In 2021, indie pop had the job of scoring the world’s reopening, marrying joy and uncertainty. From Wolf Alice to Illuminati Hotties, these albums got the gold.
Dummy’s full-length debut Mandatory Enjoyment percolates with a mesmerizing, inescapable warmth—the best of its Krautpop niche this year.
Belle and Sebastian’s 1996 showpiece If You’re Feeling Sinister balanced poignance and exuberance with its character-driven stories and became an indie-pop classic.
Dutch four-piece Pip Blom can still light up a room with jangly guitars and amiable vocal hooks, even if Welcome Break suffers from sophomore album syndrome.
Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan laughs, cries, and fights her way through Valentine, one of the best albums of the year. Snail Mail is about to get a lot bigger.
On Time to Melt, Sam Evian swaddles the malaise of 2020 in a blur of groove-indie experimentation, cementing himself as one of indie’s foremost songwriters.
Sam Fender gives a stirring tour through the poverty and politics of middle England on his polished new album, Seventeen Going Under.
The latest album from Taylor Vick’s Boy Scouts project, Wayfinder hikes through familiar terrain, but her floaty folk-pop arrangements still resonate.
The Illuminati Hotties album we’ve been waiting for is anchored in glibly gregarious power-pop, but it’s the more earnest moments that reward repeat listening.
Stephen Malkmus’ first post-Pavement release is filled with buoyant, playful songs that see him bask in the glow of unencumbered creative opportunity.
Grungy shoegazers Big Vic wade through a fog of guitar noise in search of clarity on their debut album, Girl, Buried.
