Thanks for visiting my blog We Have Sound. I’m Tom and every year for the past 6 years I have done a countdown of my albums of the year, with each of my 31 favourite albums featured every day of December – and 2021 will be no different. Previous album of the year winners are …
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8. Little Dragon – New Me, Same Us (Ninja Tune)
Back in March, Swedish electronic legends Little Dragon released their sixth studio album via their new home Ninja Tune – New Me, Same Us – and it is my favourite record of theirs to date. The band strike an expert balance between analogue and digital, and have written some of their best songs yet. I’ve …
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10. Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death (Partisan)
It took me a little while to get around to listening to the second record from Dubliners Fontaines D.C., A Hero’s Death, but when I eventually did I was massively impressed with the step on in their songwriting from their debut album. Some of the songs on this record are timeless, highly evocative and at …
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18. HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III (Label)
The third record from the Haim sisters is their best and most direct record so far. If you are looking for upbeat music to lift you out of the doldrums of 2020 then look no further than Women In Music Pt. III. Recorded, written and produced by the sisters alongside indie-pop royalty Ariel Rechtshaid (Adele, …
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20. Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans (Text)
The tenth album from Kieran Hebden kicks off our top 20 countdown – with an expansive record that includes some of his best tracks to date. A pioneer of UK electronic music for over 20 years, Sixteen Oceans sees Four Tet explore his trademark mix of folktronica, UK garage beats and chopped-up samples to guide …
21. JFDR – New Dreams (Krunk)
New Dreams is the second solo album from Jófríður Ákadóttir the lead singer from one of my all time favourite bands Samaris, and I’ll be honest this one passed me by when it was released earlier in the year – but thankfully a star-turn from JFDR on Ólafur Arnalds’ album in November reminded me of …
22. King Krule – Man Alive! (XL)
You’d think the news that you are going to be a dad might lead an artist to produce a light and airy document of hope about the future – but then Archy Marshall a.k.a. King Krule isn’t your average artist. Man Alive! is at times a difficult listen but Marshall’s talent for creating unique soundscapes …
25. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud (Merge)
Katie Crutchfield’s fifth studio album as Waxahatchee is an absolute delight, as she draws on the country music that soundtracked her upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama to pen a collection of timeless indie-rock classics. The music on Saint Cloud is light and airy but these songs are still haunted by the ghosts of heartbreak that Crutchfield …
26. Khruangbin – Mordechai (Night Time Stories)
The third record from Texan trio Khruangbin comes in at 26. Ever since their bolt-from-the-blue debut, 2015’s The Universe Smiles Upon You, the band have been soundtracking the moments when I’ve needed to knuckle down and get stuff done, a real helping hand in this era of working from home. The band’s sound is heavily …
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27. SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)
Mysterious neo-soul Londoners SAULT released one of (if not THE) most critically acclaimed albums of 2020, Untitled (Black Is), before following it up almost immediately afterwards with Untitled (Rise). Both records have been high up on lots of end of year lists with this record grabbing the top spot in a number of them (BBC …
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