With every passing year, it really becomes more and more difficult to pick our favourite Irish albums of the past 12 months.
Maybe we're biased, but we reckon we really do have a phenomenally talented and diverse bunch of bands and artists making music at this point in time.
However, we're done with the agonising and umming and ahhing. As much as we hate to leave out some big names (perhaps controversially so, in some peoples' opinions), we're going with our gut here.
Here are the 10 best Irish albums of 2020.
10 Nealo – 'All the Leaves are Falling'
It takes real skill to make your personal experiences relatable. If done the wrong way, it comes across as mawkish, tokenistic or just plain naff. Nealo's debut album is none of those things. Instead, the Dublin hip-hop artist embraces tenderness, empathy and emotion on 'All the Leaves Are Falling' as he raps about his childhood, about emigration, about politics and social class, about loss and about real life. In the space of ten songs, he established himself as an erudite voice of a generation. And the music's also really good, too.
9 Bleeding Heart Pigeons - 'Stir'
If Bleeding Heart Pigeons were based in London or Brooklyn, they'd probably be stars by now. Instead, the trio continue to churn out innovative records from their Limerick base and their second was no different. This time, they largely stepped away from the experimental indie of their debut album and thrust themselves deeper into the synthpop realm, creating a record to sink into and proving themselves as one of the most forward-thinking bands in Ireland right now.
8 Aoife Nessa Frances – 'Land of No Junction'
Irish indie-folk artists are having a bit of a moment right now, but few of them have the sophistication of Aoife Nessa Frances. Although the Dubliner's debut album sounds like it's musically from another era (that's a compliment, by the way), she incorporates contemporary themes into her songs without sounding stilted or try-hard; see 'Blow Up', for example, a song written before the abortion referendum and about “being a woman and finding strength in a forever changing world.” Influenced by the likes of Nico and Broadcast, this gentle collection of songs packs a satisfying punch every single time. It came out in January and has been a comfort blanket throughout this trying year.
7 Paddy Hanna – 'The Hill'
You probably haven't heard many albums this year that are partly influenced by the soundtracks of Italian horror films from the 1970s. That's what makes Paddy Hanna's third album so beguiling: not only is it completely original, but there is something intriguing about these songs that has kept us returning to this album in a bid to decode it. We can't say that we've been successful yet – but Hanna's trippy foray into indie, pop and melancholy orchestral soundscapes (lyrically tackling topics like mental health, Catholicism and breaking free of the past) is an adventure in itself.
6 Niamh Regan - 'Hemet'
Galway twentysomething musician Niamh Regan has experienced her fair share of life's highs and lows in recent years – most notably the sad passing of her mum, and her own marriage. Those life events make it into Regan's beautiful debut album, named for her husband's Californian hometown, where many of these charismatic folk songs were written. With her mesmerising vocals, she proved herself a skilled interpreter of both the minutiae and the big adventures of life, earning comparisons to everyone from Feist to Laura Marling.
5 Brian Deady – 'Yellow Creek'
It never fails to baffle us how overlooked Brian Deady's output has been. The Cork man, now based in Spain, had a big radio hit with 'Clap Both My Hands' a few years ago. A major label deal followed (then soured), but the now-independent Deady's quality has never faltered. This time, he and his band travelled to Memphis to record 'Yellow Creek', a beautifully-crafted soul record with tonnes of heart and bags of attitude – best heard on songs like 'Slow Groove' and 'War'. When coupled with Deady's remarkable, textured voice, it's an utterly joyful combination.
4 R.S.A.G. – 'Chroma'
You could call a ten-year absence a 'career break', but for a while it seemed like Jeremy Hickey, aka Rarely Seen Above Ground, had retired from music altogether. Thankfully, the Kilkenny one-man-band returned with a superb third album in May – this time, with new collaborator Jamie Walsh on board. Whether it was the long break or the new partnership that stoked Hickey's creativity, 'Chroma' was an absorbing, well-rounded and at times, extremely fun exploration of pop, electronica, rock and dance music, all guided by inventive rhythmic patterns and unconventional melodies.
3 Silverbacks – 'Fad'
This Dublin five-piece seemed to come out of nowhere this year with a debut album that grabbed you by the lapels, planted a smacker on your chops and did a legger before you realised what had happened. In reality, Silverbacks have been plugging away for the last few years before releasing what is undoubtedly one of the best debuts – Irish or otherwise – to be released this year. 'Fad' is an indie-rock album stuffed to the brim with joyful idiosyncrasies; you never quite know where songs like 'Muted Gold' or 'Pink Tide' or the giddy 'Drink It Down' are going to go next. This is seriously inventive guitar music that knows exactly when enough is enough, with plenty of great riffs, offbeat lyrics and a serious amount of imagination.
2 Denise Chaila – 'Go Bravely'
She's a Zambian-born, Limerick-raised feminist rapper who speaks with an American accent. She studied Politics at college, then dropped out to pursue her dream of making music. On paper, Denise Chaila undoubtedly ticks every box – but how often have we been here before, when the ingredients all make sense but the finished product doesn't quite cut it? Luckily, Chaila's first record (a mixtape, rather than an album) was stunning in all senses of the word. Coupled with deft, skilful production from MuRli, songs like 'Move' planted her flag on Ireland's hip-hop scene with a flourish, with lines like “I won't be a puppet, I won't be a token / I'm my own meal ticket”; 'Anseo' confronted notions of sexism, racism and gender, while the ubiquitous 'Chaila' is being heard everywhere for a reason. If this is how good she is now, we're very excited for the future.
1 Fontaines D.C. – 'A Hero's Death'
Simply put, this was the best Irish album released in 2020. Dismantling the notion that they are one-trick-ponies capable only of zeitgeisty indie-punk sloganeering, A Hero's Death saw the Dublin band flip the script and venture deeper into a world saturated in post-punk and desolate rock – but not without moments of real beauty tucked into its seams, as heard on the lilting 'Oh Such a Spring'. 'Televised Mind' is one of the most gripping tracks of the year, 'A Lucid Dream' a song begging to be experienced live, while the title track reads like a brash post-punk version of Baz Luhrmann's 'Sunscreen'. It pulled insistently at the threads of modern guitar music and remained a thrill from start to finish, creating a very particular mood and feeling and even earning a Grammy nomination in the process. The naysayers dismiss them as pretentious young men with copies of Ulysees tucked in the pockets of their dads' overcoats. Forget all of that nonsense. This is simply a wonderful album that we'll be playing and enjoying for years to come.
