Between soft guitar-led instrumentals and catchy acoustic bangers, it feels like moments of peace are slid in between songs in place as a palate cleanser to the next track in line. Deathcare feels more homely than ever, like a lone hand extended out into the darkest corners of the universe, offering not much more than comfort in loneliness. I don’t know why you decided to read the editor’s notes, people normally skip to the list, but if you are, I love you and I wish you a happy listening! -Zim-Īs a longtime fan of Lurkgurl - or Khadijah Juswil, a virtually prolific Malaysian indie singer-songwriter the release of her fourth album “Deathcare” came to me as a total treat.For the last two of her last few albums “For real?” (2017) took a more whimsical dig at experimenting with her lo-fi sound and Demo Days toyed around more with guitar riffs - but this album feels more tied down to reality, with a more grounded direction that feels slightly more sombre (than usual) and haunting with every softly sung lilt in her voice. This list also includes Honorable Mentions, albums we thought were great but slightly missed the mark, at least in comparison to all of the other great records in this article. Both of which I’ve regretfully omitted for the sake of (attempted) conciseness and just because I think it’d be really disingenuous to pretend that I’ve wholly analysed and engaged with an album when I haven’t. One of the saddest things is that I haven’t been able to chronicle every album that I love - there are albums from February I haven’t really listened to yet, or have listened to but not fully reviewed. Most of the albums and EPs for me are here because they stuck with me even after so many weeks (and even after the world as we know it has technically ended). It’s been a strange time for music (and humanity) but 2020 so far has been a great collection of these weird experiences, whether these artists acknowledge it or dismiss it.

Of course, considering the almost-infinite number of music out there we can’t be fully comprehensive and would love to hear from you for any album suggestions you think should definitely be on here. Whether you like catchy pop or something experimental to challenge your sensibilities, you’re bound to find something you like below. Thanks to Joseph and Kasihs’ widely differing tastes from mine, this list is as diverse as it could possibly get for us. Here’s an unranked 2020 list of the best albums and EPs from around the world collectively written by all of us at ATR.

Udig the mixtape