To be frank, 2021 was not a good year for music. When I wrote the Top Albums of 2020 about a year ago, I noted there would likely be fewer albums in the first half of 2021 due to COVID preventing bands from practicing and recording anything new. However, I anticipated a return to relative normalcy after that.
“Normalcy” is not what happened, and we got “strange limbo” instead, thanks to COVID and its new flavors. Bands slowly returned to performing live after a year without shows, and it was endearing to see performers so emotional at returning to the stage. However, resuming tours proved difficult, as changing COVID regulations and outbreaks among band/crew members caused regular disruptions. As far as album releases, 2021 seemed particularly slow. This could also just be due to my individual tastes, since I acquired fewer new albums this year than any year since 2010.
I always try to be a little optimistic when it comes to these annual wrap-ups, so here’s some good music that came out this year. Like last year, these are in no particular ranking order. I am hopeful that 2022 will be better for music, since Metacritic’s upcoming album calendar is already fairly well-populated with albums I can’t wait to get.
Some Good Albums from 2021
Mogwai – As the Love Continues
I’ll admit I usually don’t get all that excited for new Mogwai releases. It could be that Mogwai’s 2010 releases were fine but not particularly memorable, or it could be that instrumental rock is generally a tougher sell than its lyric-laden counterpart. Either way, I thought As the Love Continues would likely end up as background music. Turns out I was wrong, I replayed this album more than any other in 2021. “Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever” caught my attention, but the ambient and dreamy synth track “Dry Fantasy” made me realize this was like no other Mogwai album. On the other end of the spectrum, “Drive the Nail” delivers some much-appreciated heaviness, and “Ritchie Sacramento” actually upends all expectations by including a vocal part. The amazing guitar melody of “Ceiling Granny” made it my most-listened to track from 2021, no matter how much everyone compared it to the Smashing Pumpkins. As the Love Continues became Mogwai’s first No. 1 album on the UK charts after 25 years of making music, and I have to say it’s very well-deserved.
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
I had heard of Japanese Breakfast before, and had them on my “check out eventually” list for a couple years, but hearing their single “Be Sweet” so many times finally convinced me to get their third album Jubilee. Despite the catchiness of this synthpop single, few other tracks on the album are anything like it, save the bouncy “Slide Tackle.” This makes sense, because I’ve heard Japanese Breakfast described as “shoegaze” and “dream pop” before, which are good summaries of the tracks “Posing in Bondage” and “In Hell,” respectively. Other tracks are less easily defined by a subgenre, but are just as delightful. “Kokomo, IN” sounds like Camera Obscura in all the best ways, and “Tactics” has a gorgeous string section. The closing track, “Posing for Cars,” ends the album with an amazing guitar solo that lasts almost three minutes. Jubilee lives up to its name, and now I know I have to get Japanese Breakfast’s first two albums.
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Julien Baker’s first two albums were mostly just herself, an acoustic guitar, and soul-baring lyrics delivered in the most emotional manner possible. Her third album Little Oblivions keeps these components, but adds the backing of a full band (which is actually just Baker playing all the instruments) to give a much fuller and richer sound. The opening tracks “Hardline” and “Heatwave” add a prominent synthesizer melody to their folk-rock, reminiscent of The People’s Key-era Bright Eyes (high praise from me!). This greater tilt towards rock is one of the greatest strengths of the album, with the songs “Faith Healer” and “Ringside” showing how far adding percussion and bass can go. While it’s almost entirely a solo effort, her Boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers appear on “Favor,” the album’s lushest track. I’m rarely in the mood to listen to something so bleak, but if I were, Little Oblivions would deliver.
Some Good Songs From 2021
Death From Above 1979 – One + One
Death From Above 1979 made a name for themselves with their ferocious 2004 debut You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine, disbanded for five years, and then released two middle-of-the-road albums in the 2010s. The song “One + One” from fourth album Is 4 Lovers brings you right back to this debut, and functions like a companion piece to their great early single “Romantic Rights.” I wrote more about Is 4 Lovers here.
Kings of Convenience – Rocky Trail
Norwegian folk duo Kings of Convenience released their fourth album, Peace or Love, in 2021—their first release in 12 years. Its single “Rocky Trail” reminds me of why I loved them so much in the 2000s and missed them so much in the 2010s. It has everything you’d want from a Kings of Convenience track: delicately-plucked guitars, emotive strings, remorseful lyrics, and the two singer’s gentle voices intertwining. I wrote more about Peace or Love here.
Modest Mouse – Fuck Your Acid Trip
Modest Mouse’s seventh album, The Golden Casket, showed the band at both their most radio-friendly (see: “We Are Between”) and their weirdest (“see: Transmitting Receiving”). The opening track, “Fuck Your Acid Trip,” is firmly in the latter camp, but not overwhelmingly so. Singer Isaac Brock threateningly mumbles most of the song’s lyrics over a guitar effect straight out of the Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?,” but then completely switches tack for a disarmingly upbeat chorus. It’s an excellent song on its own, and is quite the way to open The Golden Casket. You can read more about this album here.
We Are Scientists – Sentimental Education
We Are Scientists have quietly been churning out pop-oriented indie rock albums for 15 years now, along with some of the most entertaining music videos out there. They’ve never reached the fame of other mid-2000s indie rock contemporaries, and none of their albums have been real critical darlings, but each has had at least a few standout tracks. “Sentimental Education” is one of them, coming from their seventh album Huffy. Its verses are pretty simple, but the explosive chorus makes it one of the biggest earworms of the year, and it’s become one of my favorite We Are Scientists songs.
