Most Listened to in 2021

Hi. 

 

I used to do these all the time at the beginning of a new year. I'm infamously pretty terrible at checking out new things, but there's always at least a handful of things that end up getting at least vaguely. That whole "handful" saying really depends on what the item being referred to though, ya know? If I was to say a handful of cantaloupes, that's really just one.. but if I said a handful of skittles, I guess 4 albums wouldn't really be a handful. Words are weird. 

 

Music always does a better job for me at least of explaining where I'm at mentally and emotionally. If these albums were ingredients that were mixed together, it would make something that was very gorgeous, complex, emotional, and for my usual music tastes, pretty upbeat. That kind of sums up where my brain has been going lately as a human being on Earth. It'll always think dark, complex shit is cool, but sunlight seems to be doing a lot more debuts in the things I'm attracted to.

 

 Ok. Here we go!

 

 THESE ARE IN NO ORDER!

 

Hayden Pedigo: Letting Go  

Ok, just a few seconds I said these are in no order but this is number one for sure. It's the most unlike anything I regularly listen to and would easily be the most listened to album of 2021, even though it came out near the end of it. I've probably blabbed in this silly blog about this at least twice by now. Although it's very much outside the typical genre of music I tend to gravitate towards, it very much makes sense that I love it. 

Music to me is so much more than simply arranging catchy melodies together and wearing something visually appealing. It's about channeling your emotions that the English language simply fails at doing fully. It's about challenging your mind and body and emotions themselves to make sure they're not just coming out the easy way, but that they're seen to their logical closure points.

That being said! This album (to me at least) sounds like he was getting his emotions out, but clearly trying to keep up his chops while doing it at the same time. It's really hard to blend the two of those naturally, and Hayden does it flawlessly. There is no such thing as a bad or boring Hayden Pedigo song.

Angel Olsen - All Mirrors 

 

This was one of the quickest favorites of the year. Optimistically browsing through KEXP's YouTube, this came up as a recommendation. Typically, the algorithm is slightly off. The bands are good, but don't seem to stick to me for very long. They do such a great job with each bands performance visually that sometimes you forget they're not great. This was anything but the case with this record.  

The songs instantly announced themselves in a powerful but catchy manner. There was some obvious emotion stitched throughout the entirety of the record. It never felt it was overdoing it. It sounded like she had her brain directly uploaded into the tracks. The stories were so clear, but still abstract enough to create your own personal narrative. Very, very amazing release!

Loscil - Plume

This is the best background noise record when blogging, cleaning, or anything else that requires a thoughtful instrumental accompaniment. It's actually on right now as I write up these posts. Very similar to the soundtrack to one of the very few games I ever got sucked into on my phone "Metro"it has a hypnotic, trance like vibe that you almost catch yourself tuning out, until it's off and you lose all focus on what you were working on. 

For fans of Stars of the Lid and all the many wonderful Brian Eno albums, I can't recommend this album enough!   

Beak - >>>

This is a band I wish I would've found 10 fucking years ago. With very subtle effects on all the instruments and relying more on awkwardly rewarding pleasant chords - these guys will blow your mind track by track. When I first heard them come on shuffle while I was at a previous job, I felt like a poser for not knowing which Can record it was. When I saw that the band was from the 2000's, I made a face of shock. My mouth was slightly open, my eyebrows went up. You know, shock. But it was a pleasant shock. 

This would be a close second if there was an order to these records. I am still just as obsessed with Beak as the first listen to them! Great, great band. 

 

Ok, now do yourself a favor and listen to one or all of these. What else are you going to do? 

- Novak