Best Music of 2021

wokeupnew said:
It seems like a lot of indie rock/indie adjacent artists and bands are going more pop. Not something that I'm a fan of personally, thought there is the benefit of broader appeal from casual fans. Not to get too long winded, but over the past decade more pop music has been "accepted" more often by indie musicians/circles/publications so artists are freer to express themselves by creating more pop-friendly music. I'm not complaining, just an observation.
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I believe that is the phenomenon they call "poptimism." Some music critics started to realize that snobbery towards the "mainstream" wasn't a great look and made them seem pretentious and tried to course correct to be more fair in reviewing music made by more popular musicians.

As someone who tends to like poppy music, it's a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's great that pop albums aren't immediately dismissed from the conversation like they were fifteen years ago, but it seems like it's overcorrected to where critics are quick to praise mediocrity just because it's popular. And of course the endless think pieces on every artist who gets a hit and what that artist "means for the state of music" is just tiring. I kind of wish music publications would actually review the music instead of drone on about the cultural significance of Olivia Rodrigo or whatever.
 
gaporter said:
I believe that is the phenomenon they call "poptimism." Some music critics started to realize that snobbery towards the "mainstream" wasn't a great look and made them seem pretentious and tried to course correct to be more fair in reviewing music made by more popular musicians.

As someone who tends to like poppy music, it's a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's great that pop albums aren't immediately dismissed from the conversation like they were fifteen years ago, but it seems like it's overcorrected to where critics are quick to praise mediocrity just because it's popular. And of course the endless think pieces on every artist who gets a hit and what that artist "means for the state of music" is just tiring. I kind of wish music publications would actually review the music instead of drone on about the cultural significance of Olivia Rodrigo or whatever.
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Agreed. I do also think some music receives praise because it's popular or viral (see: WAP) but is it actually good? I guess there can be music that can be significant but not very good. I rarely read a full music review anymore because they usually will drone on about everything but the music and I lose interest. Tell me what the music is like, not about what the musician said in an interview or what they tweeted about recently.
 

The 2021 Mercury prize shortlist​

Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
Berwyn – Demotape/Vega
Black Country, New Road – For the First Time
Celeste – Not Your Muse
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra – Promises
Ghetts – Conflict of Interest
Hannah Peel – Fir Wave
Laura Mvula – Pink Noise
Mogwai – As the Love Continues
Nubya Garcia – Source
Sault – Untitled (Rise)
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
 
Hollywood said:

The 2021 Mercury prize shortlist​

Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
Berwyn – Demotape/Vega
Black Country, New Road – For the First Time
Celeste – Not Your Muse
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra – Promises
Ghetts – Conflict of Interest
Hannah Peel – Fir Wave
Laura Mvula – Pink Noise
Mogwai – As the Love Continues
Nubya Garcia – Source
Sault – Untitled (Rise)
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
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Haven't checked out Berwyn but, otherwise, I've actually listened to all of these at least once! That's a first, for sure.
 
wokeupnew said:
The new Molly Burch album is slowly creeping up my list. Easily makes top 10 I think. I like it much better than First Flower from 3 years ago. Lots of Angel Olsen vibes all over this one.

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Glad you're enjoying it. I had high hopes for her new album based off of the lead single but ultimately ended up feeling disappointed and underwhelmed by this one 🤷‍♂️
 
Hollywood said:
Glad you're enjoying it. I had high hopes for her new album based off of the lead single but ultimately ended up feeling disappointed and underwhelmed by this one 🤷‍♂️
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it's clicking after a few listens. I'm on listen 5 but it didn't grab me after the first couple of run throughs.

I'm also just a big fan of her voice, she could sing over anything and I'd probably like it or appreciate it at some level. It's got some character to it like Angelo Olsen and co.
 
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Recommended Albums from July 2021!

Coming off of what has been, arguably, the best first half of a year for new music releases in the last decade, July 2021 was surely the "quietest" month of the year so far. The quantity of new releases was way down, and out of what was released, I struggled to find many that deserved a recommendation. But I did find a handful of memorable releases, which I am happy to present to you here.

Albums are in no ranking order and are listed in
alphabetical order by the artist.

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever #billieeilish #happierthanever @billieeilish 🎶spoken word, dark pop, emo pop, electronic pop🎶

Dave - We're All Alone In This Together #dave #wereallaloneinthistogether @santandave 🎶UK rap/grime, conscious hip-hop🎶

Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space #durandjonesandtheindications #privatespace @durandjonesandtheindications 🎶r&b, neo-soul🎶

Felled - The Intimate Earth #felled #theintimateearth @felledband 🎶atmospheric folk black metal🎶

Half Waif - Myopoetics #hakfwaif #myopoetics @halfwaif 🎶experimental electronic, indie pop🎶

Laura Mvula - Pink Noise #lauramvula #pinknoise @lauramvula 🎶r&b, soul, jazz🎶

LUMP - Animal #lump #animal @thisislump 🎶alternative🎶

Musk Ox - Inheritance #muskox #inheritance @muskoxofficial 🎶acoustic, neo-folk, modern classical, post-rock🎶

Yves Tumor- The Asymptotical World (EP) #yvestumor #theasymptoticalworld @yvestumor 🎶alternative, electronic, rock🎶
 
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