The very best of 2021

Little Simz performs in Glasgow last month. Photo: Getty Images
Little Simz performs in Glasgow last month. Photo: Getty Images
The Weekend Mix music reviewer John Hayden picks his top albums of the year.

LITTLE SIMZ

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

When Mercury Prize-nominated MC Little Simz namechecked Kendrick Lamar on Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, she planted herself firmly in that same lineage of arresting and affecting storytellers. Like Lamar, whose 2012 breakthrough was subtitled ‘‘A Short Film’’, Simz embarked on her own odyssey on LP number four, grappling with her titular introversion in the face of the complexities of council estate life. The sweeping cinematic production — all lush horns and sighing strings — fused the raw emotion of ’70s soul with her radiant rhymes, showcasing an utterly absorbing brand of vulnerability.

Single download: I Love You, I Hate You

PLAYBOI CARTI

Whole Lotta Red

Though far from a bold leap forward, it’s still comforting to know that in such trying times Playboi Carti’s infectious dopamine-rush rap is there for us. The Atlanta auteur’s sophomore LP saw dome-rattling bass and skittering hi-hits jostle for position alongside his slurring, wheezing, twitchy ad-libs, as Rockstar Made’s repetitive refrain (‘‘never too much’’) revealed Whole Lotta Red’s manic manifesto. With a surrealist vision encompassing claims such as ‘‘I’m in the Twilight Zone ... they can’t understand me/I’m talking hieroglyphics’’ while sampling Bach, Carti breezed past Soundcloud copycats with a giddy gusto all his own.

Single download: Vamp Anthem

Florence Shaw, of Dry Cleaning. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Florence Shaw, of Dry Cleaning. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
DRY CLEANING

New Long Leg

Hankerings for hotdogs, plush toy Llamas, ‘‘idiots in trousers’’ — hardly typical lyrical post-punk fare — which is what made this South London quartet so appealing. Anchored by the droll stream-of-consciousness musings of Florence Shaw, Dry Cleaning’s debut LP turned everyday minutiae into pure punk poetry. Thanks to the steady production hand of John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding), and a sonic palette that called to mind Gang of Four’s spiky guitars (John Wick), the molasses-thick basslines of Black Sabbath (Unsmart Lady) and Sonic Yout’’s squall-of-sound (Every Day Carry), New Long Leg mercifully rose above mere non-sequitur-driven novelty.

Single download: Unsmart Lady

PINKPANTHERESS

to hell with it

No one else encapsulated 2021 quite like an anonymous 19-year old Londoner. After posting a bevy of bedroom-produced tracks to TikTok, PinkPantheress found viral fame thanks to her self-styled brand of ‘‘new nostalgia’’, which set wistful lyricism to unimpeachably brilliant samples of turn-of-the-century drum-and-bass (including Adam F’s towering Circles, which forms the basis of algorithm-altering lead single Break It Off). The intimate bubblegum breakbeats, ethereal coos and wry observations such as ‘‘I wasn’t meant to be this bored at nineteen” suggested a mercurial new talent set to transcend the fickle social media zeitgeist.

Single download: Break It Off

OLIVIA RODRIGO

Sour

On her soon-to-be Grammy-gobbling debut, Disney Channel alum Olivia Rodrigo not only revealed a Swiftian knack for turning heartache into hit singles, but also an almost forensic understanding of her demographic. Whether through candy-coated kiss offs (the exquisite deja vu) — taylor-made for her audience — or grafting messy feelings onto even messier signifiers of alt-rock dissatisfaction (the rollicking riffola of the oh-so-arch Brutal) Sour was a ferociously assured hybrid of delicate balladry (‘‘I don’t want your sympathy, I just want myself back,’’ opined the stately Enough For You) and anarchic pop-punk sassiness (‘‘I can’t even parallel park!’’)

Single download: deja vu

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