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Nilüfer Yanya’s second album, Painless
New album: With a clever, pared back mix of guitars, beats, synths and distinctive vocals, the Londoner’s follow-up to 2019’s Miss Universe has a more focused musical identity and style, in this excellent set of variously twisted love songs
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Another van load of great numbers from HMHB
New album: Few things are more likely to bring joy, laughter and indeed titular pain relief, especially now, than a new HMHB release, this 15th album decorated again with singalong tunes and Nigel Blackwell’s incomparably brilliant lyrics, though here with death as a black-humoured running theme
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Things may get your goat, but let it go free … Superchunk’s Wild Loneliness
New album: The apocalypse may gradually be upon us, but this 12th album by the North Carolina indie-rockers is the perfect antidote, offering black humour and chin-up optimism with fabulous tunes, wry lyrics and a musical complexion of dappled light
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Johnny Marr: four in one
New album: The favourite of all former Smiths releases a double album made up of four gradually released 4-song EPs written in isolated lockdown, showing his dynamic range of musicianship and a common theme seeking empathy and unity
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Capturing challenging times: Sea Power’s eighth album Everything Was Forever
New album: Superbly defiant and telling eighth LP, the first in in five years, by the alt-rock band who last year dropped the British part from their name, not to disrespect their own nation, but to disassociate themselves from any form of upsurging Brexit-related nationalism
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Alynda Segarra
New album: Wonderfully engaging eighth LP by New Orleans’ Alynda Segarra of “nature punk” electronica and lo-fi indie, with songs variously intimate, grand, sensual, and emotionally powerful, taking a hands-on, eco-aware vivid walk through our planet
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Spoon’s 10th
New album: A solid 10/10 for the band from Austin, Texas, who, with this 10th studio album of 10 songs in 25 years and their familiar alt-blues rock sound remains consistently strong and unmistakably them, even when opening with a Smog cover
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Animal Collective’s 11th album Time Skiffs
New album: Two decades after their first, the 11th album by the American alt-pop experimentalists has a running theme of time passing, with a quieter, slower more lo-fi accessible approach, gentle intricate sounds, even those echoing wind, water and bamboo
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Mitski’s Laurel Hell
New album: The Japanese-American indie artist Mitski Miyawaki’s newest LP is her most mainstream pop release to date, with big 80s piano ripples and echoes of Abba and even Hall & Oates, but also brilliantly laced with dark images and emotions laid bare
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Pointed lyrics: Yard Act, featuring frontman James Smith
Debut album: Following various singles including Fixer Upper, a set of newer sharp, funny, talky, wordy and witty post-punk-funk debut LP by the Leeds quartet, filled with ironic observation about Britishness, echoing some delivery elements of the Fall and Sleaford Mods
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Spector’s Now or Whenever
New album: The third LP and first since 2015 for the London indie band presents a more thoughtful, melancholy, and often slower set of songs than their more youthfully exuberant previous releases, but includes reflective, strong material
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The prolific Deerhoof’s latest as ever original LP: Actually, You Can
New album: Released late in 2021, San Francisco indie-prog experimental quartet’s 18th studio LP is a frenetic, pace-changing, daredevil record, challenging social and political norms, laced with interwoven and blistering guitar, bass, and drums alongside Satomi Matsuzaki’s distinctive vocals
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Favourite selection part 2.
Favourite albums of 2021 – Part 2: Welcome the second instalment, following Part 1, which can be found here. A huge number of excellent releases, of which again this is just a selection many of which were written during, and about lockdown, but also saw many outstanding voices emerge as well as innovative sounds developed
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Take your pick. Are your favourites here? Also check out Part 2 coming soon.
Favourite albums of 2021, part 1: Another difficult year for everyone, but from soul and jazz, electro-pop the experimental and avant-garde, an outstanding one for music releases, perhaps in part because out of diversity comes great art. Also feel free to explore Part 2, which is now available to view here.
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Lunar Vacation’s debut album
Debut album: Joyously fresh, freewheeling indie pop with a dash of shoegaze and psychedelia in this debut LP by the four-piece from Atlanta, Georgia, with influences from Rilo Kiley to Tame Impala, Alvvays and Slow Pulp
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New perspective: Aeon Station’s Observatory
New album: Beautiful debut full LP by the solo moniker of The Wrens' Kevin Whelan with contributions from his band mates, these lockdown-inspired, highly emotive songs take the long view, filled with recriminations, guilt, but also hope for the future
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Blind Date Party album
New album: The brilliant veterans of darkly beautiful lo-fi and killer lyrics release a 2020-21 lockdown collaborative 19-song compilation of covers and reworked songs with just as many guests, including songs by Leonard Cohen, Yusuf Islam and Billie Eilish, as well as many Drag City labelmates
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Julie Doiron’s I Thought of You
New album: Cracking new LP by the influential 49-year-old Canadian indie singer-songwriter who has released multiple album under her own name, various other monikers, in French and Spanish, here with catchy, melancholy and moving songs
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Deap Vally’s Lindsay Troy and Julie Edwards
New album: Full of feisty swagger, and rich, fuzzy guitar grit, the Los Angeles pair of Lindsay Troy and Julie Edwards return for a fourth album of rock-rich irony, fun, sweary sneering, sex-talk, anger and meaty riffs, and one of best yet
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Vibrant joy: The Bug Club’s Pure Particles
New album: A fantastic, punchy short album of nine songs by the indie trio from South Wales with vibrant, fresh, Jonathan Richman-style panache, witty lyrics, dynamic guitar riffs and driving rhythm that is all infectiously toe-tapping
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