Best of Indie Rock 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Time for some softer music. Is it still good if it’s not constant chaos? Yeah, yeah things are pretty damn good, actually!

Number Five: Zouz – Vertiges


Let me be chauvinistic a little, and start with a homegrown band. Zouz border on post-punk, noise rock, and math rock, but there’s a middle line in that whole mess that intersects with indie rock sensibilities. Vertiges is a fun, varied, and addictive album that you’re sure to put on repeat multiple times!

Number Four: Ventifacts – Ventifacts


Microtonal indie rock still counts, right? Damn right it does! Ventifacts is the project of … Read more

Best Improvisation 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Improvisation is often seen as inseparable from jazz. Sure, you often have to improvise in jazz, but improvisation is not bound to any one genre, and I’m going to prove that to you. Here are my favourite improvised pieces of music from 2021!

Number Five: i.o – The Complete 2021 Releases


Taken together, Blasted Sentinel, No Guardians for Rusted Remains, and The Same as My Red add up to an insane 2 309 minutes! That’s about 38 hours and a half! And before you ask: yes, I listened through it all. Not in one go, I paused for … Read more

Best of Hardcore 2021

by Dæv Tremblay

Number Five: Death Goals – The Horrible and the Miserable


With a varied attack from many fronts, Death Goals’s The Horrible and the Miserable is an amazingly diverse hardcore album that totally slays!

Number Four: Tunic – Quitter


How great is this album, eh? Fast-paced hardcore closer to its punk roots than most others on this list, Tunic’s second 2021 album hits just the right spot for me!

Number Three: Anti Ritual – Expel the Leeches


Anti Ritual is hardcore blackened to a char. Expel the Leeches is a relentless album, and it’s totally oppressive. Definitely worth its spot on … Read more

Best of Grindcore 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


The filthiest, rankiest, dirtiest, grindiest shit out there.

Number Five: Gross Pizza – Pepperonivirus 2: Pizza Variant

“One step on the balls… Two steps on the dick” is perhaps my favourite lyrical passage of the year, and this is all thanks to this amazing and funny discovery I made earlier this year. Indulge.

Number Four: Rat Punch – It’s a Drink


Rat Punch released an awesome album this year. It’s a Drink is fast-paced and chaotic and heavy hitting; it’s all we need from a grindcore album!
Disclaimer: bass player writes for the blog, so take that any way you … Read more

Best of Folk 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Folk is the music for the people, from the people. And as our planet is pretty big, there are uncountably many different sorts of “folk” music. So many, in fact, that my top 5 cannot possibly cover all of the immense variety of sounds there are. Nevertheless, it does cover some decent part of it, and so here are the five best folk albums from 2021 in my opinion!

Number Five: Nika Mo – Of Cloven Hoof in Honey


On Of Cloven Hoof in Honey, Australian singer Nika Mo explores many of the lesser known Grimm tales, and turns … Read more