Listed below are the best albums of 2021 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 6 hours ago).
"(Nostalgic and bittersweet album. Manages to take that 90s Shoegaze/Noise Pop influence and warp it to something very personal and moving. When the album rocks it really rocks and when the big emotional screamed crescendos hit they really hit..) Overall, I saw the growing hype for this album and ...""(Nostalgic and bittersweet album. Manages to take that 90s Shoegaze/Noise Pop influence and warp it to something very personal and moving. When the album rocks it really rocks and when the big emotional screamed crescendos hit they really hit..)
Overall, I saw the growing hype for this album and I meant to get to it before the hype got out of hand. Well, too late. This is one of the surprise hits of the year amongst music nerds. And I listened with that in the back of my mind. I was thinking I may be disappointed. I wasn't. At least, not much.
The guitars and especially the drums here are excellent. The drums have a clear and crunching compressed intensity that is cool. Makes the otherworldly Shoegaze waves of sound a bit more grounded and tangible, which I much prefer over a general sense of just walls of s=disorienting pretty sound and noise. The guitar sounds are similarly cool, drawing not only from ethereal waves of sound in MBV albums but also from more clear and structured riffs you may find in a Smashing Pumpkins or more direct post-punk album. It's a nice mix.
The vocals are clearly very emotional. On some of the songs a clear Emo influence comes over the tracks, especially on the cathartic climaxes where the vocals scream with intense sadness or anger or some other passion.
The songs are consistently beautiful and not super samey. The more catchy alternative rock songs, especially "Analog Sentimentalism", "Excuse", and "Chicken" all have an infectious and catchy power to them. They somehow made me feel bliss by how damn great the tunes were and also a deep sad nostalgia. Great tunes.
The Epic songs, of which there are 2 and arguably 3, (10 minutes, 9 and a half minutes and 7 minute jams are these ones) are cool and give the music time to build and breathe. The best of the big towering tracks is track 6 "Age of Fluctuation". It is also maybe the heaviest song here and very noisey. But it creates a really inviting world that explodes into a screaming emo crescendo.
There are a lot of highlights - the guitars and their sounds, the drums and the way they are recorded, the excellent vocals, the flow of the album is good, the nice little unexpected touches that Parannoul throw in when least expected etc etc. The only tracks that I maybe wasn't vibing with nearly as much on my first couple listens were track 8 "Extra Story" and maybe "Youth rebellion". But really those will probably grow on me. This is a really nice album."[+]Reply
"Warren Ellis is a subtle genius. Cave is an intimidating genius. Together they make swirling mixtures of contrasting hues of musical mischief to lose your mind within."Reply
"There is a great 12 song album in here There is another completely different, 7 song good EP in here as well Then there is some filler and should have been labeled bonus tracks When you put it all together it sounds like a pretty cool Spotify Playlist. But how many times am I gonna be able to sit...""There is a great 12 song album in here
There is another completely different, 7 song good EP in here as well
Then there is some filler and should have been labeled bonus tracks
When you put it all together it sounds like a pretty cool Spotify Playlist. But how many times am I gonna be able to sit my down and listen to 1:48 minutes of uninterrupted kanyeisms.
Still better than most other albums I heard this year"[+]Reply
"(Well, it’s another excellent Lana Del Rey album. Lyrically excellent and balanced. Musically lush yet stripped down with just the right amount of subtle spice and variety added in to keep it low key riveting. If you like her standout 2019 album, you’ll like this. Probably my fave Lana album yet....""(Well, it’s another excellent Lana Del Rey album. Lyrically excellent and balanced. Musically lush yet stripped down with just the right amount of subtle spice and variety added in to keep it low key riveting. If you like her standout 2019 album, you’ll like this. Probably my fave Lana album yet.)
Well, after much waiting and oodles of anticipation, this thing dropped. I listened to it last night and today several times. I feel I have a pretty clear idea of how much I like it and why.
For one, just want to say that this is, for me, a better album than Norman Fuckin Rockwell in terms of length and ease of listening. NFR was a little (not a lot) bloated and, although the ending tracks were also excellent, I usually felt a bit warn out by the end. And the quality of songs here is close enough to the heights of NFR that the aspect of length and brevity does push it slightly above her amazing ‘19 album. (But honestly, they are essentially the same level of great and my opinion may flip flop many times.)
As far as what I like about the music, well geez, basically everything. Her lyrics are spectacular in their poetic directness and her humor. And there is a sweetness and a lightness and a sense of comfort in the songs here that I didn’t hear in earlier albums. The whole getting famous and thinking back on how much has changed motif is not my favorite, but she does well on this album with expressing the contradictions and self-doubts that go along with this ascendancy. And the excellent cover of Joni Mitchell’s “For Free” just nails it right on the head. It’s a perfect song to cover, almost TOO on the nose. But she does such an excellent job with the material I will forgive the anti-subtlety.
Musically, much like her previous album, there is an assuredness and an ear for detail in these songs that I find impressive. It’s never over the top, it all just floats and feels right, and when Lana does some nifty switch up or introduce a cool rocking drum beat, it hits all the harder due to the awesome restraint of her songwriting. She’s just a generational talent, and one of the best songwriters going.
I don’t have many or really any complaints. I think this album embodies beautifully much of my favorite music. The fact that Lana both pays homage to those great songwriters of the early 70s as well as create her own sound and identity is incredible to me."[+]Reply
"I have had a hard time (relatively hard time) expressing myself regarding this album. I think the reason for this is despite being a mesmerizingly produced and detailed and professional, chiseled piece of music, featuring super well written songs that have a certain throwback sound that St. Vince...""I have had a hard time (relatively hard time) expressing myself regarding this album. I think the reason for this is despite being a mesmerizingly produced and detailed and professional, chiseled piece of music, featuring super well written songs that have a certain throwback sound that St. Vincent puts her own modern spin on,... it doesn't deeply move me. As I listen and without fail every time I listen I am blown away by the technical details and the execution of the songs and the way the bass sounds and the way her voice is recorded and the way that these elements of 70s cool are brought in and mixed and all that. I am never in a state of rapture, annoyance, I never close my eyes and feel a need to focus on the emotional heft of the words and the message, nor do I ever feel repulsed by some ugly mess of a turd of a song nor do I ever look forward to a particularly stellar standout track later. This is a great album technically and yet it has yet to really capture on an emotional, physical, or spiritual level.
So, anyway, I have heard this album half a dozen times and the listens have been spaced out, meaninbg I have never listened to this album in twice in a week not to mention a day. Instead I listen, I am impressed and I may move it up or down on my charts and then I move on and then I come back a month later and see that this is the one album that I never worked myself up to saying a damn thing about and I listen again with the intention of saying what I feel and formulate somewhat concrete thoughts on this album. I never have the will or interest to do any writing however.
Anyway, enough weird meta bullshit that no one cares about including me tbh. Instead now I am listening and I am starting to have some thoughts on this record outside of the one-liner "Really well recorded and solid 70s throwback album". For some reason the first 2 songs here never really hit me on any level, outside of the fact that they are sexy and they have these bass lines and grooves that are so slinky and cool and effortless sounding. Only after those first 2 does this album kind of start coalescing with the title track. The title track is great, the drum fills and that sexy full-throated soul scream noise she makes vocally...hot damn. This is followed by a very VERY Pink Floyd-esque slow burning psychedelic lullaby-esque tune which is beautiful. Love the big chorus. Like the guitar which sounds like a slightly dirtier and much less emotionally impactful take on David Gilmour's style and sound. By this point of this little album I am thinking "great we are onto something tangible and sweet if still not particularly inspiring to me."
Then, holy shit, something wild happens. That something is called "The Melting of the Sun". jiminy cricket this song! This is so luscious, so rich, so detailed, so absurdly well engineered and produced it almost gets to be TOO produced. Not quite does it cross that line. But holy shit. This is like one of those songs that should be on a stereo system salesman's speed dial. The way the keyboard's funky bass notes work with the bass guitar, the way the St. Vincent vocals work with the back up singers, the way the drum fills - ever so precise and perfect - oscillate between left and right and the way guitar comes in and almost crackles, the subtle honking horn sound effect or the instrument that makes that sound early on, the way the song ends and builds up to that ending, everything about this sounds so full-bodied. The song itself? like, what its about and what it makes me feel? not much to say there. This maybe is a bit indicative of my thoughts on this album as a whole. The album and the song is a technical accomplishment of great merit. The actual enjoyment of the material is mixed at best.
The funk of "Down" is well executed and pretty cool and retro, the corny police call at the center of "The Laughing Man" feels, well, corny and strained (if, predictably and again, well produced), the humming interludes are fine and as interludes they aren't nonsensical or obtrusive to the flow of the album nor do they provide much to the album that I have discerned.
The final 35% or so of the albums provides some really quality stuff, not going to lie. As a song that actually moved me and I thought was just a great song full stop (and not just a miracle of production) "Somebody Like Me" is much appreciated. The melody and the steel guitar and the vocals here are all tops and I just really love this song. I have located a genuinely felt favorite on this record with this track #10 and actual song #8. Phew! I was starting to worry! This gem is followed up by another gem with "My Baby Wants A Baby". Although this is less of a gem than the previous track, I still quite like its corny straight out of 1975 sound and those big drum sounds and that vocal delivery and the way the bass rumbles along and kills it here, its alllll gooood. Oh and it climaxes beautifully and passionately. Then this gem is followed by a third straight morsel of 70s soul and funk goodness with "...At the Holiday Party", which features an incredible drum sound and drum work in general with some added spicy percussion. And damn those horns and those back up singers and the way Clark comes in with those falsetto vocals and the way she songs this song is gorgeous. Then "Candy Darling" is a very fine, woozy, piece of sleepy pop, which I like as a closer.
Okay, so that listen was productive and somewhat illuminating. The last run of songs saves it for me from being a technically solid if soulless album to being a pretty soulful and lovingly crafted album. Yet... I still feel mixed about it. It feels like this was just a project that St. Vincent had been hankerin' to do for years. She clearly has a deep and basic understanding and love of psychedelic soul, funk rock, soft rock, psych rock, yacht rock and other mid 70s musical trends and it seems like she wanted to flex her muscles a bit by making this album sound as good and as sexy as possible while making the mid 70s her musical sandbox. And she pulled it off. But I don't feel like the themes or subjects or the whole sweep or concept of the album provides much to me.
In fairness, St. Vincent is one of the most acclaimed artists that I have yet to "get". There is clearly some brilliant genius at work. I have just never quite cracked the code or heard what so many other music fans have heard over the last 14 or so years. This album is pretty cool and I can hear that I am listening to a total musical boss. But it didn't yet show me or make me see what exactly makes St. Vincent such a titan in music. I will soon go back and give some of her other classics more spins, such as Strange Mercy, but until then I am feeling like this was a very very solid album with God-tier production and engineering but not much real emotional or otherwise heft."[+]Reply
"85 to 95/100 (Continuing a trend of punk albums absolutely kicking my ass in 2021, this album goes ahead and kicks ((perhaps)) the very hardest. Post punk, dance punk, noisey rock, artsy heaviness, oh my! Oh and go listen to "Snow Day" if you wanna see what is so great about Shame.) This album fu...""85 to 95/100 (Continuing a trend of punk albums absolutely kicking my ass in 2021, this album goes ahead and kicks ((perhaps)) the very hardest. Post punk, dance punk, noisey rock, artsy heaviness, oh my! Oh and go listen to "Snow Day" if you wanna see what is so great about Shame.)
This album fucking rocks. It makes me wanna mosh and dance and stand still and sad whilst looking out at the city streets and go and tear shit up, all in relatively equal measure across its 42 minutes.
Its nearly relentless in its heaviness, and it IS relentless in its tension and mood. All the while Shame remain undeniably accessible and even catchy.
A few of these songs (namely, Snow Day, Harsh Degrees, Human For A Minute, Born In Luton) are next level statements and just sublime. The rest of the album and its other tracks are also excellent. The slowed down tracks are gorgeous, and manage to be manic and fragile and very tense all at once (The closer, Station Wagon and especially again Human For A Minute are excellent examples of this fine tight rope they so deftly walk.). On the great song 6/1, there is even a moment of emotional depth that rivals early Interpol (it does sound quite similar to some of those classic Turn On The Bright Lights songs).
I don't have much to say of any usefulness. I guess I will summarize in the following run-on sentence: if you love Punk rock, if you love those manic and catchy Talking Heads guitar riffs from their late 70s albums, if you love the spit and fury of John Lydon's vocals and the cooler than cool (ice cold) vocals of peak Strummer, if you love muscular and, frankly, badass Bass lines holding down the furious beast alongside some pummeling Post-Punk drum barrages, if you love albums that come fully formed and beautifully paced and come with the singular purpose of shaking you by the shoulders and giving you a swift kick in the ass, then I think you will LOVE this album and it will become a new favorite or, at the least, you will appreciate the heck out of it.
As I listen to this album more and more throughout the year (and I do think it will be one I am constantly reminded of and sticks with me) I am sure my opinion will blossom a bit. As of now I am mostly just loving that in 2021 I am listening to an album that makes me feel like a vibrant and pissed young rebel again. This album even makes Digital Marketing and IT troubleshooting seem like acts of tortured and righteous rebellion.
"I need a new solution.
I need a new resolution,
and its not even the end of the year.""[+]Reply
"Post Punk and Art Punk. Oh and REALLY GREAT Post Punk and Art Punk. Oh and this band and album is fucing awesome. And the lead speaker is already a first ballot hall of fame vocalist. Florence "Flo" Shaw, remember that name.) You ever hear one of those albums that, for some reason, makes you smil...""Post Punk and Art Punk. Oh and REALLY GREAT Post Punk and Art Punk. Oh and this band and album is fucing awesome. And the lead speaker is already a first ballot hall of fame vocalist. Florence "Flo" Shaw, remember that name.)
You ever hear one of those albums that, for some reason, makes you smile, instantly and then the whole way through? An album that just sounds so right, so in step with the way you feel and the way you want to express those feelings, you can't help but feel instantly like you are hearing an old favorite despite it being the first time you've ever heard the artist? Yeah, those are great times. And, guess what? That is EXCATLY how I felt about this here debut LP by English Post Punk wry jokesters Dry Cleaning! Isn't that a crazy twist I just concocted there? Bet you didn't realize those first sentences were about this album here!
Anyway, enough of that. More about New Long Leg. Its brilliant. It's the best Post Punk album I've heard in awhile. It is, musically, a tour-de-force of at times ice cold repetitive riffs and at times quite lively, buttery almost funky riffs. The bass playing and the way it is highlighted at times reminds me of the bass heroics of Wobble on Metal Box (don't get yourself in a twist, I'm not saying its exactly the same, just at times that heavy, funky, wobbly dub bass vibe comes through here and there), and other times the bassist is always holding that groove down with such sexy greatness. The drumming is that post punk simplicity with just enough wiggle to keep you guessing.
The songs are all cool and all built around these varying phases of lowkey post punk excellence. Sometimes the songs take weird left turns, such as on the hypnotic second half of album closer "Every day Carry" and the way that weird synth melody is just battered and slashed by these weird effects that get more and more random and unexpected and manic, is glorious.
Yet, really, I'm burying the lead. The star is the utterly unique Florence Shaw. Her wry humour, her at first glance monotone spoken word delivery, the way she takes no one and nothing seriously in the words she graces these tracks with (including herself), the wit and the absurdity of some of these seemingly throw-away lines, everything about her is brilliance. I think some may say she is boring and monotonous, well I don't, and those people are wrong. She is the heart and soul of this album with all due respect to the perfectly done post punk jams that she talks over.
This whole album just feels right. It feels cool, equal parts warm and cold, funny and thought provoking and the perfect antidote to so much of this other (also quite great in most cases) post punk/art punk coming out of England the last few years. Whereas they are oh so earnest and angry and angsty and dour, here comes this gem of an album and band that maintains those similar musical aims and influences but flips the package on its head with a wise crack, a pointless monologue, and a sly smile. Oh and the music is better executed, more unique and more inspired to boot.
In case you can't tell, I just love this album."[+]Reply
"I will shamelessly admit I had no idea who Mdou Moctar is prior to listening to this album, so you can easily imagine it was quite the experience, something like a punch in the face. The first thing I noticed is that - in my opinion at least - the production’s handling is exemplary. Despite addin...""I will shamelessly admit I had no idea who Mdou Moctar is prior to listening to this album, so you can easily imagine it was quite the experience, something like a punch in the face. The first thing I noticed is that - in my opinion at least - the production’s handling is exemplary. Despite adding some not so subtle psychedelic touches to the African/blues rhythms, everything remains so bright, almost crystal-clear. Of course, this can’t be a coincidence, it has to be intentional and I believe it is connected with the artist’s general attitude towards his art. Music is for him a means to an end, used to raise the awareness and cohesiveness of the community, so he needs a "transparent" sound that will allow his point to come across more easily -other factors that contribute to that result are a slight tendency towards repetitiveness and the contrast between the light nature of the music and the dark themes explored by the lyrics. In that sense, the obvious comparison as far as 2021 albums go would be - considering how much I liked that one, this is one of the biggest compliments I can give - We Are by Jon Batiste. Actually the first part of the above sentence regarding the value of music in terms of spreading socio-politcal messages is almost a copy/paste from my comment on that album, as I find it fits like a glove here as well. The vocals are another great example of his willingness to get everyone involved, a “the more the merrier” mentality if you will. The fact that he is a modern guitar hero doesn’t hurt either. When he gets too fancy he somewhat loses me (if I'm being completely honest, I’m not that much of a guitar guy to begin with, so it's more my problem than anything else), when he compromises some of his flair for lyricism’s sake, the world instantly becomes a better place, he is so convincing yet not forcing, you 'll follow him of your own free will without asking any questions or having second thoughts. I read somewhere that the studio barely does his work justice and you have to watch him live to conceive the full extent of his artistic statement, a claim which I suspect may be true.
"[+]Reply
"Solid start to her career. It's not very consistent and it's a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There's some genuine, cathartic angst here and some beautiful honesty, even if it feels a bit slickly produced for what's actually being expressed. The punky songs (Brutal and Good 4 U) ar...""Solid start to her career. It's not very consistent and it's a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There's some genuine, cathartic angst here and some beautiful honesty, even if it feels a bit slickly produced for what's actually being expressed. The punky songs (Brutal and Good 4 U) are my favourites. Looking forward to seeing where her career goes from here, I hope she finds a bit more of a unique voice going forward."[+]Reply
"75 to 80/100 (Beautiful, assured and uplifting debut from this British singer and songwriter. Full of subtle and honest and understanding and warm soulful pop songs. She's now one of the most exciting young artists that I look forward to hearing all her releases going forward for years to come.) ...""75 to 80/100 (Beautiful, assured and uplifting debut from this British singer and songwriter. Full of subtle and honest and understanding and warm soulful pop songs. She's now one of the most exciting young artists that I look forward to hearing all her releases going forward for years to come.)
This is a very good debut. Its a really delicate and beautifully composed bedroom pop/singer-songwriter album full of songs that quite directly address the realities of depression and anxiety. Arlo Parks never feels the need to be over-the-top in the slightest in her songwriting or vocal performances, but instead keeps an even keel and quite calmly and directly tackles these subjects and songs with a definite sense of dignity and honesty which I really appreciate.
Her voice is good, again, never over the top, but so assured and so real. The instrumentals are also never lavish nor ever austere, they are right there in the middle, with lots of keyboard touches and simple and effective drums and guitars. - Oh and some really REALLY catchy melodies. The lyrics are generally simple and straight-forward but at times really strike a nerve. For me, they may not hit home as hard as I imagine they will for many, many other listeners. I imagine this album will be a hugely positive piece of art for tens of thousands of people, young and old, across the world. Though very young, Arlo Parks does provide a reassuring, understanding, voice that is great to hear.
There are standouts here, namely the run of songs that happen in the middle, "Hope", "Caroline", "Black Dog", and "Green Eyes" are excellent! Also I liked "Eugene" "Hurt" and several others. The album as a whole isn't, for me, a total game changer or a new favorite. But perhaps its just that I haven't yet given it enough time to really sink in. However, I will say, at this time there are very few musicians that I am as excited to watch develop through their careers and very few musicians that seem to have the subtle talents and the songwriting chops of Arlo Parks."[+]Reply
Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Strangel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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indieshins | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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