The best of the best music from 2021

(By Melody Werner)

You know what's the best time for best of lists? Months later, when you have given yourself ample time to catch up and meditate on what still speaks to you from the last year.

AKA, getting distracted as fuck for like 3 and a half months and then blitzing through everything else that you wanted to talk about and then tossing in some cool shit you got around to in the new year.

Okay, so my rules:

1. while I typically only allow music I listened to during that year no matter when it initially released (as that is the music I personally associate with a given year), for this listicle, I will be focusing purely on tracks from the hellyear that was 2020 2.0. if you want a full playlist with the music I finally heard in 2021 and enjoyed, you can find that here. if you want a top 21 playlist with only the creme of the crop I selected from my 2021 listening, you can find that here instead.
   
2. for the article, I will only be allowing one recommendation per artist. for the playlist of the greatest music released in 2021 (which I will continue adding to, even after the publication of this article for a comprehensive collection of stellar sonic catharsis that escaped to our Hell in 2021), I will be allowing multiples when I think there is enough sonic differences to warrant a separate recommendation there (so you just know that it'll have a few familiar faces on repeat).
   

Sharon Van Etten may be a terminally dipshitted liberal (you have to be a comfy, motherfucking cackheaded lib to lie to poor people about how voting for Joe Biden is gonna keep them from being homeless or from having their wealth further extracted under capitalism), but I won't front about how much I enjoy this track from her and the infinitely cooler Angel Olsen. Sharon's smoky vocals provide plenty of chemistry with Angel's pleasant croon. "Like I Used To" is steeped in a nostalgia that I would be less willing to indulge in, if it were not coated in such pristine power pop excellence.

I didn't give Impermanence from Stortregn a 10/10 only to not give them prime real estate here. What I do find shocking and appalling is that "Grand Nexion Abyss", the album's outstanding centerpiece (which is one of those songs that is so epic, so varied, and so virtuous that it singlehandedly provides a greater album experience than whole albums), is the second least heard track off of the album. And it only tops "Timeless Splendor", which is also fucking spectacular! Mortifying, frankly. Remedy this.

Nor did I hand Spiritbox a phat 9.5 only to not mention them here. Y'know, originally, I was so sure that "Secret Garden" would be my pick here from them--and ordinarily, it would be. "Secret Garden" is so good, most bands dream they could reach such heights in their careers. And yet, I am opting for "Hurt You", instead. Despite the consensus being that it is the weakest single from Eternal Blue. Um, sorry, fuckers, but you just made me unleash my inner Tramp Stamps (at least I know what "MAP's" and TERF's are), cuz "Circle With Me" (while good) cannot touch the cathartic, potent blend of gorgeous melodies and fiery screamed vocals that Courtney LaPlante lays down on "Hurt You". I don't find myself distracted by what vocal processing there is on "Hurt You", and the calamitous yet groovy instrumentals make this song feel like the perfect song to dance to while Mount Vesuvius is erupting as you're in Pompeii.

There are many universal truths in this world. Water is wet. The sky is blue. "Sisyphus" by Quadeca is perfection.

More on Backxwash's I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES, the title track featuring Ada Rook, off her latest LP, in my review of the album. Eventually. IDK. If I don't review it in a timely manner, just know that it rules.

You know, I had no clue who Black Map were. They just got recommended to me on YouTube Music I think, and I was like "that's some cool album art, I gotta give this a shot." Good job, past Melody! This shit shreds. With the full album, Melodoria, having dropped now, I'll recommend the totally excellent and hooky "Left for Dead" off of it.

Each single Khemmis released in promotion of Deceiver has since grown on me (despite having enjoyed them all from the first spin), but one of my absolute fucking favorite deep cuts when I finally got around to the whole ass album wound up being "Shroud of Lethe." The hooks and riffs on this thing are godlike.

Rachel Chinouriri, at least as an artist, had a great year in 2021. Amazing singles. An acclaimed EP. All deserved. For example, her ballad, "If Only", is an incredibly emotional and heartfelt cut.

2021 was a terrific year for death metal (gee, I wonder why that could be), and Archspire absolutely deserved all of the love they received for their killer album, Bleed the Future. Of that LP, I'd like to highlight "Abandon the Linear" as being a stellar deep cut with phenomenal performances abound.

Drill is a subgenre of rap that I've not given much attention to, but Fivio Foreign absolutely fucking kills it on "Story Time", a lyrically jam-packed track with badass production and unrelenting conviction in Fivio's delivery.

Possibly the song I listened to the most in 2021, "Art of War" by Jasiah (with killer assists from Denzel Curry and Rico Nasty) blew me the fuck away. I've heard this guy a little bit before (though I'd only listened vicariously, and learned that the songs I'd heard previously were his after listening to this one), but I had no clue he could turn out such an absolute fucking monster. It's sharp, addictive, and fucking awesome as hell.

Giving "Art of War" some strong competition is "Run", from Zeal & Ardor. An utter metal blitzkrieg that I had on repeat for whole days sometimes, and a much needed musical catharsis in the fascist, perpetual-pandemic nightmare.

One of the most addictive cuts of the year that wasn't is Rico Nasty's "Buss". Rico, as far as I'm concerned, had the best singles of the whole damn year--every single track of hers or that she featured on benefited incredibly from her presence on it. I've been sleeping on her for way too long--having enjoyed "Rage" well enough, but not really having felt compelled to listen to the rest of her discography. On "Buss", she brings so much personality, energy, humor, danger, braggadocio--while also dropping endearing bars about providing for her kids and hoping that they're proud of her accomplishments. It rocks a triumphant tone that we all could use in the mobius loop of 2020, but aided by a nocturnal and hazy beat that oddly has a shoegazy tinge to it.

SZA is one of my favorite musicians currently active. If she's not in my top 5, she's 100% in my top 10. My opinion of Ctrl has only appreciated since I first listened to it, and it's one of those albums I return to regularly. And that can lead to new material unfairly getting the short end of the stick. "Good Days" is an impeccable song with the beauty and positivity that SZA is essentially unmatched in. And while I liked it on the first listen, the vocal processing on SZA's voice threw me off. I still don't love that vocal processing (SZA doesn't need that much processing slathered like that), but the tune at the core of it and the hopeful lyrics make me regret that I didn't listen to it more. I'd add that this track is often labeled a "vibes" song, erroneously. This is a song that rewards you so much for listening closely to its lush soundscapes, it is absolutely not background noise. Also, this is that Jacob Collier y'all have been obsessed with, huh? Not too bad.

Saying something negative about SZA is something I hate doing, so why not continue in this repentant trajectory and say something negative about another one of my other favorite acts currently working who dropped one of my favorite albums ever? Yeah, I did not give Forever in Your Heart from Black Dresses its due. Still haven't yet. I've listened to a few tracks from FIYH, like "Bulldozer", but could never make time for the full LP. Partly cuz 2021 was the second worst year in my life after 2019, partly cuz I'd always find myself hooked on one particular album for weeks on end or too depressed to listen to something fresh. One of my goals this year is to catch up on albums like FIYH and their new album they released a few weeks ago. I'll also try to finally drop reviews for their last three albums, but we'll see about that. In the meantime, I'll say that I am so fucking happy that they've decided to continue releasing new music despite still having officially disbanded Black Dresses, and that "PEACESIGN​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!​!" is sick as hell. The crushing dissonance and glitches give way to immense catharsis, which is something Black Dresses do to the nth degree. I salute these fucking legends.

Speaking of legends--Mastodon, huh? Yeah, I can't speak to Hushed and Grim on the whole (I had time for like 5 albums last year tops and this thing sure is a fucking mammoth record), but I can say that I really liked "Pushing the Tides", but I positively adore "Teardrinker". It's one of those songs you can listen to on repeat, and it's so damn addictive that it'll have you hooked the whole time. It makes 5 minutes feel like 2 and a half. That goddamned chorus is particularly stunning.

I can't not gush about Black Sites, y'all. This band absolutely goddamn shreds. As does the barn-burner "Call It By Its Name".

I have a plethora of other worthy recommendations, but I want to get this article out before the end of this year, so check out this playlist of marvelous tunes for more. Please, it'll make my life much easier :x