It turns out, I didn’t post my top 20 from 2021 here. I posted it to the Download Festival Forum (DLF), but that was it. My post here for 2021 was similar to the 2020 post in that I posted a list of albums I liked. I’ve decided to refer to this list from the DLF as the list to work from. That list, for the sake of this task, is as follows:
1. Idles - Crawler
2. Turnstile - GLOW ON
3. Urne - Serpent & Spirit
4. Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
5. Pupil Slicer - Mirrors
6. Employed To Serve - Conquering
7. Gojira - Fortitude
8. Every Time I Die - Radical
9. Dave - We're All Alone In This Together
10. The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
11. Volbeat - Servant Of The Mind
12. Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
13. Beans On Toast - Survival Of The Friendliest
14. Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon
15. Limp Bizkit - Still Sucks
16. The Wildhearts - 21st Century Love Songs
17. Pet Needs - Fractured Party Music
18. Chris Catalyst - Kaleidoscopes
19. Voices - Breaking The Trauma Bond
20. Royal Blood - Typhoons
Honourable Mentions (A-Z):
Architects - For Those That Wish To Exist
At The Gates - The Nightmare Of Being
Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Carcass - Torn Arteries
Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I (Just didn't have enough time with it)
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
Dvne - Etemen Aenka
Rivers of Nihil - The Work
The Ruins of Beverast - The Thule Grimoires
Weezer - Only Human
Weezer - Van Weezer
While She Sleeps - Sleeps Society
Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
Wristmeetrazor - Replica Of A Strange Love
Let's be honest, it is a crime that Wolf Alice are in the honourable mentions but not the Top 20. What happened there was I remember posting the top 20 late in the year (as you do) and then realising I had missed it off the list. Someone who was doing this for wider consumption than a music festival forum would have redone the list and added Wolf Alice in an appropriate place. As it happens, I didn’t do that. How I am going to handle this next part of the post is by once again listing the honourable mentions in an A-Z list, but make a brief note against anything that fell out of the top 20 (or if there is anything else I want to note). Once that is done, I am going to treat the top 20 as though it is a new week of a chart and make notes about those that moved up and down on the list and why I thought this was. The final part will be to try and find a combined short list from both 2020 and 2021. Just a heads up, the method of working out that combined list is very scientific (EDIT: it really isn’t).
Architects - For Those That Wish To Exist - The albums in italics were close to making the revised top 20. I hadn’t listened to this really for a while and forgot it was as good as it was. Architects are getting a bit of a kicking at the moment (of their own making, really) but this is a good album.
Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Chris Catalyst - Kaleidoscopes - 18 to Honourable Mention. I do still like this album, but upon a revisit there are others I preferred.
Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
Dvne - Etemen Aenka
Limp Bizkit - Still Sucks - This is the biggest drop from the Top 20 (15) into honourable mentions. I do still really like this album but the initial love I had for it has certainly waned.
Rivers of Nihil - The Work
Royal Blood - Typhoons - 20 to Honourable Mention.
The Ruins of Beverast - The Thule Grimoires - Listening back to this, I don’t know how this album got this high. I did not like this on re-listen.
The Wildhearts - 21st Century Love Songs - 16 to Honourable Mention. I was surprised when I realised not only would it drop out, it isn’t one of those I would say was close.
Voices - Breaking The Trauma Bond
Weezer - Only Human
While She Sleeps - Sleeps Society - That last song, the spoken word bit, is still bollocks.
Wristmeetrazor - Replica Of A Strange Love
Therefore, the revised top 20 for 2021 looks something like this:
- Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power (UP from 4). A new favourite album of the year for a second year running. It is a superb album and the one I’ve gone back to the most from 2021. I love it.
- Gojira - Fortitude (UP from 7). This album is ridiculous. I am still sad I couldn’t see them on their Fortitude tour. I must correct this when I next get the chance!
- Employed To Serve - Conquering (UP from 6). I adore Employed to Serve. They seem to get better with every release. What is outrageous is they have a single recorded in the same sessions for this album which is great as well, which was just casually released. Great album, great band. Great!
- Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR (UP from 12). I have no idea why this was 12th, this album is superb. An outrageous debut effort from an artist that appears to be going from strength to strength. I do regret not getting a ticket to her tour, I can’t lie!
- Urne - Serpent & Spirit (DOWN from 3). This isn’t a huge drop, and I still bloody love this album.
- Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend (NEW ENTRY). This should have been here originally. A shocking omission.
- Pupil Slicer - Mirrors (DOWN from 5). I am not doubting the decision to knock albums down the list, but I feel bad about this one. It is probably a fair placement however.
- Turnstile - GLOW ON (DOWN from 2). This is an album I was obviously blown away with at the time. I still do really like it, but clearly not as much as some others.
- The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art (UP from 10). I really like The Dirty Nil. This album is superb. I was looking forward to hearing some of it live recently, but I was ill and didn’t go. Bah!
- Idles - Crawler (DOWN from 1). When I started this process, I assumed the top albums would remain near the top of the list. I don’t dislike this album all of a sudden, but I listened to it again and immediately wondered why I had made it number 1, and then listened to others that are now about it and realised my opinion had changed.
- Every Time I Die - Radical (DOWN from 8). I miss Every Time I Die. Better Lovers are cool though. Is that relevant? Not really.
- Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon (UP from 14). Trivium are on fine form with their new output at the moment. Long may it continue!
- Carcass - Torn Arteries (NEW ENTRY - previous Honourable Mention). I clearly didn’t appreciate at the time just how much I liked this, or since I published the list my appreciation has grown? One of those certainly!
- Pet Needs - Fractured Party Music (UP from 17). This album is great. I saw them live the other night (as I type this) and it doesn’t surprise me that this is higher in the list.
- Green Lung - Black Harvest (NEW ENTRY - previous Honourable Mention). My appreciation for Green Lung has continued to grow since this album came out. I really like them, and I really like it.
- At The Gates - The Nightmare Of Being (NEW ENTRY - previous Honourable Mention). Similar to the Carcass album, I have really come to appreciate a lot more how good this album is.
- Volbeat - Servant Of The Mind (DOWN from 11). I really like Volbeat, I have a lot of tme for them. This isn’t my favourite album of theirs, but it is still good.
- Beans On Toast - Survival Of The Friendliest (DOWN from 13). Beans on Toast can be depended on to release a pretty decent album every year. This is one of those.
- Weezer - Van Weezer (NEW ENTRY - previous Honourable Mention). I don’t think I included this originally because it, being generous, wears its influences quite openly. It is a really fun album though.
- Dave - We're All Alone In This Together (DOWN from 9). When this was released, a podcaster I used to listen to made it their album of the year. I listened to it a lot and really liked it. Since then, it hasn't stayed with me. Revisiting it for this, I still really enjoy and appreciate the album, but this place is fair.
So, the combined list AS OF NOW. How was this determined? Strictly vibes! This is of course subject to change!
- Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings
- Run The Jewels - RTJ4
- Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
- Gojira - Fortitude
- Code Orange - Underneath
- Employed To Serve - Conquering
- Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
- Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
- Idles - Ultra Mono
- Urne - Serpent & Spirit
- Svalbard - When I Die, Will I Get Better?
- Creeper - Sex Death and The Infinte Void
- Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything
- Trivium - What The Dead Men Say
- Palm Reader - Sleepless
- Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
- Taylor Swift - Folklore
- Pupil Slicer - Mirrors
- Turnstile - GLOW ON
- The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art
- Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
- Idles - Crawler
- Every Time I Die - Radical
- Bury Tomorrow – Cannibal
- Taylor Swift - Evermore
- Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon
- Carcass - Torn Arteries
- Pet Needs - Fractured Party Music
- Green Lung - Black Harvest
- Bruce Springsteen - A Letter to You
- Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
- At The Gates - The Nightmare Of Being
- Sharptooth - Transitional Forms
- Bleed From Within - Fracture
- Volbeat - Servant Of The Mind
- Beans On Toast- Knee Deep In Nostalgia
- Beans On Toast - Survival Of The Friendliest
- Weezer - Van Weezer
- clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
- Dave - We're All Alone In This Together
And there we go. Part 3, somewhat predictably, will be the same again but for 2022.
