Every year brings old and new faces alike, even if they all arrive masked. We’re starting to see artists adapt to the reality of a post-pandemic world where performance, recording, and fandom have all taken some strange turns. Music abides, though, and artists persevere despite significant obstacles.

NEWCOMERS

Debuting in the heart of a global health crisis isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. Even so, 2021 has seen a number of new artists building on strong singles from earlier years.

Joy Downer’s debut album Paper Moon sounds (and looks) like an obscure pick from a London Soho record shop, infused with multiple decades of alt-pop beauty. Duo Ohmme have a similar, dark twee sound that somehow blends Velvet Underground with a Tibetan monk’s choir. Unknowns Litty Kitty and MONOWHALES bring some big time brashness to 2021 – what’s not to love?

Speaking of brash – Yola’s second album bristles with deserved confidence and wall-busting anthems that will dispel nasty voices of self-doubt. Then there’s the brutal candor of Sault, masked by sweet melodies and a zen-inducing beat. Jazz/hip hop artist Theo Croker has a storied career leading up to the album that opened our ears to his sound – BLK2LIFE // A FUTURE PAST.

Others, like Ally & AJ, are new to this list but not new to the world. Jon Batiste is well known to Colbert and jazz fans alike but his new album, Show Me The Way, was as uplifting as it was amazing. Los Angeles resident Judith Hill’s third LP Baby I’m Hollywood is our first go with a talented vocalist who also happens to be Mike Garson’s accompanist for his Bowie retrospectives.

My favorite newcomer has to be Nation of Language who have managed to distill every sound I love from the 80s into a kind of eardrug from which I am unable and unwilling to drop. Part OMD, part Joy Division, all shoegazer, their childhoods were musically curated by parents who loved music as much as they loved their kids. Don’t miss the chance to see them live if they visit your town.

FAMILIAR FACES, FRESH TAKES

Part folktale, part Goth prog rock, Songs of Disenchantment will please any fan of Dead Can Dance founder Brendan Perry. Like his DCD co-founder, Lisa Gerrard, Perry’s work continues to explore a musical realm influenced by near-to-middle eastern mysticism, foreboding basses, and ethereal vocals.

Bloodwitch is neither new nor, technically, even real. See, there’s this great Netflix series entitled I Am Not Okay With This, regrettably cancelled after one season (and on a cliffhanger no less). One of the main characters was obsessed with a fictional band called Bloodwitch. The album on this list is the album used in the series.

Bloodwitch is, in fact, Blur’s Graham Coxon. The album featured singer Tatyana Richaud and his partner Essy Syed in the vocals. It’s a shame this is a one-off as the album has a lush, shoegazer feel that I would love to hear more of.

Misterwives may be no stranger to the NYC scene but Find My Way Home is the first we’ve heard their dance inducing confessionals – and we’ll be catching up on their previous releases in future.

RETURNING FAVORITES

The Cowboy Junkies have been putting out music even if I wasn’t keeping up with them. It’s odd because a candlelit concert in the cold winter has been haunting my mind-stage since 1989. Fast-forward thirty-odd years and the band still manages to capture that quiet, wintry beauty. Ghosts isn’t a re-hash of old albums, even though Margo Timmons haunting vocals stamp everything they do with a familiar quality. 

Brandi Carlisle is back for her second 31 appearance with this year’s brilliant These Silent Days. Sharon Von Eaten’s is another second-timer with Ten, which strikes a different (but still amazing) sound from her previous albums. The Dears are back, along with The Strokes and The Flaming Lips to add maturity and innovation to the mix. Cut Copy and Phantogram burst with post-wave pop shimmer and we’re all the better for it.

The legendary Sleater-Kinney is keeping the reunion alive with Path of Wellness, even if original drummer Janet Weiss has moved on. Always-listers Phantogram, the Mountain Goats, Garbage, Marianne Faithful, the Sounds, and St. Vincent all demonstrate why it is that their catalogs are pretty much a slam-dunk for permanent 31 list inclusion.

We’ve included an oddity as our bonus track: Timothy Fleet & Wayne Murray. Near as we can figure the duo produces commercial music, so guessing the album Vintage Radio: 1980s is meant as an affordable option for content makers unable to pony up licensing fees for well-known artists. The thing is, the album plays so much like an 80s new wave release I was almost fooled into thinking it was a band I just missed. Check out the whole album which is a catalog of familiar sounds from that most colorful decade.

Enjoy!

2021 Playlist

Track by track, with artist

BONUS TRACK
TIMOTHY FLEET & WAYNE MURRAY – SOS