This year, for whatever reason, felt like a total letdown for me in terms of new music. I compiled my list like I always do, whittled it down to an appropriate number, and then looked it over with disappointment. Nothing on here is anywhere close to the all-time level for me, and that has never been the case in years past. But, as I began the writing process, I realized I really, really did love a lot of music, and perhaps I was selling some of it short until I started to put into words what I felt about all of them. Nevertheless, here we go:
Honorable Mentions:
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Tasjan Tasjan Tasjan
The Muckers - Endeavor
Tex Crick - Live in… NYC
Babe Rainbow - Changing Colours
Quivers - Golden Doubt
Francis Lung - Miracle
15. TUNS - Duly Noted
A Canadian power-pop “supergroup”, these guys joined forces around 2015. One of the members is actually the bass player and occasional lead singer of Sloan, who popped up on my 2018 list with their release 12. Duly Noted is Tuns second album to date. Each member writes and sings lead on four songs apiece, and the rest harmonize us to death (in beautiful fashion I might add). The guitar work is great, and the overall mood is infectious. This is a real easy-going, digestible album that does well on repeat.
14. White Denim - Crystal Bullets/King Tears
Written and recorded almost entirely by frontman James Petralli during a tumultuous time for the band, this collection of songs is very, very different from their previous stuff. At first, I thought “oh it sort of carries this chilled-out vibe” and then I started wondering if I just feel that way because it’s all B-Side worthy. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it enough to include it here. The new lineup being formed now includes a second guitar player and a new drummer and from what I’ve seen thus far they sound excellent live and will be recording soon. This is two lackluster releases in a row for one of my all-time favorite bands, so, I hope we get something super tasty next go around.
13. T. Hardy Morris - The Digital Age of Rome
Hardy’s last release, 2018’s Dude, The Obscure was excellent in every way (even landing on my 100 favorite albums list). This isn’t necessarily a departure from that sound but it sure isn’t a part 2 either. Dude carried a general rainy day sleepiness to it that I really loved and that’s been abandoned here (the follow-up for Dude was shelved once the pandemic hit and he started over). There’s still a lot to love on this album though. Leaning a little harder into the singer-songwriter strain, it gets a little folky at times yet always carries an infectious poppiness to it. Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it left me yearning for that true Dude follow-up.
12. Susto - Time in the Sun
I don’t think there could’ve been a bigger letdown than their previous album, 2019’s Ever Since I Lost My Mind, after & I’m Fine Today was such a superb offering. It just ended up being, for lack of a better word, boring. Time in the Sun is a nice rebound. The writing is better, the tempo is better, the musicianship is better, and overall I really enjoyed it. It’s not their best music to date but I will gladly take it and eagerly look forward to what comes next.
11. My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket
MMJ is back this year with their first new studio album of newly recorded material since the magnificent The Waterfall in 2015. THAT album is an all-timer for me, and nothing else they’ve ever made has wowed me. This release is pretty solid though and I found myself jamming to it quite frequently. Jim James, as usual, is at the helm in all ways. There are definitely some clunky tracks and some weak spots but there’s enough to like here that I’ll eagerly await whatever these guys do next.
10. John Mayer - Sob Rock
Every Mayer album post Battle Studies has been exactly the same in terms of quality for me, yet all wildly different. I’ve come to expect the excellent guitar work, the beautiful vocals, about 1-3 truly excellent songs, 3-6 good ones, and a handful of total stink bombs. Sob Rock is an improvement over The Search for Everything because it feels very cohesive. With that said, song for song it probably isn’t any better or worse. Someday John will make a Continuum part 2, or a true front-to-back rocker, and I’ll declare it my album of the year the day it comes out, but until then I’m more than happy taking the good with the bad and appreciating him for what he gives us.
9. The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore
As far as I’m concerned this is essentially the same album they’ve made 3 times in a row now, following 2017’s A Deeper Understanding, and 2014’s Lost in the Dream. This isn’t a bad thing per se; they clearly have the formula down. Excellent guitar, soaring, perfectly placed synths, and catchy ass songs abound. I just yearn for a left turn of some kind from some truly gifted and always well-regarded musicians and songwriters.
8. Counting Crows - Butter Miracle, Suite 1
Yes, I realize it’s 2021 and I’m including a Counting Crows EP on my list. No, I don’t know what's wrong with me. Having never delved into their catalog in any meaningful way, I was surprised to really enjoy the single upon its release. In fact, I was surprised they were even still a band if I’m being honest. I dug deeper and discovered this is the first part of what will eventually be a full LP of songs that have yet to be written. The concept is cool IMO and I really enjoyed this little collection of songs. Extra credit points go to these guys for managing to stay relevant and inventive at this career stage.
7. Gruff Rhys - Seeking New Gods
Gruff plays with a bunch of bands I’ve never heard of but also releases a ton of solo stuff. Seeking New Gods is a loose concept album about a volcano on the Chinese/North Korean border (yes, odd). The album is filled with interesting lyrical content that obviously supports the theme and some super catchy hooks to go along with well-placed guitar and piano. The clincher for me is there’s a synth note that sort of carries through the whole album that gives it a very cool atmospheric sound and really ties it all together. Gruff envisioned the synth as a weather system that was “wrapping around the mountain”. Rock on, Gruff.
6. Sam Evian - Time to Melt
This is Sam’s third full-length album, following 2016’s excellent Premium, and 2018’s sort-of-a-letdown You, Forever. I’m a big fan of an album that captures a certain mood or vibe and displays a tremendous feeling of cohesiveness throughout and that’s where Time to Melt lands. It’s just a dark, moody, cool-as-hell compilation of songs that you can just imagine listening to at a quiet bar at 3am. The primary instrument is guitar but there’s plenty of properly placed synth and even a little saxophone and some mini jazz arrangements. This is a welcome rebound.
5. Silver Synthetic - Silver Synthetic
Assembled from a few unknown (to me) New Orleans bands here arrives Silver Synthetic with a polished collection of songs that have been written for several years by frontman Chris Lyons. I’m not sure there are two better adjectives to describe a band for me than “garage psych”, so it’s no surprise I really dug this one. Just mid-tempo guitar-driven goodness with some fitting vocals, a splash of country vibes, and really great overall instrumentation. This is a very strong debut and it’s nestled nicely inside my top 10.
4. Turnstile - Glow On
Well, this is quite a surprise. Hardcore? I suppose it is. I’ve never liked a single hardcore band or album in my whole life but this one is super, super good. I think probably the fact that it borrows from several other genres and the vocals are palatable with very little yelling and screaming is what got me over the hump. These guys worked with producer Mike Elizondo (a Dr. Dre protege interestingly enough) to incorporate a little sprinkle of hip hop. Add in a dash of Incubus and a pinch of Rage Against the Machine and here you have it. The guitars are heavy as hell while still being groovy and riffy and I promise you will not be able to resist turning it up on the songs that get your head nodding.
3. Bros - Volume 2
There’s very little Ewan Currie can do that doesn’t land with me and these Bros albums are no different. It’s unbelievable that both The Sheepdogs and Bros can carry the same retro ‘70s sounding vibe yet essentially cover different genres, with Bros being a much more soul/r&b affair. This album I believe is better than Bros Volume 1 track for track, but the second half is all over the place and I guess I appreciate that they just sort of threw it all in a blender. Genre hopping and experimentation prevail and I love every single song.
2. Strand of Oaks - In Heaven
Timothy Showalter’s stuff has always sort of eluded me. He had several songs here or there that I really loved but nothing that stuck beyond that. 2019’s Eraseland featured a bunch of the MMJ guys in backing roles and was highly touted by my music buds, but alas, it yet again was a swing and a miss. In Heaven for whatever reason finally hit the mark and boy oh boy is it excellent. A wizardly mix of rock, psych, and a little country/Americana make almost every track stand out on their own as great, great songs. I went back and listened to Eraserland again and finally that one clicked too. Music is so interesting.
1. Wavves - Hideaway
Man oh, man. Like Strand of Oaks, Wavves is another band on my radar for yearsssss and years that never stuck one in my brain, until now. Upon reading reviews and consulting with other Wavves inclined people, it doesn’t appear this album is genetically different than anything else Nathan Williams has ever made but this bitch hit me HARD. Super catchy and hard in all the right ways, it chugs along and never steps off the gas pedal. I listened to it on repeat for over a week. I went back and listened to all the older stuff after the fact and although it’s all in the same vein as this release, it doesn’t do it for me quite the same. I won’t ask questions, I’ll just take this one and tuck it away for safekeeping. This is my album of the year.