21 BEST RECORDS OF ‘21
21. GENESIS OWUSU - SMILING WITH NO TEETH
FAVORITE TRACK: “BLACK DOGS!”
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This debut record from Australian musician Genesis Owusu effortlessly blends rock ‘n’ roll and hip hop with influences ranging from Outkast’s Andre 3000 to Miles Davis to Kanye West.
20. WOLF ALICE - BLUE WEEKEND
FAVORITE TRACK: “SMILE”
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This is London band Wolf Alice’s third record and, in our opinion, they’re at their best. Particularly on the track “Smile” there is a darkness reminiscent of PJ Harvey and The Kills’ Alison Mosshart while also keeping the melodic pop which made the band what they are.
19. GOAT GIRL - ON ALL FOURS
FAVORITE TRACK: “BADIBABA”
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For their second record, South London quartet Goat Girl, they explore a fine line between their brand of post-punk and a sort of gothic country twang.
18. AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS - COMFORT TO ME
FAVORITE TRACK: “GUIDED BY ANGELS”
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Another Australian band made the list, this time in the form of pure authentic punk rock echoing back to The Plasmatics or The Dead Boys. Comfort To Me marks the band’s second record, produced by friend Nick Launay (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, IDLES).
17. BOBBY GILLESPIE & JEHNNY BETH - UTOPIAN ASHES
FAVORITE TRACK: “ENGLISH TOWN”
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A dynamic duo if we ever knew one, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream and Jehnny Beth of Savages come together to create a beautifully crafted record of love found and love lost in an homage to many of their favorite duos in the past - Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, etc.
16. BLACK MIDI - CAVALCADE
FAVORITE TRACK: “JOHN L”
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In this second record from English group Black Midi, sounds are heightened and sharper, more matriculate, than they have been in the past. They’re a modern Primus with a more Krautrock approach. It’s even more shocking when you find out their oldest member is only 21 years old.
15. JARVIS COCKER - CHANSONS D’ENNUI TIP TOP
FAVORITE TRACK: “DANS MA CHAMBRE”
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Jarvis Cocker, frontman of Pulp and his own solo projects, decided to record an album to accompany Wes Anderson’s newest film The French Dispatch in an homage to French pop music that features songs by artists including Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot, and Jacques Dutronc.
14. LICORICE PIZZA SOUNDTRACK
FAVORITE TRACK: “LIFE ON MARS”
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We wouldn’t normally put a movie soundtrack on our end of the year list, but it felt wrong to leave it out when you have songs from David Bowie, Nina Simone, The Doors, Donovan, and more, plus the film is a much watch featuring Haim founding member Alana Haim’s acting debut.
13. THE HORRORS - LOUT
FAVORITE TRACK: “LOUT”
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In this EP from English rock band The Horrors the band returns to their roots with more of a Ministry/Nine Inch Nails edge. This three-song EP takes a sharp left turn from the band’s more recent albums which swam more in the pop/electronic pool and we’re happy to see the band embrace the heavier side of their sound.
12. SURFBORT - KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
FAVORITE TRACK: “BIG STAR”
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Another classic punk rock record from New York City (now based in Los Angeles) band Surfbort, this album produced by legend Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes) really brings forward the band’s sound in a well-crafted production which lets Dani Miller’s songwriting shine through while still keeping the edge that hooked in fans in the first place.
11. BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD - FOR THE FIRST TIME
FAVORITE TRACK: “SCIENCE FAIR”
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One of the most exciting new bands to come out in recent memory, Black Country, New Road bring something new and refreshing to the UK music scene. This debut record, only six songs in total but with a runtime of 40 minutes, each song is carefully crafted with each of the seven members (all were barely 20 years old when recording this) contributing in their own important way.
10. DRY CLEANING - NEW LONG LEG
FAVORITE TRACK: “UNSMART LADY”
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Another exciting band coming out of the UK, Dry Cleaning blend art-rock with post-punk with front woman and poet Florence Shaw at the helm, her soft-spoken narrating of stories along with catchy guitar riffs and loose drum beats, each track could easily be inserted into any indie movie film scene.
9. NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS - CARNAGE
FAVORITE TRACK: “HAND OF GOD”
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The first release credited to Nick Cave and Warren Ellis not in the form of a movie soundtrack, Carnage brings us a blend of the softer sound Nick Cave has been producing more of as of late, with a tinge of something more sinister and aggressive, never quite going full-on, but giving us a taste of what could be (perhaps for their third Grinderman record, if god is good…?)
8. IDLES - CRAWLER
FAVORITE TRACK: “CAR CRASH”
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IDLES are a band who’ve been putting out music since 2012, with their first full-length record Brutalism in 2017. Since then the band have tightened their sound and with Crawler explore the darker side of their past. They create something that is so painfully truthful that anyone who has lived a life of similar trauma may feel so connected to Joe Talbot’s songwriting that they can’t help but feel seen and heard when many people may have chosen to ignore.
7. SHAME - DRUNK TANK PINK
FAVORITE TRACK: “SNOW DAY”
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Drunk Tank Pink marks the return of UK band Shame, three years after their debut record Songs of Praise and what we’ve received was well worth the wait. The latest record finds itself leaning more towards the post-punk side of things, like many bands at the moment, but with their own flavor.
6. TY SEGALL - HARMONIZER
FAVORITE TRACK: “WHISPER”
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The surprise return of Ty Segall, with an album that dropped with no prior warning or publicity, the Freedom Band (as his current bandmates are called) are the tightest they’ve ever been, as Ty and guitarist Emmett Kelly riff back and fourth and frequently at the same time, the band also explores synthesizers in a big way and it leaves us wondering what else the band will explore and knock out of the park next.
5. VIAGRA BOYS - WELFARE JAZZ
FAVORITE TRACK: “TOAD”
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Viagra Boys’ latest album released the first week of 2021, but it’s still being played on heavy rotation over here. The Swedish group (frontman Sebastian Murphy is Swedish/American) are a force of nature, especially live, and with Welfare Jazz they are absolutely incredible. As a cherry on top, the record ends with their cover of John Prine’s “In Spite of Ourselves” featuring Amy of Amyl and the Sniffers (we recommend you watch the accompanying music video).
4. TYLER THE CREATOR - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
FAVORITE TRACK: “LUMBERJACK”
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This one may come to a surprise to our readers as we tend to stay in the rock ‘n’ roll zone on most things, but when this record came out (also unexpectedly), the production, songwriting, and concept made this one of 2021s most unique and brilliant albums. Tyler takes inspiration from every genre of music, and for this one samples a lot of old school sounds and creates something all his own.
3. ST VINCENT - DADDY’S HOME
FAVORITE TRACK: “PAY YOUR WAY IN PAIN”
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Another great concept record this year comes from the ever so talented St. Vincent as she creates a world of sleeze and glam rock echoing one of her idols David Bowie, with a bit of Prince sprinkled in.
2. YARD ACT - DARK DAYS
FAVORITE TRACK: “DARK DAYS”
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Yard Act are hands down our favorite new band. Hailing from Leeds, frontman James Smith’s poetry spills out of his mouth as he narrates stories of the many facets of modern Britain. From mental health to the culture war, police brutality to free-market capitalism, they’ve managed to make these subjects not just interesting but danceable and funny to boot. We’re very much looking forward to their first full-length record out January 7th, 2022.
1. ICEAGE - SEEK SHELTER
FAVORITE TRACK: “VENDETTA”
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The Danish post-punkers fifth studio album seems to be a culmination of the band’s growth and bond over the last decade together. They’ve strayed away from their debut album New Brigade’s chaotic Neubauten noise style, replacing it with a more controlled chaos that seems to live somewhere closer to a Sticky Fingers-era Stones, most notably on their track “Shelter Song”. This record was and still is on heavy rotation for us, and we think it’s truly one of the band’s best records to date.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Some bands didn’t put out full-length records, or even EPs in 2021, so we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite songs that were released on their own.
JACK WHITE - “TAKING ME BACK”
Jack White returns with his first new single leading up to the release of not one but TWO records next year. If you’re looking for a softer version of this one, he released “Taking Me Back (Gently)” as well.
BODEGA - “DOERS”
One of our favorite records is still Bodega’s Endless Scroll released back in 2018, and we’re very excited for new music from the NYC band.
WET LEG - “CHAISE LONGUE”
I mean, is this not the catchiest song of 2021? Iggy Pop thinks so, and we do too. We’re looking forward to Wet Leg’s debut record, perhaps in 2022?
OPUS KINK - “WILD BILL”
This ferocious Brighton six-piece blends psych with soul and crafted this beauty of a song echoing elements of Nick Cave’s Henry’s Dream record. We’re also looking forward to their first record whenever that might be.
DEADLETTER - “POP CULTURE CONNOISSEUR”
This South London post-punk outfit are one of our favorites to come out of the UK as of late and we think the music speaks for itself so don’t be surprised if you find yourself an instant fan.
CHEAP TEETH - “I AM THE MUD”
Another brand of post-punk that we adore, this time hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland. We don’t know a lot about the band but we’re happy they released a single this year and hope to hear more from them in 2022.
AVALANCHE PARTY - “DREAM JOHNNY DREAM”
These garage punkers recently recorded in Joshua Tree with former Eagles of Death Metal touring guitarist Dave Catching at his famous Rancho De La Luna, a far away trek for a band from North Yorkshire. These guys were on our radar last year, and we’re happy to see they’re back in the game again with even better tracks.
GEESE - “DISCO”
Newly formed Geese hail from New York City, and have already signed a joint deal with NYC label Partisan Records (IDLES, Fontaines D.C.) and British label PIAS. Their influences range from Television to The Strokes to Swans, and it feels to us that they are the next phase in New York City’s rock ‘n’ roll sound.
LYNKS - “THIS IS THE HIT” FT. CHARLIE STEEN (SHAME)
Usually this wouldn’t be the kind of music we’d put on a heavy rotation, but there is just something about Lynks that transcends your average electronic pop music. Lynks brings together fans of all genres with his drag ensemble and quirky synchronized dance moves over heavy beats (in this case inviting Shane frontman Charlie Steen to hilariously, and cooly, partake in the fun).
SWEATY PALMS - “CONVOI EXCEPTIONNEL”
We don’t know too much about this band except that they’re from Glasgow, but stumbled across them last month and instantly were hooked. One part Rowland S. Howard, another part Yak, and blend in whatever it is they throw in and you get this epic track.