Top albums of 2021

'The Art of Losing' - The Anchoress (aka Welsh songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and author Catherine Anne Davies) – a brutally raw and honest exploration of grief, baby loss, misogyny and violence, yet anthemic and ultimately defiant and hopeful.

Discover 'The Art Of Losing' by The Anchoress:

The Anchoress - 'The Art of Losing':

The Anchoress - 'Show Your Face':

The Anchoress - '5AM':

‘Hey What' – Low - Dark, brooding, hauntingly beautiful. Very different to much of their previous work, building on the change of direction on 2018's 'Double Negative'. Lot of distortion underpinning those trademark haunting harmonies tackling faith, depression and modern America.

Low - 'Days Like These':

Low - 'White Horses':

Low - 'I Can Wait':

‘Fat Pop (Volume 1)’ – Paul Weller – Weller’s purple patch continues with his second number 1 album in lockdown alone. As the title suggests, it’s a bright, punch burst of classic soulful pop music. He ended the year with ‘An Orchestrated Songbook’ a live reimaging of some of his classic songs (solo, The Jam and Style Council) which also went top 5.

Paul Weller - 'Fat Pop' (Album Trailer):

Paul Weller — 'Shades of Blue':

Paul Weller - 'Still Glides The Stream':

Paul Weller - 'Rockets':

‘Great Spans Of Muddy Time’ – William Doyle – an album retrieved from a catastrophic hard drive failure which saw Doyle lose many of the fragments this album is built around. Fortunately, he had made cassette copies which forced him to embrace imperfection and create a beautifully honest record which addresses depression, loss of creative control and sense of place. A triumph.

William Doyle - 'And Everything Changed (But I Feel Alright)':

William Doyle - 'Nothing At All':

William Doyle - 'I Need to Keep You in My Life':

‘Head of Roses’ – Flock of Dimes – Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak)’s second album with her side project Flock of Dimes sees her fuse indie rock and synth pop with raw honesty as she confronted the breakup of a relationship and addressed her emotions in a more open, less cerebral fashion.

Flock of Dimes - 'Price of Blue':

Flock of Dimes - 'Two':

Flock of Dimes - 'Hard Way':

‘Only Smith and Burrows is Good Enough’ – Smith and Burrows – a glorious slice of pop from two of the nicest guys in music, Tom Smith (Editors) and Andy Burrows (Razorlight, solo).

Smith & Burrows - 'Old TV Shows':

Smith & Burrows - 'All The Best Moves':

Smith & Burrows - 'Parliament Hill':

‘Daddy's Home’ – St Vincent – Annie Clark explores seventies psychedelic soul, prog and cosmic funk, with a title marking her father's release from prison.

St. Vincent - 'The Melting Of The Sun':

St. Vincent - 'Down'

St. Vincent - 'Pay Your Way In Pain':

Other picks – The Staves, Valerie June, Middle Kids, The Antlers, Israel Nash, Field Music, Jane Weaver, The Coral, Hiss Golden Messenger, Big Red Machine (Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and a host of special guests), Fruit Bats, My Morning Jacket, War On Drugs, Courtney Barnett and Angelo De Augustine & Sufjan Stevens