C90: 2021/2022

  


While writing up the last post, I noted that it wasn't until the very last track that I included anything very contemporary (and three-quarters of the list was pre-2000). Consequently, in order to demonstrate that I'm not just a nostalgia-obsessed old fogey I thought I should do something a little more up to date...

Every year, around late November / early December, my social media is filled with posts and articles listing the best songs / albums of the year. I've never written one of these, mainly because I'm hopeless at remembering what's been released in the preceeding twelve months. Over the last couple of years I have tried to remedy this by having an ongoing 'Best of...' playlist, but I haven't always been as assiduous as I would have liked in keeping it up to date. Nontheless, I have dipped into my 2021 and 2022 playlists to put together a compilation of the releases I particularly enjoyed over the last couple of years.


I found that I had a lot more to choose from on the 2021 side, although I'm not sure whether this reflects the fact that it was a better year for new music or that 2022 was, from a personal perspective, dominated by the arrival of Marc James and Melody Rose, born 31/10/22.



Spotify playlist
YouTube playlist*

*Unfortunately, William Parker's 'Tabasco' is not on YouTube, but you can listen to it here.


Side 1: 2021
Mogwai - Ceiling Granny
I have loved Mogwai since I first saw them doing 'Summer' on a late-night TV show in the late 90s, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the commercial success of As the Love Continues. 'Ceiling Granny' (they do have a knack for ridiculous titles) is a  relatively straightforward rocker in the tradition of 'Batcat' on 2008's The Hawk is Howling or 'Glasgow Mega-Snake' from Mr Beast (2006). They are a glorious live act, and - bar Sun O))) - the loudest one I've ever witnessed.
Blue Orchids - 25 or 6 to 4
Track 2, and a Fall connection already. Speed the Day is arguably the band's strongest set of songs since their debut The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain). Pick of the bunch for me is this unlikely cover of jazz-rockers Chicago's 1970 single.
Low - More
I have several friends who were huge admirers of Low's delicate but intense slowcore until they were completely flummoxed by the fractured distortion of 2018's Double Negative. I adored the album, but I loved Hey What even more, which pushed the experimental approach even further with breathtakingly beautiful results. The juxtaposition of the whiplash disortion of 'More's guitar riff with Mimi Parker's hauntingly graceful vocal is incredibly moving. (RIP Mimi)


John Dwyer - Toagut
It's been hard enough to keep up with the ouput of Osees (or whatever they're called this week), but to make sure fans are being fully kept on their toes, John Dwyer has taken to releasing solo albums on what feels like a monthly basis. There were four in 2021 alone, all credited to a bewildering array of collaborators (Moon-Drenched names 10 artists other than Dwyer himself). They're all pretty much a collection of loose, jazz/psych-rock jams, which I know won't be everyone's cup of tea - and even for a fan of that sort of thing like me, these LPs are a little aimless and self-indulgent in places. A bit more editorial discipline could certainly have made the four 2021 LPs into an outstanding single release - in which the hazy shuffle of 'Toagut' would definitely have featured.
Arab Strap - Another Clockwork Day
I love the fact that the first line of their Wikipedia entry is 'For the sexual device, see Arab strap (sexual device)'. A seemingly sordid yet surprisingly tender tale from Falkirk's greatest export.
Dinosaur Jr - Hide Another Round
The third-loudest band I've ever seen. I love the way that J Mascis plays his solos: staring dreamingly into the middle distance, seemingly oblivious to the wonders his fingers are conjuring, possibly considering the deepest philospohical conundrums or maybe just thinking about what he fancies for his tea - who can tell? Of course, these solos are a bugbear for some; one acquaintance of mine remarked that 'they have some great tunes, but does there have to be so much guitar wankery?' Now, for me, J can solo to his heart's content and I'll be happy (like this, for example), but this isn't a charge that can aimed at 2021's Sweep it into Space, a selection of concise (the longest track is 4:41), melodic gems.

The Bug - Vexed
Fire is a ferocious album, and the quiet anger of 'The Missing' (an elegy for the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire) is one of the most moving things I've heard in the last few years. The claustrophobic, dystopian vehemence of 'Vexed' is downright terrifying.
You Doo Right - Join, Be Curst
Naming yourself after a 20-minute Can track (which was allegedly edited down from a 6-hour improvisation) certainly sets your stall out clearly, and this Canadian band do a nice line in shimmering krautrock/shoegaze. 
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - B-Flat Ontology
Ribot's contribution to Tom Wait's work from Rain Dogs onwards is considerable; if you're a Tom fan, you should definitely find some time for the Ceramic Dog albums if you haven't already.
William Parker - Tabasco
'The most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time' according to The Village Voice. Mayan Space Station is a blast, a giddy blend of fluid jazz, blues-rock and psychedelia, with Ava Mendoza's guitar leading the way.

Side 2: 2022
Buggy Jive - The Ghost of Alexander
I have to thank my good friend Eric Smith for turning me on to Buggy Jive (such a great name). It's a mark of a great artist when their stock in trade is a genre that you don't generally go for (in this case, Prince-like soul/funk) but you can't help but love them. If you've never heard him, I suggest you start with the marvellous EP I Don't Understand How the World Works. 
Moin - Melon
Both 2021's Moot! and last year's Paste are exemplary case studies in how to wed churning guitar riffs to spoken-word samples - way better than the pedestrian Public Sevice Broadcasting; more like a condensed, more accessible Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werlin - II
Oren Ambarchi is a ridiculously prolific Australian multi-instrumentalist - my favourite of his pieces is the 33 minute minimalist masterpiece 'Sagittarian Domain'. 2022's Ghosted is made up of four lengthy, stripped-back, thoughtful grooves.
All Structures Align - Cylinders
A band who managed to put out not one but two excellent albums in 2022: Distance and Departure and Details and Drawings. Imagine Radiohead but sharper and less whingey and full of themselves.

Kungens Män - När Piskan Viner
Following in the footsteps of progg acts like Träd, Gräs & Stenar, Stockholm-based Kungens Män have been producing the sort of lazy, meandering psych-rock I adore since 2012.
Nils Frahm - Right Right Right
Frahm's remarkable album Music For Animals is a masterclass in understated, minimalist electronica. It's the very definition of expansive: the ten tracks clock in at over 3 hours, and 'Right Right Right', as good as it is, is selected here for its relative brevity (it's the only sub-ten-minute song). The standout moment is the hypnotic 25-minute 'Sheep in Black and White' which for a few weeks was the music of choice for getting Melody (see above) to go down for her afternoon nap.




I hope you enjoyed the compilation. If you want to point out any notable songs form 2021-22 that I've missed, send your own compilation or suggest a topic for a future C90, then there's a C90 Facebook group or you can contact me on Twitter or email: thefallinfives@mail.com







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