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AOTY 2021

As Woodface posted.
1, Daddy`s Home - St Vincent.
2 Neil Young- wat Down in the Rustbucket.
3 The THE- Comeback Special.
4 Neil Young- At Carnegie Hall.
Only one that is actually a new music release, not the best year for my tastes. Although, i have enjoyed some great tracks off albums,
that for me were not overall great albums.
 
Woodface said:
I do wonder how many of this years output I will still be listening to in 5 years? Only St Vincent probably.
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I’d be surprised if any I’ve listed so far migrates to the shop, though I suspect several others from this and last year will in time. I’ve bought far, far more new stuff than I usually do as I haven’t been second-hand bin-diving anything like as much as usual. I need to play the St Vincent again, I’ve kind of forgotten about it despite springing for the nice ‘deluxe edition’ vinyl (tip-on sleeve, 180g, graphic novel etc). I remember liking it but other stuff has been landing that distracted me!

PS I suspect the most significant item I’ve bought this year is the big Fela Kuti Complete Works box. Obviously nothing to do with 2021, but it has been a remarkable eye-opener to a body of work I’d only previously scratched the surface of.
 
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Tony L said:
I’d be surprised if any I’ve listed so far migrates to the shop, though I suspect several others from this and last year will in time. I’ve bought far, far more new stuff than I usually do as I haven’t been second-hand bin-diving anything like as much as usual. I need to play the St Vincent again, I’ve kind of forgotten about it despite springing for the nice ‘deluxe edition’ vinyl (tip-on sleeve, 180g, graphic novel etc). I remember liking it but other stuff has been landing that distracted me!

PS I suspect the most significant item I’ve bought this year is the big Fela Kuti Complete Works box. Obviously nothing to do with 2021, but it has been a remarkable eye-opener to a body of work I’d only previously scratched the surface of.
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Box sets can be a little overwhelming, I have a few which I’ve barely listened to, just get paralysed by choice. I am hoping that when I get most of my CDs ripped I will listen to more of my collection; I’ve certainly rediscovered a few albums of late.

St Vincent is a tricky one to pin down as she changes direction a lot, certainly a major creative force.
 
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I'm surprised the Matthew Halsall Salute to the Sun record hasn't featured, especially as several here have bought both the studio and live recordings.

I certainly should have included it in my list.
 
A couple more for me that I’d forgotten

Anchorsong - Chapters/Mirage

Ishmael Ensemble - Visions of Light
 
Woodface said:
Box sets can be a little overwhelming, I have a few which I’ve barely listened to, just get paralysed by choice. I am hoping that when I get most of my CDs ripped I will listen to more of my collection; I’ve certainly rediscovered a few albums of late.
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The Fela one definitely is as to be honest it is very badly done with poor documentation, non-chronological order, albums paired years apart etc and it can be a real challenge to figure out exactly what one is listening too. Plus much of the content is vastly extended compared to the original vinyl (i.e. it was originally hacked down to fit on LP sides). That said the music is just stunning and on the whole nicely recorded and mastered (a couple seem to be needle-drops, but given how turbulent his life it is understandable a couple of masters may have been lost). Basically his legacy deserves better treatment than this, but that doesn’t detract from the astonishing music in the slightest. I’d recommend it even at £75 and I’m sure it will be in regular rotation here for the foreseeable future.

PS Yes, the Matthew Halsall studio album should probably be in my list, though again I’ve confused what year is what. I just view Feb 2020 until now as ‘covid world’ and haven’t really been able to split it into months or years. I thought it was last year. As an example I totally lost the plot with pfm Trade Accounts and didn’t invoice anyone for about 8 months!
 
Three standouts for me, Greta Van Fleet, Battle At Gardens Gate, Samantha Fish, Faster and Pretty Reckless, Death By Rock And Roll. Honourable mentions to Mammoth WVH (self titled) and Royal Blood Typhoons.
 
Seconds for:
Nala Sinephro, Floating Points / Sanders / LSO, Emma Jean Thackray, Matthew Halsall (though I prefer the live album), Alfa Mist, both Portico albums.
And a couple I haven't seen mentioned yet:
Hannah Peel - Fir Wave
Jaubi - Nafs at Peace
Thanks to the fishies who recommended Nala Sinephro and Jaubi.
Track OTY might be Emma Jean Thackray - Spectre. She is incredibly talented as a musician, producer, writer and singer.
Label OTY is Gondwana, by a mile.
 
vince rocker said:
Seconds for:
Nala Sinephro, Floating Points / Sanders / LSO, Emma Jean Thackray, Matthew Halsall (though I prefer the live album), Alfa Mist, both Portico albums.
Hannah Peel - Fir Wave
Jaubi - Nafs at Peace
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These would all be in my top 20, certainly. I'll add the following:
Nick Walters / Paradox Ensemble - Implicate Order
Lady Blackbird - Black Acid Soul
Rosie Frater-Taylor - Bloom
Neil Angilley Trio - Yambou

Tenderlonious / Ruby Rushton had a couple of interesting EPs this year. Jaga Jazzist had a good live album too (download only) - 'The Tower'.

Reissue label of the year - Jazz in Britain, with some fantastic releases from the '60s/'70s
 
To the many excellent suggestions so far, I’d like to add:

Lucy Dacus “Home Video”
Little Simz “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”
 
Most played this year here probably, in no particular order:

Mogwai, As the love continues
Black country new road, for the first time
Matthew Halsall, Saute to the sun (actually prefer the live album over the studio version)
Lost Horizons, In quiet moments
Hania Rani, Music for film and theatre
 
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