ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

Yeah, I've not heard the whole Dry Cleaning album in full yet but their guitarist knows his onions

― imago,

Green even!

Dry Cleaning are right at the top end of the sprechcore spectrum for me (with Yard Act right at the bottom end).

n/a otm

https://i.imgur.com/WmmKpIr.jpg
25. Erika de Casier - Sensational
283 points / 13 votes
Video from the album: “Drama”
Erika de Casier - Essentials

This one is sensational.

I think I enjoy this one even more than the first, but both are great. Her songwriting is a bit sharper here.

agreed with those upthread that the guitarist for dry cleaning makes them worth hearing, even if i don't have much time for them

this whole post punk spoken word scene (what are calling this again?)

Gabber

this whole post punk spoken word scene (what are calling this again?)

one-tone

I keep getting Dry Cleaning and Wet Leg confused. It doesn't help that the Dry Cleaning album also has "Leg" in the title.

Sprechstimme and sprechgesang are interchangeable afaik. I'm not sure I recognize the distinction made in that Wikipedia quote - the sprechstimme in Pierrot Lunaire has notated pitches with x's on them like the sprechgesang in Wozzeck. It is a technique that aiui involves attempting to hit a note, then letting go of the pitch and sliding to the next in an attempt to follow the intonation patterns found in speech - the effect, at least in the pieces I know, is closer to swoops and sighs and not at all to my ears like rap or slam poetry or Kim Gordon spoken word so these comparisons, which get made even by people with graduate degrees in music, always annoy me, like they are based purely on a literal translation of the terminology itself and not on what the music sounds like.

Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyfUd7_sBdg

Detailed explanation with demonstrations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXBVu1s-5E0

too low

yeah had Schoenberg in my top ten, v disappointing

My man

This recording came out last year. Didn't hear it: https://www.discogs.com/release/18685474-Schoenberg-Patricia-Kopatchinskaja-Pierrot-Lunaire

https://i.imgur.com/U6O8Foi.jpg
24. Mr Twin Sister - Al Mundo Azul
286 points / 12 votes
Video from the album: “Beezle”
Mr Twin Sister

too low

today has been a beguiling mix of imagocore with TimFcore lol

simultaneously their most accessible and experimental work to date

ugh what a good album

this whole post punk spoken word scene (what are calling this again?)

The Fallout

the 2021 album whose vocals and lyrics reminded me of the Fall in any way at all was by audiobooks, and it wasn't nominated

this Mr Twin Sister preview track is...much livelier than I remember them being? Hypersophistipop?

Listened to that twice. Very keen to hear the rest

Same, love the production

https://i.imgur.com/6pyfevU.jpg
23. Men I Trust - Untourable Album
290 points / 10 votes
Video from the album: “Tree Among Shrubs”
thraed of smooth jazz dream pop opus ONCLE JAZZ by montreal band MEN I TRUST

amazing album, I was really blown away by their skill and talent after watching the Tiny Desk Concert for this

still one of favorite bass tones in indie pop.

Particularly in love with Serenade of Water and 5am Waltz. They have a late 90's downtempo/chillout/Boards of Canada thing going on which I wasn't expecting from them.

Love Men I Trust <3

I was thinking the other day how much I'd love to play drums in a band like that.

damn lol i had these back to back on my ballot but in reverse order (#5 & #6)

I didn't even know this was out there until the noms list, but I love it so much more than Oncle Jazz.

Btw, they're touring the untourable album this summer.

Weird that Men I Trust and Men Without Hats are both from Montreal, I wonder whether they ever play joint shows as Men I Trust Without Hats

Nice run today. I much preferred the latest Mr Twin Sister album to Salt which I never got into. I don't think I ever forgave them for leaving off Power Of Two and Echo Arms. This one comes close to the brilliance of their 2014 album.

Can't remember if I voted for Erika De Casier now. Beautiful album and a big step up from her debut.

Had a feeling Men I Trust would make it. Easily their best album yet and I ended up really loving Oncle Jazz. Great band.

https://i.imgur.com/5iZBos4.jpg
22. Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2
292 points / 9 votes / 2 #1 votes
Song from the album: “Vigil”
Dean Blunt

my number one. this particular flavor of deadpan ennui spoke to me this year, who could say why

A somewhat related album:

https://i.imgur.com/VNGiI4H.jpg
21. Tirzah - Colourgrade
301 points / 10 votes / 1 #1 vote
Video from the album: “Hive Mind”
Tirzah

I'm not even sure if this is good or not, but I love how weird she got with it

today's run feels like the real ilm-core
(for better or worse)

i love ilm-core

I'm assuming Kacey Musgraves is shut out at this point? I enjoyed that one and had it in the lower reaches of my ballot, but I'm not sure it will make it into the top 20 - something of an upset after she placed #2 in 2018.

Huh I had just assumed ILM doesn't like Men I Trust

you ruled out ILM liking sophistipop?

didn't the previous album also place?

it's because their thread is on ILE

"I like them so therefore ILM won't" was the extent of my calculus, lj

https://i.imgur.com/Jb7e1xC.jpg
20. Koreless - Agor
305 points / 12 votes
Video from the album: “White Picket Fence”
Rolling Re-Re-Reconstructed Club Music 2021

The Mr Twin Sister album is probably fine track-by-track, but what interested me about Beezle is repeated, with extremely limited variation, across every single track here, and the cumulative effect is...well, y'know. If you're into that sort of thing...

Gotta say, after the start I had visions of today being a little less relentless than it's turned out to be. Maybe this Koreless is something idk

I really liked the Koreless Yugen EP in 2013 but didn't keep up with them at all. Hm.

Heard the Koreless record when it came but never got round to going back to it. Vague memories of it sounding a bit like an updated Orbital?