Listening to music sure has changed over the past couple of years, right? Listening to your favorite band at home sure doesn’t have the same impact as seeing them live, that’s for sure. Then again, asking people to wash their hands more than once a day and getting a free shot that could save the lives of their loved ones shouldn’t really be that big of a debate. But here we are. I opted out of going to the return of my local festivals and I haven’t seen a live band in person since 2019. However, it’s a fair trade to keep myself healthy and alive! At least there were enough quality releases to keep me entertained throughout the year. As 2021 draws to a close, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite records. Let’s check them out and look forward to what hellish landscape 2022 has planned for us!
This is my Top 21 Albums of 2021.
21. Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
When I heard Julien Baker was to utilizing full instrumentation on her latest record, part of me was expecting a flowery Bon Iver-esque affair stripping away what made her special. What I wasn’t expecting was an almost electronic album that did more to accentuate her craft than change it. While it’s a different kind of album compared to her first couple, all the vulnerability and gut-wrenching emotion are there in full spades. If can listen to “Faith Healer” and not feel at least something, you may want to check your pulse.
20. Teenage Fanclub – Endless Arcade
With the exit of a core member for nearly 30 years, one would think Teenage Fanclub’s latest album would be somewhat of a departure. While there is a subtle change to their dynamics, it’s only gifted them with a burst of determination. All the sugar and jangle we know and love is there, but Endless Arcade feels like an album about coming out the other side of an unexpected breakup. Even if you can’t relate on the surface, Endless Arcade could defy the Top 21 Albums of 2021 and very well be our breakup album with 2021.
19. Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou
As much reading material I consume on the daily and the most music I listen to, I’ve never read a review of a jazz record that made me rush out and hear it. It’s a genre where you just kinda, know? The same could be said for Vanishing Twin. Ookii Gekkou is a weird psychedelic, electronic, jazz record that sounds like the music equivalent of art deco. Think Stan Getz meets Air meets Groove Armada meets Brazil 66? I don’t know. It’s strange, but a fun listening experience.
18. Steve Earle & The Dukes – J.T.
I can’t even imagine the pain a parent must feel losing their own child. As a tribute to his late son Justin Townes, Steve Earle recorded 10 of his son’s songs in J.T.. It’s emotional and heartbreaking just as much as it’s celebratory. Closing the album is the hauntingly beautiful “Last Words”, which is not only the single original track on the album but by far the most touching song of the entire year. Maybe Earle’s entire career. That in of itself earns him a place on Top 21 Albums of 2021 list.
17. St.Vincent – Daddy’s Home
After Anne Clark dipping her toes in pop with 2017’s MassEducation, I just wanted the next St.Vincent release to be a rock album. Well, Daddy’s Home does the rock thing, but in a very greasy way straddling the line between sexy and sleazy. But beneath the sultry Prince vibes and raunchy post-disco New York imagery, Daddy’s Home proves Clark is the closest thing we’ll ever get to filling the void David Bowie left.
16. Juliana Hatfield – Blood
After 2 years of covid without signs of going away anytime soon, the term pandemic album is probably about as normal as we’re gonna get. Juliana Hatfield’s pandemic album, Blood, was recorded in the comfort of her own on a laptop. But instead of lo-fi demo vibes, Hatfield took the opportunity to make Blood a bizarre exercise in modern retro. Everything is glossy, mellotron heavy, but with just enough jangle to make the gory dark lyrics even more ominous. And you already know, that’s my vibe.
15. Dinosaur Jr – Sweep It Into Space
I’m not gonna lie, when I heard Kurt Vile was producing a Dinosaur Jr record, I was a little worried. It’s not that I have anything against Vile, but I had reservations his laid-back vibe would somehow make J Mascis and the boys kinda boring. Not only was I wrong, but I may go as far as to say Sweep It Into Space is one of the most sonically consistent records of Dinosaur Jr’s modern era. It has all the fuzz, buzz, and noise, but just a little hint of something more. Is it Vile? I don’t know but Sweep It Into Space is just all-around satisfying.
14. Tony Allen – There Is No End
It’s always a bummer to put posthumous albums on Top 21 Albums of 2021 lists, Tony Allen’s There Is No End is just a good album. Despite being a hip-hop album featuring the likes of Danny Brown, Jeremiah Jae, and Koreantown Oddity to name a few, it feels more like an experiment. It’s afrobeat, jazz, and maybe even subtle hints of industrial? Whatever it is, There Is No End is a heartbreaking reminder we lost an invaluable talent.
13. Strand Of Oaks – In Heaven
Following the career of Timothy Showalter as Strand Of Oaks is much like listening to your best friend telling his life story. The ups and downs, the heartaches, and triumphs are riveting because you genuinely care. In Heaven is no different but this particular chapter puts the emphasis on the wins, no matter how small they are. With the current state of the world, I think all of us could welcome any small win we could get.
12. Mammoth WVH – Mammoth WVH
With a legendary last name, one would think Wolfgang Van Halen fell into success by proxy. But turns out, the son of Eddie Van Halen is fully capable of making his own success without riding any Frankenstrat striped coattails. By writing, producing, and performing every instrument and vocal on every track of his debut record, Wolfgang more than proves himself as a competent artist. Despite larger-than-life guitars and hooks, Mammoth WVH is essentially a pop record for people who hate pop records. If Eddie Van Halen revolutionized rock n’ roll, I’m all for his son taking on the genre that’s ashamed to hold a guitar.
11. Gary Numan – Intruder
Influencing everyone from Tren Reznor, Tyler The Creator, Depeche Mode, and even David Bowie, Gary Numan is no stranger to synthetic soundscapes. While Numan has been enjoying a bit of a mainstream resurgence, Intruder isn’t much of a departure from his modern output. However, Numan owns what he is good at it. It’s dark, bleak, and menacing but best of all, cinematic.
10. Lucy Dacus – Home Video
Sad-white-girl-plays-indie-rock is a wannabe trope the music industry tries its hardest to make a thing any time a woman releases an album outside of the pop genre. But the kind of honesty and vulnerability in Home Video can’t be mass-produced. Despite hanging out with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers in the supergroup Boy Genius, Dacus’ craft is closer to Paul Westerberg meets Liz Phair. Even though this is only her third record, I think with records like Home Video, we’ll be talking about her records decades from now. Regardless of how the industry tries to package it. This year its Top 21 Albums of 2021 but the next stop is generations.
9. Lauren Eylise – This Is Personal
With R&B being gobbled up by hip-hop by the way of New Jack Swing in the 90s, the neo-soul revolution has been a long time coming. At the forefront of the uprising is Cincinnati native, Lauren Eylise. While her record This Is Personal actually dropped at the end of 2020, it didn’t make it to vinyl until this year. And let me tell you, that’s the format an album like this begs for. Cool, confident, seductive, and honest, Eylise is on her way to being this generation’s Lauryn Hill.
8. Guided By Voices – It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them!
Despite being one of my all-time favorite bands, I try not to review their albums. Not only because Bob Pollard releases like 10 records every year, but mainly because there’s really no point. Guided By Voices is always Guided By Voices. What makes It’s Not Them a little different is the fact it feels like a cohesive album. That’s not a dig at any other Pollard release this year or any year. The demo-esque element is part of the GBV magic, but this record flows and fires like their late 90s output. What does that sound like? Well… Guided By Voices.
7. Ministry – Moral Hygiene
I don’t want to get too political here but the best thing about having a Republican president is Ministry output. While not as on the nose as 2018’s AmeriKKKant, Al Jourgensen takes less aim at the Orange One and more on his followers and aftermath. Grinding guitars, teeth-rattling beats, and urine/vinegar vocals may be staples in Ministry’s kitchen, but there’s something a bit more accusatory within the lyrics of Moral Hygiene. We can all agree the world is a screwed-up place, but I think Uncle Al is kinda sorta hinting around at the idea we made it that way and probably deserve it. Yep, this is a Ministry record!
6. Black MIDI – Cavalcade
As one of the most interesting acts to hit the scene in recent years, I really had no idea what Black MIDI would do for their sophomore album. I still don’t know what Cavalcade is as a genre or description. Part of me wants to call it post-punk but it’s more sophisticated for that. I could call it progressive rock, but it’s just too much fun for that. Either way, there isn’t anyone in the music that sounds like Black MIDI and if comparing Cavalcade to their first record is an indicator, that includes Black MIDI themselves.
5. Liars – The Apple Drop
It may be obvious for this band to make my top 21 albums of 2021. But there haven’t been many bands to come out of the last 20 years I’ve loved like Liars. From punk rock, avant-garde, electronica, and industrial, Angus Andrew has done it all. And really well. After a short hiatus and some new collaborators, The Apple Drop feels like something of a new beginning. All the classic Liars elements are here but now with a darker, grizzled maturity. It makes the chaos a little more poetic but no less interesting. In fact, The Apple Drop just might be the best Liars record in years.
4. H.E.R. – Back Of My Mind
It’s weird to think how frivolous albums seem to hip-hop and modern R&B artists. Unless it’s a surprise release from Beyonce or a Kanye record that gets update patches after release, the industry doesn’t really encourage the long-playing format. Back Of My Mind feels like a direct response to that lack of notion. H.E.R. tears through nearly 80 minutes of banger after banger rivaling what some artists haven’t done their entire careers. One track she tears apart the racists in the music industry, the next it’s the racists in the country. She confronts those who doubted her, yet she’s still vulnerable enough to speak on her failed relationships. Part debut and part experiment, Back Of My Mind is easily the most interesting R&B album of the year and H.E.R. is easily one of the most interesting artists. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
3. The Dead Deads – Tell Your Girls It’s Alright
From 2020’s Beabadoobee record and this year’s release from Olivia Rodrigo, the 90s never felt more relevant. But where those artists weren’t around in the days of flannel and dayglow, The Dead Deads know the difference between influence and a gimmick. Tell Your Girls It’s Alright is a celebration of big guitars, snotty attitude, and witty subtext. It’s like Veruca Salt cosplaying as Get A Grip era Aerosmith in the very best way possible. But even with all the over-the-top, trope-ridden swagger, Tell Your Girls It’s Alright isn’t a one-trick pony. There’s a blitz of a brass ensemble, an appearance with Corey Taylor, and even a Broadway-esque show tune. I’ve always been an unabashed fanboy of the Nashville indie scene and always will be. But The Dead Deads are clearly set on world domination.
2. Exodus – Persona Non-Grata
While Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth battle it out as to who makes up the Big Four of Metal, Exodus have always proved their importance to the thrash scene with every release. For their first record in nearly a decade, Persona Non-Grata is brutal, aggressive, and ugly just how metal should be. There’s a reason why this is among my top 21 albums of 2021. But don’t take my word for it, uh… take my word for it by reading my full review here!
1. Failure – Wild Type Droid
It’s hard to believe Failure has made just as many albums since getting back together as they have before they broke up! Despite spending nearly 20 years apart, they not only picked up from where they left off but grew as a band. With Wild Type Droid, Failure gives us the same discord shoegaze-flavored hard rock they’re famous for, but now with a newfound emphasis on beauty. While there are no ballads or pop tunes to be found on WIld Type Droid, the emotional experimentation fits them well. They were born of a decade where every band was compared to the likes of Nirvana, but Failure always had more in common with Pink Floyd than their grunge contemporaries. If reaching the Top 21 Albums of 2021 at the very end of the year is any indicator, it sounds like they may have already surpassed them too…
I want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to support their favorite artists by buying physical copies, merch, or donations. It’s been a terrible couple of years for all of us and especially terrible for those who make their living by playing or releasing music. Our favorite artists and labels have supported us through some troubled times so it’s only right for us to return the favor!