Portland punks Glacier Veins list their top 10 albums of 2020

Portland, OR atmospheric pop punks Glacier Veins released their first full-length, The World You Want to See, earlier this year on Equal Vision/Common Ground Collective. It's one of 2020's best debuts of its kind, and if you haven't heard it, we recommend checking it out below.

As the year comes to a close, we asked the members of Glacier Veins what albums they liked this year, and they put together a band-wide top 10 with picks by vocalist/guitarist Malia Endres, bassist Kyle Woodrow, and guitarist Jason Espinoza. It's a genre-diverse list, with albums by Run The Jewels, Khruangbin, Milk Teeth, Touche Amore, Movements, Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes, and more, and each member wrote a little bit about their picks. Read on for what they had to say.

Earlier this year, we also spoke to some current Equal Vision bands about their favorite classic Equal Vision albums, in honor of the label's 30th anniversary. You can read what Kyle had to say about The Sound of Animals Fighting's Tiger and the Duke here.

GLACIER VEINS' TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2020

1. Winter – Endless Space (Between You & I)

Listening to record is a magical experience. With its dreamy sounds and themes of distance and existence, it came at a perfect time to bring some sweetness and enchantment to the quarantine feelings. [Malia]

2. Milk Teeth- Milk Teeth

Milk Teeth stands in confidence with this record. The cleverly melodic and powerful vocals cut through, bringing stories of facing disappointment and reality in order to regain self-worth. It feels like a meaningful album for people going through a similar experience or who just need a catchy, high-energy record to enjoy. [Malia]

3. I'm Glad It's You – Every Sun, Every Moon

A realistic, relatable and honest album dripping with incredible musicianship. Each song is unique and creates a suitable backdrop for the lyrical content. With so many different keyboard sounds, swelling chord progressions, complex rhythms and heartfelt motifs, this album invites you to fully embrace it. [Kyle]

4. Young Culture – Young Culture

A special delivery of pop rock anthems with a side of heartthrob. The band excels at giving the people what they want! Earworm choruses, insane hooks, perfect arrangements and a few surprises make for a little slice of heaven. [Kyle]

5. Touché Amoré – Lament

This album has a lot of diverse sounding songs that fit together perfectly. With a unique approach to unpacking some very deep personal themes, it feels very refreshing in 2020. [Kyle]

6. Run The Jewels – RTJ4

The cultural potency of this album is phenomenal. The performances from RTJ are incredible and the numerous featured artists help them achieve a new level of greatness. [Kyle]

7. Modern Color – From The Leaves of Your Garden

The emotion and energy pours out of this record. It's one of those records that make you miss live music even more than you already do, wanting to fully experience these songs move through you. [Malia]

8. Movements – No Good Left To Give

There are such heavy feelings and honesty in this record, a special, evolving Movements' sound. Would recommend checking out their mini-doc on the making of the record to appreciate it even more. [Malia]

9. Khruangbin – Mordechai

Riddled with catchy, memorable bass grooves and guitar work that weaves in and out of the forefront harmoniously with the rest of the band, Mordechai is a psychedelic dip into the trio's brainchild. Warm, vibrant tones swimming in reverb and a rhythm section bearing unmatched groove, the band locks in and the trio's sound proves to be bigger than western influence and unapologetically themselves with leisurely, yet complex leads and earthy bass lines that intertwine and become something much bigger. [Jason]

10. Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kind Of Music

A blend between jazz, hip hop, and R&B, What Kind Of Music is a collaboration between drummer Yussef Dayes and Tom Misch that highlight one another's virtuosity and genius without butting egos. With crystal clear delivery upon every melody, soulful guitar work and the layered depth that Dayes brings to the rhythm section, What Kind Of Music is a refreshing listen through that blurs genre and bends familiarity into something we can all relate with. [Jason]