My Albums of the Year 2021

So after publishing my albums of the year on LinkedIn last year, I've obviously created a rod for my own back and feel some sort of compulsion to do the same again this year. I mentioned in my article last year that I'd listened to a lot more music than usual in 2020 due to lockdown and looked forward to a return to more normality in 2021. What was I to know? 2021 started in full lockdown here in the UK and things have been stop-start really throughout the year, and if I look at my listening history it's pretty much the same as 2020... roughly 11,000 tracks listened to which equates to 30 a day. I listened a lot to my favourites from last year (Creeper, Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Perfume Genius), as well as listening to a lot by Cocteau Twins, Bjork, and Radiohead from the past.

Finally we could go to see concerts again and I managed to fit in a mix of the new (Black Country, New Road) and the old (Ash & New Order) when venues reopened over the summer, and I've got a whole host of rescheduled shows in my diary for next year. As I look at my Top 10 this year, it would have been very difficult to have predicted a lot of it at the start of the year. Some is genuninely new to me, and several of those I expected to be on there were really just a little disappointing (Lana del Rey with 2 albums, Kanye West and St. Vincent all missing the mark in my view). My biggest surprise were from artists who managed to rise above everything going on and actually deliver something both different from what everyone else was doing, but also step above what they had done in the past. So, without further ado... in reverse order from Number 10... Here we go!

10. Valentine - Snail Mail

Lindsey Jordan's solo "indie band" have managed to expand beyond those restrictive boundaries on this her second release. Her influences are more open this time round and along with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers she's defining a parallel path for US female solo artists at the moment a step away from the standard "chart pop". A breakup album that's certainly not sad... but is very powerful.

9. I've Been Trying To Tell You - Saint Etienne

Film music isn't something new to Saint Etienne, but this only their 10th studio album in thirty years and despite their pop sensibilities they have been redefining themselves all that time. This is a shimmering and hazy memoir to the late 90s and comes across as half dream, half memory of things that may have been with it's mix of unusual samples and ethereal singing. They're welcome to carry on for another thirty years if they remain as innovative as this release suggests.

8. As The Love Continues - Mogwai

Mogwai have always been one of those bands I've been aware of but nothing they've done in the past had particularly stuck with me. In the main purely instrumental post-rock is always a tough ask, but for some reason this one resonated. I'm not sure if it's to do with the strange times we're currently living in, or it being slightly more lyrically heavy than normal (i.e. not a lot), but something about it spoke to me as we battled again with a wintry lockdown at the start of the year - a not always pleasing message either.

7. evermore - Taylor Swift

Those of you who know me well know of my love of Taylor, not in an ironic way, but because I think she's genuinely one of the best pop artists of the last 20 years. I ranked 1989 as my AOTY back in 2014, and I loved folklore last year, it narrowly missing out on my top spot by 1 place. I think Evermore is more of a companion piece to that work, but there's enough here to love and her story telling is still cleverly refined. I purposefully didn't include her two "re-recordings" in my chart this year, and I hope that next year she'll deliver us new material as well. The direction that folklore and evermore took show she has way too much talent to simply stand still.

6. Infinite Granite - Deafheaven

Another band who have held my number one spot in the past (with Sunbather). They have always explored the edges of "Shoegaze" in their material but the "speed metal" vocals have probably put many people off. On this album though they've finally gone full "Slowdive" releasing an album that even the champions of shoegaze themselves would be proud of. The lyrics are now completely clear (in the main), and the heavier elements of their music have toned down. They may lose some of their fans with the direction, but will have not doubt picked up many new ones as well.

5. An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins

Not really sure how to describe this one, but at times it feels the musical equivalence of walking around an art gallery described by one of the songs on the album... Is it beautiful? Do I Like It? Is it "Art"? Again an early release in the year when we were in a horrible wintry lockdown, and rather than providing the warm cosy comfort of evermore or post rock challenge of Mogway this provided a cold and icy view on things from a distance and maybe provided a different perspective on things this time round. Is it "Art"? I think most certainly it is.

4. Sinner Get Ready - Lingua Ignota

I once saw her music described as "Neoclassical Darkwave" and if that frightens you off, then it's probably a good thing. This is not one for feint of heart coming across as a religious inquiry where you'll be burnt at the stake (or worse) for your sins. All the song titles being SPELT IN CAPITALS is for good reason and the instrumentation is a mix of church organs and other instruments that haven't seen the light of day since Bach. But all that is secondary to the lyrics and her unique vocal presentation. Sinner's get ready indeed.

3. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power - Halsey.

Halsey just missed out my Top 10 last year and I kind of felt guilty for a little while, but no such doubts this time round. The addition of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have dialled down the pop and turned up the dark industrial drive that they've used to great effect on their many soundtracks. The lyrics are stronger than ever before and she's clearly taking no prisoners this time round. "I'm not a woman, I'm a God" she declares in one of the song titles, and I'm certainly not going to argue with that.

2. Prioritise Pleasure - Self Esteem

Rebecca Lucy Taylor was one half of Slow Club who's debut album was a favourite of mine back around 10 years ago. Who could have guessed from those twee-folk beginnings that she would produce one of the strongest pop albums in years that happily trashes all the big name competition. The lyrics are as clever as they ever were in Slow Club and her drumming gets better and better (showcased on the second album track). Not one I expected this year at all, but one that livened up the end of the year no-end. "Some Fucking Wizardry!" to quote the lady herself.

1. For The First Time - Black Country, New Road

It's not often now that I listen to anything that I would classify as genuinely new and surprising, and one of the first albums I listened to in 2021 fits that description. A seven piece band that pull together such diverse genres such as jazz, post-rock and spoken lyrics that at time seems that the whole album could be an improv session. The single "Sunglasses" weighs in at over 9 minutes long and name checks Scott Walker who's experimental style in later albums you can sense here. Despite this being their debut album, I'll echo a reviewer who said that "Black Country, New Road will never make another album like this again". Not because you wouldn't want them to, but because there is so much more for them to do from here. Truly the most interesting and lyrically challenging album I've heard in a long long time.

Steven Marshall is the CEO of RegRisk Technology who loves listening to music, especially when doing anything involving Microsoft Powerpoint!