Sunday, July 11, 2021

The Best Albums of 2021... So Far


Sarah and I would like to thank all of our friends for taking the time to put together commentary and well thought-out lists to each feature our favorite albums of the year, so far. The cut-off date for album inclusion was June 30th. We also put together a Spotify playlist, collecting a recommended song from each record on everyones’ lists. (There may be a gap or two from where albums weren’t digitally available).

We hope that you will walk away with some new discoveries that will bring you years of enjoyment!

Leave us your lists in the comments - or follow us on Facebook / Twitter / YouTube
Thanks. - Bret and Sarah

P.S. We do earn a commission if you purchase anything through the links in this post.


Bret Helm
Life on this Planet | Audra | YouTube

10. Beachy Head - Beachy Head

I haven't been able to keep this one off the turntable since it's arrival. Sarah's description below is a lot more eloquent than mine, so please read that. I'll just add that Beachy Head makes me think of a cross between Teenage Fanclub and Slowdive. Check it out. And by the way, Graveface is a great label!

09. Justin Sullivan - Surrounded

New Model Army frontman Justin Sullivan has finally released a new solo album, his first since 2003's Navigating by the Stars, which was based around his experiences out at sea. I've always been fascinated with Antarctica, and this storytelling master weaves tales of South Pole exploration in this 16-song collection.

08. Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis - She Walks in Beauty

Shoutout to Kevin for putting this gem onto my radar when he shared the track "Ode to a Nightingale" in the most recent Saturday Night Music Club session. Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis provides the sonic backdrop for Marianne Faithfull to recite Byron, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson and Wordsworth. It's captivating and just the kind of record this English major / musician needed at this point in time.

07. Lycia - Casa Luna

First, 2021 brings us a long-awaited vinyl issue of their landmark 1991 debut, Ionia, then a 6-song EP of new music called Casa Luna. 30 years since their debut and Lycia continues to evolve, releasing music that rivals the past. Just have a listen to "Galatea" - favorite Lycia song of all time? We shall see. Word on the street is there may be some back catalog reissues on the near-distant horizon. Can't wait.

06. Gary Numan - Intruder

Gary Numan is an international treasure. And yeah, he's released some poorly-received albums in the mid-80s to mid-90s, but the man has been on fire since 1997's Exile. Intruder - his 21st album - is no exception.


Loving these non-soundtrack albums that Carpenter has been creating with his son Cody and godson Daniel Davies. I've been captivated by Alive After Death. So much that we're on a John Carpenter tear over here, revisiting films and soundtracks. If you slept on the first two in the Lost Theme series, I highly recommend diving in on this one. Check out "Dripping Blood" - my favorite on the record.

04. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Carnage

I almost passed on this one, but Sarah and I were at the local record store and she convinced me that I needed it since I had previously mentioned it several times. I'm not sure if I'm in the minority, but I really love Nick Cave's more minimal, downtempo work. Push the Sky Away, Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen are favorites in his entire catalog. I just have to say that one of my now favorite Nick Cave songs is buried on Side 2 - "Shattered Ground." Worth the price of admission alone.


I kinda checked out on LDR sometime after 2014's excellent Ultraviolence. My interest was IMMEDIATELY restored when the title track was released as an advance single. And that insane music video? Splendid. And how about that opening track "White Dress," and those vocal phrasings. This one's a keeper for sure. (I also went back and filled in my missing LDR years. So much good stuff. What was I thinking?)

02. Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

Sarah: "You should check out this new Pharoah Sanders album. I think it's in your wheelhouse." Me: "Yes, thank you." Heavy rotation. Another record that I needed right now in my life. 


My appreciation of the group known as James is well-documented. For me, they're one of the absolute best bands on the planet, with their live shows being near-religious experiences. Upon the release of the advance first single, I was concerned that the subject matter (concerning the pandemic, the 2016-2020 blues, etc.) would immediately date this album for future post-pandemic listens. All I needed was to have the full album in my hands to listen in its entirety to remove that fear. After the last year and 5+ months that we've all shared, these songs should serve as a testament / reminder / warning of what we've all lived through. James continues to be on top of their game, releasing excellent material in their second run. But I have to say, All The Colours of You may just be my favorite since 2008's totally stellar, comeback album Hey Ma. "Isabella" is the best track for me. 


Sarah Quarrie Helm
Life on this Planet | Instagram

10. Lightning Bug - A Color of the Sky

You know how liberating it feels to lay on the grass in the park on a temperate sunny day and stare at the sky? There's something about realizing you are one with nature that gives your soul permission to breathe. Lightning Bug's A Color of the Sky is the soundtrack for these moments. Shoegaze meets Americana, hushed vocals and swelling instrumentation begs for close listening as catharsis washes over you.

Chemtrails Over the Country Club is a more intimate Lana, delicate yet strong. To me, her storytelling on this album is straight up romantic escapism.  As always every song conjures cinematic imagery pulling you in to the situation, leaving you nostalgic even though it didn't happen to you.

08. Still Corners - The Last Exit

Continuing the escapism vibe, Still Corners' The Last Exit is the road trip that we first heard hinted at on 2013's Strange Pleasures with "The Trip" and the pit stop of "The Message" from 2018's Slow Air. Western-tinged dream-pop, dusty imagery takes you on an arcane journey to parts of the landscape unknown albeit somewhere your mind connects to. Desert noir at its best. *chef's kiss*

07. Lycia - Casa Luna

Lycia pushes the envelope with every album by incorporating multi-genre influences into a sound that is distinctly from the House of VanPortfleet. Casa Luna is the first new release on Italian label Avantgarde Music who is letting Lycia's artistic freedom shine. Unexpected yet super cool variants of 10" colored vinyl set the tone for experimental songs cherry-picking components of ethereal darkwave, industrial metal and synth-pop with flairs of flamenco guitar. You heard that right! Fans of Godflesh and Xymox alike should check this (mini)album out. Since making up ridiculous genre names is a thing, I hereby brand Lycia #desertgoth #monsoonwave.

06. Small Black - Cheap Dreams

As you may have seen from our SNMC #46 New York feature, Small Black is a band close to my heart. Their laid back take of synth-pop (some may refer to as Chillwave but I just can't) is a contemporary amalgamation of new wave heroes and nostalgia. Look at any of the playlists they post on Spotify, they're our people (OMD, Simple Minds, Cocteau Twins, Tones on Tail, Chameleons, Psychedelic Furs, Durutti Column). These are songs that are muted bangers, lo-fi gone hi-fi, shimmering, dreamy, harmonious. melancholy, luminous as the "Red Rain" variant of the vinyl I was able to procure. They've described this album as a “Long Island gothic surf epic," a tribute to their frontman's uncle, a passionate surfer whose attic in Long Island was used for making their first album.

Definitely an album defining the times, All the Colours of You covers all the topics that are currently wrenching at our souls. Between the pandemic, climate change, fires, racism and politics, James has given us a brilliantly produced time capsule of the past year and a half. You can always count on them to deliver a full body of work meticulously crafted to create a mood you can't help but to engage with. Many of the songs here have an interesting juxtaposition where the melody & arrangement sound quite uplifting & lively yet the lyrical subject matter is deep, sometimes even dark. This album rings anthemic, channeling U2, The Killers and LCD Soundsystem. Love the integration of club-like house beats in several of the songs, big Haçienda energy, they are from Manchester after all!

04. Beachy Head - Beachy Head

Superb shoegaze supergroup! Beachy Head is Slowdive's Christian Savill & Rachel Goswell, Rachel's bandmate (& husband) from The Soft Cavalry Steve Clarke, Flaming Lips' Matt Duckworth and Ryan Graveface who's in a few bands but most importantly labelrunner of Graveface Records. Graveface Records is a label to watch, folks. Exquisite packaging and vinyl variants, Beachy Head's new release is added to our collection proudly next to Graveface reissues of Blind Mr. Jones & And Also the Trees (hoping to add Skeletal Family from next RSD drop!). Much like its geological counterpart, Beachy Head is a beguiling precipice of swirling soundscapes that are as majestic as they are sorrowful.

03. Gary Numan - Intruder

A dystopian future seemed like a creative liberty to paint a fantastical picture by bands decades ago. Today it hits too close to home as time has proven humans act out to the point of detriment. Intruder is a concept album from our precious planet's point of view as it is hurt by the mistreatment of its inhabitants. Brooding, dark industrial atmospheres intertwined with Middle Eastern motifs, Gary Numan is the vessel decrying climate change as Mother Earth is in defiance. Had enough of wearing face masks to help protect us all from a virus? Keep it up, gas masks are next.

Marina Diamandis, oh dang girl. I literally listened to this album once and it advanced to the top of my list with repetitive listening following suit. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is an empowering yet vulnerable electropop expedition powering through current cultural issues such as individuality, misogyny, inequality, climate change, capitalism and privilege. Among dynamic dance beats MARINA's soprano soars delivering feminist statements that speak to the state of society, then the second half of the album pivots to a series of ballads that deal with more personal emotions. Sparked by a history of oppression going back to the Salem witch trials, now more than ever it is important for women and every other individual who's ever been discriminated against to not lose themselves. The future is counting on people like us to evolve civilization. Hopefully the millions of streams of the track listing of Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is an indication the message is being heard!

01. The Anchoress - The Art of Losing

Thanks to a SNMC theme (#48 feature upcoming!), I discovered The Anchoress aka Catherine Anne Davies. She's worked with Paul Draper of Mansun, Manic Street Preachers, Simple Minds, Bernard Butler of Suede and was invited by Robert Smith to perform at the Meltdown festival. She sings, plays piano/keyboards & guitar. She's a songwriter, producer and has a PhD in literature & queer theory. Quite the résumé! The Art of Losing is a profound album, it explores the gamut of feelings processing grief as she endured some hardship and loss up to the creation of this album. Raw yet refined, this is intense dark alternative art rock ebbing and flowing with deep sharp narratives. Piano interludes, symphonic flourishes, synths, James Dean Bradfield from the Manics on a couple songs and Bowie/Duran Duran drummer Sterling Campbell. Powerful from beginning to end.



Rob Clark
Rockford, Illinois | YouTube

10. The Weather Station - Ignorance

New to me, and apparently a change of course for the band. More lush and atmospheric? Whatever. I really like what I’m hearing here.

09. Sophia Kennedy - Monsters

The sense of experimentation on this album reminds me of many of the female artists (Kate Bush, Björk, Laurie Anderson, etc.) that I love so much. She has a background in film and film music and it shows.

08. The Fratellis - Half Drunk Under A Full Moon

I’ve heard people say that this is one of The Fratellis' poppiest albums yet, but I’m enjoying the heck out of it. Proof that “pop” is not a bad word.


“Singles” from this release were trickling out since late in 2020, and I loved every one I heard. This thing is chock full of exciting covers of most of the Gang of Four greats and, thankfully, all of them take on their own personality. (Why cover something unless you’re going to add your own unique signature?)

06. St. Vincent - Daddy’s Home

I’ve been a St. Vincent fan for years, but something about the marketing vibe of this release was turning me off. The first “single” didn’t do much to help, either. Big thanks to Jason Jones for getting me to pay closer attention to the album because it’s great!

05. Del Amitri - Fatal Mistakes

My favorite Scottish pop band returns with their first studio album in 18 years and it does NOT disappoint. Justin Currie, in particular, is still a master at crafting pop songs with bite. He has released (excellent) solo albums in the interim, but it’s great to hear him back with guitarist Ian Hardie at his side.

04. Gary Numan - Intruder

It took me longer to warm up to this album than it did his previous two, but I’m happy to report that it still won me over. Still a creative musical adventurer for over 40 years now.

03. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg

Imagine Laurie Anderson with a British accent fronting early Pretenders. The contrast between the deadpan vocal delivery and the electric, post-punk sonics shouldn’t work, and yet somehow it does. And then some. 


The last five or so years have been pretty rough on all of us. Somehow, this album touches on all the crap we’ve been through and emerges hopeful and full of light. I’ve probably listened to this album more than any other this year (including my #1) because it makes me feel great every time I hear it.

01. The Tragically Hip - Saskadelphia

Apparently, when The Tragically Hip were recording their third album, 1991’s brilliant 'Road Apples’, they wanted to make it a double album. Their label balked, so the band whittled it down to a single LP. This 6-song EP represents the first official release of some of the songs that got cut, clearly indicating that the label made a huge mistake. There isn’t even a mediocre track here, and it’s so great to hear more new music from a time in their career when they were absolutely on fire.


Kevin Larkin - Angioli
Hudson Valley Region of New York | Twitter | Instagram

10. Weezer - OK Human

Alright, hear me out: I haven’t checked out a new weezer album since Pinkerton but I accidentally turned on this orchestral and catchy AF concept album (?) recently on Spotify when checking out another of their songs recommended by a friend and I couldn’t turn it off—had to listen to it twice even—jaw adrop that rivers cuomo had made his pet sounds/sgt peppers/forever changes, etc.

09. David Gray - Skellig

Hushed acoustic reveries with an intimate chorale backing give this labour of love a fireside warmth, as Gray delivers poetic paeans to a godless universe and a restored sense of wonder. 


Revitalized with Jacknife Lee on the decks, pulsing with an unstoppable energy, crackling with delicious nuances and synths, and bursting with Booth’s daring line-drops, James have once again resurfaced with one of their superb albums that straddle the immediately relevant and the timelessly universal. 


“Tulsa Jesus Freak” is one of my favorite songs of the year and there’s plenty else to love on this quiet celebration of the feminine mystique and the grounding force of friendship in fame.

06. Anne Freeman - Keep It Close

Got a friend who gets me in early on a lot of great singer-songwriters—women especially—and he tipped me off to this local (Oxford, MS) revelation, which feels like a perfect summery, jangly nineties record on an indie label, a stone’s throw from Gin Blossoms and Mazzy Star, that you’re only becoming aware of now.

05. Liz Phair - Soberish

All hail the return of Liz Phair in a good-weird collection of songs produced by nineties collaborator Brad Wood that give us all the Liz Phair things: vulnerability clashing with cool, interesting chord changes, catchy choruses, frankly sexual and sometimes funny lyrical conceits, and even an ode to Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson.

04. Heather Valley - Wildflower Radio

On a streaming-only EP of covers spanning Sheryl Crow and Songs: Ohia, Heather Valley collaborates with local artists from her Hamont - Hamilton Canadian music scene to tie together emotionally affecting, carefully considered takes on a diverse set of songs in a unified style with elements of acoustic Americana and nineties alternative.

03. Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis - She Walks In Beauty

I don’t usually like when people try to read poetry over music, but this deeply affecting work of beauty in which Marianne Faithfull reads favorite poems from the Romantics alongside shimmering and thoughtful soundscapes by Warren Ellis (and Nick Cave and Brian Eno and Vincent Segal), made pre- and post- Marianne contracting covid, creates a deeply contemplative space to connect with the power of this cherished canon.


I was totally in the bag for John Carpenter releasing new albums with the sound of his aesthetic-defining film soundtracks but without a movie behind them, yet the first two installments of Lost Themes didn’t entirely grab me the way I expected; Alive After Death overcomes my hesitation with an icy perfection, a step away from the cheesier elements, and a cohesion that suggests a story to your mind if you give it your undivided attention.

01. Kosmodemonic - Liminal Light

Metal was always supposed to feel a little dangerous while energizing you, and this incendiary cassette from Brooklyn-based extreme black metal purveyors Kosmodemonic does exactly that, grabbing you by the throat, mixing mythology and politics, delivering great riffs and tones along with a howling visceral vocal delivery style by David Bosler.

Vault releases honorable mentions: Alan Vega, Mutator; His Name Is Alive, Hope is a Candle; Thelonious Monk, Palo Alto; Neil Young, Way Down in the Rust Bucket; Joni Mitchell, Blue 50: Demos & Outtakes



Sean Benham
Chicago, Illinois | Instagram

10. Lost Horizons - In Quiet Moments
09. Lord Huron - Long Lost
07. Babe Rainbow - Changing Colours
06. All India Radio - Afterworld
05. Bicep - Isles
04. Sunspire - Ruins By the Sea
03. Kings of Convenience - Peace or Love
02. Django Django - Glowing in the Dark
01. Madlib - Sound Ancestors

About My #1: Otis Jackson, Jr., aka Madlib, aka Quasimoto (I could go on and on about The Unseen), has had a very prolific 2021 releasing both ‘Sound Ancestors’ and then followed with Freddie Gibbs collaboration entitled “Piñata.” The former is nothing shy of a hip hop concept album who brings in Kieran Hebden (aka Four Ten) to arrange, edit, and master this masterpiece. The result is a colorful exploration of sound through jazz, instrumental hip hop, and boom bap. It’s the kind of album where you don’t remember track names, just the journey itself. 



Keith Creighton
Seattle, Washington | Popdose

Pandemic anxiety has caused me to spend 80% of my time collecting full discographies, rarities and “holy grail” missing albums from the artists I first discovered in the 1970s-1990s. I’m still buying new music, but it’s been 20% of my total listening/purchasing. That said, LOADS of great records have come out so far this year.

10. Madison Beer - Life Support

Justin Bieber found her on YouTube, suddenly she’s an MTV co-host, and then lands a major- label record deal. Instead of playing it safe, Beer takes loads of chances to create an edgy, addictive debut that will satisfy most Charli XCX and Sky Ferreira fans.

09. Paul Weller - Fat Pop Music (3CD edition)

Discs 1 and 3 (the proper album and bonus tracks) deliver exactly what this troubadour’s fans want, pushing Brit pop into eccentric and charming new directions. The true revelation here is disc 2, a “live in studio” concert that is a pure masterclass in songwriting and performance.

08. Dropkick Murphys - Turn Up That Dial

There's nothing new here -- working class Irish jigs set to arena-friendly punk rock plus a shout-out singalong ode to their latest bagpipe player -- but why mess with a formula that is always entertaining as hell?

07. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

Yet another Disney Channel pop star could have released yet another family-friendly, safe and bland, market-tested yawn fest, but Olivia’s debut strove to become this generation’s “Jagged Little Pill” and succeeded.

06. Steven Wilson - The Future Bites

I was familiar with one of Wilson’s many monikers, No-Man, but had no idea his discography ran so wide and deep -- this album kicked off a deep dive that quickly sprawled to 10 other purchases and I have yet to tap into a single Porcupine Tree disc.

05. Demi Lovato - Dancing with the Devil

Demi, like Justin Timberlake, is a bankable all-purpose star -- an omnipresent TV performer including winning turns on Will & Grace and the EuroVision movie; she slayed with her non-album Trump protest song “Commander in Chief” while bearing all in her riveting YouTube documentary. This album accompanies the latter and is pure arena pop perfection. While she missed induction into the “27 club” by few terrifying minutes, I hope she can remain well ahead of her demons and live a long life -- in or beyond the spotlight.

04. Kris Bowers + The Vitamin String Quartet - Bridgerton (Music from the Netflix Series)

Shondaland spared no attention to detail when bringing Julia Quinn’s book series to television. The score was released on two separate digital compilations (I splurged and bought .flacs on Tidal) -- a full album of vibrant and modern classical music and an EP of string quartet covers of popular pop songs. Both will turn any day milling about the house into a PrincessCore fantasy world.

03. Foo Fighters - Medicine at Midnight

I love Dave Grohl, and am way more of a Foo Fighters fan than Nirvana, but the last few albums have steadily tread deeper and deeper into the same old slog -- Dave shredding his lungs, WTF lyrics, and loads of overproduction as the band keeps adding members. Album #10 is a breath of fresh air -- loose, fun, and made for the dancefloor as much as the festival pit.

02. Cheap Trick - In Another World

Kid you not, this album (the band’s 20th) is so freaking good it inspired me to hunt down new copies of the 18 titles I was missing, plus the live albums, including many Japanese editions that are packed with bonus tracks. I gleefully tested the theory that this is their all-time best album, and while it is holding up as I try out all the others, the big revelation is that there really are no duds in their catalog -- even the much maligned “The Doctor” rocks, and rocks hard. This album crackles with the energy of a debut album where the band has all the energy in the world and everything to prove.

01. VOLK - Cashville

Speaking of debuts, in a photo-finish (for now), I am giving the year’s best album (so far) honors to this completely audacious full-length debut by a duo from Nashville circa Texas circa Berlin. Punk, blues, hair metal, garage, Americana, Country & Western, glam rock, and much more are thrown in the blender and then tossed straight into a tornado of epic, awesome, thundering sound. Imagine The White Stripes “Elephant”, Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Fever to Tell” having a bar brawl in Dolly Parton’s basement and you kinda get close to what this is like.

But wait… there’s more...

I’m still wading into Liz Phair’s new one along with very ambitious albums by The Coral, Gary Numan, and Garbage (the 2 disc deluxe of their latest). Dua Lipa released a third version of my 2020 #1 album “Future Nostalgia (the Moonlight Edition)”. A new full-length from Prince is just a few weeks away along with a “whoa, stop everything” debut from Joy Oladokun. I also have on-order, the new k.d. lang remix album and the queer punk debut by Pom Pom Squad. All that, and we’re still 2 seasons from the next Duran Duran album. 2021 for the win!



Jaymz Todd
Phoenix, Arizona | Instagram

01. Current Joys - Voyager

The rest are in no ranking order, just alphabetical:

Antonioni - Brute Amused Shout
Jon Batiste - We Are
Beige Banquet - Beta
Cathedral Bells - Ether
Freelove Fenner - The Punishment Zone
Groupie - Ephemeral
Hoorsees - Hoorsees

Thoughts from Jaymz: The songs from these 10 albums have offered a fresh taste to my stale mouth and powered me through with the vigor to get through all of what has been dubbed our new ‘normal.' Namaste.


Dream Pop Jesse
Phoenix, AZ | Instagram

08. Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror

Pearl Charles is straight from the 70s, complete with shag carpet, lava lamps and a VW bus. Right off the start I'm getting a bit Carole King and Joni Mitchell vibes. Definitely a great listen from start to finish.

07. Cathedral Bells - Ether

Cathedral Bells is like an 80s lofi wave comin' at ya. Born after the split of Dear Tracks, another excellent shoegazey dreampop band.

06. Wyldest - Monthly Friend

Wyldest is normally a 3-piece, but lockdown hit England and left singer Zoe Mead no choice but to record this album mostly on her own. I immediately pre-ordered the limited colour vinyl having only heard 1 track. I have to say this could have been in my top 3. This album is based on femininity. Definitely very strong.

05. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

"Be Sweet" and "Posing in Bondage" are easily my faves off of this without thinking, but I really enjoy it as a whole.

04. The Natvral - Tethers

Formerly of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Kip Berman gives his new efforts a folky Bob Dylan-esque album chalked full of heartfelt songs of real life. This is another album that came just in time to soothe anxiety-riddled days of the past year. Definitely looking forward to more from Kip.

03. Paul Weller - Fat Pop

This album is incredible. It seems like every year there's a new Weller album that's quite different in style. This one has fat fuzzy bass lines and a psychedelic 70s vibe.

02. Kings of Convenience - Peace or Love

Finally a new album from my fave Norwegian duo. It doesn't feel like there was a gap between this and their last album. But definitely feels more gentle, a comforting album just in time after the planet felt like it was boiling over due to the pandemic and racial tensions that couldn't be worse. 

01. White Flowers - Day by Day

This album is perfect - a beautiful blend of Cocteau Twins, Beach House and Still Corners. It's hard for me to choose a fave off this because it's that good, but standouts are "Portra," "Daylight" and "Different Time, Different Place."

Have a listen to the playlist:


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