Album: Came Artist: Tran Uy Duc Release Date: December 20, 2021 Label: Self-Released Favorite Tracks:
Three
Banal (feat. Pilgrim Raid)
Catwalk
Thoughts: Every so often when I listen to music too much everything starts to sound the same. That’s why it’s refreshing to listen to this album by Tran Uy Duc, and 18-year-old artist from Vietnam, of what is basically a bunch of vignettes of machine-metal sounds. Every so often it sounds a little bit like music and it sounds wonderful. Check out Pitchfork for a more in-depth review. Rating: ***1/2
In 2022, I’m going to try to review one new album every Friday. However, since not that many new albums are released at the beginning of January, I’m going to use this time to catch up on some of the buzziest albums I missed last year. So here are three albums arranged from youngest to oldest artist.
Thoughts: Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album was all the rage this year, as the child actor made the transition to pop star but with a heavier rock edge than is typical for child actors who become pop stars. Her angry breakup songs are reminiscent of Alanis Morissette, but I think Rodrigo also brings a new insight on teenage anger and frustration in the 21st century. Being 48 years old, I wouldn’t expect this to resonate with me but I do remember being 17 and have children approaching that age so I can feel the rage. Anyhow, I’m belatedly adding this to my Favorite Albums of 2021 list. Rating: ****
Album: Happier Than Ever Artist: Billie Eilish Release Date: July 30, 2021 Label: Darkroom | Interscope Favorite Tracks:
Oxytocin
Not My Responsibility
Therefore I Am
Happier Than Ever
Thoughts: It doesn’t seem so long ago that Billie Eilish was the 17/18-year-old with the big breakout debut album. Now on her sophomore effort, Eilish is “Getting Older” as the opening track is titled. The album is almost entirely downtempo compared to When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? But there’s a great variety of downtempo from early 70s singer-songwriter style to trip hop reminiscent of Portishead to Laurie Anderson avant-garde recitation. Rating: ***1/2
Album: 30 Artist: Adele Release Date: November 19, 2021 Label: Columbia | Melted Stone Favorite Tracks:
“Easy on Me”
“Oh My God”
“Can I Get It”
“I Drink Wine”
“To Be Loved”
“Love Is A Game”
Thoughts: It’s funny that Adele names her albums after her age, because any time I listen to 21 I ponder how she seems to have so much life experience at such a young age. Now at 30, I’m equally amazed that someone who as seemingly been a pop culture phenomenon for so long is still so young. Adele’s voice is lovely as always. She does more than emote but also reflect and reconcile on songs about her recent divorce, motherhood, and the price of fame. If there’s one flaw, it’s that some songs and the entire album go on to long, which makes me sad, because one should never feel that they have too much of Adele. Rating: ***1/2
Album: Valentine Artist: Snail Mail Release Date: November 5, 2021 Label: Matador Records Favorite Tracks:
“Valentine”
“Ben Franklin”
“Automate”
“Mia”
Thoughts:
Snail Mail is an indie music project of Maryland’s Lindsey Jordan. I hadn’t heard of Snail Mail before the big buzz about this album’s release so I decided to check it out. The music has a 1990s sound reminiscent to me of something like Letters to Cleo or Velocity Girl, but also more contemporary artists like Girlpool and Clairo. Songwriting is Jordan’s strong suit with some impassioned lyrics on love and love lost. She also makes some pretty intense videos as you can see below.
Album: Structure Artist: Water From Your Eyes Release Date: August 27, 2021 Label: Wharf Cat Records Favorite Tracks:
“When You’re Around”
“Track Five”
“”Quotations””
Thoughts: This album from the Brooklyn electro-pop duo Water From Your Eyes documents a break-up. Specifically the end of the romantic relationship between band members Rachel Brown and Nate Amos, although they remain together as a band and as friends. There’s a lot of variety to hear: Beatles-esque harmonies, shoegaze guitar, ghostly vocals, relentless industrial noise… It changes from track to track and sometimes within the song. But there is, er, structure here as the album is broken into two sets of four songs symmetrical to the other four. Rating: ***1/2
Album: Get Up Sequences Part One Artist: The Go! Team Release Date: July 2, 2021 Label: Memphis Industries Favorite Tracks:
“Let the Seasons Work”
“Cookie Scene”
“Tame the Great Plains”
“World Remember Me Now”
Thoughts: The Go! Team haven’t been as good as they used to be for a while. Or perhaps, the remarkable sameness of their music is an indication that they are as good as they used to be, they just haven’t changed while the listeners have. Anyhow, The Go! Team is always fun to listen to as they cobble together from various sources, the weirder the better. I think I like this album better overall than its predecessor SEMICIRCLE. Rating: ***
Album: Afrique Victime Artist: Mdou Moctar Release Date: May 21, 2021 Label: Matador Records Favorite Tracks:
“Chismiten”
“Tala Tannam”
“Asdikte Akal”
“Afrique Victime”
Thoughts: Mdou Moctar is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter from Niger who is one of the Tuareg people, a semi-nomadic Muslim group of the Sahara region. His musical style is called assouf or “desert blues,” popularized by artists like Ali Farka Touré and Tinariwen. Moctar and other assouf artists take influence from the guitar playing style of Jimi Hendrix, although the musical structure deviates wildly from the Western pop system of verse-chorus-bridge. A lot of reviewers describe the music as psychedelic although I’d say it’s more improvisational and more of a hypnotic reverie than a drug trip. The songs are sung in the Tamasheq language, but I’ve read that they deal with the horrors of French colonialism and the ongoing exploitation of Africa by the West, as well as songs of love and resilience. Listening to this album was an “ear-opening” experience.
Album: Daddy’s Home Artist: St. Vincent Release Date: May 14, 2021 Label: Loma Vista Recording Favorite Tracks:
“Down and Out Downtown”
“The Melting of the Sun”
“Somebody Like Me”
“My Baby Wants a Baby”
“…At the Holiday Party”
Thoughts:
Annie Clark, who performs as St. Vincent, is something of a chameleon, changing her personal appearance and musical style from album to album. This has lead to fascinating career with the highpoint of her 2014 album St. Vincent which I really loved, but also 2017’s Masseduction, which I really did not. On Daddy’s Home, the glam rock and pop noise of the past have been replaced by a soul and funk sound joined together thematically around the idea of New York City in the 1970s. The album title is inspired by Clark’s actual father’s release from prison after serving time for a decade for stock manipulation, but Clark suggests this is more metaphorical than biographical. To me, this album feels like a return to form for St. Vincent, which means it’s something new and experimental.
Album: The Beginning, the Medium, the End and the Infinite Artist: IKOQWE Release Date: March 5, 2021 Label: Crammed Discs Favorite Tracks:
“Falta Muito?”
“Pele”
“The Medium (O Meio)”
“The End (Kamicasio)”
Thoughts:
IKOQWE are a pair of fictional characters who, coming from a distant time and space, are confronted with today’s world. Their impressions are conveyed over the course of an exciting album which blends electronic music, hip hop and the sounds of ancestral instruments from Angola.
If you read this description of IKOQWE’s Bandcamp site and aren’t interested in what they sound like, I don’t know what to tell you. The description of the duo’s debut album goes on to say:
The album contains 11 tracks, and includes drum machines, vocals in Angolan slang, Umbundu, Portuguese & English, discussions about neocolonialism, iniquities & falsified history, radio sounds, utopian solutions, and much more.
I can also tell you that there are some sick beats on this album. It’s creative and vibrant, and I’m sure I’ll be grooving to it for some time to come.
Album: Good Woman Artist: The Staves Release Date: February 5, 2021 Label: Atlantic Favorite Tracks:
“Good Woman”
“Nothing’s Gonna Happen”
“Trying”
Thoughts:
The English folk trio of sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor provide beautiful, close harmonies on this set of tunes. But the sweetness of the songs does not prevent them from singing lyrics of defiance
Album: Tell Me I’m Bad Artist: Editrix Release Date: February 5, 2021 Label: Exploding in Sound Records Favorite Tracks:
“Tell Me I’m Bad”
“Chelsea”
“She Wants to Go and Party”
Thoughts: The Western Massachusetts trio Editrix combines sweet singsong vocals over shredding guitar. Both the vocals and guitar are provided by Wendy Eisenberg, while Steve Cameron plays bass and Josh Daniel plays drums. The great punk/indie rock melodies support lyrics that are often political but also humorous. I found a great piece online that breaks down each song, something I’d love to see more of: https://www.talkhouse.com/a-guide-to-editrixs-tell-me-im-bad/
Panorama of the Mountains 