Throughout 2020, lockdowns and isolation have forced many people to rearrange their lives, from commuting to work to listening habits. In 2021, as various degrees of reopening become possible, the music industry has released a large number of albums, mostly recorded in isolation. With the surge in demand for new releases, vinyl record studios around the world have been affected. Influence. Fortunately for us, there are so many great, wild, inspiring and fascinating records in 2021, and these are undoubtedly the best. (Just for fun, they are presented in a completely random order.)

SUSS occupies a unique position in the music industry, pushing the "country atmosphere" sub-genre into the spotlight. As you might have guessed, the "country setting" uses portamento guitars, synthesizer pads, and excellent vintage acoustic instruments to help create dusty and often emotional soundscapes that can be easily dubbed for any Chloé Zhao movie. These four veteran professional players have created a series of extraordinary works in just a few years, but when the founding member Gary Leib passed away in May 2021, everything came to an abrupt end. "Night Suite" EP is the last new material SUSS recorded shortly before Leib's death. This is a gorgeous set of recordings designed to travel to locations they encountered on the tour, while tracks like the painful opening "Gallup, New Mexico" and the warm "Kingman, Arizona" are The band has some influential songs that have not yet been created. Tribute to the fallen pioneers.

"SUBA" is not the first collaboration album of Senegal-born Kola player Seckou Keita and Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa, but it is their best album. Through a lush stylized journey with a soft ending of the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition, Sousa and Keita's team feels less genre, more inclusive, kora and piano alone draw a lot of curvy and fractured colors of relaxed and relaxed traditions. "Drops of Sunshine"'s superimposed multi-voice harmony gives a modern feel, but the piano's dexterous and soft bouncing and falling Kola licks make this song both direct and timeless. "SUBA" is only the second collaboration in the legend, but it feels like they have been communicating on the musical level for decades. sublimation.

Inspired by the journey of psychedelic therapy, the former lead singer of the Wild Beasts band’s second solo record is a fascinating and fascinating sound journey. "Moondust for My Diamond" always hovering above the dreamy synth pads and the softest drum sounds, is a journey based on Thorpe's sweet falsetto. Although he occasionally encounters attractive popular melodies (such as the excellent horn accent "Metafeeling"), most of the content of "Moondust" makes Thrope walk around naked and puzzled. "Hand over all your novels/hand over your premonitions," he warned us in "Pause Animation", and then muttered sweetly "I will burn a book for you" over and over again. No matter how awake you are while listening, this "diamond" will emit a miraculous light.

When the dexterous Aesop Rock first became famous on El-P's legendary Definitive Jux label in the early 2000s, his abstract sections and detailed storytelling were often accompanied by the beat of Blockhead. Some fans blamed the unique sound ideas of these collaborations on them, saying that they are the best underground rap can provide. Once Aesop continues to rely on his own work, even if he and the solo singer Blockhead have both developed avid fans The group, some fans also split. Reunited in locked eyes, "Trash Learning" is a fresh rap album you might hear this year. 

Aesop boasted in "More Cycles": "I can hold a front wheel car for ten years," which is one of the many winding trails that the two have created together. This time, Blockhead's beats are usually unobtrusive, focusing on making Aesop's rock lines more impactful, even as they become increasingly (and beautiful) incomprehensible. "You can't domesticate modern volunteer police officers/they increasingly think of energy expansion," he raps in "Flamingo Pink". To be honest, "energy expansion" is exactly how we classify this kind of stellar cooperation.

Although contemporary freak icon Devendra Banhart and famous Latin engineer Noah Georgeson have been collaborating on each other's orbit for some time, the two have never had an album-length collaboration before. Perhaps beyond the expectations of many people, they jointly created...a mature atmosphere album? Unexpectedly, "Sanctuary" is much more than a trip through this genre: it is a well-thought-out and cleverly constructed record that excels at every wave level. 

Although the echo guitar and ghostly synthesizer form the basis of the "Sanctuary", the quirky sound details—from the complete orchestral to the live recording of Tibetan prayers—inject a rich sense of miracle into the album. Tracks like "Three Gates" breathe and unfold at their own pace, slowly and purposefully displaying their sound surprises. To ordinary observers, this album may seem like a detour on any artist’s record, but as anyone who has spent time under its hypnotic gaze may tell you, “Sanctuary” May become your own peaceful refuge.

Combining the sounds of CHVRCHES, Grimes, Charli XCX and Chairlift into one package, Magdelena Bay’s first album should definitely not be as good as it is now. However, the duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin living in Los Angeles have successfully created a full-length firecracker, full of every possible electronic pop metaphor you can think of. What annoys them most is that they can easily circumvent every genre. A popular retro music of the 90s ("Secret (Your Fire)") full of popular orchestral synthesizers? Stadium electronic ballads ("dream chasing") in the early 2000s? A popular dungeon-themed trap number borrowed from the NES Legend of Zelda game ("Halfway")? All crazy ideas are executed perfectly. Magdelena Bay's creativity is endless, and the confidence they exude is frightening. It's best to get to know them before their songs become oversaturated in a few years.

Yola is really in her own class. The British songwriter first started as a temporary backup singer. Her debut album "Walk Through Fire" in 2019 showed an extraordinary grasp of the former rock songwriting tradition, and composed solid songs around her once-in-a-lifetime voice. She slightly updated her reference material for her follow-up, introduced a few rock gestures, and even gave "Dancing Away in Tears" a slight disco. Sounds like a direct transmission from any era she likes (provided by Dan Auerbach, a producer with retro ideas), "Stand for Myself" is a joyous exploration of the country, R&B and rock traditions, through Yola’s empathetic perspective filter. Yola sounds more confident than ever, from the retro soul of "If I had to Do It All Again" to the AM rock single "Diamond Studded Shoes" in the 70s. With the support of this artistic vibe, Yola can now only be described as "unstoppable".

Since the critical and commercial heyday of the mid-2000s, Cold War children have come a long way. The band’s blues indie rock brand is always interesting, but in the modern streaming era, it simply cannot be sustained commercially. However, since leaving their label and focusing on independent distribution, their "New Era Specification" series has brought unexpected surprises to those who follow. No longer expecting, this California-born band has become looser, weirder, and wilder every time it releases a new album. "New Era Norm 3" is the last chapter of their annual trilogy, the best of its kind. From the roaring piano rocker "Times have changed" to the clever synthetic pop music "Always", to "2 Worlds" and Cold War Kids' "how do you do it" cut and paste blues funk experiment than ever before More vitality at all times. If you have liked them before, but lost interest due to lack of interest or [the attitude of the whole society], then "New Era Norm 3" is well worth your time. After all, this is a new era for them...

A certain percentage may not be household names in the United States, but they are regarded as legends in the post-punk and indie dance circles in the United Kingdom. As one of the early signatories of the groundbreaking Factory Records, this British band's work has been sporadic since the 90s, dropping one record in 2008 and ushering in "ACR LOCO" in 2020. Feeling the good resonance of recent records, the band gave up not one but three EPs this year. "ACR:EP" contains their last improvisation with the late, great original scream Dennis Johnson; "ACR:EPC" is a collaboration with another recently deceased musical icon: producer and mixer Andrew Weatherall; and "ACR:EPR" was recorded in a way of "whatever happens, it will happen". The result is a bunch of fashionable songs, from reggae-style shuffles to cheerful dance music to horn-driven party numbers. This is a group of wild music that will not repeat one of their songs in the full version of 2020, becoming one of the most surprising, fashionable and enjoyable albums this year. We can guarantee a certain percentage of the tracks you will like (almost all tracks).

If Adele is known for anything at this point, it will take her time. It took only three short years for her to wait from her debut "19" to the cultural touchstone "21", and she waited four and a half years before she gave up swallowing the chart behemoth "25". Now, after a lot of teasing and rumors, "30" is here. There is no doubt that this is the most diverse entry in her record. Using impact and characteristic harmony (in "Oh My God", her voice level is used to create the actual rhythm and pulse of the song), this time she feels more relaxed and playful, and even becomes like "I Drink Wine "Such a shameless song title" entered a kind of calm and powerful contemplation. 

Working with older alternate producers/songwriters such as Greg Kurstin and Max Martin, and new voices such as Inflo and Ludwig Göransson, "30" is her most diverse and humanized song collection to date. Here, she walked out of her usual sound box, while retaining all the passionate lyrics and performances that made her a decisive queen of the past ten years. Good thing, because we guessed that her next album will be released for ten years.

There are "pop records" and then Pepe Deluxé records. The Finnish duo of James Spectrum and Paul Malmström are masters who stuff their full-length songs with melodies, and they often cram the hooks of the entire album into one track. This is the composition of a clown car song, but you must hear the result of frequent explosions to believe it. For "Phantom Cabaret Vol. 1," their first true full-length film in nearly a decade, they sounded as focused as they were completely insane—just as they like it. "I see with my ears!" the soul singer shouted in the opening song "General Deluxé", which seems to change genre every few bars. 

Allegedly, the duo searched all over the world for the strangest instruments they could find (including a drum made of human skin and an instrument that can only be activated with fire), but if it weren’t for them, they would have wrapped all these strange new sounds. Among valuable songs, then they are meaningless. From the funny crazy audio guide of "Kalevala Hall" to the hard keyboard funk of "22th Century Playboy", you must have never heard something like "Phantom Cabaret" Vol. 1" such a record. Whether it is the best album of the year is still controversial, but there is no doubt that it must be the "most" album you have heard in the past decade.

The 1990s was a period of transition for dance music, because this was the decade when the genre changed the most and broke through the mainstream culture. Imagine this: Fatboy Slim is snatching cross hits on the radio, Paul Oakenfold continues to release CD mixes to the public, and the carnival quickly gives way to the stadium-filled EDM music festival we know today. Michael Silver of CFCF remembers all this still fresh. As we all know, he is an instrumental performance focusing on medium and slow recording (almost all recordings are excellent). In the past few years, his aesthetic has been directed towards electronic music. 

However, nothing can prepare us for the "memory kingdom": a sound time capsule that directly brings listeners back to the era when "trance music" became famous. Silver fills every corner of the "Land of Memory" with drumbeats of a specific era and unique sound details. It is definitely a love letter to the genre. Who else would have thought of making a comment when every rock band wanted to become an electronic band ("Punksong") in the late 90s? Since Daft Punk disbanded ("Self Service 1999"), does he really have to go out and make the best Daft Punk songs? The more you know about that era, the more you can discover its influence, but even if you don't know it, you can't deny that "Land of Memory" has a bright smile on your face. masterpiece.

CHVRCHES's 2018 album "Love Is Dead" was not inherently wrong. This eventually became the first time a Scottish electronic trio decided not to make an album by themselves. As an album-length collaboration with Kelly Clarkson and Adele super producer Greg Kurstin, it played a role in their synthetic pop music, but it did almost a bit too well, making their voice more versatile than fans expected (that is, Mainstream). Therefore, their fourth album "Screen Violence" is a complete route correction that removes the fat and makes us feel like the true sequel to their legendary first album "The Bones You Believe" in 2013. The guest appearance of Robert Smith in The Cure is of course a gospel, but it is a bang of the gas lamp. The lyrics of the national anthem "He Said She Said" proves that lead singer Lauren Maybury still has some important things to say. Poppies, advancement and uncompromising, "screen violence" is the voice of a group of people who have just rediscovered what makes them great.

Although Durand Jones & the Inductions makes no secret of their love for classic soul music, their third album "Private Space" has seen subtle changes in their love. From a cult of Motown singles in the early 1960s to a full embrace of disco lovers in the 1970s, "Private Space" found that the group was bolder than ever. The brisk harmony and flute in "More Than Ever" are reminiscent of the mirror ball VIP room, while the falsetto singing and fashionable rhythm guitar of "The Way That I Do" slide in a way that makes Nile Rodgers blush. The band has always been very good at reproducing the sound of a certain era, but their song creation becomes more powerful and personalized in each new full-length song, and the beauty of "Private Space" is that it shows that the band does not There is no plan to repeat their formula soon. It's time to take that feathered python out of the closet, because you will need it when you dance in one of the sweetest musical pleasures of the year.

Over the years, musicians Luciano Ermondi and Paolo Mazzacani have worked under the Tempelhof nickname to produce indie dance music that is difficult to break through the barriers of algorithmic playlists. Take a break before regrouping into Million Eyes, the duo are now focusing on the music they like to make, which turns out to be the sound of a beat-driven ambient soundscape. "Brama", their first album released under the new name, is a fascinating and gorgeous work because the duo uses digital synthesizer pads and programmed drum machines to create a sound that feels close to organic. Moving the clouds from the rhythm of "Punta Cometa" to the movie stargazers of "Aguirre", to the ominous tennis match that ended in the form of "15-0", it feels as if Ermondi and Mazzacani named their costumes "Hundred "Wan Eyes" is correct, because even if positioned in the type of environment, they can see the many directions that their creativity can bring. How lucky we are, they explored as many environmental styles as possible in this wild and energetic debut.

If Ben Aylon, who was born in Israel, likes anything, it is drumming. Specifically, West African percussion such as djeli ngoni and sabar. However, "Xalam", Aylon's record-setting years after making multiple appearances under his One Man Tribe nickname, is not always percussion. He has collaborated with many bands in Mali to create a gorgeous, evocative, and infectious collection of contemporary African sounds. Repertoires like the stomping "Benn Takamba" burned every inch of their stringed instruments in a natural and distorted style, and the late Khaira Arby provided vocals on the floating, complex "Alafia". Aylon combined vocals and percussion into a powerful combination, demonstrating his composing ability, while also allowing audiences who may never have a deep understanding of Mali and Senegalese music to easily access this record. This may actually be our most replayed album this year.

The sample-driven electronic project is Nightmares on Wax, a curious album that has been released for more than thirty years at this point. However, after the cancer panic and isolation brought about by the lockdown associated with the pandemic, core member George Evelyn started writing his ninth studio record as if it were the last record he was going to make. Although this setting may make "Shout Out! To Freedom" look like a contemplative ballad, the result is just the opposite. "Shout out!" is a relaxed, colorful, and overall pleasant thing, full of many different emotions and styles, as if Eveyln has completely rediscovered the reason why he liked making music in the first place. "Creator SOS" floats in a dreamlike wave, and "Up To Us", which is closer to the soul of the stellar orchestra, echoes the Motown singles of the 70s quietly and easily. This ever-changing popular gem is worthy of shouting in itself.

After one or two albums of "Brothers" and "El Camino" made the blues rock duo The Black Keys a household name, they became... a little strange. "Turn Blue" in 2014 allowed them to play with genres and try new flavors. Although this is an interesting experiment, it is not completely connected with their fan base. After the break, they tried to correct the course with the obvious title of 2019 "Let's Rock", but it still did not fully reproduce the gritty sound of their early albums. Therefore, in "Delta Kream", the boys return to their roots by covering some of their all-time favorite blues music. This is a wise move, because they no longer feel burdened to make "commercial" albums, they sound like they are at home. 

Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney made it with wonderful warmth (it has one of the clearest mixes we've heard all year), and they have classic works by John Lee Hooker and RL Burnside in their pockets , Especially Junior Kimbrough's songs, accounted for almost half of the album. The guitar sounded, Auerbach’s voice was howling, and the fun of the two was evident in every number. The slow-burning "Come with Me" may be our favorite, but for those who may have been away from the black key for a while, there is good news: they are back for the first time and sound very comfortable.

Although the Minnesota indie pop band Hippo Campus has always had its own unique and somewhat experimental voice, members Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker (and The Happy Children founder Caleb Hinz) wanted to do something different when playing freely among professional players. Things recording studio. The resulting project is called Baby Boys, and their first full-length album "Trio" is indeed the voice of some multi-instrumentalists and producers who use their pop instincts to become as weird as possible. For example, "Maggot Water" adds acoustic guitar, squelch and stretched vocal samples, and vibrating analog synthesizer to create an accent that is still catchy but has an extraordinary sound. 

Like any good trio, this album will not waste a second (more than 28 minutes), but with its kaleidoscope-like notes and noise, Baby Boys solves the problems of intimacy, isolation, and forgetting that someone parked the car. Where. It is said that the rule of any good threesome is to make every member of the party feel welcome, and as a listener, the baby boy is happy to welcome you.

The laid-back, refined and beautiful music composed by pianist Morten McCoy and bassist Jonathan Bremer is so elegant that it feels simple to call it a "cold atmosphere", but for "Natten", their third full-length record , This is exactly what they achieved. Wandering between classic jazz and modern environments, "Natten", which means "night" in their native Danish, is a record that relies on synthesizers more than previous outings, giving the record a cold, icy feeling. You can still manage to feel the invitation. In less than 40 minutes, "Natten" managed to sound like the auditory equivalent of the Northern Lights, with colors and textures gleaming in your ears. In fact, for a record about the night, the slow bass and warm melody of the closer "Lalibela" evokes the sun to slowly warm the ground on which you are standing. We can stay up late to listen to this.

How could they! How could the San Francisco black metal lead singer, a deaf paradise, turn his back on this genre and make a record full of... easy-to-understand rock music? Blasphemy! In fact, the Hard Rock Titans never repeat the same formula, transforming and perfecting their sound every time it is released, which makes the shape of "Infinite Granite" influenced by British rock so charming. The clank of the guitar is more than the percussion; some songs have more synthesizer pads than deep-throat metal screams. 

However, this is exactly why "Infinite Granite" is an extraordinary record. This energetic quintet is not afraid to expand the range of their songwriting style to produce songs that involve things they have never tried before. While some purists may condemn full keyboard music like "Neptune Raining Diamonds", they may have checked it out when they are closer to "Mombasa" building a release that is as difficult as their legendary debut album "Sunbather" We have always known that Deafheaven can rock better than most people: now we can’t wait to see what else they can do.

Margo Ross acquired the banjo talent on her 19th birthday. She soon became a self-taught performer and songwriter, and eventually opened a shop in a small New York City to produce her first album "Prairie Life". song. Dealing with lost and gained friendships, this sweet and sad country record is not really a country record: Rose decorated her songs with too many bloated group choruses and indie rock guitars, and is considered a "righteous" country album , But its core is still telling evocative stories, whether it's oversaw the violin or the vintage keyboard. "Spent a whole day just around/I just want you to know that I'm cool when s--- land/I know you will eventually become my friend," she sang "Lost" in the tremolo, which The desire to be accepted by others becomes your main goal in life. It is this unique little detail that makes "Prairie Life" such a wonderful and heart-warming debut. We can't wait to see where she will go next.

In every album on this list, perhaps none of them feels good, stupid, or full of fun like "Night with Silk Sonic". This kind of collaboration between Bruno Mars and the great Anderson Paak inspired Funk-pop for only a little over half an hour, and it never exceeded its popularity. Ironic, mean and ridiculous, this duo’s Soul Train-indebted carnival is a semi-joking collection of songs, and despite all the blinks and nods, these songs are still carefully constructed songs full of incredible production details. "Put On a Smile" is almost sweet, but the dazzling excitement of "Smokin' Out the Window" and "Skate" trapped in the family is almost nothing in the top 40 scenery. Tell us to be greedy, but we don't want to spend a night with Silk Sonic: we like the whole weekend.

The boundaries of contemporary EDM are constantly being revised, and the “brostep” sound that filled the stadium in the early 2010s has given way to more mature and thoughtful work—while never sacrificing the power of backward shooting. In his second album, German DJ/producer Ben Böhmer brought an unexpectedly beautiful record. He often pursues orchestral drum beats instead of big bass sinking. His dance music emotional brand is both approachable and affectionate. When so many dance music is played with mediocre melodrama, he aims to gain true human empathy. . The warm pulse of "Erase" is designed to create the euphoria of sunset tones, but tracks like "Escalate" recognize that sometimes all you need to move is a killer drum pattern. In a genre known for its lively lead singer and overly obvious hooks, Böhmer feels like a breath of fresh air. Who knew that the new king of dance music would become the coolest person in the room?

"Can't love us at the same time/You must live, I must leave," Lindsay Jordan sang in the opening remarks of her second album "Valentine's Day". Tired of one-sided queer love, but still exploring many aspects of it, the 22-year-old indie rocker uses her light voice and clever word games to provide another great entrance to her developing record. Although she avoids direct ballads, "Valentine's Day" is a rounded song, usually aimed at the sweet spot of slow to medium speed in its fast 31-minute run. Often the complex feelings such as jealousy are boiled down to simple phrases ("Drinking is just to taste her mouth," she admits in "Headlock"), Jordan's lyrics have a beautiful world tired, and her heart has been twisted. Do your best but still try to understand all of this. "Valentine's Day" may not be a record given to your lover this year, but if you have ever experienced a heartbreak, this is a perfect soundtrack to recover from.

Probably no one likes the genre of "80s pop music" more than Caroline Kingsbury. Although the neon umbrella covers everything from drum machine-driven synthetic pop music to hair metal power ballads, the "obviousness" of pop music in the 1980s allowed simple emotions to be played on the widest possible screen. However, Caroline Kingsbury did not come for simple emotions. Moving to Los Angeles alone to deal with the death of her brother, and to reconcile with her family in a short time, she has many things to solve, and in her first album "Heaven's Just a Flight", she handled her with an octagonal drum and a smoke machine. Experience. It feels like it was delivered directly from the heart in 1986. Kingsbury used everything from Styx-style harmonies to plastic guitar improvisations in order to give us a glimpse of her soul kaleidoscope. A complete 16 tracks, one second is not wasted, there is no doubt that "Heaven's Just a Flight" is one of the most fascinating pop music this year.

When Maxïmo Park released their first album in 2005, it felt like a summary of the rock renaissance moment, providing clever guitar interaction and packaging it all into instant, flexible songs. The band succeeded in their hometown of England, but the most surprising thing is that for the next ten and a half years, the boys just...keep on. Great album, solid song creation, creepy live performance. Year by year. Although their singles did not rank in any charts as they did in the past, Maximo Park is still very popular in the UK and has not missed any beats. Their seventh album "Nature Always Wins" is among the many albums. Another winner. Showing their age and being a bit nostalgic for important moments in life, singer Paul Smith looks back on his youth, but still never forgets the reason why the band was founded in the first place (see: Rock and Roll). The creepy alternative pop music "Feelings I'm Supposed to Feel", the stadium-ready opening song "Party of My Making", New Wave-y "All of Me"-these all feel like future selections Record of works. Nature always wins-so does Maximo Park.

For the past ten years, Mint Julep has been releasing electronic pop songs with a slight alternative rock advantage, providing them with a unique fan base. This duo consists of a very talented married couple: Hollie and Keith Kenniff. Although Keith worked part-time under several nicknames, including his moody solo instrument Goldmond, Holly's new all-environment solo career continues with her second grade album "Quiet Drifting." Although her husband was a guest on the two tracks, "The Quiet Drift" itself is a unique and powerful work that mixes Hollie's vocals with gorgeous, smooth synthesizer waves to form an easy A brisk masterpiece that makes people lose sight of. Unlike most environmental music records, in which individual tracks sometimes last too long and lose the "groove", Holly keeps her work at about four minutes to ensure that there is enough time to blend into her melody without excessive welcome. "The Quiet Drift" is an addictive record with surprising emotions and feeling designed for everyone, to please die-hard environment fans and casual listeners.

When Kathy Musgraves announced the divorce from her country artist husband Ruston Kelly in 2020, some people thought that the follow-up album of her Grammys' best album of the year award-winning record "Golden Hour" would be A classic breakup album. Although "Star Glimmer" did criticize her predecessor, the theme and scope of this album are more ambitious than expected. Sometimes for some independent pop music adjacent to twang to completely strip her national background, "star crossover" involves the entire range of relationships, from the young couple meeting for the first time ("Sakura Baby") to realizing that your partner is saving All his good things in preparation for the next date ("family breadwinner"). Emotions become complicated, just like "justification" exploring how to hate and love someone at the same time. However, this is Kacey Musgraves: a singer-songwriter who was so obvious at her creative peak (as evidenced by her love of disco flute work).

Welsh quirk-rockers Super Furry Animals has nothing special in their years of business. Therefore, when lead singer Gruff Rhys decided to release his own record, his work was finally unexpectedly different. Although he never shy away from pop improvisations he doesn't like, Rhys' high-concept albums sometimes prove to be a barrier to entry for some people. However, with "Seeking a New God", a record aimed at becoming the "biography" of the active volcano Baijiu Mountain, Reese produced the easiest and rockiest song of his entire career. "Hiking In Lightning" is the alternative radio rock singer we have always known about Rhys, "The Keep" is the kind of contemplative piano pop that Harry Nilsson would be proud of, and the ballad "Distant Snowy Peaks" at the end gives us who we are An emotional movie with ending subtitles. In any fair universe, most of these songs will become hits on university radio, but for now, "Seek a New God" happens to be a songwriter who seems to get better over time Created a new peak.

"I can write a pop song about you," sang Adam Downer of Brooklyn band Carrier. After studying the sticky hook anatomy of champions like Wayne Fountain and Weser Springs (plus Interpol’s early guitar dynamics just for a better measurement), the first album of this four album has an impact on it So frank, it sounds nostalgic and refreshing. 

Focus on the huge vocal hooks, thumping drum patterns, and putting as many guitar solos into the song as possible without making it overkill (except for the last minute of the "Incinerator," which is sublime), Carrier pays tribute to alt-the popular CD they have listened to since they were young, reflects their hero every moment. However, "When New York is Drowning" is not just a powerful chord role-playing: the band’s goal is to attract people as much as possible while diversifying their textures as much as possible, which is why "Little Fish" has only one super Fans can write. Unpretentious pop rock? Carrier’s glamorous debut brings you all the decor and more.

Few people can have a good time in 2021 like Michelle Zauner of Japanese breakfast. Her memoir of exploring her cultural heritage after her mother died, "Cry in H-Mart" became a New York Times bestseller and was even chosen to be made into a movie. She made the soundtrack for a video game called "Sable" and won her first two Grammy nominations for her latest Japanese breakfast album "Jubilee". For people who are increasingly hyphenated, this is quite a lot, but it doesn't hurt that "Jubilee" is Zauner's best album to date. Her popular moments (such as the explosive "Be Sweet" and "Slide Tackle" earworm salad) make her the most approachable, but that doesn't mean her lyrics are less harsh. "With my luck, you will die within a year/I have expected it, there is nothing to be afraid of," she angered in "hell", the effect was amazing. Before taking over the various media, we can't wait to see what incredible things she has accomplished next year.

There is no denying that Megan Thee Stallion is a rap superstar, but her hardest "ride or die" fans complained that her debut album "good news" in 2020 is that her voice is not in her best form. , She gave up all kinds of freestyle on her YouTube channel and other media, reminding her fans how interesting and attractive she would become without the expectations of the top 40. Nearly a year after the "good news" came out, Megan put all these freestyles on the excellent "Something for Thee Hotties". With 21 tracks over 45 minutes, Megan releases her most explicit, loose and interesting bars to date, all of the beats are full of dancing ("Freestyle Tuning"), broadcast-ready ("Tina Snow Interlude") and very strange ("Meghan's Piano"). Ending with her excellent indie single "Thot Shit", "Something for Thee Hotties" is one of the most naughty and fun songs of 2021.

Once the beautiful college rock music of "blitz" reaches its climax, it is clear that Unwed Sailor does not need a singer to create one of the most attractive songs of the year. For more than two decades, Johnathon Ford's team has been producing reliable instrumental rock, but "Truth or Consequences" feels completely different. After opening with some magnified numbers, the band's countless studios have found their true rhythm in a series of round and cheerful recordings. The loop of "Ajo" and the laid-back bass line give way to some sparkling guitar works. "Voodoo Roux" sounds like a sweet medium-speed ballad directly from the British indie rock scene in the early 90s. And the glorious title song has a Sunday morning chaos and chaos, you just drag yourself out of bed and let the sun fill your day. A casual listening and an underrated gem: this is the truth.

The feature of the first album "Stroh zu Gold" by the German doom trio Trialogos is that it really cannot be classified. Accompanied by the buzzing cello and reverberating violin, "Stroh zu Gold" is a dark, moody record that is never dull. It invites you to enter the world of its surrealism, the opening song "Lavu Santu" is close to optimism (even the national anthem) with its solid bass line and the washing of guitar feedback. Contrast with "Rip Current", which is as slow and screaming as John Zorn in the black metal costume. Inspired to some extent by the dark colors of the German "Rumpelstilzchen" fairy tale, "Stroh zu Gold" captures such a wide range of emotions and textures that it is difficult to determine the exact reaction of the core fans of the doomsday to it-but its appeal That's it. Even for ordinary doom fans, "Stroh zu Gold" sounds like nothing else; a peerless full length.

When Jay-Z decides to sample a single for you, you know you did it right. Since the early 2000s, Thomas Brenneck's film Soul-funk has aimed to become the in-house band Dunham Records, a powerful soul-targeted subsidiary of Daptone Records. During his studio career, he worked extensively with the late and great Charles Bradley. The members played with everyone from the avalanche to the roots to the Butos, "exciting...nothing Provable musicians: They want to have fun in the studio.

 Menahan Street Band’s third album was produced in a sepia tone, making each track sound like a return to an earlier era, and there is nothing else but pure joy. From compact horn charts to exquisite and undisturbed guitar works, to exquisite piano performances, "exciting...but not insisting on the strict structure of pop songs, sometimes expanding to inspire new directions (such as "Rainy Lady "Dipping into the black lounge of Cabernet Sauvignon), the Menahan Street Band created one of the most memorable and humble bands of the year, and sometimes even danceable records. We can’t wait to see what’s next. Sampling of big-name hip-hop producers.

If you think that 100 Gecs and the entire PC Music staff are pushing electronic music to the forefront, then you obviously haven't heard of Prolaps. The creativity of Matt Stephenson (Machine Girl) and Bonnie Baxter (Kill Alters), Prolaps perfectly blends the violent drum machine with quiet electronic equipment, and has already recorded more than two-hour recordings this year. Each one made its debut on the winter solstice or vernal equinox. Their fourth and final "Ultra Cycle" entry is probably the roughest one to date, using simple drum cycles and covering them in so much noise and chaos that people's brains are almost beyond the listening process . This is not about a single note or sound, but the experience when people place it in a chaotic musical environment, in which a song can last from 4 to 13 minutes. Some "slower" songs such as "Green Fog" can help alleviate all the craziness, but the best way to summarize this intimidating, breakthrough album is to directly quote the name of one of the songs: "Mean and Nasty Things for no reason".

Why would a world-renowned vibraphone player decide to make an album without the vibraphone? Of course it is to challenge yourself. Masayoshi Fujita cleverly challenged the composition style. The album is sometimes environmental music, sometimes jazz, and sometimes it is simply indescribable. In "Bird Ambience", Fujita uses marimba as his new main instrument, but this does not mean that we have been in the atmosphere of drinking whiskey. "Stellar" uses drums and tape loops to make his marimba sound like a medieval quartet record, while the aptly named "Cumulonimbus Dream" floats like Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" sheet music a part of. The power of "Bird Ambience" is that although Fujita restricts himself to one musical instrument, this does not mean that he restricts himself to a genre. The record shows how many uses and environments a person can bring the marimba to.

The BBE Music label is to a large extent known as a file imprint, which produces extraordinary and unexpected compilations every year. From the Japanese jazz collection in the 1960s to the celebrations of Middle Eastern composers, to the new albums of up-and-coming new performances, BBE rarely misses their professional curation. Through "Croatia Blue", DJ Eddy Ramich hopes to focus on compiling the current wave of electronic performances with jazz outside of his native Croatia. Finalized shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic and released only in the second half of this year, "Croatia Blue" is a happy journey. Tracks such as Koolade’s “Mary & Steff” are played at a moderate pace, while Ante Matas’s ten-minute live band practice “A Finger of Wine” puts on a delightful instrumental performance. Kind of obvious jazz feeling. "Croatian Blue" is well arranged and packaged beautifully, allowing the world to see a unique scene that is slowly developing its own breakthrough sound. We can't wait to hear more.

Mixing cello with electronic pop music on paper may seem like a strange move, but Elder Island in Bristol likes to play according to its own rules. Their debut album "The Omnitone Collection" in 2019 was largely a trio finding the sound of their collective music, a little unsure of what type of pop music they want to embody. With their excellent second-year series "Swimming Static", the message is clear: they are the most efficient electronic pop music machines. Dealing with the themes of isolation, breakup, and the nature of humans and animals, "Swimming Static" is a confident and shocking record full of digital charm. The brisk bounce of "Small Plastic Heart" may be their best and most unassuming single to date, while "Sacred" stacks up its vocal layers, just like Adele's attempt at the correct number of electrons. From stammering percussion to synthesizers in every style you can imagine, there is a sea of ​​sounds here. The only question is: are you ready to "swim"?

In her many alternative and traditional folk costumes (Po' Girl, Chicago Birds, Our Aboriginal Daughter), Allison Russell immersed herself in the legendary history of folk music while pushing it too To the future, and in the process established kinship with musicians from all walks of life. As a talented multi-instrument player, Russell has been slowly composing a set of songs that will eventually become her music autobiography. The resulting album "Outside Child" has no right to be as optimistic and attractive as it is now when dealing with its gritty theme. "The Child Outside" is an emotional epic that alternates between affectionate bouncing figures and amazing film beauty. It depicts Russell's life growing up in Montreal, from dealing with the sexual abuse of his stepfather to being a teenager. Run away and find her calling music. Whether she let her voice sound an alarm in a sea of ​​deafening drums during "Little Rebirth," or sang with an unforgettable banjo on the frightening "All of the Women", or Switching from English to French for a dime, "Outside Child" is a rare record that exudes fascinating emotional appeal, because when Russell tells her own gripping story, we see part of it in ourselves. One of the best works of the year.

It turns out that Bo Burnham's surprising single-player comedy special is both fun and frustrating, and it takes advantage of the loneliness, anger, and introspection that many of us experienced at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic a feeling of. Burnham is very fragile, doubting himself, questioning his role as a comedian, and denounced the social and capitalist mechanisms that have plunged us into despair. This may sound exciting, but he has included all of this in some of the brightest and best songs of his career. From simple gadgets like "White Woman's Instagram" and "FaceTime with my Mom (Tonight)", to "that funny feeling" (later covered by Phoebe Bridges) and other suffocating soul moments , "Inside (The Songs)" is simply a souvenir of hell arguably the best artwork made in response to the pandemic. Let us hope that we don’t experience anything that inspired Burnham to do something of this magnitude again.

Producer Max Schieble (recorded under the name Elbows) wanted to do something different when recording his first album, so he decided to explore the Bay Area where he grew up, recording his childhood in the same studio where he learned the basics Programming and engineering. Taking his band members to a place full of memories, "The Story from the Old Mill" is a quiet nostalgic record, full of lo-fi hip-hop beats, smooth bass lines, and occasional flirting with organic orchestral music. Telling stories of nostalgia and loneliness, hiding all his lyrics behind filtered sound effects, "Old Mill" is both warm and warm, while doing everything it can to maintain a little emotional distance from the audience. It is covered by weird and crazy ideas and merged into a very nice collection of songs, but when jazz horns and live vocal samples appear in "Amnesia", a beautiful element of humanity will appear, and " "Old Mill" shows more depth and level of imagination than initially. A complex, cute and energetic album, we will hear some of its "stories" in the coming years.

Tamara Lindeman (recorded under her nickname The Weather Station) has one of the sweetest voices in all music: a beautiful, humble tone that enhances her already great writing. However, as has been the case throughout her career, her soft tone often hides broken lyrics, and in "ignorance", her broken worldview has never been so obvious. After the climate crisis, Lindemann did not bring us peaceful hope or proud protest, but wrote an album of songs about the difficult and painful reality of our own doom. "I feel as useless as a tree in a city park/standing in a symbol that we have been blown away," she chanted in "Trying to Tell You", the truth absolutely stung us. However, even with her lyrical frankness, "Ignorance" is an enjoyable listening song, lingering between her folk roots and direct pop rock. "Ignorance" is often backed by creative and lively orchestral music, applying bitter truth to some of the most direct melodies that she has not yet created, thus creating her best record yet. Let us hope that future generations will have enough time to appreciate it.

Over the course of 46 minutes, the extraordinary collaboration between electronic producer Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd) and saxophone master Pharoah Sanders revolved around a very simple, repetitive harpsichord theme. It happens over and over again, the space between each "loop" is full of keyboards, Sanders' exquisite saxophone and the real London Symphony Orchestra, bringing a cold, hypnotic beauty to the whole event. The groove expands, collides, confronts and releases to a state of bliss. Anyone who has listened to this record can already hear the central impromptu repetition in their minds, but the joy of "Promises" is how such a simple musical concept can be expanded in both expectant and surprising ways. , Extracted and folded into itself. Without a doubt, this is one of the most unexpected and fascinating editions of this year.

If you have never heard of Lionlimb before, this situation is about to change. Stewart Bronaugh's record nickname has just released their third official album, which makes his understanding of indie pop fans very frustrating. With near-laser precision, he knows the best time to introduce a new instrument, the exact moment to release the torrent of sound, and add some details to each piece to give it a perfect sense of melody. After undergoing neck surgery that was serious enough for him to start a major problem with mortality, "Spiral Groove" is a delicious pop rock dessert. Groove is serious and laid-back, but it is clear that each song is the work of a real craftsman. From the small ABBA-like rising piano line that appears in the back chorus of "Nothing" to the cascading drum that makes the buzzing chorus of "Real Life" thrilling, "Spiral Groove" is a record, the first time I listened to it It doesn't sound ostentatious, just because you didn't realize the deep earworm that Bronaugh had embedded in your body. Incredibly attractive and extremely replayable.

The third album of Lightning Bug in New York showed rock singers very quietly, calming down very purposefully. Although their first two self-released records showed their love for the British shoe industry in the early 90s, "The Color of the Sky" is a much more mature record. Self-made and expanded to permanent five members (increased from three), this album has a gorgeous and simple beauty, perhaps there is no better example than "The Bell", a dynamic song starts from the whirlpool of feedback and gradually It became the kind of rock chorus that NME would like to write in its heyday. Their guitars are still as fuzzy as tomorrow, but this time, static electricity is used as a structural tool to support their increasingly confident songwriting. "September Song, pt. ii" can even be classified as a folk pop song, proving that Lightning Bug is happy to get rid of fans' expectations of any genre, and the production is obviously their most gorgeous record to date.

As a founding member of the great British dance punk band Test Icicles (whose members later included the innovator Devonte Hynes), multi-instrumentalist Sam Mehran earned himself a considerable reputation. Sadly, in 2018, he ended his life at the age of 31. Although many people dealt with their grief by sneaking into his wild record, in which he recorded many albums under many different names, his close friend started to assemble this project and he was working before his death. "Cold Brew" is a very unusual record because Mehran tried to relax his songwriting and production skills by creating short and sweet pop rock instruments, without considering any singing time. Simplified from more than 100 tracks, "Cold Brew" is a joyous and good time. There are only a few songs longer than three minutes. This record requires heavy drums, fuzzy bass lines, and countless guitar and keyboard making skills to make poppy instrument hooks time and time again. We are fully looking forward to hearing tracks like "STEELSIE" on the soundtrack of TV shows in the next few years. The joyous swan song.

A few days before the 2020 presidential election, Jason Isbell, who has been high-profile, placed his bet. If Joe Biden wins the election in Georgia, he will produce a charity album in which he will only include artists from the states he has adopted. Facts have proved that this is exactly what happened. Isbel gave up the noble "Georgia Blue" and fulfilled his promise. As always, with the support of his 400 Unit band and a large group of guests (from Brandi Carlile to Julien Baker to Béla Fleck and Chris Thile), Isbell enthusiastically reviewed a series of familiar classics. 

From the unexpected and unprecedented ("This is a man's man's world" in collaboration with Brittney Spencer) to contemporary standards ("Honeysuckle Blue") to two REM covers ("Night Swim" and "Driver 8"), "Georgia Blue" covers a lot of ground and a series of styles in its one-hour running time (it is undeniable that 12 minutes can contribute to their "memorial to Elizabeth Reid" by the Allman Brothers) . However, hearing Isbell's roar and tearing sound in Black Crowes' "Sometimes Salvation" is indeed worth seeing. I hope he can place more bets on album production in the future.

As early as 2012, the Smile band quietly released their first album "A Flash in the Night". Composed of Swedish pop stars Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) and Joakim Åhlund (Teddybears and Robyn’s preferred production partner), this album is a secret pop gem that quietly had an impact in the following years until At the beginning of 2021, the pair returned to square one. However, a series of blockades has delayed the record several times, and it will not finally come out until November 2021. Now with the new Robyn collaboration, the real attraction of "Phantom Island" is the kaleidoscope-like pop style played by the duo, jumping from one genre to another, dazzling fun. The brisk acoustic pop music of "Landsort" bumps beside the avant-garde synthesizer training "Kattens pyjamas" and surrounds the jumping wah guitar training of "Dressed for Success". For any true fool, this is a pleasant and unexpected explosion, and the "Phantom Island" is worth a reservation.

Evan Sawdey is the interview editor for PopMatters and the host of The Chartographers, a music ranking podcast for pop music nerds. He lives in Chicago with his good husband and can be found on @SawdEye on Twitter.

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