DJ Mick writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2021: Mick R.

Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2021. Our next list is from Co-Director of Features Mick R.

I strongly disfavor year-end round-ups, ranked lists of any kind, and "Best of" s, but I do enjoy writing short album reviews… go figure. Instead of any of the above sorting and/or ranking index's that pretend that artist are specifically vying for my attention and require my validation- instead of, you know, expressing themselves or doing something intrinsically meaningful - I've instead written about five records that came into the station within the past twelve months that I simply enjoyed.

This list is to encourage you to check out these albums, if you haven't already. It's a very low-pressure situation- just one music fan to another - recommending something they think the other might like based on purely on the pleasure that it brought them. It's the most human thing any music lover can do, especially in the strange and ever more atomized world we find ourselves in. Anyway, I hope you will accept my invitation and enjoy…

T.O.N.T.O. by Robin Hatch (Ramp Global)

BUY: Reckless / Amazon

Toronto electronic artist Robin Hatch pulled together one of the more interesting technical albums of the year with her debut album T.O.N.T.O. A harmonic synthesizer experiment, it proceeds through an elaborate and beautifully realized colloquium of wordless dialogues, utilizing such rare instruments as the Yamaha CS-80 and a phaser player used by Nash the Slash, to name a few. Of course, the centerpiece of the album is The Original New Timbral Orchestra or TONTO, from which the album takes its name- an improbably assembled, one-of-a-kind, mega-modular synthesizer, that has supercharged albums by Devo, Gil-Scott Heron, and Stevie Wonder, and which requires special permission from the National Music Centre in Calgary to be in the same room and breathe air in its presence. Robin's album is the first in decades to so prominently feature the device and its unique sonic capabilities, yet the most alluring and memorable aspects of Robin’s album are the parts that directly bear her emotional imprint and the clear impressions of her intent. A powerful and impressively imaginative album and one of the few I felt compelled to purchase their year on vinyl.

Talk Memory by BADBADNOTGOOD (XL Recordings)

BUY: Reckless / Amazon

I'm pretty proud to admit that BADBADNOTGOOD was one of the bands that made me curious about jazz. Once upon a time, their hard fusion of rock sensibilities and hip-hop beats incorporated into a hybrid-jazz framework opened up a whole new world for me. Therefore, it's cool to see them come all the way around in 2021 to release what is essentially an orchestral jazz record. Talk Memory retains everything that I loved about the band previously but realizes the group’s greater melodic potential through lush tones and string arrangements. I don't know where they could go next after this album, but they've certainly proven themselves capable of pushing the boundaries of their sound, even in the context of established forms, on Talk Memory.

Mind Maintenance by Mind Maintenance (Drag City)

BUY: Reckless / Amazon

This is the debut, self-titled album from accomplished bassist Joshua Abrams (who has played with Tortious, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mike Reed's Loose Assembly, among others), and the truly, one-of-a-kind jazz drummer, Chad Taylor. For this album, they've decided to explore the potential of the guimbri and mbira, two African instruments that do not necessarily share a great deal of cultural, regional, traditional, or sonic overlap, but which they manage to meld together through in a way that is compellingly fluid. It's not jazz, and it's certainly not "world music." Instead, it is a communication set to motion. Rhythm as language. Melodies swollen and wrought with meaning. It is music for deep conversations and even deeper listening. It’s something you can dial into in order to help your psyche better connect with the here and now; in other words, it's Mind Maintenance.

Eternal Home by fire_toolz (Hausu Mountain)

BUY: Reckless / Amazon

Eternal Home is the longest and most ambitious album from Angel Marcloid and her fire_toolz project. And the extra effort has paid off! This album has been receiving some well-deserved press, especially from outlets that don’t normally cover experimental music. The double album format allows her to spread out and better define the diverse aspects of her sound, unpacking some elements that were merely hinted at on previous records, which here unfurl into full-fledged songs in their own right. It's a total blast to be able to splash around in the glittery goo that leaks out of her head for a full hour and a half, and I felt myself experiencing a hint of melancholy mixed with joy as the last lightning charged and otherworldly guitar solo faded into silence. Despite its length, you might find yourself starting it over from the top just to ride some of these electrifying, oneiric currents one more time. Simply a master class in freak-fueled, psychedelic fusion.

Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1 by Pepe Deluxé (Catskills Records)

BUY: Reckless / Amazon

Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1 is the first album I've heard from Finnish sample-composer duo Pepe Deluxé, and I'm pretty blown away. It boasts a prodigious collection of obscure and occult recordings of instruments and infernal devices that may or may not exist in fact- sourced from public and private sound collections from around the world. This would be impressive on its own, but more importantly, this record swings! These are some sticky, tasty jams the duo have assembled, a collection that certainly rivals Beck's early work in terms of accessibility and which even dares to approach the indomitable infectious catchiness of Basement Jaxx, lacquered with a taint of villainy and ominous intrigue. I will never understand everything I am hearing on Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1, and that's ok, because I don't need to know the history of every sample to be able to ride the beldam grooves they conjure once they're combined.

Find more reviews and thoughts check out I Thought I Heard a Sound Blog or follow me on Twitter @thasoundblog.