The opener from Sleigh Bells' fantastic album Texis is an absolute banger. The opening synthesizer rhythm has permanently latched on to my brain to the point I have been known to spontaneously mimic the sound acapella, and maybe throw in an embarrassing dance move too. Chugging guitars, totally bombastic busy percussion, the metal guitar bends, and singer Alexis Krauss' vocals soaring over top makes for one of the most fun and amped listens I've experienced all year.
Pool Hopping
Illuminati Hotties
Sarah Tudzin's illuminati hotties made the song of the summer with this little number that opens her newest full-length. This track has such a great guitar riff and also sunny beach verses with dancing bass guitar. The chorus hook is also incredibly cute and infectious. Pool Hopping is easily the best indie-pop song I've heard this year.
Wind Tempos
Porter Robinson
Since the first time I heard it, I knew that Wind Tempos was gonna be one of the most beautiful, and affecting pieces to be released this year. The meditative and cycling piano loop that drones away as other electronic flourishes, noise, and wispy vocals dance around in the periphery, brought a sense of serenity and peace in my life that was needed. The emotional heaviness reaches a new level as everything is sucked away leaving a somber and intimate piano composition that is later joined by a robotic presence trying desperately to hold onto sentience.
Pennsylvania Furnace
Lingua Ignota
Pennsylvania Furnace, to put it in a word, is arresting. The ballad is patient and provides lots of ambient space to process the harrowing imagery in Kristin Hayter's lyrics, and to tap into the emotional potency of her vocal performance. The song builds tension with some soft horns and woodwinds that creep in and swell only to be starkly cut off as we return to center. Towards the end, there are some beautiful crescendos of dramatic instrumentation that accompanies Hayter's more powerful belts before the song concludes by coming full circle.
All Eyes On Me
Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham played musical chameleon on his latest project Inside, and out of the many great songs to come from it, it was the closer All Eyes On Me that stopped me in my tracks. Burnham's take on an auto-crooned ballad was done so incredibly well. The instrumental, minimal and spacious, provided a great backdrop for the formant shifted, sultry voice of Burnham. It's powerful given Burnham's personal account dealing with his anxiety, beautiful when the synthetic harmonies bloom, and confounding when Burnham plunders into chaos towards the end.
Slow
black midi
This track features some of the most exhilarating rock performances of the year. This is mostly thanks to the band's use of strong dynamic control. The song alternates between passages that are quite subdued and passages that are tumultuous. One moment, we get light-handed, but still sharp drumming, this angular guitar arpeggio, soft bass chords, and a whispering, suggestive vocal. Next, we are bludgeoned with crashing cymbals and dissonant horn squawks. This track alone was what made me start paying attention to this band this year.
Look At Me
Hakushi Hasegawa
There was no album from Hakushi Hasegawa this year, but instead a string of one-off singles and collaborations. My favourite, Look At Me, is another perplexing and fantastical piece of electronic pop, and jazz. There are so many intricate details packed into a Hakushi Hasegawa track and this is of course no exception. The passage of stuttering and revving synths is so overwhelming and I'm just thoroughly enthralled.
lavender haze
vildhjarta
Merely five seconds into vildhjarta's amazing new album, and I knew that this was gonna be something truly special. The Swedish tech, dject metal band has no business returning from a ten year album absence this hard. Winding, angular phrases that make use of a guitar's full register, unsuspected blastbeats, and baffling rhythms make up a decent chunk of this song's first leg. It suddenly switches to the band's signature ambient, clean guitar pads and later layers a pummeling, but strangely melodic djent passage overtop. This track is such a magnificent introduction to not only this album but to the band's sound in general.
Her
Poppy
Poppy takes a note from Celebrity Skin-era Hole on Flux standout Her. Fuzzy guitars call and respond to Poppy's shoegazing style of vocal in the verse and the chorus has these sticky sweet harmonies. Now Poppy is maybe not as compelling a vocalist as Courtney Love in her prime, however, the blood curdling shrieks that underline the final chorus do help get this song to that supremely grungy place. Flux did end up surprising me quite a bit with the number of pop-rock bangers it had and Her is perhaps the best example I can show.
Massa
Tyler, the Creator
I love this track from Tyler's victory lap, Call Me If You Get Lost. The instrumental is sparse but has deeply rich bass and a flam drum loop that is killer. On top, Tyler uses the opportunity to basically do an entire career retrospective, referencing numerous key moments across his career. In the end, Tyler uses his tremendous growth to destroy any credibility from his biggest critics; most likely working dead-end jobs while Tyler is off jet setting.
MYSTERY
Turnstile
Despite the old-school, 80s thrash metal production, Turnstile demonstrate that they are very much in the future. Branching hardcore out into many different genres in a way the mainstream potentially hasn't seen since The Shape of Punk to Come. The album's opener just so happens to be my favourite thanks to an awesome vocal performance from Brendan Yates, a nicely chorused walking bass riff, and the dreamy synth flourishes that bookend the track.
Little Deer
Spellling
Spellling easily released the most enchanting pop and soul music to come out this year. What's miraculous about this track is just the breadth of instrumental representation, and how every sound is perfectly captured, balanced, and complimentary. Tia Cabral's vocals are also incredibly impressive; very expressive and also has the ability to dig very deep down into a lower register. Little Deer illustrates all of this but also has this added layer of magic and wonder when compared to the rest of the tracks on The Turning Wheel.
Deady
Speedy Ortiz
The production on Speedy Ortiz's first few releases, re-compiled and re-released this year, were a little rough around the edges making it difficult to connect to even the best written songs. In the case of the unearthed Deady though, the performances I thought were uncharacteristically tight. I loved the booming drums, the crushing guitars that swallow the mix, and Sadie Dupuis' signature playfulness on the vocal end. The chorus has a super catchy melody as well that is mirrored by both Dupuis' voice and a searing guitar.
Trouble
The World Is a Beautiful Place...
Trouble is a truly epic piece of emo and pop-punk. Soaring guitar leads and vocals in the first and last legs provide an interesting counterpoint to the dreary lyrics about a modern day working man who can't seem to find a way to get ahead in late stage capitalism. In the song's middle section, the band shifts into overtime (I mean double-time) and delivers some ultra catchy, driving pop-punk riffs that really gets me going. Trouble stands tall as one of this year's most anthemic rock tunes.
Folly D
Pacmanthemovie
Pacmanthemovie brought us one of the most chaotic, and at times comedically unhinged, punk albums of the year. Folly D stands out the most to me thanks to a particular passage that is totally ridiculous, expletive laden, and only made more confounding when the vocals are dropped to a low guttural growl. A few blistering passages later and Wynton Davis is screaming off syllables in rapid fire speed to close the song out. It is a mystery to me how a vocal sound so depraved is even humanly possible.
Distress
Mason Lindahl
Distress was quite a necessary song for me in 2021. It is a supremely beautiful flamenco styled guitar piece from one of my favourite, and in my honest opinion, most talented solo guitarists around today. The first leg of this song has a bit of an oriental flair, making it one of the more curious offerings on the record. In the last leg, however, Lindahl displays that trademark speedy, finger-picked arpeggio technique that makes him such a mesmerizing player to listen to. The piece is also quite dynamic as he alternates between those lightly stroked arpeggios and the more forceful strumming of chords.
Hey
Low
There's something quite devastating about Low's Hey and I can't quite put my finger on it. All I know is that I find it deeply affecting. It could be the somber chord progression, the lumbering pulse of the instrumentation, or Mimi Parker's beautiful vocal tone and melody. It could be the gritty treatment applied to the background vocals, or the song's extended outro where the pulse dies away and the song finally starts to breathe with wispy vocals that drift in and out. Either way, this song definitely stood out to me in 2021.
SCOOP (Ft. Doja Cat)
Lil Nas X
SCOOP is my bid for pop-rap banger of the year. I love the plucky synth melody, the simple yet effective hook, and Doja Cat's animated performance and quotables. On top of that, I appreciate just how bold and aggressive Lil Nas X performs as he delivers some pretty forthcoming bars. In this song he makes it quite clear that he is not looking for companionship as he's doing just fine on his own. He's just looking for someone who can satisfy those physical needs. It shouldn't feel all that revolutionary, but for some reason it does.
SICK, NERVOUS, & BROKE!
JPEGMAFIA
What an incredible song from Peggy. The beat has two distinct phases that I love: one kinda lavish like a 90s Bad Boy era record, and another that is almost glacial and wintery. Just like there's two sides to this instrumental, Peggy also delivers a sort of Jekyll and Hyde performance; first starting off cold and methodical before going all in on the fiery flows. In true Peggy fashion, this track has a ton of quotable lines and references (my personal favourite being the Batman Beyond nod), not to mention that Peggy just has one of those perfect voices for rap.
Lost Angel Nights
James Blake
I love this track from Blake's recent album. The instrumental is very spacious and calming and is accented with quite a few whimsical synth flourishes. I also find this track to have one of Blake's most impressive vocal performances. The way he is able to transition from head voice to his gravally lower register with such incredible flow just, I dunno... sweeps me off my feet? Is that a little cheesy to say? In any case, the instrumentation, the vocal runs all come together to create a wonderfully soothing tune that I will continue to play on many a cold, dark night.
Glacial Plasma
Frontierer
You will not find anything as extreme, chaotic, or as terrifying as Frontierer. The drums and heavily detuned guitars are compressed so much that they sound like bombs continuously going off with no reprieve what so ever. You are trapped and there is no escape. Then there's all the guitar 'bleeps,' 'bloops,' and laser sounds that just add even more to the chaos and confusion. I chose Glacial Plasma at random but really this spot is just for Frontierer in general since they have once again shown that they will not be outdone on the extreme metal scale no matter what song you select.
Odoby
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir
Odoby is a short but sweet, youthful skate-punk tune that is just so incredibly fun. The vocals in the chorus are quite cute and everybody in the band is singing along about hanging with your friends and just being free to do whatever. Then the cute sing-along switches on the last phrase to an unexpected gang shout, a challenge to whoever decides to impede on their fun. The performances are speedy and tight and I just want to play it over and over again.
Distress Rehearsal
Every Time I Die
This standout from Radical is amazing just simply by the virtue of it being wall to wall, one insane riff after another. Speedy thrash metal passages, pummeling beatdown riffs, three unreal breakdown riffs which all have a different flavour. Every single guitar moment slaps on this track. Even though I wasn't particularly sold on the whole record, this track is by far and away my favourite hardcore/metalcore tune of the year, easy.
How to Lie
Jane Remover
Just about every song on Frailty was a perplexing journey but I would like to point specifically to How to Lie. It begins with fantastical, midi acoustic guitar programming and some synthetic string and woodwind pads. Although, all of a sudden it changes into this overwhelming fit of chopped up rock samples with chipmunked screams, jungle beats, and later a double-timed punk beat. That may sound like a mess to you, and initially I thought the same thing of the album in general, but it is actually quite beautiful and cathartic now that I've had time to digest it. Certainly one of the most unique listening experiences I've had this year.
Made For More
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Easycore is hanging on by a shred of popularity it seems at this present moment, but thankfully, there are a few bands out there sticking to their guns and releasing some pretty great stuff. Case in point, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!'s Made For More. It has the formula down pat: super catchy, pop-punk opening riff that immediately pulls you in, the sticky sweet chorus, and of course, the coveted breakdown. I like this song in particular for how the final chorus is half-time and bass heavy, but not a lot of distortion. It is quite the dramatic shift, and an idea I don't think I've heard anyone do before.
n2o
aldn
I checked out aldn's project on a complete whim, not being aware of his music at all previously. I am so glad I did because I think the mini-album produced one of my favourite synth-pop tunes of the year. Synths that feel like they've come out of an MGMT song from Oracular Spectacular, and a woozy, wobbly atmosphere that bolsters the sentiment of the song. I've heard many drug raps and lots of stoner rock/pop, but I think this is the first time I've heard an ode to nitrous oxide. How fashionable.
Xcxoplex (Ft. Charli XCX)
A.G. Cook
This re-working of A.G. Cook's Xxoplex is improved ten-fold thanks to Charli XCX's presence on the track. The inclusion of vocals I think has forced A.G. Cook to reel in some of those over the top arena rave moments to create something much more palatable and fun. That's not to say that this new version doesn't go hard, I just think it works in so many more contexts than just a sweaty, intoxicated, club rave. I'm also still amazed at just how much juice there is left to be squeezed from this duo. Even after two magnificent albums where they worked closely together, I'm finding that I still crave for more. I may never get sick of hearing music from them.
Sh!t2Luz
Aminé
Aminé goes hyperpop on my favourite cut from TWOPOINTFIVE. All the instrumentation is just so bright and colourful, which I still find kind of unexpected for a hip-hop record. Aminé's singing is modestly processed, adding an element of honesty to his performance. When he gets into his verses, his rapping is expressive, and his flow is great. Topically, Aminé details how an ex regretfully ended a relationship and wants to get back together despite Aminé's reservations. Not the most joyous subject, but again the bright instrumentation makes the song read like a declaration that Aminé knows his self-worth and does not have time for anyone going through life second-guessing.
Euphoria
Angels & Airwaves
Yes, arena-rock is represented on this list with Angels & Airwaves' Euphoria. What can I say? I love the tone of the driving guitars and the riff goes hard. I think Tom DeLonge, at least on recording, still sounds great and has even pushed himself a little with some of the belting he performs in the chorus. Now the lyrics could certainly be open to criticism, but to me they read as a woman who is greatly misrepresented as a weak, easy target who unfortunately for her aggressors, learn the hard way that she is not to be messed with. The female protagonist appears to enact her revenge given the lyrics in the chorus. At least I hope so. Regardless of how you choose to interpret the lyrics, this is an undeniable rock banger.
A Life So Wonderful
The Armed
The Armed truly reveal the beauty behind the chaos on this track. A Life So Wonderful is a messy assembly of crunchy guitars, overblown drums, washed and distorted vocals that on the surface puts up a rather large barrier of entry. However, behind that barrier is an overwhelmingly freeing and uplifting nature to the song. The song offers one of the grandest, most cathartic releases of tension and stress by blasting the most grand, operatic noise, if you could imagine such a thing, and have everyone scream their brains out over it. I can't think of another example in which so much noise and chaos gave me that ascending, hopeful feeling. Leave it to The Armed to break any and all expectations I guess.
