Tom Sykes

2021 has been a year to forget for many reasons, not least for the music industry, which seems to have done its best to churn out a host of mediocre and unoriginal albums. Aside from predictably inane pop releases from the likes of Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez, producers have turned to celebrity amateurs in the hopes of making a quick buck in what is fast becoming a TikTok driven industry. This year has seen a UK number one record from Youtuber, turned-boxer, turned-rapper, KSI, meanwhile Usain Bolt has his eyes on a Grammy for his recent reggae release, ‘Country Yutes’. While these albums have provided an entertaining distraction, their surprising success hardly indicates a thriving global music scene. To make matters worse we seem to be in the midst of an Abba reunion – need I say more.

To cut artists and producers some slack, it has been an exceptionally challenging 18 months for the industry. The pandemic has wreaked havoc to live venues leading to a decline in emerging artists and hiatuses for those bands who rely on live performance. However, it is hard not to be disappointed by the creative output of an industry emerging from the pandemic.

That said, 2021 hasn’t been all doom and gloom for music lovers. A select vanguard of talented artists has put their long periods of isolation to good use and cobbled together some brilliantly innovative albums. Hailing from the London post-punk, Aussie indie rock, and US country and bluegrass scenes, these artists are attempting to save the stuttering music world and provide some direction to a rudderless industry. What follows is a list of the best albums released in 2021 designed to restore some faith in the creativity of today’s generation of musicians.

1. Bright Green Field – Squid

Quite simply the best punk band around. ‘Squid’ has burst to the forefront of the London punk scene this year with their faultless debut album, Bright Green Field. In fact, it is reductive to describe Squid as a punk band, as Bright Green Field demonstrates that they are so much more than that. Along with Black Midi and Dry Cleaning, the members of Squid are representatives of a musically sophisticated London punk scene with jazz, blues, and funk influences seeping through their records. They are at their raw and thoughtful best on the rollercoaster post-punk track ‘Peel St.’.

2. Sharecropper’s Son – Robert Finley

At the tender age of 67, Louisiana-born bluesman Robert Finley has released his second studio album, Sharecropper’s Son. Finley is a musician with an incredibly diverse musical and professional background, having served as a US army guitarist, led a gospel group, and appeared in the 2019 incarnation of America’s Got Talent. Having been spotted busking by the Music Maker Relief Foundation in 2015, Finley has gone on to achieve the commercial and critical acclaim that his work richly deserves. Sharecropper’s Son is an autobiographical album that returns to Finley’s roots on the plantations of Louisiana while incorporating some of the many influences that Finley has picked up on his long musical journey. The result is a rich, bluesy record built around the distinctive twang of a southern blues guitar with some strong nods to gospel and soul. The album provides a strong indication of Finley’s musical versatility built up over years of toiling in an industry that never paid him his due. The title track ‘Sharecropper’s Son’ and ‘County Boy’ represent classic southern blues in its modern incarnation, meanwhile, Finley shows off his vocal range in the more soulful tracks, ‘My Story’ and ‘I Can Feel Your Pain’. The standout track from the album is ‘Souled Out On You’, a gritty and powerful southern soul track, sure to become an instant classic.

3. Shyga! The Sunlight Mound – Psychedelic Porn Crumpets

This is not the best album on this list, nor is this the most talented band. The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets make it onto this list not on merit but by virtue of their magnificent name. The Aussie prog-rockers returned in 2021 with their fourth album with a little less psychedelia than their previous offerings, but a whole lot more crumpet. Well worth a listen.

4. Daddy’s Home – St Vincent

One of the more established names on this list. St Vincent released her sixth album in 2021, a haunting record that defies categorization grounded thematically on the release of her father from his ten-year prison sentence. The album is almost impossible to define as it veers from funk guitar riffs to discordant thrashing and occasionally threatens to spill over into trashy pop before a cutting lyric brings it back into focus. Daddy’s Home is certainly not an easy listen, but St Vincent has built on her strong reputation for innovation, lyrical talent, and sheer strangeness with a commercially unfriendly but fascinating album.

5. The Ballad of Dood and Juanita – Sturgill Simpson

This concept album from Sturgill Simpson is a true product of pandemic-induced reflection and creativity. Simpson dreamt up this civil war love story, or as he calls it, a “simple tale of either redemption or revenge” while recovering after being hospitalized with coronavirus. The ballad has come to life in the form of a bluegrass album that cements Simpson’s status as country music’s brightest star. The album even features a cameo from country legend, Willie Nelson on the delicate love song ‘Juanita’. As good a reason as any to give it a listen.

6. Comfort To Me – Amyl and the Sniffers

If the London punk scene is dominated by thoughtful and sophisticated post-punk bands, Aussie surf-rock is at the other end of the spectrum. Along with the Chats and the Smith Street Band, Amyl and the Sniffers have been thrashing out 3-chord punk tracks since their 2019 debut. The Londoners seek to emulate the post-punk groups of the 1980s, while Amyl and the Sniffers are far more akin to the early punk-rockers of the 70s. Their rapid delivery of their simplistic songs gives them a Ramones-like quality, while lead singer Amy Wilson has the energy of Iggy Pop combined with the alluring stage presence of Patti Smith. Comfort To Me is stylistically nothing new. It is Taylor who makes the band compelling, with her empowering lyrics and irresistible presence – punk rock for the age of female empowerment.

7. Delta Kream – The Black Keys

Ohio blues group, The Black Keys, are succeeding in the traditional quest of the ageing rock band to remain relevant as they enter their forties. They have returned in 2021 with Delta Kream, an album that pays tribute to the legendary bluesmen of the Mississippi Delta. Delta Kream provides a shiny new coat of paint to some of the oldest and most influential country blues songs ever written. The Black Keys’ rendering of ‘Poor Boy a Long Way From Home’, a song that has been covered by almost all the greats of the blues, is the standout track on an impressive album.