My 25 Favorite Albums of 2021
My favorite year for music since 2018. The year contained a handful of fantastic punk albums and a few projects that are unlike anything I've ever heard.
My favorite year for music since 2018. The year contained a handful of fantastic punk albums and a few projects that are unlike anything I've ever heard.
25. Rosie Tucker - Sucker Supreme
Catchy, witty and weird, Rosie Tucker’s Sucker Supreme stuck in my craw as one of the most memorable indie rock records of the year.
24. Rx Papi & Gud - Foreign Exchange
His flows are clunky and arrhythmic, but Rx Papi’s Foreign Exchange is nothing if not unique. The raw, unvarnished vocals and grim lyrics delivered over the dreamy cloud rap production from Swedish producer Gud results in an experience that’s somehow both visceral and gentle.
His flows are clunky and arrhythmic, but Rx Papi’s Foreign Exchange is nothing if not unique. The raw, unvarnished vocals and grim lyrics delivered over the dreamy cloud rap production from Swedish producer Gud results in an experience that’s somehow both visceral and gentle.
23. Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout
English indie-folk artist Ben Howard continues to experiment and grow his sound in fascinating ways, and on Collections he worked with producer extraordinaire Aaron Dessner to incorporate more electronic elements.
English indie-folk artist Ben Howard continues to experiment and grow his sound in fascinating ways, and on Collections he worked with producer extraordinaire Aaron Dessner to incorporate more electronic elements.
22. Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure
Introspective lyrics, choruses fit to bring down stadiums, and bold production choices have marked rising pop phenom Self Esteem as an artist on the cusp of a major breakout.
Introspective lyrics, choruses fit to bring down stadiums, and bold production choices have marked rising pop phenom Self Esteem as an artist on the cusp of a major breakout.
21. James Blake - Friends That Break Your Heart
How can you not swoon when James delivers some of the most beautiful lines of the year on this album’s final track, when he sings, “And if I’m insecure / How have I been so sure that I’m gonna care for you? / Until I am no more”.
How can you not swoon when James delivers some of the most beautiful lines of the year on this album’s final track, when he sings, “And if I’m insecure / How have I been so sure that I’m gonna care for you? / Until I am no more”.
20. BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
The boys went out with a bang on ROADRUNNER, cementing their legacy as one of hip hop’s greatest collectives, and I can’t wait to see what each member can accomplish on their own.
The boys went out with a bang on ROADRUNNER, cementing their legacy as one of hip hop’s greatest collectives, and I can’t wait to see what each member can accomplish on their own.
19. Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth
With his dazzling blend of funk, rock, hip hop and pop, Australian musician Genesis Owusu has set himself up to become one of the decade’s most exciting artists.
With his dazzling blend of funk, rock, hip hop and pop, Australian musician Genesis Owusu has set himself up to become one of the decade’s most exciting artists.
18. black midi - Cavalcade
The unclassifiable black midi are going to blow the roof off the boundaries of rock music for a long time to come.
The unclassifiable black midi are going to blow the roof off the boundaries of rock music for a long time to come.
17. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
A self-described “emo, dead-stuff collector,” Dry Cleaning frontwoman Florence Shaw became an immediate sensation and a riveting voice within the post-punk scene following the band’s debut, anchored by her surreal, deadpan, stream-of-conscious lyricism.
A self-described “emo, dead-stuff collector,” Dry Cleaning frontwoman Florence Shaw became an immediate sensation and a riveting voice within the post-punk scene following the band’s debut, anchored by her surreal, deadpan, stream-of-conscious lyricism.
16. JPEGMAFIA - LP!
Unconventional in every sense of the word, it’s taken me a while to get into experimental hip hop artist JPEGMAFIA, but LP! finally cracked the threshold and has grown on me drastically over the past few months.
15. Bladee - The Fool
The Fool sounds like it was made by shroomed-out forest sprites and I fuck with that.
The Fool sounds like it was made by shroomed-out forest sprites and I fuck with that.
14. Squid - Bright Green Field
The five-piece English art-punkers made waves last year in a post-punk scene that’s already flooded with talent with their vibrant, shape-shifting debut Bright Green Field.
The five-piece English art-punkers made waves last year in a post-punk scene that’s already flooded with talent with their vibrant, shape-shifting debut Bright Green Field.
13. Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World
This synth-pop duo has cast an unbreakable spell over me recently and I cannot get enough of Matthew Lewin’s glittering production or Mica Tenenbaum’s breathy faerie vocals.
This synth-pop duo has cast an unbreakable spell over me recently and I cannot get enough of Matthew Lewin’s glittering production or Mica Tenenbaum’s breathy faerie vocals.
12. Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic
If you don’t like Silk Sonic, I’m pretty sure you’re a serial murderer. You may also be a serial murderer even if you do enjoy silk sonic. Either way, I’m pretty sure you’re a serial murderer. And I’m going to bring you to justice.
If you don’t like Silk Sonic, I’m pretty sure you’re a serial murderer. You may also be a serial murderer even if you do enjoy silk sonic. Either way, I’m pretty sure you’re a serial murderer. And I’m going to bring you to justice.
11. Amyl and The Sniffers - Comfort To Me
Genre purists should be pleased with this effort from Aussie band Amyl and The Sniffers that’s nothing but electrifying, high-octane, unpretentious, working-class punk rock brimming with hard-edged sincerity.
Genre purists should be pleased with this effort from Aussie band Amyl and The Sniffers that’s nothing but electrifying, high-octane, unpretentious, working-class punk rock brimming with hard-edged sincerity.
10. Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
Billie’s vocal control is otherworldly, and her emotional intelligence is goddamned enviable. The songwriting is top-notch across her sophomore album, full of the accessible vulnerability, brutal honesty, and sardonic humor she’s become known for as a lyricist, polished to a sheen.
Billie’s vocal control is otherworldly, and her emotional intelligence is goddamned enviable. The songwriting is top-notch across her sophomore album, full of the accessible vulnerability, brutal honesty, and sardonic humor she’s become known for as a lyricist, polished to a sheen.
9. You’ll Never Get to Heaven - Wave Your Moonlight Hat For the Snowfall Train
This album sounds like rain on a quiet night, vehicle wheels spraying softly across the pattering of wet roads, street lights mirrored, stretched and muddied, glowing reflections swept away on rivulets like spirits in the afterlife, the post-midnight realm where pale ghosts and lost souls roam, finding comfort in the stillness and the sense of knowing, that even when alone, they’re together, connected by the rain in the midnight hour.
This album sounds like rain on a quiet night, vehicle wheels spraying softly across the pattering of wet roads, street lights mirrored, stretched and muddied, glowing reflections swept away on rivulets like spirits in the afterlife, the post-midnight realm where pale ghosts and lost souls roam, finding comfort in the stillness and the sense of knowing, that even when alone, they’re together, connected by the rain in the midnight hour.
8. dltzk - Frailty
I’ve seen dltzk categorized as hyperpop and digicore - I like to call him emotronica - but regardless of genre tag, the 18-year-old’s talent is nothing short of prodigious. On Frailty, his numbed out but earnest auto-tuned vocals immerse themselves in typhoons of explosive electronics.
7. Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Haram
The rapping is masterful and at this point it’s guaranteed that an Alchemist-produced album will make it into my top 25 every year.
The rapping is masterful and at this point it’s guaranteed that an Alchemist-produced album will make it into my top 25 every year.
6. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Utterly captivating and superbly written indie pop. JBrekkie supremacy 5ever.
Utterly captivating and superbly written indie pop. JBrekkie supremacy 5ever.
5. Origami Angel - GAMI GANG
I’ve discovered that I adore power emo, and GAMI GANG, from the two-piece outfit Origami Angel, knocked my socks right the fuck off with its invigorating energy, heartfelt lyrics, and dynamic math-rock riffs.
I’ve discovered that I adore power emo, and GAMI GANG, from the two-piece outfit Origami Angel, knocked my socks right the fuck off with its invigorating energy, heartfelt lyrics, and dynamic math-rock riffs.
4. For Those I Love - [self-titled]
Tackling trauma, grief, hope, love, perseverance, and class struggle, this debut from Dublin electronic musician For Those I Love is an ode to the artist’s late best friend, and though the pain is real, we should all be so lucky to have someone who could manifest such a devastatingly beautiful piece of art in our name.
Tackling trauma, grief, hope, love, perseverance, and class struggle, this debut from Dublin electronic musician For Those I Love is an ode to the artist’s late best friend, and though the pain is real, we should all be so lucky to have someone who could manifest such a devastatingly beautiful piece of art in our name.
3. Injury Reserve - By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Another album dedicated to the passing of a close friend. Stepa J. Groggs, the third member of the experimental hip hop group Injury Reserve, passed away in 2020, and the two remaining members carried his artistry and memory with them on this project to turn that sorrow, and the isolation resulting from his death and the pandemic, into a sonic atmosphere so palpably visionary it feels half a decade ahead of the competition.
Another album dedicated to the passing of a close friend. Stepa J. Groggs, the third member of the experimental hip hop group Injury Reserve, passed away in 2020, and the two remaining members carried his artistry and memory with them on this project to turn that sorrow, and the isolation resulting from his death and the pandemic, into a sonic atmosphere so palpably visionary it feels half a decade ahead of the competition.
2. SPELLLING - The Turning Wheel
Light and dark magic flow from The Turning Wheel, where SPELLLING captured a fantastical world of enchanted forests and dangerous sorcery through fairytale lyrics, expressionistic vocals, and superlatively intoxicating, lush, and detailed instrumentals. Art pop perfection.
Light and dark magic flow from The Turning Wheel, where SPELLLING captured a fantastical world of enchanted forests and dangerous sorcery through fairytale lyrics, expressionistic vocals, and superlatively intoxicating, lush, and detailed instrumentals. Art pop perfection.
1. Porter Robinson - Nurture
This is what love sounds like.
This is what love sounds like.
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