2021: My Year In Music

It's safe to say that music is the glue that holds my life together. As a hopeless internet native, I struggle to turn off the noise at any point - whether it's an audiobook keeping me company during the weekly shop, or the weekly 4-hour D&D stream that gets me through my less interesting work days.

Of course, there are times when I crave a change from the monologue of myriad creators and streamers chattering in my ear. But it's not in silence where I find the calm in my self-created storm (though it probably should be). It's in music that I can truly centre myself.

This year has been as much of a minefield as the last, if not more so. As a glimmer of hope emerges at the end of this temporal tunnel, the highs have been higher, but the disappointments have cut deeper. In these emotionally taxing days, music is less of an escape and more catharsis - a way of confronting and processing the most complex parts of our own minds and of society as a whole.

And boy has the music been good this year. Below you'll find my five favourite albums - in no particular order - that I discovered this year (though most of them were released in 2021 anyway). I hope you'll take a listen, and appreciate their careful handling of often dark subject matter; and the raw, cathartic beauty that makes music so important in times like this.

Not Your Muse (2021) by Celeste

Celeste is one of those artists who I knew about without knowing that I knew about her. Her 2020 single 'Give A Little Love' was the first original to be commissioned for the famous John Lewis Christmas ad, and her powerful voice sings the chorus of 'Stop this Flame' every time Sky Sports Football goes to an ad break. Both songs feature on Not Your Muse, but they barely scratch the surface of this hugely impressive debut LP.

With its songs about co-dependency, one-sided love and self-image, this record explores the relationships between a person and what other people expect of them. Nowhere is this clearer than on the title track. Celeste doesn't want her output to be shaped by the ideas or agendas of others; "I'll hold my pose," she sings, "but I'm not your muse." The result is an album brimming with personality and confidence.

In a shortlist flush with excellent soul and R&B music, Celeste was my pick for this year's Mercury Prize. What made her stand out is her incredible gift for melody. Her voice soars gracefully over the frenetic arrangements of  'Tell Me Something I Don't Know' and 'The Promise', and finds rest on the more assured 'Love Is Back' and 'Some Goodbyes Come with Hellos.' This careful attention to her song's tunes makes this album a joy to listen to from start to finish.

My Highlights: Strange, Tonight Tonight, Tell Me Something I Don't Know, Love Is Back 

Inside: The Songs (2021) by Bo Burnham

Cast your mind back - if you can bear it - to the middle of lockdown. The one where every third Facebook post reminded you that quarantine is an opportunity in disguise, after all didn't Shakespeare write King Lear when he was in plague lockdown? This mix of existential dread and pressure to behave as normal was a unique feeling. And nothing captures it better than Bo Burnham's Inside.

Both musically and comedically, this is some of Burnham's best work. Not only are the melodies infectious and the production stellar, he's also matured a lot lyrically. Even the pure comedy songs of the special's first half have a deeper meaning to them. My favourite is 'White Woman's Instagram', which achieves the perfect balance of poking gentle fun at middle-class white culture, while also sincerely reminding us that the internet can be a place for genuine connection and self-expression.

While the special itself is quite an intense watch (albeit one I highly recommend), the soundtrack works as a slightly rose-tinted version that you can consume without it consuming you. Like many of us during lockdown, Burnham has taken the time to explore complex themes like white privilege ('Comedy'), political correctness ('Problematic') and mental health ('Shit'). He doesn't have any answers, but since the internet has ruined nuanced conversation for everyone, it's refreshing to see one of the world's biggest comics tackle these topics with real maturity and care.

My Highlights: White Woman's Instagram, Look Who's Inside Again, Welcome to the Internet, That Funny Feeling

Daddy's Home (2021) by St. Vincent

Throughout her career as St. Vincent, Annie Clark has gained a deserved reputation for genre hopping. Her influences vary from Kate Bush and King Crimson to Talking Heads and Tool, and her musical ability is unquestionable. But it's perhaps the breadth of her exploration that has stopped me from settling down as a St. Vincent fan. Well, that is until she dropped Daddy's Home earlier this year.

The sheer volume of musical heritage on this album is incredible - though it will come as no surprise to die hard St Vincent fans. From the Sheena Easton tribute on 'My Baby Wants a Baby' to the Floyd-esque psychedelic soundscapes on 'Live in the Dream,' Daddy's Home paints an immersive image of the early 70s, complete with misogyny, grey morality and Clark's own dry wit.

But what's most impressive about Daddy's Home is Clark's commitment to the cause. Not content with simply referencing the 70s with lyrics or music, she transports us wholly to a seedy lounge bar in New York. And just like Bowie and Patti Smith before her, St. Vincent is transformed into her album persona, ready to guide us through this sultry, addictive record.

My Highlights: Live In the Dream, The Melting of the Sun, Down, Somebody Like Me

Come from Away (2017) by the Original Broadway Cast of Come from Away

It's a story you couldn't make up: a tiny Canadian town sees its population more than double when 38 planes are diverted to its airport in the hours following 9/11. But it's also the most human story imaginable - one of courage, cooperation and compassion in the face of unprecedented odds. The 
perfect musical to discover this year of all years.

As Alison Croggon observes in her Guardian review, the weirdest thing about Come from Away is its lack of a hero. No main character to build the narrative around. But actually that's the best decision Irene Sankoff and David Hein could have made. Without a single protagonist, the small town of Gander - with its thousands of new visitors - becomes a character of its own; a symbol of kindness without borders that is the true MVP of this real-life event.

A good story does not a great musical make. There was still plenty that writers had to get right. And boy did they smash it out of the park. With its quirky characters, uplifting musical numbers, and heart-rending moments of empathy, Come from Away is a small story told to perfection with respect, hope and warmth.

My Highlights: Prayer, Screech In, Me and the Sky, Stop the World

Screen Violence (2021) by CHVRCHES

Chvrches' fourth studio album is a thoughtful study on exploitation - from our desensitization to violence on TV (alluded to in the record's title), to the hypocrisy of the male gaze. These themes come to a head on 'Final Girl', the centrepiece of the album. "In the final scene / there's a final girl / and you know she should be screaming," sings frontwoman Lauren Mayberry, while also wondering if she should have "changed my accent / tried to make myself more attractive." Pop culture has long painted women as helpless objects of desire, with no control over their own story. On this tour-de-force of a record, Chvrches are adamantly stating their intent to flip those outdated narratives.

On Screen Violence, the clean synths we associate with Chvrches are cut with something coarser, a darker edge that suits the often dark subject matter. Real piano and guitar sounds come to the fore at key moments on 'California' and 'How Not to Drown', creating a sound that is at once raw and expertly crafted.

Screen Violence was heralded by many critics as a return to form for the Glasgow trio. And, though I was actually a big fan of their third effort Love Is Dead, I sort of know what they mean. Considering the band's musical evolution since their first album, and Mayberry's tireless advocacy for women's rights, Screen Violence feels like a culmination of all Chvrches' previous work; a creative destination that is not to be missed.

My highlights: He Said She Said, California, Final Girl, Lullabies

Honourable mentions:

• Back In Love City by The Vaccines (2021) - Perhaps this year's best rock album. From the thumping 'Headphones Baby' to the plaintive 'El Paso', Back In Love City shows off the Vaccines' considerable creativity and proves that a great concept album doesn't have to be high-minded.
  
  
• Sky Full of Holes by Fountains of Wayne (2011) - A well-written, radio friendly record that punches well above its weight. Endearing highlights like 'Richie and Ruben' and 'A Road Song' show that this band have much more to offer than 'Stacy's Mom' might make you believe.
   
• Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers (2020) - Lo-fi can be a frustrating genre, with disaffected lyrics sung over increasingly similar-sounding music. This album is the exception that proves the rule. Each song is a wistful poem set to restless, flowing music that gets better with every listen.