The Top 10 Indie Rock albums of 2021

This marks the return of the Indie Rock list which split off into the shoe gaze list, but there were many albums that did not rock hard enough to be rock records or fell askew from other lists so they are falling here. Indie rock has been a thing since the days of bands like Television, in the 90s they got commercialized and scooped up by major labels so it lost its charm, so this does not mean bands that are not on mainstream labels but bands that fall outside of pop and rock.   Much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 electronic albums of 2021

10-Penlope Trappes - "Penelope Three" 

The third chapter in Trappes musical trilogy finds her is in the same sonic zip code as Fever Ray, though maybe mixed with Hillary Woods. Production wise there is more in common with electronic music than what she is actually using to write this song. It is minimal but well placed. Her hushed voice flutters over everything like a fall chill in the air

Abysmal Hymns: Penelope Trappes : "Penelope Three"

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9- Genghis Tron - "Dream Weapon" 

I can appreciate what is going down here as the album sounds great. It really depends on what you want from this band in terms of if it will live up to your expectations of what their comeback should be like. It is so different than the more Botch like earlier work they should have changed the name, but on it's own merit the album is an impressive piece of modern space rock.

Abysmal Hymns: Genghis Tron : "Dream Weapon"

 

8-Xiu Xiu - "OH NO" 

After 20 years of creating dark music that falls somewhere between indie rock and post punk, they continue to fuel their legacy with a unique album of duets. TheY are obviously artists that are in the same zip code as Xiu Xiu's brand of weird ranging from Chelsea Wolfe to Drab Majesty, at the best moments of the album they seamlessly blend 

Abysmal Hymns: Xiu Xiu : " OH NO"

 

7-Ryan Adams- "Big Colors" 

This album feels like an 80s adult oriented rock or adult contemporary was one of the marketing genres back then which meant it is pop but more thoughtful than a bunch of party songs for kids. The War on Drugs would also fall under this if they had come out in the 80s as well and this album is in that neighborhood.  

Abysmal Hymns: Ryan Adams : "Big Colors"

 

6-Marissa Nadler-'the Path of the Clouds" 

She is returning more to her dream country sounds, this album drifts away in all the ways you want it to. She was aided by Lightning Bolt producer Seth Manchester who added the distorted guitars that sit back in the atmosphere. You might have read some reviews that lead you to believe she is becoming Chelsea Wolfe and this is more of a rock record which is not the case. She does continue to lure you in with this one. 

 

Abysmal Hymns: Marissa Nadler : 'the Path of the Clouds"

 5-Lantlos - "Wildhund" 

No stranger to us here, this German band is no longer black gaze but now creating a double album of poppy gaze influenced 90s rock. The drummer who has now been with the band for ten years is responsible for some of the more adventurous turns the songs takes. In some ways it is progressive. Not far removed from the likes of Hum or Quicksand, they do not let you hang to comfortably on a groove for long. The guitars replicate tones from that era and the vocals are greatly improved.

Abysmal Hymns: Lantlos : Wildhund"

 4-The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die - " Illusory Walls" 

These guys are almost progressive in the span they cover and wide cinematic sonics they convey, which is beyond the bounds of hard core or screamo. The first song is sweeping and emotive. The album sounds great I love the guitar tone the second song it is almost more Cure like. I am surprised by the addition of female vocals, but I am not sure the last album I checked out by these guys, as they are courtesy of the keyboardist who is now a member of the band. This brings a more indie rock feel to things. 

Abysmal Hymns: The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die ;" Illusory Walls"

 

3-Failure- " Wild Type Droid" 

I was a fan of this band in the 90s and they were always grunge for when I was too high to want to hear Soundgarden. The opening track of their newest album, which features a pristine croon that could have come from "Fantastic Planet" also clicks with me that these guys are really into Gary Numan, they just use guitars not synths. They are also great song writers and have not lost that touch

 

Abysmal Hymns: Failure- "Wild Type Droid"

 

 2-Dinosaur Jr - "Sweep It Into Space" 

I first listened to this album at a more moderate volume, and I think cranking through headphones might do the mix more justice. Unless they are going for a rawer almost Neil Young like sound. Overall this album goes to show these guys keep getting better when many of their peers from this era just dial it in. With all the fanfare Weezer has gained over the years, I think if you compared the output of these two bands Dinosaur Jr would be more deserving of praise when it comes to being consistent song writers

Abysmal Hymns: Dinosaur Jr : "Sweep It into Space"

1-Slothrust- "Parallel Timeline" 

Things are different. The mood has changed and matured. Where "|the Pact" was a much more polished effort than their previous albums, this one is another step forward in the refinement of their sound. They are less grunge than their earlier work, but still pack more punch than say HAIM. At the end of the day

Abysmal Hymns: Slothrust : "Parallel Timeline"

Slothrust : "Parallel Timeline"

Things are different. The mood has changed and matured even before we get to the hazy, with a jammed out ending highlighted by stellar guitar work, this marks a departure from how they kicked off their last album "the Pact". Where "|the Pact" was a much more polished effort than their previous albums, this one is another step forward in the refinement of their sound. They are less grunge than their earlier work, but still pack more punch than say HAIM.  As with previous efforts , when they back off of  the rocking , and she is given more breathing room to open and really sing, the magic happens. Not to say there is anything wrong with the first two songs , things just start clicking into place with "Courtesy". I did not expect Lizzy Hale to show up on "the Next Curse" . I just I never think of Halestorm and Slothrust being in the same sonic zip code. It works pretty well and finds the guitar sound back in a grunge direction. 

I heard "Strange Astrology" ahead of getting the entire album, and was impressed by the smooth hooky flow. Lyrically it  reminds me of all the astrology memes that littler my social media feeds. Waiting" starts off as a thoughtful piano ballad before the rest of the band kicks in. This is the crunchiest guitar tone so far.  This is not the album's only introspective piano centric moment, as they continue in this direction with "King Arthur's Seat" which bears some Beatles influence. Not what I expected from them going into this album, but I am here for it. There is a more folk feel to "A Giant Swallow" . The vocal melody to this one is fantastic and solidifies her on equal footing as any artist when it comes to song writing.  

There is a darker creep to the more emotionally urgent 'White Rabbits" which might be my favorite song on the album as it has everything I could want from these guys. I was also not expecting the title track that closes the album to be a soulful folk song.  The harmonies are perfect. In some ways it reminds me of Pink Floyd's more straight forward moments. I will round this one up to a 10 as there is not a bad song on it, some just need to grow on me slightly, though more often than not they drew me in and made me want to hear them again.    

the Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of the Decade

The decade began before this blog was started , I can not just rely on sorting through previous reviews. I am just embedding video clips to support the reasoning for these albums to be listed as such, since I already did a best of the year list for each sub-genre. I broke up what was the punk / harcore list and made them two seperate lists. What was the deciding factor here was what album had the  best songs that are  worth listening to again and again.  Maybe these are not the hippest albums of the decade when it comes to this genre, but what matters more is the fact these are the albums I listened to the most when it came to this sort of thing. ; Any ways here are the Top 10 Indie Rock  albums of the decade.




10- Whirr- "Sway" 2014 









9-No Joy - "More Faithful" 2015












8-Slothrust - "the Pact " 2018 












7-Ride - the Weather Diaries" 2017













6-Pianos Become Teeth -"Wait For Love" 2018 













5-Nothing - Guilty of Everything- "2014" 












4- the Drums -'s/t"  2010














3- the Twilight Sad- "Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants Leave" - 2014 













2 - The National - "Trouble Will Find Me"- 2013













1- Morrissey - "World Peace is None of Your Business"- 2014




 

The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2018

It is that time again. For the sake of this list indie rock is anything that is not mainstream rock or hard enough to be punk or metal. Some folk and shoe gaze are included , though it can't be dark enough to be goth or tense enough to be post-punk The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ?

While the top ten lists for other genres leaned more heavily on the side of new blood it seems there is an even blend of well established acts who put out the greatest quality albums .; Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 indie rock albums of 2018.

10-Slow Crush -"Aurora"


If this had come out earlier in the year and I had a more easilly accessible copy of it this album by the Belgian shoe-gaze band would have been higher on the list. But I just found them, the review is hot off the press, yet I could not avoid putting them on here because they are so good at what they do.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/12/slow-crush-aurora.html

9-Rome-"Hall of Thatch"

 By the second song Jerome Reuter proves his gets better with each album. By the 3rd song it's obvious this album is a lot darker, which is fine by me as it carries a very Swans like feel. The theme of the album is a darker spiritual exploration and much more personal than the political themes he has championed in the past. I think this is a wise choice for him as this seems to elicit a more emotional response.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/gothtober-rome-hall-of-thatch.html

8- Hillary Woods-"Colt"

 Hilary Woods would not be out of place on the Twin Peaks soundtrack. Less fey sounding than the Cocteau Twins, yet it occupies a similar sonic space as an album like "Treasure". These ballads are haunting, yet invoke spirits of inner space rather than from beyond the grave. Hazy not dark would be the best way to describe the sound. There is a jazz like minimalism, though unlike 90s acid jazz, it serves the melody rather than the beat. The percussion on these songs is incidental.Any genre that embraces emotive and shadow filled sounds could embrace what is done here.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/hilary-woods-colt.html

7-Church Girls- "Home"


Poppier than what I expect of most indie rock that tries to be too cool for school. It's not a poppy as say Pale Waves, though it's not as dark as them either. Though there is a touch of punk to what they do. Mariel's voice is plaintive while being emotive. It reminds me of 90s alt rock like Liz Phair or Veruca Salt.  She does have more range than she lets on at first . These guys are pretty impressive musically as the solo on "Black Seas" is pretty unexpected and highly fleet of finger.it's worth the dollar they are going to make me spring for it, which says something about the infectious nature of these songs.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/12/church-girls-home.html

 6-Deafheaven- "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love" 

 The new album opens in a tone that is not metal at all with piano and post-rocky instrumentation taking a dreamy groove which the vocals eventually snarl over. Snarling doesn't instantly make things metal here or really anywhere. " The drums punch certain accents, but until it swells I am reluctant to call it metal. The drummer has really stepped up his game that is for certain. Vocally the are back to sticking to the same snarl so far. It's his typically mid range, sometimes it sounds like he is making more of an attempt to form words than others.It earns multiple listens ,while its not a metal album it excels when it comes to guitar playing and songwriting.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/deafheaven-ordinary-corrupt-human-love.html

5-Iceage-"Beyondless"

 I was worried the boys from Denmark would stray to far from punk after their last album and the funky Rolling Stones like side project of their singer . The first song holds roots in the early days of punk, but is just good fucking music. While the drums continue to have a reckless edge the horns smooth out the sonic landscape. I am glad the gray clouds close in over the second half of the album, though none of it is sunshine and puppies,as it preserves the growing legacy of this band.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/iceage-beyondless.html

4-Marissa Nadler- "For My Crimes"


She continues down a path of hauntingly morose balladry. More ghostly than Lana Del Ray. More folk than country this time around, though hints of western sounds still color this album. Things seem simpler here. More minimal compositions, keep the focus on the vocals. Sometimes these vocals are layered on the chorus. Wispy the songs become intangible and don't hook me as quickly as some of her previous efforts, so its a grower not a shower.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/marisa-nadler-for-my-crimes.html

3-Slothrust- "Pact"

 These guys have come along a way. This is a much smoother and polished effort right off the bat with a stab at pop injected. Gone is the grunge rawness. It does get kicked up later in the first song, but the hooky alternative rock going on here is much different than my first taste of the band. I would not call it selling out. It's a refining that could open them up to a bigger audience, it's a natural progression I suppose as I could never find their last album. This one certainly earned repeat listens.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/slothrust-pact.html

2- Nothing -"Dance on the Blacktop" 

 I found "Tired of Tomorrow" to be too happy and was underwhelmed. While this album might not be full return to the grunge tinged "Guilty of Everything" it does make shoe-gaze great again with more balls behind it than the previous album and keeps the surreal step back into the 90s going . There are authentic guitar tones and the songs builds into a hooky melody at the end. The new element being introduced on this album is the kind of vintage slacker rock that bands like Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh used to crank out. This is a pretty solid return for them and was highly enjoyed even if it floats away at the end.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/nothing-dance-on-blacktop.html

1-Pianos Become the Teeth - "Wait For Love" 

 Their fourth album is another picture of this band's dramatic evolution. If you go back and listen to their first album it doesn't even seem like the same band. Gone is the explosive energy and the screamed vocals. While I  think of these guys as having come from the same emo-revival that bands like Touche Amore came from, it's weird to here such refined indie rock coming from these guys. They are capable of going at it with an almost Jawbreaker-like drive on "Charisma". The vocals are plaintive but well-placed. The guitar doesn't told much in terms of distortion and works off of a dream-like jangle more often than not. While other albums might have scored higher on the initial listen this one earned it's place in heavy rotation and I actually listened to it more than the other albums.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/pianos-become-teeth-wait-for-love.html

the Weekly Playlist Vol 14

Sorry I know it's been more than a week since the last installment. But life happens. I have also been knee deep in the National Novel Writing Month so having to pump out a steady word count on that. Rather than going with a theme like I have in the past, I am going more for a soundtrack of emotions I have been riding the waves on over the past ten days. A lot of life stuff unfolded in the lives of others close to me and myself so there is some of that reflected. In the current "the Sound of Me Before You" series I am doing, I am sharing the sound track of my life in a auto-biographical journey, so this is a more urgent snap shot of the current flux. As the seasons shift toward the holidays, it can cause a morbid subconscious reflection on losses in life, so my focus and goal in these days is to be appreciative for what I have gained. Some of my head ways is not measured in outward accomplishments but the inner journey, so this is more of the soundtrack to that journey, the vulnerability of being present in uncomfortable feelings while knowing it doesn't change where your heart is at. So this is more of a thank you as we enter thanksgiving week, as I have been given something to be thankful for so the acknowledgment of that in these songs might be the best I can do at present when other words fail, yeah I know a writer who finds words fail him, it's easier to do when I am describing metal bands or fantasy scenarios, the closer and more intangible it gets the more I have to rely on the vibrations music brings from inside me.

 The Decemberists _"Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"

 

 Tears For Fears _ "Head Over Heels"

 

the Weeknd _" Try Me"


 

 Kacey Musgraves _ " Love is a Wild Thing"


 

 Street Sects _ "Dial Down the Neon"

 

 Chvrches _ "Miracle"

 

 Chelsea Wolfe _" Crazy Love"

 

Ryan Adams _ "This Love"

 

 Twin Shadow _ "Littlest Things"

 

Slothrust _ " On My Mind"

 

Slothrust :"the Pact"

Woah... these guys have come along a way. This is a much smoother and polished effort right off the bat with a stab at pop injected. Gone is the grunge rawness. It does get kicked up later in the first song, but the hooky alternative rock going on here is much different than my first taste of the band. I would not call it selling out. It's a refining that could open them up to a bigger audience, it's a natural progression I suppose as I could never find their last album. "Peach"reminds me of Hole slightly, and the entire tone of the album production wise in terms of guitar tone makes me think of Placebo, though more organic and less synthesized. "Planetarium" has more a punk kick to it that doesn't feel like them to me. The moodier more ballad like "Walk Away" is lyrically interesting. It also allows us to really hear her cut loose with her vocals , not in a diva like display but from an emotive place.

The album is highly diverse in terms of it's dynamic range going into an acoustic strum on "Birthday Cake". This builds into some thing would have been common place on alternative rock radio in the 90s. Think the Breeders. With the horns and the jangle of the guitar it's almost ska until things break down for the verse. At this point it feels a little too upbeat for me. Despite it's title "the Haunting" strums along in a pleasant way that Juliana Hatfeild would be proud of . There is a similar strum to "New Red Pants" , but I think there is more to this song. The bass player gets down and they threaten to rock out. I like the drumming on "Fever Doggs" it reminds me of the Police. They do remember their distortion pedals on this song. Heading into the two minute mark there is a metallic riff that is pretty cool.

"On My Mind" is another ballad that allows her room to really sing. She does her sing song talk through most of the songs. Which gives their sound a certain attitude , but I prefer the moments where she really sings. I had to listen to "Some Kind of Cowgirl" twice to really absorb it. I like vocal layering. There is more of a tenderness to her voice. It clears up any doubts in regard to her singing . It might be the albums most dynamically rich song. This is contrasted by them closing with the acoustic "Travel Bug", which reminds me of "Blackbird" . It is going to take some getting used to the change of sounds here. I will give this album a 9, as it's well done and hits the marks they set out to hit.

Slothrust : "Everyone Else"

Been a fan of this band since I stumbled across them on Noisey Vice. They are pretty much just rock n roll though there is indie rock and grunge in the mix. They fuse apathy into the punk  attitude that reminds me of  when  Sonic Youth was once punk. The first real song is "Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone". This weaves it's wave into some pretty impressive jazz chops. The vocals of Leah Wellbaum are sometimes plaintive and some times emotive. "Horseshoe Crab" which is the first song I heard from these kids is pretty powerful and touches on emo in it's honesty. There is more intensity to "Pseudo Culture" which is very interesting from a lyrical perspective and has some heavier punches to it. There is a more casual swagger to " the Last Time I Saw My Horse", which find them continuing to use some interesting jazz inflected guitar phrasing. They play more deliberately when this song builds up, but it never rocks out in doing so.

 A power trio every one is one their game and making sure everything fits just right. They do rock out in a more convincing yet angular fashion on "Mud". Lyrically the song is smart and the vocals like the instrumentation is very well placed. There is a slight jammy element to this song , but it works for what they are doing and is not over indulgent. At first going into the minute and half "Trial and Error" you think this is going to be an interlude, but instead it's thrown together in a more punk fashion. This one floats with a lazier feel and doesn't feel like it comes together as solidly as the other songs on this album.

They jangle to the point of touching on country on "Pigpen" which given the name of the song might not be by mistake, They are not trying hard to wow you here, but there is some very cool yet subtle moment on this one. I think this album is excellent, one song did't resonate with me on the same level as the rest of the album, but overall impressive enough for me to round this up tio a 9.5.