Favorite Albums of 2021, Part 3…
67. Deerhoof, Actually, You Can
Continuing to blend every kind of experimental rock music into one colorful, realtively approachable stew, the San Francisco band’s 18th album is an optimistic manifesto for a new and different world. Highlights: “Ancient Mysteries, Described,” “Plant Thief,” “Epic Love Poem”
68. Spelling, The Turning Wheel
Chrystia Cabral’s theatrical art pop supports its musical flights of fancy and often curious lyrics with elegant arrangements of synths, strings and more on her enchanting third album. Highlights: “Awaken,” “Emperor With An Egg,” “Little Deer”
69. Dave, We’re All Alone In This Together
A one-time child prodigy now near the forefront of British rap, South London-born David Omorogie dives deeper into complex subject matter and long-form composition. Highlights: “In The Fire,” “Three Rivers,” “Lazarus”
70. The Lathums, How Beautiful Life Can Be
The nimble, energetic jangle rock of this Greater Manhester indie rock band seems far more hopeful and open-hearted than any of the bands they emulate musically, and it’s pretty infectious. Highlights: “How Beautiful Life Can Be,” “I See Your Ghost,” “Fight On”
71. Jazzmeia Horn And Her Noble Force, Dear Love
The jazz singer’s third album finds her fronting her own big band, and sprinkling poetry throughout her music, though her vocal acrobatics are still the star of the show. Highlights: “Lover Come Back To Me,” “Strive (To Be),” “Let Us Take Our Time”
72. Emma Ruth Rundle, Engine of Hell
A veteran of post-rock, shoegaze and psych metal, the singer’s entirely acoustic, vulnerable, intimate 4th solo album reinforces her depth and versatility. Highlights: “Blooms of Oblivion,” “Body,” “Razor’s Edge”
73. Weezer, Van Weezer
What could’ve been a terrible idea is actually pretty well-executed here, as Weezer’s tribute to early 80s guitar virtuosity simply colors and informs their own sound rather than overpowering it. Highlights: “Beginning of the End,” “The End of the Game,” “Sheila Can Do It”
74. Jon Batiste, We Are
A New Orleans-born artist with jazz always at the center of his sound, Batiste continues to weave that into accessible pop, funk and hip hop tunes that celebrate his heritage. Highlights: “Tell The Truth,” “I Need You,” “Show Me The Way,” “Tell The Truth”
75. Joan As Police Woman, Tony Allen & Dave Okumu, The Solution Is Restless
The indie soul music of Joan Wasser meets the stylings of Afro-beat legend Tony Allen and producer Dave Okumu, on a record built from one evening of improvising together in Paris. Highlights: “Get My Bearings,” “Geometry Of You,” “Dinner Date”
76. Black Midi, Cavalcade
The enigmatic South London band’s second album is a blend of noise rock, prog and jazz, more melodic and approachable but just as experimental as their debut. Highlights: “Chondromalacia Patella,” “Slow,” “Ascending Forth”
77. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Carnage
This album showcases the depth and vulnerability of a still grieving, fiercely poignant Nick Cave, and the wide-ranging talents of longtime bandmate, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis. Highlights: “Carnage,” “Hand of God,” “Albequerque”
78. Liz Phair, Soberish
Liz Phair’s first album in a decade draws inspiration from 80s art rock and new wave to strike a balance between her indie rock roots and pop star aspirations. Highlights: “Ba Ba Ba,” “Lonely Street,” “Bad Kitty”73. Media Jeweler — The Sublime Sculpture of Being Alive
79. Adia Victoria, A Southern Gothic
Starting out in a more traditional blues vein, the Nasvhille singer/songwriter then focuses on the eerier, more mysterious side of her sound that continue to define her aesthetic. Highlights: “My Oh My,” “Deep Water Blues,” “Troubled Mind”
80. Tash Sultana, Terra Firma
The Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist pulls way back on the instrumental theatrics, and slows down, to reveal a beautiful marriage of indie folk and R&B. Highlights: “Willow Tree,” “Pretty Lady,” “Dream My Life Away”
81. Sault, Nine
The London-based R&B outfit’s latest is more intimate and mostly a quieter affair, but keeps social justice at the forefront, all of the dancier songs still wed to their social consciousness. Highlights: “Trap Life,” “9,” “Bitter Streets”
82. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raise The Roo
The Led Zeppelin frontman and the bluegrass maven are still a dynamic combo, on the surprise follow-up to 2007’s Raising Sand that features a broad spectrum of American roots music. Highlights: “High and Lonesome,” “It Don’t Bother Me,” “Go Your Way”
83. Tori Amos, Ocean To Ocean
Written during lockdown following the death of her mother, Amos’s 16th is as personal and as politically relevant as ever, and an excellent travelogue through a tumultuous time. Highlights: “Speaking With Trees,” “Spies,” “Ocean To Ocean”
84. Samba Touré, Binga
Working in the tradition of Ali Farka Touré’s legacy (no relation though), Samba applies his own brand of steady, rolling, guitar-based desert blues to an album named for his home region of Mali. Highlights: “Tamala,” “Fondo,” “Adounya”
85. Media Jeweler, The Sublime Sculpture of Being Alive
Making elegant and experimental compositions out of raucous, angular art rock, this previously mostly-instrumental SoCal band adds in smart, playful lyrics about the excesses of the information age. Highlights: “Helicopter,” “Stuck,” “Heaven”
86. Leon Bridges, Gold-Diggers Sound
The Texan R&B singer’s blend of retro and modern soul reaches true integration. He’s not trading off anymore; he’s incorporating it all seamlessly, on this romantically driven third album. Highlights: “Motorbike,” “Steam,” “Sho Nuff”
87. Arab Strap, As Days Get Dark
The Scottish duo’s first album in 16 years pairs dark, sinewy, thickly accented, mostly spoken vocals with tense, post-rock guitars, and it’s absolutely lousy with gravitas. Highlights: “Another Clockwork Day,” “Fable of the Urban Fox,” “Tears On Tour”
88. Foxing, Draw Down the Moon
The St. Louis band’s 4th album finds its wheelhouse in upbeat 21st century indie rock anthems, but its best moments are when it deviates into more theatrical and idiosyncratic territory. Highlights: “Where The Lightning Strikes Twice,” “737,” “Speak With the Dead”
89. Billie Eilish, Happier Than Ever
Still a teenager, now an international superstar, Eilish’s sophomore set of artful, gritty electro-pop (now with touches of folk and rock) is full of softer, quieter moments than her debut. Highlights: “Oxytocin,” “Goldwing,” “NDA”
90. Nitin Sawhney, Immigrants
The London-based Punjabi composer‘s latest is a massively multi-lingual tribute to immigrants, and employs a mixture of orchestral, electronic, hip hop and traditional Indian instrumentation. Highlights: “Movement II — Variation,” “Replay,” “Differences”
91. Elizabeth & the Catapult, sincerely, e
It’s hard to listen to Elizabeth Ziman without hearing the Joni Mitchell in her voice, but it’s her playful piano style and native New York swagger that makes her songs memorable. Highlights: “Birds and the Bees,” “Thirsty,” “Together, Alone”
92. Flock of Dimes, Head of Roses
Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak’s second solo record leads with syncopated, glitchy art pop but eventually reveals itself as an indie folk album, the sonics shifting to suit her needs at any given moment. Highlights: “2 Heads,” “Two,” “Hard Way”
93. LUMP, Animal
A collaboration between Laura Marling and the lush electronic arrangements of Tunng’s Mike Lindsay, the outfit’s second album is a colorful, textured affair with unpredictable and satisfying detours. Highlights: “Gamma Ray,” “Paradise,” “We Cannot Resist”
94. Lingua Ignota, Sinner Get Ready
The avant-garde project from Kristin Hayter’s fourth album pairs again her operatic vocals with sparse, dramatic instrumentation as she wrestles with her complicated history with the church. Highlights: “Man is Like a Spring Flower,” “Many Hands,” “Pennsylvania Furnace”
95. Lana Del Rey, Chemtrails Over the Country Club
The SoCal torch singer completes her pivot from Pop Star to Singer/Songwriter, marking Joni Mitchell as her proudest of several influences heard, and sometimes named, on her 7th album. Highlights: “White Dress,” “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” “Let Me Love You Like a Woman”
96. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Shyga! The Sunlight Mound
These Australian psych rockers’ 4th album exhibits exhilaratingly colorful instrumentation but feels sleeker and punchier than their previous efforts. It’s loud, busy, and frenzied, and fun. Highlights: “Tripolasaur,” “Glitter Bug,” “Tally-Ho”
97. Daniel Lanois, Heavy Sun
The French-Canadian singer, songwriter and producer leans full-tilt into Gospel music, bringing his trademark lush but subtle electronic atmospherics to the music he loved in his youth. Highlights: “Way Down,” “Tree of Tule,” “(Under the) Heavy Sun”
98. Kiwi Jr., Cooler Returns
The second album from this free-wheeling, jangly college rock band from Prince Edward Islands is full of literate humor and earworm-y melodies. Highlights: “Highlights of 100,” “Cooler Returns,” “Undecided Voters”
99. Namir Blade & L’Orange, Imaginary Everything
A Nasvhille rapper and a North Carolina producer find i==excellent chemistry on this collaboration. Blade’s bars play off L’Orange’s blues, rock and funk beats so dynamically it sounds like he’s rapping over a live band. Highlights: “Nihilism,” “Corner Store Scandal,” “Pipe Dream”
100. Here Lies Man, Ritual Divination
Coming off mostly as a hard rock band for the first few songs — mixing heavy psych, grunge and stoner metal — this LA band slowly weaves in their trademark West African influences and it just gets more and more interesting. Highlights: “What You See,” “Come Inside,” “Collector of Vanities”
All of the 100 albums above are full-length albums, and I almost decided not to mention EPs this year, but there were a small handful worth writing home about, so you can find them here: Favorite EPs of 2021
And now, here’s the master list of my top 100 favorites!
- Allison Russell — Outside Child
- Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
- Valerie June — The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers
- Wolf Alice — Blue Weekend
- Tom Rosenthal — Denis Was A Bird
- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard — L.W.
- Snapped Ankles — Forest Of Your Problems
- Mdou Moctar — Afrique Victime
- Amyl & the Sniffers — Comfort To Me
- Black Country, New Road — For The First Time
- Genesis Owusu — Smiling With No Teeth
- Squid — Bright Green Field
- Elbow — Flying Dream 1
- Parquet Courts — Sympathy For Life
- Idles — Crawler
- Tune-Yards — Sketchy.
- Laura Mvula — Pink Noise
- Sons of Kemet — Black To The Future
- Baiuca — Embruxo
- Pom Poko — Cheater
- Richard Dawson + Circle — Henki
- Shame — Drunk Tank Pink
- Dar Williams — I’ll Meet You Here
- Illuminati Hotties — Let Me Do One More
- The Coral — Coral Island
- St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home
- Bedouine — Waysides
- Beautiful Chorus — Movement
- Bomba Estereo — Deja
- Yola — Stand For Myself
- Bruno Pernadas — Private Reasons
- Bonnie Prince Billy & Matt Sweeney — Superwolves
- Turnstile — Glow On
- Dinosaur Jr. — Sweep It Into Space
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — L.W.
- KRS-One — Between Da Protests
- Liily — TV Or Not TV
- Ani DiFranco — Revolutionary Love
- Aesop Rock & Blockhead — Garbology
- Aimee Mann — Queens of the Summer Hotel
- Courtney Barnett — Things Take Time, Take Time
- Django Django — Glowing In The Dark
- Dry Cleaning — New Long Leg
- Arlo Parks — Collapsed In Sunbeams
- Kizis — Turn / Tidibàbide: A Life of 4 Spirits in Motion
- Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine — A Beginner’s Mind
- Weezer — OK Human
- Martha Wainwright — Love Will Be Reborn
- Lil Nas X — Montero
- Joy Crookes — Skin
- Liars — The Apple Drop
- Ches Smith and We All Break — Path of Seven Colors
- Rónán Ó Snodaigh — Tá Go Maith
- Ghost of Vroom — Ghost of Vroom 1
- James Blake — Friends That Break Your Heart
- Deafheaven — Infinite Granite
- Armand Hammer — Haram
- Curtis Harding — If Words Were Flowers
- Field Music — Flat White Moon
- Celeste — Not Your Muse
- They Might Be Giants — Book
- Katy Kirby — Cool, Dry Place
- Kasai Allstars — Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound
- Angelique Kidjo — Mother Nature
- Ty Segall — Harmonizer
- Serpentwithfeet — Deacon
- Deerhoof — Actually, You Can
- Spelling — The Turning Wheel
- Dave — We’re All Alone In This Together
- The Lathums — How Beautiful Life Can Be
- Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force — Dear Love
- Emma Ruth Rundle — Engine of Hell
- Weezer — Van Weezer
- Jon Batiste — We Are
- Joan As Police Woman, Tony Allen & Dave Okumu — The Solution Is Restless
- Black Midi — Cavalcade
- Nick Cave & Warren Ellis — Carnage
- Liz Phair — Sober-ish
- Adia Victoria — A Southern Gothic
- Tash Sultana — Terra Firma
- Sault — Nine
- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — Raise The Roof
- Tori Amos — Ocean To Ocean
- Samba Touré — Binga
- Media Jeweler — The Subline Scultpure of Being Alive
- Leon Bridges — Gold-Diggers Sound
- Arab Strap — As Days Get Dark
- Foxing — Draw Down the Moon
- Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever
- Nitin Sawhney — Immigrants
- Elizabeth & The Catapult — Sincerely, e
- Flock of Dimes — Head of Roses
- Lump— Animal
- Lingua Ignota — Sinner Get Ready
- Lana Del Rey — Chemtrails Over The Country Club
- Psychedelic Porn Crumpets — Shyga! The Sunlight Mound
- Daniel Lanois — Heavy Sun
- Kiwi Jr. — Cooler Returns
- Namir Blade & L’Orange — Imaginary Everything
- Here Lies Man — Ritual Devotion
Thanks for reading, y’all. Once again, here’s my Highlights of 2021 playlist!