ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

the rochelle jordan album ruled, r&b leaning so heavily into uk dance sounds worked so well. like, a lot of stuff has toyed around with r&d&b before but this really consistently went for it. my favourite r&b of the year

Yeah this is fresh

Not sure this needs tracks 8-10 (probably revealing the limits of my attention-span more than anything else lol), but otherwise very grand!

(the last two tracks are a lovely ending)

The vocal melodies on the Halsey track honey remind me unavoidably of Panic at the Disco.

Echoing all the praise for Rochelle Jordan. I hadn't heard this at all before, but it's way cool.

Forgot to say anything about The Bug. Voted for Pressure in tracks as I just didn't have enough time with the album, but it would have made my ballot. Such grimy, basement-dwelling grooves. Extremely weird and unsettling throughout.

I was the #1 for Rochelle Jordan; I love that she wasn't afraid to display the full gamut of emotional states, from fearless club sovereign ("Got 'Em", "Already") to vulnerable and reflective ("Lay", "Broken Steel"), and everything in between. Shout outs also to the ode to the fuck-off fund ("Count It") and "Dancing Elephants", possibly the best Disclosure track somehow not actually made by Disclosure

HTRK making me wish I was listening to Pygmalion instead tbh

Ah 'Heartlow' is a gorgeous return to waking life

sorry for liveblogging all this but in lieu of other people listening and responding...

wasn't super interested in htrk based on the example track, but if it sounds like pygmalion, i'm gonna queue it up

If I squint my ears I sort of hear the Pygmalion comparison. There's no ethereality to HTRK though, at their heart there's this feeling of being shackled to this life and a sort of quiet resistance to the gnawing emptiness of it all. Sonically I'd say this record is closer to Grouper than anything else. Best songs are 'Real Headfuck' and 'Reverse Deja Vu'

Do keep up th liveblogging though plz imago

First half of the Weaver was stellar. Second half wasn't so much until Solarised. First five (maybe six) plus that would have been a brilliant mini-album

HTRK reminded me of ilx favourites The XX.

quiet resistance to the gnawing emptiness of it all

ooh, when I go to a new record store I head straight for this section

The HTRK album is one of my few votes to place so far. It takes me back to highschool. Yeah I guess I’d RIYL: Slowdive, Grouper, Mazzy Star that sort of sulky, sad, nocturnal dream pop

I'm only on track 2 but I mostly hear Mazzy out of that grouping, though the opening guitar strum is what I assume made imago think of Pygmalion

The comparison only settled in during the second half tbh!

Before I formulate an opinion on The Weather Station, I hereby command Moka to save me

Here we go

https://i.imgur.com/yv9rdOb.jpg
29.(TIE) The Armed - Ultrapop
246 points / 7 votes / 1 #1 vote
Video from the album: “Average Death”
Evasive ultrapop-hardcore collective The Armed and their intense music

AND HOW!

Yes! A maxed-out dream of neon aggression. My #4 and the music I ran to most in 2021.

Liking how today's vibe has begun lmao

This was my #9. They put an insane amount of energy, effort and (apparently IRL) sweat into presenting and promoting this, and despite that it's essentially a continuation of Only Love (my 2019 #1), this is the one that broke through properly. Fair play to 'em. It bangs.

A continuation and a streamlining tbf; this really zeroes in on the (relatively, given it's all hypermelodic bubblegum post-hardcore) sleek 'ultrapop' sound. Every track (bookends aside) could be a single

I've honestly forgotten what the singles are because it's all so contagious. Ultrapop does not let up.

Ultrapoop amirite?

This has put me in such a grand mood that I'll admit that the Weather Station isn't nearly as bad as I expected. I'm rather enjoying it even

Oh wow voted for this too but didn't expect it to show up today

That track in the linked video for The Armed reminds me of Primal Scream. Does all of their stuff sound like that? I should probably listen to it if so.

I like this but I also find it very tiring to listen to for more than a few minutes at a time LOL

Now I'm wondering if VOTS made it xxp

https://i.imgur.com/Em0Np53.jpg
29.(TIE) Lil Ugly Mane - Volcanic Bird Enemy and the Voiced Concern
246 points / 7 votes / 1 #1 vote
Song from the album: “headboard”
lil ugly mane has gone sad psychedelia

aaaaaah TOO LOW

Yesss today is the day!

this was my #1. it is like hearing your entire life flashing before your ears

btw xpost to tabes: that's the longest and maybe slowest track on the album, but it generally all sounds a bit like that, yeah. The songwriting is very melodic and Britpop of some stripe is definitely an ingredient (the main songwriter is a confirmed Cardiacs fan lol)

that said if you haven't heard the LUM...head there. to me it is like a way, way strung-out Beta Band or WFANFC trying to make sense of cosmic sadness through the medium of relived childhood memory, but equally it could remind you of something else, something you grew up with. the following list is a clue as to this album's compass: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/extrarogers/things-rym-compared-volcanic-bird-enemy-to-within-the-first-week/

Way too low! This was the best possible surprise album release. Don't quite know how he's managed to pull off so many musical styles but this is the best account of that that I've heard.

Thanks imago! Going to give it a spin in the next days.

wow! so excited The Armed made it! ok nice, i take back my previous complaints about lack of hardrock/metal

i had no idea that lil ugly mane is still around doing things, let alone doing imago-approved things

assumed I'd hate this, but "headboard" is pretty good!

I am having a reaction of both "I love or at least really like this album but it didn't make my top 25" (Deafheaven, Richard Dawson & Circle, Jazmine, Weather Station, Insides, Flock of Dimes, Jane Weaver, Spellling, the Kabza de Small / DJ Maphirosa / TRESOR album, Saint Etienne, Yu Su, Bicep, Howie Lee, Doja Cat, Eris Drew) and "I was not aware that this existed" more frequently than usual - not sure what this means in terms of fragmentation tbh. It's like the more frantically I try to stay across things the more unrealistic that aspiration becomes.

― Tim F, Wednesday, February 9, 2022 6:36 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

+1.

Listening to the Deafheaven...really nice. Would have never checked this out if not for the comments in this thread. Thanks ilm.

https://i.imgur.com/JLNZbRW.jpg
28. CFCF - Memoryland
256 points / 9 votes
Song from the album: “Self Service 1999”
cfcf - liquid colours

re: LUM

I prob should've voted for this even if I was going to give it like 8 pts. Im a little bit leery of the whole 'kiddie Folk Implosion' vibe of the whole affair--feels like an annoying trend just waiting to happen--but this really does have tunes: "discard" slams, "headboard" reminds me of Polara, & "would you open up a window?/ it's getting cold in here" is exactly the right kind of indie cleverness...

didn't enjoy this as much as Liquid Colours, I must say. The concept was cool but I didn't think the execution really shone through

Ok this LUM album is sounding great. If dude is looking for career advice from me, I would say maybe consider changing your stage name?

CFCF always sound intriguing on paper to me and then the results are repulsively sterile

Love Memoryland; Liquid Colours was great but this is massively my favourite of his. Played it over xmas and was getting crunchy Ellen Allien Berlinette vibes from it - sort of cosily dystopic and reassuring.

lol so apparently you can buy all 28 Lil Ugly Mane releases on bandcamp for $8.70

LUM has experimented with a whole bunch of different stage names (bedwetter, vudmurk etc), but went with this one as a kind of warts-and-all thing I guess

gr8 interview, where the amazing origin of the songtitles is revealed: https://rateyourmusic.com/feature/sonemic-interview-lil-ugly-mane/