Number Five: Zouz – Vertiges VIDEO Vertiges is a fun, varied, and addictive album that you’re sure to put on repeat multiple times!
Number Four: Ventifacts – Ventifacts VIDEO
Number Three: Requin – Shark Shark is the first and last album of Aotearoan band Requin, and that’s really a shame! These songs walk the line between math rock and emo, and they’re all brilliant! The soft and gentle vocals, the lush harmonies, everything just clicks. One of the best albums of the year!
Number Two: The Body & Big, Brave – Leaving None but Small Birds VIDEO Leaving None but Small Birds is a melancholic, slow, touching, down-to-earth album that’s hypnotic, moving, and dangerously addictive!
Number One: Adjy – The Idyll Opus VIDEO The Idyll Opus is an indie folk-rock concept album at times reminiscent of the Dear Hunter and that ends with a seventeen-minute epic, and it’s incredible. There’s just something with this album that reaches straight to my heart: the melodies, the lyrics, the driving folk-rock music, everything just blends together so well it’s uncanny. The indie rock category was insanely competitive this year, I’ve had so many doubts and tough choices to make, but this album was always at the top. It’s just that good!
Notable Releases Hover over foreign scripts for pronunciation and romanization.
Friday, 22 January Palberta – Palberta 5000 37:27New York, New York
Tracklist (click to display) 1. No Way [02:07]
2. Big Bad Want [03:44]
3. Never to Go [01:19]
4. The Cow [01:41]
5. Fragile Place [04:37]
6. In Again [01:36]
7. Hey ! [01:32]
8. Red Antz [01:56]
9. Summer Sun [01:29]
10. Eggs n’ Bac’ [01:36]
11. Corner Store [02:31]
12. I’m Z’done [00:18]
13. Something in the Way [02:08]
14. The Way That You Do [02:27]
15. All Over My Face [04:57]
16. Before I Got Here [03:29]
Wednesday, 17 February Indigo La End – 夜行秘密 56:21Japan
Tracklist (click to display)
1. yakou [0:03:51]
2. Yokaze to Hayabusa [0:03:59]
3. hananiblue [0:04:32]
4. Tulip [0:04:35]
5. hidarikoi [0:03:28]
6. tamayura [0:04:03]
7. Furarete Mitandayo [0:04:32]
8. Yoasari [0:03:16]
9. fushiginamanma [0:04:21]
10. okute [0:05:08]
11. sazanamisama [0:03:19]
12. katamatteyorokonde [0:03:09]
13. yakouchuu [0:04:31]
14. yorunokoiha [0:03:51]
Tuesday, 20 April Ursine – Cartoons 41:02Chicago, Illinois
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Grizzlar [00:47]
2. Currents [04:57]
3. Moot Point [04:36]
4. Grimace [02:03]
5. Fingerwave [03:18]
6. Beelzebezos [03:38]
7. Sleepwalker [04:50]
8. Bearflaw [02:26]
9. Tiger Energy [02:54]
10. Cabin Fever [05:24]
11. Zoltar Speaks! [02:56]
12. Velour [03:13]
Tuesday, 18 May Requin – Shark 34:31Brisbane, Australia
Tracklist (click to display)
1. Rules That Won’t Be Broken [0:04:45]
2. Fall Right Into [0:03:53]
3. I Don’t Want To Do This [0:03:22]
4. Man At A Train Station [0:02:57]
5. Let Me Sleep [0:04:50]
6. Time To Go [0:04:43]
7. Sober [0:03:39]
8. Silent Now [0:06:44]
Friday, 21 Trade Wind – The Day We Got What We Deserved 27:28International
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Burning The Iron Age [03:26]
2. DIE! DIE! DIE! [03:10]
3. Nine Tails [03:12]
4. Bishop [02:40]
5. Blue Notes [02:01]
6. Fade On You [02:15]
7. Don’t Rush [02:09]
8. Untitled III [02:16]
9. Weather Eyes [02:52]
10. Walk Me In // Plant Me In Your Garden [03:27]
Friday, 28 May Brendan Byrnes – 2227 49:57Los Angeles, California
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Murmurations [05:07]
2. Roamers [04:30]
3. Chromawaves [04:19]
4. Pangaean Islands [04:31]
5. Sensi Cathedrals [04:03]
6. Glass Islands [04:12]
7. Golden State Stare [04:54]
8. VC.. [04:00]
9. Crystal Cove, Pt. 1 [05:52]
10. Carpenteria, Pt. 2 [08:29]
Friday, 4 June Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee 36:34Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Paprika [03:40]
2. Be Sweet [03:15]
3. Kokomo, IN [03:38]
4. Slide Tackle [03:39]
5. Posing In Bondage [04:04]
6. Sit [03:07]
7. Savage Good Boy [02:26]
8. In Hell [02:38]
9. Tactics [03:53]
10. Posing For Cars [06:38]
Wednesday, 30 June Adjy – The Idyll Opus 97:44Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tracklist (click to display) 1. In Media Res (Between Longing and Mystery) [06:27]
2. A Boy Called June, Pt. 1 [04:56]
3. A Boy Called June, Pt. 2 [04:50]
4. Where June Meets July: I. Overture [05:01]
5. Where June Meets July: II. On A Road Trip That Summer’s Day [04:28]
6. Where June Meets July: III. at a Dance Where the Stars Cross [05:40]
7. Where June Meets July: IV. O Tonight [05:09]
8. Where June Meets July: V. Maps (To The Tune Of “The Great Midwestern Summer Jig”) [05:01]
9. Where June Meets July: VI. The Cicada’s Sing, Pt. I [05:45]
10. Where June Meets July: VII. The Cicada’s Song Pt. II [06:23]
11. Where June Meets July: VIII. Secretus Liber (Beneath the Fireworks That Fell in Mystique Participation) [09:18]
12. Where June Meets July: IX. In Space Between Pages… [05:06]
13. The Farmland and the Forest’s Edge [05:16]
14. Lake Adeyoha [07:08]
15. Eve Beneath the Maple Tree [17:16]
Horsey – Debonair 34:12London, UK
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Sippy Cup [01:50]
2. Arms and Legs [02:24]
3. Underground [02:15]
4. Everyone’s Tongue [03:45]
5. Wharf (i) [01:05]
6. Wharf (ii) [04:25]
7. Lagoon [03:32]
8. 1070 [03:50]
9. Clown [03:27]
10. Leaving Song [03:21]
11. Seahorse (feat. King Krule) [04:18]
Friday, 13 August The Killers – Pressure Machine 51:10Las Vegas, Nevada
Tracklist (click to display)
1. West Hills [0:05:42]
2. Quiet Town [0:04:45]
3. Terrible Thing [0:03:52]
4. Cody [0:03:50]
5. Sleepwalker [0:04:27]
6. Runaway Horses [0:03:54]
7. In The Car Outside [0:05:28]
8. In Another Life [0:03:45]
9. Desperate Things [0:05:16]
10. Pressure Machine [0:05:09]
11. The Getting By [0:05:09]
Friday, 20 August Sheen Marina – Sheen Marina 35:50Brooklyn, New York
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Structures [04:10]
2. Dollars [02:28]
3. We Were Saying [03:10]
4. Modicum [03:30]
5. Stars as Lines [03:05]
6. RFMT [03:33]
7. Swamp King [02:24]
8. Cub Scouts [03:20]
9. Somewhereland [04:14]
10. After Half [02:26]
11. Mid Noughts [03:29]
Friday, 10 September Molly Drag – Resemble Another 48:05Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Missing Time [04:11]
2. Flying Object [03:22]
3. Understanding [03:50]
4. Steps [03:36]
5. Salamander [02:59]
6. Communion [03:59]
7. Father [03:51]
8. Redeemer [04:08]
9. Found Footage [03:59]
10. Leaving Song [06:02]
11. Passenger [04:09]
12. Vultures [03:59]
Wednesday, 22 Ventifacts – Ventifacts 51:25Brattleboro, Vermont
Read our review.
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Azimuth of Sunrise [04:02]
2. Pacific [04:47]
3. Bonneville [06:01]
4. Rest [04:49]
5. Virga [02:13]
6. The Ballad of Hearst & Herriman [05:12]
7. Hidden Well [06:14]
8. Engine [01:28]
9. Groaning Under the Evidence [04:49]
10. It’s Such A Long Time Ago Now [04:18]
11. Dog Day Music [07:32]
Friday, 24 September Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine – A Beginner’s Mind 45:27New York, New York
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Reach Out [03:43]
2. Lady Macbeth In Chains [03:42]
3. Back To Oz [04:12]
4. The Pillar Of Souls [03:10]
5. You Give Death A Bad Name [04:07]
6. Beginner’s Mind [02:15]
7. Olympus [03:07]
8. Murder And Crime [03:30]
9. (This Is) The Thing [02:48]
10. It’s Your Own Body And Mind [02:27]
11. Lost In The World [03:10]
12. Fictional California [02:50]
13. Cimmerian Shade [04:19]
14. Lacrimae [02:07]
Friday, 1 October Bon Enfant – Diorama 42:01Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Astronaute amateur [03:38]
2. Cinema [03:33]
3. Ciel bleu [04:13]
4. Porcelaine [03:22]
5. Pâte à biscuit [03:46]
6. Triangle [02:56]
7. L’amour à sens unique [05:33]
8. Chagrin d’amour [03:32]
9. Diorama [04:48]
10. Grandiose [03:20]
11. Vent doux [03:20]
The Body & Big, Brave – Leaving None but Small Birds 38:25Portland, Oregon
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Blackest Crow [07:47]
2. Oh Sinner [04:34]
3. Hard Times [07:16]
4. Once I Had a Sweetheart [05:28]
5. Black is the Colour [04:31]
6. Polly Gosford [03:58]
7. Babes in the Woods [04:51]
Tuesday, 12 Gypsum – Gypsum 43:10Los Angeles, California
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Follow Me [04:26]
2. Lungs [03:43]
3. Gull Lake [04:46]
4. Give It [02:40]
5. Snow White [05:57]
6. Grafting [03:35]
7. Kaleidoscope [03:26]
8. Satisfied [05:06]
9. Margaret [03:21]
10. Disappear [06:10]
Friday, 15 October Zouz – Vertiges 37:19Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Vertiges [06:24]
2. Auréole [03:06]
3. Monotone [03:41]
4. J’ai demandé à personne [03:48]
5. Toi qui sais [03:23]
6. Seuls [04:15]
7. Perdre du terrain [03:55]
8. Nager (ft. N NAO) [03:13]
9. Course à rebours [02:41]
10. La mort des mots [02:53]
Friday, 3 December Corey Mastrangelo – Long Distance Station to Station 53:39New Jersey
Tracklist (click to display) 1. 50 [04:27]
2. Chord [04:31]
3. Blue [05:33]
4. Sink [04:08]
5. GB [06:39]
6. Left Before [05:14]
7. Close [04:36]
8. Music for Air [03:55]
9. 808 [04:49]
10. NC [04:49]
11. Standby [04:58]
Friday, 10 ᐲᑐᕆᔅ ᑎᐊ – Shifting 32:51Quaqtaq, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. FREE [02:47]
2. UQAUTINNGA [02:59]
3. AANNGIQ [02:05]
4. ILINNUT – a prayer [04:12]
5. THE STORM [02:50]
6. SUNAUVVA [03:18]
7. CANNIBAL [02:47]
8. HISTORY [03:31]
9. MOTHER (version francaise) [04:09]
10. CHRISTMAS [04:13]
Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Blind Date Party 90:01Chicago, Illinois
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Blackness Of the Night (feat. AZITA) [03:45]
2. OD’d in Denver (feat. Matt Sweeney) [03:30]
3. I’ve Made Up My Mind (feat. Alasdair Roberts) [04:27]
4. Red-Tailed Hawk (feat. Matt Kinsey) [02:40]
5. Wish You Were Gay (feat. Sean O’Hagan) [03:54]
6. Our Anniversary (feat. Dead Rider) [05:19]
7. Rooftop Garden (feat. George Xylouris) [06:20]
8. Deacon Blues (feat. Bill MacKay) [07:17]
9. I Love You (feat. David Pajo) [06:41]
10. Sea Song (feat. Mick Turner) [07:21]
11. I’ve Been The One (feat. Meg Baird) [03:55]
12. Miracles (feat. Ty Segall) [04:17]
13. I Want To Go To The Beach (feat. Cooper Crain) [05:34]
14. Night Rider’s Lament (feat. Cory Hanson) [04:59]
15. Arise, Therefore (feat. Six Organs of Admittance) [03:24]
16. Night of Santiago (feat. David Grubbs) [04:16]
17. The Wild Kindness (feat. Cassie Berman) [03:32]
18. Lost in Love (feat. Emmett Kelly) [04:05]
19. She is My Everything (feat. Sir Richard Bishop) [04:46]
Friday, 17 December Big Fat Meanies – Bad Hand 26:33Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Nuclear Tuxedo [04:31]
2. Yellowmoose [03:39]
3. Tranquil Tension [04:21]
4. Eden [04:52]
5. Gatekeeper [03:35]
6. Bad Hand [05:35]
Best of 2021 01/01 – Best of Afrobeat 01/02 – Best of Atmospheric Black Metal 01/03 – Best of Avant-Garde Black Metal 01/04 – Best of Brutal Death Metal 01/05 – Best of Classical 01/06 – Best of Death Metal 01/07 – Best of Deathcore 01/08 – Best of Doom Metal 01/09 – Best of Folk 01/10 – Best of Grindcore 01/11 – Best of Hardcore 01/12 – Best Improvisation
