Her first full-length album, Wilted, is arriving on November 13, 2020.

A Bag Of Eyes is Seamus Fogarty’s third album — a wholly different sonic prospect to 2017’s much-lauded The Curious Hand. Weary of the guitar, and seeking something darker than its predecessor, he chose to lean more heavily on synths and drum machines, and additionally, to self-produce.

To celebrate her September 29 birthday, Halsey released a deluxe edition of her 2020 album Manic. The deluxe edition features the original album tracks, as well as bonus tracks and stripped down versions of some of the album tracks.

Written and self-produced by Hayden with additional production work from Nathan Jenkins (aka Bullion), long-time collaborator Richard Formby and 4AD producer Fabian Prynn, Aerial Songs was originally composed as part of Hayden’s time as artist in residence at Aerial Festival - an arts, music and performance event due to take place in his native Cumbria.

Earth Crisis is the fourth in a series of five EPs Dirty Projectors are releasing this year, each one with a different band member handling lead vocals. (The fifth and final installment will see them taking turns.) Whereas the previous three releases zeroed in on folk, soul, and bossa nova respectively, this one leans into Longstreth’s experimental composer side, presenting a chopped-up version of chamber-pop. Keyboardist Kristin Slipp is the lead vocalist here, singing lyrics she wrote with Longstreth.

This is the debut solo album from former (unique Kendal foursome) Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe. Written in California, Cornwall and at home in London. The reincarnation of Hayden Thorpe was recorded with Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno/David Byrne) at Hayden’s London home and at Leo’s Cornish studio. Portentous piano announces the Hayden Thorpe album. The easy dulcet tones which are at times cool, calm and collected but can so easily climb to a mercurial falsetto. Emotive and passionate tones are evocative of sadness, time passing and peaceful acceptance.