Amyl and the Sniffers

Comfort To Me

Rough Trade

Euphoric high that is able to help the coming down period. Blasts of improved, well-established lyrical content with a heavy nodding state to Australia's wealth of musical landscape.

– Christopher D

Young Thug

Punk

300 Entertainment

Thugger has been the master of his own brand of eccentricity for years, and his unwavering dedication to soaring head-first into his creative indulgences is nothing less than admirable. Punk has touches of 2017’s acoustic-focused Beautiful Thugger Girls, and in areas it isn’t quite as replayable as 2019’s So Much Fun, but it’s a compelling exercise in fearless pursuit of a unique corner of hip hop. He increasingly serves as a counterweight to a lot of mainstream rap, while proving with his glutton of features that he can always stand tall alongside any major-label player. Young Thug remains an addictive and entrancing force that truly can’t be ignored.

– Campbell

The Muslims

Fuck These Fucking Fascists

Epitaph

Fuck These Fucking Fascists is the fourth full-length by the Muslims, and their first on Epitaph. As the name suggests, it’s complex music steeped in subtle political theory. Just kidding. This is straight-up angry, screamy punk with overt politics. Which is often needed, especially in the current environment. Besides the title track, other song titles include “Crotch Pop A Cop,” “Illegals,” “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and the utterly ridiculous “John McCain’s Ghost Sneaks Into The White House And Tea Bags The President” give away the idea right up front. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. The band tells it like it is. This is the kind of political punk that got me interested in the genre when I was younger. It’s direct and it isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers. It’s also pretty damn well done, with varied sounds between songs, dual vocalists changing things up, and well layered harmonies and even a few effects. Like any music this lyrically focused, some songs on the record overshadow the rest and a few of the songs here give off filler vibes but it never detracts from the energy. It’s urgent, it’s angry, and it wants you to actually listen.

– Loren

The Rememberables

Breathe

Adagio830

What do you get when you mix bigger than life guitars of Dinosaur Jr. with the poppy hooks and melodies of Weezer and a healthy dose of the best earlie ninenties grunge? The sound of The Rememberables comes pretty close! Compared to their previous self-titled album this one is a bit more upbeat, meaning there's less slow burners on it. And it is the lesser album for it. These slower tracks added some extra depth and emotion that is only partially available on Breathe. Is that a big problem? Well, if your songwriting is as good and smooth as that of The Rememberables it should still guaranty you entrance to a couple best of year lists and look where we are now.

– Dennis

Partial Traces

Wild Surf/Quiet Blues

Salinas Records

Partial Traces play pop-inspired keyboard rock – but not at all the kind you imagine when you hear those words. In pop songs, the keyboard generally brings melodrama or atmosphere. In Partial Traces, those two ideas meet in the middle. It’s emotional and serious, but instead of dramatic, it’s tonal. It feels real and authentic, which largely comes from the drums, which add a human nuance to the otherworldly sounds. It’s never quite predictable and always full of surprises that rise and fall like the tide, fading out at the end or…depending on your perspective, just getting started again. It’s tranquil, but full of uncertainty.

– Loren

Lingua Ignota

Sinner Get Ready

Sargent House

It is an act of courage to redefine oneself. Especially when the initial recipe and direction has been exciting and challenging. Yet, when a project is as intricate as Kristen Hayter’s Lingua Ignota there should not be any surprise when evolution is afoot. The nature of Lingua Ignota has always been to be provoking and daring. With SINNER GET READY Hayter still retains these aspects. Hell, she even enhances their presence. The tools might have changed, but the result remains as poignant and terrifying as ever. It is amazing how many things one can achieve with a few powerful piano keystrokes. A timbral storm causing havoc, tearing a caustic void into the ethereal form. Hayter has introduced a mirror image, a further reflection of Lingua Ignota. And in the process she has again outdone herself, producing her best work to date.

– Spyros Stasis

San Salvador

La Grande Folie

Music Development Company

There’s nothing like a good vocal driven ensemble am I right? Well, I don’t know about you but I find myself impressed to the highest degrees by such bands. As a result, I somehow stumbled into San Salvador’s La Grande Folie. Little did I know that I will be thoroughly enthralled by this record. I started listening to it with basically no expectations or ideas about what I will be in for. The short version is that I was in for the ride of a lifetime, musically speaking.  Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a record that made me say ‘what the fuck is this?!’ and ‘what the fuck is that?!’ so many times with such an increasingly pleasant and positive intention and tone behind each utterance. Everything about La Grande Folie is slathered generously in a stupendous aura of wonder. It’s a spectacular experience to partake in and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any and all music lovers, regardless of their musical preferences. I feel like this is the type of album that speaks to people beyond their tastes. There’s something so intimately primordial about it in that sense, which manages to communicate with the listener. I, of course, also urge any and all music lovers to catch a live show if possible.

– Robert Miklos (Piro)

Lamp Of Murmuur

Submission and Slavery

Black Gangrene Productions

Lamp Of Murmuur's star has been on the ascent since their first demo appeared from the ether in 2019. Since then, the enigmatic M has built mystery and intrigue around a project that melds goth and post-punk with raw black metal in ways that are both riveting and vulnerable. Submission and Slavery is outwardly sensual but the introspective aspect allows a deeper glance at M's thoughts and the horrors that can be found there.

– Cheryl

Grouper

Shade

Kranky

When an artist is competent and daring enough, they can open up new pathways for an entire genre. Liz Harris is such an exemplar of artistic creativity, with her solo project Grouper dragging folk music into its new form. This is true for Grouper’s latest work Shade, as the record balances between the folk lineage of olds and the abrupt distortive colorisms of today. And this dichotomy is where the true greatness lies for Grouper. No matter if it is just through a single acoustic guitar, or through a storm of ambient loops and soft walls of noise, Harris’ message remains as emotive and sentimental as ever. And as relevant as ever

– Spyros Stasis

Bruiser Wolf

Dope Game $tupid

Bruiser Brigade

Amidst a powerhouse year for the Detroit crew Bruiser Brigade, Bruiser Wolf shone brightly with his distinctive and forceful debut album, which is equal parts bold, clever, and hilariously biting. Nothing this year got stuck in my head so easily and consistently; start with “Chess Move$” or “I’m An Instrument.” As highlighted on our mid-year feature, “his delivery is high-pitched with a quick, weaving flow that’s reminiscent of E-40, over producer Raphy’s perfectly stripped-down beats.” 2021 was a banner year of resurgence for the collective -- massive highlights in the TV62 compilation, Zelooperz’s Van Gogh's Left Ear, and Fat Ray’s Santa Barbara -- and every record they released is worth exploring on its own.

– Campbell

Iron Maiden

Senjutsu

Parlophone

Yes, this album suffers from the same errors the last couple of albums suffered from. It is bloated and really needs someone to trim some minutes of most songs. The production is... well I am not a big fan. I am also very aware that this is nothing like their eighties output. But I don't expect them to rehash that stuff. Hidden within this monster of an album is a very likable heavy metal album chock full of folky melodies and hints to 70's prog. It is very enjoyable and I've spend more than enough time with it to conclude this is on of the better albums since Dickinsons return to the band.

– Dennis

Fiddlehead

Between The Richness

Run for Cover Records

Has anyone else been living under a rock as I have? I hadn't heard of Fiddlehead until earlier this year when a friend of mine caught Covid at their show, and named this record, "the best album to catch Covid to." Fiddlehead is the Post-Hardcore supergroup from members of Have Heart, Basement, and Intent. Their sophomore album, Between the Richness, captures grief and coping with it, while also breaking free from it to move forward. They maintain the momentum they gained from their debut, Springtime and Blind, but hit back with an album that sounds fuller and more realized. Between the Richness ranges from catchy and aggressive, to intimate and subdued, and all at the right pace.

– Aaron H

Dan Sartain

Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise!

One Little Independent Records

RIP Dan Sartain. Arise! 

Greatly missed. Should have been bigger than any musical diety.

An old soul with a penchant for hooks 

A bookend to a short but storied career.

– Christopher D

Arooj Aftab

Vulture Prince

New Amsterdam

This third album from Brooklyn's Arooj Aftab makes her Pakistani heritage clear and interweaves her powerful voice with traditional Urdu ghazals (think south Asian blues), with harps, strings and synths making up the majority of the instrumentation. It's enveloping, sultry, poignant and sorrowful all at once, with her distinctive voice breaking through and swelling into each song. It's minimalist without being background music, folk-influenced without being twee, and utterly breathtaking when you sit back and take it in.

– Matt

Olivia Rodrigo

Sour

Geffen

The year's coming to a close and theoretically, the honeymoon period with Olivia Rodrigo's Pop-coup should be over, but sorry Punks! Sour is unequivocally one of the best albums of the year. A near perfectly crafted Pop album that even has some hints of punk tendencies. I mean, her opening track, "Brutal," is accused of ripping off Elvis Costello's "Pump is Up," and sounds like she was influenced by Bikini Kill. Meanwhile hit single, "good 4 u" had to retroactively give Paramore writing credits (which is a bit of an eyeroll). Sour has its bits of Pop-Punk, but doesn't stray far from the Singer-Songwriter tree harboring Phoebe Bridgers or Lucy Dacus. She's just a bit more Pop about it.

– Aaron H