10. Du Blonde - Homecoming
Someone has once told me that your favourite album is the one you listen to the most. This seems both obvious and oddly wrong. Too many things are at play here, and while it was interesting to see my end-of-year Spotify list (Will Butler's "Fine" is my most played song in 2021 - go figure), it is inconclusive and merely amusing. Still, I do not think I have listened to any album this year as often as I did Homecoming. And that has to count for something. Witty, underproduced and tuneful. She is such a great songwriter.
Best song: Take One For The Team
9. Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark
This has grown on me quite a lot, to the extent that I can safely say that As Days Get Dark is one of Arab Strap's absolute best. Late-night music with devastating lyrics sung in that unmistakable Scottish accent. "Tear On Tour", "Here Comes Comus!" and "Just Enough" are all classics. My personal favourite, though, is the breathtaking and utterly mesmerising ballad called "Sleeper". Haunting stuff.
Best song: Here Comes Comus!
8. Sloppy Jane - Madison
I would like to tweak the analogy I made in my full-length review of this album. Imagine that after recording all that Boys Next Door crap in late-70s Nick Cave jumped right into the songwriting depth of The Boatman's Call. I do not mean to say that Sloppy Jane's early stuff was quite that bad. And I do not mean that this is as good as The Boatman's Call. But you have to hear this one. And I could not care less if this was recorded in a cave or at the bottom of the ocean. These songs are slightly blasphemous, slightly cynical - but oh so pretty.
Best song: The Constable
7. Luke Haines - Setting The Dogs On The Post Punk Postman
Traditionally, Luke Haines is on this list. Setting the Dogs may not be his best (or even one of his best), and there is a feeling that he has been favouring quantity over quality of late, but this is still Luke Haines we are talking about. One of the greatest songwriters in the game. A rather diverse collection of songs, and not everything works, but as long as he can give us those two glorious minutes of "Landscape Gardening"... Excellent little album.
Best song: Landscape Gardening
6. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Carnage
It is difficult to remember now, ten months after its release, but this collaboration (sharing the title with the great Yasmina Reza play) was something of a surprise. Carnage was not an atmospheric soundtrack to a movie you will never see - rather, it was a fully realised album with vocals and evocative imagery. At times difficult and at times delicate, this is a work of two masters who just love working together.
Best song: White Elephant
5. Jim Bob - Who Do We Hate Today?
I actually found out about Jim Bob's album (second in as many years) three weeks ago. As it turned out, Who Do We Hate Today? was released back in August to little critical attention. Which is a shame, because this is almost as tuneful and deliciously sardonic as last year's Pop Up Jim Bob. The melodies are first rate ("Song For The Unsung" is especially good), his lyrical wit is intact, and this recent rejuvenation is continuing.
Best song: Song For The Unsung (You're So Modest You'll Never Think This Song Is About You)
4. John Murry - The Stars Are God's Bullet Holes
Ever since I first heard "Southern Sky" all those years ago, I have been a fan. And while I do not really see him topping The Graceless Age (who could?), this is another beautifully grim chapter in the largely depressing story of John Murry. His outlook on life is evident in the title, and the songs are this familiar combination of raw emotion and tortured elegance. The cover of "Ordinary World" is a rare misstep.
Best song: Time & A Rifle
3. Saint Etienne - I've Been Trying To Tell You
This album is special to me in the sense that I never even liked Saint Etienne all that much. And then, all of a sudden, the acoustic rhythm underpinning "Music Again" seemed so moving and so gorgeous that I found the whole thing utterly hypnotic and addictive. I've Been Trying To Tell You is built on 90s samples and nostalgia, and while 90s pop hits mean little to me, the nostalgia part is irresistible.
Best song: Music Again
2. Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns
My tradition is to buy the album of the year on vinyl, and this time it simply had to be Cooler Returns. I loved their debut LP but this one was even more accomplished. The album sounds like all those great Flying Nun bands from the 80s, melodic, infectious, full of charisma. The hooks are enormous, and songs like "Maid Marian's Toast" and "Waiting In Line" are glorious additions to your collection of heavenly pop hits.
Best song: Waiting In Line
1. Aeon Station - Observatory
Best albums of the year should not really be released in December, but then this was a special case. And no, this is not quite as good as that fourth album by The Wrens. The problem is, the fourth album by The Wrens will never be released and so the whole thing is entirely in your imagination. This one is not. Observatory is real. And it is bloody good.
Best song: Fade
