The 15 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2021
In 2021 indie rock was a guitar-led extravaganza with artists drawing from an ever-widening musical well. These are the 15 best indie rock albums of the year.
Music
The Legendary Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Prove It Live at ‘No Nukes’
Bruce Springsteen is a master who takes his audiences to the heart and soul of rock and roll as a communal experience on The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.
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The 20 Best Metal Albums of 2021
We are lucky to have received such an excellent bunch of records under what has been an incredibly stressful year. These are the 20 best metal albums of 2021.
25 Years Ago Whitney Houston Released the Album She Was Destined to Make with ‘The Preacher’s Wife’
The Preacher’s Wife is the ideal Whitney Houston album, ticking off many sides of the diva’s talents while marrying her commercial side with her sacred roots
K-Pop’s Sunmi on the Joy of Collaboration with Ed Sheeran and Jessi for “Shivers”
At the top of her career since debuting in Korea 14 years ago, K-pop star Sunmi chats with PopMatters about her collaborative work on “Shivers” and what’s next.
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The 15 Best Folk Albums of 2021
These 15 folk albums are the year’s best because they represent folk music’s expanding roots while best serving a unifying, underlying hope.
Questlove Drums Circles Around Music History
Circles are central to Questlove. He loves a circular connection and a sidelong glance. Circles overlap and connect in his artful book, Music Is History.
‘Howard Jones at the BBC’ Looks at a Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man
Howard Jones at the BBC highlights the new wave and synthpop star’s early ascension and the role of BBC Radio in his discovery and development.
As East Axis, Shipp, Lowe, Cleaver, and Ray Play Free Jazz Together
Matthew Shipp, Allen Lowe, Gerald Cleaver, and Kevin Ray are East Axis, a free improvising jazz band that never sound harsh or lost on Cool with That.
Claudia Hoyser Doesn’t Stop When the ‘Red Light’s Turning Green’
Claudia Hoyser has a honey-thick country music voice and affects a bad girl persona, or more precisely, the kind of girl attracted to a bad boy.
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The 11 Best Ambient Albums of 2021
Studies have shown how the global pandemic has changed our listening habits, and for those seeking calm, these 11 are the best ambient albums of the year.