One thing I love about music is how there’s so much of it, and so many different things people can love about it. Most of the music I connect with doesn’t get a lot of widespread attention, though it’s deeply loved in certain fandom communities. I know if I were to list my lifetime top 10 albums, there would be a few on that list that many people haven’t heard of before, and I’m sure the converse would be true. Which is okay. Great, in fact. If someone has music in their life that they love, they’re lucky to have it, regardless of what gets played on the radio or what any critics have to think.
I know that the end of May isn’t quite halfway through the year, but it feels close to that with the school year wrapping up so soon. About halfway through 2021 seemed like a good time to reflect back on the new music I’ve acquired so far this year. So here, in the order of which they were released, are my albums of 2021.
Steven Wilson: “The Future Bites”
Steven Wilson is an experimental/progressive/rock/pop musician who I’ve followed for about twenty years now. This is the first album he’s worked on in that time that I found somewhat disappointing. There were touches of the recognizable sound I enjoy so much, but it’s a further step in the pop direction he’s recently been taking. I don’t dislike it, but I didn’t connect with it very much.
Transatlantic: “The Absolute Universe”
This band started as a side project for a collection of extremely talented musicians about twenty years ago that they keep coming back to every few to several years. There are actually two versions of this album: They share a lot of musical themes and ideas, but they have slightly different arrangements and lyrics. It’s a good album, but for a band of this caliber, I feel like they played it pretty safe by staying so deeply in the pocket of their recognizable sound.
Foo Fighters: “Medicine at Midnight”
Very much a Foo Fighters record, and a good one, but with a slightly funkier sound to it. Unfortunately it didn’t have that one anchor song that really got my attention and kept bringing me back to listen. Plus it came out very close to another album that overwhelmed it in my rotation. Namely….
The Pretty Reckless: “Death by Rock and Roll”
I heard the title song on our local hard rock radio station once in the winter, and it really caught my interest. I was surprised by how much I liked this, since I hadn’t known anything about the band before it came out. Nothing special about it, but it has a really solid hard rock crunch to it in a time when that sort of thing is hard to come by.
The Hold Steady: “Open Door Policy”
One of my favorite Hold Steady albums in a long time. It still had a rock sound, but not one that overwhelmed the songwriting. Craig Finn is a phenomenal narrative songwriter, and a lot of that comes through on this.
Architects: “For Those Who Wish to Exist”
Another band I discovered from the radio. More modern rock than hard rock, but still pretty heavy. It took a few listens to really connect with it, since some of the songs get redundant, and the vocals drift too far into screamy too much, which isn’t something I’m into. I did warm into it eventually, and I've come to enjoy it as a change from a lot of the other stuff I listen to.
Evanescence: “The Bitter Truth”
Eh, you know, I gave it a shot. It’s not a bad album by any measure, but it just felt bland to me. And to be honest, it’s just hard for me to think of Evanescence as a band when it’s really Amy Lee and her current employees. I have a cousin who really likes them, and, you know, good for him for having a new album that he’s probably been listening to a lot this spring. There just wasn’t much here for me, though.
Cheap Trick: “In Another World”
It’s Cheap Trick. Either that means something to you or it doesn’t, and if it does there isn’t much more I have to say. A good rock/pop album that could be part of a perfect soundtrack for driving with the windows down on a summer road trip. The songs could fit into a mix with just about anything else from the band's *ahem* FORTY-SEVEN YEAR CAREER.
Liquid Tension Experiment: “LTE3”
LTE is another progressive side project made up of superhumanly talented musicians from other bands that have reconvened occasionally to record an album (the drummer also plays in Transatlantic). There was a falling out between some members so it took them close to twenty years to get past that and record a new album, which they did during the pandemic. They play instrumental progressive rock at what is arguably the highest level of the genre. This isn’t an album made up of songs; these are compositions (or, in some cases, slightly reworked improvisations). I think it’s safe to say that any teenager learning guitar, drums, keyboards, or bass who would give this album to listen even once, their mind would be absolutely blown and maybe even their life changed.
Manchester Orchestra: “The Million Masks of God”
Another album strongly focused on the songwriting. It’s definitely a rock album, but one that focuses more on communicating emotion than any kind of sonic attack. Grandiose in its melancholy, it’s filled with moments that could make you tear up a little without realizing if your reaction is coming from how sad the lyrics are, how painful the singer sounds, or how beautiful the moment is. I love this one.
Weezer: “Van Weezer”
I wrote about this earlier in the month. Some really enjoyable moments, but more amusing than anything else.
Myles Kennedy: “The Ides of March”
This guy is probably the best singer that too many people don’t know about. The lead singer for Alter Bridge, which is also probably the best band that too many people don’t know about, he was invited to audition for a Led Zeppelin reunion project when Robert Plant said he wasn’t interested. His first solo album, “Year of the Tiger,” came out not long ago and honestly didn’t do much for me — it went a different direction than what I was expecting, and it became too much for me to see past that. This one, however, is a straight up rock album, and a darn good one.
Frost*: Day and Age
Another entry in the progressive genre, Frost* (the asterisk is theirs; I have no idea why but it’s cool) is a shared favorite band of my best friend and me, so when they were releasing their first full album in years the week before my birthday, I knew to expect a copy. I haven’t listened to anything else since. I’ve even been plugged into my noise-cancelling headphones during the non-instructional work times of my school day during the past week to squeeze in more listens. There’s so much astonishing genius on display here, it’s hard to believe this music was created by mere people. It’s likely going to end up being my favorite album of the year.
However, there are still seven months left in 2021, so…time will tell….
No comments:
Post a Comment