The air is chilly, the sun is low, the tree is trimmed and the work has been put aside for a few days. And that means one thing: It's time to reflect on the best songs of the past year. 2021 was full of great new music: I was wowed by newcomers and comforted by much-loved bands that saw themselves successfully taking artistic risks. Let's get right to it:
Song of the Year
"Heartlow" - Jane Weaver
Cheshire's Jane Weaver dropped an immensely beautiful album earlier in the year, and it became my go-to as we fought through a surprisingly difficult year. "Heartlow", a pastiche of psychedelia and electronics, became the soundtrack to my Spring -- its hopefulness tied to a time when we began to emerge from the last long, dark winter with the help of science and the promise of the vaccines. I have returned to this song -- and this album -- time after time as the year's difficulties ebbed and flowed. And upon every return I have been reassured by its loveliness and lifted by the thought of what tomorrow may bring.
"Scratchcard Lanyard" - Dry Cleaning
Fans of the Fall always wince when music critics compare other bands to the Fall. So I was suspicious when reviewers commented on Florence Shaw's spoken word delivery as something akin to Mark E. Smith's. Sure enough, I don't buy the comparison: Smith actually sings MORE than Shaw. Musically, there's an angular edge at play in the South London outfit's sound -- with jagged guitars reminiscent of Wire. And then there is the issue of Shaw's lyrics: They're largely derived from snippets of overheard conversations and comments she read on the internet -- a perfect reflection of the nonsensical banality of 21st century life.
"Chaise Longue" - Wet Leg
Just when Dry Cleaning seemed poised to carve its own musical niche, along comes this Isle of Wight duo. Riding on the coattails of Florence Shaw's sing-song lyrical style, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers introduced this laugh-out-loud banger like some sort of next generation all-girl Bloodhound Gang. Put aside the makes-you-blush lyrics of this track (and its followup single), and what you get is an irresistible piece of post-punk pop that will make you never forget the proper pronunciation of a forgettable piece of furniture. But at least you'll be smiling.
"Walking at a Downtown Pace" - Parquet Courts
I've long been a fan of these Texas-to-New York transplants because of their unique garage sound in songs like "Stoned and Starving", "Borrowed Time", "Berlin Got Blurry", "Almost Had to Start a Fight" and "Wide Awake". This year, they found yet another gear -- incorporating Manchester influenced dance music and experimental sounds for their seventh studio record Sympathy for Life. Written in 2019, the prescient lyrics worry about returning to crowded spaces and generally encapsulate the stop-start of life in 2021:
I'm making plans for the day all of this is through
Seeing my path there, hearing the song I'll sing
And food that I'll taste and all the drinks that I'll consume
Return the smile of an unmasked friend
"Solar Power" - Lorde
Madchester raised its wonderful head in other ways this year. Take this sun-splashed single by New Zealand's Lorde, who cited Primal Scream's "Loaded" as an inspiration for this made-for-summer anthem and ode to sunnier times.
"King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" - Death Cab for Cutie
Politically, 2021 was marred by a coup attempt in which supporters of a lame-duck president tried to overturn the will of the American people to wrongfully keep him in power. It was as dark a moment for American democracy as could be imagined. And yet it's easy to forget the year started off with a pair of stunning victories by Democrats in Georgia, where a groundswell of support was set to music by a collection of cover songs: Death Cab for Cutie covered five iconic Georgia artists -- including TLC., REM, Cat Power and Vic Chestnutt. But the standout track on the five-song Georgia E.P. was their version of this track, from Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 classic In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
"Thats What I Want" - Lil Nas X
There's no shortage of pop music in my life -- largely thanks to the teenager I often chauffeur. Much of what I hear on pop radio doesn't resonate for me, but this brutally honest anthem of longing did. It's just over two minutes of power pop, a great hook, an infectious chorus, a universal message and no bridge to speak of. And I'm grateful we live in a world where Lil Nas X can be rewarded for continuing to break down barriers.
"Head On" - José González
The classical guitar work of the Argentinian-Swedish González in this sliver of a song harkens back to Jorma Kaukonen. It's the perfect soundtrack for a moment of quiet introspection.
"The Things I Miss" - Constant Smiles
From Sacred Bones Records, the simplicity of this achingly beautiful song about loss knocked me out when I first heard it this fall. It comes with a beautiful film to match.
"I Don't Live Here Anymore" featuring Lucius - War on Drugs
Adam Granduciel and his Philadelphia-based band pull out all the stops -- synths, backup singers, glossy production -- for a slightly more elaborate take on a familiar theme. And like the best War on Drugs songs from previous years, this track uses swirling repetition and an underlying tension to carry the listener on a nearly six minute journey of loneliness, despair and ultimate redemption.
"Be Sweet" - Japanese Breakfast
There was a time in the not too distant past that a song like "Be Sweet" would have been a staple of pop radio. No matter, for Michelle Zauner, the Seoul-born, Oregon-bred and Bryn Mawr-educated singer-songwriter at the center of Japanese Breakfast is a triple threat: She's also a published author and director. And she hopes her work will help bring more Asian-American representation to the music world. (And check out how they built an X Files themed video around the line in the chorus "I want to believe".)
"Everybody Love a Baboon" - Cub Scout Bowling Pins
Finally, because we all need a laugh right now, I include this track. As if it wasn't obvious, Cub Scout Bowling Pins is a thinly-veiled alias of the uber prolific Guided by Voices. The project is meant to invoke the bubble gum psych pop of AM radio in years gone by. I'm not sure that's evident here, but Robert Pollard's goofy vocals are more than enough to wrap up a year that needed a good chuckle.
I hope 2021 was good to you and those that you love. And I hope you discovered more than enough music to get you through the year.
