ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

i was just wondering last night if this album would make the albums poll

"Anyone into Manchester Orchestra?"

Five people, no more, no less.

Manchester, so much to orchestrate for.

*Six* people if I had voted, but at least I nominated it.

i think tim f said that he got into this record bc even though it is a really beautifully-produced alt rock album with both big and soft guitars it consistently pulses like a dance record

Moka has convinced me to listen to this with that image (and whoever made the cover lol)

I objectively don't like Bed Head, but I feel strangely compelled not to turn it off

that guy's voice is very country music

This is one of those bands I've ignored partly due to an irrational aversion to the name but the song linked above is pretty good

https://i.imgur.com/M87JQLg.jpg
75. Doja Cat - Planet Her
132 points / 4 votes
Video from the album: “Get Into It Yuh”
thraed of DOJA CAT

so nearly missed out :(

I already knew I didn't care for Manchester Orchestra, but I checked out Bed Head to see if they'd actually made something I'd like.

The answer is a resounding no.

Poll in rapid decline after a great start.

that's the spirit!

I actually enjoyed Bed Head quite a bit tbh despite so much going against it

also when you listen to the million masks of god as a whole there are great sequencing feats like the way "keel timing" and "bed head" are like inversions of each other etc.

manchester orchestra are something that i feel like i could like, but it hasn't really happened yet

Poll in rapid decline after a great start.

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever)

Lol

Hey at least we’re in the bottom part of the poll and not in the top 10

One quibble with forks' otherwise excellent intro, tho: we had 77 tracks voters, but wasn't it more like 85 albums voters?

And more importantly, playlist is now updating.

That Left-Field Pop comp is amazing btw; loads of great finds in there!

that comp is prob most only vote to place, fittingly just barely

planet her is solid, doesn't quite compare to hot pink. some serious highlights, many of which were massive hits: "woman," "kiss me more," "ain't shit," "get into it"

actually i think i'll have one more

Some of the missing songs from the leftfield pop compilation can be found on streaming if you want to hear the rest.

I know because I was obsessed with Yosue Inoue’s “pi po pa” last summer.

excited to find out whether Low released 4 albums last year

https://i.imgur.com/whWjmBm.jpg
74. Hayley Williams - Flowers for Vases / Descansos
132 points / 5 votes / 1 #1 vote
Song from the album: “First Thing to Go”
Petals for Armor/Last of Paramore?

Interesting that all the milquetoast stuff is coming in at the very lower reaches. Maybe the stretch in the middle will actually be surprising this year instead of the inverse!

hmmm this album

As I said in the tracks thread, much stronger album than her debut solo, imo. That one was easy to admire but hard to love, in all its tricks and cleverness, but here she just locked herself up in her house and recorded some great quiet songs.

Judging on point totals I think you might be right JF. I think I'm looking at six placing, including all my top 3! But a few of those could def land tomorrow instead of today

Interesting that all the milquetoast stuff is coming in at the very lower reaches. Maybe the stretch in the middle will actually be surprising this year instead of the inverse!

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever)

Or maybe it'll be milquetoast all the way through!

Shh you'll jinx it

ooh voted for heisei no oto
absolute joy of a comp

I like that the poll's open to all sorts of releases fwiw. Found another great archival comp in "Ritmo Fantasía: Balearic Spanish Synth-Pop, Boogie And House (1982-1992)" when randomly playing nominations

Love Hayley Williams, but didn't love this album. It's not bad or anything, just didn't make much of an impression on me enough to go back to it after the first few listens. Her debut grew on me a lot.

https://i.imgur.com/H28sJQH.jpg
73. Spellling - The Turning Wheel
135 points / 5 votes / 1 #1 vote
Video from the album: “Turning Wheel”

wow, very low! didn't vote this but it's decent. fantano giving it a 10 gave it a LOT of exposure tho

ok first track on Heisei (the streaming version) is amazing, I have to check out the Music from Memory thread

I have mixed feelings about comps but am generally for their inclusion. I try not to vote for them myself unless it's something absolutely amazing and completely new to me, and even then only if I'm running short on proper new releases. A couple of comps appearing in the rundown is fine, they can be great introductions to stuff, but I would be worried if we started placing more than one or two.

lol @ the picture misspelling Spellling

Wonder if it got spelllchecked.

I think I was conflating Spelling with Shopping... was not expecting the heavy Kate Bush vibes from this.

For the moment I am just looking at the images

Got to say I adore the albums image style even more than I did the one for the tracks. Adding a little class to the proceedings, thank you Moka.

For anyone who is using Tidal I am keeping a playlist synced with the Spotify one here: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/262ed964-3b7d-4c6a-9d7f-2dde00ea6a85

Oooh it’s SPELLLING no wonder I couldn’t find any thread discussing her.

Here’s the thread:

Spellling - haunted art pop soul

I vaguely remember giving the Spellling album a once-over a few months ago, but there were too many Sgt. Peppers-ish moments that rubbed me the wrong way, even if the rest of what she's doing is pretty great/original. I feel like this lives in the same universe all the waxed mustache stuff from the early part of the last decade, except it doesn't talk to the neighbors.

Thanks emily!

https://i.imgur.com/98w7fbw.jpg
72. Emeka Ogboh - Beyond the Yellow Haze
136 points / 4 votes
Song from the album: “Everydaywehustllin”
Emeka Ogboh

quite enjoying the Manchester Orchestra opening track, way more than Bed Head, lol

but the 1975 at their best gain power from being stylistically all over the place, and making these big sprawling unpredictable albums that work pop-rock angles in hypermodern, unusual ways

are CHVRCHES doing...that too? just in a way that's subtler?

as I say I am massively sympathetic to some of their ingredients (the cure and aereogramme being associated acts, and garbage, whose first album is absolutely my shit!) and How Not To Drown is indeed really good, but I can't bring the rest into focus...yet

not really, which is why i wouldn't have expected you to love it

If anything about this debate was useful for me it was when Brad highlighted their emo influences so matter-of-factly—a connection I'd never made myself—which explains why I like almost nothing about them. Not that I needed a reason, but it bothered me not to have one.

the CHVRCHES album is more mining one vein to superb effect imo - I also would not guess imago would like it based on what I usually see you champion

(added the apple playlist to the OP)

incoming: more of number 41:

PLAY WITH THE CHANGES REMIXED

ARRIVES SEPTEMBER 16TH

CLICK THE LINK TO PRE-ORDER NOW🦋 https://t.co/MLsvZnHKx4 pic.twitter.com/jSBoCtoKBO

— R O J O (@Rochelle_Jordan) July 26, 2022