HALF-TERM REPORT!!!

THE 20 BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR SO FAR!!!

 And so - as is traditional on this here blog of mine - as we find ourselves racing toward the mid-point of the year and waiting patiently for the world to open up it's doors and allow the general populous to get back to some kind of normality, it is time for me to look back over the first half of 2021 and pick my favourite albums of the year so far. It's been a tremendously healthy and vibrant year for new releases - all that lockdown time has been spent well - and, as such, it wasn't easy to pick this 20. God only knows how even more difficult I will find it in December when I put together my annual Top 50. For now though, indulge yourselves in this little rundown of the best records I've listened to since January 1st. There should be something for everyone here: Euphoric dance, atmospheric post-rock, down and dirty blues, chugging indie, driving African rhythms, widescreen Americana, caustic Caledonian poetry, sparkling acoustic loveliness, cranium-rattling art-rock, whimsical psychedelia. All the bases are covered, I feel. 

Go on then - get stuck in.

20: THE WEATHER STATION: IGNORANCE

19: MDOU MOCTAR: AFRIQUE VICTIME

18: THE ANTLERS: GREEN TO GOLD

17: SLEATER-KINNEY: PATH OF WELLNESS

16: ISRAEL NASH: TOPAZ

15: BILLY F. GIBBONS: HARDWARE

14: BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: FOR THE FIRST TIME

13: DINOSAUR JR. : SWEEP IT INTO SPACE

12: THE BLACK KEYS: DELTA KREAM

11: THE CORAL: CORAL ISLAND

10: MOGWAI: AS THE LOVE CONTINUES

9:  CROWDED HOUSE: DREAMERS ARE WAITING

8:  MOBY: REPRISE

7:  BICEP: ISLES

6:  ARAB STRAP: AS DAYS GET DARK

5:  FOR THOSE I LOVE: FOR THOSE I LOVE

4:  KINGS OF CONVENIENCE: PEACE OR LOVE

3:  SQUID: BRIGHT GREEN FIELD

2:  DRY CLEANING: NEW LONG LEG

1:  TEENAGE FANCLUB: ENDLESS ARCADE