the Wire's top 50

The Wire magazine has posted its typically adventurous top 50 albums of 2021: [www.albumoftheyear.org]. No Olivia Rodrigo here, but the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra pops up.

I've only heard of 3 of those artists!

I read Aidan Moffat's (Arab Strap) best ofs for 2021 and he had the L'Rain record so I gave it a listen last night. Some nice sounds on there.

I can attest that #45 and #13 are great. I just listened to #3 for the first time the other day, and I'm still on the fence. I still haven't gotten to #19, even though I dug the last one and listen to a lot of the bandmembers' other projects, or #5, despite becoming a Bachman fan this year. I've heard of a few of the others, but otherwise I'm with Zoo: most of these artists are unfamiliar to me.

Edit: after reading more about them, putting L'Rain and Moor Mother on the list to check out.

Edit #2: I looked up Moor Mother on Discogs, and was surprised to find that I have a record with her on it: the most recent Art Ensemble of Chicago record. So I've heard her. More exploration will be required.

Edit #3: OK, I'm on board with #3 now (which is the much-ballyhooed Floating Points/Pharaoh Sanders collaboration). I think was expecting it to be more raucous when I first listened to it, more along the lines of Sanders early 70s work like Black Unity, one of my favorite jazz albums. On second listen, knowing what to expect, I was able to better appreciate its beauty.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2021 01:13PM by Michael Toland.

The list and your post got me to check out William Parker at #45. Great combo of jazz and rock!

Parker's guitarist Ava Mendoza (who also has a rock band called Unnatural Ways) is still under the radar, but she won't be for much longer.

One review of the Parker album called her playing a cross between Sonny Sharrock and Neil Young. I couldn't imagine what that sounded like till I actually heard the album, but I'm always happy to hear music that suggests the very early, heavy days of fusion or a next step after Last Exit's IRON PATH.

The Floating Points album hits such a sweet spot and has such an instant classic sound. It nails what it does perfectly. I hope they do more albums.

If you find yourself liking this year's Moor Mother platter, you would probably like last year's release as well.

Interestingly enough I have heard of only four of them [Sons Of Kemet, Anthony Braxton, Circuit Des jeux, and Les Filles de Illighadad]. And I only know the first three because I often attend the Big Ears Festival, where I neglected to see each of them play. I was lucky enough to see Les Filled De Les Filles de Illighadad as my last concert before Covid-19, and this reminds me that I need to buy their new album!

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Just picked up the Floating Points album on vinyl… nice die-cut cover! (lp trivia: most annoying die-cut cover? Possibly Foghat Live…)

I’ve ALWAYS loved year-end lists. If nothing else, they’re a terrific guide to new discoveries. There’s just SO MUCH out there that it’s nice to have a little nudge toward certain things that you might not have found on your own.

Discovered from perusing year-end lists, two albums which renew my faith in ‘rock’— this year’s album by Dry Cleaning, and ‘glow on’ by Turnstile. Exciting stuff!