The return of indie darling duo Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine is something to celebrate, with “A Crime” marking their first release since the debut barring an excellent one-off single with Michael Stipe. But let’s talk about the song they’ve come back with, a faithful cover of Sharon Van Etten’s “A Crime” from 2010’s epic. It’s the first in an insanely exciting list of covers lined up for the album’s tenth anniversary – Fiona Apple covering “Love More” may well be music’s final boss, folks – but also an apropos choice given that one of Vernon and Dessner’s very first collaborations was a wonderful cover (https://youtu.be/mLDwQtqrRPY) of that same song. A decade later, epic remains Van Etten’s first and possibly finest classic, beguiling and heartbreakingly straightforward in equal measure; if Big Red Machine’s “A Crime” doesn’t depart much from the original, it’s because they know you can’t improve on perfection. — Rowan

Featuring members of The Ratchets, The Gaslight Anthem, and Let Me Run, this New Jersey quartet’s debut single delightfully belies expectations by sounding decidedly British. Imagine Joy Division or The Stone Roses in 2021, with a sludgy main motif, effect-laden lead guitars, and Jed Winokur’s rasp all contributing to an auspicious arrival. The solos and call-and-answer bridge still keep the band rooted Stateside — Social Distortion readily come to mind — but it’s hard to argue with Winokur’s suggestion in filling a void with rock and roll. — Jom

If hip-hop is a treadmill that has been speeding up exponentially for over forty years, Genesis Owusu is an individual that base jumped outta fucking nowhere and landed on the thing C-Walking and singing bars in falsetto. “Don’t Need You” is so infectious that some are choosing to be vaccinated against its charms. I’ll skip that one, thanks — I’ve been mainlining this shit for two weeks straight and I don’t think I’ll ever be depressed again.  –MiloRuggles

 

 

Do you like emo? Do you like folk? Do you also want to pet every puppy you see? — BlushfulHippocrene

Although some may see Iglooghost as a pony with just one trick in his saddle bags, this singular stunt has grown long and limber legs. His latest single, “Big Protector” serves as a better antithesis to this particular criticism in its looser, spacier form, but “Sylph Fossil” is just chockablock with the kind of bottomless detail (and imposing bass explosions) that put Iglooghost on the map in the first instance. Criticise his modus operandi all you like, I won’t be listening to you until someone else does it better. — MiloRuggles

 

Indisputably a Markus Vanhala composition, “The Conjurer” could serve as a standalone single or as a bookend song on a forthcoming album. Effortless in integrating melody with melancholy, the song is gorgeously layered through each theme. The song’s second half, especially that brief bass-heavy ambient passage preceding yet another iconic Insomnium solo, is truly resplendent and one of my favorite metal moments this year. — Jom

 Julien Baker – Ziptie

 

 

KANGA’s new album is a neo-industrial album filled with wonderful pop melodies and synthwave, conjoined with filthy NIN styled industrial tropes. “Home” encompasses a lot of what makes You and I Will Never Die so enjoyable. It’s a track acutely aware of its pop worship and her love for 90’s industrial music. — DrGonzo

Leon III came out of nowhere to dazzle fans of country and psychedelic rock alike with their sophomore album Antlers in Velvet. While I’d recommend nearly every song from that record, “This Whisper is Ours” just might its best offering. The track features a lush atmosphere with subtle Americana undertones. Combined with Andy Stepanian’s passionate vocal delivery and a downright hypnotic melody, this is one of those moments that seems capable of defining a career. — Sowing

Simon Raymonde, of Cocteau Twins fame and head of record label Bella Union, joined forces last year with multi-instrumentalist and ex Dif Juz Richie Thomas to produce 16 tracks of pure musical bliss. Several artists, mostly connected to the label, helped to bring these tracks to life, but this “Grey Tower” in particular, featuring Midlake’s Tim Smith, left a lasting impression, the kind that you can’t just put into simple words. — Dewinged

 

(“featuring The Brave Little Abacus”, that is, “a Brave Little Abacus sample”, that is, “a sample from a beloved midwest emo band so to give credence to a boy in his bedroom mixing ’emo rap’ with abrasive trap music, who, despite the need for such ploys, has crafted in scarcity a near-masterpiece–a maximisation of emo in the wake of its constant redefinition”) — BlushfulHippocrene

A Nick Cave protest song isn’t something I would have placed near the top of my “most probable 2021 moments”, but then again these are desperate times. Cave, who usually shies away from the political limelight, delivers a knockout blow via “White Elephant”: “A protester kneels on the neck of a statue / The statue says I can’t breathe”. As uniquely powerful as those verses are, it’s the gospel-backed chorus in the second half that elevates the entire song to that “kingdom in the sky” Cave sings about so effusively; seemingly just as much a call for the end of times as it is an admission of his own faith. — Sowing

One of the most serious side effects of the pandemic, depression, is the subject matter of Nightfall’s latest offering. Gone are the gothic leanings of previous albums, as At Night We Prey focuses on the melodic death metal side of the Athenian band and backs it up with an array of aggressive riffs such as on “Killing Moon”. — manosg