QE2021 Bulletin :: Part One
Yup, we are a quarter of the way through 2021 already. I wish I could say we are better for it too, but I don’t want to tempt fate or anything…
In any event, to help break apart the ominous sturm-und-drang, I thought I’d offer some brief quips on ten albums released in the first quarter of this year that I found particularly striking with relevant streaming links attached, my first check point pinned as I chart my way across the endless ocean otherwise known as the 2021 Albums Release Schedule. Here goes…
QE2021 :: Part One
As The Love Continues – Mogwai
This Scottish post-rock institution finally reached the top of the OCC Albums chart in the United Kingdom with their tenth long-form of tortured loveliness, proving that sometimes nice things do happen to people who deserve them, even in 2021.
Drawing on Norse mythology to deliver a formidable set of mercurially constructed dancefloor fillers, the Chinese DJ/producer offers a dramatically potent treatise on reconciling tradition with modernity for some abandon-casting results.
One of the more underrated rappers from the UK Grime scene makes an arrestingly convincing bid for bigger things on album three, thanks to its brimming with as much sharp and gritty commentary as it is radio-friendly grooves.
Helping to usher in a new phase of wondrously queer narratives in contemporary R&B, Josiah Wise cuts a gorgeous stride through his second album, perfect for soundtracking those extended morning-afters as much as it is the illicit night-befores.
Glowing In The Dark – Django Django
Continuing to defy easy categorisation in bridging the gaps between art-rock-psychedelia and electronic-dance-pop, Django Django find a route to unadulterated joy on album four that is equal parts Hot Chip and The Beach Boys.
The Belfast-born dance music duo deliver more swoonsome spins on early ‘90s rave culture on their second album, serving as a thoroughly great placeholder until those outdoor dance events become less hotbeddy for deadly germs.
This femme-tastic English post-punk outfit impressively mark their ambitions musically further afield on the follow-up to their well-received eponymous debut, though not at the sacrifice of retaining their lyrical bite and swagger in the process.
Promises – Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & London Symphony Orchestra
Proving to be just as much at home conducting behind a music stand as he is a turntable deck, Sam Shepherd’s Floating Points musical project brings together two wondrous forces of contemporary classical and modern jazz music for galvanising results.
The Besnard Lakes Are The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings – The Besnard Lakes
Stepping up the epicness in every possible facet, the Canadian psyche-rockers subsume whoever listens to their sixth album with windswept majesty and elemental thrall, a perfect prompt with which to help you scream at the ever-changeable weather.
The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers – Valerie June
Bridging the gap between American folk music and gospel soul like a spiritual meeting point between Dolly and Aretha, Miss June’s fifth album adds a dash of spectral futurism to her unique sound for some truly beautiful head-turning moments.
And for my favourite individual song of the last three months, a quick shout-out to Kelly Rowland, who with this release managed to make me forgive her dropping the F-bomb in Freddy Vs. Jason all those years ago. Yes, it really is that f*cking pretty…
If you think I may have missed something, please leave a comment below and let me know, and we’ll see if they manage to squeak in next time… 😉
