Joshua Tree Music is back with our fourth-annual list of favorite albums! We are amazed and very glad that this tradition has continued through a pandemic, two presidential administrations, and five Taylor Swift album releases.
2021 was a joyful year in many ways, but it also brought its share of frustration, exhaustion and disappointment. Maybe that’s why we were especially drawn to albums that explored difficult emotions and experiences with great songwriting.
Here are some of our favorites from this year. Check out our Spotify playlist at the end, which includes more great songs not featured in these albums.
JOSH’S PICKS
Head of Roses – Flock of Dimes – Sub Pop Records
For much of the last decade, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jenn Wasner was constantly working and on the move, splitting her time between her band Wye Oak; her solo project, Flock of Dimes; and playing in the touring bands of other indie artists. Then came 2020, when the pandemic and a bad breakup left her stuck at home and “eviscerated by heartbreak.” Head of Roses, Wasner’s second album as Flock of Dimes, delves deeply into her pain and personal growth during this period of upheaval. Working with her friend and co-producer Nick Sanborn (of Sylvan Esso), Wasner crafts a unique, atmospheric sound, combining electro-pop synths, guitars, and wind instruments, while tastefully altering and layering her own resonant vocals.
No Medium – Rosali – SPINSTER
Rosali’s smooth, smoky voice conveys a cool assuredness, even as she embraces vulnerability in rock ballads about fraying relationships, self-sabotage and loss. Recorded with the talented musicians of the David Nance Group, No Medium transports you to the front row of an intimate live performance, commanding your full attention and lingering in your memory.
Home Video – Lucy Dacus – Matador
Lucy Dacus’ third album, Home Video, showcases her most personal and accessible songwriting yet, while sacrificing none of her signature wit and emotional wallop. Looking back on her adolescence in Richmond, Virginia, Dacus reexamines how she and her peers navigated their first romantic relationships, frustrating friendships, and crises of faith. Dacus is an avowed fan of Bruce Springsteen, and you can hear his influence in the driving beats and catchy melodies of rockers like “Hot and Heavy” and “Brando”. Like Springsteen, she also has a rare gift for creating vivid, complex characters and capturing their inner lives in her songwriting.
JACK’S PICKS
Blue Weekend – Wolf Alice – Dirty Hit
Blue Weekend finds the band thinking big. Its songs jump off the page onto wild and dramatic production landscapes, aided by producer Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Florence + The Machine). After a slow build in the first track (“The Beach”), the album shifts into a higher gear with three of the album’s best tracks – the expansive stadium-rock chants and guitars on the LA-inspired “Delicious Things”, the dangerously seductive “Lipstick on the Glass”, and punk-infused “Smile”. Throughout the leaps across genres and sounds, the album is woven together by a strong narrative arc: the album’s final two tracks, “No Hard Feelings” and “The Beach II” bring us back to the place where we started, yet with a newfound sense of closure and peace from the turbulence of the relationship being described. All put together, Wolf Alice takes the listener on a thrilling ride from start to finish on this 40-minute LP.
Collapsed in Sunbeams – Arlo Parks – Transgressive
At first listen, Arlo Parks’ Collapsed in Sunbeams may not leave much of an impression – Parks’ voice is soft, the production stripped down, and the vibe laid-back. But don’t be fooled or misled. Listening more carefully, you’ll hear intimate narratives full of raw emotional depth and honesty – mental health struggles, complicated relationships, and unrequited love. Her unvarnished style of singing makes them feel all the more immediate to the listener, while the restrained production style offers a sense of solace and empathy for otherwise anxiety-inducing moments. “Black Dog”, which tells the story of Parks’ attempts to help a friend battling depression, is one of the best examples of this. The rhythmic guitar strums lull the listener into an almost hypnotic state, and the soft harmonies in the chorus serve as a thick sonic shield against the hardships being described. There is a sort of delicate, transformative power at work here, as her neo-soul, jazz-infused songs rewire trauma into something lighter and perhaps, manageable.
Sour – Olivia Rodrigo – Geffen
At the beginning of 2021, few could have predicted the type of year Olivia Rodrigo would have. Known more for her acting work on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, she seemingly came out of the blue last January with her beautifully written “drivers license”, which quickly shattered records as it debuted on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and led for 8 consecutive weeks. But perhaps just as surprising was the strength and variety of the album that followed. Across its 12 tracks, Sour expands far beyond the lead single musically and lyrically to paint a complete picture of modern teenage heartbreak. Songs like “favorite crime” and “traitor” highlight Rodrigo’s precocious knack for songcraft, while others like “good 4 u” and “jealousy, jealousy” show her willingness to branch out past the balladry that catapulted her ascent as an artist. With 7 Grammy nominations and a sold-out headlining tour, Rodrigo’s debut album has now firmly cemented herself as an artist here to stay for years to come.
***
Here’s a playlist featuring some standout tracks from our favorite albums, and other songs we loved in 2021.
Joshua Tree Music 