2021

In 2021 the artists who got the most streams were; Olivia Rodrigo, Rag’n’Bone Man, and Ed Sheeran. After thinking for 15 minutes about what which platters mattered we decided that, in no particular order, The 21 best albums of 2021 probably included...

• The Catenery Wire Birling Gap (See review below)

• Teenage Fanclub Endless Arcade 

• The War On Drugs I Don’t Live Here Anymore (See review below)

• Saint  Etienne I‘ve Been Trying To Tell You  

• Sleaford Mods Spare Ribs 

• Marianne Faithful with Warren Ellis She Walks In Beauty 

• Billy Bragg The Million Things That Never Happened 

• Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth Utopian Ashes 

• Paul Weller Fat Pop 

• The William Loveday Intention Will There Ever Be A Day That You’re Hung Like A Thief? (Damaged Goods) 

• Manic Street Preachers The Ultra Vivid Lament (Sony) 

• Parquet Courts Sympathy For Life (Rough Trade) 

• Blue Orchids Speed The Day (Tiny Global)

• Damon Albarn The Nearer The Fountain The More Pure The Stream Flows (Transgressive) 

• St. Vincent Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista) 

• Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Carnage (Goliath Records) (See review below)

• The Courettes Back In Mono (Damaged Goods) (See review below)

• The Stranglers Dark Matters (Coursegood) 

• Subway Sect Moments Like These (Texte and Tone Records)

• The Specialized Project VIVA The Freedom Songs (Specialized)

• The Specials Protest Songs (See review below)

Three reviews

The Catenary Wires

"The 3rd album by The Catenary Wires is a pleasure to listen to. Before The Catenary Wires, Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were in legendary Indie bands; Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, and Tender Trap. New tracks like; 'Face on the Rail Line' which features amazing keyboard work from Fay Hallam and brilliant harmonies, are amongst the best things Fletcher and Pursey have ever written. Another standout is the single, 'Mirror ball' which deserved to be a hit. The title of the album comes from a pebbly beach in Dover and to borrow a phrase from Viv Stanshall, this band is "as English as tuppence." HP

The War on Drugs

Essentially more of the same but more so from the The War on Drugs. Never a band to worry about wearing their influences on their sleeves or avoid driving (open topped) down the more well travelled arterial routes of the americana roadmap (from Dylan to Springsteen via Dire Straits).

The album starts on a more intimate low key note with the acoustic guitar and sparse piano intro of Living Proof, (a song which evokes Wilco more than any of the aforementioned), but further instruments are gradually added and by the end of the song were are at full War on Drugs.

Like its opener, the album itself builds in complexity and intensity toward some of the best songs of their career such as the title track which hits about mid way through the album and is one of those songs which feels like it has always existed, even on the very first listen.

These are perfectly crafted songs combined with high production values which in some ways seem at odds with the rootsy songwriting but somehow it just works. With all their influences, the band have managed to create and continue to refine a sound that is very much their own, building complex layers of guitar and electronic sound over their simple melodies, taking the listener with them to a dreamy melancholic place that is overall cathartic and uplifting. JC

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis 

Much admired for their soundtrack collaborations, the first Nick Cave and Warren Ellis record outside of that field seems more a continuation of the sonic ideas and emotional intimacy developed in recent Bad Seeds records, in which Ellis has taken an increasingly important role in crafting the overall soundscape. 

Cave in recent years seems to have come out from behind the mask of his more gothic and theatrical personas, sounding more ‘himself’ than ever before – vulnerable, tired, bemused, an ageing man trying to make sense of a world which seems to be falling apart around him. The effect is very strong; overwhelming at times and comes as much from his incredible voice as the words themselves. 

Written and recorded during lockdown, this album certainly makes reference to those global events that have affected us all in the last couple of years and their psychological toll. ‘Albuquerque’ lists exotic places that he and his wife can’t, and perhaps never will go to, except in their imagination. White Elephant chillingly references the Black Lives matter protests and the violent acts that caused them. The album ends on a more personal and positive note with Balcony man (‘I am Balcony man’) where Cave seems to be more at peace locked down on his balcony: ‘This morning is amazing and so are you’. JC

The Courettes

On this album, rock and roll juggernaut 2 piece The Courettes have further embraced the more melodic and soulful girl group feel that has always lurked within their big noisy garage sound. The latest single R.I.N.G.O is a stand out example with its big echoey drums, jingly bells and cleaner melodies that give many of the songs on the album a Ronettes like feel. Also, whats not to love about an ode to the legendary Ringo Starr!! 

Essentially a must see live band, all of the Courettes albums have a retro approach to recording and with lots of very short songs that are mainly at the high end of the octane scale, the result can be that the records end up feeling slightly flatter sonically than their exhilarating live presence. So yes buy the album, but also make sure to catch them live when you can! JC

The Specials

Protest Songs is credited to The Specials. It doesn't sound like The Specials but there are tracks on this album that are good enough to fit on the classic Fun Boy Three Album, 'Waiting'. Lynval Golding's voice sounds better than ever. They do an interesting version of Zappa's 'Trouble Every Day' and they present us with a new star in the form of guest singer Hannah Hu. HP