For The Punks wants to celebrate the half way mark of the year with a playlist of our favorite music so far. Including Halsey, The 1975, Soccer Mommy, and more, this list of the perfect representation of our favorite music so far and what we are looking forward to for the second half of the year. We hope you are just as excited as we are.
Kicking off our list of the best music of 2020 so far is a suggestion from our writer Dan Calderone. He says that The 1975’s fourth studio album Notes on A Conditional Form is his favorite of the year so far. This 22 track album filled with pop and indie hits is definitely one 2020’s best releases.
Dan said his favorite song is “If You’re too Shy (Let me Know)” because it is filled with really catchy hooks and interesting instrumentation for a pop song.
Along with The 1975, Dan is hoping for a new album from New Bring Me The Horizon. On June 25, Bring Me The Horizon released a single called “Parasite Eve” which Dan recommends listening to.
In February, COIN released their third album called Dreamland. Jade said that Dreamland is her favorite album of the year so far for many reasons. She recommends listening to track 11, “Lately III”.
“The third studio album from Nashville pop band, Coin is their truest work to date. It is filled with songs from the heart, tunes to dance to, cry to, and everything in between. This album will truly make you feel alive.”
Along with COIN, she recommends listening to the song “Your Love (Deja Vu)” by Glass Animals. She is also excited for Use Me by PVRIS, an album that is expected to be released on July 10.
There has been an instance of collective consciousness within the alternative pop scene this year, Jade said. Between Coin, Glass Animals, and Coast Modern, each artist has released works revolving around the theme of ‘Dreamland’. Both Coin and Glass Animals’ third studio album have the official title of ‘Dreamland’. Though coincidental, this circumstance truly has listeners questioning theories of collective consciousness.
Yani’s favorite album of the year so far is Halsey’s pop-rock album Manic. Track ten, “Finally // Beautiful Stranger” is her favorite song. Yani thinks that Halsey’s new album is raw. Not only does Yani think that the music is great but she believes that the transitions between songs are flawless.
Along with Halsey’s newest album, she loves Jessie Reyez’s newest album Before Love Came to Kill Us. Yani says that Jessie Reyez’s album is definitely a runner up for favorite album of the year for a lot of the same reasons as Halsey’s. She recommends listening to “Do You Love Her,” the opening track to Jessie’s album.
Ever since February, Karalyn has had Soccer Mommy’s Color Theory album on repeat. This ten song album is the perfect mix of pop, indie, and rock. Sophie Allison, the singer, used everything from floppy disk samples, to drum machines, to bubble sound effects to create the sound she wanted.
Along with Soccer Mommy’s newest album, Karalyn loves Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa and 27 Miles Underwater by Higher Power. Later this month, Neck Deep will be releasing an album and Karalyn is very excited to listen to what they have created, considering she has loved their recent singles “Lowlife” and “Fall”.
We created an exclusive 30 song playlist on Spotify featuring our favorite music of the year so far. Be sure to take a listen!