There are uncounted year-end best-of music lists out there – in print, online, on YouTube – any place music geeks talk about music. I read and watched a boatload of them, and started to notice a smallish handful of albums that showed up on most of the lists. There seemed to be some sort of consensus across the music reviewing universe about what the best releases of 2021 were. Some I had missed entirely, some I had heard pieces of but didn’t spend any serious time with, a few I had intentionally avoided from artists I don’t care much about. So I spent the last few days prior to Christmas listening to some of them to find out what the fuss was all about. I thought I’d offer my impressions of what the professional listeners considered the best of the best of the past year. At the end of each I answered the big question - whether or not the record will find a place on my personal playlist for 2022.
• Turnstile, Glow On – There’s definitely a mosh pit feel to this one, but not the dumb kind. Heavy, massed guitars and metal-style vocal yelling abound, but the songs are surprisingly catchy, with smart, even artsy, arrangements. Produced by the same guy who does commercially blockbuster Twenty One Pilots’ albums, Glow On has an appealingly detailed and textured sound. Whether you like it or not will depend on your taste for mosh pit stuff. If you can’t stand it, this likely won’t change your mind.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Maybe, when I’m in the mood to bang my head.
EARWORM: “Mystery” – The opener will let you know in a hurry if this is your cup of rock music.
• Halsey, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power – Halsey had some commercial success with a not-uncommon blend of indie-pop and electronica, but their big creative move in 2021 was recording this one with the guys from Nine Inch Nails. Heavy angst expected, heavy angst delivered. The resulting complex, baroque song constructions aren’t bad if you no longer feel the need for “and roll” with your rock. A shade too gloomy and dark for my tastes, though. Doesn’t the pandemic world provide enough angst these days? I gotta say, I did enjoy seeing the female nipple on the cover drive retailers crazy.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Not likely.
EARWORM: “I am not a woman, I’m a god” (sic) The album all sounds more than a little same-y to me, but this is by far the most streamed cut on Spotify, so I’m gonna go with the most popular.
• CHVRCHES, Screen Violence – In a nutshell, noisy but danceable synth-pop, with a female vocalist. The uber-modern compressed and processed electronic sound just doesn’t quite work for my old-school ears. It’s of minor interest that the singer’s name is Lauren Mayberry, like the fictional small town. I doubt Sheriff Andy would dig this.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? No.
EARWORM: “California” – Honestly? I just picked one at random. It all sounds alike to me. https://open.spotify.com/track/6DeJnDYSthJbttGIoLcMi9?si=7bee8a7495814863
• John Mayer, Sob Rock – His lyrics are always a little “poor me” precious. I mean, that title, right? Is he still brooding about things not working out with Taylor? I thought he dumped her. The songs are laid-back and colored with the warmer, less interesting side of 80s FM radio-friendly production. A little Phil Collins, a touch of (too) late-period Dire Straits or (no, no, no) solo Sting. For a supposed guitar god, his playing on this album is mostly all tasteful appointments. Maybe he’s all jammed out from playing with Dead and Company.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Probably not. I rarely feel this mopey, possibly because I’ve never dumped Ms. Swift.
EARWORM: “New Light” – Streamed over 500 million times to date on Spotify. Wtf do people hear in this yacht-rock fluff?
• Billy Strings, Renewal – Billy was born in Michigan, but raised in Kentucky. The sound is psychedelic bluegrass, a genre I can get behind 100%. Sturgill Simpson blazed the same trail with his marvelous Cuttin’ Grass albums last year. Solidly based in traditional bluegrass music with some evocative and unexpected explorations that call Bela Fleck at his most adventurous to mind. Smart, straightforward lyrics and clear, appropriately high and lonesome singing. Sheriff Andy would totally get this record and likely grab his Martin to play along.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Why, yes, I believe it will.
EARWORM: “Heartbeat of America” – A great example of how Billy and his band can stretch out the parameters of their beloved bluegrass.
• St. Vincent, Daddy’s Home – Annie Clark’s made quite a name for herself with a series of slinky, aggressive, modern-sounding pop/rock albums. Early reviews of Daddy’s Home were calling it her “70s album.” Huh? What 70s are we talking about here, the 2070s? It’s possible there are fewer electronics and more classic rock melodies on this one than her previous records but I’m not convinced of that. The difference is mostly imperceptible to my ears. I grew up totally immersed in the music of the 70s and there’s nothing about this album that feels even slightly nostalgic or familiar to me. Despite the head-scratching hype, I do consider Ms. Clark to be a significant talent, but a very of-the-moment one. A very arty, very sleek, and always at least interesting record, but don’t give me that 70s crap, I was there.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? At least for a little while.
EARWORM: “The Melting of the Sun” – A quite lovely ballad. Whether it sounds like any kind of 70s throwback I’ll leave to you.
• Yola, Stand For Myself – A singer from the U.K. who’s made two albums so far, in Memphis, with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys in the producer’s chair. She’s a bit of a sensation in her native land, but largely overlooked here. A powerhouse voice and great songwriter. Think of Stand for Myself as an Adele album if Adele had been raised on R&B and funk and was having more fun in her life. 2021’s Gladys Knight is probably a more apt comparison for music fans of a certain age. Auerbach’s production suits her perfectly – smooth enough to be an easy listen, just rough enough around the very edges to remind you this is R&B.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Already has.
EARWORM: “Diamond Studded Shoes” – An excellent example of the sophisticated rhythm and blues glide she brings to the table.
• Lana Del Rey, Chemtrails Over the Country Club – I’ve come to realize over the last few years that Lana’s got talent, loads of it. What keeps me from fully embracing her albums is that she’s so damn breathy and precious with her singing most of the time. I feel like if she had some of Taylor Swift’s cockiness her albums would hit me harder and stick longer. I’m sure Chrissie Hynde-level ballsiness is too much to hope for.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Sadly, no.
EARWORM: “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” – The title song shows off my most and least favorite aspects of this record. Seems like it would be a killer song if she moved beyond a whisper.
• Squid, Bright Green Field – These guys have been a shiny, word-of-mouth indie-rock sensation in the U.K. for the last five years or so. Sporadic singles have been released that don’t sound much like each other, and some high-profile festival appearances had the Brits waiting anxiously for a debut album. Well, here it is, now how to describe it?
I gotta say, hearing it reminded me of the excitement of finding out-of-the-mainstream groups like Television, the Velvet Underground, and the Patti Smith Group for the first time back in the day. It has a loose, exploratory sense of freedom that feels absolutely stuffed with ideas. This is not linear music, there are sharp turns and detours around every corner. The starting point is definitely a heavy, aggressive post-punk-sounding version of rock, but they’re fearless about venturing into widescreen psychedelia or adding a touch of drone-rock. The lead singer (Ollie Judge, great name) has a yelp to match young David Byrne’s. Talking Heads are certainly an influence at some level, as are the bands mentioned above, but I hear some Bowie and Iggy, too, I think. Maybe after a dozen more listens I’ll figure it out. Arty, nimble, surprising and chewy, there’s a lot to unpack in Bright Green Field and I haven’t had as much fun with that kind of musical heavy lifting in a while. Not music for dancing, I'd say, but not really music for sitting still, either.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Definitely. It’s gonna take me a while to fully get to the bottom of this fascinating record.
EARWORM: “Boy Racers” – If you figure out what this one is about, let me know.
• Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra, Promises – I was looking forward to this one when it was announced. I listened to it once at the time and was ambivalent about it, a little disappointed, even. A second listen didn’t change that. It’s a very pretty composition by Floating Points, an electronic musician in the U.K., written to feature jazz saxophone titan Pharoah Sanders. It’s slow overall, beautifully textured and played, and just plain dull in spots. It takes a certain kind of genius to compose compelling ambient-flavored music and, unfortunately, Floating Points is no Brian Eno.
Will it make my 2022 playlist? Maybe as something pleasant in the background, but I have Eno albums for that, which I greatly prefer.
EARWORM: “Movement 5” – The sax playing really is lovely, just wish there was more melody for Mr. Sanders to solo around.
So that's it for recapping 2021 for me. I thought about another post with my honorable mentions or near-misses, but it's time to start looking forward. Let's put 2021 behind us, shall we? Feel free to let me know what you loved over the past year, there could still be personal playlist adds that I have yet to discover.
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