Please Spoon, just miss once (except don't)

Standouts: Held, The Hardest Cut, The Devil & Mister jones, Wild, Feels Alright, On The Radio, Satellite, Lucifer On The Sofa

Mitski's brand of short yet emotionally impactful tracks is mostly in good form here. Her writing is as pointed as ever, even when the select songs fizzle out before they finish. It's a step down from the magnificent Be The Cowboy, but Laurel Hell is still worth your time.

Standouts: Working for the Knife, Stay Soft, Heat Lightning, The Only Heartbreaker, Love Me More, I Guess, That's Our Lamp

A majestic preview for Impera, one of my most anticipated releases for 2022. These guys can do no wrong in my mind.

Spoiler alert: this is one of my favorite songs of 2021. Check out where it ranks and which albums were my favorites on my website below!

carterfreemon.wixsite.com/bestmusic2021

To say that 30 has some of Adele's most powerful vocal performances is a big statement, and yet that feels like it underrepresents how phenomenal she sounds here. Chronicling her divorce and subsequent healing to her young son Angelo, Adele gets jazzier and more freeform with her songs. There's still standard pop fare here, and I'd say "Easy On Me" and "Oh My God" stand toe to toe with the giants of the past like "Rolling In The Deep". The real point of interest is ... read more

This is Beach House in their damn bag. I don't say this lightly as Beach House has made some of my favorite albums of all time, but this is as good as they've ever sounded. Cannot wait for the rest of the project to drop.

Not only is there a new ABBA album in the world for the first time in 40 years, ABBA IS BACK. I mean that this isn't just a cash grab with the ABBA name attached, this is a full on ABBA record that pays homage to their greatest hits while finding a way to stay refreshingly fun in the modern world of music. There's everything from classic dance floor bops (Just A Notion, No Doubt About It) to heartfelt ballads (I Still Have Faith In You, Ode To Freedom). It's all very dramatic, and a song like ... read more

One of the best under-the-radar synthpop albums I've heard in a while. Nation of Language do a great job of turning the analog synth into something modern. With shades of everyone from Kraftwerk to John Maus to Devo, these songs use these nostalgic sounds to navigate the loss of love. The use of analog works twofold, as it creates a golden image of both the love that's no longer there and a sound that has become scarce in modern music. It's wonderfully put together, and at no moment does this ... read more

It's like anything any member of Hot Chip touches will sound good. HARD FEELINGS is a solid debut from Joe Goddard and Amy Douglas, full of elongated dance floor anthems. The vocals can be a bit uninteresting at times, but there's not a bad groove on the record. If you've enjoyed anything from Hot Chip before, this is a side project worth checking out.

Standouts: Love Scenes, You Always Know, Take You Down, Holding On Too Long, Sister Infinity

There's definitely something to build off of on Prioritize Pleasure. It's held back by some bland production choices and an over-emphasis on spoken word passages, but the good songs slap and Self Esteem's positive messages of body love and independence ring true more often than not. Clean up the edges and a record like this will deserve the critical love this project is currently getting.

Standouts: Fucking Wizardry, Prioritize Plelasure, I Do This All The Time, Moody, How Can I Help You, The ... read more

Fresh and fun, Juno is one of the more exciting debuts of the year. This album is nothing but bangers and you can feel how much fun Remi Wolf is having singing them. Her nasally voice melds well with the chaotic but catchy instrumentals. Remi's in control of her chaos, and with a desire to direct the sound of the future of pop music, we're in good hands.

Standouts: Liquor Store, Anthony Keidis, wyd, Guerilla, Quiet on Set, Volkiano, Grumpy Old Man, Sexy Villain, Buzz Me In, Street You Live On

Despite a slow start, Blue Banisters is a step up from the just-fine Chemtrails Over The Country Club. BB scans closer to Norman Fucking Rockwell with a lusher sense of atmosphere in the production. Lana's as Lana as ever, but coupled with a better overall sound she sounds particularly on point musing on her life and her problems. After spending years crafting her persona, Lana hit a peak with NFR, but it's nice to see she's continuing her solid streak here on Blue Banisters.

Standouts: ... read more

If you don't fall asleep through the first half of Colourgrade, you'll find some mildly interesting songs to end the record. But for an album that's gotten as much praise as it has, I found Tirzah's sophomore LP to be completely lacking in substance. Calling something minimal doesn't mean minimal effort will get you by.

Standouts: Sink In, Hips

When listening to Sympathy For Life, I can't help but recall US Girls' 2020 LP Heavy Light. Like HL, Sympathy For Life follows an immensely praised record that constitutes that artist's catchiest, best material yet, and made the followup even more anticipated. And like HL, the singles are a bit misleading on the sound of the record. Trading upfront energy for meticulously made dance rock, SFL may take a while to grow on most people. But what's upfront and impossible to ignore is that Parquet ... read more

MotS is surprisingly empty for an album that aspires for the stars. Outside of a few quality radio tunes, Coldplay gives big ideas some really surface level interpretations. There's no point in spouting world peace and such when that's all you're doing. The further use of synthesizers is better left in someone else's hands, as Coldplay just can't fill the space of a boring instrumentals with zany noise and expect it to work. There's empty ballads (Let Somebody Go), hard rockers (People of the ... read more

Cut out some of the fat and HLDYTIGL would be one of the year's best albums. As it stands, it's one of Justin Vernon's best side projects.

Standouts: Reese, Phoenix, Renegade, The Ghost of Cincinnati, Hoping Then, Mimi, Easy to Sabootage, Hutch, Magnolia, Brycie

Magdalena Bay are like a terminally online Kero Kero Bonito, and they have complete control of their domain. This brand of smooth yet glitchy synthpop seems effortless for the duo, seamlessly transitioning from one synthpop banger to another. The singles are still fantastic, but this album is filled with highlights, and even the interludes like "The End" and "Halfway" are jams in their own right. "The Beginning" closes the album because of course MB would title it ... read more

Short and sweet, Water is as clear as the liquid it takes its title from. Dehd do a lot with a little, evoking a lot of emotion from some very DIY garage rock. It's a fun, catchy little project.

Standouts: Wild, Lucky, Do You, On My Side, Push The Crowd, Lake, Happy Again, Long Way Home

Just the sort of back-to-basics, snarky indie rock the world can't get enough of.

Standouts: Pool Hopping, MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA, Threatening Each Other re: Capitalism, u v v p, Joni: LA's No. 1 Health Goth, Kickflip, The Sway, Cheap Shoes, Growth

When not playing into the worst tendencies of the genre, Back In Love City is a pretty fun indie rock album.

Standouts: Back In Love City, Alone Star, Wanderlust, Paranormal Romance, Bandit