Best (or new) albums of 2021 - so far....

[Zeuhlmate]

Was it promised for 2021? Asking out of interest.

I'm still spinning their debut, which certainly doesn't tire after a mere three years.

On 4 . august 2020 on their FB they are asked if and when - and the answer was 2 albums next year...perhaps they are pulling his leg...
Yes, it is a long lasting album!

https://www.facebook.com/lostcrowns/...4150224309212/

[Klonk]

That's a pretty impressive list Scott!

And I still have sitting on my table:

Cynic - Ascension Codes
Lucifer - Lucifer lV
Sleep Token - This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Vola - Witness

So much music, so little time!

[TCC]

Did these guys get a mention?



They litteraly kill when theu go all out.

Thankx Trane!
Like it and according to Juan José Salas (Azafrán Media Label/(ex)Luna Negra Records), a "very soon reissue with cd in concert".

[boilk]

Did these guys get a mention?



They litteraly kill when theu go all out.

Hey, thanks Trane. I missed this one upon release. Really digging it so far.

Neil

[WJK59]

Is that streaming anywhere?

I searched for it,too, but had no luck tracking it down, other than a single video of Preludio Secondo from the release on YouTube.

[mike_hunt]

^ Different artist.

Hah. Whoops my bad

[BobM]

Based on recommendations here I recently purchased the following off Bandcamp, and couldn't be happier.

Caligonaut - Magnified As Giants
Evership - The Uncrowned King
JPL - Sapiens Chapitre 1 (Exordium)

Based on how good the JPL album was I will likely be getting chapter 2 and 3 as well (3 was the new one in 2021)

[JKL2000]

Based on recommendations here I recently purchased the following off Bandcamp, and couldn't be happier.

Caligonaut - Magnified As Giants
Evership - The Uncrowned King
JPL - Sapiens Chapitre 1 (Exordium)

Based on how good the JPL album was I will likely be getting chapter 2 and 3 as well (3 was the new one in 2021)

Chapitre 2 was the new one in 2021. Chapitre 3 comes out this March.

[Boceephus]

Somehow I forgot Jakko Jakszyck’s Secrets and Lies. An awesome album. Any King Crimson fan worth their salt would have to find “Separation” as song of the year.


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[JKL2000]

Somehow I forgot Jakko Jakszyck’s Secrets and Lies. An awesome album. Any King Crimson fan worth their salt would have to find “Separation” as song of the year.


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I have both of Jakko's albums on the Inside Out label, and I'm having a really hard time getting into either one. If you like Secrets and Lies that much I'm going to have to give it another shot. I'll check out "Separation!" I've been thinking recently how it seems kind of odd that Inside Out released the two albums, because I somehow don't think they've sold that many of either album, and probably didn't expect to. I think because he's worked on a lot of their releases maybe it was some kind of reward they couldn't avoid giving him or something. But I didn't even get very far into Secrets and Lies, it just seemed boring. But I really need to check it out some more.

[Kcrimso]

Somehow I forgot Jakko Jakszyck’s Secrets and Lies. An awesome album. Any King Crimson fan worth their salt would have to find “Separation” as song of the year.


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It was released in 2020.

[NogbadTheBad]

Jakko's solo work doesn't really connect with me. It's down the gentle end of the Crimson pool.

[Boceephus]

It was released in 2020.

Really? Damn, my bad.


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[Trane]

My list (+/- final) for 2021

prog:
1- Alco Frisbass - Le Mystere du Gué Pucelle
2- Needlepoint – Walking Up That Valley
3- Agusa - En Annan Varld
4- Trees Speak - Post Human
5- Jordsjo – Pastoralia
6- Big Hogg - Pageant of Beasts
7- Vesilinja - Vesilinja
8- Bend the Future - Without Notice
9- Accordo dei Contrari - UR
10- Rostro del Sol - Rostro del Sol
11- Trees Speak - Vertigo Of Flaws
12- Elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders
13- Ske - Insolubilia
14- Manna/Mirage - Man out of Time
15- Malady - Ainavihantaa
16- Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Ding Dong You're Dead
17- Shamblemaths - Shamblemaths II
18- Krokofant - Fifth
19- Korekyojinn - Mesopotamia
20- Ciccada - Harvest


bubbling under:
Francois Thollot - Happy Lockdown
François Thollot – Virtually Spring
François Thollot - Tensions
Tusmorke – Nordisc Krim
Ryley Walker And Kikagaku Moyo – Deep Fried Grandeur
Electric Octopus - Inclinations
Isobar - II
Ghosts of Jupiter - Keepers of the Newborn Green
River Flows Reverse - When River Flows Reverse


jazz
1- Graham Costello & Strata - Second Lives
2- Matthew Halsall - Salute To The Sun Live
3- Rêve D'Elephant - Dance Dance
4- Ill Considered - In Liminal
5- Lemming Suicide Myth- S/T
6- Portico Quartet - Terrain
7- Embryo - Auf Auf
8- William Parker - Mayan Space Station
9- Nik Bärtsch – Entendre
10- Machine Mass Sextet – Intrusion
11- Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow
12- Muriel Grossman - Union
13- Hoodna Orchestra – Alem alem
14- Portico Quartet - Monument
15- Charlotte Greve, Wood River & Cantus Domus - Sediments We Move
16- Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra ‎– Promises
17- Archie Shepp, Jason Moran - Let My people Go



also-rans:
Santana – Blessings And Miracles
Green Diesel - After Comes The Dark
Caligonaut - Magnified As Giants
3 Primates - 3 Primates
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G-d's Pee at State's End
Sons Of Kemet - Black To The Future
Aquaserge - The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge
Black Midi - Cavalcade
Caravan - It's None Of Your Business
Rugged Nuggets - Odds & Ends
Angel Ontalva - Angel on a Tower
Diagonal - 4
Pasajero Luminoso - Pujol
Jay Tausig - Ancient Roots, New Branches
Piers Faccini - Shapes of the Fall
Ghost Rhythms - Spectral Music.
Nodo Gordiano - H. E. X.
Maneskin - Teatro d'ira - Vol. I (yup, that's the Eurovision winner >> listen to it before discarding it as rubble)

[Boceephus]

Jakko's solo work doesn't really connect with me. It's down the gentle end of the Crimson pool.

Maybe Jakko doesn’t hit the metal-ish end of the KC pool, but he takes an elegant path to Prog. Separation IS the current traveling bands most Crimson outing. Jakko’s taking on the mantel as the face of KC 20!!.


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[Tom]

Best Reissue of 2021:

The Devouring (Special Edition)

This and the 2020 reissue of Burning the Hard City/Suspension and Displacement are 3CDs, and so well done and bursting with re-worked and previously unreleased material, have nice and very interesting booklets, and are numbered, limited editions (500 each). What more could I want? To fondle them of course, and I just did! All self-respecting DK fans already have these. I'd guess there are still copies available, but not forever.

I missed this! Scrambling for credit card now…

[arturs]

also-rans:
Santana – Blessings And Miracles

This was a major disappointment after the very solid IV and the IMHO excellent Africa Speaks. Many of the individual songs are decent enough, but the styles clash, and are so random, that its really an unpleasant listen.

[Poisoned Youth]

So this will pretty much represent my final best of list for 2021. I found the year to be mixed, but solid overall. I am sure I'll get continued mileage out of most of the items listed. In the prog world, I felt like there were a great deal of A-,B+, and Bs with some clunkers, but without a real mind blower. On the jazz side, I struggled this year, but still found a few new favorites.

Prog etc. Top 20
1. Jordsjø – Pastoralia (Nor) (My initial listens didn't hit me like Nattfiolen did, but it has grown on me and I feel is just one notch below it)
2. Agusa - En Annan Värld (Swe) (Very much Agusa, but I can't remember much of it - in a good way. So each time I listen, it's like enjoying it again for the first time)
3. Stereolab - Electrically Possessed (Don't usually put comps here, but this collection of lesser known tracks from '99-'09 is top notch)
4. Steven Wilson - The Future Bites (This album got quite a bit of flack, but the music is catchy and appeals to my pop sensibilities. It's also a grower)
5. Elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders (Nor) (another kick butt release from E9, and fresh in that it comes from a different angle)
6. Vesilinja – s/t (Fin) (Electric Folk Rock in a Strawbs or Tull sort of way, but can also get heavier and rockier at points. Really quite a nice surprise)
7. Soup - Visions (Nor) (Wow, this album blew me away on first listen. I burned out on post-rock 15 years ago, but this had a very complex combination of post-rock, Radiohead, psych, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Future Kings of England from an approach standpoint)
8. Krokofant + Ståle Storløkken & Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - Fifth (Nor) (not to be outdone, Krokofant's new one is perhaps their best behind Q)
9. Alco Frisbass - Le Mystere du Gue Pucelle (Fra) (Took a few listens, but perhaps their best release?)
10. Ghost Rhythms - Spectral Music (Fra) (Another quality release from this fantastic French ensemble. It’s a step down from their last few for me. But expectations were high)
11. Trees Speak - Vertigo of Flaws (USA) (Amazing music. It’s like a cross between the psych/jazz/rock vibe you get from The Heliocentrics with a healthy dose of 70s electronic music blended in)
12. Needlepoint - Walking up That Valley (Nor) (I feel I am listing this too low, but it’s still another excellent Canterbury-laden release from them)
13. Neal Morse Band - Innocence & Danger (I keep buying Morse albums because some of them rise above the others. This is one of them)
14. Malady – Ainavihantaa (Fin) (Lots of stuff going on here – retro prog that leans into “classic symphonic rock”, sometimes feeling like something the Italians would do)
15. Styx - Crash of the Crown (A decent step down from The Mission for me, but still much better than most of their work since 1981)
16. King Buffalo - Acheron (USA) (With each album they seem to be further refining their stoner/doom/retro sound. An impressive band in this scene)
17. Embryo - Auf Auf (Embryo returns, now led by the late Christian Burchard’s daughter Marja. This is well done if not “trying to find itself” a bit. I prefer the recent live material more, but it shows that Embryo will live on)
18. Transatlantic - The Absolute Universe – Forevermore (After a few listens, I have no use for the abridged version of this album. Even this one is good but they have not been able to match the quality of their first two records)
19. Hedvig Mollestad - Tempest (Nor) (Another solid heavy rock-jazz album. She reminds me of Nels Cline at times)
20. Eldovar - A Story of Darkness & Light (Kadavar and Elder collaborate to create this proggier, more mellow sounding Elderesque concept album. And it works)

Jazz etc. top 10
1. Dave Holland, Robin Eubanks, Obed Calvaire - Another Land (Holland still cranks out quality albums. This is no exception and steers heavily in the fusion vein)
2. William Parker - Mayan Space Station (A free jazz guitar trio record - odd for Parker, that would appeal to free rock fans)
3. Burnt Sugar, The Arkestra Chamber - Angels Over Oakanda (I read this described as “electric Miles for the 21st century”, and I think that’s as good of a description as any. Excellent stuff)
4. Aaro Laitinen Quintet - From 3 to 23 (Finnish jazz with a rather heavy “rock style” guitar complemented by sax, piano, and a rhythm section. Sort of feels like if Steve Vai went Pat Metheny)
5. Ill Considered - Liminal Space (Sax jazz trio + several guests. It’s aggressive and forward driven, but more focused on afro-grooves than free jazz. It’s a big sound that reminds one of 80s free rock-jazz mixed with afro beat)
6. John Zorn - New Masada Quartet (New iteration of the Masada quartet, this time as sax/guitar/bass/drums, playing songs from the Masada songbook. It sounds fresh)
7. Michel Portal - MP85 (new album from Portal in some time. This one features Bojan Z)
8. William Parker - Painters Winter (Classic Parker trio with Hamid Drake and Daniel Carter. I haven’t been fond of some of the recent work with singers, so this is a nice surprise)
9. Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The News (Very much in the classic ECM vein and sounding a bit like something John Abercrombie might do in spots)
10. Iro Haarla Electric Ensemble – What Will We Leave Behind (It gets points for being pretty diverse, but I found myself entranced by the electric Miles improvs, electronics and ambient work, and bored by the rest)

[Trane]

Wow, Cozy:

11 cited in your list are in my top 20.

Surprisingly, I expected more "coincidences" in our jazz list, but there are only two present in my top 17. BTW, I also found the Jazz 21 year not very plentiful - the LDN crowd was relatively quiet.


I wish I could write those one or two lines comments like you do, though. Can't seem to be able to do so - beit a lack of proper words or will (lazyness, maybe)


However:

Very much Agusa, but I can't remember much of it - in a good way. So each time I listen, it's like enjoying it again for the first time

I agree with your sentence, but I'm not sure I would write that to justify its second place on the list (third on mine), because it can be read in a different way: totally unmemorable - but i am a client for their form of scandinavian retro-prog (7 placed in my top 20 - 8 if you count Mollestadt)

[Poisoned Youth]

I wish I could write those one or two lines comments like you do, though. Can't seem to be able to do so - beit a lack of proper words or will (lazyness, maybe)

However: (re: Agusa)
I agree with your sentence, but I'm not sure I would write that to justify its second place on the list (third on mine), because it can be read in a different way: totally unmemorable - but i am a client for their form of scandinavian retro-prog (7 placed in my top 20 - 8 if you count Mollestadt)

And to that point, it's why it's difficult to communicate intent in a sentence or two. But it took me a while to get familiar with the album. The pieces are long enough that repeated listens feel like fresh, but increasingly familiar journeys. And I think the "payoff" for listening through these two longer tracks is tremendous, which is why it's that high on my list.

I know I said there wasn't too much that blew me away, but 2021 for prog was a year that appears to be deep in quality.

[aith01]

Well, I think I've got a best of 2021 list done finally. In no particular order:

Ske - Insolubilia (Really impressive depth; reveals itself over multiple listens, even though it's not a "difficult" album per se.)
elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders (Incredibly cool record. Love the mellow vibe on this one.)
Neal Morse Band - Innocence & Danger (Surprised the heck out of me how much I enjoyed this one. Benefits from having the whole band contribute songs/ideas.)
Transatlantic - The Absolute Universe (Might just be my favorite by them now. They sound like they're having fun together.)
Deerhoof - Actually, You Can (Great, quirky, and weirdly catchy -- these guys and gal are as hard to pin down as ever.)
Cody Carpenter - Memories and Dreams (Love this one and played it dozens of times during the summer. Reminiscent of Bruford at times.)
Kari Band with Friends - Live at Streaming (Really fun and addictive Japanese jazz-fusion.)
Tilison Reingold Tiranti - Allium: Una Storia (This one was a lovely surprise. Feels like Italian symph to me. A good late summer listen.)
OSC - Yume no Machi (An ode to Japanese city pop, and really well done.)
Maoki Yamamoto - In My World (Top-notch J-fusion from Dezolve's drummer. The epic reminds me a little of Pat Metheny's Secret Story.)
Glass Hammer - Skallagrim: Into the Breach (Crunchy. I like it! They've found another terrific vocalist too.)
Big Big Train - Common Ground (I like the slightly different direction this one takes. Harder to listen to now after David's passing.)
Breeze - Only Up (Pretty nifty britpop throwback, sorta like Stone Roses or Blur maybe. Definite early 90s feel.)
French TV - All Our Failures Are Behind Us (These guys just keep outdoing themselves, IMO. Great rock/fusion/prog.)
Ginger Root - City Slicker (Soundtrack to an imaginary movie. Retro soul/funk/pop that reminds me a little of Toro y Moi.)
Steven Wilson - The Future Bites ("King Ghost" might be one of the best things Wilson has ever done. I like the whole record.)
TWRP - New & Improved (Fun Japanese fusion/city pop influenced electro-funk. Sorta like if Masayoshi Takanaka jammed with Daft Punk. Maybe.)
Sungazer - Parahelion (Electronic jazz/fusion band from Adam Neely. Really impressive.)
Pond - 9 (Big improvement over Tasmania, IMO. Some great psych pop/rock with electronic flourishes. Influenced by Can.)
Monarch Trail - Wither Down (I really love the sound/style. I'm a sucker for well-done Tony Banks-isms, and this captures that late 70s Genesis feel.)


There wasn't a lot of new jazz I bought in 2021 -- most of my jazz purchases/listens were stuff that came out in years previous. But this thread has given me several good leads to follow up on!

[arturs]

24. Desertion Trio - Number Maker

This may end up being my #1 album of 2021. Usually takes a full additional year for the very best to shake out but it is in the running for sure. Phat, ugly, raw, intense. Bill Frisell meets early Guru Guru?

[Scrotum Scissor]

Scrotum Scissor would love this list!!

I'm all love all the way either way anyway, so.

I actually always dug 'scot's integrity of stance on preference/habitus stuff. I mean, it's mostly about the subjective argument of logic and -not- the aesthetics as such. There are lots of fabulous-to-fairly fine titles and artists on that list. And he does sport a convincing speaking-voice and a mildly commanding presence on camera.

But I'd still put Tusmørke a seat or two above Neal, man.