Top Albums of the Year 2021
While we may be cutting it close, we couldn’t leave the year without showcasing our favourite albums & EPs of 2021.
Live shows slowly began to return, whether that be in half capacity or back to full capacity normality, and the music industry continued to flourish with one incredible release after another. We saw breakthrough singles, albums, EPs being produced from flourishing names to an array of newbies breaking into their own scenes. One hit after another, music fans around the world were spoiled with great new waves of music.
Thankfully, this on again/off again serge within the pandemic hasn’t stopped anyone’s creativity, and 2021 continued to blessed us, not just with new music, but by bringing us back into the live sector.
Below is our list of Top Album Releases of the Year!
Clamm - Beseech Me
Raging in angst and disillusionment, Clamm’s debut is a powerhouse of self-expression, abolishing false ideals and taking full control over their own narrative.
Visibly Choked - Visibly Choked
Visibly Choked masterfully disruptive debut album was a manic frenzy filled with energetic passion.
Molly Lewis - The Forgotten Edge
Molly Lewis is the definition of a modern take on Old Hollywood glamour. The whistle-led debut EP is the entrance to an extotica dimension.
PACKS - Take The Cake
An enchanting story of love, lust, pain, and dreams, Take The Cake is a timeless melodic wonder.
Inner Wave - Apoptosis
Apoptosis is a simple balance of youthful nostalgia and rising maturity. Inner Wave show a range of growth while defying their own musical abilities.
Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz
Welfare Jazz is, at its core, an open love letter of acceptance and the resurrection of a lost soul. While still lighthearted and filled with humour, it shows a massive leap of growth from previous releases, both musically and lyrically.
Das Beat - Identität
Das Beat’s captivating essence and their mirrored approach to the esoteric nightlife of Berlin will have any music lover hooked.
Pachyman - The Return Of Pachyman
Pachyman’s instrumental resurrection of sounds has a radiant aura. It’s bright and passionate, a true wonder of poetry with the removable of spoken words- a perfect balance between visceral energy and relaxation.
N0V3L - NON-FICTION
NON-FICTION has a thunderous beauty in his use of thematic elements. It’s skilfully crafted echo barrows deep inside your chest, following you on for hours to come.
Amyl and the Sniffers - Comfort To Me
Comfort to Me is harsh and magnetic - it fuckin’ shreds. The album is in a constant state of eruption; of perfectly constructed chaos.
Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space
Durand Jones & the Indications know how to tape into others souls. Private Space is an infectious feel-good record that all retro lovers need to experience.
Paul Jacobs - Pink Dogs on the Green Grass
Paul Jacobs shows range and ingenuity in this new beauty of a record. Pink Dogs on the Green Grass expands his creativity by pushing his own boundaries and reinventing the idea of “Paul Jacobs sound.”
Natalie Bergman - Mercy
An album that drips in personal tragedy, Mercy is a redemptive masterpiece. Using faith & beliefs to liberate from dark feelings, Bergman’s conviction leads her to find peace within pain.
Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
Filled to the rim with charisma and pulse racing antics, Shaw’s depressive juxtaposition imagery is a clever confessional of world views.
Lewsberg - In Your Hands
Lewsberg have a hypnotic emptiness that can wholly submerge the listener into a state of pure consciousness to the world around them. Their blend of understated guitar music is endlessly captivating.
Maston, L’éclair - Souvenir
Pairing up with Swiss group L’éclair, Maston’s new album is a colourful tale of escapism that feels equally balanced between both a improvisational and polished approach. It’s a shimmer of light, radiant and bewitching.
POND - 9
9 breaks down the type-cast mould Pond have created by redefining their spontaneous music while continuing to be a whirlwind of endless psychedelic-pop energy.
Black Marble - Fast Idol
A euphoric tale, with old synth tones that reverberate through a warm summer breeze.
Sylvie - Sylvie
Timeless, effortless, harmonic, and soulful - Sylvie’s self-titled debut is a ray of light with a lasting impression.
Honey Slides - Vol. 1
Colin Croom’s new solo debut is a triumphant cinematic groove. His collection of ballads feature an array of some of Chicago’s finest player’s and emphasizes his level of composition and production talent.
Nation of Language - A Way Forward
Resonating melodies and vigorous synth lines, New York’s Nation of Language deliver a breathtaking marvel of an album. It’s a revolutionary modern take on its ’80s new wave influences.
Bria - Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
Bria’s stunning vocals truly have a way of conveying the very real human emotions behind the lyrics of each of her covers. The collection of songs feel deeply vulnerable compared to her other projects.
Hot Garbage - RIDE
A mystique trance, Toronto quartet Hot Garbage’s powerful debut album is a fuzzed-fused euphoric awakening. Its synthesized sweetness and soft-spoken verses are undeniably hypnotic.
Geese - Projector
A thrilling rock debut, Geese rumble with excitement and buzzy stardom. Their debut is a blend of blend of dreamy bliss and progressive, unconventional chaos.
Yoo Doo Right - Don’t Think You Can Escape Your Purpose
With hues of Krautrock and Shoegaze beckoning at it’s core, Yoo Doo Right’s sonic intensity is otherworldly.
The Parrots - Dos
Dos is a blissful motorik psychedelia infused lite match. The Parrots enchanting sounds have become much more brighter, bolder, and colourful as they effortlessly experiment with a tighter syntonization.
Kyle Edward Connolly - On Arrival
Connolly embraces a stream-of-consciousness through his unique blend of electric and acoustic stylings.
Luna Li - Flower (In Full Bloom)
Luna Li’s ethereal genre-bending daydream melodies require a delicate touch that only she acquires. Her lush and textured sounds are an angelic utopia.
Altin Gün - Yol
Brilliant antique neo-disco psych melodies that glisten on the dance floor, Altin Gün take popular Turkish folk songs and refreshing them with a modern production spin.
Nick Waterhouse - Promenade Blue
Waterhouse once again transforms himself into a kickass retro-soul man, creating a masterpiece of truthfulness and soft textures emerging out of a tinny ‘60s transistor radio.
Connan Mockasin, Ade - It’s Just Wind
A collaborative album between Mockasin and his father Ade, the pair have created one of the year’s most gloriously warped records. It’s a collection of psychedelic melodies and experimentation.
Ducks Ltd. - Modern Fiction
A compelling and jaunty approach to expressing ones melancholy, Modern Fiction’s juxtaposition between melancholic lyrics and danceable melodies is a addictive effervescent.
Wombo - Keesh Mountain
Angular and punchy, raw and infectious, Wombo are a captivating zingy, high-frequency musical language.
Endangered ! - Sally In Her Coat
Sally In Her Coat is a tantalizing and exquisite debut release. It’s brisk drum machine loops and oscillating synths create an abundance of textures and atmospheric ambience.
Theo Vandenhoff - Heartache Is An Empty Room
A combination of old and new, Heartache Is An Empty Room is a remarkable modern synth-pop hauntology. It’s depth and range on a debut is magnificent beauty.
Meat - Pygmalion
Pygmalion EP contains a murky, dark atavistic power will envelop you in its bittersweet delights.
Yetzer Hara - Yetzer Hara
A collection of songs that were once written with punk intentions, now living in a classic honky tonk realm.
Chet Sounds - Chet Sounds
A tangle of colourful sounds and undeniable grooves, Chet Sounds has a timeless nature. The 70s infused solo project is an immersive revolution.
ROY - Roy’s Garage
A treasure trove of an abundance of endless experimentation, Roy’s Garage is collection handmade sounds and fuzzy riffs.
Whitney K - Two Years
On Two Years, Whitney has used his vulnerability and courage to achieve solace. By using sly humour to power his resilience, he's found peace of mind in an open and honest retelling of his burdens.
