I've got a Spotify playlist with my 2021 faves. I also try to keep my Discogs somewhat up to date, and my Bandcamp profile maybe has the rest.
Instead of trying to rank albums that sound nothing like each other, I like to think about these things in tiers. They're not so much tiers of better/worse, but how much they've resonated with me over time.
Heavy rotation. These are the albums that defined 2021 for me.
Portrayal of Guilt - We Are Always Alone & CHRISTFUCKER
There are a lot of reasons why PoG gets the top spot on this list, but I don't know that any of them will be all that compelling for you. This is aggressively bleak music, but it's also experimental and heavy in a way I find irresistible. This is a "me" thing: Spotify pegged me in the 0.01% of PoG listeners.
But behind the hostility, these guys can absolutely shred. I've never heard a band that gets so much out of so little. They give new meaning to the cliche "the devil's in the details," and James Beveridge (drums) and Matt King (guitar & vox) are masters of His craft. Who knows what it means to be the "best" at anything, but IMO this is the most effective use of drumming going, and a big reason is because King can expertly execute whatever the drums are driving at. Some bands have four different people doing what he does himself.
Home Is Where - I Became Birds
This is probably the most vital record I've heard since covid. Longer, maybe.
Camp Trash - Downtiming
These songs are the perfect blend of smart and hooky emo pop-rock, and I'm still not over the time I stumbled on them playing the same songs in a basement some five years ago. Means there's still hope for my high school band The Wolf Pack to break through with the audience we deserved.
In the future I'll probably look back and decide a few of these should've been listed in the tier above.
Indigo De Souza - Any Shape You Take
I sense a lot of (extremely deserved) buzz around guys like NNAMDI and Bartees Strange for being phenomenally talented polymaths who concoct radio-ready jams that sound fresh and new, while still invoking some sense of familiarity. Like yea, this is exactly what I would want a Bloc Party record to sound like in 2021. And this satisfies my brain in ways only a younger Kyle would know how to describe.
I think Indigo De Souza deserves the same kind of buzz. I was kinda hoping someone would've snuck her onto Obama's list, she's got that kind of command over her sound throughout the many shapes of her new album. She's probably too Real for Obama, but I'm not sure she needs anything more than a well-placed co-sign before she's all over the radio. I'll put a couple extra vids here in case it helps.
Rosie Tucker - Sucker Supreme
Not sure why I haven't seen more love for this record on the blogs, but I suppose records like this slip through the cracks all the time. I'm glad I found this one: Tucker excels at the kind of pop-rock song that you just can't turn off. Fully recommend.
Jordana - Something to Say to You
Similar story as with Rosie Tucker, though it seems like Jordana's been getting a little more buzz. She put out a collab and toured with TV Girl this year, and the single she put out with Magdalena Bay, "Push Me Away," hints at a potential pop star glow-up. But she earns her spot here for the album she put out in 2020.
Worst Party Ever
Honestly, the new album still needs to grow on me. But I've had False Teeth and What About You? on repeat so often and for so long that they earned their own entry here.
Jeff Rosenstock - Ska Dream
I'm going to hold my powder for a zine I'm ideating on about Jeff, but suffice it to say that everything he puts out is appointment listening, and this is the kind of record (a ska covers album of a recent and beloved album) that you absolutely cannot pull off unless you're the coolest MF on the planet. But don't take my word for it:
Wednesday - Twin Plagues
This was such a huge step forward from their 2020 album I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone (which has a few earworms of its own, e.g.). My gf has called me out for playing "Handsome Man" near every time there's a lull on the stereo, and hey, guilty as charged.
But also: she wasn't complaining! Female-fronted indie-folk-rock bands are pretty in vogue these days, and Wednesday's southern rock influence is a differentiator.
Boy Scouts — Wayfinder
I don't know much about the artist here, which is part of the reason there's still potential for Wayfinder to bump up a tier. The other reason: I think it's perfect? The vibe, the sound, the hooks, the lyrics, the layers... She nailed it.
Spirit of the Beehive — ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH
Glocca Mora - Just Married (2012)
If required to present a sworn statement, I'd probably say that Spirit of the Beehive is my favorite band going right now. ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH wasn't the album that sold me on them though, and I still gotta spend more time with it.
Glocca Mora has always been revered in Twitter's emo circles, but it wasn't till 2021 that it finally started to click for me. And then I found out the singer is the same guy from Spirit. I spent too much time not listening to this band; I've been making up for it though.
All of these rule and come with my full endorsement.
Parquet Courts - Sympathy For Life
I never stopped liking Parquet Courts, I just kinda stopped paying attention after Sunbathing Animal. Seems like they spent those intervening albums becoming exactly what I wanted them to. Smart and Fun. Rock and Roll.
Mdou Moctar — Afrique Victime
Do yourself a favor and watch at least through the first minute, till the kids start to dance.
Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee
I once left a Japanese Breakfast show early. Spirit of the Beehive and Mannequin Pussy were the openers; it was a school night and I figured I'd already seen my two favorite bands on the bill. That's still probably true, but I realized my mistake when I saw her at a much larger venue about a year later. She's awesome. I'm about halfway through Crying in H Mart, and I'll recommend that as well.
Hovvdy — True Love
Hovvdy is like the Demar Derozan of indie rock: they just kept filling up the stat sheet with consistent, quality numbers for years, and so it's really only our fault if we didn't realize there was another level above that. They have no bad songs! But still, this one is the best.
Grouper - Shade
If Hovvdy is Demar then consider Grouper Tim Duncan. Never falls off, never misses.
Sometimes I know an album is great but, for reasons of timing or mood or whatever, I haven't yet made as deep of a connection.
The Armed - ULTRAPOP
xMUSCLExCOREx
Bachelor - Doomin' Sun
I thought people really liked this, but then I never heard about it again. I still like it a lot.
Fiddlehead - Between the Richness
Kinda bookish, emotive post-hardcore from the east coast — I'm pretty into it, your mileage may vary.
Indigo Sparke - Echo
RIYL early Sharon Van Etten.
Katy Kirby - Cool Dry Place
This might be every bit as good as the Boy Scouts album.
snow ellet - suburban indie rock star
I'm pretty stoked on this guy.
Turnstile - Glow On
UNDERWATER BOI was one of my fave songs immediately, but the rest of their stuff has taken its time to grow on me. These live vids have helped.