Tony's Top 2021 Hits and Albums (COMPLETE!!)

[blondini]

Slightly condensed charts this year with 40 Hits and 30 Albums. Starting with the Hits. [Hopefully this will work on Haven without me having to edit it or abandon it]

HITS

40 Nina - I'll Wait YOUTUBE


39 Eevah - Take Me To Bed YOUTUBE


38 Allie X - Glam! YOUTUBE


37 Swedish House Mafia - It Gets Better YOUTUBE


36 Kitten - The End Of Sunshine YOUTUBE


35 Bicep - Sundial YOUTUBE


34 Joana Serrat - Pictures YOUTUBE


33 Kyla La Grange - Neverland YOUTUBE


32 Ellur - Burn It All Down YOUTUBE


31 Bicep ft Clara La San - X YOUTUBE

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ALBUMS

30 Gruff Rhys - Seeking New Gods SPOTIFY

29 Eliza Shaddad - The Woman You Want SPOTIFY

28 Blancmange - Commercial Break SPOTIFY

27 Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Georgia Blue SPOTIFY

26 Pentatonix - The Lucky Ones SPOTIFY


HITS

30 The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story YOUTUBE


29 Janet Devlin - Love Song YOUTUBE


28 Spray - The Big Idea YOUTUBE

Best song in years from the duo behind Cuban Boys / Daz Sampson. From one Jenny to another...!

27 Studio Killers (ft Kim Petras) - Jenny (I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship) YOUTUBE

Why wasn't this a big hit? An old single became a TikTok hit and then had Petras' vocal added. But it still did nothing! :noidea:

26 Jamie-Lee - Seoul YOUTUBE

Brilliant moody pop from vastly under-rated German Eurovision contestant. I didn't even know what she was singing about at first but it didn't matter.

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ALBUMS

25 Dean Garcia - Doom n Boom BANDCAMP

24 Natalie Imbruglia - Firebird SPOTIFY

23 Bicep - Isles SPOTIFY

22 Mogwai - As The Love Continues SPOTIFY

21 New Canyons - Heavy Water BANDCAMP
Shoegaze / electro.

HITS

25 Laurel - You're The One YOUTUBE

Great pop with a sexy video.

24 Marina ft Beach Bunny - I Love You But I Love Me More YOUTUBE

Would be twice as high if it was the album version. This was released with Beach Bunny vocal and new lyric but without a video so this all negates it.

23 Jessie Ware - Hot N Heavy YOUTUBE

Her song with Kylie, Kiss Of Life narrowly missed the 40 and would have been included had i done the usual top 50. :peep:

22 Zheani - Skin Walker YOUTUBE

Incredible in-your-face Australian artist who is so much better than Poppy or Grimes.

21 Meg Myers - The Underground YOUTUBE

Great Covid-era animated vid that looks like a storyboard brought to life. It looks like she would have done it for real if conditions allowed. You should all listen to this as she sounds very commercial. It also sounds like a Marina song!

[blondini]

ALBUMS

20 New Candys - Vyvyd BANDCAMP
New Canyons at 21, New Candys at 20! Italian rock - bit like The Jesus and Mary Chain.

19 Blanck Mass - In Fernaux SPOTIFY

18 Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer - The Matrix Resurrections (OST) SPOTIFY

17 The Joy Formidable - Into The Blue SPOTIFY
Their best in a while.

16 Alessandro Cortini - Scurio Chiaro SPOTIFY

HITS

20 Halsey - Honey YOUTUBE

Not yet a single but i'm sure it will be. Sticky performance video gave me excuse to chart it. Dave Grohl on drums (Reznor and Ross everything else).

19 White Lies - As I Try Not To Fall Apart YOUTUBE

Their best single in years was a synth-heavy delight with a simple but effective video.

18 Nina Nesbitt - Summer Fling YOUTUBE

Her greatest single yet - completely ignored by the media.

17 Ellur - Moments YOUTUBE

Ella McNamara (daughter of Embrace's Richard who is at Hits #39) came back with a new set of melancholic indie/dream pop nuggets, this was the first. She's not done on this list yet...

16 Victoria - Growing Up Is Getting Old YOUTUBE

This floored me - the raw emotion on display - heightened by her live performance at the semi/final. The second greatest Eurovision entry of all time (the 1st being City Lights), she equals the #16 YE peak of Eliot's Wake Up from 2019.

[blondini]

ALBUMS

15 Gary Numan - Intruder SPOTIFY
His best album since his 90s industrial rebirth began.

14 Rufus Du Sol - Surrender SPOTIFY

13 Spray - Ambiguous Poems About Death BANDCAMP

12 Kitten - Personal Hotspots SPOTIFY
No CD yet, that would have took it into the top ten. As most of the Hit singles on it are old now it has little in it to make me listen digitally.

11 Ulrich Schnauss and Jonas Munk - Eight Fragments Of An Illusion SPOTIFY

HITS

15 Hatchie - This Enchanted YOUTUBE

Another dream pop delight from the Down Under wonder.

14 Marina - Venus Fly Trap YOUTUBE


13 Marina - Highly Emotional People YOUTUBE

A remix was released with the original backing it - it's only the original i'm charting. One of the best lyrics on the album.

12 Chvrches - Killer YOUTUBE


11 Halsey - I Am Not A Woman, I'm A God YOUTUBE

Nine Inch Nails fronted by THAT voice. Became her biggest hit on my chart in an instant. I'm posting the "bloody" performance vid as it is better than the vid from her film.

[blondini]

ALBUMS

10 Danz CM - The Absurdity Of Human Existence SPOTIFY[/SIZE]
Great synth-pop from the artist formerly known as Computer Magic.

9 Hans Zimmer - The Dune Sketchbook (Music from The Soundtrack) SPOTIFY
Extended variations of...

8 Hans Zimmer - Dune (OST) SPOTIFY
Track: Ripples In The Sand YOUTUBE


7 Valerie June - The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers SPOTIFY
Critically acclaimed album that mixes Americana and soul. Why it wasn't huge, i don't know. She's much better than Yola who got more exposure..
Track: Why The Bright Stars Glow YOUTUBE


HITS

10 Halsey - You Asked For This YOUTUBE

An alternative radio single in the US, inspired by shoegaze and with Dave Sitek assisting on guitar. The end section is reminiscent of NIN's Bowie throwback moods on The Downward Spiral.

9 Chvrches - Good Girls YOUTUBE

It's a NIN love-in from positions 12 to 9! It's obvious that the group have taken the beat from Closer for both this and Killer.

8 Jessie Ware - Please YOUTUBE


7 Joana Serrat - You're With Me Everywhere I Go YOUTUBE

The echo of Berlin's Take My Breath Away pulses through this dream-pop / Americana delight.

[blondini]

ALBUMS

6 Toni Halliday - Roll The Dice (MA) SPOTIFY[/SIZE]
Released on label site Dec 2020 but i didn't hear it till 2021 when it had a general release. Working again with Louise Dowd on a set of electronic rock. Joins her former Curve bandmate Dean Garcia (#25) on the chart.
Track: Achilles Heel YOUTUBE



5 Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs SPOTIFY
Their best album yet. New sounds, new styles.
Track: I Don't Rate You YOUTUBE



4 Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power SPOTIFY
A full album in collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Which made it her biggest album by far and also bigger than any recent NIN or Reznor / Ross release on my charts.
Track: Easier Than Lying YOUTUBE


HITS

6 Marina - Purge The Poison YOUTUBE

A return to The Family Jewels alt-rock sound which also - in this case - happens to sound like Sparks (another act she's never actually listened to!).

5 Jessie Ware - Remember Where You Are YOUTUBE

Everyone on these forums knows this lush retro soul/gospel ballad. Just a shame the cult hasn't crossed over to "the kids" even with this classy Gemma Arterton video and all the promotion JW did.

4 Joana Serrat - Demons YOUTUBE

A promotional single with no video but this just grabbed me with the lovely guitar and feel.

[blondini]

ALBUMS

3 Chvrches - Screen Violence SPOTIFY[/SIZE]
Their best album - not perfect (i don't rate the Robert Smith track) but a great concept album inspired by horror films. Violent Delights brings in a new rock/shoegaze sound for them and is the best thing they've done. An extended Director's Cut was released digitally later (no CD sadly but i own the original CD). This album was released same day as Halsey which meant Halsey had to settle for #2 peak! What a choice it was and what a week!
Track: Violent Delights YOUTUBE


2 Joana Serrat - Hardcore From The Heart SPOTIFY
This woman was my discovery of the year! The track posted below was featured on Uncut magazine's free monthly covermount CD and i was hooked. An intoxicating mix of Americana and dreampop, fans of Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves should love it. This album was released same day as my top album of the year and had to wait several weeks to topple it when i eventually got the CD. What are the chances of 2 great albums being released on the same day in 2 different time periods of the year??? And this year's top 4 are all so far ahead of everything below them.
Track: Take Me Back Where I Belong YOUTUBE


1 Marina - Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land SPOTIFY
I had to get over the short length (by her standards though a digital deluxe is coming in a few days), and Ms Serrat put up a strong challenge but ultimately this wins on the amount of listens. An eclectic mix of styles (though one too many ballads) and some great lyrics as ever. I bought the CD plus 2 of the coloured cassettes (with extended artwork).
Track: New America YOUTUBE


HITS

3 The Birthday Massacre - Dreams Of You YOUTUBE

Please don't skip this!! Released at the end of the year as the first single from upcoming album Fascination, this is one of their more pop-sounding tunes. Utterly irresistible. And more lyrics for this Big Time Dreamer to savour.

2 Ellur - Migraine YOUTUBE

And for the second year running, Ella McNamara scores the runner-up Hit of the year! With an exquisite video that has her dressed up like a cut-price Madonna this is the best example of her melancholic indie dream-pop. She is so under-rated and deserves more than just the BBC Introducing Leeds and Amazing Radio support she gets. You should all be Embrace-ing her!

1 Marina - Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land YOUTUBE

The Hit of the year is a stomper that sounds like Goldfrapp. You all know it so you can go back and listen to Ellur and Joana, OK?