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. In this edition, Claire Simson, guitarist of Mountain Caller shares an in-depth review of her Top Albums List for 2020. Their excellent covers album The Truthseeker is out now (buy and stream it here!
Honorable Mentions
Napalm Death – Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
Mrs. Piss – Self-Surgery
Sightless Pit – Grave of a Dog
EYES – Underperformer
Ohhms – Close
Pallbearer – Forgotten Days
Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi
Clipping. – Visions of Bodies Being Burned
Freddie Gibbs – Alfredo
- Kvelertak – Splid
Praise Thor, Kvelertak are back! One of my favourite bands of the last decade. Not as good as their first two albums but it’s so great to have them back and energised. This record is a great antidote to what has been 2020. Keg party in the forest anyone?
- Atramentus – Stygian
I’m not a funeral doom connoisseur by any means but I love bands like Bell Witch and Mournful Congregation – this reminds me of both. This album completely engulfs you in darkness. It’s epic in the truest sense of the word – just three songs over 44 minutes. I love the use of synth, piano, and choral vocals. The last 24-minute long track, catchily titled “Stygian III: Perennial Voyage (Across The Perpetual Planes Of Crying Frost & Steel-Eroding Blizzards)”, is stunning. Listen to it with the lights off and let it wash over you. Beautifully dismal. Also uses the appropriate use of reverb.
- Hum – Inlet
This one came out of nowhere. It started autoplaying after another album finished and I left it running as I was enjoying it so much. I’ve gone back to it loads this year. It feels like taking a ride on a spaceship and getting off on planet Earth for an hour (particularly handy in 2020). Gigantic, hypnotic riffs, tons of atmosphere, lackadaisical style vocals. Space rock heaven. The production on this is fantastic too.
- Motorpsycho – The All is One
Motorpsycho are a fairly recent discovery for me. I saw Nick DiSalvo (Elder) mention “Little Lucid Moments” in an interview so I bought it and was blown away. I wasn’t quite sure what I was listening to and I loved that. I’ve since gone into their back catalogue, intimidating as it was, but I have been massively rewarded. This album completes their expansive, winding psychedelic prog-rock trilogy. The artwork alone deserves a mention. This record is long, dense, and definitely took me a good few listens to get the measure of it but its brilliance is undeniable – a veritable Motorpsychadellic feast for the ears. What a band! My new-found Motorpsycho obsession continues to grow.
- A.A Williams – Forever Blue
This album is achingly beautiful. It makes me feel so many things and I get goosebumps every time I listen to it. Her voice is incredible, the instrumentation is gorgeous and the songs are wonderfully written. I love the classical influences she brings and how she goes from delicate melancholy to colossal heaviness and everywhere in between. I love Johannes Persson’s (Cult of Luna) unmistakable vocal appearance on “Fearless” as it adds a new dimension to the sound. The last gig I went to was A. A Williams back in March and I’m thankful this album and these songs have been there to keep me company and grounded to better times throughout this strange year.
- Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou – May Our Chambers Be Full
A slice of Roadburn cake to take home – not that I was able to get into the Koepelhal to see it live, sadly. I love both Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou in their own right and saw this described as sounding like “Tori Amos, Soundgarden and Darkthrone” so I got very excited indeed. It’s brilliant and feels like a true collaboration. I know I’ll go back to this one for years to come. I really hope I finally get to see this live one day.
- Deftones – Ohms
Every time Deftones release an album it’s like catching up with an old friend. They’re still the coolest band on the planet and this is their best since “Diamond Eyes”. I adore this band and they’ve massively influenced me over the years. I’ve rinsed this since it came out. I was hooked from the opening synth of “Genesis”. This album has such depth and scope, it’s dark and heavy. Also, that guitar tone is insane.
- HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III
I love HAIM. I REALLY love HAIM. They make the best pop music and I think this is their best album yet. “Days Are Gone” was my favourite album of 2013. This year has been awful but this album in-particular has given me a gigantic lift every time I’ve put it on. I think it’s their most experimental release to date despite the stripped back feel. I can hear all manner of influences, styles and sounds in here – Sheryl Crow, 90s RnB, Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac to name a few – but it’s still undeniably HAIM. The songs are all brilliantly crafted pop songs and each has its own character but still fit together on the album. They are all incredibly talented musicians and having played/created music together all their lives it all feels so effortless. I highly recommend checking out the “Women in Music Pt. III live show” where they go back to play some of the album in the deli that gave them their first-ever gig (and features on the cover). HAIM is at the top of their game and I can’t wait to see these songs live.
- Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
It’s hard to describe this one in a couple of sentences. I checked out a little on Fiona Apple after 1998’s incredible “When the pawn…” so I was a little suspicious of the hype this album was getting. I put it on for the first time and didn’t know what I was listening to or how to even begin to make sense of it. After a few listens and going through all the lyrics in detail it clicked. This album is brilliant as it is bonkers. I absolutely love the percussive nature of the record coupled with her unique vocal delivery and flow. The whole thing feels free form and unhinged. The themes explored are heavyweight but you get a strong sense of resilience and loads humor too. It’s utterly brilliant. All hail Fiona Apple. The world is a better, more interesting place with her in it.
- Elder – Omens
It’s no secret that Elder are my favourite band. They’re everything I love about music. I really liked “Dead Roots Stirring” but I’ve been properly obsessed since “Lore” came out in 2015. “Reflections of a floating world” is the album that made me want to start a band again. Without that album, there would be no Mountain Caller. “Omens” took me a little longer to grasp than the previous two but it’s another stunning Elder record. I do prefer Nick’s vocal delivery on the previous two albums but I can hear them mature and push themselves with each release and I love that.