February 5, 2021 by A.S. Van Dorston

I usually take a break from new music, at least in terms of critical listening, in January as I take a breather after the massive year-end piece, returning to old favorites, or digging down some rabbit hole from decades past. This time I finally did my 2010s summary. I still had new albums in my playlist, but I had to scramble over the past week and a half to catch up. So here’s the cream of just under 100 albums I checked out that came out in 2021 so far.

Sitka Sun – All The Way West (The Long Road Society) | Jan 29

Patrick Murphy’s self-titled debut with Sitka Sun (2018) really got under my skin, to the point where it made three of my 2010s genre lists (Jam, Jazz & Fusion, and Global). Sitka Sun is a great name, based on a spruce tree used for many instruments, but a bitch to search, given the top results are a brand of sun hats! While the debut was recorded with musicians from the Ithaca, New York Afrobeat band Big Mean Sound Machine, Murphy has been based in Oakland and is working with a new group, focusing on more straight jazz, including some expansive Mingus flavored work that flirts with experimental big band territory. There’s still plenty of enticing elements of cosmic psych with analog synth flourishes, electric Miles voodoo fusion and even pedal steel. RIYL Khruangbin, The Heliocentrics, Greg Foat, Here Lies Man.

2. Goat Girl – On All Fours (Rough Trade) | Jan 29

Goat Girl has gone through some changes since their blues punk, garage noir flavored self-titled debut in 2018. The lazy shorthand is they have integrated synths and drawn inspiration from Stereolab. But there’s much more brewing under the surface, like the wobbly toy instrument textures of Stereolab’s Too Pure labelmates Pram and Laika. The languidly expansive performances brush past trip hop and tap into evocatively rich sonic vibes shared more recently by the likes of Groupie, Fassine, Patio, Body Type, Warpaint and Peluché, who described their approach as trip jam. It works for them, as it clearly sounds like the band had spent time playing together in a room, letting the groove take them for a ride. Ellie Rose Davis’ deadpan vocals have grown more nuanced to match the more diverse, gently psychedelic music. The prickly lyrics continue to delve in personal politics and conflicts, but also hint at simmering passion. The fact that Davis would be driven to complete an album while also battling Hodgkin lymphoma underlines her drive. With that spirit, I’m confident she and Goat Girl will be around for a long time.

3. Groupie – Ephemeral (Groupie) Jan 22

Brooklyn’s Groupie, lead by Ashley Kossakowski and Johanna Healy, are similarly introspective as Goat Girl, with some shared influences, and a . Their brand of post-punk taps more into surf and dream pop with fluid mid-period Raincoats groove and dubby Bovell-produced Slits bass tones. The propulsive bass really drives tunes like “Poor You,” which ends up with some of the album’s shoutiest punk moments most in line with their Validated EP (2018). The staccato guitar riff in “Critic’s Eye” reminds me of The Rakes’ “Open Book” in a good way. “Daleko” is sung in Polish, while “Lonely Dog” and “No Hands” suggests some of the best quiet-loud dynamics of The Breeders. The most exciting debut of the year so far.

4. Needlepoint – Waking Up That Valley (BJK/Stickman) Jan 29

Oslo, Norway’s Needlepoint produced four of the best Canterbury Prog style albums in the 2010s. Their fifth album distinguishes itself with some of their most melodic, warm sounding songs yet. Thanks to contributions from members of the Norwegian jazz/prog scene including Elephant9, Møster! and Bigbang, there’s a plethora of subtly delicate yet driving musicianship. The drums especially stand out, with Olaf Olsen, occasionally assisted by jazz man Erik Nylander, embodying both Soft Machine era Robert Wyatt and Can’s Jaki Leibezeit. On the latter half of “Rules of a Mad Man,” I even hear some Keith Moon and Ginger Baker! Guitarist Bjørn Klakegg has added his flute and violin to the instrumental lineup to give the feel of “a strange little orchestra.” Some of the gentler psychedelic tracks bring to mind my favorite Danish psych pop band, The Sonic Dawn. Too many prog bands these days strive for a metallic, high-gloss AOR sheen that ends up being fatiguing. More bands should pay attention to Needlepoint as a lesson on how to create a beautifully produced album that’s endlessly listenable.

5. Terry Gross – Soft Opening (Thrill Jockey) Jan 29

Terry Gross is the new project from Trans Am’s Phil Manley. This power trio churned out a number of great pandemic jams last year, reveling in free range psych prog and kosmische/space rock that had me anticipating their debut album. The only disappointment is that it’s a fairly brief 38 minutes, with three tracks. Twice as long would have been welcome, but you can get an hour and a half worth of the aforementioned jams on Bandcamp.

6. Wardruna – Kvitravn (Music For Nations) Jan 21

It seemed Norway’s curators of ancient folk instruments and dark Nordic folk Wardruna accomplished all they set out to with their initial Runaljod trilogy. The disappointing Skald (2018) did not dispel that notion. However, their fifth album sees them reinvigorated, enhancing their ritual ambient approach with creative production and more memorable songwriting. | Buy

7. Kabbalah – The Omen (Ripple) Jan 15

Spanish occult psych noir/prog band levels up on their second album enough to compare favorable with peers Purson, Blood Ceremony and Jess and the Ancient Ones.

8. Here Lies Man – Ritual Divination (RidingEasy) Jan 22

Geoff and Chico Mann don’t deviate much from their psychedelic Afrobeat formula on their fourth album, but it’s as engaging as anything they’ve done.

9. Still Corners – The Last Exit (Wrecking Light) Jan 22

I noted each of Still Corners’ previous four albums, always under the umbrella of promising bands to keep an eye on. Their psychedelic dream pop hits the right buttons, with a bit of smoky Mazzy Star influence. But on their fifth, they brought their desert noir vibes out front more and it all clicked. This has grown on me quickly, and climbed up the list like a tarantula creeping up from your toes to your head.

10. Pom Poko – Cheater (Bella Union) Jan 15

The third Norwegian band in this month’s rundown, this one a noise pop band from Trondheim, came out with the bouncy, herky-jerky debut Birthday in 2019, which incorporated art punk, math rock and zolo. Their approach is slightly more refined and less chaotic on the new album, a fresh sounding, energetic piece of indie pop.

11. Shame – Drunk Tank Pink (Dead Oceans) Jan 13

It took a while for London post-punker’s Shame to grow on me with their debut Songs Of Praise (2018). Their second has gotten it’s claws into me a bit more quickly. It’s a pretty diverse batch of moods and tempos, and I always snap to attention when they come up in my mix.

12. Palberta – Palberta5000 (Wharf Cat) Jan 22

Since 2013, NYC experimental post-punk trio Palberta have explored a prickly mix of art rock, no wave and noise that made for some fascinating, but often difficult listening. For their fifth album, they took inspiration from mainstream pop, and ended up in a pretty great middle ground that mixes well with contemporaries like Pom Poko and Goat Girl.

13. Yasmin Williams – Urban Driftwood (Spinster) Jan 29

Virginia’s Yasmin Williams’ instrumental guitar picking may partially fit into the American Primitivism bucket, but has DNA in so much more, including even the guitar hero video game. Her second album includes West African instruments kora and djembe, and she explores dreamy atmospheric ambient country. A cosmic, cool development.

It’s been less than a week since a bunch of these albums came out on Jan 29, so there’s going to be some shifting as I spend more time with some of these. For example, Tamar Aphek has been growing on me, and could possibly crack the top 13. I didn’t expect to like a new Weezer album that much in 2021, but the lead track “All My Favorite Songs” is great, and the accompanying video is clever and charming. The rest of the album could be a grower too. Similarly, I wasn’t super excited about Steven Wilson’s new album, but the video for “Self” is cool. It guarantees you’ll go back to it to identify the musicians and actors you missed the first time around when his face digitally morphed.

River Flows Reverse – When River Flows Reverse (Psychedelic Source) | Jan 19 | Hungary | Bandcamp
Terry Gross – Soft Opening (Thrill Jockey) | Jan 29 | USA | Bandcamp
Yasmin Williams – Urban Driftwood (Spinster) | Jan 29 | USA | Bandcamp
Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams (Transgressive) | Jan 29 | UK | Bandcamp
Palberta – Palberta5000 (Wharf Cat) | Jan 22 | USA | Bandcamp
The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness – Songs From Another Life (Bobo Integral) | Jan 20 | Spain | Bandcamp
The Lickerish Quartet – Threesome, Vol. 2 EP (Lojinx) | Jan 08 | USA
Steven Wilson – The Future Bites (CarolineInternational) | Jan 29 | UK
Beautify Junkyards – Cosmorama (Ghost Box) | Jan 15 | Portugal | Bandcamp
Tribulation – Where The Gloom Becomes Sound (Metal Blade) | Jan 29 | Sweden | Bandcamp
Stargazer – Psychic Secretions (Nuclear War Now!) | Jan 21 | Australia | Bandcamp
Cobalt Chapel – Orange Synthetic (Klove) | Jan 29 | UK | Buy
Rats On Rafts – Excerpts From Chapter 3: The Mind Runs a Net of Rabbit Paths (Fire) | Jan 29 | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales EP (RCA) | Jan 08 | USA | Buy
Onceiwasyoung – A Lonely New Year EP (Onceiwasyoung) | Jan 15 | USA | Bandcamp
Rostro Del Sol – Rostro Del Soul (Rostro Del Sol) | Jan 19 | Mexico | Bandcamp
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – I Told You So (Colemine) | Jan 29 | USA | Bandcamp
Stephen’s Shore – Brisbane Radio EP (Meritorio) | Jan 22 | Sweden | Bandcamp
Black Sky Giant – Planet Terror (Black Sky Giant) | Jan 16 | Argentina | Bandcamp
Kiwi Jr. – Cooler Returns (Sub Pop) | Jan 22 | Canada | Bandcamp
The Body – I’ve Seen All I Need To See (Thrill Jockey) | Jan 29 | USA | Bandcamp
Pearl Charles – Magic Mirror (Kanine) | Jan 15 | USA | Bandcamp
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings (Full Time Hobby) | Jan 29 | Canada | Bandcamp
Viagra Boys – Welfare Jazz (Year) | Jan 08 | Sweden | Buy
Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare (Metal Blade) | Jan 15 | Ireland | Bandcamp
Soen – Imperial (Silver Lining) | Jan 29 | Sweden | Buy
Weezer – OK Human (Crush) | Jan 29 | USA | Buy
Lucero – When You Found Me (Liberty And Lament) | Jan 29 | USA | Buy
Pounder – Breaking The World (Shadow Kingdom) | Jan 29 | USA | Bandcamp
Insides – Soft Bonds (Further Distractions) | Jan 15 | UK | Bandcamp
Dirty Pagans – The Family (Dirty Pagans) | Jan 17 | Australia | Bandcamp
Paralyzed – Paralyzed (Turtle) | Jan 29 | Germany | Bandcamp
Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs (Rough Trade) | Jan 15 | UK | Bandcamp
Mason Lindahl – Kissing Rosy In The Rain (Tompkins Square) | Jan 22 | USA | Bandcamp
Monstroid – Set 2: Burnt Sky (Monstroid) | Jan 22 | South Africa | Bandcamp
Lucy Peru – Diner (Lucy Peru) | Jan 29 | USA
Radio Supernova – Takaisin (Soit) | Jan 15 | Finland | Bandcamp

Posted in: Bandcamp, New Album(s) of the Week, Reviews

Tagged: Goat Girl, Groupie, Here Lies Man, January Rundown, Kabbalah, Needlepoint, Palberta, Shame, Sitka Sun, Still Corners, Terry Gross, Wardruna, Yasmin Williams