Best of 2021

9) Wheel - Preserved in Time

This record can easily be sold to both grizzly old Warning fans and shiny new Pallbearer fans. The classic doom style showcased here is a hard one to get right and great records in the genre become more and more rare as the years pass and the veterans get older. Thankfully, Wheel showed up this year to inject the fading style with a fresh infusion of killer riffs and hooks you can't help but sing along to. The title, Preserved in Time, makes this record sound like you'd have to dig it up from a forgotten crypt and accept that it was from a different era, one operating on reel to reel recording machines. This couldn't be further from the truth however, as the production shines with clarity, each detail nurtured and set free to soar, the result of a masterfully modern mixing job.

Best of 2021

 10) Emma Ruth Rundle - Engine of Hell

It's not the first time Emma's shown up on this list. On Engine of Hell she strips away everything except the most intimate portrayal of herself, her struggle. Other singer-songwriters may sound like they're missing something with this approach, but listen after listen, this record is full to the brim. Supported by the occasional minimal cello or acoustic guitar, the record focuses on the textures of a small number of instruments rather than filling in all the voids in the mix. By doing this the listener is invited inside to scrutinize the turn of the gears, all the little details of performance and production. This is a risky approach because it may expose missteps or awkward moments that don't quite work, chords strummed just a little out of the groove, a space too large slowing the momentum. Nothing like that here, just a woman taking every risk and succeeding in creating a deeply haunting and memorable piece of work.

Best of 2021

How does a pandemic affect behavior? What behaviors are we locked into because of their convenience or resulting pleasure? What behaviors do we avoid because they’re difficult or discouraged by external forces? A multi-year pandemic should bring these questions into focus and time should be spent coming up with answers.

I can’t say this worked for me. My drinking increased, my diet declined, and I spent a lot of time watching tv I’ve seen before, for comfort. I spent a lot of time telling people that this was the year to expect good underground music because the underground is protection against the cancers of society, or at least it attempts to be. I spent the year waiting and waiting, and yeah, there were good albums, but not quite the sterling standouts I was expecting. Among the disasters of the past year, I didn’t really notice any big change, no more or less nihilism, no more or less charity. Status quo with a slight decline.

My perception is if people, including myself, are even marginally comfortable, no matter what they see on the news or no matter what they’re not allowed to do, stick with the status quo with a little decline as they inch closer to demise. Pandemics will become more frequent, droughts more widespread, fires and storms more destructive. You’ll see your neighbor impacted and say, “Damn, I can’t believe it, that could’ve been me.” But, it wasn’t yet, and that’ll be the collective narrative because the collective is constructed of those who survived.

I rely on the music to give me a picture of the zeitgeist, to tell me if people are panicking, comfortable, or thriving. The zeitgeist is comfortable now, but he is dying, not quickly enough to do anything about it. I would advise you to use these words to do something today and maybe tomorrow too. Write something, use less plastics, eat more rice, put down the damn bottle no matter how good your fancy cocktails are, talk more with friends and family no matter how much they annoy you. Make sure it's something you didn't do yesterday. I speak to myself more than anyone else reading this.