Mid-Year 2021 Lists (Best of 2021... So Far)

Let's get it rolling

 

I don't have a ranking but:
Arrange - The World is Racing
Buck Meek - Two Saviors
Mach Hommy - Pray for Haiti
Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
Cicala - Cicala
Photographic Memory - Photographic Memory
Remember Sports - Like a Stone
Hot Mulligan - I Won't Reach out to You
Home is Where - I Became Birds
Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights
Camp Trash - Downtiming
Another Michael - New Music & Big Pop
Bicycle Inn - This Time and Place Is All I'll Ever Know
Doof - Cull Ficle
Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream

I still have a ton to listen to

 

Albums:
Danny L Harle - Harlecore
The Weather Station - Ignorance
Ian Sweet - Show Me How You Disappear
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
Spirit of the Beehive - Entertainment, Death
Sofia Kourtesis - Fresia Magdalena
Fred again .. - Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)
Faye Webster - I Know I’m Funny haha
The Armed - Ultrapop
Mustafa - When Smoke Rises
Mach-Hommy - Pray for Haiti
Satomimagae - Hanazono
Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights
Cake Pop - Cake Pop 2
Lost Girls - Menneskollektivet
Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2
Loraine James - Reflection
Black Midi - Cavalcade
Backxwash - I Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses
Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince
Bad Boy Chiller Crew - Charva Anthems
Ethel Cain - Inbred

Tracks (singles and tracks from albums not listed above):
Overmono - So U Kno
Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u
Laura Les - Haunted
Serpentwithfeet - Fellowship
Moses Boyd & Katy B - 2 Far Gone (Vocal Mix)
girl in red - Serotonin
Fresh - Girl Clout
Elles & Violet - Midnite 3112
Yu Su - Xiu
Hand Habits - what’s the use (Katie Dey Remix)
Erika de Casier - Drama
daine - dainecore
Sleepy Hallow - 2055
Bad Bunny - Yonaguni
Deafheaven - Great Mass of Color
Leo Bhanji - Damaged
CFCF - Night/Day/Work/Home
Linkin Park - One Step Closer (100 gecs Reanimation)
Peggy Viennetta - Daicon (Lost Dub)
Flock of Dimes - Two

 

I may or may not put a list together, but I wanted to come in and tell everyone to listen to the For Those I Love album. I waited so long and I regret it. Definitely an album I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

 

This is another great one. Haven’t listened to it much because it’s a very intense experience that I found isn’t really suited to casual listening but I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard much else like it.

 

Bonnie Prince Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolves
Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood
Ryley Walker - Course in Fable
Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It
Vincent Neil Emerson - s/t
The Weather Station - Ignorance
Amaro Freitas - Sankofa
Trevor Sensor - On Account of Exile, Vol 1
Natalie Bergman - Mercy
McKinley Dixon - For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her
The Reds, Pinks, and Purples - Uncommon Weather
Erika de Casier - Sensational
Rosali - No Medium
Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future
Allison Russel - Outside Child
Faye Webster - I Know I’m Funny haha
Wiki - Telephonebooth
Rose City Band - Earth Trip
Mach-Hommy - Pray For Haiti
Crumb - Ice Melt
John Grant - Boy From Michigan

 

It's been a strange year for my personal music enjoyment/discovery. I haven't really connected with a ton of what's come out this year even by artist I typically love sadly, but I'll give it a go. Weirdly lots of EPs on my list. No particular order:

• Fiddlehead - Between The Richness (my AOTY so far)
• Slaughter Beach Dog - At The Moonbase
  
• Origami Angel - Gami Gang
• Sweet Soul - So Far No Further
• Paerish - Fixed It All
• Tyler The Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
• Bigger Better Sun - Adjust to Wellness
• Palette Knife - Ponderosa Snake House & The Chamber of Bullshit
• Wristmeetrazor - Replica of a Strange Love
• Dead History - Dead History
• Superbloom - Pollen
• Stray Fossa - With You For Ever
• Teenage Wrist - Earth is a Black Hole
  
  
• Turnstile - TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION EP
  
• all under heaven - Collider EP
• Timelost - Gushing Interest EP
• MILLY - Wish Goes On EP
• pretty/normal - pretty/normal EP
• Pet Fox - More Than Anything EP
• Drug Church - Tawny EP

 

cosign on that Photographic Memory album

 

1. Lucy Dacus - Home Video
2. Porter Robinson - Nurture
3. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
4. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
5. Origami Angel - Gami Gang
6. Katy Kirby - Cool Dry Place
7. Remember Sports - Like A Stone
8. Another Michael - New Music and Big Pop
9. Skullcrusher - Storm In Summer EP
10. The Weather Station - Ignorance

Honorable mentions:
Parannoul - To See The Next Part of the Dream
Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights
Sun June - Somewhere
Nervous Dater - Call The Mess
Faye Webster - I Know I’m Funny haha
Lande Hekt - Going to Hell
Fiddlehead - Between The Richness
Harmony Woods - Graceful Rage
Anika Pyle - Wild River
The Spirit of the Beehive - Entertainment, Death
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
Beach Bunny - Blame Game EP
Adult Mom - Driver
Parting - Unmake Me
Cheekface - Emphatically No.
Ian Sweet - Show Me How You Disappear
Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
Home Is Where - I Became Birds
Buck Meek - Two Saviors
Hey, ily - Internet Breath

Honestly any one of these records could be in my top 10 they are all very good.

 

Hot Mulligan - I Won't Reach Out To You
Origami Angel - Gami Gang
Arm's Length - Everything Nice
DOWNHAUL- PROOF
Tigers Jaw - I Won't Care How You Remember Me
Justin Pierre - An Anthropologist On Mars
Palette Knife - Ponderosa Snake House and the Chamber Of Bullshit
Teenage Wrist - Earth is a Black Hole
Fuckin Whatever - Fuckin Whatever
Citizen - Life In Your Glass World

 

1. Porter Robinson - Nurture
2. Sithu Aye - Senpai III
3. BRUIT ≤ - The Machine Is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again
4. YOASOBI - The Book
5. Dreamwell - Modern Grotesque
6. Grandbrothers - All the Unknown
7. Karmanjakah - A Book About Itself
8. RWYR - Distance
9. Høst - Kos
10. Nordsind - Lys

X. AFI - Bodies
X. Baulta - Another Second Chance
X. Bo Burnham - Inside
X. Böira - Cendres ~ Mineral
X. Olhava - Frozen Bloom
X. Tensor - Passport
X. Syncatto - A Place to Breathe

Not a particularly remarkable first half, but that #1 spot is probably set. It's gonna need to be something very very special to unseat Nurture.

 

All I really know is this is my top three:

Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Lucy Dacus - Home Video

 

1. Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
2. Downhaul - Proof
3. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - When God Was Great
4. Citizen- Life In Your Glass World
5. Sweet Soul - So Far No Further
6. Hayley Williams - Flowers For Vases
7. The Ableist - The Ableist
8. Weezer - OK Human
9. Captain Kaiser - The Drovers Inn
10. Middle Kids - Today We’re The Greatest

 

Not ranked, but here's what I've loved so far this year.

The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy
Pale Waves - Who Am I
The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
Cheekface - Emphatically, No.
Maiden Names - Decades
Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
Adult Mom - Driver
Citizen - Life In Your Glass World
Monobody - Comma
Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
Rise Against - Nowhere Generation
Parting - Unmake Me
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
We Are the Union - Ordinary Life
Palette Knife - Ponderosa Snakehouse and the Chamber of Bullshit
Adjy - The Idyll Opus (I-VI)

 

Fiddlehead - Between the Richness
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview of Phenomenal Nature
Teenage Wrist - Earth Is A Black Hole
Be All End All - Pact Music
Packed Rich - Ilian Beat Tape
Enforced - Kill Grid
Erika De Casier - Sensational
Frozen Soul - Crypt of Ice
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Mach-Hommy - Pray for Haiti
Vamachara - Live from the Pit
Rochelle Jordan - Play With The Changes
The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
Regional Justice Center - Crime and Punishment
Dawn Richard - Second Line

 

That's really all I have, too. I haven't even started thinking about lists.

 

No specific order:
shame - drunk tank pink
viagra boys - welfare jazz
anna b savage - a common turn
tv priest - uppers
black country, new road - for the first time
julien baker - little oblivions
arima - biluztasunez jantzita
black midi - cavalcade
dry cleaning - new long leg
ezpalak - kolpatu topatu
frida hyvönen - dream of independence
goat girl - on all fours
iceage - seek shelter
japanese breakfast - jubilee
joanna serrat - hardcore from the heart
linn koch-emmery - being the girl
lucy dacus - home video
mdou moctar - afrique victime
pascal - fuck like a beast
requin chagrin - bye bye baby
spread joy - spread joy
squid - bright green field
wolf alice - blue weekend

 

So many good albums released this year. The most revisited on my list though are:

1. buck meek — two saviors
2. japanese breakfast — jubilee
3. manchester Orchestra — million masks
4. katy Kirby — Cool Dry Place
5. Tyler — CMIYGL

 

1. Porter Robinson - Nurture
2. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions
3. For Those I Love - S/T
4. Origami Angel - Gami Gang
5. Foxing - Draw Down the Moon (6/8)

Then in no particular order because fuck that:

The Antlers - Green to Gold
Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark
The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
girl in red - if i could make it go quiet
Flux Pavilion - .wav
Harmony Woods - GRACEFUL RAGE
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Lucy Dacus - Home Video
Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
Mogwai - As the Love Continues
of Montreal - I Feel Safe With You, Trash
San Holo - bb u ok?
The Sonder Bombs - Clothbound
Wavedash - World Famous Tour
Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend

 

1. Brockhampton- Roadrunner
2. Japanese Breakfast- Jubilee
3. Tyler the Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost
4. Weezer- OK Human
5. St Vincent- Daddy’s Home
6. Hayley Williams- Flowers for Vases
7. Black Country, New Rose- For The First Time
8. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over The Country Club
9. Wolf Alice- Blue Weekend
10. Porter Robinson- Nurture

something like that

 

1) Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God
2) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
3) London Grammar - Californian Soil
4) Royal Blood - Typhoons
5) Valley Maker - When The Day Leaves
6) Adam Melchor - Melchor Lullaby Hotline Vol. 1
7) VOLA - Witness
8) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Butterfly 3000
9) Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite
10) Shakey Graves - Roll the Bones X
11) Twenty One Pilots - Scaled and Icy
12) Pale Waves - Who Am I?
13) The Marias - CINEMA
14) Elder Island - Swimming in Static
15) Lord Huron - Long Lost

 

I've just had this on repeat daily since it came out

TX, '98, by Flight Mode

 

Made this before the 25th so I missed a release day (Lucy, Tyler, Armlock), but I still think this is probably pretty accurate. I’d need longer than a week to rank those records proper anyway haha

 

Pretty good year so far. Gotta dig through everyone’s lists for some more hip-hop, haven’t had much stick with me so far this year.

1. ORIGAMI ANGEL - GAMI GANG
2. JULIEN BAKER - LITTLE OBLIVIONS
3. TYLER, THE CREATOR - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
4. PORTER ROBINSON - NURTURE
5. HOME IS WHERE - I BECAME BIRDS
6. LUCY DACUS - HOME VIDEO
7. JAPANESE BREAKFAST - JUBILEE
8. CITIZEN - LIFE IN YOUR GLASS WORLD
9. PARANNOUL - TO SEE THE NEXT PART OF THE DREAM
10. MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA - THE MILLION MASKS OF GOD
11. BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
12. THE ARMED - ULTRAPOP
13. MODEST MOUST - THE GOLDEN CASKET
14. WOLF ALICE - BLUE WEEKEND
15. HEY, ILY - INTERNET BREATH - EP
16. PALETTE KNIFE - PONDEROSA SNAKE HOUSE
17. OLIVIA RODRIGO - SOUR
18. ANOTHER MICHAEL - NEW MUSIC & BIG POP
19. ARM’S LENGTH - EVERYTHING NICE - EP
20. HARMONY WOODS - GRACEFUL RAGE
21. TERRIBLE PEOPLE - HOME, IN A WAY
22. REMEMBER SPORTS - LIKE A STONE
23. SNOW ELLET - SUBURBAN INDIE ROCKSTAR - EP
24. CAMP TRASH - DOWNTIMING - EP
25. WE ARE THE UNION - ORDINARY LIFE

 

The Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)

Contributor compiled list and individual lists.