The 100 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)

(099) Little Hat – Wine, Whiskey, & Wimmen

This ’50s channeling trio from Holland pays tribute in their songs and style to relatively obscure bluesmen the likes of Lazy Lester, Titus Turner, and Isaiah Ross. You will need to listen closely to really tell that this tightly constructed set of songs was not recorded by Sam Phillips in the Sun Records studio. The opener “Clema” could have been a Fats Domino special, “Cat Squirrel” a Chuck Berry ditty, and the title song “Wine, Wimmen, Whiskey” is, of course, pure John Lee Hooker. “Boogie in the Park” is a stomper that could be played anywhere in Mississippi.

Preferring not to be labelled as retro-rockers, this multi-generational (one member is 20 something, another is his 30’s and the third is in his 70’s) band doesn’t try to revive the spirit of their heroes exactly, rather they built on the momentum and create a sound and spirit uniquely their own.

The 100 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)

(100) Caper Clowns – Abdicate The Throne

With a whiff of Madness here, some ELO there The Danish band Caper Clowns combine Power Pop, straight ahead and even a bit of Roll into a formula that is as diverse as it is intoxicating. On Be There (The Ever Changing Tome) the band channels their best 10cc impersonation and there is more than a little Rock as well as Roll on the infectious “In Your Kaleidoscope.”

With Styx, ELO and 10cc as touchstones this record has something for everyone. If you are a fan of tightly crafted Pop nuggets, your ship has come in.

Five Cool Ones – Five New Records Released This Week (June 18, 2021)

The year is pretty much half over and while the team here at Rock is the New Roll is diligently pouring over all of the fine records released so far we still found time to secure for you some really fine new records that your ears should be excited about.

In the meantime, the highly underrated and below-the-radar Rich Ragany & The Digressions release their inner Tom Petty Meets Elvis Costello on “Heartbreakers Don’t Try.”

The Daybreakers are banging out the Blues Rock in the Sabbath and Uriah Heep mold, and that is never a bad thing.

And, Hanson, yes the “MMMMMM Bop” Hanson’s, is back with a nice slice of Cheap Trick evoking Power Pop. with a tune that features Rick Nielson on the track and also on the video. Our ears are tuned for more to come from this camp.

And, on top of all of that here are five new albums that are rocking our world this week.

Kings of Convenience – Peace Or Love

Even though they never really went away, individually they have been playing on a lot of other people’s projects, the Norwegian acoustic duo Kings of Convenience has not released a proper record in about 12 years. And, musically, as well as aesthetically nary a beat was skipped with the release of Peace Or Love.

Sophisticated harmonies, lush intricate guitar interplay, and wistful Indie Pop is the order of the day. The two songs that feature a guest turn from Feist are perfectly complementary to the nuances of the album as a whole with “Love is A Lonely” thing as sparse as you might think given the song title.

This is a good gentle mood setting of a record that would serve nicely as an afternoon-listen precursor to kicking out the jams later in the evening. If you are a fan of the new Brothers Brother record or the latest from Catus Blossoms, then The Kings of Convenience is your new mellow jam.

Husband – Cut The Light

There is not an awful lot to be found in terms of an on-line presence regarding this U.K.-based band that seems to specialize in stylistic anthems with a lead singer that floats somewhere between Bono and Iggy Pop. The songwriting is smart and evocative and the arrangements are sometimes brood-ridden and pulsating, often in the same song.

Cut The Light is their debut record, yet it sounds like the product of a band that has spent many years honing their craft. Introduce yourself with a first-listen of “What A World,” a song that has a bit of a mid-era Bowie quality to it, and work your way through “Cages,” an epic crescendo of a song that will take you on a journey in a taut, brilliantly constructed 3:04 that will leave you wanting to learn more about this enigmatic band.

Styx – Crash of the Crown

Crash of the Crown is the 17th proper Styx studio album and even after all these years under the bridge the band still sounds like Styx. And, that is a very good thing. With the core of the OG band, James Young, Tommy Shaw, and Chuck Pannoza present and accounted for going strong and sounding great, and the gang vocals led by Dennis DeYoung’s extremely able replacement Lawrence Gowen are Stirling vintage Styx.

“Our Wonderful Lives” could have been from the Grand Illusion sessions, “Reveries” has a bit of a rock savoir-faire inherent in the song that would have fit in nicely on Pieces of Eight, and “Monster” could have even come from the Equinox days.

Starting from the Queen sounding opener “The Flight of Our Lives” to the closing refrains of “Stream” This a great record by a once, now, and future great band.

The Tremelo Beer Gut – You Can’t Handle …. The Tremelo Beer Gut

Sort of the Danish version of Los Straitjackets, the capsule bio of the band that declares “If you were to listen to just one Danish instrumental, Spaghetti Western, surf band influenced by Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and Ennio Morricone, who has been intermittently making music since 1998, make it The Tremolo Beer Gut” pretty much tells you all you need to know about these Surf-Noir rockers.

This new release coming 13 years after their last proper long-player is another rousing slab of retro rockers that are tight, surf-inspired originals that stand on the shoulders of Dick and Duane but also maintain a personality all their of their own thanks to the bobbing and weaving of the textures with different nuances exposed song to song. The relaxed swing of the bluesy “Date at the Slow Club” would be among the slower songs in the set with the Spy-Noir of “Codename Tremstar” ramping up the Austin Powers vibe several notches.

With Jon Spencer along with his wife Cristina making an appearance on the Surf-Western influenced “Hey Hello,” The stage is set to light up the Tiki torches, crank up The Mai Tais, and party like it’s 1959.

Amy Helm – What the Flood Leaves Behind

Returning to her dad’s studio built in Levon’s Woodstock home, Amy Helm delivers a set of gospel-tinged beauties that bring the funk with “Breathing,” plays it forward with Dad’s mandolin on “Are We Running Out of Love,” and professes true love on “Terminal B.”

With every song ringing true and honest with clear vocals in the Mary Chapin Carpenter mold along with a set of songs that seem to embrace the past while at the same time setting the dials towards an optimistic future. 

“Sweet Mama” may be one of the best songs that your ears enjoy all year.

Five Cool Ones – Five New Albums Released This Week (June 11, 2021)

As we scramble to put together the best albums of the year (so far) list there are still a ton of really good records to digest. For the Rockers out there Kiss has released a from the soundboard live album from 2001, and we are not sure why, and Black Sabbath have remastered their 1972 album sabotage. 

Billy F. Gibbons has a new video out and, yes there are girls and cars front and center as you would expect from the ZZ Top frontman.

Sir Tom Jones paid a visit to the NPR Tiny Desk for a performance of cuts from his latest record. “Another Cup of Coffee” is worth the price of admission alone.

And, Rich Ragany & The Digressions bring their Elvis Costello meets Tom Petty stylings to the front of the line with their new song that celebrates the challenge of just taking on the day.

On top of all that there is a bevy of new tune-slices to savor this week. Here are five of them we particularly like.

Sleater-Kinney – Path of Wellness

Going a bit back to their roots with Path of Wellness, Sleater-Kinney’s latest release, and the first in quite some time without drummer Janet Weiss is a rocker of a record that takes textures of the best of ’90’s girl-power Rock and Roll. 

There is more than a little Patti Smith dusting in “Down The Line,” “Complex Female Characters” is a powerful snarling anthem, and “Bring Mercy” could have been a protest anthem from the seventies.

For a band that never really breaks up but seems to disappear for years at a time, the beauty in their art is that they seem to come back around at the exact time when they are sorely needed.

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

One of the more anticipated records of the year, Wolf Alice after teasing us with several singles is finally out with their new record, Blue Weekend.

Much more dialed back here than the back of the arena howl of 2017’s Vision of Life, this set of songs were designed to be played in more intimate settings perhaps even on the set of …Later With Jools Holland. That’s not to say that there is not a lot to like here, there certainly is. “Delicious Things” is a swooping Florence and the Machine-worthy anthem, “Lipstick on the Glass” is exquisite Dream-Pop escapism, and “How Can I Make It Ok” is Ellie Rowsell and the band’s version of a power ballad.

Sandwiching the entire set between the opening slow burn of “The Beach” and the end of the evening whirling dervish beauty of the closer “The Beach II” tells us that trying to figure out what is around the corner for this band might be very much a fool’s errand.

Brad Marino – Looking For Trouble

With more than a little Greg Kihn in the DNA of Brad Marino and his latest record Looking For Trouble, if you are looking for a record that will make you smile and take you back to the carefree no-responsibility days of your youth this is your jam.

There is a tinge of slightly less frenetic Flamin’ Groovies on “Looking For Trouble,” a dusting of Devo by way of The Knack on “Something For Nothing,” and The Ramones as produced by Phil Spector come to mind with a listen of “What Do You Know.”

With more hooks than an episode of “dangerous catch,” there is not a bad song in this batch of Power Pop perfection. This is Rock and Roll at its accessible best. If You love Rockpile, The Romantics, The Greg Kihn Band, or even The Georgia Satellites, you will love this record.

Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real – A Few Stars Apart

Generously prolific during his year in lockdown Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, turns off the news and gets a bit more philosophical on his latest record, A Few Stars Apart.

Where Willie the elder starts and Lukas begins is an ever-present question on this album with “We’ll Be Alright” a perfect touchstone that could have easily been a hit single on Dad’s Red Headed Stranger and is a tune that will likely turn up on our top songs of the year list.

The song “Wildest Dreams” could have been a Tom Petty song, and the perfectly placed closer “Smile” has Lukas smiling and contemplating acceptance and forgiveness while he lays out in the sun. Sounds like a great thing to do.

Aquarian Blood – Bending The Golden Hour

An intoxicating new find here in the halls of Rock is the New Roll, Aquarian Blood is a Memphis husband-and-wife-duo that blends Country, Americana, and Psychedelic Folk into a blender that is uniquely mysterious as well as highly listenable.

“Waited” sounds like it could have been recorded in Joshua Tree State Park with the coyotes howling instead of their home studio in Memphis, “Alabama Daughter” has an eerie low-fi vibe that grabs your ears and drags them close to the speaker, while “Night Train” is a spooky noir sounding tune that would fit in quite nicely as the theme song for a new season of True Detective. 

Not their first album, but clearly their most ambitious. 43 songs were ultimately recorded for these sessions before the “Sophie’s Choice” selection process whittled them down to 17, clearly indicating there may be another record hitting our shores in the relatively near future. And, that is a very good thing.