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Unlock the wine cellar! Heat up the sauna! Go down to the lake and break a hole in the ice. It’s time for The Lodestone Legacy After-Party

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Lodestone’s List of 2021 has really got tongues wagging. Afterword giants suffering from a fall from grace. Eccentric waifs and strays suddenly thrust into the limelight. Young British artists making serious waves over at NPR’s Tiny Desk. Old favourites from way back when making a very welcome re-appearance.

It certainly got 2022 off to a flying start for me. In fact, I fear I got a little tired and emotional at the Release Party. Björn and Benny were looking daggers at me as I tried to take a selfie with Frida and Agneta. “Fy Faaaan! Jäääävla knääääppgök!!”

With perfect timing, Lodestone kindly came to my rescue, handing me the keys to his wine cellar and VIP Lounge so that I could decamp with my gaggle of lounge lizards and hot Goths, wiggers and Tiggers, dreads and deadheads, trekkies and teckies to continue our round up of 2021.
There’s awful lot more to listen to.

Let’s kick off with Chlöe Herington’s Silent Reflux album. Fitterstoke just posted this clip and commented that the album has Henry Cow vibe that he enjoys. Me too.

Bring us your waifs and strays, your giants and your janglers, your crooners and your boomers.
Hopefully we’ll be here until the (Henry) cows come home.

Bottoms up!

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Comments

  2. Going slightly off-piste for moment. In the light of Voyage’s’ popularity, this may appeal

    Mrs KFD and I were watching a programme about Swedish synth band Ratata. Early in their career, they went to a celebrity party where they got chatting to a singer from another, lightly more well-known band. She was keen to try something new and, to their astonishment, turned up at the studio to sing a duet with their vocalist Mauro Scocco. @Locust will have heard this song, I suspect.

  5. Well I’m going to sit in the corner and play the Ryley Walker album that I gave 20 points to and no one else mentioned…….

    No fall from grace as far as I’m concerned. I’ll have a bottle of the finest Bordeaux if any ones going to the bar.

      • Those 20 points were well spent, @fitterstoke. Big Hogg are now seriously on the map for me at least. Here is a pretty tune.

        Until this week, I’d have thought it ridiculous to call a Glaswegian combo a Canterbury band. Now it seems perfectly reasonable. There are probably Canterbury bands from Lima, Tokyo and Naples, these days.

    • Not completely true, as Ryley Walker was in my list. However, as I submitted my customary 50, and I put it at number 38, it meant bugger all in the scheme of things. As it is, I think it’s his best album since Primrose Green.

      • Ah …. it has been pointed out to me that in fact 2 people voted for Ryley but unfortunately a clumsy-fingered oaf entered the second vote as Kyley.
        This grave error has now been remedied and Ryley Walker now proudly holds down the 83= spot in our Hot Hundred.
        I’ve locked Little Gary in the dungeon and will give him what he deserves later today.

  6. Waifs, strays and orphans.
    This track has no parental albumular home, but is (I think) a definite contender for song of the year
    (and there’s a touch of Abba-ism in the vid too)

    Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – Like I Used To

  7. This is hands down my favourite thing of 2021. A brilliant performance by Sigrid on Jools Holland. Forgive me if I’ve posted it before. I’ve watched it so many times.

    • You can post Sigrid as many times as you like, Paul. I am a die-hard fan.

      I saw her at the Roskilde Festival that summer when Don’t Kill My Vibe was released.
      Sheer pop magic. I don’t she could really digest the fact that she was singing for a large, very enthusiastic crowd at Scandinavia’s largest music festival.

      Norwegian duo, Kings of Convenience, also went down a storm at Roskilde. Two guys with guitars and voices who create magic when they perform.

      Add a Canadian lass and her guitar and it gets even better!

      The Duchess of Convenience again..

        • You are a man of great taste @Paul Wad! But have you ever seen the Kings of Convenience live? Well worth making the effort if you ever get the chance! They have a lovely sense of humour and a great ability to build a rapport with the audience.

          Erlend Øye has also done a few solo albums and had a band The Whitest Boy Alive.

          Very catchy stuff!

  9. One band that really made an impression on me on the Lodeylist is Wolf Alice. The video for How can I make it OK is in a class of its own.

    And this is also rather wonderful.

    Here they are live at KEXP in Seattle a couple of years ago.

    And now, something fun from KEXP. Their staff, volunteers and inters all got to choose their favourite ten albums of the year, The variety is enormous.

    https://www.kexp.org/read/2021/12/22/kexp-staff-volunteers-and-interns-top-10-albums-2021/

    It made me realise that the magnificent Emma-Jean Thackray did not make it onto the Lodeylist.

    I saw here at the Stockholm Jazz Festival. A wonderfully uplifting experience. Joy, energy, invention: she has created her own distinctive musical world, collecting ingredients from many different genres.

    • Thanks, KFD. Of the 35, there are about 4 I recognize, which means there’ll be some interesting listening later. Briela Ojeda, I don’t think I knew before, but she’s got a very sweet voice. I also like the YouTube 360° thing, which I’d never experienced before. Perfect for live music recordings.

      What with these 35 and the whole AW2021 list, there’s enough to keep me occupied for weeks and weeks.

  11. Another video from Deutsche Grammophon! This time from Canadian opera singer, Emily D’Angelo.

    Her album, enargeia, is one of NPR’s Top 50 of the year.

    It sounds promising.

    “D’Angelo has chosen music from the 12th and 21st centuries written by four composers – Hildegard von Bingen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Missy Mazzoli and Sarah Kirkland Snider – several of whose works are presented in brand-new chamber/electronic arrangements. ”

    Here’s a song by Hildur Guðnadóttir from Iceland who I last saw playing the cello as support act to Fever Ray.

  12. Booklyn-based, Pakistani musician, Arooj Aftab, has definitely been mentioned on the AW. Her new album, Vulture Prince, was in the Top Ten for both Songlines and NPR.

    This live set has certainly whet my appetite .DuCool will recognise the guitarist: Terry Riley’s son., Gyan.

    • Yeah, I’ve liked Arooj Aftab since I first heard her self-released debut “Bird Under Water” back in 2014. Fantastic voice.
      I’d like to buy her new one, “Vulture Prince” as a physical product, but I can’t. Why? Well, because it’s never been released on CD, and the limited-run vinyl LP sold out instantly.
      The one copy available on Discogs is priced at $500. Erm …. no thanks.

      • I don’t get it. Arooj makes a fantastic new album which is very well received. And then she makes sure that no one can buy the physical product.

        What’s the thinking behind that? Does she think that everyone will pay for downloads instead.

        Bit of an own goal methinks.

    • Tangana definitely not voted for. Arooj almost definitely not. although she’d have fitted well on DuCool’s list.

      I haven’t finished listening through the AW Lower Vote Hopefuls though.

      Talking of which, I’ve not heard one single track from Mr Bragg’s latest.

      Sounds very promising..

      • I only did a top 19 cos I had a dead heat for the 20 spot between about a dozen records, one of which was C. Tangana’s El Madrileño (amid the obvs of Olivia, Alison Russell, The Bug and Bicep and albums I might have done well to give a push, like Ocean Wisdom, Drug Store Romeos, McKinley Dixon or Lydia Ainsworth; see – really hard to choose!)

          • The Bug? Now we’re talking! @Sewer Robot

            That’ll get the Bloated Blondies of Babylon quivering in their boots.

            When he was about five, our son was crazy about The Bug’s Angry. I suspect that he will. all these years later, enjoy this too.

      • Sorry to confuse @Leffe Gin.

        As Lodestone’s results thread was getting very long and difficult to load, I created this as an Annex, where we could continue our discussion of the releases of 2021.

        As well as discussing albums that were voted for, I have then also taken the liberty of mentioning other 2021 albums which have featured in lists about the best of the year which seem to be worth a listen.

        • Thanks, that explains it. I kept wondering why I don’t remember some of these being mentioned, it’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed in a thread with so many videos.

          • I can quite understand that @Leffe Gin. Lodey’s list is long, very varied and contains a lot of new names. It can be overwhelming.

            Rather than be bludgeoned by it all, I like to break it down into smaller, bite-sized chunks. and then perhaps talk about some of the artists that got chosen.

            I’m shaking off the cobwebs and discovering new favourites every day. And there’s no time limit.

            Today I stumbled across these wacky Aussies on NPR’s Best of 2021.

  15. Here’s something I would have voted for if
    a) I had voted at all (I didn’t).
    b) I had been aware of it when the poll was still open (I wasn’t)

    I commend it highly anyway. Proper soul singing.

    • Thanks Mike. That is a gem. Timeless. She makes it seem so effortless but there’s a great art to getting a cover like that right.

      If you can think of any other albums you might have voted for, I would be delighted.
      A little more jazz on my 2021 playlist would not go amiss

  16. Here’s two from my list:
    Lee Renaldo (ex Sonic Youth) – In Virus Times

    Various Artists (current South African jazz) – Indaba is

    …and something that should have been:
    Jason Boland – The Light Saw Me (a country album about an Alien-Abducted Cowboy)

  19. I’ve been nosing around Lodestone’s original thread for the first time and it makes for very illuminating reading.

    @thecheshirecat took John Duper and James Patterson’s Unearthing as his first choice,

    Talk about keeping a low profile. Nothing on Spotify. And not a sausage on YTube either. Eventually I did manage to cop a listen.

    https://pattersondipper.bandcamp.com/album/unearthing

    Cheshire also went for this dynamic vocal combo who sing in the ancient language of Occitan.

    At the beginning of the 2th century, Occitan was the working language for many in the south of France. Now there are only 100, 000 speakers.

    That was a cracking list, Cheshire!

    1. John Dipper and James Patterson – Unearthing
    2. Aidan o Rourke – Iorram OST
    3. Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan – Still as You’re Sleeping
    4. Hartwin Dhoore Trio – Valge Valgus
    5. The Coral – Coral Island
    6. Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – They’re Calling me Home

    Hartwin Dhoore was a new name for me. Reminded a little of Kepa Junkera from the Basque country

    As was Aidan O’Rourke

    • Well persisted in, dare I say, ‘unearthing’ the Patterson Dipper. I too had been looking for it on YT, to give you a nudge. My enjoyment of it is ever-increasing. I have spent part of this morning, transcribing lyrics for those songs I am going to lift from their repertoire, I mean, be inspired to sing.

      Aidan o’Rourke came to me by way of Lau, but I’ve seen plenty of him outside the band to know that I love his phrasing and sensitivity in other settings. Brighde Chambeuil won the R2 Young Folk Award in 2016. I saw her that year at Sidmouth and, to be fair, her stage presence betrayed her youth, but she is back there again this year, so I look forward to seeing how she has developed. When I see the names of those who seek her collaboration, I suspect that patience will pay off.

      • Apparently, after the Second World War there was a move to make the learning of Occitan compulsory down here. Never got anywhere because there are about 327 different dialects. Some villagers twenty miles apart can barely understand each other.
        Most of our neighbours speak a mash-up of Occitan and Catalan. 92.3% of the time I nod wisely . I find saying “ah oui” and throwing in a “non” every so often works well. (Perhaps that’s the reason I am marrying the mayor’s daughter next week).

      • Brigdhe has cropped up here on the AW during one of the previous fiddle discussions.

        As has John Dipper, who you mentioned, after Duncan Chisholm had inspired me.

        https://brightyoungfolk.com/artists/john-dipper

        Incidentally, one of the great delights of Duncan’s Twitter account are his musical postcards from Scotland. It’s just him playing a tune to the background of some splendid scenery.

  20. I read yesterday that Mogwai’s As the Love Continues had won the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) award

    https://www.nme.com/news/music/mogwai-wins-2021-scottish-album-of-the-year-for-10th-album-as-the-love-continues-3077734

    Here on the AW it got 20 points from @simon22367, topping a list that was full intriguing stuff.

    Kilbey Kennedy were in second place on Simon’s list.

    That’s Steve Kilbey from The Church with Martin Kennedy from All India Radio..

    Here are the other 18. Explore! Enjoy!

    3. Steven Wilson – The Future Bites
    4. All India Radio – Afterworld
    5. Matt Berry – The Blue Elephant
    6. Tori Amos – Ocean to Ocean
    7. The Coral – Coral Island
    8. Jane Weaver – Flock
    9. Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders – Promises
    10. Paul Weller – Fat Pop
    11. The Anchoress – The Art of Losing
    12. Close to Forever – Hearts and Desires
    13. Transatlantic – The Absolute Universe
    14. Mono – Pilgrimage of the Soul
    15. Cleaners from Venus – Penny Novelettes
    16. James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra – The Wide, Wide River
    17. Charles Lloyd & The Marvels – Tone Poem
    18. Squid – Bright Green Field
    19. Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8
    20. Shannon Lay – Geist

    • Thanks for the shout-out. There are so many interesting albums to check out on everyone’s lists, it’ll be 2023 before I get time to listen to anything released in 2022.

      This year I was going to attempt to limit listening to new stuff and spend some time delving deeper into stuff I’ve already got, but the lure of ‘the new’ is always there.

      • Sounds like a good balance, @simon22367..

        The myriad suggestions from Lodey’s Poll are a resource we can all dip into throughout the year ahead. I am slowly but surely adding one track from every album nominated to a Spotify playlist.

        Still very much a work in progress, but it is an enjoyable labour of love.

          • Wow! Double Wow! Fantastic!@Sewer Robot.

            I take my wooly hat off to you! I’m going to enjoy browsing through that later.

            As you may have chosen different tracks from me, it could actually be a completely different playlist! If not, I can easily tweak it to make it so.

            I find the actual process of finding the artists on Spotify and reading a little about them, as much fun as the final playlist.

              • Then we almost definitely do not overlap.@Sewer Robot. I usually go for the title track or one that has an interesting name or a lot of plays. That makes me even keener to listen to your list.

                Time for a visit to Boston and some uplifiting pop from Couch. This track reminds me of Daði og Gagnamagnið from Iceland but without the natty knitwear.

                Couch were on @Matthew Best’s list which was bursting with new names. I also appreciated that you treated us to a few videos clips, Matthew.

                Benny Sings from Amsterdam, for example, who writes a very catchy pop song.

                Swedish tunesmith Tingsek.

                Judith Hill from Hollywood

                Here’s the whole list to forage around in.

                1. Tingsek – Home
                2. Benny Sings – Music
                3. Silvertwin – Silvertwin
                4. Couch – Couch
                5. Tom Shotton – Forever Home
                6. Lawrence – Hotel TV
                7. boylife – gelato
                8. Cory Wong – Cory & The Wongnotes
                9. Dave Koz/Cory Wong – Golden Hour
                10. Scary Goldings – Feel
                11. ABBA – Voyage
                12. Cody Fry – Pictures of Mountains
                13. Prince – Welcome 2 America
                14. David Crosby – For Free
                15. Haim – Women in Music
                16. Judith Hill – Baby I’m Hollywood
                17. Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian – Blue Umbrella
                18. Lady Blackbird – Black Acid Soul

                • One more of Matthew’s discoveries who just have to be mentioned are Lawrence. Nothing to do with Go Kart Mozart! This is a soulful sibling duo from New York.

                  The title track from their latest LP:

                  Even better live.

                  I did not take more than a minute for me to fall for them. I’ll be in the moshpit when they come to Stockholm!

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