Any album officially released during the calendar year that is not a compilation, rerelease, or expanded edition of a previous album.
There is no limit per artist.
25) The Black Keys- Delta Kream
A rich, deep-dive into vintage Southern Blues, Delta Kream proved to be cause for rejoice among long-time Black Keys purists, and blues music aficionados in general. As one of today’s premier A-list rock acts, the Keys’ sound has expanded well beyond the rustic blues roots on display here. But this scintillating covers album, which collects and reinvents standards by everyone from Junior Kimbrough to John Lee Hooker to Big Joe Williams and beyond, transplants them squarely back in the thick, swampy blues basics that hooked those listeners who have been following them since they were still a cult act ripe for widespread discovery. The combination of Dan Auerbach’s mysterious vocals and Patrick Carney’s sweaty guitar riffs remains a musical revelation in every sense of the word, and when they apply that intoxicating combination to hill standards like “Crawling Kingsnake”, “Poor Boy a Long Way From Home”, “Come and Go With Me” or “Going Down South”, they create versions that give the nearly-century old originals a serious run for their money.
24) Aaron Lee Tasjan- Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
Aaron Lee Tasjan has been pushing the boundaries of both Americana and post-millennium roots rock since the launch of his adventurous solo career in the late 2000s. But it’s on his quirky and kaleidoscopic fourth long-player that he fully realizes the ultimate scope, color and reach of his artistic vision and sound. Filtering a Heartland tapestry through an unapologetically psychedelic lens, Tasjan channels everything from Tom Petty’s twangy rock vocals to The Beatles‘ restless studio experimentation to Jeff Lynne’s brilliantly obtuse sonic touch, all the while exploring a vast range of topics ranging from sexual fluidity (“Up All Night”), the pitfalls of technology (“Computer of Love”), gender identity (“Feminine Walk)” and life’s anxious rat-race (“Don’t Overthink It’). It’s one of those perfectly balanced records that simultaneously provokes your mind and feeds your appetite for addictive hooks and infectious grooves. It’s a magnificently trippy pop wonder that further solidifies Tasjan as an important voice in today’s music climate.
23) Charley Crockett- Music City, USA
Charley Crockett’s classic style and imagery is not the only joyously retro trait of a man who has suddenly become one of the Americana scene’s most buzzworthy artists. Having released an astounding ten (!) studio efforts since 2015, Crockett’s pace of recording and releasing albums also resembles that of a bygone era. With Music City USA, the artist unveils what is arguably his most thorough and fully-realized encapsulation of his gift for melding traditional honky tonk with rich elements of blues and soul. At sixteen tracks, it’s a packed album but not one lacking meat on a single inch of its bones, with standouts abounding at every corner, from the Cajun-tinged fiddling of “Are We Lonesome Yet” and the oozing blues burn of “This Foolish Game” to the Appalachian frenzy of “Round This World” to the stone cold honky tonk joy of the title track. There’s a vast difference between acts who are simply nostalgic novelties and those traditionalists who elevate the timeless qualities of classic sounds of the past to retain their relevancy in a modern era. Music City USA once again proves that Charley Crockett undoubtedly and gloriously resides in the latter column.
22) Modest Mouse- The Golden Casket
Of the countless pieces of music created during and in response to the utter chaos that launched the 2020s, there’s perhaps no single tune that truly feels like the state of confusion, conflict and exhaustion that has defined life in the pandemic era than the aptly titled “F**k Your Acid Trip”, the manic tune that opens the seventh album from alt-rock soul-shakers Modest Mouse. It dutifully establishes the tone for an enthralling body of work that is filled with nervy tones of uncertainty, anticipation, anxiety and ultimately, the complicated but necessary acceptance of the cards we’ve been dealt and our need to react accordingly. It’s that multi-faceted combination of both reaction and reflection that makes The Golden Casket such a thrilling document of the times we live in. For every urgent rush of adrenaline like the hit track “We Are Between”, the greatest accomplishment here is Isaac Brock and company’s ability to capture the contemplative emotions born out of those quieter, isolated moments that also took place when the familiarity of every day life ended, as beautifully exemplified by the intimate father-daughter tune, “Lace Your Shoes”. And as stated in “The Sun Hasn’t Left”: “You’re not wrong, things are a mess. But there’s still something left..”
21) Valerie June- The Moon and the Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers
If ever there was record worthy of being labeled as a prescription for dreamers, The Moon and the Stars is certainly it. On her third label release, Valerie June takes her already wondrous vocal magic to a new dazzling level; a dreamy and enchanting soundscape that is wholly unique to the qualities that exist within her gutsy, soulful range. It’s truly impossible to accurately describe the woman’s voice, or the emotions evoked when she sings. You do frankly need to hear it to understand and appreciate it. Anchored by the earthquaking soul collaboration with Carla Thomas on “Call Me A Fool”, it’s a collection of spellbinding, almost gypsy-like performances that weaves in sonics both theatrical and rustic, folksy and soulful, to craft an exuberantly spiritual potion that simply transcends the listener into an alternate space and time, and one you won’t soon want to return from.
20) Lake Street Dive- Obviously
My long overdue discovery of this genre-defying quintet stands as one of my happiest musical moments of 2021. Their dazzling seventh full-length is a delightful buffet of sounds and influences ranging from pop ,folk and jazz to blues, R&B and soul. Sultry leader Rachael Price and her silky smooth pipes navigate the crackling and talented ensemble surrounding her through this sensational sonic ride with charming aplomb and effervescent charisma that few vocalists of any genre or gender can match in today’s pop landscape. The set is charmingly anchored by the bopping anthem and lead single, “Hypotheticals”, easily one of the most impressive ear-worms in recent memory. But the entire record is brimming with equally dynamic numbers, including the flirty, full-on Akie Bermiss duet of “Same Old News”, the infectiously brassy “Know That I Know”, and the literate and pointedly feminist call-out, “Being a Woman”. An instant charmer and an energetic burst of pop color that’s all flash and substantive, Obviously is not only one of the year’s most sustainable listens, but also deserves to bring widespread attention to this talented troop of smart and stylish musicians.
19) John Mayer- Sob Rock
John Mayer’s latest sonic detour is a brisk and deeply engaging sprint through the soft-rock sounds that dominated the output of artists like Bruce Hornsby, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel during the back-half of the 80s. It’s a sound and period in the rock canon that has often-times been bastardized in the years since, for representing the nadir of a particular artist’s catalog, or the era altogether. However, on Sob Rock, Mayer goes in deep, fully committing himself to the sound and aesthetic of that period, and in the process manages to rediscover all of the fresh and entertaining qualities of the sub-genre, without one evidence of mockery, camp or self-deprecation. It results in one of his most irresistible records in many years, with his signature balance of pensive reflection (“Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” and “I Guess I Just Feel Like”) and riveting pop-rock rave ups (“Last Train Home”, “New Light” and “Wild Blue”) sounding as bountiful as it did in his peak breakthrough years. The one-two punch of his soulful gravel and blues-tinged guitar virtuosity remains a fiery, potent concoction regardless of the style or sentiment it’s soaking in.
18) Anderson East- Maybe We Never Die
The third LP from Anderson East not only further positions the singer’s status as an Americana name worthy to rank among the Isbells and the Sturgills, but also as one of the flat-out greatest soul singers of his generation. Maybe We Never Die finds the powerful singer-songwriter further expanding the muscular arrangements of his alluring sound, while curating an emotional and dramatic body of songs that showcase his sterling range like never before. The title track offers a ringing falsetto that will send chills up your back, while gutsy ballads like “Madelyn”, “Hood of My Car”, and “If You Really Love Me” take us through the deepest, darkest and most beautiful valleys of East’s incomparable vocal range. Elsewhere, the fiery “I Hate You” revisits some of the more country-leaning moments of his earlier catalog. A diverse entertainer, East doesn’t cower away from fun or levity either, and it’s when he visits these realms, such us on the disco-drenched “Drugs” that he truly fleshes out a well-rounded album. Upon initial observation, this Dee-Gees-worthy turn, may strike purists as a shark-jumping wrong-turn. Instead, it’s more thrilling proof of what a diverse, enticing, and unfortunately overlooked stylist Anderson East truly is.
17) Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga- Love For Sale
Two singular talents from vastly separated eras reunite to provide a joyously heart-warming sequel to one of the greatest, and certainly the most surprisingly rewarding, collaborations of the 2010s. With this thorough sampling of the legendary Cole Porter canon, Love For Sale immediately stakes its claim for the same titles in the 2020s, and once again delivers one of modern jazz’s truly proud moments. On what he’s confirmed to be the final album of his iconic career, the 95-years-young Bennett sounds confident, spry, and every bit the stylish entertainer he’s always been, while Gaga once again spellbinds us with the reverent and revelatory jazz magic that’s always been hiding underneath the surface of her boldest pop and dance landmarks. It’s their palpable love and admiration for each other, so prominent on each and every vocal turn, that is the true star of this record, and with one perfectly-delivered classic after another throughout (everything from “It’s De-Lovely” to “I Get A Kick Out of You” to “Dream Dancing” is utterly sublime), it’s impossible to pick a standout. This entire album is its own highlight; endlessly entertaining, gorgeously beguiling, and every bit a worthy follow-up, not to mention swan song for one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
16) Amythyst Kiah- Wary & Strange
Bold and ferocious, Wary + Strange may not have been our introduction to the hair-raising powers of Amythyst Kiah’s voice. However, it most certainly proved to be the introductory moment to the true extent of her artistic powers as a singer, songwriter and, most importantly, as a vital social voice in both a music scene and a political climate where POVs such as hers are as desperately needed as they have been in a generation. Her identity as a black, female and queer artist in the roots music scene undoubtedly informs definitive call-to-arms like the instantly iconic single, “Black Myself”, but such grapples with societal prejudices are just one of the many elements that make up Kiah’s artistry and this remarkable album. Various demons and vices that haunt so many of us are confronted and dissected throughout, and with sharp, often-times sinister, observation and honesty. Ultimately, it’s her gift with tapping into her most personal, specific life experiences, while making them feel wholly relatable and universal, that makes this record so powerfully raw. No greater evidence of this abounds than with “Wild Turkey”, a tale of her mother’s life that sears with tones of pain, addiction, and unconditional love.
15) Maggie Rose- Have A Seat
After several years of struggling to find her footing and place for her uniquely gifted pipes in the mainstream country climate, Maggie Rose presses the reset button on her third LP. Embracing her true calling as a modern-day soul powerhouse, Rose stakes her claim as an important source of social commentary and reason in today’s toxically polarized times, launching with the biting call for reason and compromise, “What Are We Fighting For”. It sets the table for a positively radiant, confident, and intelligent body of songs. It is gorgeously set against a backdrop of bold, brassy, and vibrantly vintage yet modern soul arrangements that only further accentuates the beautiful grit and grace of both Rose’s voice and the words she’s singing. It’s an impressively balanced album that capably and laterally ties together all of the beautiful human flaws that similarly define our societal failings (the aforementioned “Fighting” and “For Your Consideration”), as well as our romantic and personal ones (“Saint”, “Help Myself”). The fact that Rose too finds time to weave in fun, sexy moments like “Do It” and the Marcus King feature “What Makes You Tick” seals Have A Seat’s status as one of those wholly realized records that so skillfully tackles the wide-ranging depths of the human experience.
14) Silk Sonic- An Evening with Silk Sonic
With this endlessly entertaining side-project, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have successfully resurrected the authentic musical magic of 70s soul and funk, with a fresh yet reverently retro album that is precisely as seductive, smooth and undeniably fun as any of the fantastic releases that defined the era being paid tribute here. An Evening with Silk Sonic not only succeeds but soars, due to the fact that the pair knows when to take the tasks at hand seriously, like committing to the neo-soul balladry of smash single “Leave the Door Open” or doubling down on the flashy swagger of tracks like “Fly As Me”, and when to take absolutely nothing seriously at all. Exhibit A: the utterly ridiculous but side-splitting sexual escapades of “After Last Night” that witnesses intentionally campy cameos from both Thundercat and Bootsy Collins. It’s one of those rare modern albums that feels like an event, and calls for continuous and comprehensive consumption from top to bottom. At nine tracks, the only complaint is that it ends far too soon, which only leaves us further salivating for a sequel.
13) Adele- 30
It may seem starkly ironic to consider what was easily the most commercially anticipated album of 2021 to also be the most stylistically inaccessible album of the artists’ career to date. But then you must also recall that Adele’s success as a mainstream juggernaut was a surprising anomaly in her era in the first place. The English powerhouse’s catalog was really never designed to be a radio hit-factory, but was merely a refreshing case of raw artistry conquering the often-crass materialistic benchmarks in place in modern pop music. Topically fueled by her divorce, and stylistically turning into her jazz and soul inclinations more aggressively than ever before, 30 certainly takes the already personal nature of Adele’s catalog to new such heights (you literally hear her sobbing through spoken-word reflection on a track like “My Little Love”). This results in the LP somewhat lacking the obvious “hit-factor” of other pop blockbusters, smash power-ballad “Easy On Me” or the undeniable bop of “Oh My God” aside. In turn, it offers a classic-era album in the sense that, more than any other project on this list, it requires consumption in its entirety to truly appreciate the full reach of any of its singular tracks. Nobody can devastate us with their excavations of the heart, or provide us with the cathartic release we need to cope with our own heartbreak, quite like Adele can. And on 30, she enters into that sacred, reciprocal relationship with her listeners with a naked level of honesty that she has only hinted at on previous releases.
12) Bleachers- Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
As one of the preeminent, in-demand pop producers of these modern times, Bleachers-frontman, Jack Antonoff has helped evolve and reshape the sounds of a host of prominent artists over the past several years. So, it only seems fitting that he does the same for his own band on their third set, further assuring the band’s die-hard followers that he’s saving plenty of his best ideas and inspiration for his own work. Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night immediately feels like an album tailor-made for this new, resurrected era of vinyl records, as well as one that would have more than held its own in the days when turntables were essential centerpieces in every American living room. The spirited emotions and thematic imagery of classic rock beat proudly at the center of the album: joy, nostalgia, big dreams and broken hearts abound endlessly, through an emotional and sonic lens most prominently filtered through the sounds of E-Street. Hit single “How Dare You Want More” could’ve naturally appeared on The River, and when Bruce Springsteen himself stops by on the the album’s undeniable centerpiece, “Chinatown”, its clear that this band is not a cheap imitation, but rather authentic torch carriers into the next generation. And much like Springsteen himself, they’re not afraid to venture outside that most comfortable lane of straight up rock & roll euphoria, with other production choices ranging from orchestral (opener “91”) to stripped down folk (“45”). There appears to be no musical cloak that Bleachers cannot wear without the utmost skill and satisfaction.
11) Foo Fighters- Medicine at Midnight
The legendary band’s tenth studio effort proved to be the loosest, most infectious set of songs released during their quarter-century long career, and consequently found Dave Grohl and company sounding as energetic and refreshed as they have in well over a decade. Medicine at Midnight trades in much of the band’s signature alt-rock aggression and post-grunge production for the funky, melodic, and anthemic sing-along nature of pure, classic rock, with moments like the title track, “Making a Fire”, “Cloudspotter” and “Love Dies Young” easily ranking as the most unadulterated, fun moments in the canon of Foo. Of course, that’s not to suggest that the project lacks gravity, adventure, or signs of what has always been their core sound. Lead single “Shame Shame” is undoubtedly interlinked with their most prominent sonic calling cards. “Chasing Birds” is a captivating and beautiful segue into more artistic rock territory that would pare well with any latter-day Beatles recording. Finally, “Waiting on a War” is unequivocally essential Foo Fighters: passionate and thoughtful in both its sound and its statement.
10) Eric Church-Heart & Soul
In a year where my list of favorite albums was as populated with modern rock band releases as I can recall in recent memory, it was mainstream country’s most certifiable rock-star that produced the most entertaining and straight-forwardly rock & roll album with this ambitious triple LP. We’ve known from the beginning that Eric Church’s veins ran as deeply with Heartland sounds as they did honky tonk; hell it’s been nearly a decade already since “Springsteen” emerged as his inarguable signature single. But he’s never indulged as purely, thoroughly, or as effectively into those influences on an entire album as he does throughout the three discs that comprise Heart & Soul. Take the opening trifecta of songs alone: “Heart on Fire”, “Heart of the Night”, and “Russian Roulette” could have easily held their own on classic LPs like The Lonesome Jubiliee, Born to Run or Bat Out of Hell. And that’s just the beginning. He taps back into his Haggard-leaning storytelling roots with the appropriately hot-tempered “Stick That In Your Country Song”, and “Crazyland”, which with its entertaining cast of characters gloriously plays like a C&W version of “Piano Man”. The Soul half of the equation more than holds its own, finding Church embracing a greasier, bluesy direction on fiery show stoppers “Rock & Roll Found Me”, “Where I Wanna Be”, and especially the sweltering come-on romp, “Look Good & You Know It”. Heart & Soul is another crowning moment in the discography of one of his era’s true album-oriented artists. It thrills and inspires at every turn, without ever wasting a single second of its extended length.
9) Sturgill Simpson- The Ballad of Dood & Juanita
There’s been plenty of chatter circulating that this could stand as the final solo album of a brief but prolific career that launched less than a decade ago, and quickly established Sturgill Simpson as one of the leading creative forces in any genre of music. While I certainly hope these rumors are just that, it’d be a remarkable, full-circle moment for Simpson to wrap his solo catalog on. Simpson emerged soaked in the modern honky-tonk blood, but quickly branched out, navigating through psychedelia, soul, hard rock, and bluegrass before arriving back at this: an unapologetically Appalachian and Western concept album that can naturally spin alongside both Red Headed Stranger and Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs, without any regard for the release year. And if you doubt that statement at all, check out Willie Nelson’s signature guitar playing on the title track to wash away any questions over this album’s street cred. Let’s be real: it’s a frigging miracle that an album like this has even been created in 2021, and it’s hard to imagine any other artist accomplishing it with the taste, grace, and confidence that Simpson has achieved here. His booming baritone still sounds richest against the acoustic surroundings that thrive here, and when its paired with classic country storytelling on tracks like “Sam”, “One in the Saddle, One On the Ground”, and many others, it’s a stirring reminder of what a lost and beautiful art albums of this fabric truly are. An instant classic.
8) Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats- The Future
It’s of course arguable as to whether the third official outing from Nathaniel Rateliff and his insatiable soul companions in The Night Sweats is the band’s best. It’s without question another thrilling showcase of their passionate rock & soul sound, while also continuing to slowly but surely expand upon a sonic template that has always been mindful enough to stay just as current as it does retro. Rateliff’s churning and expansive rasp remains just as exhilarating at a whisper as it does a scream, and the brash musicians he surrounds himself with continue to pare his force-of-nature vocal style with arrangements and performances that are at once sly, sizzling, and gorgeous. A greater emphasis on folk and rock influences finds the sounds of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison are as prominent on a Night Sweats release as they’ve ever been. Meanwhile, subtle but rich inclusions of country steel or bluesy piano further flesh out a musical palate that was already deliciously and organically varied. This balance of core sounds and tasteful evolution allows the band to deliver many of their most vibrant and moving performances, from the nervy lead single “Survivor” to the soulfully reflective “Face Down In the Moment” to the enticing radio-ready energy of “I’m On You Side”. The Future is another full-bodied knock-out from perhaps the most versatile band in the business today.
7) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss- Raise the Roof
This reunion, and the long-awaited follow up to the 2007 masterpiece Raising Sand that birthed it, was an event that Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, and acclaimed producer, T-Bone Burnett claimed would never take place, preferring to leave their original Grammy-winning classic as the “lightning-in-a-bottle” moment that they believed it to be. Taking in just the first gorgeously haunting few moments of album opener, “Quattro (Worlds Drift In)”, and any fear that the trio would regret going back on their word is quickly washed away. The mysteriously morose and magnetic sound that these voices create when united remains just as chilling and commanding as it did fourteen years ago, Raise the Roof is every bit the worthy successor that Raising Sand deserved. Not only are their harmonies as beautifully on-point during round two, but the same can be said for both Burnett’s ethereal production choices and the group’s carefully curated song-selections. Their fondness of the catalog of The Everly Brothers once again pays significant dividends with a blood-curdling take on 1965’s “The Price of Love”, while a delightfully brooding recreation of the Lucinda Williams staple, “Can’t Let Go” is as joyously pulsating as anything in modern Americana. Elsewhere, tracks like “Trouble With My Lover”, “It Don’t Bother Me”, and “Going Where the Lonely Go” stalk you like a spirit that you’re deathly afraid of, but can’t resist allowing into your very soul. That pretty much defines Raise the Roof in a nutshell: it’s spooky, it’s foreboding, and once you let it in, you won’t be able to escape its presence. Nor do you want to.
6) Weezer- OK Human
It’s been Weezer’s unrelenting artistic curiosity, and thirst for sonic experimentation within the varied influences across the storied rock spectrum, that has allowed them to endure for nearly three decades as one of popular music’s most satisfying acts. With OK Human, Rivers Cuomo and his compadres have crafted a masterwork that would reside naturally alongside the definitive art-rock opuses of that sub-genre’s definitive period in the late 60s and early 70s. As a satisfying bonus, it also produced a runaway radio smash in “All My Favorite Songs”, a deceptively infectious ear worm which provided baroque overtures and orchestral chamber sounds a place on the airwaves next to the alt-rock sounds of today. It serves as a delicious gateway into a deeply rewarded album that’s further elevated by tantalizing and gorgeously deep pieces like “Aloo Gobi”, “Grapes of Wrath”, “Playing My Piano”, and “Bird with A Broken Wing”. The entire record is a riveting, beautiful revelation and magnificently pairs the band’s diversely expansive musicianship and Cuomo’s signature and idiosyncratic vocal expression with some of the band’s most immersive and introspective compositions to date. OK Human is far more than a minor detour on the roadmap of Weezer’s prolific career roadmap; it stands to serve as one of its definitive destinations, an essential late-period record that will likewise reign as one of the most intriguing moments in 2020s rock.
5) Carly Pearce- 29: Written In Stone
Carly Pearce’s third LP is a triumph on multiple levels. For starters, it’s the kind of record that is now an endangered species on Music Row: an album that is equally satisfying for its mainstream, modern accessibility as it is for its artistic breadth and emotional power. More importantly however, it’s a significant breakthrough moment where a promising young voice elevates to the next level by assertively confirming themselves as a vital creative force for the future. It’s one of those moments where star potential, creative convictions, and personal experience all gloriously merge at the perfect moment to create what is, hopefully, the first of many definitive records from the voice and pen of Carly Pearce. Her vibrant palate of influences ranging from traditional, bluegrass and 90s country has never sounded so authentic and fully realized, proving to be the perfect backdrop to service her most personal batch of songs to date, all uniformly informed by a crumbling marriage that arrived just as her young life was supposed to be entering its most fulfilling chapter. Ironically, as has often been the case for countless artists before her, it’s Pearce’s pain and accompanying perseverance from her divorce, that ultimately serves as the key to her first defining moment as an artist. Without a weak track to be found, and featuring thrilling guest appearances from the likes of Patty Loveless and Ashley McBryde, 29 unquestionably writes in stone Pearce’s place as the new leading female force in Nashville.
4) Yola- Stand For Myself
From the shimmering opening track, “Barely Alive”, to the gorgeously authoritative title track that serves as its finale, Yola’s sophomore set is every bit the soulfully diverse and fiercely magnetic gem that her 2019 bow was, while only further expanding both her melting-pot sound and her powerful creative reach across all spectrums of roots music. In seamless, awe-inspiring fashion, her rich vocals master everything from tender, R&B-stained country moments like “Be My Friend” and “Great Divide” to foot-stomping funk-pop anthems like “Diamond Studded Shoes” and soul-baring showstoppers like the infectiously hair-raising “Starlight”. Through it all, producer Dan Auerbach colors Yola’s voice with illuminating arrangements that feature a blend of Memphis horns, full-bodied electric and acoustic guitar licks, haunting glockenspiel, and languid country steel, each of which do tremendous justice to every epic but nuanced emotion that she commits to the wax. Walk Through Fire undoubtedly announced Yola as a potentially important voice in the 2020s music scene, and Stand For Myself confirms that potential in droves. It already stakes its claim as one of the definitive recorded moments of this young decade, and leaves nothing but confidence and assurance that Yola will be one of the leading artistic voices for the rest of the decade, and beyond. This is a sensational singing and musical showcase from top to bottom.
3) The Killers- Pressure Machine
While Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street fingers could be found splattered throughout the earlier mentioned Bleachers album, Pressure Machine was yet another defining 2021 rock album that likewise pulled from the Boss’ influences, but from a far different and darker realm. A strict concept album, and a harsh portrait of lead singer Brandon Flowers’ hometown of Nephi, Utah, the Killers’ seventh studio release is their version of Springsteen’s 1982 landmark, Nebraska, both in its role as the band’s most drastic detour sonically, but also one of their greatest triumphs artistically. They completely abandon their signature heavy rock sounds in favor of a stripped, gritty backdrop of haunting minimalist rock edges, allowing for every depressing, tragic detail of the sad small-town life depicted here to lay naked and bare on the surface. And it’s difficult to imagine hearing these tales portrayed any other way; they certainly wouldn’t have been as beautifully honest dressed in the band’s normal wardrobe. Flowers voice has never sounded so brutally raw and intimate, and rarely sounded so enthralling. The frank devastation and personal reflection that defines Flowers’ delivery of these tales of drug addiction, suicide, deadly train and rodeo accidents are hauntingly somber and remarkably sobering. Further punctuating these intense performances of musical storytelling are the candid outtakes of spoken interviews with various Nephi residents who have observed and lived the stories that they play next to (these are sadly absent from the vinyl incarnation of the album). Throughout all of its carnage however, the record emerges as not just a story of this tragic town’s victims, but also its survivors as well. In doing so, Pressure Machine stands tall as both a harrowing and glorious, living and breathing documentation of not just the experiences of one Utah town, but the lives grappled with in any small town across America.
2) Twenty One Pilots- Scaled & Icy
The sixth studio set from Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun is another deliciously colorful release from the duo, fully celebrating all of the sensational qualities that we’ve come to associate with a 21P record. It’s trippy and reflective. Comedic and captivating. And most importantly, it’s flat-out entertaining for every second of its thirty-seven minute run-time. Alt-rock intensity collides with melodic pop hooks, and hip-hop swagger coalesces with pensive singer-songwriter sensibilities. These guys can masterfully bop (and bounce) on up-tempos like “Good Day” and “Bounce Man”, revel in the timeless rock & roll spirit of the weekend on smash-hit “Saturday”, or wax philosophical against crashing alt-rock riffs on more contemplative singles like “Choker” and “Shy Away”. But then there’s “Redecorate”, the album’s emotive swan song sung from the perspective of an individual facing their imminent mortality that morphs into a contemplation of the state we leave the world and our loved ones in during the aftermath of our death. The amalgamation of all the styles, colors, feelings, and sounds that form the framework of Scaled & Icy emphatically reminds us that Twenty One Pilots, perhaps more than any other rock band working today, comprises precisely what we have always demanded all of our greatest rock bands to be: everything and more. The very best rock records manage to shake our souls, and our asses, in one fell swoop. And Scaled and Icy accomplishes this difficult task more vibrantly than any of the slew of excellent rock band albums delivered in 2021.
1) Brandi Carlile- In These Silent Days
On her seventh album, we find Americana darling Brandi Carlile delving further into her pure rock roots that she ever has before, sprinkling in marvelously dashing doses of David Bowie visuals and sensibilities into an already golden batch of influences that spread as diversely as Elton John and Bonnie Raitt to Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris. The additional key ingredient that none of those iconic legends possessed, and the one that once again serves as the foundation to a rewarding body of work, is the combination of Carlile’s unmistakable voice and the 2020s point-of-view that informs the songs she crafts with such graceful aplomb and authority. The heartbeat of the album remains her signature folk-rock origins that defined her outstanding six previous albums, right through the 2018 breakthrough By the Way I Forgive You. But on Days, she paints with a more foreboding and unnerving classic rock brush, one that is simultaneously commanding it its roar and pleading in its whisper. It’s a fitting contradiction for the troubled social times we live in, where so often the silence she speaks of is the loudest offender of all. But in reality, In These Silent Days is not a sociopolitical album at all. It’s another passionate and masterful exhumation of love, life, relationships and the damage our silence and distance with each other can do in those realms. And after all, those personal failures and trials are inextricably connected to our own challenges as a society as a whole. And it is the power of music and albums like these that can help bridge those gaps and heal those wounds. There is not a wasted emotion to be found on this record; every lyric and lick touches my soul in its own way. The brooding, grandiose 70s rock moments like “Right On Time”, “Broken Horses”, “Mama Werewolf”, and “Sinners, Saints and Fools” unearth magnificent new powers within Carlile’s range, while more stripped folk moments like “This Time Tomorrow”, “Letter to the Past”, “Throwing Good After Bad”, and “You and Me On the Rock” (the most Mitchell-esque moment of her career to date) offer the same source of comfort, hope, and resilience that have been cornerstones of her catalog from the very beginning. Brandi Carlile is on a run where every new record is deservedly proclaimed as her new artistic zenith, and In These Silent Days certainly does nothing to stall that trend. It’s a masterful artistic achievement, and your soul simply isn’t completely whole without gifting it the experience of this album.
Return to: Part I
The 706 