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Though I expected greater of 2021 - on account of all the free time artists were given courtesy of the quarantine in 2020 - to say it disappointing would be a lie. After all, nothing in recent years has been more exciting than watching U.K.'s Art Punk scene grow, as the three-headed beast of black midi, Black Country New Road, and Squid all released incredible debuts within a four-month window. Fearless and exceptionally-talented, their prowess headlined the year. Though stewing in a niche community was a cult, bound by a love for 90's melodrama, aspirational romance, and Dance music that ascends to the heavens. It was spurred by the faceless DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, a transformative artist who took my breath away with each intrepid exodus. She mustered optimism in the face of overwhelming dread. Represented those Life Is Good t-shirts better than the t-shirts themselves. These two halves - the palpitating anxieties of the Windmill collective, and the calming resurgence of an impassioned DJ - helped put 2021 into context.
All before Lil Ugly Mane tore it apart. Both he, with the near-perfect Volcanic Bird Enemy, and other established artists grew in satisfying ways. There was Japanese Breakfast flexing her versatility in Pop. Lingua Ignota descending further into the reaches of Hell. Little Simz embracing Hip-Hop as a means to overcome. No matter where you looked, in music circles both large and small, artful progression could be found. In a way, it's a testament to human resilience. That a worldwide quarantine needn't be the central topic for musicians, for overcoming the odds was the expected outcome. Art could still prosper even when our chips are down. And boy has it ever.
Playlists For All 100 Songs: Apple Music | Spotify
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20
Armand Hammer - Stonefruit
Haram | Listen
Armand Hammer, like a plethora of underground rappers, have gravitated towards easily-replicable schticks. Ever since zeroing in on a sound, with 2017's Rome, Elucid and Billy Woods have maintained that gruff starkness over austere beats. Haram was no different, excluding 'Stonefruit,' the phenomenal closer that found Elucid singing with awkward embellishments over a loopy, psychedelic sample from The Alchemist. It was a match made in heaven, clunky and real, relatable and impassioned.
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19
Xiu Xiu - A Bottle Of Rum
Ever the experimentalists, Xiu Xiu found trouble evading other artist's sounds on the collaborative OH NO. Lightning struck at the most opportune time though, with 'A Bottle Of Rum.' A duet between the dejected and deranged, Liz Harris (Grouper) and Jamie Stewart's team-up warped conventional acoustics through Ethereal Wave bliss. Mesmeric choruses, playful bridges, and those ever-prescient vocals that long for satisfaction swam like leisurely currents through moss-worn riverbeds.
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18
Genesis Owusu - No Looking Back
I have many soft spots in music often labelled as gimmicks. Incorporated Gospel, used in contrast to an emotive climax, is certainly one. And 'No Looking Back' ticks that box decidedly. After an enduring album filled with potent styles and capricious moods, Genesis Owusu's moment of inspirational reflection leaves a lasting mark on Smiling With No Teeth. Choir chants, glorious trumpets, and weeping organs (reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone's most sentimental work) march around Owusu's clarion call.
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17
Lingua Ignota - Man Is Like A Spring Flower
Sinner Get Ready featured a plethora of gravitational moments, but none stunned quite like 'Man Is Like A Spring Flower.' Using an interview sample from a sex worker engaged in nefarious acts with televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Lingua Ignota's upheaval of religious hypocrisy set the stage for an Avant-Folk masterpiece. Here, she detested wickedness from brewing within those preaching sacrament. A maximalist kaleidoscope of Liturgical Music guides her turmoil, breaking barriers previously not seen.
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16
Feu! Chatterton - Compagnons
Palais D'argile | Listen
This is cheating. We all know it. There's a name for songs like 'Compagnons,' ones so infectious and intent on defying structure for the good stuff. Bridges, codas, hooks, background vocals, and a constant build to lands unfettered with joy. Alternative Dance's known for ignoring skippable formalities, and Feu! Chatterton's 'Compagnons' fits in with that descriptor nicely. The language barrier matters not, for Arthur Teboul's smile practically dominates the proceedings. There's Rolling Stones, Beatles, Blur, all wrapped in a delectable, French delicacy.
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15
Beach House - Superstar
Once Twice Melody | Listen
Though I question the unconventional rollout, one thing is assured: new Beach House means good Beach House. Since the turn of the century, no band has been more consistent. Drowned in Dream Pop, still turning new leafs. 'Superstar' takes to the streets, late at night, evoking the short-lived Synthwave aesthetic made irresistible by acts like Desire, Chromatics, and College. Victoria LeGrand's baritone delivery, washed over by shooting star synthesizers, has never felt so sensuous. The growing splendor only adds to 'Superstar's' luminous aura.
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14
Japanese Breakfast - Posing In Bondage
Jubilee was an exercise in expansion, one that tried - and thrived - to uncover every Pop avenue Japanese Breakfast would excel in. 'Posing In Bondage' sought shelter in Synthpop, but not the formal expression wrought with excessive extravagance and over-the-top bombast. She lingered, uneasily yet overcome with seduction, in Chillwave. Bouncing between ricocheting balls of light, culminating in an irresistible climax to get lost in. Like an immersive visual experience, staring into a void of starlight, 'Posing's' ephemeral state - while disappointing - is nonetheless accurate. Perfection rarely lasts long.
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13
Horsey - Lagoon
Debonair was reckless in disguise, parading itself as a run-of-the-mill Art Punk record while deceptively toying with a litany of styles and, more importantly, emotions. Horsey reflects the fickle human condition, and nowhere was that pontificated better than 'Lagoon.' Ravenous and joyful, passionate and yearning, Jacob Reed's tender heart - capricious as it is - maneuvered this medley of unexpected left turns with clumsy, yet confident grace. In fact, in reality, it's Horsey breathlessly keeping up with him, buoyant and edgeless, ready to shift from melodic to Piano Rock bombast.
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12
Tonstartssbandht - Pass Away
'Pass Away' opens Petunia like the dawn opens every new day. Mildew rests on yawning flower petals, curtains arise off resting windowsills, farmers toil the land; quiet and solitary. 'Pass Away's' beauty builds that somnolence to a rush. Though the lyrics paint a different picture, one bleak and desolate. "Some folks are born who can taste the days / Me, I can't wait to pass away" the White brothers wail, conflicting their abjection with 'Pass Away's' unquestionably-fighting spirit. In recent years, Tonstartssbandht's greatness lie in the contrast between their slacker mentality and the enterprising constructs they make from such ideas. 'Pass Away' is no exception.
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11
Black Country, New Road - Science Fair
Like much of BCNR's modest material, 'Science Fair' centers itself around Issac Wood's untethered anxieties. Rhythmic uniformity eschewed by bouts of shrieking horns and spine-tingling violin work courtesy of Georgia Ellery mirror the increasingly-irascible Wood, as his tangents of failure and embarrassment grow wild. This, culminating in a boiling breaking point as the crash of momentum distorts modernity with grand relapse. "It's Black Country" out there, Wood screams, namedropping his band in the best way possible.
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10
Lost Girls - Real Life
Contradiction is a major draw of 'Real Life.' On one end, you have Jenny Hval. Frail, crystalized, contemplative. On the other, Håvard Volden's guitar. Strewn from convention, wrecking havoc on the silence between breaths. It's a girl and her dog on a morning walk, one half-awake taking in the mildew, the other choking itself on the leash as it bolts from one scent to the next. The underbelly, forever present forever rhythmic, finds equilibrium in the distinction. The closer to Menneskekollektivet highlights the subtleties of Tech House; nimble and nuanced.
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9
Gossamer Girls - Gossamer Girls
What A Time To Be Alive | Listen
Virtually unknown, hidden deep within a companion record to Black Country, New Road's For The First Time, lies a jewel atop a mountain of promise. Made, seemingly, as a one-off given the band and song title strangely mirrored, 'Gossamer Girls' flaunts a staggering array of anthemic styles. At times, starward synthesizers spell out Progressive Electronic. That, proven inaccurate at the Warren Zevon-esque Piano Rock rousing underneath. Both whiplashed by chintzy Doo-Wop vocals. All enchanting, all coexisting under the guise of experimentation.
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8
JPEGMAFIA - HAZARD DUTY PAY!
It's a damn shame we'll never hear 'HAZARD DUTY PAY!' outside of the context of its music video. Samples are murky territory when money's involved, and The Winans' 'Ain't No Need To Worry' proved too insurmountable for JPEGMAFIA. So he released it for free. An immaculate example of his complicating style, 'HAZARD' flexes with ravenous fervor, spitting with saliva spewing from mouth, despite the heartwarming Soul sample laced throughout. The muffled chopping techniques bring Vaporwave's nostalgic silk into the mix, contrasting the pummeling drums with exquisite flair.
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7
Cassandra Jenkins - Hard Drive
An Overview Of Phenomenal Nature | Listen
'Hard Drive' is really, truly a magnificent work of art. Like the sculpture the first verse depicts, with its feminine touch and softened edges, Cassandra Jenkins' Spoken Word meditation implants the numb, unemotional palate left in the wake of concern. Strangers from all walks of life noticing the quirks in behavior, the draggy smile, distant eyes, curious life choices. All, reminding Jenkins of her ongoing "hard drive," presumably centered around mental health and the uphill stone-rolling she perpetually endures. Yet, under that constant pressure lies halcyon equanimity, seen in the graceful rise of Sophisti-Pop production. The assurance that everything will be alright.
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6
Magdalena Bay - Hysterical Us
Mercurial World | Listen
Considering the leapfrog tactics of Hyperpop, modern day Synthpop really has nowhere left to go. It will rot, as the former supersedes it. It's why, in recent years, the best Synthpop has been those songs which levy the desires of humans to enjoy fleeting glimpses of bliss, rather than those exhibiting artistic expression. 'Hysterical Us' is that bliss. A cornucopia of pleasure, where summers are endless and nostalgia is permanent. Apart from the jaunty piano riff, which dances atop hi-hats and glissading strings, it's Mica Tenenbaum breathy weightlessness that lifts 'Hysterical Us's' chorus to the stratosphere.
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5
Bruno Pernadas - Theme Vision
'Theme Vision' was arguably too good. Nothing on Private Reasons bested it, setting expectations astronomically high for Bruno Pernadas' next ambitious project. On its own, the Psychedelic Pop voyage marries the aesthetics of Pernadas' past, that of vintage Neo-Psychedelia and capricious Space Age Pop, colliding on a tropical island. Wonderfully imaginative. Flighty synthesizers, jostling guitars, and an irresistible hook with a wave of caroling voices caps off another elaborate Pop masterpiece.
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4
Kanye West - Come To Life
An innocuous, run-of-the-mill church gathering runs under 'Come To Life.' A woman speaks in tongues as the pastor capitulates to the shared delusion. On its own, the sample is unnerving and ignominious. But placed in the care of Kanye's sacred heart it becomes inspirited and unified, as if a procession of believers rest their hands on the weeping, forlorn West, in hopes of reconciling past mistakes. Ethereal synthesizers and a transformative, Modern Classical piano (a la Nils Frahm) welcomes the zealots to the gates of heaven. And if 'Come To Life's' representative of what's above, it's no wonder disciples aspire to the afterlife.
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3
Lil Ugly Mane - Porcelain Slightly
'Porcelain Slightly's' incredible stature comes, amongst a litany of other things, from the noted distinction Lil Ugly Mane has between mopey Grunge and Alternative Rock and the light he sees at the end of the tunnel. The guitars are crunchy as hell, his vocals sullen and tired. Yet there's an inclusive sense of optimism, one defined by swirling, innocent psychedelics and poignant lyrics rid from years of torment. His vocals find common ground with Lil Peep, while the skater energy aligns with Blink-182. Eclecticism; it's the Lil Ugly Mane way.
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2
black midi - Slow
It all arrives here. Everything that makes black midi great. Tight finger work, intricate pacing, interspersed moments of panic and tension, Cameron Picton's dreary ennui, lyrics balancing the abstract with the existential. 'Slow' is a masterclass of Avant-Prog. Decades of influence, yet firmly ahead of anything set before. Nothing lands better than the haunting Western flair found in the dead middle, with burrowing strain giving way to fits of hysteria. "I guess I'll wait," Picton ushers, as a wave of clamorous ghouls - akin to the Haunted Mansion - materialize behind him.
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1
DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Charmed Life
"It could happen to me." The opening line off DJ Sabrina's masterpiece encapsulates the wide-eyed optimism running, like rushing currents, through her works. The three-hour Charmed was no exception, clinging uplifting House music to damsels, on the night of prom, alone and in distress. The maudlin cravings, desperate persuasions, teary-eyed synthesizers falling from the rafters like gossamer tinsel. It all came to a head on 'Charmed Life,' the 14-minute migration towards ecstasy that was so ambitious, so monumental in scope, that it required a near-three-minute precursor ('Always Charmed') to build the fervency.
Few songs have brought me, a 29-year-old male, greater joy than 'Charmed Life.' It rests in historic legacy, in the metaphorical halls of all-time greats, despite having only existed for a year. The mawkish spirit and rose-colored lachrymose beam through each developing section, as crescent oscillations teeter off 90's Teen Drama samples, creating an awe-inspiring, deterministic ardor that proves, once and for all, that love and happiness are our goals for life. While the 120 BPM's introduce no new ideas, DJ Sabrina's genius emerges in the meticulous reworking of vocals plucked from obscure sources. The most notable, undoubtedly, is the lead female voice - that of Ginny Owens - carrying us with minced Christian agita. DJ Sabrina's brilliance contorts her words, with grace and care, to new foundations, parading acoustic-spent vocals to roaring Outsider House, headstrong and dizzying, in order to not die unloved. On my behalf, because of 'Charmed Life,' DJ Sabrina never will.
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