The (Almost) Best Of 2021

 

Good lord, did we collectively survive another year, or have we transitioned on to another metaphysical plane that would appear to harbor the same ridiculous proclivities and neurosis (not capital "N" Neurosis...that would be awesome) as the previous? Is time a flat circle, a social construct we have all bought into and based our arithmetic systems upon, or simply a yawning void of infinite darkness upon which we happened to share this cosmic blip? Does it matter? How many records SHOULD be included on a "Best Of" list? 

Well, like each preceding year, I never really remember how I did this thing the year prior, so I have to just kind of arbitrarily stop counting records at some point in order to manage this tedium. Looking back at old posts, I seem to be hovering around a Top 30 or Top 35 from year to year, so that seems fair. Plenty of great and worthy artistic endeavors will be left on the proverbial cutting room floor, but chances are, few will notice. But it's worth noticing that people, against all odds (financial and otherwise), continue to assemble music together in a somewhat Sisyphean effort to have that music heard and hopefully appreciated by others. And that's the point of these lists we (I...it's still just me), to recognize the people willing to put it on the line and do the hard work of creating art out of thin air. So to those who are making music, those who are trying, and those who champion the efforts, we (I) salute you. Thank you.

As always, the caveat is the same, "yes, I know I forgot something...I know I have predictable and disturbingly immature tastes...and yeah, I didn't hear your record." I apologize, sort of, but I also pat myself on the back for listening to more music over the course of a day than my family, friends, or employer would like for me to.

To offer some brevity, this year I am attempting to use the Japanese Tanka style of poetry which limits the piece to 31 syllables in a three or five line form. I am not a strong writer to begin with, and most certainly not a poet (I know it. [pretty good one, right?]), so lets see together how this works.

Here we go; some really really great music for you to explore.

65. Zahn - Zahn

A shimmering, swelling, approach to post-rock

Everything moves forward all the time

But there are no vocals, if that's a prob

DL

64. Shame - Drunk Tank Pink

Post-punk jittery brilliance

All tense and taut and fraying at the edges

I shouldn't even need to tell you they are English

DL

63.Wanderer - Liberation From A Brutalist Existence

Hey, remember that time you fell down the stairs,

And you rolled around clutching your injuries?

Someone wrote a soundtrack to that time.

DL

62. Stilts - Dimwit On The Loose

This does everything you need it to do

And it's Finnish to boot

Let me know if you find better noise rock from there this year

DL

61. Kowloon Walled City - Piecework

At first listen this didn't do much

But the album reveals itself slowly

Over time I imagine this will grown on me.

DL

60. FACS - Present Tense

Building a temple of menacing dread

From layered scrapings of discarded disappointments

The dead, fouled heart of Chicago.

DL

59. Capra - In Transmission

Real deal abrasive attack

Never lets off the gas

You can hear the South baked into their caustic abuse: hardcore, sludge, metal

DL

58. Philary - Uh-Oh It's Me

A lot of noise and variation from a one man band

Lo-fi, but hi-quality

From wild to mild and back again. Again

DL

57. Lice - Wasteland: What Ails Our People Is Clear

Ordinarily "concept album" makes me flaccid.

This one has intrigued my dander thusly

What does this mean, should I worry?

DL

56. Dug - 35:35

Tripped up, doomed out, fucked for sure.

Guide yourself through the pulsing dark star.

No guarantee for safe return from this journey past your mind

DL

55. Suspects - It's Just You And Me Now

You should read the backstory on this one

It's much longer than I could convey via short form poetry

Music worth it too.

DL

54. Rid Of Me - Traveling

Confidence goes a long way.

So does vision.

This band has executed on a fully formed understanding of these two truths.

DL

53. Terminal Bliss - Brute Err/ata

Dudes who were in good bands before

Paying homage to good bands who came before that

Hardcore that bleeds out in the red the whole time

DL

52. T-Tops - Staring At A Static Screen

No frills

And I'm telling you, the last thing you want right now is frills

This is straight up, noise rock punk, heavy on the rocking pieces

DL

51. Demons - Privation

Prolonged exposure may result in grimacing

Punching holes in walls

Continued hatred and contempt of our shared condition

DL

50. Brain Cave - Log World

Sounds like having a burlap sack placed over your head

And then your friend's father berates you at a high volume.

What did you do?!

DL

49. Luggage - Happiness

They pride themselves on stark reductiveness

Boiling the bloat out to render the purest forms

"Fear" is one of the best songs you'll hear

DL

48. Show Me The Body - Survive

Cold, shaded by industrial bellows

This is legitimate darkness from the most expensive dirt pile on earth.

Three songs tho.

DL

47. GG King - Remain Intact

Greg King just has a knack for squeezing good times

Out of tried and true punk rock

Always excited to hear what he is doing next.

DL

46. Sun Organ - Portal

Lysergic shoegaze rock

I think someone's thumb is on the record

Slowing it down and giving it a magnificent warble

DL

45. Rebreather - The Line, The Width, and The War Drone

Honk if you knew Rebreather were still putting out records.

Honk if you're as stoked as me to find out.

Points for album title

DL

44. Chain Gang Grave - Cement Mind

All kinds of fucked

Filthy and feral

Too damaged to be called hardcore, too desperate to be called sludge, just for those with no choice

DL

43. Succumb - XXI

Full frontal assault

Empty your weapons, spare none, offer no quarter.

Absolute punishment. Complete and utter destruction

DL

42. Great Falls / Throes - split

Two great tastes that go great together

Assuming you like the taste of massive heaviness

With subtle notes of "go fuck yourself"

DL

41. Grizzlor - Hammer Of Life

This band always delivers

They know how to hide a groove under 6 feet of muddy filth.

Record cover kinda says it all

DL

40. Botfly - Lower Than Love

You can tell that there is a screamy hardcore past

But they lived to tell

And now they wield the truncheon of heavy noise(core) rock

DL

39. Pardoner - Came Down Different

Forever hail slacker fuzz pop

With frayed edges and tunefulness out of tune.

Will I ever tire of a catchy messy band?

DL

38. Work Party - My Best Days Are Behind Me

The mission is to put the fun back in noise rock

Assuming it ever was

Fun that is. Assuming noise was ever fun.

DL

37. Wipes - Dumpster / You're The Boss

Dudes from the band Tiles

More shouted and bombastic post-hardcore noise

And I think I hear a melody buried in there somewhere?

DL

36. X'ed Out - We All Do Wrong

This one is a bruiser from word one

Unrepentant and spiteful aggression,

You got brass instrumentation in my noise rock!

DL

35. Matt Sweeney and Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Superwolves

I'll take as many Matt Sweeney records as he is willing to make.

Keep them coming

Old sad bastard music is alive and well!

DL

34. Gloop - Crayon Sun

No messing around, this is a ringing in your ear

A tinnitus head fuck lightening strike

Coil magnets bore straight your face

DL

33. Eye Flys - Exigent Circumstance

Very loud, very belligerent, very close to your face

This guy will never stop will he?

How do you think he lost those teeth?

DL 

32. Portal - AVOW

My death metal needs something special

Or else it's boring barbarism.

Portal are weird enough to excite and make me care

DL

31. Mouthbreather - I'm Sorry Mr. Salesman

Maximalist punishment in the most unrelenting way

From the school of Converge

With a minor in The Acacia Strain

DL