ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

Shit sorry,that was meant to be a hyperlink, that never works when i actually want to do it

i was a bicep voter, they haven't steered me wrong yet

that aya record was oddly disappointing to me, ended up just listening to more of her earlier, instrumental stuff instead after throwing that on

the Bicep album was nice, but in terms of melodic head bobbins, Ross From Friends and Lone both put out better records. Betting the latter two don't place.

Liked the Bicep, Ross from Friends, LDR and yu su albums when they came out, didn’t find myself replaying them much after the initial positive impression.

Loraine James and Joy Orbison I didn’t really payed attention to but loving them atm.

Don’t really recognize any of the other albums from today’s run. I need to listen to a bunch of stuff.

Great list so far! Only two of my votes have made it this far, and I'm stoked that everything else has apparently made the top 50! Yay BackRoad Gee, drill taking over ilx! Apart from that, several albums that I left off my ballot at the last moment, and a lot of new-to-me stuff that sounds really good. A bit more:

Emeka Ogboh was my 7, I love the sound. The psychedelic cacophony reminded me a bit of recent cinema from the continent to, such as Air Conditioner which I think can be seen on MUBI. Or Felicité by Alain Gomis.

Didn't vote for Insides, but it's really good, and I have to recommend everyone checking out Clear Skin, the 38 minute track they made in 94, which is one of my favorite things ever.

Loraine James my 21. Some of it was almost IDM-drill like, which I adored.

Also, yay jazz! There's a significant amount of jazz on the list so far, no? And I'm guessing quite a lot more to come. I really liked the Damon Locks, and while I didn't love the Vijay Iyer trio, I almost voted for the album Tyshawn Sorey made with King Britt. Also, I fear Anna Webber might have been the 78 this year :(

Yeah I liked the Roass From Friends album enough, especially Life In A Mind, but like Moka I've just not felt like replaying it much (unlike the first album which I still regularly dig out). I really love his sound and his approach but there were too many long meandering bits hammocking the more meaty stuff on this one.

Flock Of Dimes album sure squanders its promising Big Thiefy opening two tracks eh

'had your fun, time for some ambient acoustic noodling'

‘Ritchie Sacramento’ on the Mogwai album is what it would be nice if Coldplay sounded like.

Massive props to whoever mentioned the Ritmo Fantasia comp upthread, it's superb.

👌

Hadn't heard Mogwai for 3 albums. The opening track sounds much like their good old selves. Comforting almost

https://i.imgur.com/2Z8CLW9.jpg
46. Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales
182 points / 8 votes
Live Performance from the album: “Pick Up Your Feelings”
"Don't I Deserve to be Privileged?" - A Thread for Jazmine Sullivan

Flock Of Dimes album sure squanders its promising Big Thiefy opening two tracks eh

― imago, Wednesday, February 9, 2022 9:09 AM (thirty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

...no?

if anything, big thief is wasner-y, not vice versa

this is fairly shockingly low

Sullivan's last two albums are among the best albums of the last 15 years -- Reality Show was and remains the best album of 2015 -- but the attachment to this one baffles me. I suspect she used the recorded chats with women to compensate for the lack of songs.

ok I was going to be surprised this was so low, but if Alfred doesn't even like it that much

i agree with alfred, but i figured that lots of people felt strongly. #1 on p4k's year-end, etc.

This Mogwai album is not bad but I feel like all of Mogwai should be sat in a room and forced to listen to Like Herod (Govt Sessions versh), Ex-Cowboy, 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong and Ratts Of The Capital back to back at maximum volume until they all agree to be scary again

https://i.imgur.com/q3DLHc9.jpg
45. Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective - Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế
188 points / 5 votes
Video from the album: “Infinite”
Rolling weird music // time travel // unclassifiable 2021

oh yeh
my #2

Jazmine Sullivan album is fine but maybe doesn't feel like a full-length

like i care about that

images and distant people probs my choice cuts off this but each song is wonderfully different but still as an album whole

YES RAN CAP.

Awesome! My #2 as well!

I'm actually starting to feel like maybe today and tomorrow will be the days where many of my votes get it, but who knows. I definitely voted for the Ran Cap record, it's really something.

I like Heaux Tales fine but totally expected it to be part of a bigger project. I know there's the "Deluxe" version coming out Friday, maybe that will make it feel more like a full album. Anyway, I think Reality Show gained stature over the past six years so people were primed to praise whatever she eventually released.

This being high up DAM and nxd's ballots makes me pay attention.

^this

It's a shame this Mogwai album is 4 years long otherwise I'd have started listening to it

the best songs on heaux tales also existed as singles for months before the album came out, then not much on the album approached those two songs.

I feel the same as Alfred about Jazmine. It's really great to see her have such a good year with all the acclaim, but it's weird to see her get it for this album when she already put out three classics. I was expecting her to continue that winning streak based on Lost One and Pick Up Your Feelings. It wasn't just about there being too many interludes, I just found the other new songs fairly forgettable. She's capable of better. Hopefully people who have discovered her through this era will go back and check out Reality Show and Fearless.

Flock Of Dimes album sure squanders its promising Big Thiefy opening two tracks eh

― imago, Wednesday, February 9, 2022 9:09 AM (thirty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

...no?

― roflrofl fight (voodoo chili), Wednesday, February 9, 2022 8:46 AM (forty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Hm, "Infinite" is pretty interesting.

Jazmine Sullivan album is fine but maybe doesn't feel like a full-length

like i care about that

― Reader, I buried him (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, February 9, 2022 9:15 AM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Isn't it technically an EP?

This is sound collage on the walls of a derelict amusement arcade in the middle of a rainforest.

dk country

Speaking of country

https://i.imgur.com/OLOFr4d.jpg
44. Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall - Marfa Tapes
Video from the album: “Geraldene”
Rolling Country 2021

188 points / 6 votes

Very nice album. Didn't vote for it or go back to it a lot, except for "In His Arms," but I love the vibe of it.

i think this record is one of the rare instances i'll glowingly associate an album with the pandemic. felt like being invited into someone's home

followed by cigarettes and sangria in the backyard

45. Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective - Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế

Well, fuck me sideways, I didn't expect this one to place! Thanks to table for introducing it to me.

Between the album cover and the music, I cannot believe this Ran Cap Duoi DIDN'T come out on Hausu Mountain

YES RAN CAP.
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, February 9, 2022 4:19 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I read this as YES CAN RAP and thought it was Vietnamese progressive rock with alto tenor rap vocals.

i think this record is one of the rare instances i'll glowingly associate an album with the pandemic. felt like being invited into someone's home

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Wednesday, February 9, 2022 9:39 AM (fifty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

This was top 5 for me (but I'm a Lambert super fan). Seemed like a mere curiosity when it first came out; a nice side project and an opportunity for Lambert to spotlight another duo of underappreciated songwriters.

But the more I listened to it the more I came to respect what they had achieved. Incredibly intimate recording that transports me each time I hear it to the Texas desert. On good speakers or headphones it really feels like you're fireside with friends. And as you mentioned, that was especially moving to me given the circumstances of the pandemic.

I would also be into that, tbh.

xp