Here’e my top 100 albums of 2021. Heckuva year for music!
A sampling in Spotify playlist form: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/63VZxrNw4anOkcjV7AvONj?si=0b9ca7012ed443c2
The Top 100
100. Blindfolded and Led to the Woods — Nightmare Withdrawals
Genre: Death Metal, Post-Metal
https://balttw.bandcamp.com/album/nightmare-withdrawals
Surprising sludgey and technical dissonant death metal record with heavy post-metal guitar groove and Pelican-like post-rock structure.
99. Spiritbox — Eternal Blue
Genre: Melodic Metalcore, Pop
https://riserecords.lnk.to/EternalBlue
The best mainstream take on melodic metalcore the year has to offer with good vocals, groovy riffs, and memorable pop choruses.
98. Nouns — Lonely Place of Dyin
Genre: Lo-fi Emo, Lo-fi Indie
https://nounss.bandcamp.com/album/l-o-n-e-l-y-p-l-a-c-e-o-f-d-y-i-n
With the backbone of emo, Nouns continue their meloncholic, proggy, post-rock, math rock, genre blending exlploration in two lengthy and enthralling meditations on friends who have passed.
97. Cannibal Corpse — Violence Unimagined
Genre: Death Metal
https://cannibalcorpse.bandcamp.com/album/violence-unimagined
It’s Cannibal Corpse and it’s tasty.
96. Zelooperz — Van Gogh’s Left Ear
Genre: Hip Hop, Abstract Hip Hop
https://zelooperz.bandcamp.com/album/van-goghs-left-ear
Zelooperz comical delivery and flow dances on and off hilarious beat choices at will for a very entertaining record of both mainstream and experimental hip hop takes.
95. Powerwolf — Call Of The Wild
Genre: Power Metal
https://open.spotify.com/album/4yt6KefVILaA6DqhjxmCP3
Yet another Roman Catholic Werewolf Power Metal record.
94. MARINA — Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land
Genre: Art Pop, Dance Pop, Electropop
https://marina.lnk.to/ADIAML
Marina returns to the colorful and vibrant electropop that she’s best known for.
93. Chung Ha — Querencia
Genre: K-pop
https://chungha.lnk.to/Querencia
Born in South Korea and raised in Texas, Chung Ha offers a wide ranging variety of pop sounds looped into a punchy contemporary K-pop debut.
92. Clarence Clarity — VANISHING ACT I: NO NOUNS
Genre: Art Pop
https://open.spotify.com/album/27QeizwWaLecJBcZ83xCDv
Producer Clarence Clarity graces 2021 with a small collection of his typical genre-pushing hyperpop art pop r&b stuff.
91. Cara Neir — Pain Gel of Purification
Genre: Blackened Crust
https://caraneir.bandcamp.com/album/pain-gel-of-purification
One of the best album covers of the year pulls you in to a bangin’ near emo violence blackened mathgrind record of fun, pummeling riffs, and growl’a’longs.
90. Nick Cave,Warren Ellis — CARNAGE
Genre: Art Pop
https://nickcaveandwarrenellis.lnk.to/carnage
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis make weird a weird Nick Cave record with chamber pop instrumentation.
89. Low — HEY WHAT
Genre: Alternative Rock, Art Pop, Art Rock
https://lowtheband.bandcamp.com/album/hey-what
Your typical alternative rock sound pushed to a new level of artistry, songwriting, and experimentation.
88. Knoll — Interstice
Genre: Grindcore
https://knollvhs.bandcamp.com/album/interstice-2
Blistering noisey mathgrind and calling to mind Full of Hell and Discordance Axis.
87. Cenotaph — Precognition To Eradicate
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
https://coyoterecords.bandcamp.com/album/precognition-to-eradicate
Crushing, swirling, chunky by the numbers brutal death metal with solid songwriting.
86. Mon Laferte — SEIS
Genre: Latin Alternative, Latin Pop
https://universalmusicmexico.lnk.to/SEIS
Latin pop/folk Björk. Incredibly clean and warm production. Improbably beautiful voice.
85. The Weather Station — Ignorance
Genre: Art Pop, Chamber Pop, Sophistipop
https://theweatherstation.bandcamp.com/album/ignorance
Mellow, instrumentally tight indie sophisopop romp for staring at landscapes while riding in cars.
84. Silk Sonic — An Evening With Silk Sonic
Genre: Pop, Soul
https://silksonic.lnk.to/AEWSS
Extremely fun throwback pop and soul record from two obscenely talented individuals.
83. Telomēre — Where Are We Still
Genre: Math Rock, Midwest Emo, Progressive Metal
https://telomere.bandcamp.com/album/where-are-we-still
Incredibly fascinating genre morphing math rock record dabbling in genres and fusing them in new ways with a healthy emo backbone.
82. Demoniac — So It Goes
Genre: Technical Thrash Metal
https://edgedcircleproductions.bandcamp.com/album/so-it-goes
Blistering Chilean tech thrash with a bit of a prog metal edge and a few curveballs.
81. Slant — 1집
Genre: Hardcore Punk
https://slant.bandcamp.com/album/1
Korean hardcore punk; fast and pummeling.
80. Lil Ugly Mane — volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Hypnagogic Pop
https://liluglymane.bandcamp.com/album/volcanic-bird-enemy-and-the-voiced-concern
Grimey genre shifting underground producer and rapper makes a weird heartfelt hypnagogic pop record.
79. Khemmis — Deceiver
Genre: Doom Metal
https://khemmis.bandcamp.com/album/deceiver
Huge and epic doom, Khemmis does it right.
78. MØL — Diorama
Genre: Black Metal, Post-hardcore, Deafheaven
https://moeldk.bandcamp.com/album/diorama
Deafheaven’s beautiful, angsty screamo and post-hardocre influenced hyper-melodic yet chunky black metal, New Bermuda sound perfectly captured and put in an easily consumable package by this bunch of Danes.
77. Squid — Bright Green Field
Genre: Post-punk
https://squiduk.bandcamp.com/album/bright-green-field
More UK Windmill sound stuff that is absolutely batty for a debut record.
76. The Mountain Goats — Dark in Here
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Rock
https://themountaingoats.bandcamp.com/album/dark-in-here
A moody, dark, and warm Mountain Goats record.
75. SeeYouSpaceCowboy… — The Romance of Affliction
Genre: Mathcore, Melodic Metalcore, Sasscore
https://purenoise.bandcamp.com/album/the-romance-of-affliction
Melodic metalcore, mathcore, and sasscore throwback record that’s a ton of fun.
74. NECRONOMIDOL — vämjelseriter
Genre: J-pop, Trance Metal, Black Metal
https://necronomidol.bandcamp.com/album/v-mjelseriter-2
Babymetal if instead of the death metal backing band, they had a bunch of corpsepaint wearing weirdos writing their music.
73. Show Me the Body — Survive
Genre: Punk Rock, Hardcore
https://showmethebody.bandcamp.com/album/survive
Venomous EP of punchy hardcore punk tunes from the experimental tinged underground masters.
72. Frontierer — Oxidized
Genre: Mathcore
https://frontierer.bandcamp.com/album/oxidized
The experience of receiving a concussion.
71. Succumb — XXI
Genre: Death Metal, Mathcore
https://succumb.bandcamp.com/album/xxi
Coming out from the cave a bit with more core oriented sounds than their debut sitting on a swirling muck of dissonant death metal chunkiness.
70. SETE STAR SEPT — Bird
Genre: Grindcore, Noisecore
https://shop.7s7.org/album/bird
Eviscerating Japanese noisegrind.
69. The Sound That Ends Creation — Boomers, Zoomers, Desperate Coomers
Genre: Mathcore, Mathgrind, Avantgarde
https://thesoundthatendscreation.bandcamp.com/album/boomers-zoomers-desperate-coomers
Absurdist Mr. Bungle avantmathgrind with a lot of biting political commentary.
68. Pink Siifu — GUMBO’!
Genre: Abstract Hip Hop
https://ronee.bandcamp.com/album/gumbo
Experimental hip hopper reigns it in a bit to show off that he is indeed just as good if not better at creating poppy hip hop, but still manages to keep the edge.
67. Moral Collapse — Moral Collapse
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
https://moralcollapse.bandcamp.com/album/moral-collapse
Swirling brutal death metal Nile worship with the same Middle-Eastern influence cranked up with brief forays into strange Mediterranean avant-folk implementations for a truly strange and novel work of catchy pummeling chaos.
66. Tropical Fuck Storm — Deep States
Genre: Art Punk, Neo-psychedelic, Post-punk
https://tropicalfstorm.bandcamp.com/album/deep-states-2
Another entry of raw punchy psychedelic art rock from some of the best contemporary creators of the sound.
65. Heavy Sentence — Bang to Rights
Genre: Heavy Metal
https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-sentence-bang-to-rights
Extremely fun big beefy heavy metal throwback that’ll have you bellowing massive choruses and headbanging all night.
64. Fievel Is Glauque — God’s Trashmen Sent to Right the Mess
Genre: Experimental Indie Rock
https://laloi.bandcamp.com/album/gods-trashmen-sent-to-right-the-mess
Strange yet pleasant lofi indie music that sounds like it’s being jammed out spontaneously at a French cafe a few blocks down.
63. Injury Reserve — By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Genre: Hip Hop, Experimental
https://injuryreserve.bandcamp.com/album/by-the-time-i-get-to-phoenix
Wandering through purgatory but make it an experimental hip hop ulogy to a close friend.
62. Drug Church — Tawny
Genre: Indie Rock, Punk Rock, Hardcore
https://drugchurch.bandcamp.com/album/tawny
Big punchy smart power pop punk from one of the best bands making it.
61. Rural Internet — BREAKING UP
Genre: Hip Hop, Industrial Hip Hop
https://ruralinternet.bandcamp.com/album/breaking-up
Punchy experimental hip hop created by a colorful crew of LGBTQ folks from down under.
60. Portrayal of Guilt — CHRISTFUCKER
Genre: Black Metal, Blackened Screamo
https://portrayalofguilt.bandcamp.com/album/christfucker
Viciously evil suffocatingly cavernous hardcore tinged black metal with PoG leaning super heavily into their darkest influences.
59. Fetid Zombie — Transmutations
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal
https://fetidzombiedm.bandcamp.com/album/transmutations-death-metal
The latest entry in Mark Riddick’s old-school melodic, litely progressive death metal project oozes variety with an ear for great riffs and leads that only someone who has listened and loved this music for decades could produce.
58. Body Void — Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth
Genre: Sludge Doom Metal
https://bodyvoid.bandcamp.com/album/bury-me-beneath-this-rotting-earth-3
Funeral doom sludge metal trans rage climate change will kill us all and it’s true music.
57. Kero Kero Bonito — Civilisation II
Genre: Art Pop, Electropop
https://kerokerobonito.bandcamp.com/album/civilisation-ii
Kawaii electropop wizards cannot write a bad song– now with optimistic solar punk themes.
56. Gojira — Fortitude
Genre: Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal
https://gojira.lnk.to/fortitude
The Goj’ deserve to be mega popular as their sound is completely unmatched in groove and power and the drumming, of course, is absolutely batshit insane.
55. Emma Ruth Rundle — Engine of Hell
Genre: Singer-songwriter, Dark Folk
https://emmaruthrundle.bandcamp.com/album/engine-of-hell
Heartbreakingly beautiful, sparse, delicate singer songwriter folk music.
54. Cities Aviv — The Crashing Sound of How It Goes
Genre: Ambient, Hip Hop
https://citiesaviv.bandcamp.com/album/the-crashing-sound-of-how-it-goes
Underground, like in a cave, moody atmospheric hip hop from the cavernous deep.
53. First Fragment — Gloire Éternelle
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Neoclassical Metal
https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gloire-ternelle
If euro power metal veterans Stratovarious played technical death metal, it would sound like this.
52. Full Of Hell — Garden of Burning Apparitions
Genre: Grindcore, Powerviolence, Harsh Noise
https://fullofhell.bandcamp.com/album/garden-of-burning-apparitions
Experimental grindcore excellence playing with power electronics, noise, and the always throat searing vocals of Dylan Walker.
51. Jeff Rosenstock — SKA DREAM
Genre: Ska, Power Pop
https://jeffrosenstock.bandcamp.com/album/ska-dream
All albums should have a ska version.
50. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe — Bloodmoon: I
Genre: Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Hardcore
https://convergecult.bandcamp.com/album/bloodmoon-i
A perfect fusion of both artists’ sounds into an atmospheric, incredibly melodic sludge and hardcore album that is far greater and surprisingly far more novel than the sum of its parts.
49. Pupil Slicer — Mirrors
Genre: Mathcore, Mathgrind
https://pupilslicer.bandcamp.com/album/mirrors
Easy choice for mathcore album of the year– this debut from the UK will absolutely melt your face with its balls to the wall fun and fresh take on the sounds of Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan paired with the atmosphere and brutality of a band like Cloud Rat.
48. Lil Nas X — MONTERO
Genre: Hip Hop, Pop
https://lilnasx.lnk.to/MONTERO
Lil Nas X has it.
47. Blood Cultures — LUNO
Genre: Synth Pop, Hypnagogic Pop
https://bloodcultures.bandcamp.com/album/luno
Incredibly fascinating and mysterious psychedelic indie pop, synth pop, and electropop record that has a song that sounds like a sequel to the Monster Mash on it.
46. Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee
Genre: Art Pop, Indie Pop
https://michellezauner.bandcamp.com/album/jubilee
Lush and arty indie pop.
45. Golden Boy — I NEVER MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN
Genre: Breakcore
https://deathbysheep.com/album/i-never-meant-for-this-to-happen
Speedy groovy breakcore, speedcore, idm weeby nonsense pulled straight out of the 2000s.
44. Slope — Street Heat
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Funk Metal
https://bdhw.bandcamp.com/album/street-heat
RHCP hardcore funk alt metal that is just dumb fun.
43. Bo Burnham — Inside (The Songs)
Genre: Indie Pop
https://boburnham.lnk.to/INSIDE
Comedian somehow figures out how to punch to the heart of the millennial condition during the pandemic and make it artsy at the same time.
42. Carcass — Torn Arteries
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Death ’n’ Roll
https://carcass.bandcamp.com/album/torn-arteries
Multi-decade melodic death metal veterans reemerge with another inexplicably, impossibly catchy and tightly written album of bangers, but this time with the mid-paced endlessly groovy death n’ roll part cranked up.
41. Dry Cleaning — New Long Leg
Genre: Post-punk
https://drycleaning.bandcamp.com/album/new-long-leg
Meandering sarcastic near spoken word post-punk for when you want to wield irony like an iron club.
40. FRITZ — Pastel
Genre: Dreampop, Shoegaze, Noise Pop
https://fritzmusic.bandcamp.com/track/pastel
Catchy noise pop bliss.
39. Iglooghost — Lei Line Eon
Genre: Future Bass, Hyperpop, Wonky, Electronic, Post-everything
https://iglooghost.bandcamp.com/album/lei-line-eon
Post-rock, post-everything, art pop, children’s choir journey through electronic fields of wonder.
38. The Armed — ULTRAPOP
Genre: Noise Rock, Post-hardcore
https://thearmed.bandcamp.com/album/ultrapop
Bright as the sun fourth album from noise rock, math hardcore, post-hardcore wonder rainbow wizards.
37. Bruiser Wolf — Dope Game Stupid
Genre: Hip Hop
https://bruiserbrigaderecords.bandcamp.com/album/dope-game-stupid
Almost stand-up comedy-like hip hop pretty much composed of only one-liners from an oddball in Danny Brown’s Bruiser Brigade.
36. YUKIKA — timeabout,
Genre: K-pop, City Pop
https://lnk.to/timeabout
Yukika’s follow-up EP to her self-titled debut keeps bringing the throwback 80s J-pop sounds.
35. ZOC — PvP
Genre: J-pop, J-rock
https://open.spotify.com/album/2kvv22jR8QxBY1ljRZq1qq?si=9TyvWpexT0qJE7NzfP4F2g
Huge, high octane idol rock group sound lead by the always inventive wizardy of alt idol legend, Seiko Oomori.
34. Lamp of Murmuur — Submission And Slavery
Genre: Black Metal, Goth Rock
https://lampofmurmuur.bandcamp.com/album/submission-and-slavery
Perfectly produced, wonderfully evil black metal tempered with the fires of death rock and goth rock.
33. Weezer — Van Weezer
Genre: Power Pop
https://weezerofficial.bandcamp.com/album/van-weezer
Half a record of infectious Weezer power pop bangers; half a record of baffling songwriting decisions that will make you do double-takes and laugh extremely hard, but with time you will love that side too.
32. Tribulation — Where the Gloom Becomes Sound
Genre: Gothic Metal
https://tribulation.lnk.to/WhereTheGloomBecomesSound
Gothic metal done right– these heavy hitters deserve their place in the megapopular metal pantheon with songwriting, riffs, and leads that hit just right.
31. Sanguisugabogg — Tortured Whole
Genre: Slam Death Metal, Osdm, Nu-metal
https://sanguisugabogg.lnk.to/TorturedWhole
The funniest death metal album of the year has a spit-take inducing snare sound, incredibly stupid synth interludes, extremely groovy and catchy riffs, and an undeniably braindead dumb fusion of slam and nu-metal groove– I love it.
30. Dornenreich — Du wilde Liebe sei
Genre: Dark German Folk, Black Metal
https://dornenreich.bandcamp.com/album/du-wilde-liebe-sei
Whispercore is a thing I just made up and it’s exactly what this multi decade-long running trio do with their haunting, gorgeous, and atmospheric Germanic forest folk lightly doused with black metal.
29. The Dirty Nil — Fuck Art
Genre: Pop Punk
https://thedirtynil.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-art
Pop punk excellence with huge choruses and shoutalongs.
28. Little Simz — Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Genre: Hip Hop
https://littlesimz.ffm.to/simbi
The pure, raw hip hop mastery of Grey Area applied to a massive, high production concept rivaling a Kendrick Lamar record.
27. JPEGMAFIA — LP!
Genre: Hip Hop
https://jpegmafia.bandcamp.com/album/lp
Coming back from the wide shot of All My Heroes Are Cornballs to the tightly controlled experimentation of Veteran in mastery over one liners, groovy flows, and wildly cool production.
26. Gonemage — Sudden Deluge
Genre: Chiptune, Post-hardcore, Noise Rock, Black Metal
https://xenoglossyproductions.bandcamp.com/album/sudden-deluge
Gonemage show that you can basically splice any type of music into black metal and it’ll sound great if you’ve the got the songwriting chops which are brilliantly on display in this fusion of black metal, noise rock, post-hardcore, and most importantly 8-bit video game chiptune sounds.
25. Beach Bunny — Blame Game
Genre: Indie Pop
https://beachbunny.bandcamp.com/album/blame-game
Cute, catchy, and groovy indie pop rock.
24. Spellling — The Turning Wheel
Genre: Art Pop
https://spellling.bandcamp.com/album/the-turning-wheel
Immersive and memorable Kate Bush-style hyper lush chamber art pop.
23. Citizen — Life In Your Glass World
Genre: Post-punk Revival, Emo, Post Hardcore
https://citizenmi.bandcamp.com/album/life-in-your-glass-world
Dancey emo-tinged post-punk revival tunes of the highest order hitting somewhere between Bloc Party and The Strokes, but make it kinda emo.
22. Till — Oyer and Terminer
Genre: Black Metal
https://tillbm.bandcamp.com/album/oyer-and-terminer
Lofi Norwegian black metal throwback from Oklahoma with lovely and bleak anti-colonialism themes that scratch that 90s black metal itch just right.
21. Grouper — Shade
Genre: Ambient, Folk, Lofi
https://grouper.bandcamp.com/album/shade
Grouper has outdone herself taking her trademark sparse dark folk music to new levels of deep, warm, atmospheric brilliance.
20. Këkht Aräkh — Pale Swordsman
Genre: Black Metal, Indie, Bedroom Pop
https://kekhtarakh.bandcamp.com/album/pale-swordsman
Untrve sad bedroom black metal boi brings you the calming romantic sounds of Norwegian second wave with just a splash of lofi indie.
19. Sematary — Rainbow Bridge 3
Genre: Southern Hip Hop, Industrial Hip Hop
https://semataryy.bandcamp.com/album/sematary-rainbow-bridge-3
A deep-fried to hell and back headtrip that at all times sounds like listening to six trap hip hop albums on top of one another, blown all the way out on every channel.
18. black midi — Cavalcade
Genre: Post-punk
https://bmblackmidi.bandcamp.com/album/cavalcade
Originators of the interest in the UK Windmill scene play King Crimson if they were a post-punk band with big band jazz instrumentation and were really into 80s new wave.
17. Mystic Storm — From The Ancient Chaos
Genre: Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal
https://mysticstorm.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-ancient-chaos
The little known thrash metal album of the year hailing all the way from Russia sporting endless riffs and a fun as hell traditional heavy metal edge.
16. Saidan — Jigoku: Spiraling Chasms of The Blackest Hell
Genre: Melodic Black Metal, J-rock
https://obscurantvisions.bandcamp.com/album/saidan-jigoku-spiraling-chasms-of-the-blackest-hell
Goosebump-inducing, absolutely soaring melodic black metal meets catchy J-rock melodies for a soundtrack to a non-existent corpse paint covered horror anime.
15. Backxwash — I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES
Genre: Industrial Hip Hop
https://backxwash.bandcamp.com/album/i-lie-here-buried-with-my-rings-and-my-dresses
In an absolutely venomous follow-up to her breakout record, Backxwash cranks everything all the way up: more trans woman wrath, more skull crushing beats and samples, more raw paint-peeling emotion.
14. BROCKHAMPTON — ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
Genre: Hip Hop, Pop
https://brockhampton.lnk.to/ROADRUNNER_SWE
The inventive boyband pop hip hop collective pushes their sound while all their scars are on display in a pop rap album mostly focused conceptually around member Joba’s processing of his father’s death.
13. Weezer — OK Human
Genre: Power Pop, Piano Rock, Chamber Pop
https://weezerofficial.bandcamp.com/album/ok-human
Weezer make Beatles influenced chamber pop now with Rivers’s same songwriting chops on display as their early records.
12. Turnstile — Glow On
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Alt Rock
https://turnstile.lnk.to/GLOWON
This band found a way to make hardcore punk extraordinarily feel-good, danceable, poppy, and massively catchy.
11. Various Artists — Indaba Is
Genre: Contemporary South African Jazz, Improvisation
https://indaba-is.bandcamp.com/album/indaba-is
A vertical slice of a scene so full of creativity it puts most modern jazz to shame.
10. Lingua Ignota — SINNER GET READY
Genre: Neoclassical Darkwave, Avantfolk
https://linguaignota.bandcamp.com/album/sinner-get-ready
Spiritual wandering through Appalachia’s darkest and brightest solitudes.
9. Obscura — A Valediction
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal
https://obscura.bandcamp.com/album/a-valediction
Absurdly fun technical death metal record with tight songwriting, blazing fast yet headbangable riffs, and a superb amount of variety.
8. shame — Drunk Tank Pink
Genre: Post-punk
https://shamebanduk.bandcamp.com/album/drunk-tank-pink
Meloncholy, straight forward raging, rocking, tightly played and written post-punk.
7. Unto Others — Strength
Genre: Goth Rock, Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal
https://untootherspdx.bandcamp.com/album/strength
FKA Idle Hands’s second record somehow manages to improve their supremely catchy soaring goth rock and heavy metal sound now with 100% more eagle noises and a banging Pat Benatar cover.
6. Last Days Of Humanity — Horrific Compositions of Decomposition
Genre: Goregrind, Grindcore, Deathgrind
https://rottenrollrex.bandcamp.com/album/horrific-compositions-of-decomposition
Little known German goregrind gods first album in 15 years creates a short, incredibly listenable record swirling with deranged deathgrind riffs, garbage disposal vocals, B-movie horror samples and a surprising amount of artistic meaning.
5. Portrayal of Guilt — We Are Always Alone
Genre: Blackened Screamo, Hardcore
https://portrayalofguilt.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-always-alone
Unsettlingly evil, infectiously catchy, with inventive riffs. Blackened screamo, a black metal and screamo blend with a touch of hardcore, is perfected here if it ever could be.
4. Indigo De Souza — Any Shape You Take
Genre: Art Pop, Indie Rock
https://indigodesouza.bandcamp.com/album/any-shape-you-take
Lovingly crafted zoomer Angel Olsen indie with a blinding amount of sincerity and soul on display.
3. King Woman — Celestial Blues
Genre: Doom Metal, Sludgedoom, Singer-songwriter
https://kingwoman.bandcamp.com/album/celestial-blues
A catchy, memorable, and incredible sludge doom fable of the story of Lucifer written from the heart and soul of lead vocalist and songwriter Kris Esfandiari.
2. Arab Strap — As Days Get Dark
Genre: Post-punk
https://arabstrapband.bandcamp.com/album/as-days-get-dark
Aged, concentrated mastery over meloncholic, thickly-accented Scottish poetry about sex and death with tight synthy post-punk all over.
1. Black Country, New Road — For the first time
Genre: Post-punk
https://blackcountrynewroad.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-first-time
What can be said that hasn’t been said about this incredibly inventive jazzy post-punk exodus from the heroes of the UK Windmilll post-punk scene. Listen to this album.
