The best local albums of 2020. (Courtesy of the artists)
In 2020, nothing was as before. So we did what we always do in times of crisis: we sought solace in music, and escape. And while many Massachusetts artists struggled to make ends meet in an industry brought to its knees by the pandemic, it is reassuring to look back on the year and see that, amid so much loss, we gained some beautiful things. Here are our critics’ favorite local albums to emerge from a year like no other.
The tumultuous sophomore release of Sean Sprecher’s Bad History Month arrived at the peak of our isolation in April, and since then, I’ve yet to discover another body of work so emblematic of such an emotionally taxing year. Loaded with discordant guitars, caustic drums and Sprecher’s uncompromised voice, “Old Blues” is an emo-revivalist masterpiece so raw and unrestrained, a heavy sedative would fail to paralyze it. Sprecher’s ability to cohesively meld emo, post-rock and drone music into song