Today’s a big day for End of Year lists. NPR posted its Albums of 2021, as did Gorilla Vs Bear (plus Spotify Wrapped is out), and now here’s UK site The Quietus. Champions of the challenging, the eccentric and the outliers, The Quietus always have a unique list, with less of the usual suspects than most. Yes, The Weather Station, Little Simz, Turnstile, Low, Dry Cleaning, and Japanese Breakfast are here but so are less ubiquitous artists like Divide and Dissolve, Scotch Reflex, The Bug, Ben LaMar Gay, Tomaga, My Bloody Sex Party, Hedvig Mollestad, Space Afrika, and Jeff Parker. There’s also Sleaford Mods, Dean Blunt, audiobooks, Part Chimp, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe, At the Gates, black midi, Squid, Black Country New Road, Liars, Loraine James, aya, Tirzah, and more.
Check out The Quietus’ Albums of 2021 list, and stream their #1, below, and read more about their selections here.
Quietus Albums Of The Year 2021
100: Celestial – I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night
99: Marco Shuttle – Cobalt Desert Oasis
98: Low – HEY WHAT
97: LoneLady – Former Things
96: Ruth Mascelli – A Night At The Baths
95: Senyawa – Alkisah
94: Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime
93: Turnstile – GLOW ON
92: Antonina Nowacka – Vocal Sketches From Oaxaca
91: Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou
90: Angharad Davies – gwneud a gwneud eto / Do And Do Again
89: Fluisteraars – Gegrepen Door De Geest Der Zielsontluiking
88: Converge & Chelsea Wolfe – Bloodmoon: I
87: Perkins & Federwisch – One Dazzling Moment
86: The Altered Hours – Convertible
85: Taqbir – Victory Belongs To Those Who Fight For A Right Cause
84: My Bloody Sex Party – Vol. 2
83: Laura Cannell & Kate Ellis – May Sounds
82: Mirage – Mirage
81: Squid – Bright Green Field
80: Richard Youngs – CXXI
79: Hedvig Mollestad – Tempest Revisited
78: Snapped Ankles – Forest Of Your Problems
77: Koreless – Agor
76: Leather Rats – No Live ‘Til Leather ’98
75: Jorja Chalmers – Midnight Train
74: Bloody Head – The Temple Pillars Dissolve Into The Clouds
73: Ursula Sereghy – OK Box
72: GNOD – La Mort Du Sens
71: At The Gates – The Nightmare Of Being
70: Vapour Theories – Celestial Scuzz
69: Jeff Parker – Forfolks
68: Jane Weaver – Flock
67: Rien Virgule – La Consolation Des Violettes
66: Aging ~ Land Trance – Embassy Nocturnes
65: Clairo – Sling
64: Helm – Axis
63: Claire Rousay – a softer focus
62: Manic Street Preachers – The Ultra Vivid Lament
61: Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson – Searching For The Disappeared Hour
60: Årabrot – Norwegian Gothic
59: NONEXISTENT – NONEXISTENT
58: William Parker – Mayan Space Station
57: Time Binding Ensemble – Nothing New Under The Sun
56: Max Syedtollan / Plus-Minus Ensemble – Four Assignments
55: Slikback – MELT
54: Goodbye World – At Death’s Door
53: Andy Stott – Never The Right Time
52: Oliver Leith – ‘Me Hollywood’
51: Frog Of Earth – Frog Of Earth
50: Melvins – Working With God
49: Succumb – XXI
48: Ruth Goller – Skylla
47: Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
46: Rufus Isabel Elliot – A/am/ams (come ashore, turn over)
45: Hawthonn – Earth Mirror
44: Erika de Casier – Sensational
43: Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d’s Pee At STATE’S END!
42: —__–___ – The Heart Pumps Kool-Aid
41: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
40: Ed Dowie – The Obvious I
39: Grouper – Shade
38: Shackleton – Departing Like Rivers
37: Skee Mask – Pool
36: Shirley Collins – Crowlink
35: Space Afrika – Honest Labour
34: Black Country, New Road – For The First Time
33: Kìzis – Tidibàbide / Turn
32: ioulus – oddkin
31: Rochelle Jordan – Play With The Changes
30: Part Chimp – Drool
29: HARD FEELINGS – HARD FEELINGS
28: The Transcendence Orchestra – All Skies Have Sounded
27: Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
26: Joy Orbison – still slipping vol. 1
25: MICROCORPS – XMIT
24: Ben LaMar Gay – Open Arms To Open Us
23: audiobooks – Astro Tough
22: Eris Drew – Quivering In Time
21: Natalia Beylis & Eimear Reidy – Whose Woods These Are
20: black midi – Cavalcade
19: Rắn Cạp Đuôi – Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế
18: Arab Strap – As Days Get Dark
17: Tirzah – Colourgrade
16: Tomaga – Intimate Immensity
15: L’Rain – Fatigue
14: The Armed – ULTRAPOP
13: Divide And Dissolve – Gas Lit
12: Liars – The Apple Drop
11: Tanz Mein Herz – Quattro
10: Gazelle Twin & NYX – Deep England
9: Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
8: Scotch Rolex – Tewari
7: Richard Dawson & Circle – Henki
6: Loraine James – Reflection
5: William Doyle – Great Spans Of Muddy Time
4: The Weather Station – Ignorance
3: Dean Blunt – Black Metal 2
2: aya – im hole
1: The Bug – Fire