ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2021

Hell yeah this rollout is amazing. Koreless was my #2. Erika de Casier was off my ballot and I have regrets about that. Men I Trust was amazing. CFCF was on my ballot, as was Little Simz, who I will be seeing live on my birthday. Can't wait for the top 17

playlist is updated btw

With my votes for Henki, Agor, SIMBI, Nine, Sensational, SoK and depending how many place today, I might be at a record in the top 26 or top 33. Or it might all crumble. I have high hopes that 333, Vulture Prince, Mother, Happier than Ever, Hey What, and Mercurial World will place. I also have hopes for Spiral and Collapsed in Sunbeams, although nothing from them showed up in tracks shockingly. I guess any more jazz is out of the equation, though I didn't vote for 1.8, Promises or Open the Gates and jazz is suddenly very contentious apparently (not that surprising for a genre experiencing a sort of comeback after 40 years), and I don't suppose we will see Haram.

...or Stand for myself

HTRK would have been high on my ballot (possibly number one) if I'd gotten round to listening to their album before voting

have placed 4 and am expecting 0 more, but that isn't going to stop me listening to your offerings with pitiless judgement

had always thought of CFCF unkindly before, probably for irrational reasons, but this is pretty engrossing. 'gravure idol' just finished & was particularly so. if we're not going to get death's dynamic shroud, this will have to do instead, lol

it is extremely long tho

Have placed 4 and am expecting 1 more, which for me feels very hivemindy! Given up hope on the Chants album placing, though ;_;

well I mean I didn't vote for it but L'Rain is one of mine in spirit maybe

L’Rain will probably be the only one of my votes to turn up in this last stretch

I’ll echo a few other posters - this has been a year when a surprisingly high number of my votes surfaced in the rollout (and a lot of things surfaced that I’d heard but didn’t vote for)

Haha I saw CFCF roll by and initially thought "right so that Something Something Coastal Fever band has shortened its name, maybe a good move, I can never remember it correctly".

Lol christ, wonder if we've dodged Parquet Courts as well. ILM at least avoiding much of the worst of the new post-punk. Dry Cleaning, whom I'm listening to right now, are pretty good I think

ALC is even serving some primo skronk in the absence of TFS (or Springtime)

lol i don't think there's any chance at all parquet courts show up at this point

tbc I didn't vote for TFS and don't think they deserve it this time

Two tracks in I was on board with Sons Of Kemet. Six tracks later I am....not

although just as I wrote that, the end of 'let the circle be unbroken' was pretty cool

My first skip was Can, towards the end of the opening 20 minute jam. Not horrible by any means, but just not something I need.

I made it all the way through GY!BE, which must be a lifetime first, but my constant thought was "basically this = the Swans it's still OK to like". It didn't give me anything that Swans used to give me more of.

Extremely more into Rochelle Jordan's take on garagey R&B than EDC's rather, um, polite one

I'll add that if 0PN truly has ushered in the era of bright uncanny-valley harpsichord production, I want zero to do with it (see also Koreless)

Maybe the expensive sterility is the point but no

https://i.imgur.com/gCH80YF.jpg
15. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime
359 points / 14 votes
Video from the album: “Chismiten”
Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2021 Thread (Often African bands)

love that robert beatty album art

Don't mind if I Mdou

any other solos to rival the AV final onslaught?

gonna assume 'several' and stick this on presently

https://i.imgur.com/bubv1Pk.jpg
14. Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8
363 points / 12 votes / 1 #1 vote
Song from the album: “Space 1”
Nala Sinephro - beautiful new cosmic/spiritual jazz/fusion/electro/REALLY GOOD debut on Warp

i had no idea this was popular!

Promises is going to top this and it's gonna be ugly

i put this high. Love it

Promises will not beat Magdalena Bay or Low imo, if we're doing predictions

not gonna say the only one of those three i voted for

screen violence top five please

Not even heard of this one - thread title makes it sound promising so will put it on my 'to check out' list.

didn't realize it had its own thread (rather than just part of the Promises thread discussion). Not even sure where I heard of it now. A gorgeous little trip

said 'Judas' out loud when it became clear track 3 of the Moctar would be acoustic-led

this bangs tho

when moctar built his own guitar when he was a child, he should've made it an electric one. what was he thinking?

The Nala Sinephro mixing is particularly astounding. One of the best sounding records on the countdown imo.

https://i.imgur.com/m1wEkAM.jpg
13. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
369 points / 10 votes / 2 #1 votes
Video from the album: “Brutal”
olivia rodrigo sets a record

all he had to do was find some magnets and wires xps

Liking this means you're down with the kids and True Pop or something

The Nala Sinephro mixing is particularly astounding. One of the best sounding records on the countdown imo.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, February 11, 2022 10:27 AM (one minute ago)

otm

Tala Tannam is a very beautiful acoustic track; I retract the 'Judas' which was a joke anyway :p

This is the first of the several albums that had 3 songs place on the track list to show up

a fine debut but kind of obviously a padded out EP, it’s too high here but it was too high on every year-end list

i guess that’s my version of dissing the modern-day jagged little pill which would’ve been no. 13 on ilm’s ‘95 list i assume

https://i.imgur.com/oS2AJXT.jpg
12. Dawn Richard - Second Line
381 points / 15 votes
Video from the album: “Morning/Streetlights”
The purpose built next generation interstellar Dawn Richard thread

B-tier Dawn is still good, albeit this is very B-tier for her