It’s that time of year folks, where we do a round up of the year’s music. I had planned to post this in January, but then realised no one would bother reading it, so here we are. Numbers’ 10 – 6 are in no particular order, they’re all very good.
To drum up excitement, I’ll let you know that the battle for number one is an Edinburgh vs Glasgow showdown.
A Lake of Ayes
Ouro Sobre Azul
This is A Lake of Ayes’ debut album and it has arrived almost perfectly formed. Built from chunky, propulsive riffs that just barrel along, the album builds almost as much excitement as tension.
They remind me of God is an Astronaut in the way they’re heavy but not that dark, there’s a lot of light in here, and dare I say it, fun?
That’s not to say there isn’t any darkness in here, this is my list after all. But even the heavier songs that feature a harsh, hardcore vocal, don’t have the claustrophobia of someone like Cult of Luna. This feels cathartic rather than self-flagellating.
The last track has some of the most fun soloing I’ve heard in ages and it just puts me in an imaginary place, playing guitar on a mountain top. There may be lightning, but that’s not something I’m willing to get into right now.
This is a fantastic album and a joy to listen to.
Where We Sleep
The Scars They Leave
I was a big fan of Beth’s last band, Blindness, but they felt like they never truly translated the energy of their live show to recording. I’m very happy to say that Where We Sleep builds from the foundations of Blindness, and that she has finally managed to get that energy on record.
The opening track, Drive, is the best example of this progress; the bass pushes the song forward in a mechanical, relentless way, while ex-bandmate Debbie Smith brings the guitar attack she does so well. It’s not just a perfect opener, it’s a perfect song.
Everybody Leaves a Mark is another album highlight; just drums, keys and vocals for most of its run time. It’s such a delicate, broken song but when the bass comes in it adds an edge that really gives the song a real edge. It gives me goosebumps every time.
If you’re looking for some electronic tinged, shoegaze influenced indie in the vein of Curve or Garbage, this is the perfect place to find it.
Tor
Oasis Sky
There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about Oasis Sky; it’s a chilled electronica album, it sounds very like many other chilled electronica albums.
The difference here is that Tor does this really, really well.
It’s very hard to describe an album like this, it’s filled with warm bass, there’s lovely percussion that never gets too complex or overpowering. There are sweet female vocals, African singing, and a whole list of chill out album tropes, but they are tropes for a reason and here, they’re blended to a tee.
This is a perfect sunset album, or a beautiful comedown one. Either way, this album is a Happy Place soundtrack – just curl up and enjoy.
Gary Numan
Intruder
After 20 albums (22 if you’re counting the Tubeway Army) is not the point where you expect to say, this is a very good album. Even less do you expect to say that this is a really great album.
This is one of Numan’s best.
Intruder isn’t covering much new ground, Gary is still leaning into his world of post climate change apocalypse, bringing you more harrowing stories in which Everything is Fucked.
It’s heavy stuff, with Numan’s cold vocal leading slabs of heavy synths, driving percussion and some fantastic riffs. He’s also stuck with the Arabic sounding musical phrases that were on the last album. In fact, Intruder feels like the distillation of his last few records, chipping away at the ideas until they’ve been perfected, like jet black coal crushed into diamond.
To be honest, at this point you probably know if you’re interested in a Gary Numan album or not. If you’re looking for some industrial music to soundtrack the Climate Emergency, this is it.
Bicep
Isles
Bicep have been on the cusp of the Big Time for a while now. Glue, somehow has become an anthem, and their second album, Isles was hopefully going to get them there.
I wasn’t sure what to expect but when Atlas dropped, all bets were off. This was going to be huge, and looking at the amount of festivals Bicep are headlining next year, they’ve definitely made the Big Time.
So what do we get with album two? Probably the prettiest album of the year. This record almost shines, it feels polished to perfection. Although at times it can feel a little too polished, I’d like more grit here. But, as the band themselves have said, this is the home listening version of these songs. It’s dance music for headphones and front rooms (although you will piss off your neighbours).
There are so many great songs on here, Atlas is a warm hug with a vocal to get lost in, Apricots is another banger that shows how to use a short vocal sample without it becoming annoying. Isles is just track after track of fantastic dance music.If i have a criticism of this album it’s that it could up the BPM. I saw Bicep in September and the live versions of these tracks are so much better, just face melting techno. It feels a little churlish to mark an album down for being something it was never meant to be but… next time lads, put the bangers on the album please.
Number 5
Genghis Tron
Dream Weapon
I never heard the first two Genghis Tron albums, I’ve seen them called Cybergrind and Nintendocore, so, to be honest, I haven’t bothered with them. Dream Weapon comes 13 years after their last album and seems to be an almost new band. The big change to the line up is the addition of a drummer and, to be honest, he’s the best thing about this album.
Dream Weapon is a hybrid electronica album, it’s closest comparisons would be bands like HEALTH and Nine Inch Nails. There’s rock and metal in the music’s DNA but this shows itself in unusual ways. Alone in the Light sounds like Open Eye Signal by Jon Hopkins until the drums kick in and the song heads off into what sounds dangerously like synth prog (but not shit).
Ritual Circle is another highlight.The track starts out with a fairly simple dance beat but as the song continues, the drums begin to get more complex, with the drummer adding beats every few bars, which just give such an incredible sense of pace.
The song Dream Weapon closes out the album, and the band’s past metal roots begin to show themselves, with the guitars coming forward in the mix to finish up on an intense, almost crushing note.
This album was probably the biggest surprise for me this year. It’s a gem.
Number 4
Deafheaven
Infinite Granite
There’s been a lot of guff about Deafheaven turning their back on metal and moving to a more indie / shoegaze sound. For me there was only one question: is the album any good?
It is. This is my favourite Deafheaven album. I really liked New Bermuda but the rest of their albums left me cold.
It’s almost better to think of this as a different band. This is a perfect shoegaze/indie rock album, although on the heavier side of that sound.
It takes until the third song, Great Mass of Color, before there’s even a trace of the old band, and even that is just the introduction of George’s harsh vocal for the first time.. It’s only for a few seconds but the band makes them count. Suddenly an album that has been warm and friendly has teeth.
Deafheaven keep their metal side held back for most of the record – it’s track 5, the fantastically named Lament for Wasps, before the double kick drums appear. It would have been easy for them to go full metal all the time but even the heavier tracks towards the end wouldn’t scare the most faint-hearted shoegaze fan. It isn’t until the final track, Mombasa, before the band’s blackgaze style makes its full appearance, and fun as it is, on an album this strong it really wasn’t needed.
It’s a very happy surprise to have such a great and different sounding album from them.
Number 3
Sugar Horse
The Live Long After
Sugar Horse are a tricky band to try and describe. If I was trying to pigeonhole them, I’d say this is post, goth, alt rock, metal. Which is a nasty case of genre salad, but that is honestly what this sounds like.
The album opens with a wash of indistinct instruments and a voice that is so far down the mix you can’t pick out what it’s saying. The voice clears and the words “Nothing good can ever last” ring out. At this point, you can guess what you’re in for, and track two is like being kicked in the face, just attacking sludge riffs that could crush a car. But! The song is called Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan, so despite it sounding like war being declared, the title is a giveaway that all this might not be as serious as it sounds.
Sugar Horse have an amazing use of dynamics. Even in their most abrasive songs there are clean passages, and the singer, Ashley, has a surprisingly strong singing voice for a man whose shrieks can sound like the end of the world. Dadcore World Cup is the only track with no abrasive vocals on it and might be the best place to dip your toe into the band: it could be a shoegaze anthem.
The Live Long After doesn’t sound like anything else I own. If you like heavy as hell sludge riffing and gothy alt rock, well rejoice, these guys made an album just for you.
Number 2
Mogwai
As the Love Continues
This album marks the 25th anniversary of Mogwai, and this album was also the band’s first number one in the UK album chart. 2021 has been a hell of a year for Mogwai but it’s even better for the band’s fans. After a few muted albums this feels like the band coming together and reclaiming their position as one of the greatest alternative acts of our time.
The album starts pretty slowly but by the time we get to the third track, Dry Fantasy, the band are up to speed with one of the prettiest songs they’ve written in a long time. The mid section of the album is almost embarrassingly good. Drive the Nail has that glorious Mogwai guitar tone that rattles windows. Fuck Off Money has that all envoleping feeling they do so well and Midnite Flit has some gorgeous orchestration by Atticus Ross.
It’s complicated trying to explain just what this album feels like to me, it’s like trying to explain how water is wet. Mogwai’s music is so hardwired into my system, it can be difficult to be objective in any way. This album is just catnip to me.
By the time we get to the last song, It’s What I Want to Do, Mum, it feels like the band have just tied a bow on the album, it’s just the perfect closer and leaves me with the warm fuzzies.
Mogwai may not have reinvented themselves here, but it does feel like a well earned victory lap, and reminded me why I’ve loved their music for so long.
Number 1
Dvne
Etemen Ænka
When Dvne (pronounced Dune) released their first album, Asheran, it was pretty obvious that they were worth watching. Their influences were a little too obvious, but it was still a fantastic debut, so there was a lot of expectation for their second.
Etemen Ænka is everything I hoped it would be. The confidence the band shows here is breathtaking. Everything about this album screams epic, from the runtime to the track lengths, but it never gets exhausting. I’m normally not a fan of prog anything, but this album mixes most of my favourite metal genres with prog, and it’s just perfect.
The track Omega Severer is the highlight, mixing crushing, epic metal with the Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd, as the female vocal duels with the guitar solo. It’s one of the most exciting bits of music I’ve heard all year.
Normally, I’d get a bit worn out by the long songs, but here I can just let the riffs take me along for the duration. It is a Sci-Fi concept album after all. Saying that, I always feel bad not digging into the concept behind the album, but the music is strong enough for me not to care.
Hopefully, this is a stepping stone to world domination for a band who seem to be well up for the task.
How did these scrappy upstarts beat an amazing Mogwai album?
This song.
The ways of exile 