2021, despite all the negatives, has been another great year for new music. I’ve already published my Review of the Year/Best of lists. But it would be unfair of me not to highlight several albums that I’ve been enjoying throughout 2021 that I didn’t feature in the top 25 or so in my blog,
As well as the albums I featured in the end of year post, I’ve reviewed and enjoyed albums by Jackal Trades, Mickey 9s, Natalie Pryce, Paul Research, CHVRCHES, Girl One and the Grease Guns, The Graveyard Tapes, Duncan Reid and the Big Heads (Live), Randolphs Leap, Maximo Park, The Telescopes, Edweena Banger, TV Priest, Teen Creeps, Brick Briscoe and Kiwi Jr
This blog is all about the other albums/EPs I’ve loved but never got around to reviewing,. Here goes then, in no particular order:
Favourite Mistakes – Songs For You – Bandcamp
Songs for You is a captivating and charming six track EP of acoustic guitar based songs with a bluesy neo folk/country feel to them. Beautifully played with some exquisite lead vocals from Madeleine enhanced by some equally enthralling harmonies from songwriter Stuart Dudgeon who also takes joint lead with Madeleine on the closing duet, the wistful and plaintive ballad that is Something About You. Beautiful stuff.
Bunkhouse – Bunkhouse – Bandcamp
Like the Favourite Mistakes EP, the Bunkhouse album was released in January, but for one reason or another, I never got around to writing about it, nor got around to seeing them live despite having marked some dates in my calendar. I did however, vicariously support them having seen both The Just Joans and Wife Guys of Reddit live, Chris Elkin of Bunkhouse also being a Just Joans member, and Arion Xenos keeping himself busy by being in all three bands. Anyway, the Bunkhouse album is an absolute cracker, experimental electronic sounds abound, alongside quirky left field lyrics. A bit like The Fall meets Bis if you will.
Freya Beer – Beast – Website
Cinematic and sweeping with dark gothic undertones, Freya Beer certainly unleashed a beast with this impressively primal debut. Heavy and brooding one moment, the next airy and soaring, almost drawing on the spirit of Kate Bush. Freya has a powerfully alluring vocal, giving her the ability to switch between the deep rich tones reflecting the hypnotic darker moments, but free to sweep and soar, exploring her impressive range, entering Julie Cruise traitors at times. Look forward to more, and was sorry I was out of town when she played in Glasgow’s Hug and Pint.
The Persian Leaps – Drone Etiquette – Bandcamp
On Drone Etiquette, The Persian Leaps treat us to seven tracks of exquisite power pop that satisfies the soul as the enthusiastically driven pounding beats emanate from your vibrating speakers, setting a fire in the belly and creating a feeling of hope and positivity. The Persian Leaps take their lead from a host of US alt rock/power pop but with elements of UK bands like XTC thrown in for good measure.
The Hawks – Obviously Five Believers – Facebook
Not new music by any means, The Hawks (The Subterranean Hawks/Obviously Five Believers) was Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy’s band post his stint as vocalist for early Duran Duran and pre solo success and with The Lilac Time. The band never released an album, Obviously Five Believers is a compilation of their recorded works including their one and only released single, Words of Hope, and were then gone again in a flash. The ten tracks here are of a style that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Postcard Records compilation, or sitting alongside early James, all post punk jangly guitars and complex basslines. A great document of the progression of an artist.
Bradford – Bright Hours – Facebook
Having “loaned’ Morrissey one of their songs, Skin Storm, many years ago, Bradford returned this year with a new album, Bright Hours. As you may expect this an album packed full of intelligent lyrics, laments and melancholic tunes, songs and tunes that could easily sit alongside the likes of Elvis Costello and Ian Prowse in their delivery and the feelings they evoke.
Husband – Cut the Light – Bandcamp
It was the voice that first hooked me into the music of Husband, a rich velvety baritone, the foil for their earnest alt-rock songs packed with bombast and emotion. Unsurprisingly, when you hear their music, the London based four piece are influenced by the likes of Radiohead, The National and Nick Cave.
Witch Fever – Reincarnate – website
The Reincarnate 6 track EP is a raucous crashing punk metal behemoth of a listen. Each track is bristling with a fuck you attitude, riot grrrrl ramped up to titanic proportions. The vocals fizz with a gargantuan rage, while the band bring the tumultuous thunder. Oh, and while you’re here, fuck the patriarchy! Epic.
The Jesus Bolt – The Kid Got Electric – website
I’ve got a certain Ged Babey to thank for introducing me to The Jesus Bolt, something I’ll be forever be grateful for, as with his introduction to the superb Dumb Poets. Gerard and Hazel have previously been involved in bands such as Witness and Blue Aeroplanes so come with a good pedigree. The Kid Got Electric is a collection of engaging tales, bizarre twists, plenty of eccentricity and most importantly, a whole load of personality making it beguiling and addictive, but requiring several listens to “get it”.
Cocktail Slippers – Shout It Out Loud!- website
Hailing from Oslo, Cocktail Slippers have a real retro rock feel to their sound, replete with glossy production and big glam riffs and choruses aplenty, Shout it Out Loud! is all about having a good time. “Excuse Me, while I have fun” sing the band on their single, Excuse Me while they raise two fingers to the world.
The Strays – Cool Your Jets – Facebook
Talking of retro rock ‘n’ roll, The Strays Cool Your Jets album is a retro-fest fireball of upbeat rockabilly tinged energy. From the word go on the lead track Silence is Golden through to closing song Book of Joe, it’s packed with foot to the floor, pedal to the metal, foot-tappin’, jive inducing rock n roll goodness. Cool Your Jets man, or don’t, wait ‘til later.. for now, get out your armchair and enjoy this glorious selection of jive-tastic tunes. “Shake, rattle, roll the devil from your soul…”
Sorrows – Love Too Late…The Real Album – Big Stir/Sorrows
Sorrows version of their album Love Too Late finally saw the light of day this year after the original release was hijacked and re-recorded by their record company in a bid for commercial success. Sitting somewhere between Merseybeat and the US power pop of the likes of The Cars, Love Too Late is a highly absorbing selection of hook laden melody heavy power pop songs.
Cult Figures – Deritend – Bandcamp
Another band first active in the late 70’s/early 80’s Cult Figures 2021 album Deritend was a triumphant release, thoughtful lyrics soundtracked by punchy melodic rhythms, a maturity and thoughtfulness in their sound, but sounder fresher than ever, Cult figures are just one of several acts that made a jubilant return this year.
Inca Babies – Swamp Street Soul – Bandcamp
Not as big a gap since their last album as Cult Figures, its still be seven years since Inca Babies released their last offering. Their take on dark gothic punk blues sounds crisp and fresh, a re-energised sound for the 21st century. The raw surf guitar surf rumble of single A Walk in the Park kicking things off in style with a moody underbelly, a sound reflected through the guttural bass of Slingshot. The trashy blues undertone continues throughout the album… an excellent return.
Harry Stafford & Marco Butcher – Bone Architecture – Bandcamp
I couldn’t include Inca Babies and not Harry Stafford’s other release this year, the eclectic Bone Architecture album with multi-instrumentalists Marco Butcher, the title track coming on like twisted jazz with a Nick Cave slant. The album drips throughout with a seething attitude, raw and experimental with an menacing edge, the bluesy There’s Someone Tryin’ to Get In a perfect case in point. Impeccable.
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg – website
There have been equal levels of love and derision from my peers regarding the Dry Cleaning album. Personally, I love New Long Leg. Florence Shaw’s tales of seemingly mundane day to day life relayed in her near spoken word vocal brought to life by the pictures she paints with the words and the choppy angular post punk guitars and sonorous rhythm section. On my live wish list for next year…
The Dead Beats – Die Screaming Marianne – Bandcamp
As well as a cracking album, The Dead Beats need to be commended for having possibly the most reasonably priced and interesting album release/merch package complete with mini comic/mag, t-shirt, patches, stickers, badges… Johny Skullknuckles and Co (The Reverend Paul Confused, John “as advertised” and Ben Grim) make a raucous noise.
It could be described as horror punk based on the subject matter of the songs, but edging more towards a twisted rock n roll B Movie style (song titles like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Night of the Living Dead), Cramps-esque in places (Sweet Tooth Sickness) full throttle punk rock elsewhere in a 1,2,3,4 Go! Ramones style, and then you’ve got the likes of Necro Nina which riffs along at pace in an almost Iron Maiden style, and the psychobilly meets Devilgate Drive stylings of It’s Alive! A cracking thrill ride.
The Graveyard Shifters – Head Turns First, Eyes Follow – Bandcamp
In a similar vein, we got some full on Scandinavian punk metal from Finland’s Graveyard Shifters with a bit of social commentary around the pitfalls of social media on the lead song on this four track EP, Fake It ‘til You Make it. For those who may be missing a bit of Turbonegro and the like…
Dan Dismal & the Darkstars – A Li’l Dab’ll Do Ya – Bandcamp
Closer to home but sticking with the psychobilly/punkabilly horror themes, Dan Dismal and the Darkstars latest offering is another triumph of Cramps influenced B Movie zombie rock goodness (or should that be badness). Whatever. To coin a phrase this is bad(ass) music for bad(ass) people. Ten magnificent slices of nectariously nefarious rock n roll and psychobilly with little classic nuggets every now and again (a wee bit of T Rex glam in Deborah Do! As an example) with a few covers including their take on the oft covered Plastic Jesus and Please Don’t Touch as a superb album closer thrown in for good measure.
Deadbeatz – Meet Us at Dawn – website
Not to be confused with The Dead Beats, Deadbeatz describe themselves as an “Austrian Blues Ounk Orchestra”, Meet Us at Dawn is a magnificent blend of blues, punk, rockabilly, psychobilly (I’m a sucker for a stand up bass), a high octane thrill ride kicking off with a cinematic melee of revving engines, before the omnipresent harmonica introduces Motorcycle Crew, kicking in and hooking you in for the rest of this highly entertaining album.
The Lee Harveys – 221 – Bandcamp
An excellent 10” vinyl mini album and a 7” EP with some superb versions of songs from across their back catalogue marked out a great year for releases from The Lee Harveys. Their mini album is a supercharged six track first wave of punk commentary on the state of the world today, and including a wee pastiche on Gary Glitter’s Rock n Roll, adding the line “you’re dead to me”.
Never one’s to mince their words or scrimp on addictive crunching punk rock riffing, this is The Lee Harveys at their seething biting best, a ball of pent up frustration and anger that is ready to explode at any moment. As they urge the listener on the penultimate song of the album, “if we don’t stand up, we will fall”.
Project – It’s Just Like Meeting Picasso – Bandcamp
Coming from the same label as The Lee Harveys is this six track album of unique musical experimentation produced by Stano and featuring P.A. and Deko from Paranoid Visions along with contributions from The Shend (The Very Things/The Cravats) and Steve Ignorant (Crass/Conflict). As you can imagine with a gathering of those minds and talents, this is something to behold. A mixture of unsettling instrumentation, spoken word performance, disconcerting lyrics and stories which seemlessly come together to create a thoroughly engrossing listen.
Lice – Wasteland (What Ails Our People is Clear) – Bandcamp
The full length debut from Bristol’s LICE, finally following up the superb It All Worked Out Great (Vol 1 & 2) EPs, is a complex beast packed with experimental noise, while creating a story across its eleven tracks exploring the concept of us living in a 21st Century Wasteland. I come from an age when the very mention of a “concept” album raised sneers and derision from peers, but this album is a triumph in all it does, down to the art of the album cover and the vinyl inserts. One of these albums where you can’t pick and choose songs to listen to, its an all or nothing listen.
Poor Little Things – Deal Breaker – Bandcamp
I made mention of Devilgate Drive earlier in this blog, Poor Little Things album Deal Breaker takes the lead from the likes of Suzi Quattro, The Runaways, Joan Jettt, Lisa Ford et al and wears those influences proudly for all to hear on these ten tracks of blissful driving rock rhythms , with a sugar frosting of addictive glam power pop.
Ex- – Solitary Confinement – Facebook
The ever active Meek wasn’t going to be put off by lockdowns and restrictions with both this fifteen track album and the 3 track lockdown sessions single/EP produced over the last year or so. Solitary Confinement is a selection of fully produced songs played in the bands inimitable style, maybe the frustration of lockdown being a source of inspiration on songs like You’re Doing My Head In, interspersed with home recordings and three cracking cover versions to round things off too – The Heartbreakers – Born to Lose, New York Dolls – Looking for a Kiss and The Stooges – I Wanna Be Your Dog. Can’t keep a good band down.
The Bloody Nerve – Act 1: Retrograde – website
The Bloody Nerve are releasing their concept album All Blood, No Treasure in a series of “Acts”. Act 1 brings together the first three songs on the journey culminating in the single Roads, the third track on Act 1. The band will be releasing four Acts in total. If Act 1 is anything to go by, I’ll be looking forward to earring the next parts. Stacey Blood and Laurie Ann Layne hail from Nashville but avoided going down the obvious “Road” coming from those parts. Act 1 contains three slabs of powerfully intense razor blade sharp rock packed with hooks and a vocal that packs a real punch. Roll on Act 2.
Mungo’s Hi-Fi – Antidote – website
Glasgow based heavy soundsystem Mungo’s Hi-Fi followed up last year’s exquisite collaboration with Marina P with this hypnotic collection earlier in the year. I’ve still not managed to experience the full weight of their live/festival experience. An omission that I intend to rectify at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, let the needle it the groove, pump up the volume and let the infectious dub grooves infiltrate your body and soul.
Black Hill Transmissions – Bandcamp
Enigmatic and atmospheric are probably how I would describe Transmissions 1 from the band named after what is probably Scotlands most famous TV transmitter. A combination of affecting experimental instrumentals, mixing in sounds of nature with sonorous gentle instrumentation, the eponymous track almost krautrock in style, and a closing spoken word track telling the story of The Body on the Moss, essentially an essay, Notes on the Discovery of a Body in a Peat Moss at Cambusnethan by Ludovic McL. Mann from 1933 read over an empathetic soundtrack – a most compelling listen.
UV-TV – Always Something – Bandcamp
What I love about UV-TV is that they take me back to my younger years with their retro alt-80’s/early 90’s sound recalling the years of my youth without being too derivative. Back to Nowhere has a real Echo and the Bunnymen feel to it while Plume Master with gothic tinges and shades of Jesus and Mary Chain. The emblem both a delicacy the likes of which Shellyann Orphan displayed and a powerful buzz from the driving rhythms created by the forthright guitars.
The Blue Orchids – Speed the Day – Bandcamp
I unfortunately missed The Blue Orchids recent gig in Glasgow’s intimate Hug and Pint venue with The Nightingales, cited by a number of people who were there as their gig of the year. Fortunately, I did manage to spoil this album on more than a few occasions during the year though. One of a few blasts from the pasts appearing in this list, bands from the post punk scene like Cult Figures and Inca Babies who still have the ability to show the youngsters a thing or two.
The Blue Orchids seem to be one of those effervescent bands, their sound never gets old, and if anything, they are sounding better than ever on Speed the Day. Don’t take my word for it, dive in…
Sunstinger – Beyond the Frame – Bandcamp
Fife combo Sunstinger continued to impress in 2021 with their four track EP Beyobnd the Frame. Four slabs of atmospheric and hypnotically ethereal shoegaze that envelop you and spirit you off to another dimension.
The Primevals – New Trip – website
Another blast from the past, but from a band who have excelled in recent years with their album Second Nature in 2020 and this years New Trip. The veteran Glasgow garage rockers sounding fresher and more vibrant than ever, an energy that belies their years and signals towards more to come from a band that has seen lockdown apparently give them a new lease of life.
The Wildhearts – 21st Century Love Song – website
Following up the magnificent Renaissance Men, the North East of England’s finest export, and the band that cannot be destroyed, The Wildhearts continue to impress with their classic line up recording another ten slabs of powerful punk n roll, with more than a nod to Ginger’s mental health issues in the lyrics (My Head Want’s Me Dead, Sort Your Fucking Shit Out).
David Long and Shane O’Neill – Moll and Zeis – Bandcamp
I was delighted when I found out David Long as recording a new album, Into Paradise, Churchtown and Down All the Days having been played to death when they came out, alongside Goodbye mr MacKenzie, they were one of those bands who, in my opinion, should have been huge, so its great in 2021 that this album has seen the light of day, and Goodbye MrMacKenzie’s Glory Hole is finally getting a re-release.
On Moll and Zeis, Long is joined by Shane O’Neill, whose band, Blue in Heaven, I’m afraid passed me by back in the day. The album is contemplative and reflective in mood, its laid back charm bringing to mind the vibes created by another collaboration between Irish (and Australian) artists in alt (Andy White, Liam O’Maonlai and Tim Finn) and their Altitude project. Perhaps a little nod to Into Paradise in the album’s title track, and in the lyrics of Far From Home “burnt my skin to remind me”. All in all a thoroughly satisfying listen.
The Kundalini Genie – Half In, Half Out – Bandcamp
Album number five for Glasgow psychedelic rock outfit The Kundalini Genie, mastered by the one and only Mark Gardener of Ride fame at his OX4 studios. This album is everything you could want from psych rock album verging on the shoegaze, a blissed out trip taking you away from the shite of the day into the realms of your own mind soundtracked by multi layered and fabulously textured instruments and a warm vocal that head rushes you, enveloping you in its charm and laidback intensity.
Def Robot – Ideas Above Our Station – Bandcamp
Their single, Glasgow Kiss, appeared in one of my singles round ups, but I never got around to reviewing their latest and 14TH! (Yes fourtheenth) album released in the last few years. This isn’t a case of quantity over quality either, Ideas Above Out Station continues to see them mine this prosperous vein of creativity with twelve high quality commanding and mighty alt-rock songs.
Syvdoh – Here Comes the Witch – Bandcamp
Syvdoh’s album from late 2020 was a triumphant album of songs about death. I think I wrote something along the lines of death shouldn’t be this enjoyable. The band chose a no less heavy topic as a theme for their Here Comes the Witch EP, the rise of nazism and the after effects on future generations. This has been dealt with entirely sympathetically, the music and vocals utterly beautiful and moving. Syvdoh continue to impress.
For Those I Love – For Those I Love – website
I’m late to the game with this one, and I know of at least one person that will be pleased about its inclusion. Hailing from Dublin, David Balfe’s album is an emotional, and sometimes difficult listen, based as it is on the death of his friend and band mate Paul Curran who killed himself. Balfe utterly wears his heart on his sleeve lyrically, not sugar coating a thing as he tells of the ups and downs of their lives together. You can feel the passion in every word he utters throughout these 9 tracks set to dance beats and using samples to effectively set the tone. A thoroughly engaging and emotional listen.
2021, what a year for music, 2022 you’ve got a lot to live up to.