TOP MUSIC RELEASES of 2021
Music of 2021
Was I too busy to listen this year, or what was it that prevented me from slowing down like I used to do? Not only was there a good crop of new music releases for 2021, they were hard to pick – there were that many of them!
I did some skimming to find this list, but hit the STOP and PLAY ALL button when I first heard The Killers’ “Pressure Machine” released last year. There’s nothing quite like hearing normal conversations of normal Americans out there somewhere, living. The lyrics in “Pressure Machine” are as good, and some better than any recent release by any of our modern writers – Springsteen, McMurtry the DBT’s … you name them. And, honestly, they do touch on some known Springsteen thematics, and DBT sounds. Of course it’s the Killers, and the music and vocal range is huge, but never has it been this huge for this band. I’m a “BUY” on this one.
You may notice a lot of the same artists showing up in 2021, as they have in years past. That’s the way it goes some years. I know for certain: I left a ton of great new music on the shelf, unknown and unrecommended to me by anyone. We all tend to go for what we know, don’t we? I would love to hear about what I missed for 2021, and have written revisions and additions to my music lists over the years – feel free to step up and recommend your favorite NEW music release(s) of 2021 anytime now.
TINTED EARS
I also have to admit the Texas Fly Caster music list is tinted a bit by the audience. I listen to a lot more music genres than you find here on the list. This list is tailored for your listening pleasure and mental stimulation. It is also tailored for driving because in Texas we do a lot of that, and certain music sounds a certain way when you’re driving – to the hard scrabble or to the salt, to the desert and to the pines … “hold on till the getting’s good,” as the Killers say.
THE 2021 MUSIC LIST
I hesitate at putting them in order, with the exception of the FIRST THREE new releases that dropped in 2021.
The Killers – “Pressure Machine”
James McMurtry – “The Horses and the Hounds”
Charley Crockett – “Music City USA”
The Black Keys – “Delta Kream”
The Flatlanders – “Treasure of Love”
Blackberry Smoke – “You Hear Georgia”
Midland – “Sonic Ranch”
Son Volt – “Electro Melodier”
Foo Fighters – “Medicine at Midnight”
Robert Plant Alison Krauss – “Raise the Roof”
If the Kings of Leon would hire a good engineer (not great, JUST GOOD!), they would HAVE had a great album with “When You See Yourself,” but once again this band falls victim to bad studio direction. I would BET they – and this release – sounds much better live.
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Culture on the Skids, Life Observed, Music
