The top gross of albums I listened to in 2021, upon which many of these albums feature.
They are presented in the order that I put them into the playlist, not in any ranked order.
Daniel Hart - The Green Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The Green Knight is a film I cannot get out of my head. No film has haunted me like this since Mandy—fortunately, just like the Mandy OST, the Green Knight soundtrack is a cinematic and compelling artifact on its own.
Bretwalda – Cammock Tongue
“The second in a series of sonic papers about medieval Britain.” Cammock Tongue is medieval subject matter and language via post-industrial electronics.
/A\ - /A\
A collaboration of Franz Treichler of the Young Gods with Emilie Zoé and Nicolas Pittet, /A\ is experimental psychedelic rock pop jam music. Apt music for a near future that will never be.
Rogér Fakhr - Habibi Funk 016: Fine Anyway
The album I listed to most this year, Fine Anyway is eminently listenable and is the kind of music I can play around other people without my wife snapping at me “to turn off that crap”. It’s slightly funky, 1970’s folk rock with just a bit of a exotic flavor here and there and only missed my top 25 list because it’s technically a reissue.
Matt Sweeney & Bonnie "Prince" Billy – Superwolves
The followup to their 2005 collaboration, Superwolf; Superwolves is eclectic without feeling disjointed, soulful and wandering.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities (Part II)
It was a close call between this and CARNAGE, which Nick Cave & Warren Ellis put out in 2021, but ultimately this is just more fun, especially the first disc.
Marissa Nadler - The Path of Clouds
This was perpetually the 26th album on my top 25 list. I’d rearrange it or reconsider or get a late album in November or December and this would be the album that was pushed to 26. A mesmerizing and gloomy album based on true crime stories it is gorgeous and haunting.
Lowen - Unceasing Lamentations
A live acoustic EP from Doom Metal band Lowen, with the three tracks sung in Sumerian, Akkadian and Farsi, Unceasing Lamentations manages to be epic and transporting with only vocals and acoustic guitar.
Witchcryer - When Their Gods Come For You
This was the doom metal album that never quite made the top 25, but is an excellent concept album around religious throughout human history.
Six Organs of Admittance - The Veiled Sea
One of my favorite Six Organs of Admittance records in a while, with Ben Chasny showing off his excellent experimental guitar chops.
Loot the Body - Hex Volume 2
Loot the Body does D&D inspired, 70’s throwback psychedelic rock, which should make it feel gimmicky, but instead the musical skill and enthusiasm make this more than just a nerdy stunt. The band posted on Bandcamp asking for suggestions for D&D modules to write about and I suggested my favorite module, Against the Cult of the Reptile God, and I was delighted with how the final song turned out.
The Victims - Silent Dreams
The reissue of an obscure 80’s synth pop band, this album is very, very 80s in style and flavor but also a nostalgic treat.
Kibble – The Moose and Mice Give Honest Advice
Kibble is the comedic side project of Alex Reed of Seeming and though this album is only 22 minutes long, I was giggling and guffawing the entire time the first seven or eight times I listened to it. Being a musician (and fan) of gothic and industrial persuasion, the takes on those genres are razor sharp parodies and many other solo piano songs are the best kind of silliness. A comedic delight at just $5.
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