I typically have a long list of potential favorite albums that I curate throughout the year and the largest challenge becomes figuring out which one will be first and how to narrow it down to just ten once year-end rolls around. In fact for 2020 I had so many favorites I gave up and made it a top twelve list.
I’m not sure why, but 2021 didn’t excite me with new music in the same way. There were good albums – I certainly recommend everything in my list – but I wasn’t finding a lot of stuff that kept my focus. Instead I spent much of this year going back in musical time, exploring corners of 70’s music, digging through my old iTunes catalog, or re-appreciating favorite albums from college.
But a year-end music list is tradition (or at least I’ve made it into one for myself) so as December hit I started reviewing my playlists. Quickly enough, the gems from the last 12 months began to surface and a growing appreciation for new sounds that have become part of my expanding music library.
Now that I’ve undersold the hell out of this year’s list, let’s start with my picks for best albums.
MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2021
1. Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab – By far the most beautiful and soothing album of the year for me. The arrangements are subdued and the production is low-key, making for a subtle album that I almost overlooked after my first listen in the middle of some busy day. But take a moment to sit down, breath deep, and Aftab’s voice will carry you over and through the spaces of these seven tracks, delivering you into a magical land.
2. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz – To get this out of the way, I’ll say that I could do without the interludes on this album. They’re not as disruptive as some hip-hop albums but I rarely see how they bring listing value. That out of the way though, this is unquestionably a great album by an artist who’s already put out strong work and is really hitting her stride here. What stands out in Little Simz’s latest is her confidence to be nuanced and even vulnerable at times, knowing that her strength and power will ultimately show. She pulls off more orchestral instrumentation without it getting overproduced and keeps the cool soul and R&B vibe going. The lyrical theme of war/struggle between her introvert and extrovert sides plays out across the album and in shifts in tone and instrumentation. But all of that set aside, it’s just a great balance of hip-hop grooves and bangers.
3. Home Video, Lucy Dacus – I’ve been a big fan of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers and was excited when they came together for what I would consider a true “super group” with last year’s boy genius project. As much as I love all their music, I think with this album Dacus provides a strong argument for being the best and most consistent song writer of the three. With Home Video she expertly captures the awkward, tender and bittersweet emotions of young adulthood in a way that resonates strongly for anyone looking back at years long past.
4. Far In, Helado Negro – Sometimes timing is everything. While this year often left me feeling trapped inside a never ending COVID nightmare, Far In gave me an escape into a dreamy, ethereal dance party. It was an escape I came back to over and over. Sometimes focusing on the intricate rhythms and layered sounds. Other times using it as an ambient blanket. And now that I sit here on a cold, wet December evening I take extra pleasure in the warmth evoked by Roberto Carlos Lenge’s mix of Latin American influences.
5. CRAWLER, IDLES – Recently there’s been a collection of “progressive-male,” heavy post-punk UK(ish) based bands putting out music which I admit has the potential to blur together (IDLES, Fontaines D.C., shame, Viagra Boys). And IDLES alone has put out a flood of music with three studio albums in four years. But I feel this year’s CRAWLER could be the best album any of them have put out so far. They’ve taken the frantic intensity of their earlier work and turned it down slightly (from 11 to 10), making room to throw in a touch of dance floor rhythms and a bit of fun. But the lyrics in this album, often overlooked in the ferocity of Joe Talbot’s vocals, also contain an intelligent self-reflection that means there’s thought behind the sonic punch.
6. Long Time Coming, Sierra Ferrell – The challenge with many modern artists putting out music leaning heavily towards traditional sounds is that they can often end up monotonous, stale, and flat. Ferrell has avoided that trap by deftly moving through a wide range of influences – country-western, swing, bluegrass, even Flamenco – while tying it all together cohesively with her alluring southern drawl.
7. All Bets Are Off, Tamar Aphek – This album is all about the percussion and guitars – the rhythmic soundscape of the drums and the textures created with the guitars. Aphek’s somewhat dry, sultry voice is layered on top, but it’s just another layer – almost percussive itself – and not the focus. I can’t help but think of this album as more jazz than rock (and I generally hate jazz-rock fusion). As bits of avant-garde jazz, post-punk, and even psychedelia mixed together it may not be the easiest album to consume for many listeners but I found it a fascinating piece I kept going back to.
8. There Is No End, Tony Allen – There are plenty of talented hip-hop producers creating snippets of great beats but so often they fail to create flow – to build a continuous groove. But sublime flow comes naturally to the extraordinary drumming talent of Tony Allen. Through the 70’s he was the hidden force behind the ground breaking music of Fela Kuti but someone I (like many others) did not know by name, only by his work. Here he collaborates with a series of hip-hop artists and casual listeners might find him still hidden but his drumming is the key to this album – the heartbeat that gives it life.
9. Always Something, UV-TV – My first impression was something like a 90’s era pop-punk band fronted by a young Liz Phair, but there’s nothing dated or derivative here. With nine tightly constructed and efficient tracks that play out in sub 30 minutes, this is a great example of a band understanding their sound and not trying to do too much.
10. The Color Blu(e), Blu – There may be some critics out there who could call this album gimmicky with its heavy play on the “Blu(e)” theme but I felt it was executed with such wit and creativity that it worked to hook me in. It reminds me of some of the best Roots albums with the old-school beats and deft use of throwback sampling.
HONORABLE MENTION
Collapsed in Sunbeams, Arlo Park
Comfort To Me, Amyl and The Sniffers
Drunk Tank Pink, shame
Not More Music Crap? 