Best Music of 2021

[Rip_City]

Q2 Update

Total 2021 releases (albums/EPs/mixtapes) listened to as of June 28th: 149 318

On these Q2 collages includes releases from the last week of Q1, up to the second to last week of June. Been agonizing paring down what I liked to my top40, but it was rather difficult to compose enough records together for a 6x6 for this quarter.

Ordering is in alphabetical band name/artist last name.


Q2 Favorites:

Spoiler: 2021Q2AlbumTitles

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
BACKxWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
black midi - Cavalcade
BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again
CFCF - memoryland
Chai - WINK

CHANCE デラソウル - CHANCE デラソウル
CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty
Conway the Machine - La Maquina
Erika de Casier - Sensational
McKinley Dixon - For my Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry

Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra
L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo
London Grammar - Californian Soil
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet

MIKE - Disco!
nthng - Unfinished
Audrey Nuna - a liquid breakfast
Portal - AVOW
Red Fang - Arrows
Slayyyter - Troubled Paradise

Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst
Squid - Bright Green Field
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Underscores - fishmonger
Wode - Burn In Many Mirrors

Some Q2 EPs I have enjoyed:

Spoiler: 2021Q2EPTitles

Basside & SOPHIE - FUCK IT UP
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Kero Kero Bonito - Civilisation II
Kishi Bashi - Emigrant

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Mereba - AZEB
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
YUKIKA - timeabout,

My top40 as it stands:

Spoiler: 2021Top40List

Tier I (Amazing)

1) Squid - Bright Green Field [art punk, post-punk]​

2) Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet [art pop, tech house, spoken word]​

3) Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra - Promises [spiritual jazz, minimalism]​

4) Black Country, New Road - For the First Time [post-rock, post-punk]​

5) Jane Weaver - Flock [psychedelic pop, art pop]​

Tier II (Excellent)

6) Celeste - Not Your Muse [neo-soul]​

7) BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again [post-rock]​

8) Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning [blackened death metal]​

9) Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth [experimental R&B, neo-soul]​

10) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! [post-rock]​

11) London Grammar - Californian Soil [art pop]​

12) Tar Hag - Bestial [doom metal]​

13) Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [indie pop, chamber pop]​

14) nthng - Unfinished [ambient, ambient techno]​

15) Danielle Durack - No Place [singer/songwriter, indie pop]​

16) Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince [Hindustani classical, chamber folk]​

17) Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature [singer/songwriter, ambient pop]​

Tier III (Great)

​

18) black midi - Cavalcade [avant-prog, art rock]​

19) Sun June - Somewhere [dream pop, indie pop]​

20) Robohands - Shapes [jazz fusion]​

21) Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases / Descansos [singer/songwriter, indie folk]​

22) Snowpoet - Wait for Me [art pop, indie folk]​

23) Greentea Peng - MAN MADE [neo-soul, psychedelic soul]​

24) Conway the Machine - La Maquina [hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap]​

25) Black Dresses - Forever In Your Heart [electro-industrial, industrial rock]​

26) Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home [contemporary folk]​

27) Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future [nu-jazz]​

28) Underscores - fishmonger [hyperpop]​

29) CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty [plunderphonics, future funk]​

30) L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo [French pop, nu-disco]​

31) CHAI - WINK [electropop, J-pop]​

Tier IV (Good)

​

32) Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram [abstract hip hop]​

33) Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra [tribal house, psychedelic folk]​

34) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home [psychedelic soul, art rock]​

35) Loraine James - Reflection [IDM, UK bass]​

36) McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her [jazz rap]​

37) Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal [thrash metal, black metal]​

38) slayyyter - Troubled Paradise [electropop, hyperpop]​

39) Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream [shoegaze]​

40) Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst [black metal]​

EDIT: A few typos, and font changes.

 

[Hollywood]

Q2 Update

Total 2021 releases (albums/EPs/mixtapes) listened to as of March 31st: 149 318

On these Q2 collages includes releases from the last week of Q1, up to the second to last week of June. Been agonizing paring down what I liked to my top40, but it was rather difficult to compose enough records together for a 6x6 for this quarter.

Ordering is in alphabetical band name/artist last name.


Q2 Favorites:
View attachment 104091

Spoiler: 2021Q2AlbumTitles

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
BACKxWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
black midi - Cavalcade
BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again
CFCF - memoryland
Chai - WINK

CHANCE デラソウル - CHANCE デラソウル
CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty
Conway the Machine - La Maquina
Erika de Casier - Sensational
McKinley Dixon - For my Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry

Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra
L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo
London Grammar - Californian Soil
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet

MIKE - Disco!
nthng - Unfinished
Audrey Nuna - a liquid breakfast
Portal - AVOW
Red Fang - Arrows
Slayyyter - Troubled Paradise

Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst
Squid - Bright Green Field
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Underscores - fishmonger
Wode - Burn In Many Mirrors

Some Q2 EPs I have enjoyed:
View attachment 104090

Spoiler: 2021Q2EPTitles

Basside & SOPHIE - FUCK IT UP
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Kero Kero Bonito - Civilisation II
Kishi Bashi - Emigrant

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Mereba - AZEB
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
YUKIKA - timeabout,

My top40 as it stands:
View attachment 104089

Spoiler: 2021Top40List

Tier I (Amazing)

1) Squid - Bright Green Field [art punk, post-punk]​

2) Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet [art pop, tech house, spoken word]​

3) Floating Points - Promises [spiritual jazz, minimalism]​

4) Black Country, New Road - For the First Time [post-rock, post-punk]​

5) Jane Weaver - Flock [indietronica]​

Tier II (Excellent)

6) Celeste - Not Your Muse [neo-soul]​

7) BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again [post-rock]​

8) Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning [blackened death metal]​

9) Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth [experimental R&B, neo-soul]​

10) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! [post-rock]​

11) London Grammar - Californian Soil [art pop]​

12) Tar Hag - Bestial [doom metal]​

13) Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [indie pop, chamber pop]​

14) nthng - Unfinished [ambient, ambient techno]​

15) Danielle Durack - No Place [singer/songwriter, indie pop]​

16) Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince [Hindustani classical, chamber folk]​

17) Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature [singer/songwriter, ambient pop]​

Tier III (Great)

​

18) BLACK MIDI - Cavalcade [avant-prog, art rock]​

19) Sun June - Somewhere [dream pop, indie pop]​

20) Robohands - Shapes [jazz fusion]​

21) Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases / Descansos [singer/songwriter, indie folk]​

22) Snowpoet - Wait for Me [art pop, indie folk]​

23) Greentea Peng - MAN MADE [neo-soul, psychedelic soul]​

24) Conway the Machine - La Maquina [hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap]​

25) Black Dresses - Forever In Your Heart [electro-industrial, industrial rock]​

26) Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home [contemporary folk]​

27) Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future [nu-jazz]​

28) Underscores - fishmonger [hyperpop]​

29) CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty [plunderphonics, future funk]​

30) L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo [French pop, nu-disco]​

31) Chai - WINK [electropop, J-pop]​

Tier IV (Good)

​

32) Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram [abstract hip hop]​

33) Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra [tribal house, psychedelic folk]​

34) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home [psychedelic soul, art rock]​

35) Loraine James - Reflection [IDM, UK bass]​

36) McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her [jazz rap]​

37) Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal [thrash metal, black metal]​

38) slayyyter - Troubled Paradise [electropop, hyperpop]​

39) Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream [shoegaze]​

40) Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst [black metal]​

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

Q2 Update

Total 2021 releases (albums/EPs/mixtapes) listened to as of March 31st: 149 318

On these Q2 collages includes releases from the last week of Q1, up to the second to last week of June. Been agonizing paring down what I liked to my top40, but it was rather difficult to compose enough records together for a 6x6 for this quarter.

Ordering is in alphabetical band name/artist last name.


Q2 Favorites:
View attachment 104091

Spoiler: 2021Q2AlbumTitles

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
BACKxWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
black midi - Cavalcade
BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again
CFCF - memoryland
Chai - WINK

CHANCE デラソウル - CHANCE デラソウル
CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty
Conway the Machine - La Maquina
Erika de Casier - Sensational
McKinley Dixon - For my Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry

Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra
L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo
London Grammar - Californian Soil
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet

MIKE - Disco!
nthng - Unfinished
Audrey Nuna - a liquid breakfast
Portal - AVOW
Red Fang - Arrows
Slayyyter - Troubled Paradise

Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst
Squid - Bright Green Field
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Underscores - fishmonger
Wode - Burn In Many Mirrors

Some Q2 EPs I have enjoyed:
View attachment 104090

Spoiler: 2021Q2EPTitles

Basside & SOPHIE - FUCK IT UP
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Kero Kero Bonito - Civilisation II
Kishi Bashi - Emigrant

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Mereba - AZEB
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
YUKIKA - timeabout,

My top40 as it stands:
View attachment 104089

Spoiler: 2021Top40List

Tier I (Amazing)

1) Squid - Bright Green Field [art punk, post-punk]​

2) Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet [art pop, tech house, spoken word]​

3) Floating Points - Promises [spiritual jazz, minimalism]​

4) Black Country, New Road - For the First Time [post-rock, post-punk]​

5) Jane Weaver - Flock [indietronica]​

Tier II (Excellent)

6) Celeste - Not Your Muse [neo-soul]​

7) BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again [post-rock]​

8) Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning [blackened death metal]​

9) Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth [experimental R&B, neo-soul]​

10) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! [post-rock]​

11) London Grammar - Californian Soil [art pop]​

12) Tar Hag - Bestial [doom metal]​

13) Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [indie pop, chamber pop]​

14) nthng - Unfinished [ambient, ambient techno]​

15) Danielle Durack - No Place [singer/songwriter, indie pop]​

16) Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince [Hindustani classical, chamber folk]​

17) Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature [singer/songwriter, ambient pop]​

Tier III (Great)

​

18) BLACK MIDI - Cavalcade [avant-prog, art rock]​

19) Sun June - Somewhere [dream pop, indie pop]​

20) Robohands - Shapes [jazz fusion]​

21) Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases / Descansos [singer/songwriter, indie folk]​

22) Snowpoet - Wait for Me [art pop, indie folk]​

23) Greentea Peng - MAN MADE [neo-soul, psychedelic soul]​

24) Conway the Machine - La Maquina [hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap]​

25) Black Dresses - Forever In Your Heart [electro-industrial, industrial rock]​

26) Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home [contemporary folk]​

27) Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future [nu-jazz]​

28) Underscores - fishmonger [hyperpop]​

29) CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty [plunderphonics, future funk]​

30) L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo [French pop, nu-disco]​

31) Chai - WINK [electropop, J-pop]​

Tier IV (Good)

​

32) Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram [abstract hip hop]​

33) Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra [tribal house, psychedelic folk]​

34) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home [psychedelic soul, art rock]​

35) Loraine James - Reflection [IDM, UK bass]​

36) McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her [jazz rap]​

37) Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal [thrash metal, black metal]​

38) slayyyter - Troubled Paradise [electropop, hyperpop]​

39) Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream [shoegaze]​

40) Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst [black metal]​

We share a lot of albums

 

[Hollywood]

YASS!!!

 

[Hollywood]

 

[Taevis]

Q2 Update

Total 2021 releases (albums/EPs/mixtapes) listened to as of June 28th: 149 318

On these Q2 collages includes releases from the last week of Q1, up to the second to last week of June. Been agonizing paring down what I liked to my top40, but it was rather difficult to compose enough records together for a 6x6 for this quarter.

Ordering is in alphabetical band name/artist last name.


Q2 Favorites:
View attachment 104091

Spoiler: 2021Q2AlbumTitles

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
BACKxWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
black midi - Cavalcade
BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again
CFCF - memoryland
Chai - WINK

CHANCE デラソウル - CHANCE デラソウル
CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty
Conway the Machine - La Maquina
Erika de Casier - Sensational
McKinley Dixon - For my Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry

Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra
L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo
London Grammar - Californian Soil
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet

MIKE - Disco!
nthng - Unfinished
Audrey Nuna - a liquid breakfast
Portal - AVOW
Red Fang - Arrows
Slayyyter - Troubled Paradise

Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst
Squid - Bright Green Field
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Underscores - fishmonger
Wode - Burn In Many Mirrors

Some Q2 EPs I have enjoyed:
View attachment 104090

Spoiler: 2021Q2EPTitles

Basside & SOPHIE - FUCK IT UP
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Kero Kero Bonito - Civilisation II
Kishi Bashi - Emigrant

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Mereba - AZEB
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
YUKIKA - timeabout,

My top40 as it stands:
View attachment 104089

Spoiler: 2021Top40List

Tier I (Amazing)

1) Squid - Bright Green Field [art punk, post-punk]​

2) Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet [art pop, tech house, spoken word]​

3) Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra - Promises [spiritual jazz, minimalism]​

4) Black Country, New Road - For the First Time [post-rock, post-punk]​

5) Jane Weaver - Flock [psychedelic pop, art pop]​

Tier II (Excellent)

6) Celeste - Not Your Muse [neo-soul]​

7) BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again [post-rock]​

8) Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning [blackened death metal]​

9) Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth [experimental R&B, neo-soul]​

10) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! [post-rock]​

11) London Grammar - Californian Soil [art pop]​

12) Tar Hag - Bestial [doom metal]​

13) Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [indie pop, chamber pop]​

14) nthng - Unfinished [ambient, ambient techno]​

15) Danielle Durack - No Place [singer/songwriter, indie pop]​

16) Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince [Hindustani classical, chamber folk]​

17) Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature [singer/songwriter, ambient pop]​

Tier III (Great)

​

18) black midi - Cavalcade [avant-prog, art rock]​

19) Sun June - Somewhere [dream pop, indie pop]​

20) Robohands - Shapes [jazz fusion]​

21) Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases / Descansos [singer/songwriter, indie folk]​

22) Snowpoet - Wait for Me [art pop, indie folk]​

23) Greentea Peng - MAN MADE [neo-soul, psychedelic soul]​

24) Conway the Machine - La Maquina [hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap]​

25) Black Dresses - Forever In Your Heart [electro-industrial, industrial rock]​

26) Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home [contemporary folk]​

27) Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future [nu-jazz]​

28) Underscores - fishmonger [hyperpop]​

29) CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty [plunderphonics, future funk]​

30) L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo [French pop, nu-disco]​

31) CHAI - WINK [electropop, J-pop]​

Tier IV (Good)

​

32) Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram [abstract hip hop]​

33) Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra [tribal house, psychedelic folk]​

34) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home [psychedelic soul, art rock]​

35) Loraine James - Reflection [IDM, UK bass]​

36) McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her [jazz rap]​

37) Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal [thrash metal, black metal]​

38) slayyyter - Troubled Paradise [electropop, hyperpop]​

39) Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream [shoegaze]​

40) Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst [black metal]​

EDIT: A few typos, and font changes.

Love the Doss and Pharoah Sanders inclusions!

 

[Hollywood]

Here's another single from the forthcoming new Big Red Machine LP. This one features Aaron Desner all by his lonesome

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

Q2 Update

Total 2021 releases (albums/EPs/mixtapes) listened to as of June 28th: 149 318

On these Q2 collages includes releases from the last week of Q1, up to the second to last week of June. Been agonizing paring down what I liked to my top40, but it was rather difficult to compose enough records together for a 6x6 for this quarter.

Ordering is in alphabetical band name/artist last name.


Q2 Favorites:
View attachment 104091

Spoiler: 2021Q2AlbumTitles

Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
BACKxWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
black midi - Cavalcade
BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again
CFCF - memoryland
Chai - WINK

CHANCE デラソウル - CHANCE デラソウル
CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty
Conway the Machine - La Maquina
Erika de Casier - Sensational
McKinley Dixon - For my Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Anna Fox Rochinski - Cherry

Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Iceage - Seek Shelter
Loraine James - Reflection

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives
Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra
L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo
London Grammar - Californian Soil
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet

MIKE - Disco!
nthng - Unfinished
Audrey Nuna - a liquid breakfast
Portal - AVOW
Red Fang - Arrows
Slayyyter - Troubled Paradise

Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst
Squid - Bright Green Field
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Underscores - fishmonger
Wode - Burn In Many Mirrors

Some Q2 EPs I have enjoyed:
View attachment 104090

Spoiler: 2021Q2EPTitles

Basside & SOPHIE - FUCK IT UP
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Kero Kero Bonito - Civilisation II
Kishi Bashi - Emigrant

Mannequin Pussy - Perfect
Mereba - AZEB
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
YUKIKA - timeabout,

My top40 as it stands:
View attachment 104089

Spoiler: 2021Top40List

Tier I (Amazing)

1) Squid - Bright Green Field [art punk, post-punk]​

2) Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet [art pop, tech house, spoken word]​

3) Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra - Promises [spiritual jazz, minimalism]​

4) Black Country, New Road - For the First Time [post-rock, post-punk]​

5) Jane Weaver - Flock [psychedelic pop, art pop]​

Tier II (Excellent)

6) Celeste - Not Your Muse [neo-soul]​

7) BRUIT ≤ - The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again [post-rock]​

8) Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning [blackened death metal]​

9) Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth [experimental R&B, neo-soul]​

10) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! [post-rock]​

11) London Grammar - Californian Soil [art pop]​

12) Tar Hag - Bestial [doom metal]​

13) Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [indie pop, chamber pop]​

14) nthng - Unfinished [ambient, ambient techno]​

15) Danielle Durack - No Place [singer/songwriter, indie pop]​

16) Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince [Hindustani classical, chamber folk]​

17) Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature [singer/songwriter, ambient pop]​

Tier III (Great)

​

18) black midi - Cavalcade [avant-prog, art rock]​

19) Sun June - Somewhere [dream pop, indie pop]​

20) Robohands - Shapes [jazz fusion]​

21) Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases / Descansos [singer/songwriter, indie folk]​

22) Snowpoet - Wait for Me [art pop, indie folk]​

23) Greentea Peng - MAN MADE [neo-soul, psychedelic soul]​

24) Conway the Machine - La Maquina [hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap]​

25) Black Dresses - Forever In Your Heart [electro-industrial, industrial rock]​

26) Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home [contemporary folk]​

27) Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future [nu-jazz]​

28) Underscores - fishmonger [hyperpop]​

29) CHANCE デラソウル - Afterparty [plunderphonics, future funk]​

30) L'Impératrice - Tako Tsubo [French pop, nu-disco]​

31) CHAI - WINK [electropop, J-pop]​

Tier IV (Good)

​

32) Armand Hammer, The Alchemist - Haram [abstract hip hop]​

33) Khalab & M'Berra Ensemble - M'berra [tribal house, psychedelic folk]​

34) St. Vincent - Daddy's Home [psychedelic soul, art rock]​

35) Loraine James - Reflection [IDM, UK bass]​

36) McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her [jazz rap]​

37) Demiser - Through the Gate Eternal [thrash metal, black metal]​

38) slayyyter - Troubled Paradise [electropop, hyperpop]​

39) Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream [shoegaze]​

40) Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst [black metal]​

EDIT: A few typos, and font changes.

I really like how you've presented your Top 40! The tiers. I never thought about doing something like that How did you get the album names/artists to post like you did explaining the tiers? Well done

 

[Rip_City]

I really like how you've presented your Top 40! The tiers. I never thought about doing something like that How did you get the album names/artists to post like you did explaining the tiers? Well done

Thanks. I plan on using this format for the future. It looks well organized enough.

As for your question, I used topsters, constructed the chart using top40, downloaded the .png file, and cropped off the black edges as this makes for a larger chart. I copied the list on the right that appears when the "album titles" checkbox is selected, and pasted it back here (the list appears as bullet points on N&G, which might be to your liking).

However, I highlighted all of pasted list and unselected the "unordered list" in the bullet list dropdown menu, which removed the bullet points. I then looked for the tier separation point (Celeste, black midi, Armand Hammer) and used "Enter" to separate them. Highlighted each individual list and selected "Indent" in the bullet list dropdown menu. I have the tiers, numbered rankings, and artists in the standard bold font. Standard italics for album titles. Used the Times New Roman font + underlined formatting for genres. All of these are encased in a spoiler tag, which helps to save space as the topsters charts are already large enough on their own.

I'm wondering if this might be easier to manipulate in a separate Word processor or the equivalent.

EDIT: Changed explanation in third paragraph.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

I think my issue with the new Modest Mouse is it just doesn't connect, on a lyrical level, and sometimes the music just doesn't do enough either. But there are some good songs on it. I actually loved Lace Your Shoes. It feels like something to connect to, even though I do not have kids. There's a genuine emotion in it, and it's great musically. I also do like opener Fuck Your Acid Trip. I think it's a weird way to start an album, which is why I like it. The singles that dropped before are still the worst songs here cause they don't...do anything interesting. They just sound blandly anthemic and don't mean anything to me. Some of the songs just sound overstuffed with instruments and the lyrics don't seem to stand out so I don't know what to make of everything just yet. But Fuck Your Acid Trip, Japanese Trees, Lace Your Shoes, Transmitting Receiving...those are good ones.


Mostly though it just makes me realize Good News is better than I ever gave it credit for. As far as MM going "pop," that record is the best version of it.

Oddly Lace Your Shoes is one of the few songs that is doing nothing for me. I think it's because some of the guitar focused tracks on the second half of the album feel over processed. Never Fuck a Spider is like that-- I'd put $$$ on it being a banger live but on album it's not clicking. Similarly, I sort of just want Lace Your Shoes to be acoustic.

As to the lyrics-- I think that's part of why Strangers is hitting me so hard right now. Climate change has long been something I'm deeply concerned about and now we are having the summer of all early summers (121 degrees in B.C., Canada yesterday!). And Strangers is full of tracks that poetically look at ways in which western mentality and it's very intentional choice to treat nature as something to be conquered and developed (while detaching us from how dependent we are on its ecosystems) is making the planet uninhabitable for EVERYTHING.

From Ground Walks:
"The world's an inventor with its work
Crawling, running, squirming 'round
Trees drop colorful fruits
Directly into our mouths
The world's an inventor
We're the dirtiest thing it's thought about
And we really don't mind"

From The Tortoise and the Tourist
"Inside our socks we hide traveler checks
We are tourists of the dead
So let's pack up, let's go
So let's pack up, let's go
Let's go
There was this tortoise
Its shell covered with jewels and had been since time began
It knew the world through all its histories and the universe and its mysteries
One day it came across a man
The two were talking
The tortoise offered to tell him about the future and how the universe ran
Oh the man killed the tortoise, took its shell and with a song of his lips walked off again
So let's walk off, let's go
So let's walk off, let's go
Pack a lunch, wander 'round, toss the map on the ground
It is inaccurate anyway
We've been getting away, We've been getting away
We are strangers to ourselves"

From Coyotes:
"Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark
At home with the ghosts in the national parks
Mankind's behavin' like some serial killers
Giant ol' monsters afraid of the sharks
And we're in love with all of it
And we say, what can we say?
Walking with ghosts in the national parks
Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark
And we're in love with all of it
And we say, what can we say?"

Or even just Ansel's lyrics which have to do with human loss:
"
I took a train down to New Mexico
With my father and brother, Ansel
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Was I really supposed to know?
How the hell would I know?
(There it goes!)
I made a mess of myself and the trip on the whole
My father stayed patient with me; why? I don't know
You can't know, you can't ever really know
That's the last time I'd see my brother, Ansel
(There he goes, so)
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Me and my sister we hung on the phone
Watching the news as they looked for Ansel
On top of that mountain, underneath the snow
Their dogs were sniffin', I guess you never know
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Would you really want to know?
How the hell would you know?"

 

[avecigrec]

mid-year check-up

It'll be July 1st in about half an hour here, and so far this year I've checked out 397 new albums/compilations and 39 EPs.
Here are my favourites so far...

Spoiler: Album Titles

Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future
Amythyst Kiah - Wary + Strange
Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime
Arlo Parks - Collapsed In Sunbeams
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - I Told You So
serpentwithfeet - DEACON
BRUIT ≤ - The machine is burning now and everyone knows it could happen again

Cha Wa - My People
Dominique Fils-Aimé - Three Little Words
Emile Mosseri - Minari
Backxwash - I Lie Here Buried WIth My Rings And My Dresses
Shungudzo - I am not a mother, but I have children
SAULT - Nine
Greentea Peng - Man Made

McKinley Dixon - For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Lord Huron - Long Lost
Khalab & M´berra Ensemble - M'berra
Azmari - Samā’ī
R.A.P. Ferreira - bob's son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the garden level cafe of the scallops hotel
KMRU - Logue
Toumani Diabaté & The London Symphony Orchestra - Kôrôlén

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!
Jon Batiste - We Are
Katy Kirby - Cool Dry Place
Electric Jalaba - El Hal / The Feeling
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises
Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood
Nitin Sawhney - Immigrants

Pauline Anna Strom - Angel Tears in Sunlight
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W.
Wau Wau Collectif - Yarel Sa Doom
Amaro Freitas - Sankofa
Georgia Anne Muldrow - VWETO III
Angélique Kidjo - Mother Nature
Anthony Joseph - The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Butterfly 3000
rum.gold - Thicker Than Water
Sarah Neufeld - Detritus
Green-House - Music for Living Spaces
Celeste - Not Your Muse
Allison Russell - Outside Child
Dawn Richard - Second Line

Kiefer - Between Days
Nahawa Doumbia - Kanawa
Kìzis - Turn
Madlib - Sound Ancestors
MonoNeon - Banana Peel on Capitol Hill
Judith Hill - Baby, I'm Hollywood!
Elori Saxl - The Blue of Distance

Spoiler: EP Titles

Falle Nioke & sir Was - Marasi EP
Aratita Electronik Jazz Quintet - Sumer EP
The Narcotix - Mommy Issues

Anjimile - Reunion
Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
The Tragically Hip - Saskadelphia

Tenderlonious - TEK-88
August Fanon & Defcee - We Dressed the City with Our Names
Kiana & The Sun Kings - Chrysalis

 

[RowBearToe]

At the halfway point, here are my favorite albums of the year so far. The numbered tier are all great albums that I've spent quite a bit of time with and I love. The rest I thought were good, but none of them have really grabbed me and warranted more than a couple listens. Not sure if it's music this year, or just me, but there hasn't been a ton that I've been really excited about so far.

Love:

1. Celeste - Not Your Muse
2. Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
3. Aaron Frazer - Introducing…
4. Justin Bieber - Justice
5. The Black Keys - Delta Kream
6. Pink Sweat$ - PINK PLANET
7. Jeremiah Fraites - Piano Piano
8. Lake Street Dive - Obviously

Enjoyed:
-True Loves - Sunday Afternoon
-Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams
-John Splithoff - All In
-Jorja Smith - Be Right Back
-Amythyst Kiah - Wary + Strange
-Mat Kearney - January Flower
-Robert Finley - Sharecropper’s Son
-Greentea Peng - MAN MADE
-Madlib - Sound Ancestors
-Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden's Gate
-Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Told You So
-Lushlife - Redamancy
-Jane Weaver - Flock
-Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood
-Pino Palladino & Blake Mills - Notes with Attachments
-Langhorne Slim - Strawberry Mansion

I haven't had enough time to process:
-H.E.R. - Back of My Mind
-Sault - Nine
-Surfaces - Pacifico
-Cautious Clay - Deadpan Love
-Faye Webster - I Know I'm Funny haha
-Cedric Burnside - I Be Trying

Most Anticipated:
-Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space (7/30)
-Leon Bridges - Gold-Diggers Sound (7/23)
-Jade Bird - Different Kinds of Light (8/13)
-Holy Hive - Holy Hive (9/24)
-Jungle - Loving in Stereo (8/13)
-Yola - Stand For Myself (7/30)
-Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever (7/30)
-Anderson East - Maybe We Never Die (8/20)
-Silk Sonic

 

[Bennnnn]

Oddly Lace Your Shoes is one of the few songs that is doing nothing for me. I think it's because some of the guitar focused tracks on the second half of the album feel over processed. Never Fuck a Spider is like that-- I'd put $$$ on it being a banger live but on album it's not clicking. Similarly, I sort of just want Lace Your Shoes to be acoustic.

As to the lyrics-- I think that's part of why Strangers is hitting me so hard right now. Climate change has long been something I'm deeply concerned about and now we are having the summer of all early summers (121 degrees in B.C., Canada yesterday!). And Strangers is full of tracks that poetically look at ways in which western mentality and it's very intentional choice to treat nature as something to be conquered and developed (while detaching us from how dependent we are on its ecosystems) is making the planet uninhabitable for EVERYTHING.

From Ground Walks:
"The world's an inventor with its work
Crawling, running, squirming 'round
Trees drop colorful fruits
Directly into our mouths
The world's an inventor
We're the dirtiest thing it's thought about
And we really don't mind"

From The Tortoise and the Tourist
"Inside our socks we hide traveler checks
We are tourists of the dead
So let's pack up, let's go
So let's pack up, let's go
Let's go
There was this tortoise
Its shell covered with jewels and had been since time began
It knew the world through all its histories and the universe and its mysteries
One day it came across a man
The two were talking
The tortoise offered to tell him about the future and how the universe ran
Oh the man killed the tortoise, took its shell and with a song of his lips walked off again
So let's walk off, let's go
So let's walk off, let's go
Pack a lunch, wander 'round, toss the map on the ground
It is inaccurate anyway
We've been getting away, We've been getting away
We are strangers to ourselves"

From Coyotes:
"Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark
At home with the ghosts in the national parks
Mankind's behavin' like some serial killers
Giant ol' monsters afraid of the sharks
And we're in love with all of it
And we say, what can we say?
Walking with ghosts in the national parks
Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark
And we're in love with all of it
And we say, what can we say?"

Or even just Ansel's lyrics which have to do with human loss:
"
I took a train down to New Mexico
With my father and brother, Ansel
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Was I really supposed to know?
How the hell would I know?
(There it goes!)
I made a mess of myself and the trip on the whole
My father stayed patient with me; why? I don't know
You can't know, you can't ever really know
That's the last time I'd see my brother, Ansel
(There he goes, so)
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Troubles on the head winds, troubles on the tail winds
Me and my sister we hung on the phone
Watching the news as they looked for Ansel
On top of that mountain, underneath the snow
Their dogs were sniffin', I guess you never know
You can't know, well, you can't ever really know
Would you really want to know?
How the hell would you know?"

I do think the album has potential, now a week removed from its release date. Some of it has grown on me. And similarly, I think maybe I wrote off Strangers too. But just reading those lyrics you selected…all of those are almost better written and more interesting than anything on the new album. Some of it just feels to be lacking substance, or interesting word choices, I don’t know.

 

[Hollywood]

The Best Albums of Spring 2021

Looking back at the second quarter of 2021.

daily.bandcamp.com

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

New Zanias album (Unearthed) dropping on September 6th. Pumped for this one! The pre-order vinyl color variants are stunning - very enticing

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

Little Simz' upcoming album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (dropping September 3rd) is surely one of my most anticipated albums of the year. The three singles so far are . And the pre-order vinyl color variants are spicy. I might have to break down and pre-order...

 

[avecigrec]

Little Simz' upcoming album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (dropping September 3rd) is surely one of my most anticipated albums of the year. The three singles so far are . And the pre-order vinyl color variants are spicy. I might have to break down and pre-order...

I approve of this message.

 

[Hollywood]

Hell yeah!

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I - IV)

Just discovered this album. It dropped on June 30th. It's pretty massive and there's so much to dig into. All I can say at this point is, "Wow"... This one is going to take some sitting with to really dive into the lyrics (which are formatted as if you're reading a book or a play). I'm very impressed upon my initial listen. Highly recommend giving it a try, if you've got some time to invest!

 

[musicjunkiegreg]

Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I - IV)

Just discovered this album. It dropped on June 30th. It's pretty massive and there's so much to dig into. All I can say at this point is, "Wow"... This one is going to take some sitting with to really dive into the lyrics (which are formatted as if you're reading a book or a play). I'm very impressed upon my initial listen. Highly recommend giving it a try, if you've got some time to invest!

If interested, here's a link to the site for the lyrics: The Idyll Opus | My Site