Another year has come to a close and so it seems only appropriate that we do another end of year list to highlight the songs that left the biggest impression on Covert Music Club throughout 2020. 2020 was a strange year for all of us. So many of the things that we have taken for granted up to now were stripped away from us, causing us to begin to appreciate the more simple things that occupy our lives. However, it was a year when artists and creators came to the fore and chose to use the adverse conditions that we were presented with to delve deeper into their creativity, and music was one of the places were this seemed most prominent.

Every year, the task of compiling a list of my favourite songs of the year is an arduous undertaking, but this year it seemed particularly difficult with the sheer volume of music that was being created. A lot of music was consumed this year, and eventually a top 5 was decided upon.

But as always, we’ll start with some honourable mentions…

Anyway…

5. Another Sky – Fell In Love With The City

From the moment I first heard this song, I was absolutely enthralled. This was my first time hearing the incredible vocalist that is Catrin Vincent, and it was a hell of an introduction. A song about finding comfort in your surroundings after a breakup, there is an other worldly feel to the song, as the instrumentation continues to swell as the track builds. Powerful and enthralling, it stayed with me long after the first listen.

4. Laura Marling – For You

Back in early April, English singer-songwriter Laura Marling released her seventh studio album to the world. Song for Our Daughter was another heartbreakingly stunning record from the songwriter, who has continued to build on her reputation as one of the best songwriters of her generation. The closing track on the record was the standout track for me, a beautifully touching song about true love.

“I thank a god I’ve never met, never loved, never wanted, for you”

3. Moon Looks On – Friends Keep Dropping

A song from 2019 that finally got it’s release in 2020. I first heard this song performed at The Ruby Sessions last year and it would go on to be the first of many singles released by the talented Sligo songwriter, Stephen Gormley, in 2020. A simple composition lead about a delightful acoustic guitar riff, it is a gorgeous piece of music that charts watching how the people around you change as life progresses.

2. Gary O’Neill – Tofino

This song bowled me over entirely when I first heard it, and I still can’t entirely pinpoint exactly why… To read more about my poor attempts to put my feelings for this song into words, why not have a read of the review from late August.

1. Dua Lipa – Hallucinate

Dua Lipa’s sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, is thirty-seven minutes long, but honestly I think it took me an hour to finish the first listen because of the amount of times I repeated this song during the first run through. The album came along at a time when lockdowns were starting to come into effect across the world, and it’s disco feel and funky rhythms proved the perfect antidote to the gloom. The standout album of 2020, and Hallucinate seemed to sum up the whole vibe. Phenomenal.

As always, here’s a Spotify playlist of all the songs that were in consideration…

All the best for 2021, folks.

MK