2020, without a doubt, felt like the longest year ever. Like many people, I turned to music as a form of comfort during the pandemic. With the excitement of the recently announced Grammy nominations, I thought I would share some of the albums that got me through 2020! Check out the playlist I made to accompany this article.
BTS: Map of The Soul: 7
My most anticipated release of the year was Map of the Soul: 7. As per usual, BTS did not disappoint!
BTS has a reputation for incorporating metaphors, book references, psychological, and philosophical ideas into their work. This album in particular is inspired by Carl Jung’s Model of the Psyche. From start to finish, there is a clear narrative depicting the members’ underlying struggles, experiences of questioning their identities, and their journey towards acceptance and trust. The album opens with Intro: Persona which depicts rapper RM’s journey of self-doubt and self-understanding. Interlude: Shadow follows a similar idea to the intro where rapper Suga delves into his fears of the darkness and the loneliness that often accompanies fame. The narrative comes to a conclusion with Outro: Ego, where rapper J-Hope recounts experiences from his past and learns to accept who he has become as an individual.
While I have a lot of favourite tracks on this album, I am only going to talk about Black Swan and 0:00 (Zero O’Clock). Let’s get into it!
When I first heard Black Swan, I immediately knew it would be my favourite track. The song’s theme is quite sombre and describes the pain of growing distant from one’s passions, something I felt a lot of during the start of quarantine. Black Swan is similar to Fake Love in the dark aesthetic and atmosphere that both songs showcase, but I find Black Swan to be far more superior with its combination of plucked strings, heavy 808 bass, lush background vocals and rhythmic rap verses.
0:00 (Zero O’Clock) was my emotional support song through 2020. This song captured exactly how I was feeling and it completely shocked me. I especially resonated with the lyrics, “You know those days, those days where you are sad for no reason, those days where your body is heavy and it looks like everyone else except for you is busy and fierce.” Having my feelings laid out in front of me and followed by the line “And you’re gonna be happy” brought me so much comfort during a time where I was struggling to find it.
DPR LIVE: Is Anybody Out There?
I have been following DPR LIVE since 2017 so I was very excited for this release! If you aren’t familiar with DPR LIVE, he is a Korean rapper who is part of the Dream Perfect Regime collective (aka DPR). As a group, the DPR writes, performs, produces, and directs their own work. The members also release solo projects that showcase their individual visions. Is Anybody Out There? is DPR LIVE’s second solo album.
The energy of this album is very immersive and engaging! Many songs on this track-list paint a clear image of another universe, combining feelings of being lost and loneliness with layers of background vocals, bass and synths. I love the “wow-I’m-pretty-sad-but-I’m-going-to- dance-to-ignore-my-feelings” vibe each song has. During the beginning of the COVID-19 lock-down, this album was my go-to for all of my stress relief dance parties.
My favourite song is Out of Control. The lyrics tell a story of someone feeling out of touch with themselves and their emotions. I am a huge fan of songs that sound upbeat but actually have sad lyrics; I find the irony and complexity of those types of songs beautiful and relatable. Out of Control applies this concept stunningly by opening with a hard-hitting beat and DPR Live singing “Lately I’ve been feeling out of control”, accompanied with background vocals that seem to echo and encourage this statement.
NIKI: Moonchild
The album Moonchild blew me away the first time I listened to it. Even now I only ever listen to it when I can be alone and appreciate every song. Each song needs to be listened to in order since they all transition beautifully into the next and build on an interlocking storyline. The album is split into three different sections, marked on Spotify as three separate discs. Each disc has its own distinctive theme and atmosphere.
This album marks a new era for NIKI as many of her past songs have all had softer, more pop and R&B undertones. Moonchild feels experimental and focuses on creating a universe that showcases a darker and heavier sound. Every track transports me to a mythical world, left to my own devices. I would describe it as going through a journey, listening to the pain and confusion of the main character as they navigate the story of each song.
The first song, Wide Open (Foreword), features minimal, hollow-sounding guitars, a steady drum pattern, grand strings and background vocals that echo. It does a wonderful job of setting the tone for the entire album, creating an eerie ambiance with lyrics like “Watch your back, watch your weight, watch your words too. They’ll come at you with their teeth and their rhinestone-covered sheaths.” It makes me question whether or not I truly am alone in this fairy-tale-like world and what I should be watching out for. Overall, NIKI does a wonderful job of storytelling throughout this album.
OMAR APOLLO: Apolonio
If you know me then you would know for a fact that I am a big fan of Omar Apollo and his music. I began following Apollo’s career after his 2018 release Stereo, and have been anticipating the release of his debut album ever since. It’s no surprise when I say that I absolutely adore this album— I’ve streamed this album almost every single day since its release and my Spotify wrapped statistics can prove it!
I’ve noticed that Omar has been searching for his signature sound throughout the years. Many of his early releases had a chill, melodic vibe which showed off his guitar skills and smooth vocals rather than his storytelling abilities. However, this album showcases a more vulnerable side of Apollo. It feels personal as he sings about his heartbreak, lust and unrequited love, songs that feel like confessions.
A great example of this is my favourite and most-streamed song, Kamikaze. It reminds me of Frank Ocean as it starts off by reminiscing about a boy Apollo used to travel to see. As the song goes on, the relationship starts to fade and his partner grows distant. The real climax of the song and my favourite part is when Apollo says “Fuck you, boy! I’ma leave this state and never come back. I’ma never come back to you ever again.” Those lines immediately stood out to me because it was clear that he was directing those lyrics to a very specific person. Essentially, I love how personal this album feels and I’m excited to see how Apollo will continue to grow as an artist.
KALI UCHIS: Sin Miedo
I only began listening to Kali Uchis towards the end of 2020 when her song After The Storm started trending on Tik-Tok. I listened to her previous album Isolation and was immediately drawn to her calm, hypnotic vocal style. Her sensual, elegant, and powerful feminine presence felt empowering as I was struggling a lot with my own gender expression and presentation.
It was refreshing to see a Latina woman embracing her culture and identity in a male-dominated industry. Sin Miedo is an album that is predominantly sung in Spanish and features different styles of Latin music such as boleros, reggae-ton and Latin soul. The first track, La Luna Enamorada, features a spoken intro that leads into luscious vocals and layers of harmonies. The whole song does a wonderful job of highlighting Uchis’ lower vocal range.
My favourite track from this album is Telepatía. It’s a very dreamy song with flowing synths that feature very sensual lyrics, expressing Uchis’s desire to be with her partner. The confidence that she exudes throughout this song is contagious and makes me feel ethereal. I find that is a recurring theme in Uchis’s music. I feel in touch with my femininity and body when listening to this song and it reminds me of the confidence I want to embody within myself and my own romantic relationship. The femininity and power exemplified by this song fully captures the graceful and dream-like sound of this album.
Darnie Tran (they/them) is a non-binary, First Generation, Cambodian-Chinese-Canadian performing artist. Tran has accepted various roles in many theatre productions, as an actor, musician, stage manager and director. They also have experience acting on screen in the web-series HammerTown.
In addition to theatre, Tran plays a variety of instruments and creates music under the name sunniesounds. Currently, they are a student at Randolph College for the Performing Arts and was accepted as an interviewer for The Peahce Project. They are also an editor at Kiwi Collective Magazine.