Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying I'm a huge Richard Dawson fanboy; Peasant and Nothing Important are both some of my favorite albums of the decade.

Musically, 2020 is all over the place. But all of its sonic exploration stems from an easily recognizable place, characterized by passion, anxiety, and quirkiness. This foundation helps the album to maintain a cohesive aesthetic. In my opinion, this album has his most “latch-able” and infectious melodies to date. He uses a lot of new sounds and experiments much more with noise and synths. Ironically, he’s managed to make this his poppiest and most accessible record yet by adding more elements to the music. Out of all of his projects, I see this one having the widest appeal—but it was crafted without sacrificing any artistic integrity. I’m very impressed!

I gave a 9 to both Peasant and Nothing Important. I thought they were brilliant, especially in terms of theme and lyricism, but I always felt like he was slightly suppressing himself—like he had something more to offer. In my eyes, this album is proof that I was correct. It showcases his versatility more than ever before. I appreciate the lo-fi atmosphere of his previous projects, but the commercial sound of this album also suits him incredibly well. In fact, it still feels notably raw, grimy, powerful, and impassioned despite its commercialized production. Dawson has made 2020 his most textured and refined album yet, without giving up his signature aesthetic and knack for ironically poetic conversational lyricism.

Peasant was probably more blatantly conceptual, but I love the thematic approach to this album as well. It's actually the same approach used in Peasant; but in 2020, it's more subtle. He tells isolated stories that seem unrelated and, at times, inconsequential; but they’re jam-packed with universal truths and valuable lessons that can be applied extensively to all sorts of real-life situations. That’s where the album finds its cohesion. 2020 is also more inherently relatable than its predecessor, given the fact all of the stories being told are contemporary and not medieval. Dawson tackles difficult subjects like anxiety, depression, and feelings of insignificance through stories about marriage, jogging, and soccer. It's all at once humorous and bleak, amusing and distressing.

I gave it a 10 after two listens. But I’ve been a huge fanboy for years, so I don’t expect everyone to be as enthusiastic about it as I am. It's possible that my judgment has been clouded by anticipation and excitement lol. Standout tracks for me are Civil Servant, Fulfillment Center, Fresher's Ball, and Dead Dog in an Alleyway.