Andy's Top 5 of 2021 So Far
1
Arab Strap
As Days Get Dark
While a lot has changed since we last heard from this Scottish duo some 16 years ago (lyrical passages about image files and camsite workers clearly show that), they don't seem to have missed a beat when it comes to contemplating the miseries of modern existence. With a first line from vocalist Aidan Moffat that immediately recalls the arresting opening stanza of 1998's Philophobia, the lyrics are as caustic as ever and I don't think the band's ever sounded better musically.
2
Blanck Mass
In Ferneaux
One of electronic music's most prolific and consistent figures strikes again. Much like Burial's Rival Dealers, the expansive and dense tracks on this album seem to go everywhere and anywhere, with bizarre bits of random dialog only adding to the enigma. This is kind of hard to pin down on any sort of level, weird and downright abrasive at times, majestic at others. However it is fascinating to listen to and, moreover, experience.
3
Mabe Fratti
Será que ahora podremos entendernos
Anchored by expressive cello lines joined by gentle Spanish-language vocals and electronic elements, this more of less classical-oriented album saunters through about an hour of supremely pleasant compositions. Frequently hazy and dreamy, there's a sense of yearning to much of the material here, yet this gorgeously-constructed album seems like precisely the thing one might want to sink into in a world that sometimes seems to be going mad.
4
Mannequin Pussy
Perfect
It's kind of shocking how this band transitions from delivering tear-you-apart savage assaults to sugary sweet, heartwarming pop songs. Nowhere is this tendency more evident than on this lean, only occasionally mean EP, which alternates between these two distinct modes effortlessly.
5
White Suns
the lower way
Belching noise eruptions. Screeching tones. Aggressive, shouted and/or screamed vocals and supremely distressing lyrical material. Pummeling instrumental parts that can either flip on a dime or head into a menacing deep space. May as well be the sonic equivalent of getting hit by a truck, but that's about what I'd expect from White Suns.
