Such cool girl power rock from the indie-garage axis, but mostly just hot rock and roll.
Deap Vally – Marriage
Moin – Moot!
It’s some alternative post-rock, sometimes I feel it’s shoegazer style but then often it’s much more upbeat and lively than that. The percussion grooves are killers. It’s rare that I hear a drummer and start looking up other projects by them just based on the beats played—this is one of those cases. But all other aspects are amazing too, like bits and pieces of melodies, and some well-placed spoken word segments or samples. It’s a record that I have a hard time putting into words: I feel like I don’t have the right dictionary to describe what I hear, but I love it so much. It’s really surprising and absolutely amazing.
Freeways – True Bearings
Tastes of straight up rock music from heavy metal through psychedelic to hard rock. A band with two records that sounds like an old classic that could be around for decades. Logo and cover arts also support this feeling.
Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
It doesn’t get any more effortlessly cool than this. Fun, quirky alt rock that’s catchy like covid.
Sometimes you can think “but all the tunes have all been written already, so what new are we expecting” and then comes something like this, which just opens a complete new portal with three notes on the bass. I love when this happens, makes me keep going and listen to ten new records a day again.
The Offspring – Let The Bad Times Roll
When I first listened to this I couldn’t believe how absolutely great this album was. An Offspring record in 2021, which sounds like such a good evolution of them. It’s part serious but part fun, it has drag and beat, it’s all around good punk rock, I just cannot help stamping my feet when listening to it. Although I’m still wrapping up my year-end conclusions but this one is pretty close to being my favorite rock album this year.
Rob Zombie – The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy
As good as any Rob Zombie record, it just delivers. Perhaps more musical than the usual, ranging a bunch of genres from the default industrial metal through hard rock and heavy metal to funk and even country, and having melodies that may be beyond what one would expect from this guy.
Ulver – Flowers of Evil
This is not an overall great pop rock record. I had to check a few times while listening that I’m still listening to Ulver—this style and sound feels alien for me coming from them. That said, Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers is a flawless pop rock song.
Wonk Unit – Nervous Racehorse
One loveable and so honest punk rock album that I got really fond of last year. Music that makes me miss live concerts badly.
PUP – This Place Sucks Ass
Punk rock, nothing extra, but it’s a good one.
Reigns – The Walled Garden
As the first notes started playing on this record I thought Reigns turned to a lighter mood since I fell in love with them with The House on the Causeway. I starts that way. Then they quickly delve into their home territory of eerie land where rock and electronic holds no real meanings—this music is not defined by its instruments but its super heavy atmosphere. It’s a beautiful wondering in a haunted garden with dark crimson roses, piercing thorns, and an ominous yet not at all depressing constant dusk.