Totally Unauthorized's Top 25 albums of 2021

2021 was an excellent year for music, and it's due to a deep class of young and upcoming artists. The entire Top 5 and 6 of the Top 10 are on their fourth album or less (with two debuts!). What's more important is they are creating fresh music in a variety of styles. So it's natural for this to feel like a changing of the guard type year. And it's a huge improvement over 2020, a year which gets an obvious mulligan anyway. 

25. Tune Yards - Sketchy.   

Merrill Garbus's dizzying rhythms have firmly placed Tune Yards into my ranks of long-time favorites for quite awhile now. It's good to see they're still doing good work. Sketchy is the most energized they've sounded in years, and my reward is allowing them to sneak in and capture the last remaining spot on my Top 25 albums list.

 

24. Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future

Picking up where they left off on 2018's excellent Your Queen is a Reptile, this English afro-jazz outfit continues to fascinate with the way they blur genre lines. They mix things up by dabbling in some Caribbean and spoken word influences. The most notable cut is the devastating diatribe on racial injustice, Pick Up Your Burning Cross.

23. The Weather Station - Ignorance

Much has been made of Tamara Linderman's exploration of environmental issues on The Weather Station's breakthrough album. At its most vivid, her writing practically conjures the breeze while sitting on a crag overlooking the sea. On Atlantic, she sings "In the half light, soft wind on my skin / Pink clouds massing on the cliffs / Thinking how can I touch this? How can I touch this softest petal / Softest stem, softest leaf / Bending, green, in my palm?"

The guitars and drums conjure a melancholy undercurrent on standout Robber, while a compliment of horns and flutes close it out with gentle, jazzy, brushstrokes. The first three tracks build a head of steam that dissipates well before the album's close, but it's fascinating to watch them work their hypnotism when they're on.

22. Remi Wolf - Juno

This album is just fun. It's vaguely reminiscent of 00s pop, or at least a character that makes it appeal to those of us who grew up with that stuff. If you've had a rough day, this is a good one to put on to lift your spirits. It's like a little party for your ears!

21. Ross From Friends - Tread

Mostly chillout Electronica encapsulating a wide variety of emotions. Definitely borrows a bit from Burial but also weaves in the playful exuberance of acts like Balamb Acab. At certain points, Boards of Canada even come to mind (on Thresho_1.0 in particular). Approach with an open mind and allow yourself to be dazzled.

20. tricot - 上出来 (Jodeki)

A late release which likely missed most folk's radar with its mid December street date, but worthy nonetheless. All-girl rock outfit from Japan with an impressive variety of styles, running through everything from J-rock, pop, (with some slick background vocal work) post-hardcore, and even a bit of groove splashed in for good measure.

19. Darkside - Spiral

After eight years and a seemingly never-ending staircase of solo and side projects, Nico Jaar finally gets back together with his buddy Dave and gives us the Darkside album we almost forgot we needed. Spiral takes on a much more psychedelic bent than its predecessor, triumphantly showcasing yet another side of the duo's sound.

18. Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days

A Top 10 contender immediately for me upon release, especially on the strength of You and Me on the Rock, Broken Horses, and Sinners, Saints, & Fools. I cooled on it fairly considerably, though. This one's rife with more intimate, introspective pieces that surely hit hard if you focus on the lyrics but maybe isn't best for the album's overall flow. Mid to low Top 25 feels pretty fair.

17. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

I got sucked in to the singles and perhaps overrated this one for a good portion of the year based on their strength alone. The rest of the album didn't hold up nearly as well on repeat listens but even discounting that fact it's hard to not appreciate what Michelle Zauner has put forth. Jubilee is a sticky, sweet bouquet of indie/dance pop, and I eagerly await her building further upon the foundation established here.

16. Mastodon - Hushed and Grim

If you like atmosphere, Hushed and Grim is seeping in it. The production brings out a melancholy vibe you might expect to see with bands like Katatonia or older Opeth, and it has unquestionably breathed new life into a band that had been fluttering south of the Mendoza line ever since 2011's The Hunter. You have tracks like Pushing the Tides and Teardrinker that are among the band's most vibrant singles to date. Not sure this needed to be a double album, though, a fact which brings out the album's only key shortcoming -- a number of these tracks float by anchored too much by the atmosphere and lacking somewhat on sound composition. I would have been much happier with the first disc with Gigantium added in along with maybe one or two others.

15. Squid - Bright Green Field

Out of the litany of English rock bands that cropped up this year, Squid feels the most indebted to the heritage of Talking Heads. Not to mention the obvious vocal similarity with singer Ollie Judge, many of the guitar lines demonstrate the same type of groove that made late 70/early 80s Heads album famous. Their biggest divergence with them -- and simultaneously their biggest ace up their sleeve -- is their ability to weave these dense, hypnotic instrumental patterns over extended sections. See specifically the mesmerizing later sections of Narrator or the long, spacey, belligerent outro on Boy Racers.

14. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

Dressed in her white shag coat and boasting big, bold, yellow throwback lettering on the cover, Annie Clark leaves no doubt as to where her musical sensibilities lie on her sixth studio album. A certain warming up period is in order for this one. Opener Pay Your Way in Pain slinks and slithers its way in but by no means does it kick the door down, a significant left turn from what we're used to with St. Vincent albums. The dreamy production on Down and Out Downtown is more familiar while maintaining the album's motif. Standout stomper Run packs the biggest punch, while The Laughing Man and Live in the Dream are coated in atmosphere. This one's like sucking on a cough drop. The layers dissolve and wash away, revealing greater depth as it goes.

13. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

Guitar prodigy, traveler from faraway Niger, and leaker of last year's Bonnaroo lineup. Mdou Moctor is a man of many talents. His sound brings many of the musical elements of his homeland to your speakers, but also is deeply indebted to the many U.K. and American legends who shaped his style. Get yourself a front row seat to soak in his wizardry, if you know what's good for you. The man is primed to be blowing minds with his guitar displays for years to come.

12. Lucy Dacus - Home Video

Another great effort from one of indie rock's top young singer/songwriters. The best thing I can tell you is see it live if you can. There's nothing like watching her conjure forth Thumbs to an entire crowd waiting with baited breath. You could literally hear a pin drop. Some of these cuts are assuredly tailor made more for the stage than your headphones or car stereo, but it shouldn't take much to recognize the raw, ass kicking immediacy of Hot & Heavy and VBS, or the cutting lyricism of Brando.

11. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - G_d's Pee at State's End

These long standing post rock heroes barely missed out on ranking in my top 10 since 2012's Don't Bend Ascend, but there's plenty here I dig. The first side presents the type of burnt out, apocalyptic hellscape we know and love them for, whereas the second movement, beginning with Government Came, recalls BBF3 with its anti-government sound sample that runs over the course of the first few minutes but slowly becomes more esoteric from there. Never content to leave us on a sour note, however, the positively angelic OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN (For D.H.), is a rapturous palate cleanser that allows us to leave behind the grime we've experienced over the past 50+ minutes. It wouldn't sound out of place as the closing coda to The Passion of Joan of Arc's Voices of Light soundtrack, one of the greatest film soundtracks of all time.

10. Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic

Just a fun album. This is an unabashed love letter to the golden age of funk and soul, effortlessly performed by two current titans of the genre. Every track punches above its weight class, and who can't get down to a bop like Leave the Door Open or Smokin Out the Window?

 

9. Turnstile - Glow On

They may be considered hardcore, but don't let that fool you. Baltimore-based Turnstile has broken through with their finest record yet, and it's a total genre-bender. This has some of the most effectively written riffs I've heard in a long time. They don't try to be too heavy, or too fast, or too indebted to a particular influence. They just kick ass. Mystery, Blackout, and Holiday are a pleasure to listen to again and again. Then you have experiments like Underwater, with its warbly guitar textures that perfectly create the sensation of being submerged. There are other small but effective touches, such as the dissonant piano intro on Fly again. And face it, what other hardcore act is going to have not one, but two collaborations with alt-R&B crooner Blood Orange? I can't wait to see what these guys come up with next.

8. Tyler the Creator - Call Me When You Get Lost

Out of my Top 10 selections, this is the one that fluctuated the most. I wasn't convinced it was worth a damn when it first came out, but I reminded myself Tyler never does the same thing twice. This one eschews the otherworldly production and pseudo-R&B of his last two efforts to let Tyler focus on going big with his rapping skills. His delivery is bold and in your face, especially in the beginning, but his lyrics start to show his vulnerabilities as the album wears on. Each track effortlessly segues from one into the next, leaving you with an impressive 50+ minute suite of uninterrupted music. And of course, I would be remiss not to mention DJ Drama, who is overused but serves as a crucial drop in, drop out presence building Tyler up -- sometimes styling himself as Tyler Baudledaire, sometimes as The Creator. Whatever you call him, he's never less than brilliant, witty, and inspired.

7. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

Two artists I've investigated to varying degrees over the years. Never been into what I've heard from Converge. I do like Chelsea Wolfe, although my fandom for her never blossomed as much as I once thought it might. I definitely appreciate that this one has more of a progressive, post metal type of atmosphere. Slow burn opener Blood Moon, coupled with Crimson Stone near the album's close serve as twin bookends that plunge you into the album's dense world. Elsewhere, Tongues Playing Dead features the album's most ear grabbing riff, while the smoky atmosphere conjured on Wolfe's Scorpion's Sting reminds me of something Swans might have done in their Great Annihilator era if they gave Jarboe a song to herself.

6. Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points, and the London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

Another record that took some time to take its effect with me, although I respected it from the get-go. I revisited it when a friend of mine made this his AOTY and said to myself you know what, this is definitely a worthy record. My only prior exposure with Sanders was with his 1969 album Karma, which is nothing short of a masterpiece. Unlike that album, Promises makes no pretense at be overtly spiritual in any way, although it feels like the two albums share a similar ethos. What it presents is a grounded, calming experience that feels just right at its 46 minute runtime. Promises exhibits a rare divergence of artistry, musicianship, and collaboration on a major scale.

5. Black Country, New Road - For the First Time

Black Country, New Road is another band that contributed greatly to the renaissance of post punk/rock we experienced this year. Their rolling rhythms are supported by a dazzling deployment of keys and saxophones, along with frontman Isaac Wood's journal-like, stream of consciousness style lyricism. They demonstrate confidence by opening with a punchy, yet off kilter instrumental before showing off their biggest strength over the next couple of tracks - an ability to build a slow bubbling, unsettling undercurrent without sacrificing their approachability. It builds to an utterly memorable climax on Sunglasses that has to be heard to be believed. The rest of the album feels like a much needed, winding, descending come down, highlighted by what vaguely sounds like a mariachi band of the apocalypse on closing cut Opus.

4. Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World

This is some kind of futuristic, alien pop, and if you know me you know I eat this up. It has this very futurey, bassy production and Mica Tenembaum's deliriously exotic pitch shifted vocal. If you're telling yourself you've heard this gimmick before, it's not. The songwriting is strong enough to carry the album even without factoring in its disparate elements. Every track, especially the singles, are good-natured, ear grabbing fun, but a definite shout out to You Lose! and Secrets (Your Fire). With this debut album, Magdelana Bay have boldly announced themselves as a dance pop act to watch in the future.

3. Black Midi - Cavalcade

In a year of great post-punk/hardcore guitar rock, why does Black Midi stand as the best? The simple answer is their creativity. Their devilish rhythms boggle the mind, but are also very catchy and magnetic once your brain catches up with what's going on. Then they'll baffle you further every now and then with an odd genre detour on something like Marlene Dietrich or Ascending Forth. No band was as good as keeping us on our toes this year as Black Midi.

2. Spelling - The Turning Wheel

With apologies to Adele, this is the pop album of the year. Spelling went big, with a brass band, choir, and tons of other collaborators that help boost this effort over the top. There's a very theatrical, art kid vibe that sounds like a musical stage production, but is also much more. Tia Cabral's voice arrests you immediately on opener Little Deer. It bends and turns in a very unassuming way, accenting the notes as the song slowly builds up and ultimately captures you with that huge hook. Other key moments include the surging swell of the title track, the emotional melodrama of Boys at School, and the whimsy of tracks like Queen of Wands. Spelling has presented a vibrant work that serves as a fresh way of presenting pop in 2021.

1. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

Like most folks, Simz first came to my attention with her blistering breakout Grey Area two years ago. But before that, she put out a very different type of album called Stillness in Wonderland. It was much more ambitious in terms of theme and concept, and tried to do some different things with the hooks and general vibe. You also had the appearance of the Simbi character as a unifying link. It wasn't terribly effective because the other elements kept getting in the way of what she does best. So it's little surprise her next move would be the more stripped back Grey Area. But when I listen to this, I can't help but feel like this is an attempt to return to some of the more far-reaching ideas she's flirted with in the past. Clocking in at a meaty 65 minutes, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert showcases numerous sides of Simz, from ally of the dispossessed to fierce fighter striving to bend a tumultuous world to her will. This is easily her most captivating statement yet.