Despite a global pandemic, musicians were far more active in 2021 and had time to create their finest work. It resulted in some of the best albums in years.
On SINNER GET READY, Lingua Ignota resides in the world, but not of it, crafting a bone-chillingly cathartic final product that deals in righteousness and reflection in turns.
In an age when the personal is political feels as necessary as ever, we identify most with experimenters who transcend the throwing-shit-at-a-wall, banging-on-pots-and-cans approach. These artists occupy the earthly just as much as they occupy the mechanical and the celestial.
From forward-looking electronic and experimental to new approaches in the ever-evolving R&B scene, from hip-hop and punk to rock and pop, 2019 bestowed an embarrassment of musical riches upon us.
Lingua Ignota's second full-length CALIGULA continues her blend of opera, neoclassical darkwave, and death industrial. She transforms shattering lamentations into empowered declarations against misogyny, while also complicating the dominant narratives of women's trauma.
Unconventional rock albums, from poppy sludge outfit Torche, noise rock masters Uzeda and post-hardcore outcasts Cherubs, along with the black metal fury of Falls of Rauros, False, Arkhaik, Celestial Grave and Sanguine Eagle and uncategorized extremists Immortal Bird are among this month's extreme output.
