The end of the year is approaching and it looks like everything will be hibernating for a few weeks so here's the final summary ! A much better 2021 than the previous one (although you have to take into account the pandemic that slowed things down too)!!
Love
1.
(Post Punk / Art Punk)
„To say that there are before and after Bright Green Field is perhaps a little too hasty, yet the Brighton natives have offered us an absolutely brilliant experience from start to finish that will be remembered for years to come. They knew how to revisit through the anguish of the world, with the help of a modern signature absolutely personal“
Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/329449-bright-green-field/2.
(Post-Rap / Experimental Hip Hop)
"Bursting with deep sorrow, Injury Reserve delivers absolutely transcendent and visionary Hip Hop that showcases a meaningless world that doesn't yet exist."
3.
(Avant-Prog / Experimental Rock / Art Rock)
„If the previous and first album was already phenomenal, Cavalcade is monstrous. With this last one, Black Midi enters in the legend of the monument of the Prog music, by giving the impression of an even more promising future“
4.
(Neoclassical Darkwave / Avant-Folk)
„It is always very complex, sometimes impossible for an artist to leave her comfort zone, the one that made her known to explore new horizons, moreover with a concept as complex as the main task. Yet Kristin Hayter managed to climb her third step with genius, to offer us one of the most thrilling, terrifying and sensational musical experiences of the year“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/350774-sinner-get-ready/5.
(Experimental Rock / Post-Punk)
„Not only will For the First Time easily become a favorite for the 2021 rankings, but this treasure has the potential to become a benchmark for the future. In other words, this is not a day like any other. Black Country New Road is the symbol of these new groups of genius who point the finger at the misdeeds of today's society, while redrawing new musical contours, as if they were invested with a mission to care for the future“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/295445-for-the-first-time/6.
(Baroque Pop / Art Pop)
„In The Turning Wheel, Spelling could play a witchy heroine who struggles to be heard in a disruptive Disney. This album is clearly part of these magical works that we listen in loop“
7.
(Spritual Hip Hop / Experimental Hip Hop)
„On Donda, Kanye West finds the right way through a giant mass where the whole Hip Hop scene is invited. Unlike his recent misguidance, Kanye reaches out, reflects and takes responsibility. Donda's adventure is an eclectic one where faith and worldview are confronted through deeply emotional soundscapes“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/262792-donda/9.
(Experimental Hip Hop / Hardcore Hip Hop)
„LP is the story of a turbulent and hyperactive bad boy who passes a casting by proposing a more efficient and sophisticated version of his formula in order to achieve a perfect synthesis of his musical palette. If we are less surprised than usual, the technique and the mastery of JPEGMAFIA remain absolutely striking“ Full review:
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/421557-lp/10.
(Deconstructed Club / Experimental Hip Hop / Glitch Hop)
„KicK iii is one of the most exciting and promising parts, simply because Arca seems absolutely transcendent. We find dozens of undisciplined, disordered, unpredictable songs that come to burst in turn in an unprecedented festival of flavor“ Full review :
https://spectrumculture.com/2021/12/05/arca-kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii-review/11.
(Neo-Psychedelia / Hypnagogic Pop)
"Lil Ugly Mane had already proven that his eclectic formula sometimes surpassed Hip Hop and that his talent was incalculable, but on Volcanic Bird Enemy begins a new Neo-Psychedelia chapter with brilliance as if it were a whole new artist."
15.
(Neo-Soul / Alternative R&B)
16.
(Indie Pop / Chamber Pop)
„Jubilee captures the essence of delightful Chamber Pop and heartfelt Indie Pop and makes it graceful. Zauner is a master at bringing emotions to life or making them speak when they seem deeply buried, volatile in contrast“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/341271-jubilee/17.
(Post-Rock / Chamber Music)
„Drawing on both the early foundations that built their cult following and the present inspiration, Godspeed You Black Emperor delivers a searing album full of open-hearted truth. "G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! "is a dazzling piece of music, as much in the power of the orchestration as in the imagery. A colossal experience to be lived imperatively as a fall with eyes closed. You could say it's a return to grace“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/341595-g-ds-pee-at-states-end/19.
(Ambient Pop / Post-Industrial)
„The discography of Low is irreproachable, Hey What is a stone carrying more of a monument almost finalized“
20.
(Third Stream / Post-Minimalism)
„It is as difficult to understand Promises as it is to describe it. One could say that there is no limpid adventure in 2021, it must be tasted layer by layer, like a cake with several layers“
22.
(IDM / Breakbeat Techno)
„Tomorrow is today“
23.
(Electropop / Synthpop)
„Nurture is not just an album, it is also a life lesson. Porter Robinson has come close to the basics in order to develop himself artistically, offering a lively and unabashed adventure, and for this reason Nurture is seductive both in its great qualities and in its flaws“ Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/211264-nurture/24.
(Vanguarda Paulista / Experimental Rock)
„It had been some time since a contemporary Brazilian album had seduced me so much. An adventure success from start to finish“
25.
(Indietronica / Glitch Pop / Noise Pop / Hyperpop)
"Frailty traces an introspective struggle with anxiety in a digicore/indietronica upsetting universe like a con-stant mist that one tries to remove. A wonderful album that shows the essence of the enormous potential of Dltzk, only 18 years old. "
Full review :
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/418876-frailty/26.
(Metalcore / Deathcore)
„Brutality and purification“
27.
(Post-Hardcore / Alternative Rock)
„Glow On is a good mood antidote, a source of infinite energy“
28.
(Metalcore / Mathcore)
„Radical establishes itself as the best Metal album of the year 2021“
29.
(Shoegaze / Emo / Noise Pop)
„A formidable alliance Shoegaze/Emo/Lo-Fi which offers one of the most phenomenal compilation of the year“
30.
(Jazz Rap / Southern Hip Hop)
„An absolutely exquisite Jazz-Rap flavor, McKinley Dixon performs a demonstration from nowhere like The Koreatown Oddity did last year“
33.
(Experimental Hip Hop / Trap / Gangsta Rap)
„Slitherman Activated is both the funniest and the most committed Hip Hop album of 2021, driven by one of the most charismatic and cutting edge rappers of the moment“
34.
(Post-Industrial / Darkwave)
„favorite thriller soundtrack“
36.
(Vaporwave / Utopian Virtual / Glitch Pop)
„We sometimes spend our time to discover what the future will be made of, Faith in Persona is maybe one of the ways, an explosive and contagious mixture“
37.
(Abstract Hip Hop / Jazz Rap)
„Pray For Haiti establishes itself as the top tier of Mach-Hommy's discography“
38.
(Field Recordings / Musique Concrete)
„A very mysterious album that stands out as one of the best avant-garde albums of the year“
39.
(Progressive Pop / Psychedelic Pop)
„Private Reasons is a singular journey of which only Bruno Pernadas and his collaborators have the secret, but however certain moments would deserve to be purged to advocate the effectiveness“
41.
(Art Rock / Alternative Rock)
„時間 shows all the promise of a young author who is ready to devour the world“
43.
(Shoegaze / Emo / Post-Rock)
„Parannoul is the leader of a new South Korean underground scene that has not stopped talking about it. If To See The Next Part Of The Dream sometimes lacks song, the textures, emotions and soundscapes are absolutely stunning“
44.
(Avant-Garde Jazz / Nu Jazz / Ambient)
„There is often a contemporary jazz album that slips in among the direct competitors, Space 1.8 is a minimalist adventure that plunges you into a dream“
45.
(Southern Hip Hop / Trap)
„Maxo Kream did not invent fire, but he is still undeniably and criminally underestimated. Weight Of The World is one more example“
46.
(Minimalism / Chamber Music)
„It's crazy the number of interesting minimalist works that we find in this millesime“
47.
(Art Pop / Indie Pop / Indietronica)
„Lump is an alchemist who works very well“
48.
(Alternative Rock / Indie Rock)
„Despite the somewhat stereotypical Indie Rock look, Blue Weekend is formidable enough to be a charming experience“
49.
(Hard Rock / Country Rock)
„Whatever the times, there are still some very great things to find in Young“
50.
(Neo-Psychedelia / Art Rock)
„Not as brilliant as the previous one, but still vital“