Thirty Favourite Albums of 2021

 

Without any further ado, here is the 2021 Breaking More Waves albums of the year list.

The thirty records I’ve enjoyed the most. 

I don’t normally publish this till December 31st but given that I am now certain I won’t be listening to any new albums till January and that my feelings for these records are highly unlikely to change, I’m breaking my own rules and putting it out there a tiny bit early.

As usual with me the list contains some records you’ll see on a lot of end of year lists, some you’ll see on a few and maybe a handful that you’ll only see on this one.

Ideally, I’d keep the list to 10 but there’s been an awful lot of stuff I’ve enjoyed this year, so 30 it is.

Thank you particularly to Pearl Charles. Magic Mirror might have been released right at the start of 2021, but I fell in love with it early and it has stayed with me throughout. From the opening song Only For Tonight, which makes me want to suggest that everyone should be having one-night stands if they end up making such Abba-esque glitterball pop like this, to the closing soulful jam of As Long As You’re Mine, it’s an album full of hazy 70s sunshine-radio referencing tunes sung with a voice so golden and calming that you could quite easily believe nothing is wrong with the world. Never ever did I think that my favourite album of any year would sound, in places, like The Carpenters. But there you go. Music is a funny old thing and you never know what journeys it will take you on.

Thirty Favourite Albums of 2021

1st Pearl Charles – Magic Mirror

2nd Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure

3rd Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan – Interim Report, March 1979 

4th Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

5th Jungle – Loving In Stereo

6th Hannah Peel – Fir Wave

7th Ashnikko – Demidevil

8th Poppy Ackroyd – Pause

9th Bicep - Isles

10th Mogwai – As The Love Continues

11th Lorde – Solar Power

12th Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

13th Sault – Nine

14th Glume – The Internet

15th Hamish Hawk – Heavy Elevator

16th Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams

17th Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan – People & Industry

18th Chvrches – Screen Violence

19th Black Country, New Road – For The First Time

20th Sedibus – The Heavens

21st Celeste – Not Your Muse

22nd Olivia Rodrigo – Sour

23rd For Those I Love – For Those I Love

24th Arab Strap – As Days Get Dark

25th Joy Crookes – Skin

26th Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever

27th Salt Ashes – Killing My Mind

28th AvaWaves – Chrysalis

29th Natalie McCool – Memory Girl

30th Easy Life – Life’s A Beach

Pearl Charles - Only For Tonight

Pearl Charles · Only For Tonight