(L-R) Lewis Maynard, Nick Buxton, Florence Shaw and Tom Dowse of South London band Dry Cleaning. Photo: Steve Gullick

Somehow, among the pervasive difficulty of 2021, many outstanding artists managed to overcome lockdowns, repeated cancellations, border closures and pandemic depression to create incredible records.

These albums stand up on their own, however can be considered even more impressive given the circumstances around their creation, and the beacon of joy they no doubt provided to listeners this year.

From a patriotic perspective, it was particularly heart-warming to see acts like Baker Boy, Amyl & the Sniffers and Genesis Owusu establish themselves as world class artists.

On Footyology, rather than present a definitive countdown list, we nominate 10 brilliant records that you should not have missed in 2021.

Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

Maybe we’re now beyond a time where rock and roll can ever truly be saved, rescued or salvaged. But every now and again an album comes along that totally reinvigorates it, and for many guitar-music aficionados, New Long Leg from South London’s Dry Cleaning had the blood pumping like nothing else in years. The influence of seminal post-punk bands from the 80s and 90s is clear throughout the album, with angular, overdriven guitar lines and subtle hints of electronica driving the record, while the band’s fondness for classic British metal also shines through on some of the heavier tracks. Ultimately, however, this album is all about the serene performance of vocalist Florence Shaw. Barely lifting a semitone above or below the mean, Shaw delivers sometimes humorous, sometimes cutting, always insightful rhyming couplets with the most deadpan of deliveries. This is a rare record that nails its landings both musically and lyrically, drawing you in directly on both fronts. An instant classic.

Clamm – Beseech Me

Three-piece garage punk appears just about everywhere in the world, and yet somehow Clamm make it sound completely and utterly Australian. Their electrifying debut album Beseech Me, which followed a stuttered build up and immense hype surrounding their live shows, absolutely hit the nail on the head and has catapulted the young trio to be among the rising stars of Australian punk. Taking the mantle from a long line of Tote-alumni such as Bored! and Batpiss, Clamm tell stories of a broken Australia through noise that is only half-harnessed, bringing their well-worn sound into the modern age through the flawless production of Nao Anzai, and contemporary flourishes such as wildly washed-out vocals and drums. Heading off on a quick-fire tour of Europe from the end of January, Clamm will no doubt return bigger and better than before. This is absolutely one to catch live, preferably in a small, sweaty room while you still can.

The El Michels Affair – Yeti Season

A fair amount of mystery surrounds the New York-based, but inherently worldly, El Michels Affair. Releasing their first album in 2005, producer Leon Michels and company acted as the backing band for members of the Wu-Tang Clan in live performances, before putting out a string of covers albums over the past decade. Since 2020, two new records of original material have garnered significant interest, with the second of those, Yeti Season, emerging as one of the most enigmatic, beguiling releases of 2021. Featuring a diverse array of obscure instruments and styles, Yeti Season may be best described as Turkish-inspired funk and soul, with a steady Indian flavour brought about partly through guest vocalist Piya Malik’s Hindi lyrics. This is a dramatic album, yet an imminently danceable one, with elements of hip-hop, psychedelica, and a strong brass section rising throughout. Uplifting, impenetrable, and at times joyous, this is genuinely a record for any occasion.

Wednesday – Twin Plagues

Wednesday, the project of guitarist/songwriter and North Carolinian Karly Hartzman, sounds a little bit like a lot of stuff, yet somehow nothing like anything else. Opening their second record with the heavy guitar-laden title track that evokes the wailing dissonance of My Bloody Valentine, before dropping immediately into pure 1990s alternative pop punk on the brilliant “Handsome Man”, and then a Big Thief-style, pedal-steel led ballad with “The Burned Down Dairy Queen”, Wednesday lay their cards out on the table in the first 10 minutes. Somehow, all of this ties together seamlessly and sits as a totally cohesive, if somewhat unique, whole work. This is undoubtedly an angsty album, and the titular “Twin Plagues” could well refer to the combination of loneliness and global respiratory problems. However, the angst is delivered so thoughtfully and creatively that it sounds completely new again. On the stunning How Can “You Live If You Can’t Love How Can You If You Do”, instead of something as vacant as “I miss you”, Hartzman offers, “Jealous of the rooms whose floors can feel your weight upon them.” Twin Plagues is a record of justifiable juxtaposition, and one that sounds confronting as often as it does familiar.

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HTRK – Rhinestones

HTRK have undergone a significant journey since their formation in 2003. From Melbourne to Berlin and back again, enduring the sudden loss of founding member Sean Stewart in 2010, championed by the likes of Rowland S Howard and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and pushing a sound that almost, but never quite, fit into the Australian rock aesthetic. Earlier works are dripping with industrial post-punk irony, while the more recent are entirely noise/chillwave electronica records. The journey continues on Rhinestones, which is somewhat of a departure and reinvention of the sound once again. With Jonnine Standish’s vocals uncharacteristically prominent, this record is about as close as Standish and collaborator Nigel Yang will ever get to acoustic folk. The deep, bending bass and moodiness that HTRK fans are accustomed to are still present, however they’re tempered by a kind of gothic warmth that no other group could produce. A captivating record that will please devotees and enrapture new fans alike.

Iceage – Seek Shelter

Forming as teenagers in 2008, Danish punk outfit Iceage have since produced a run of critically-acclaimed albums. Their latest, Seek Shelter, showcases the sound of a band in transition. Fortunately, both ends of the spectrum are equally impressive, and on the band’s fifth record we get their traditional punk and noise-rock blended with interesting moments of Britpop and classic power balladry. Opening track “Shelter Song” sets the tone for the first half of the record, offering up one of the choruses of 2021 and a singalong moment that will no doubt be howled all across Copenhagen this New Year’s Eve. Indeed, it is the sheer emotive presence of vocalist Elias Bender Ronnenfelt’s performance that links this record throughout the ride. However, Iceage’s signature swagger is still prominent, with tracks like “Vendetta” emerging as moments of pure rock and roll. In a relatively dull year, Iceage have created an album without a single dull moment.

Alice Skye – I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good

Alice Skye is a Wergaia and Wemba Wemba songwriter, whose second record, I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good, has consolidated her position at the forefront of an emerging generation of Australian artists. Born and raised in western Victoria, Skye’s music and poignant lyricism reflect stories from both the country and the city, something that contributes to her accessibility and broad appeal. This is undoubtedly a record to enjoy oneself listening to, with echoes of The Go-Betweens and Something For Kate, and the bright offerings of tracks like “Grand Ideas” and “Everything Is Great” certain to lift the mood. However, throughout the record, friendly melodies and arrangements are contrasted with somewhat cutting and emotional storytelling, making this a refreshing and compelling take on sunny guitar pop. This album is a significant step in what is going to be a significant career when all is said and done.

Cory Hanson – Pale Horse Rider

As the lead singer of Los Angeles psych-rock band Wand, Cory Hanson sings fuzzed-up odes to mythical creatures and covers Gary Numan. As Cory Hanson, he produces immaculate Americana that sweeps you up in a gentle mist and drops you right in the Mojave Desert. There are undoubtedly elements of psychedelica in Pale Horse Rider, his second solo record, especially with regard to how the chordal patterns bend and drop off unexpectedly. However, stylistically, it belongs right at the centre of modern alternative country. Hanson’s vocals are delicate, and the sweeping sounds of pedal-steel guitar glow strikingly throughout the record, evoking an inviting energy. Pale Horse Rider is anything but predictable, and the acid rocker within does occasionally rear its head (before fully taking over in the eight-minute “Another Story From The Centre Of The Earth”), but this is undoubtedly a warm record for cold times.

Springtime – Springtime

An apparent mongrel supergroup, the new project of Gareth Liddiard (The Drones, Tropical Fuck Storm), Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and Jim White (Dirty Three) pulls together the familiar sounds of the members’ main projects to create something monstrous. Backed by the free jazz styles of White and Abrahams on drums and piano respectively, Liddiard offers elements of his distinctive guitar work punctuated with a more chaotic, explosive sound. Vocally, he is as unrestrained as ever, and delves into stories of contemporary Australian war crimes, romantic ghost stories, and the works of award-winning poet Ian Duhig (Liddiard’s uncle) to provide a narrative element to the unashamedly unwieldy music. This isn’t an easy, accessible listen (although no one with any knowledge of the members’ prior work should have been expecting that), but it is a deeply nourishing one.

Parquet Courts – Sympathy For Life

Parquet Courts seem so consistently on-the-money that it’s hard to believe that they’ve been releasing music for 10 years. Are they able to constantly tap into the twists and niches that are permeating alternative music whenever they release a record? Or is it that they are now actually setting the tone themselves? Either way, no contemporary rock band is so innovative, so charming, and so consistent. Each record fits perfectly within their canon, but also manages to develop the sound and keep things interesting. Their eighth, Sympathy For Life, is no different. Whilst the choppy guitars, interesting chord progressions, and highly distinctive vocals of Austin Brown and Andrew Savage tether the album where it belongs, there is a distinct party vibe to their new offering. With synthesisers and beat machines featuring prominently, tracks such as “Plant Life” and “Marathon Of Anger” evoke the likes of Primal Scream or Happy Mondays. Those looking for New York art-punk offerings will find them here, however others who are ready to leave the gallery theatre and swarm into the early hours can carry this record with them too.