The Good-ies: Some Music I’ve Liked From 2021 (So Far)
Hello! So we’ve reached the halfway point of 2021. Regardless of… everything else happening, the music has been good this year. I’m here to present you with some of this year’s albums that I think you should listen to.
I’m gonna attach numbers to these for the sake of organization, but this is not like a definitive ranking of how good this music is. I know it’s complicated, but I think you get it. We’ll start with an obvious one.
Call Me If You Get Lost - Tyler, The Creator
This is the most rapping Tyler has done since 2017, but he really shines on this album as a producer. His lyricism is on point as always, and the trademark smoothness in his voice really adds to the excellent instrumentals on this one. The cohesiveness of themes in “IGOR” isn’t as present on CMIYGL, but the album is tied together musically. Tyler doesn’t waste one beat on this album, and it flows perfectly.
Also, the features, dude. Every artist on this album has their own purpose, and they all serve it excellent. Look out the classic four count that comes right before Pharrell’s verse on “JUGGERNAUT”. I’m usually not a Lil Uzi person, but he absolutely killed it in the spotlight.
This album is flat out awesome. Is it as special as “IGOR”? Nah. That would be hard to do. But this album does everything it needs to do and more, and is one of my favorite releases of 2021.
(alsopleasecheckoutmythoughtsontylerinthiseditionofmynewsletterthxbye)
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Ska Dream - Jeff Rosenstock
This album was originally a joke, I think. Rosenstock, a veteran of the ska genre as a member of Bomb the Music Industry!, puts together something crazy, kind of dumb, and amazing: a ska version of his 2020 punk album, “NO DREAM”.
This album was announced on April 1, 2021, with a slated April 20 release date (haha, weed number!). Everyone laughed, and then it came out.
Why do I like this album? Honestly, part of it is the admiration I have for Jeff Rosenstock as an artist. I really liked “NO DREAM”. Now, make that ska music! This album is upbeat, rebellious, and the newly added horns and ska stylings make all of the punk crescendos that much better.
Rosenstock pays tribute to every wave of ska, a bunch of well-known bands within the genre, and there’s even a rap break from a member of Arizona folk-punk staple AJJ about redistribution of income.
Even if you’re not usually a ska person, check this one out. You’ll like it, I think.
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Mood Valiant - Hiatus Kaiyote
This is some smooooooooooth stuff. I cannot recommend “Mood Valiant” enough. This album, as well as “Collapsed in Sunbeams” by Arlo Parks are my favorite soul/R&B listens this year.
Lead singer Nai Palm (who also plays guitar while singing, I might add) does an excellent job of blending in beautifully with the instrumentation around her, and provides a lot of really interesting chords by topping off that instrumentation with just a bit of dissonance. She is awesome.
I’m a sucker for a good bassline, and this album is full of good basslines. It feels like Hiatus Kaiyote have taken a leap into being an elite cohesive group, on top of being fantastic musicians. It’s their most symbiotic effort yet, it rules, and it’s basically brand new since it came out the same night as CMIYGL. Jump on it now so you can seem cool before everyone else gets there.
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Daddy’s Home - St. Vincent
This is a dynamic psychedelic trip from one of the best guitar players on the planet. Although, it’s missing some of the usual St. Vincent guitar flare. There are juuuuust enough impressive passages to remind you how great of an instrumentalist Annie is, to go along with her recently revamped songwriting style.
She shifted away from guitar-centric music for a while, and towards a more electronic sound, especially with her big 2018 hit “MASSEDUCTION.” But, she really returns to her rock roots here to pay tribute to some of her obvious influences.
The title track, which I shared up above, has some of the best guitar playing on the record. If you like the early 70’s Pink Floyd style, you’re going to love this album.
Also, here’s a video of St. Vincent absolutely nailing The Beatles’ “Dig A Pony”, just because I want you to watch it.
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Smiling With No Teeth - Genesis Owusu
You can tell, after listening to maybe a quarter of this album, that Owusu listens to a LOT of music of a LOT of different genres. He’s got a million different influences on “Smiling With No Teeth”, and it’s to the benefit of the listener.
Some of the early instrumentals on this album are very Death Grips-ian, there’s some Prince and other funk in there throughout, and there’s some alt rock sounds in there as well, with some instrumentation reminiscent of someone like King Krule. You wouldn’t think all these styles could come together cohesively, but Owusu makes it happen.
It’s very easy to get lost trying to make a genre-bending record, and a large part of the album’s artistic merit is that it knows exactly where it’s going every second. This, as of right now, is my album of the year. There really aren’t a lot of people doing it like Genesis Owusu is doing it right now.
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Five is a nice, round number, so I’m gonna stop giving in-depth reviews and just give out some honorable mentions. These albums are in no way worse than any of the other ones, I just felt compelled to talk about the ones I talked about. So, get over it, I guess.
I have to start by giving love to both Lucy Dacus’ “Home Video” and Julien Baker’s “Little Oblivions”. After 1/3rd of Boygenius released 2020’s album of the year, the other 2/3rds have gone and released two of the best albums of 2021 so far. They are a supergroup, and their music is SAD. Goodness gracious.
I really liked Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour”, and I think the room she has to grow as an artist is startling. Her next project, whenever we see it, is gonna be even more interesting. Hopefully a long career ahead.
Black Country, New Road’s “For the First Time” and black midi’s “Cavalcade” (I talked about Cavalcade a bit in this edition of the newsletter) are both really great nontraditional rock albums. While they’re both a little inaccessible unless you’re really expecting some experimental sounds, I’d give them a try if you’re looking for something new.
There are a million records I could talk about, because so much music has been released this year. “HARAM” by legendary producer The Alchemist and Armand Hammer, “Cinema” by The Marias, Cautious Clay’s “Deadpan Love,” Viagra Boys’ “Welfare Jazz,” the list goes on and on.
Whatever you like, there’s definitely a 2021 album out there for you. Keep searching, subscribe to my newsletter, and you’ll probably end up finding something cool.
Thanks for reading. Here’s a playlist, as a reward. Talk to you later.