2021 Album Favorites
This year was one of celebration and rebirth. However, this year was also a struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy as the world started to search for resemblances of hope in quarantine. Here’s the music that kept me going through such a strange and wonderful year.
Mach-Hommy Pray For Haiti
A relaxed reunion with Westside Gunn, Mach-Hommy honors his Buffalo heritage with Griselda while showcasing his slowed-down dream-like version of the sound. Controlled by discipline and flow, Mach’s attention to detail to the nuances of his lyrics and beats push him as a standout in 2021.
Sharon Van Etten epic Ten
Remix and cover albums made a resurgence in 2021, and Sharon Van Etten takes the cake for her epic Ten album. She has ten artists cover her 2010 album Epic. With a wide array of artists featured on the album, such as IDLES, Lucinda Williams, Shamir, and Fiona Apple, the artists bring their own unique sound to each song while remaining true to the personality of Van Etten’s music.
KAYTRANADA Intimidated
This short and sweet EP is packed with instant dance classics. Featuring H.E.R., Thundercat, and Mach-Hommy, this ep is upbeat and you’ll want to drop everything you're doing and dance. He played “Intimidated” when on tour in Brooklyn and the entire venue went insane on the drop of this beat. The atmosphere was such a carefree, supportive environment where people only wanted to feel the music. This ep takes you out of your head and into your body.
Nightmares on Wax Shout Out! To Freedom…
This album is an expression of the emotions and physical sensations freedom feels like through a celebration of music. Collaborating with phenomenal UK artists such as Greentea Peng, Shabaka Hutchings, Haile Supreme, and more, Nightmares on Wax bring us an album of perseverance and resilience perfect to close out this up-and-down year.
St. Vincent Daddy’s Home
St. Vincent is an incredible master of experimentation, allowing both her persona and sound to mimic the emotions and feelings she wants to convey through each album. This album is an ode to nostalgia, pulling inspiration from her Dad’s old record collection. This album is a 70’s funk that meets the gritty streets of downtown New York City.
Greentea Peng MAN MADE
Greentea Peng is here to say something, sharing her experience to bring people together to help their community through music. A fresh, positive perspective that we should all be open to receiving. Her debut album is a modern soul psychedelic experience with honest, poetic, and expressive lyricism and beats.
Badbadnotgood Talk Noise
The band takes it back to their roots on this instrumental album through improvisation and an expression of their musical creativity. The band collaborated with legendary Brazilian artist Arthur Verocai. A true master of composing, producing, and improvisation. You can feel the emotive energy the collaboration and improvisation bring out of the band, bringing a unique cohesiveness to the album. The band also worked with incredible directors and artists to bring their music to life through visuals. Artists such as Thomas Morrison on "City of Mirrors”, Jamal Burger on Love Proceeding, and my favorite Marvin Lau & Devon Little on Unfolding (Momentum 73) gave Badbadnotgood's album a total sensorial feel.
Durand Jones & The Indicates Private Space
This album is a step back in time, disco and modern soul-inspired sound that transports you to an underground disco in New York City. Soulful and rich, this is a timeless record that melds a synth-based modern sound with old-school soul and funk music.
Viagra Boys Welfare Jazz
This brilliant, modern jazz/post-punk band is truly one of a kind, giving off the energy of a punk band, the writing of an ironic folk artist, and jam out like a jazz band improvising in an old basement. Their latest album Welfare Jazz is jazz with attitude and having a good time in style.