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Really?

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Half way mark, and is this the best they can come up with? I have access, let’s say, to many of these, and it is an uninspiring shower. Ok, I have yet to listen to Cave/Ellis and the Kemerovo boys, but feel I have enough by each already. Am I wrong? I have found the year no better or worse than usual, but it is mainly folk that is plotting any interesting new directions. I may suggest a few in due course, but what do people think of the woke inevitables here?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jun/14/the-best-albums-of-2021?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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    • I love Sons Of Kemet.

      They are in my top three of the year so far along with Floating Points, Pharoah Saunders and the LSO Promises and the Notos Quartett Brahms The Schoenberg Effect.

        • Kemet was a response to the spellcheck variance in the post. But how does it compare to the first two? I like the first and can bear the second, shorn of the weedy rapping; is it worth the investment? As in Cave/Warren, with all the reviews saying it is the same sonic style from Push the Sky etc and Skeleton Tree, is it or just ploughing the same minimalist field? It’s a nice field but the view ain’t so great.

          • As you point out, you have access to both. The question is are you going to skim listen or dedicate time and effort? Nick Cave doesn’t do it for me but a Grinderman is said to be in the works, which might set my juices flowing. I’d say Sons Of Kemet is well worth the investment.

  4. I absolutely hate the use of ‘woke’ as an insult.

    Woke means caring about people’s feelings .

    Being woke is a good thing. The opposite of woke is surely, being a bit of a twat.

    And there’s some very good albums in that list. You can tell it’s a good list. Van Morrison isn’t on it.

    • Well said, young Arch.
      In a similarish vein, I always liked John Cleese’s rebuttal to someone who used the term ‘snowflake’: “Snowflake? Yes I’ve heard this word. I think sociopaths use it in an attempt to discredit the notion of empathy.”

        • “Woke” is a nonsense cultural delineator that helps social media parse which side you’re on. See also: Brexiter/Remainer.

          It’s the product of an incredibly over-simplistic and Manichean worldview in which people are either goodies or baddies and nuance is cause for suspicion. It didn’t start out that way, but it is now, for both “sides”.

          Everyone is capable of empathy, tolerance and intolerance. No one is undeserving of empathy simply because they don’t agree with us. It’s all incredibly reductive and divisive.

          You can be woke AF and still spend your days organizing social media lynch mobs. You can read the Telegraph and still spend your downtime volunteering at the puppy shelter. Human beings are gloriously multi-faceted, complicated and surprising. We should celebrate and appreciate that, and try to build bridges, not trenches.

          There is nothing less conducive to empathy than labels. Apart from social media.

          Sour is my album of the year so far, but it’s not really about albums, so here’s another absolute banger from Digga D:

    • So woke people have a monopoly on caring/empathy? Who knew!

      Interesting that the poster up the page is upset by the use of the term “woke” as an insult, yet quite happy to dismiss those who do not share his/her views as “twats”.

      Not much empathy (or indeed tolerance) there, is there?

      • Who are “woke people”? People who are supportive of minority rights? Because they’re the ones who tend to get called “woke”, by people who are against minority rights. I see no reason to be tolerant of people who are against minority rights. That would mean tolerating intolerance, which is plain daft.

        • @Gary

          I used the term “woke people” so as not to single out the OP by adding an unnecessarily personal element to an issue whose discussion frequently ends up in unpleasant arguments.

          FWIW, just as one can be a caring and empathic individual without having to shout one’s woke credentials from the rooftops, tolerating someone’s views does not necessarily mean respecting those views.

    • I’m not sure I agree. “Woke” in its original non-pejorative sense meant “not asleep”, implying that the benighted souls who don’t agree with the “woke” on every issue *are* asleep. Not “disagreeing in good faith”: asleep. Unaware. Dupes. Idiots. Sheep.

      It got hijacked as a pejorative precisely because of this, in my view – though I agree that much of the pejorative use of it comes from people who are, let’s say, antipathetic to progressive social politics. (Also some idiots and bastards.) Woke isn’t automatically good, by definition.

      The other issue is suggesting that “woke” = “in favour of rights for minorities” while people who oppose “woke” means the reverse. That strikes me as simplistic to say the least. You can be anti-racist, for example, without signing up to the full – for want of a better word – “woke” discourse on race. You can be fully and enthusiastically in favour of equal marriage, opposed to sex-and-sexuality based bigotry in all its forms, and still not sign up to the “woke” position on gender.

      Woke, like “virtue signalling” (which many socially liberal people get angry about mainly, to my eyes, *because* it’s demonstrably a real thing), is sometimes a useful word despite the behaviour of some of its louder users. Baby, bathwater etc.

      • I’m woke on some issues, drowse on others, somnambular here and there and totally comatoe on most things.

        It’s the absolutism I can’t understand. One deviation in your moral stance, as you say above, means that even if you hold all the other approved opinions, you are wrong on everything, forever. I’m not 100% sure of the whole gender thing, which makes me a Feminazi Gammon TERF Karen whatever – which is a lot of insults to throw at someone if your ultimate aim is to gain their support. It doesn’t make sense.

      • I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone defining themselves as “woke”, just the likes of Piers Morgan, Laurence Fox etc using it to diss minority-inclusive politics. Mind you, I don’t interact with other human beings much. Except you lot and Enrico the pool boy. What’s the difference between anti-racism and the “full woke discourse on race”? What’s “the woke position on gender”? Genuine questions.

        • The ‘full woke discourse on race’ would mean an adherence to Critical Race Theory, and the ‘woke position on gender’ would, I strongly suspect, mean an adherence to the idea that gender is entirely a social construct, with no biological basis.

          • @barry-blue Yup.

            Like @chiz says above, it’s the absolutism that brings the derogatory comments. Saw an interesting survey recently which showed that people who identify strongly with progressive social causes are much, MUCH less likely to admit a conservative as a friend than vice versa. That has the ring of truth about it, to me.

            “Woke”, btw, did indeed start as an approving self-description by American (who else?) progressive activists, particularly on the subject of race.

            Needless to say, it got swiftly absorbed by the rest of the world (as well as the weird attempts to bang the square peg of British race relations into the round hole of American ones) because Everywhere Is America Now.

            I find it sort of grimly hilarious how swiftly my milquetoast political opinions have been rebranded as scumbag capitalist TERF fascist white fragility in the last few years. I always just thought I was a boring little moderate centre-lefty.

            (Relatedly I tend to think that any political party which is a bit socially small-c conservative but populist-left in economic terms could CLEAN UP at the ballot box.)

            • The trouble is, the ‘grimly hilarious’ aspect seems in some quarters to be becoming destructive. I work, in various guises, with university teachers, and those in the social sciences and humanities are doing less and less teaching, and spending more and more time apologising to students for the ‘fascist syllabus’. Simply put, they’re scared. It’s like a terrible confluence of capitalism and prog politics: what the customer says goes, and if you don’t go along with it, they’ll withdraw their money and publicly shame you.
              Jonathan Haidt made a good, if obvious point, on Radio 4 the other day. 2009 is when it all went wrong, he says, with the introduction of the Retweet and Like options. Because of them, we’re all of us more prone to being in an activated nervous system state, poised to react, hyper-vigilant etc. It’s no accident that the biggest shift in my field, psychotherapy, has been towards working with the nervous system, helping practise the shift from the misleadingly named sympathetic state (fight-flight) to the parasympathetic state of spaciousness, safety, and consequent potential for calm, reasoned interactions.

              • “it all went wrong … with the introduction of the Retweet and Like options.”
                I feel so outside of the whole Twitter thing. I don’t think anyone I know uses it much, and yet it’s clearly an important, intense aspect of so many people’s lives now. It would be easy for me to assume that not getting involved with Twitter interaction is the healthier option, but I increasingly feel that that’s the “Dark Ages/head-in-the sand” option. Not so strongly that I’m tempted to get involved with it, but enough to make me feel very much outside the loop.

              • This is as good a place as any for me to recommend Bo Burnham’s new Netflix special, “Inside”. It’s really quite good, and has a few things to say about what those Retweet and Like options have done to us, and some other stuff besides. Some of the tunes aren’t bad either.

                • In fact, here’s a taster:

                  I love the way the bridge momentarily undercuts all the snark by evoking a moment of genuine humanity amidst the tidal wave of narcissism. It made me feel… stuff.

  5. This site is buzzing with memorable turns of phrase that are just crying to become bands.

    The Woke Inevitables. And then were was Kid Dynamite’s memorable The Filthy Casuals which has a far jauntier ring t it than Civilians.

    This Guardian lists looks mildly promising..

    Yasmin Williams from Virginia, for example.

    And by complete contrast, Karol G from Colombia.

    And I am definitely curious about The Weather Station’s latest.

    • No, it’s great. Really. But little evidence in that list of that.
      Responding also to @kaisfatdad, it was seeing that wretched Weather Station in the list that tipped my wrath. And maybe, @diddley-farquar , given I suppose she counts as someone, nominally folkie, trying out her new direction (or, actually, taking it a wee bit further.) You may have construed my comment as faint praise for her, if derisive of her apparent file under easy classification. It sounds good in the odd snippet, but, o my my, so bland, so dull in the whole helping. And yes, dear girl, we do know who you have on rotation in your bed sitting room……….

  7. The St. Vincent is pretty good. More likeable than previous efforts I think. Quite funky. I reckon the Lana Del Rey is yet more class from the potty mouthed chanteuse. Also King Gizzard’s LW is another choice for me, a driving, rollicking groove. Then there’s Roisin Murphy’s remix album Crooked Machine, one of Laurie Anderson’s favourites apparently. I concur. Steven Wilson’s Future Bites also enjoyable. I’m a mainstream kind of guy.

    Now I’m listening to Crazy Horse. It’s June.

  8. I agree with you there, Retro. She listens to far too much Motörhead for her own good!

    Soem of the reviews piqued my curiosity. Who would not want to listen to this lot?

    Black Country New Road “married klezmer, garage rock and Tortoise-y jazz in a highly original melange. But it’s the lyricism, and its delivery by Isaac Wood, that really sets them apart: neurotic, proud, hurt, fitfully romantic, and with a great sense of comedy: “Still living with my mother / As I move from one micro-influencer to another.”

    Crikey! They sound like Jaga Jazzist meet the Bonzos in Iceland with a smidgeon of Half Man Half Biscuit.

      • That is very kind of you, Retro. But probably there is a far better home for it nearer Birmingham. It is very rare that I listen that I listen to CDs these days.

        But, if there really is no one else who would enjoy your gift horse, I certainly won’t look it in the mouth.

      • As locals, I should probably support them. But one of them is offspring of a bloke from Underworld, and I don’t really rate them, either – I always preferred Freur.

        In general I’m no fan of Math Rock, it’s just people who can count above 8 showing how clever-clever they are.

        Still, good on ’em.

  9. The Guardian people don’t care much about rock’n’roll, eh?

    Is Bo Diddley “woke”? He had a lady lead guitarist – but maybe that doesn’t count as she was wearing a dress…

  10. I don’t believe for one moment that the Guardian would eulogise music made by, say, a person of Polish origin, not matter how good it was or how tough their neighbourhood might have been, if they had been convicted of violent offences and/or being very high risk of harm to others. In fairness, this tendency predates the use of the term woke, evidenced by the tolerance of all manner of sexist and homophobic lyrics in the past.

  11. There’s a definitely a rock n’ roll spirit to Mdou Moctar’s splendid Afrique Victime

    A new name that I’ll be listening to a lot more. As is Arlo Parks.

    Here she is doing an NPR (Not quite so) Tiny Desk session.

    Woke? Wake?

    Here’s a man who was woke well before his time.

    I’ll get my coat before I get your goat ……

  12. Weezer have put out two, count ‘em, two great albums this year.

    OK Human is an orchestral pop album influenced by Nilsson Sings Newman, no electric guitars,

    And Van Weezer is a nod to 80s Hair metal but has a Fountains of Wayne feel at times.

    …and I say this as someone who gave up on Weezer years ago. Oh, and they’re both about 30 minutes long. Perfect.

  13. Top 10 albums so far this year, in no particular order:

    1. The Off Season – J.Cole
    2. Ultrapop – The Armed
    3. Slime Language 2 – Young Thug, Gunna
    4. Gotham – Talib Kweli
    5. Made in the Pyrex – Digga D
    6. Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
    7. Blue Weekend – Wolf Alice
    8. Lyke Mike – Myke Towers
    9. G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END – GY!BE
    10. Isles – Bicep

  14. I feel a bit for the Guardian here. They are generally quite inclusive and of course, left leaning. However their music coverage has been quite conservative until quite recently. To me, they are trying to address this by casting their net a bit wider. It might not be completely convincing yet, but you have to start somewhere I guess. If the general move in this direction means that more people get to hear stuff like Mdou Moctar, then I’m all for it.

    • I am sure Mdou would appeal to quite a few people here. No shortage of enthusiasm for desert blues on the AW!

      I suspect the Touaregs don’t have much use for a word for desk. But nevertheless here is Mdou doing a Tiny Desk session in a tent.

      Hats off to NPR for continuing to deliver their wonderfully eclectic concert series during the pandemic.

      Over to KEXP in Seattle for a plugged set….

      Sizzlingly wionderful stuff. He has six albums plus under his belt and most of them are on Spotify.

  17. For Those I Love has been locked into the number one spot on the Album Of The Year site for a couple of months now.
    Back when I was being enchanted by the very alien worlds of reggae and then hip hop and trying to understand them better I tried to find out about figures like Marcus Garvey and Huey Newton. I find it hilarious to imagine that there are kids around the world now googling the names of players from Shelbourne F.C. (Dublin’s fourth most glamorous team) and planning pilgrimages to the extremely unremarkable Flowing Tide boozer to experience the magic..

  19. Back to Africa. I just discovered that kora maestro, Toumani Diabate, has recently released an album with the London Symphony Orchestra. And he is very proud of it.

    It makes a lot of sense. When he toured with his son, he joked about how the modern music Sidiki is doing was filling football stadiums whereas his own repertoire was Malian “classical” music for the oldies.

    • Yes. A purchase is on my to do list once I get home from my jollies. It might be 20 years since I saw him perform with an orchestra in Liverpool, so it’s good to see an album emerging. The track on the latest Songlines sampler is gorgeous.

      • Confucius he say Milkmen don’t whistle no Burial.
        That pop music is as much about textures, layers and “fusion” as it is about tunes is largely the fault of AW darlings The Quarrymen..

            • I suppose I speak as one who- given the choice of Tomorrow Never Knows or Martha My Dear as a Desert Island Disc would always go for the hummity-hummy one about the sheepdog.

          • Oh, indeed – Tiggs – for the most part anyway), but surely you can see how ideas develop a life of their own? You may or may not think The White Album is an overlong compendium of smug will-this-do wank or the medley on side two of Abbey Road is a hasty and desperate patching together of some delightful but only half-finished melodies, but what their enormous presence does is give licence to every succeeding plank plucker and key tinker to imagine his (or her) importance in the annals of rock demands to be reflected by a sprawling indulgent double or triple or maybe a rock opera or “this needs some bears from darkest Peru” or “let’s drop the drums down the stairs and run the tape backwards”.
            It’s given us a mountain of unlistenable cack down the years, but it’s still, on balance, a good thing unless you want to live in Deram’s alternoverse where every new Radiohead still sound like The Tremeloes..

            • I think acts could come up with their own wank and arseing about perfectly well without The Beatles example, in fact I believe they did. Many came round to such things without the influence. Drugs, counter culture ideas. They didn’t need that band necessarily. Anyway I’m all for trying stuff and being ambitious. Such inclinations have led to so many fantastic results.

              • Indeed again. But I think my “largely” is fair. Mega-artists like The FAABH and Michael Jackson have a cultural footprint akin to the way the mothership in the Independence Day sequel looms over the globe. There are widely admired artists several records into their careers who have never heard of The Mighty Lemon Drops..

  21. Ultimately pop music (and its all pop music really) is about hummability. To paraphrase Larkin, what will survive of us is tune. True of Beethoven True of Fabs.

  22. Is this an albums of the year so far thread by stealth? In which case:

    1) Cassandra Jenkins – An Overview On Phenomenal Nature (indie ambient folk jazz singer songwriter, already eulogised enough here by me)

    2) Thermohaline – Maelstrom – INSANE aquatic themed black metal / industrial / glitchcore from Brazil and Portugal.

    3) Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince. Beautiful ghazal inspired vocals from this Pakistan-born, Brooklyn based artist, set to a soundtrack of harp, violin, guitar, synths and just a bit of percussion. Imagine Mazzy Star covering Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. And then forget it, because it’s a silly idea, but it might give you some idea of the kind of atmosphere here. I’ll post a video because I know full well that not one of you is going to listen to Thermohaline, but I think this could go down well here:

    4) Genesis Owusu – Smiling With No Teeth. Hops all over the genres but is always funky. Self-described as “if Prince were a rapper in 2021 Australia”, and who am I to argue?

    5) Rupture // Rapture – Beyond. Lovely melodic techno, very much school of Orbital.

    6) Fightmilk – Contender. Effervescent and funny punky pop from That London.

    7) The Hold Steady – Open Door Policy

    saving a spot for Lil Simz, due in September, which is shaping up to be terrific from what I’ve heard so far

  23. Album Of The Year – isn’t it a bit soon?
    Oh, it’s June. So I suppose a half yearly round-up is OK.
    Of those listed in The Guardian list, I have NONE of them
    (although there are a couple I will be investigating).
    So, if anyone cares:

    The Coral – Coral Island
    Matt Berry – Blue Elephant
    Paul Weller – Fat Pop
    The Minnows – Californian Poppy
    Alice Cooper – Detroit Stories
    Otherish – Otherish

  24. The best so far on the South Coast are

    Cobalt Chapel – Orange Synthetic
    Meer – Playing House
    Prosthuman – Camera
    The Besnard Lakes – Are The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings
    Ed Dowie – The Obvious I
    Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – Interim Report, March 1979
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d’s Pee At State’s End
    Jane Weaver – Flock
    Hannah Peel – Fir Wave
    Black Midi – Cavalcade

    Best new/old by a mile is Can – Live in Stuttgard 1975

  27. Hmm … I seem to be arriving at this thread rather late. No matter.
    It’s interesting to read about other Afterworders’ favourite albums of the year so far.

    I currently have 26 records on my duco01 Favourite New Albums of 2021 list, and a mere 5 records on my duco01 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings list.
    I won’t be revealing these full lists here, because that would take half of the fun and excitement out of the full end-of-year rundown and reviews that I do in December, which several of you have been kind enough to say you like.

    But I will post mention one record from each list, as a sort of an amuse-bouche.

    First up, something from the new albums list.
    it’s “Shelter in Space” by the brilliant american guitarist Gyan Riley (son of top minimalist composer chappie Terry Riley).

    https://gyanriley.bandcamp.com/album/shelter-in-space

    This album is only a couple of weeks old, but incredibly, Riley has ANOTHER album, “Silver Lining” coming out in a week or two on John Zorn’s Tzadik label.

    And here’s something from the Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings list, too.
    It’s from the unimpeachably fine 3CD collection of Culture singles, 12-inchers and dubs, “Children of Zion – the High Note Singles Collection”.

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