THE WDNF-PHILLY.COM TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2021
ON THE PODIUM
Officially released at the end of 2020, we received this wonderful album early in 2021. A dreamy, surreal, collection of songs produced with an aesthetic that leaves you with a sense of confusion as to where in time you are musically standing. Though there is no confusion, no ambiguity in the lyrics - whether telling you that you are not invited to Picnic Day, or explaining why God is a bad dom.
A dour, emotional outburst wrapped in tremolo guitars and our Album Of The Year. Get it HERE
Longfriend Timefriend is a slamming Philly-based quartet whose "If Me Dies Me Dies" takes a bat to the cognitive dissonance encasing much of 2021 and smashes it to pieces. Moving from tentative hope while imploring us to "put our hearts to better use" in Fix Your Shit to a cold realization of the damage done from the past few years: "it's a chemical change, it'll never be the same", LFTF gives us the perfect 2021 year in review.
Get this stellar, searing collection of molten pop-punk HERE
"Tripsitting" from New York-based artist Seldomo in an unabashed sonic nod to those tremendous early 70s Pink Floyd albums Meddle/Obscured By Clouds/One Of These Days. Dense, reverb-rich, acoustic guitar layers and thick vocal layering gentle settles you in for a true "album" listening experience. Listen with headphones.
Submerse yourself in this Meddle-era Floyd-like sonic excursion of sound HERE
Rounding Out The Top 10
The lamentable state of US major label A&R output has decimated band representation on the charts. But there is great progressive music being made and on the forefront is the UK's LIFESIGNS, who released a tremendous new album of top-notch prog-rock from groove 1 to the runout. Launching you to lofty heights from the first track, the 15-min title track Altitude, Lifesigns is proof real, virtuoso, instrument-playing bands walk among us. Check out prog's emerging Standard Bearers new album HERE
Shawn Major has been a presence on the Philly rap scene since the genre was born. One of Philly's true OGs, Shawn is a survivor of both the streets and the industry. Shawn has come roaring back in 2021 with a new album "1975", that acts as a career and personal retrospective on life, love, the city and the business that takes no prisoners and shows no mercy. Check out the work of Shawn Major HERE
Athensville is a Philly-based alt-rock quartet that crafts well-written, expertly performed, and crisply produced pop-rock songs. A rarity in today's "producer first, music second" era of disposable 3-minute toss-away Top 40 trinkets. "Undressing Minds for Show" contains 11 tracks of carefully crafted songs, tightly structured, including an unexpected cover of Bjork's "Human Nature" that surprises. Check out this Top 10 album HERE
Released early this year, Live At Sennheiser Studios catches Torture and The Desert Spiders (Anna Kunz solo in this case) live and acoustic. This allows the full emotional depth and vulnerability of Anna's remarkable voice to come through. When she softly sings she'd "empty my wallet for you" in "Emperor's New Clothes", you feel like she sings to you alone. The lonely despair of "Flesh On Trial" feels magnified by the fierce strumming meant to keep it at bay. Check out this wonderful album HERE
We love Telyscopes. We love experimental, sonically adventurous record making, And Telyscopes never disappoints. Another "Shutdown" project, this album is like tripping in a sonic Disneyland. "I wish the Marianas Trench wasn't so goddamn deep" Jack laments as everyone sings "we will never be found, Going down down down" in MH370. This album does not apologize, warn, ask, forgive or care. It is a Spectacol. Get it HERE
Book Of Wyrms is a self-described "Outer space heavy psych metal from Richmond, Va". We call them a killer rock band that brings Stephen R. Donaldson-like, dark fantasy storytelling with heavy guitars to the Doom/Metal world. With Sarah Moore Lindsay's vocals and adept acoustic proficiency their sound delves deeper than many in the genre. Discover the Book of Wyrms "Occult New Age" and hear why it's on our Top 10 list HERE
Hailing from Madison, WI, Hollow Bill sent us their new album "Poets and Neckties" and we are ECSTATIC they did. Becoming an immediate favorite with witty songwriting (Barabbas's Blues) and ear-worm hooks (Ode To Ingram), Hollow Bill is an alt-Americana, rock/folk outfit with a Midwest ease and "Poets & Neckties" is a can't miss collection of 9 songs with a cohesive and consistent production style that demands to be listened to as an "album". Get it HERE
Honorable Mentions
As a 4-song EP, it didn't meet the album requirement. BUT WHAT A 4-SONG EP! Several made the WDNF-Philly.com Top 50 Songs of 2021 and all 4 were played frequently. You can check out this wildly talented singer-songwriter from the U.K. HERE
Coming to WDNF-Philly via Italy, where prog-rock never died, Karmamoi's Room 101 is another example of how alive and vibrant progressive rock is around the globe. Along with the UK's Lifesigns, Karmamoi cements 2021 as a great year for prog. Check it out HERE
Aside from the greatest title of 2021 - Broom Room or How I Learned To Stop Caring and Love The Boss from Philly's Doug Keller and The Dubbed Subs packs 8 songs with Boss-like dense rock production and a mood created by shutdown-shock. You won't find it on E Street but you can get it HERE
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