Best Music 2021

[rue the polywhirl]

Hey everyone,

Bit of an urgent topic. I desperately need some recommendations for best of new albums for this year. As a side question, what have people's favourite new musical discoveries been this year. At this rate Coldplay and Adele are currently my albums of the year and this is causing me monumental depression. My favourite discoveries have been the complete works of Everything But The Girl plus Yu Su - Yellow River Blue.

[Johnny Yesno]

https://thearmed.bandcamp.com/album/ultrapop

Doubt you'll need anything else, tbh ;-p

[Pauline Walnuts]

Coldplay and Adele for me.

[Lordofthefiles]

Bevis Frond - Little Eden


https://youtu.be/FyGZ3l1hmew


Pasted All Over and the title track are great (and I wonder how long it was before finalising the lyrics that he decided not to call it Little England, it being an attack on Brexit/Brexiteers).

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Have to confess to not listening too much new stuff this year, but I enjoyed Neither Is, Nor Ever Was, the debut album by Constant Follower, a folk/ambient band formed by Stirling-based musician Stephen McAll. Seems to have gone largely under the radar, but worth checking out if you like this sort of thing.

Set Aside Some a Time:

The Merry Dancers on TV:

[Clatty McCutcheon]

I also enjoyed The Art of Losing by The Anchoress - Welsh singer/songwriter Catherine Anne Davies.

The Art of Losing:

Let It Hurt:

[The Culture Bunker]

Pretty much all the music from 2021 I've enjoyed has been in the synth-pop/synth-wave/retro-wave or whatever the fuck you want to call it genre:

- At 1980: 'Late Night Calls'
- The Midnight: 'Horror Show'
- Coastal: 'Memories'
- Yota: 'Lucid Dreams'
- New Arcades: 'In the Deepest of Dreams
- The G: 'Wanderers'
- Wolfclub: 'Just Drive', Parts 1 and 2
- Timecop 1983: 'Faded Touch'

[purlieu]

Desperate Journalist - Maximum Sorrow!
This band seem to get better and better. Slightly less guitar and more atmospheric synth than before, but in general the usual mix of Pornography-era Cure murk, Smiths jangle, Manics soar and Suede suburban melancholia. Jo's voice is on fine form, and some of her lyrics are marvellous ("the sweaty words of celebrated men" is such a wonderful phrase). Just about every song is an absolute belter.

Chvrches - Screen Violence
After a more commercial third album, Chvrches head back into slightly darker territory with this self-produced album. As always, the tunes are huge, alternating between sweeping melancholia and soaring euphoria. The addition of guitar and bass to most tracks moves them into more indie-sounding territory, a surprising and incredibly successful move.

The Future Sound of London - We Have Explosive 2021
FSOL take their 1997 big beat hit and use it as the basis for 60 minutes of head-pummelling IDM. Despite being often considered an ambient group, this is a great example of just how uncompromisingly heavy they can be at times.
Detonation on Bandcamp.




Lande Hekt - Going to Hell
Muncie Girls frontwoman goes solo with a collection of jangly indie songs about readjusting your life after discovering you're gay. Upbeat and catchy cut through with a bittersweet edge.

Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
Slightly off-kilter but massively melodic indie rock backing with surreal spoken word vocals. For all the comparisons, Florence's lyrics and performance reminds me most of Underworld's Karl Hyde.

Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
Cutting back on some of the frenetic genre-swapping of their previous album, Wolf Alice hone a particular sound on this, both huge and intimate at the same time. There are still a couple of raucous punk-laced tracks in there, but the album's strength comes from its quieter moments.

The Joy Formidable - Into the Blue
The Welsh trio continue their move away from the euphoric blast of their earlier works into a darker and more atmospheric sound, while removing the Muse-like bombast of their previous album. 'I Gotta Feed My Dog' is probably my favourite song of the year.

The Weather Station - Ignorance
Tamara Lindeman swaps her lo-fi folk sound for one more reminiscent of Talk Talk's mid-to-late '80s sound, her shimmering indie-pop songs beautifully accompanied by jazz and classical arrangements.

Humanoid - 7 Songs
Seven acid house bangers. Or, if you buy the CD version, or the digital from the FSOL Bandcamp, 14 acid house bangers.

London Grammar - Californian Soil
Another run of superb soulful, atmospheric downtempo pop from this trio. Probably their best bunch of songs to date.

Margo Cilker - Pohorylle
Canadian does country and pulls it off marvellously.

Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror
'70s soft rock, country and Abba all rolled into one on this beautiful selection of upbeat pop songs.

Roddy Woomble - Lo! Soul
With Idlewild an increasingly infrequent project these days, frontman Roddy continues to experiment with his solo material on this selection of strange psychedelic pop, drifting from moody, Hebridean ballads to upbeat electronic sunshine pop.

36 & Awakened Souls - The Other Side of Darkness
Ambient producer 36 teams up with husband and wife dream pop duo Awakened Souls for this blend of heartbreaking electronics, veering from pure synth instrumentals, to gentle vocal and guitar soundscapes.

Girl in Red - If I Could Make it Go Quiet
Gorgeous epic Scandinavian pop, in the way only they know how.

Hauschka with Rob Petit & Robert McFarlane - Upstream
The soundtrack to a film about a river in the Scottish highlands, this album conjures up those landscapes beautifully, blending classical instrumentation with field recordings, haunting electronics and spoken word.

The Anchoress - The Art of Losing
Doomy, theatrical pop-rock from Catherine AD. Goes a bit on the piano ballady side in the second half, but the first half in particular is all bangers, including a superb James Dean Bradfield collaboration.

Gazelle Twin & NYX - Deep England
Tracks from Gazelle Twin's last album are given a folk horror rewrite with electronic choir NYX, with a Wicker Man song and 'Jerusalem' thrown in for good measure. Creepiest album of the year.

36 - Music for Isolation (Suite)
Expanded version of 36's 2020 lockdown EP, with five extra tracks. His usual achingly beautiful ambient sound in full force here.

Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Gorgeous introspective pop-rock.

Ffion - Unfurling
Hypnotic synth arpeggios.

Claire Rousay - A Softer Focus
Rousay expands her usual field recording-based musique concrete approach by adding layers of warm synths, strings and occasional bizarre autotuned vocals on this surreal suburban soundscape.

Illuvia - Iridescence of Clouds
Illuvia moves from his more techno-leaning work towards a mixture of lush synths and drum & bass. Utilising a huge range of dnb approaches, from jungle to borderline jump-up sounds, it's a far more varied album than one would expect, with a rich soundbed of melodic synths to complement the beats.

[SteveDave]

Calling the Anchoress Welsh is a bit much. According to that awful podcast I put myself through, she was born there, moved to Australia when she was 10 months old (not by herself) and then moved back to Aylesbury. Bore da motherfucker. Some of us waited a lifetime before jumping ship.

Anyway, here are the best things I've heard all year (some aren't from 2021 but I only heard them for the first time this year)

Songs
"Sunday Morning" Margo Guryan
"Hilly Fields (1892)" nick nicely
"Six Months In A Leaky Boat" Split Enz
"How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away" Dan Hicks And The Hot Licks
"Part Of The Anchor" Robert Lloyd
"Golly Gosh" Jedrzej Dmochowski
"My Kind Of Woman" Mac Demarco
"FYE FYE" Tobe Nwigwe
"Chaise Longue" Wet Leg
"(Oh Dear) Miss Morse" Pearls Before Swine
"Drugs" Tai Verdes
"The Hive" Richard Harris
"Dear Prudence" The Five Stairsteps

Albums
"Seeking New Gods" Gruff Rhys (2021)
"A Comfortable Man" Cathal Smyth (2014)
"EP1" and "EP2" The Lazy Eyes (2021)
"Hits To Spare" The Poppermost (2021)
"Choctaw Ridge" (Compilation) (2021)

[Twit 2]

Great post, @purlieu

Hard for me to pick a favourite this year. Got to be Adele and Coldplay, hasn't it? Ed Sheerhan.

[Norton Canes]

Some of the best tracks I've heard this year: January-June | July-December


Haven't given nearly enough albums a proper listen this year but a top five would probably be:

The Bug - Fire
Aaron Dilloway & Lucretia Dalt - Lucy & Aaron
LoneLady - Former Things
Nation Of Language - A Way Forward
Léonie Pernet - Le Cirque De Consolation

[Poisson Du Jour]

Thanks purlieu, some interesting ones in there.

[The Culture Bunker]

I feel right proper lazy for not attaching links to my favourites, so I'll do that now, in the unlikely event anyone is interested in my favourite synth-based pop tunes (don't click expecting anything edgy or suchlike) of the year are:

- At 1980: 'Late Night Calls'
'Maria': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Y-pHiydqo


- The Midnight: 'Horror Show'
'Good in Red': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX1LnLb6mbw

- Coastal: 'Memories'
'Kyoto': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uzR-AKt0b0

- Yota: 'Lucid Dreams'
'Runaway': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EM1R7IKwGw

- New Arcades: 'In the Deepest of Dreams
'Don't Stop Dreaming': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDbPjuh5zfY

- The G: 'Wanderers'
'Wanderers': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6W4_1pTqY

- Wolfclub: 'Just Drive', Parts 1 and 2
'Just Drive' (from Pt1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1kAGzKaLOQ
'Lights Out' (from Pt2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fB7RnnjNU


- Timecop 1983: 'Faded Touch'
'One Night': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFimwKsOaZk

[Malcy]

Lazily copy and pasting this from another forum i use but,

In no order

Yebba - Dawn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XWaJMij_YM&list=PL7y0PdqNPt40dq4uxyMZNj8yZZXhl72Tb

Possibly my most played and favourite. Outstanding album.

Laura Mvula - Pink Noise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt0w1LDMlqc&list=PLUFVzQnsOsN3x2oAJxOX8yAXiK6l3cd_W

A departure from her usual sound but an absolutely great mix of genres.


Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBdEchDETzM&list=PL0y0DbslUgpzN2F_aI5EGqXd3tO27hiyN

Caught one of their songs on the radio and was hooked. Album got a lot of play as well.

Katy B - Peace & Offerings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ZMMpWzkLo&list=PL7iUSyRdayK5sBlqFdJZsMi6QqETYso99

This one was a welcome release as it had been a while since she had released anything. Still will never top her 2011 debut though. Still play that regularly.

Nas - KDII

 Never been much of a Nas fan but this and the first KD made me want to listen to him more than I usually would.

Pete & Bas - Quick Little Mixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvctcYYm0lc

London pensioners rapping. What's not to love?

Also mentions to William Shatner's latest, Styles P & Havoc, R&R=Now & Dr Dre's GTA music.


The Yebba album is absolutely the best album of the year for me. Absolute belter of an album.

[badaids]

Been an amazing year for music this year:

[chveik]

lil ugly mane - volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern
san salvador - la grande folie
juçara marcal - delta estàcio blues
guedra guedra - vexillology
scotch rolex - tewari
susumu hirasawa - beacon
l'rain - fatigue

quite the shitty year overall

[Cuellar]

Lingua Ignota - SINNER GET READY

[Kankurette]

Wiyaala is utterly joyous. One of my favourite discoveries this year, along with Måneskin (yes, they're the Eurovision band, no, I don't care if everyone else thinks they're shit).

[holyzombiejesus]

Liked the Horsegirl 7", James Yorkston & 2nd Hand Orchestra and  Black Country, New Roads albums.

[The Mollusk]

Lingua Ignota - SINNER GET READY

I'm gradually building up the strength to listen to this after it emerged that the whole album was written about, and during, her abusive relationship with Alexis Marshall, a former hero of mine. I've always needed to be in a very particular frame of mind to listen to her music it this is some really raw subject matter for me personally. I've heard it's an incredible record though.

[Bence Fekete]

Squid - Bright Green Field
Black Midi - Cavalcade

Tropical Fuck Storm's new album too but I've only just heard of them somehow so mostly enjoying their old stuff eg: this and this EDIT: and this whataband

[Johnboy]

This is a list i made for another forum I frequent- albums I've liked from what i've heard and will try to listen to when i want something new

1. Chuck Johnson    The Cinder Grove

2. BLKJKS  Abantu/Before Humans

3. David Long and Shane O'Neill  Moll and Zeis

4. Lonely Guest   Lonely Guest

5. Paul Weller  Fat Pop

6. Ordnance Survey   Field Work

7. Saint Etienne I've Been Trying to Tell You

8. Arlo Parks  Collapsed in Sunbeams

9. Trouble Pilgrims   Blood Glass and Gasoline

10. Spencer Cullum  Spener Cullum's Coin Collection

11. Dr Lonnie Smith   Breathe

12. Luke Haines  Setting the Dogs on the Post Punk Postman

13.Joan As Policewoman/Tony Allen  The Solution is Restless

14. Little Simz  Sometimes I might be Introvert

15. Goat  Headsoup

16. Loscil  Clara

17. Haliku Salut   the hill  the light the ghost

18. Greentea Peng Man Made

19. La Luz  la luz

20.Alan Vega  Mutator

[chutnut]

Had a look and it seems I only got 3 albums that were released in 2021, the new Dinosaur Jr, Little Simz and Nine by Sault. I don't even like any of them that much lol but there's a few good tracks on each

[sardines]

This is a list i made for another forum I frequent- albums I've liked from what i've heard and will try to listen to when i want something new

1. Chuck Johnson    The Cinder Grove

Surprised not to see this and the other VDSQ releases in more EOY lists.
Great label. Before this album, Johnson had passed me by but Blood Moon Boulder is also top quality.

[Dirty Boy]

I'm gradually building up the strength to listen to this after it emerged that the whole album was written about, and during, her abusive relationship with Alexis Marshall, a former hero of mine. I've always needed to be in a very particular frame of mind to listen to her music it this is some really raw subject matter for me personally. I've heard it's an incredible record though.

It's brill

[M-CORP]

I haven't checked out much new music this year, but I can recommend 'Animal' by LUMP, and 'Ebolaball' by ButchCrutch (the latter is Bandcamp-only). Both are pretty, abstract pop albums, though the former has a few more odd time signatures, and the latter has more of a 'not taking things too seriously' vibe.

https://lump.bandcamp.com/album/animal
https://nilamox.bandcamp.com/music

[The Mollusk]

lil ugly mane - volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern

This is fantastic! Like a plunderphonics psychedelic boat ride through a bright and colourful mental breakdown. Reminds me of Eels or Beck at their best but it's so much bigger than that. Such a rich depth of sound, the production is superb and the drab, melancholic sense of humour to it all is really beautiful and honest. Every song sounds like a different type of flower blooming and bursting into tears.

[Golden E. Pump]

Will do a bigger write up in January as I'll be covering it on my podcast but off the top of my head there have been great releases this year from Silk Sonic, Little Simz, Yola, JPEGMAFIA, Tyler, The Creator, The Bamboos, Lana Del Rey, St Vincent, Turnstile, Yebba, Altin Gün, GOJIRA, Really From, Failure, Low, Genesis Owusu and Magdalena Bay.

[The Mollusk]

Turnstile

I've tried but I really can't see what all the fuss is about with this album. I've never heard their other stuff but they're a hardcore band right? And this is just a hardcore band making a pop album basically. Super polished production, crisp and watertight, reverb and and phasers out the fuckin wazoo... it's just really insubstantial to my ears. Big anthemic WHOOAAA jams and... that's about it.

There's people chatting about it online like it was handed down from the heavens. Look at this comment:

I'm not a music critic, but I honestly think this is going to end up being an important album as well as an incredible one. Maybe I'm just a slave to my rose-colored glasses right now, but I really truly do believe in this album as a testament to what genre can do. I'm still blown away by something like UNDERWATER BOI and how it manages to sound like Turnstile and also something completely else at the same time. I'm trying not to blow smoke up its ass, but I'm not sure how else to explain how good this album feels to listen to. It really is a 10/10 to me.

Makes me think I'm listening to a different album as everyone else.

[Golden E. Pump]

Unfortunately, I'm in the 'UNDERWATER BOI is a banger' crowd. It's drenched in this melancholy nostalgia but propelled by a modern punk engine. I love it. I thought the whole album worked, personally. Still, that's the beauty of music. Also, I have a more scant appreciation of hardcore through bands like The Replacements compared to my lifelong love of all things pop, so maybe I'm just predisposed to enjoy this kind of direction for a punk band.