Punk supergroup Be Well discuss their favorite albums of 2020
Be Well is the new-ish punk supergroup fronted by Brian McTernan (who fronted Battery in the '90s and produced classic albums by Converge, Cave In, The Movielife, Strike Anywhere, Thrice, Hot Water music, Circa Survive, and much more) and also featuring Fairweather members Peter Tsouras (guitar) and Shane Johnson (drums), Darkest Hour's Mike Schleibaum (guitar), and Bane/Converge's Aaron Dalbec (bass), and they're as great in execution as they are on paper. Their Equal Vision-released debut album The Weight and The Cost is one of the most-loved melodic hardcore albums of 2020 (it made I Am The Avalanche's year-end list), and now the members of Be Well have told us what their favorite albums of the year were.
They also included I Am The Avalanche's album on their list, plus Touche Amore, Hum, Strike Anywhere, PUP, Change, Rotting Out, and more. They also provided commentary on each pick. Read on for what they had to say…
BE WELL'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2020
Touche Amore – Lament (Brian)
This record is beautiful, emotional, and refreshingly real. It could not have come out at a better time.
Hum – Inlet (Shane)
Hum managed to out Hum themselves. The classic Hum big riff wall of sound somehow got bigger. You could drown in this record.
Change – Closer Still (Brian)
A classic hardcore record in the vein of everything I love. This record makes me miss shows more than ever.
Strike Anywhere – Nightmares of the West (Aaron)
New Strike Anywhere!!!
PUP – This Place Sucks Ass (Shane)
Noisy and pissed off but still super fun and really catchy. Like if Weezer had a troubled younger brother.
Misery Signals – Ultraviolet (Mike)
Hopeful, heavy, and melodic. A welcomed album in this moment.
I Am The Avalanche – DIVE (Brian)
I thought this would be good, but it’s unbelievable. The songwriting is amazing, the performances have color and character, the production is perfect, and the art is timeless.
Beggars – Scavenger (Mike)
Dark times call for dark tunes. I guess this could be called Black Metalcore. Whatever you call it, it’s bleak, heavy, washy, and straight up evil music from Richmond, VA.
Rotting Out – Ronin (Aaron)
After breaking up and taking a few years off, Rotting Out came back and recorded a record that is the perfect next step for this band.
Angel Du$t – Lil House (Brian)
Rad people making rad music. Fun, quirky, catchy, with masterful songwriting.
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Browse our Best of 2020 tag for more year-end lists.