Infant Island had a busy year, with the release of the Sepulcher mini-LP, the Collections 1 compilation (which benefited the Richmond Community Bail Fund), and their sophomore album Beneath, which we named the #2 best punk album of 2020 (and also included on our list of great screamo/post-hardcore albums from this year). Not to mention, guitarist/vocalist Alexander Rudenshiold also released a killer EP with his band Mattachine.

With the year coming to a close, all five members of Infant Island spoke to us about the music they loved most this year. Each member made their own list of favorite albums, accompanied by entertaining excerpts from the band's group chat about these lists. Infant Island's own music incorporates screamo, black metal, sludge metal, noise, ambience, post-rock, and more, so it's no surprise that these lists include tons of different styles of music, with albums by Soul Glo, Undeath, Undergang, Nothing, Thou, Lady Gaga, Arca, Machine Girl, 100 gecs, Soccer Mommy, Hum, Nø Man, This Will Destroy You, Boris/Merzbow, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, Freddie Gibbs, Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin, Necrot, and much more. Read on for what they had to say…

Daniel Kost (vocals)

“the only releases I liked were the new Soul Glo, Agnes Obel, and a handful of death metal records"

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Black Curse – Endless Wound
Agnes Obel – Myopia
Undeath – Lesions of a Different Kind
200 Stab Wounds – Piles of Festering Decomposition
Soul Glo – Songs to Yeet at the Sun
Holy Sons – Raw & Disfigured
Undergang – Aldrig i Livet
Nothing – The Great Dismal
Daniel Bachman – Green Alum Springs
Lomelda – Hannah
Thou – Blessings of the Highest Order
Fluids – Ignorance Exalted

Austin O’Rourke (drums, orchestration)

"i’m outing myself as a heavy poser”

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Lady Gaga – Chromatica
Helios – Domecile
Akisai – Travelers
Arca – Kick I
Machine Girl – U Void Synthesizer
Zombieshark! – I will destroy you, myself, and everything I’ve ever loved
Machinedrum – A View of U
100 Gecs – 1000 Gecs & the Tree of Clues
Recovery Girl – Recovery Girl
Soul Glo – Songs to Yeet at the Sun
Autechre – Sign
Charli XCX – How I’m Feeling Now
Soccer Mommy – Color Theory
The Japanese House – Chewing Cotton Wool
Joyride – BRAVE

Alexander Rudenshiold (guitar, vocals)

“dw mine is also gonna be poseur shit”

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Nothing – The Great Dismal
Soccer Mommy – Color Theory
Sumac – May You Be Held
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – Charmed
Lady Gaga – Chromatica
Hum – Inlet
Soul Glo – Songs to Yeet at the Sun
The Bilinda Butchers – Night & Blur
Nø Man – Erase
Sadness – Alluring the distant eye
Old Man Gloom – Seminars VIII & IX
Blithe Field – Hymn for Anyone
This Will Destroy You – Variations & Rarities: 2004 – 2019

Winston Givler (guitar, vocals)

"I hate compiling dumb ass lists”

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Baths – Pop Music / False B-Sides II
Benny the Butcher & Hitboy – Burden of Proof
Boris/Merzbow – 2R0|2P0
Chihei Hatakeyama – Black Swallow
Conway the Machine – From a King to a GOD
Freddie Gibbs – Alfredo
JPEGMAFIA – EP!
Mikau – Phantoma
Primitive Man – Immersion
Oneohtrix Point Never – Magical Oneohtrix Point Never
Thou/Emma Ruth Rundle – May Our Chambers Be Full

Kyle Guerra (bass, vocals)

"I was trying to avoid having a bunch of Griselda, but I’d rather that than admitting I listened to a nirvana cover album a lot”

>>>>

Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo
Benny the Butcher & Hitboy – Burden of Proof
200 Stab Wounds – Piles of Festering Decomposition
Soul Glo – Songs to Yeet at the Sun
Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin – FlySiifu’s
Ty Sorrell – Fast Food
Alfred. – One Trick Pony
Billy Capricorn – Out of Love, Vol. 5
The Bilinda Butchers – Night & Blur
Conway the Machine & The Alchemist – Lulu
Nø Man – Erase
King Jahsh – Julius
Ponyboy – Camp Hoopla
Necrot – Mortal
90Wyse – Abhorrent

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Stream a few of the albums they picked below…

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Browse our Best of 2020 tag for more year-end lists.