Hello there, and welcome to a list that some random dude made for no reason at all. What's in this list, you ask? Well, only 21 of the very best indie music songs that were released in 2021. Who says they're the best? I do! Why are they the best? Because I say so! Is there really such a thing as "the best" of an art form like music? No, of course not! What is indie music, anyway? Shut the fuck up and scroll down.
Alphabetical order, because why not?
Andy Shauf: "Jaywalker"
ANTI- Records
I was an early adopter of this excellent singer-songwriter from Regina, Saskatchewan. He made my list last year as well, deservedly so (interestingly enough, that year he also made Barack Obama's list, because that motherfucker has good-ass taste). "Jaywalker" is off his new album Wilds, which came out in September. I really love Andy's use of instrumentation that doesn't often appear on rock/pop music of the modern era, such as the clarinet. I love the mellowness of "Jaywalker" along with its great melody, and the roly-poly cat in his video.
Big Thief: "Little Things"
Charlie Martin: "Swirl"
Cooney Thatcher: "Take Your Turn"
Cory Hanson: "Bird of Paradise"
Enumclaw: "Fast N All"
Fake Fruit: "Yolk"
Far Caspian: "Attempt"
Furrows: "Burial"
Hand Habits: "Concrete & Feathers"
herbal tea: "apogee"
José González: "El Invento"
Macie Stewart: "Garter Snake"
Mega Bog: "Weight of the Earth, on Paper"
SEB: "seaside_demo"
Snowy: "Whatever You Want"
The Spirit of the Beehive: "The Server Is Immersed"
Sungaze: "Body in the Mirror"
T. Evann: "Falling by the Wayside"
Tobacco: "Sorority"
Wednesday: "Handsome Man"
Honorable Mentions...
4AD
A few things here. First, I wrote a song called "Little Things" in maybe 1992 with my friend Michael Gale, but that's pointless to even bring up. Just a silly coincidence. Second, Big Thief isn't a little band; they're very important in the indie world, and have a global following and received a bunch of Grammy nominations (which also has no bearing on this selection). Third, I am an equally big fan of the solo work of their front person, Adrianne Lenker, and both she and the band have been on this list in the past. None of this matters; I find "Little Things" to be terrific on its own. Very simple on the surface, the way it's produced with varying elements coming in and out at different times is super neat to me. Hats off to whomever mixed this. Also, note that the album it's on does not exist just yet; Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (yes, that's the title, apparently) is scheduled to drop in February 2022. But this song hit in August 2021. It's a weird time in the music world due to all the factors that make it a weird time in the rest of the world as well.
Charlie Martin: "Swirl"
Grand Jury Music
Here's a story. I heard "Swirl" one day in May of this year, and it burrowed into my brain so deeply that I covered it at my very next show. And then covered it at the show after that. And the next. I've probably played "Swirl" more in 2021 than any song I've personally written, or any other cover, and I'm not at all burned out on it. Charlie is a member of Austin, TX-based indie rock/pop band Hovvdy, whom I also enjoy (and who has been on my list before). "Swirl" is short and sweet, and has a great vibe. It has some interesting sonic things going on. It's also in Bb, an underrated key. Charlie's album Imaginary People came out in April.
Cooney Thatcher: "Take Your Turn"
Cooney Thatcher
This is a great little home-recorded tune that I enjoyed the moment I first heard it in March. I know very little about Cooney Thatcher apart from having chosen the name of this project to preserve the matronymic names of his family that would have otherwise been lost to patriarchal practice. I also know he's out of Greenfield, MA, which is about as far away from everything else as the moon. It seems like a nice place to write this kind of unique folk with a Latin rhythmic flavor. Side note: the recording on this is really fantastic, and I am super particular about those things. Love the sound of this record. His album There's Your House is all really good.
Cory Hanson: "Bird of Paradise"
Drag City
So, this requires a short story. For a good number of years, I'd enjoyed the music of an L.A.-based psych rock band called Wand. Their albums Plum (2017) and Laughing Matter (2019) were both on my "best-of" lists in their respective years. That being said, I hadn't really bothered to learn the names of the people in Wand, because I'm old now and I'm a shitty fan. Anyway, back in March, I stumbled across an artist named Cory Hanson, who was putting out these simply amazing songs. Haunting, uncannily beautiful through and through, Pale Horse Rider may very well be the very best collection of music put out in 2021 period. I really gravitated toward this song, "Bird of Paradise", and began covering it in my live shows immediately. Anyway, back to my story. I had no idea that this was the guy from Wand despite the audible evidence thereof, and I loved it completely on its own merits. So that's cool. That's the story. The end.
Enumclaw: "Fast N All"
Youth Riot Records
I've got another story here, one about discovery. I saw a tweet from Jordyn Blakely, the indie rock queen of drums, who was performing with a band called Maneka. Then I saw a tweet from Maneka with an article about black indie rock bands and artists. And that is where I happened to find Enumclaw, the grungy Tacoma, WA-based band with a sound that I know and love, which only occurs when people don't know their instruments very well but still manage to put together some damn good rock music. It reminds me of my first bands when I was in high school. We did cool originals because we weren't good enough to play covers. I like everything about Enumclaw, from the fizzy guitars to Aramis Johnson's sort-of non-vocal that fits the tunes so well. Here's the best thing of all: they had a mini-viral hit with "Fast N All" and appeared on KEXP before they'd ever played a show as a band. I truly love that. You can check out their whole EP Jimbo Demo, and you should.
Fake Fruit: "Yolk"
Rocks In Your Head Records
This was my official "put this song on to snap out of a shitty mood" song of 2021. How can you stay mad with Hannah D’Amato yelling at you? Right away, I heard the same things that enjoyed so much about bands like Romeo Void, X, and many more. Raw and primal indie punk, Fake Fruit's self-titled debut was released in March (what the hell? March 2021 was an insanely good month in music). When I first found the track, I tweeted that the band's singer sounded like she gave no fucks. Hannah replied, "You're right! I do give no fucks!", and I am looking forward to everything they ever do forever.
Far Caspian: "Attempt"
Tiny Library Records
Here's all I know about Far Caspian. Far Caspian is Joel Johnston, an Irish singer-songwriter and producer. That's literally it. His debut album Ways To Get Out was released in October, and he plays everything on this by himself. You'd probably be surprised about how many bands you hear are basically one person, or maybe two, in a bedroom in some town you've never heard of. I like that. Anyway, Far Caspian seems to have a very solid international fan base, and I like the atmospheric chill vibe of this tune that's somewhat reminiscent of things I like about Deerhunter and related bands.
Furrows: "Burial"
Self Released
Once again, here's another person doing pretty much everything on their own and just being a band because they can. Peter Wagner wrote all the tunes and recorded 90% of the sounds for his album Fisher King which came out in October. I love the tightness of the arrangement while being submersed in spaciousness with the production. Just a cool fucking tune that straddles indie pop and proggy psychedelia. If you don't know my main criteria for determining coolness, it's super easy: if I can envision myself driving a Jeep through Joshua Tree at sunset listening to it, it's fucking cool.
Hand Habits: "Concrete & Feathers"
Saddle Creek
It was a few years ago that I first really took notice of Meg Duffy, who records as Hand Habits. I randomly found their song "Placeholder" and immediately posted it in my semi-weekly new music recommendations. But their new album Fun House is unquestionably one of the best of the entire year, and while it veers a bit from mood to mood, vibe to vibe, so do I. Meg is a very respected musician in the indie realm, having played with The War On Drugs, Weyes Blood and others. They are an outstanding songwriter, a great guitarist, and "Concrete & Feathers" might be my favorite song of the year. Not saying it is, but it would be okay if it was.
herbal tea: "apogee"
Balloon Machine
Helena Walker of Bristol, UK creates music as herbal tea. She'd released a few singles previous to her 2021 EP unwrap, but this project is full of dreamy, atmospheric, bedroom-recorded indie folk. I love the open sparseness of this song, and it also passes my "driving aimlessly in the desert" test of coolness. I might also have a cup of coffee on a rainy day with this as my soundtrack.
José González: "El Invento"
City Slang
José González is, perhaps, the most well-known artist on my list this year. He is beloved globally for his uniquely soft yet driving sound, both as a solo artist and as a member of Junip. If you don't know about José's story, he comes from a family that migrated from Argentina to Sweden shortly before his birth. This disparate source of musical influences makes José a very unique sound in the world of indie folk. Released in February, "El Invento" was the first single from his latest album Local Valley, which came out in September. It's such a nice tune that I learned it and covered it despite in being sung in Spanish, an anomaly as such in José's catalog.
Macie Stewart: "Garter Snake"
Orindal Records
There are many, many occasions where I enjoy the music of a band, and then find I really like the solo work of a member of that band. There have already been a few instances of that on this list, and Macie Stewart is another one. She's half of the Chicago-based indie band Ohmme, of whom I've been a fan for several years. Macie is a tremendously talented multi-instrumentalist and has a wonderfully expressive voice, and her avant-pop album Mouth Full of Glass is terrific. My favorite cut by far is "Garter Snake", a tune I've covered at shows a few times.
Mega Bog: "Weight of the Earth, on Paper"
Paradise of Bachelors
My tastes in music are varied but there is usually some aspect of consistency in what I like. But every year I do this list, there are always a few choices that defy any sort of categorization. Mega Bog is Erin Birgy, an experimental artist from the Pacific Northwest that follows in the Laurie Anderson school of being tremendously interesting no matter what she does. It's always amazing to me how the artists I enjoy end up having some attachment to each other that I didn't know before liking them independently of each other; Mega Bog is connected in various musical and personal ways to both Big Thief and Hand Habits. The indie world is a small world after all. Give the entire Life, and Another album a spin if you're feeling adventurous.
SEB: "seaside_demo"
Mom+Pop Records
Sometimes a song is just a good fucking song, okay? SEB took off this spring when this obvious bedroom recording became massive via TikTok and YouTube. It is perfect in its imperfection, laid back and summery and genuine. I absolutely love it. It sounds like it was recorded on a whim in one afternoon, and I wish my brain wasn't so cluttered up with shit that I could get back to doing that kind of thing where it doesn't matter if the guitar is out of tune or some of the vocals don't exactly blend. Side note: SEB shot this video on the bluffs in Palos Verdes, CA, very close to the same spot I chose to do my video for "Falling Down". I've covered "seaside_demo" and I'm sure I'll do it again.
Snowy: "Whatever You Want"
Spunk Records
Liam "Snowy" Halliwell is well known in Melbourne, Australia as a member of The Ocean Party, a band that prodigiously released album after album in the 2010s that went from jangly power pop to indie folk to garage rock, but "Whatever You Want" is none of those things. Rather, it's spacious and introspective, and just fucking beautiful. Pretty, pretty song that is somehow both melancholy and hopeful at once. This was a great discovery for me in 2021, and one of my favorite tracks to play on repeat. Check out the album Alternate Endings.
The Spirit of the Beehive: "The Server Is Immersed"
Saddle Creek
Of all the songs and all the bands on my list this year, none are as truly fucked up as Spirit of the Beehive, and I mean that in the best of ways. Genreless and truly experimental, they are relentless, offering no refuge for their listeners. Sometimes called "your favorite band's favorite band", this is music that is so far out on the edge, it's my assumption that most casual music fans would never understand how this is even listenable. It may be weird and confrontational, but it's also fucking genius and fearless. The entire Entertainment, Death album blew my mind this year in the best of ways.
Sungaze: "Body in the Mirror"
Self Released
Have you ever looked at someone and developed a whole storyline about who they are and what they're all about despite having no evidence or information that would back up your assumption? Sungaze, a husband/wife band from Cincinnati, OH, totally freak me out for no good reason. There's something about Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow that makes me think of cults and drugs and deviant pagan behavior... not in a bad way per se, but it's definitely there. Musically, their blend of shoegaze, psych rock and dream pop fits right in my wheelhouse, and "Body in the Mirror" ended up on their album This Dream released in August. Incestuous indie side note: the song "Storm Chaser" off this album was mixed by Cory Hanson of Wand, as seen on this list above. I sometimes think all of indie rock are about eight people who each have six projects and just work on each other's albums.
T. Evann: "Falling by the Wayside"
Nice Guys Records
T. Evann is Tyler Darrington, a London-based producer and songwriter who creates lush psychedelic texture-filled music that is wonderfully amorphous, fading between intimate and atmospheric sounds. "Falling by the Wayside" is fucking great; spidery guitars interweave with a killer bass line, with neat sonics and filters sustaining interest in the harmonized vocal lines. This is just good. Upbeat and dark, dynamic and cool. His EP Pocus came out in October.
Tobacco: "Sorority"
Rad Cult Records
Hitting my list with the only straight instrumental track of the year, Tobacco is a somewhat mysterious dude named Thomas Fec. He uses analog synths and tape and processors to create the evolving textures and dynamic beats you hear here. I'm not sure what it was about "Sorority" that grabbed me, but it's somehow both synthetic and organic, repetitive yet changing. I like it, and it definitely passed the "drive in the Mojave Desert" test when I went in June. It's off his album Fucked Up Friends 3 that was released in March. Yes, there was a Fucked Up Friends 2 and an original Fucked Up Friends, because of course there was.
Wednesday: "Handsome Man"
Orindal Records
Hailing from Asheville, NC, Wednesday is a band that makes me acutely aware that we're now far enough from the '90s for there to be young people who do "retro '90s stuff". Sigh. That being said, this grungy shoegaze is done remarkable well. It feels very genuine, and the band occasionally adds a little more twang than you'd expect in this genre, courtesy of lap steel player Xandy Chelmis. The whole album Twin Plagues is fucking outstanding, and Wednesday is definitely one of my favorite new discoveries for 2021.
Honorable Mentions...
- Ailsa Tully: “Parasite”
- Aloa Input: “Atlas Daze”
- Biig Piig: “Remedy”
- Cherry Glazerr “Big Bang”
- Crumb “Tunnel (all that you had)”
- Dana Gavanski “Letting Go”
- Ethan Tasch “Blocked”
- Grouper “Unclean Mind”
- Horse & Wells “Halloween”
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: “Catching Smoke”
- Lucky Lo “Mary Mind”
- Lucy Dacus: “Thumbs Again”
- MAH KEE OH: “Twist”
- Mini Trees “Cracks in the Pavement”
- Niall Summerton: “Palm of Your Hand”
- Ovlov “Strokes”
- PACKS: “Silvertongue”
- Renwick: “Bella Vista Motel”
- Sam Evian: “Never Know”
- Sand Duney “The Julia Loop”
- Smile Machine: “Pretty Today”
- Swanes “Fallback Man”
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra: “Weekend Run”
- Walter Sprig: “Peelin’”
- World Brain: “Always on the Line”
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