-TOAST'S FAVORITE ALBUMS 2021-
Some 14 years after their first collaboration (the Grammy-winning "Raising Sand"), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have returned with producer T Bone Burnett and another batch of well-chosen covers. Only "High and Lonesome" appears to be an original song, and it sizzles, but as with the 2007 release, the covers are mostly all morphed into arrangements which fit the vocals and instrumentation so incredibly well they almost wrest ownership from the original composers / performers. Ethereal and timeless.
HIGH POINTS: High and Lonesome, Go Your Way, Trouble with My Lover, It Don't Bother Me, Quattro (World Drifts In), Searching for My Love
02) ARLO PARKS - Collapsed in Sunbeams
After placing highly (#2) on last year's favorite singles list with "Hurt," Arlo Parks delivers a wallop of a debut album; scintillating, heartfelt, and just plain groovy. If "Indie RnB" isn't already a thing, it needs to be invented to corral the vibe contained here. Her voice is a soothing (though never saccharine) tonic for troubled times and I can't wait to hear what she brings us next.
HIGH POINTS: Hurt, Eugene, Black Dog, Green Eyes, Hope
03) DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO - I Told You So
Like Arlo Parks' album (above), this was another early entry in this year's derby, coming in January 2021. Like others in DLO3's catalog, all instrumental, even the remake of George Michael's "Careless Whisper," which comes off as simultaneously sentimental and tongue-in-cheek. I've already ensconced this trio in the company of MMW and Soulive.
HIGH POINTS: I Don't Know, Call Your Mom, Hole in One, Jimmy's Groove (outtake), Careless Whisper
04) BÉLA FLECK (and FRIENDS) - My Bluegrass Heart
Long-noted master of improvisation, Fleck gathers a talented bunch to jam with and collects the results on this humdinger two-disc set. Some collaborators (Sam Bush) date back to New Grass Revival, but there's an embarrassment of riches in the "new talent" department too, perhaps implying Fleck's readiness to pass the torch?
HIGH POINTS: Charm School, Vertigo, Boulderdash, Strider, Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of the)
05) BLACKBERRY SMOKE - You Hear Georgia
Current champeens of the southern-rock scene, Blackberry Smoke come with a blistering set which may go down in history as their best. Most of these songs come off as rip-snortin' biker anthems, but they're rounded out by softer touches as well as an excellent Little Feat impersonation ("Hey Delilah").
HIGH POINTS: You Hear Georgia, Hey Delilah, Old Enough to Know, All Rise Again, Ain't the Same
06) JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ - Local Valley
This friggin' guy. In a world with a zillion "guy and a guitar" acts, he somehow manages to consistently rise above the crowd and show us what a guy and a guitar can really do. He's not exactly showy either, in the technical theatricality department, but I enjoy floating on the clouds he manufactures.
HIGH POINTS: El Invento, Head On, Swing, Visions
07) DJANGO DJANGO - Glowing in the Dark
I'm sure many will dismiss this band as frivolously psychedelic, but that's kinda what I like about them to be honest. In my experience, this is an A+ road-tripping-through-the-middle-of-nowhere album, the likes of which we rarely hear these days. Trippy, literally and figuratively.
HIGH POINTS: Spirals, Glowing in the Dark, Free from Gravity, Headrush
08) JON BATISTE - We Are
Last year wasn't much for many, but it could be called a renaissance year for Jon Batiste with a truckload of award wins and nominations. This album comes on the heels of his score for the Pixar film, "Soul," and in large part, hits all the right notes. I like the flagrantly funky flourishes.
HIGH POINTS: Freedom, Cry, We Are, I Need You
09) VARIOUS ARTISTS - Highway Butterfly: the Songs of Neal Casal (box set)
David Schools of Widespread Panic curated this collection, and it has a lot to recommend it, not the least of which being an opportunity to relive some of the finest melancholic songwriting of a generation. Casal is gone too soon, but in a way, he lives on here, through his friends.
HIGH POINTS: All the Luck in the World, Day in the Sun, Bird with No Name, Free to Go
10) LUCY DACUS - Home Video
Emotional, witty, and layered. Those words could describe Dacus' output as well as herself, although we haven't met. I'm only inferring based on her recordings. Whether her intent is to methodically eviscerate her feelings in the prettiest way possible, or to do that to the listener, I cannot say.
HIGH POINTS: Brando, Hot & Heavy, VBS, First Time
-TOAST'S FAVORITE SINGLES 2021-
01) WAR on DRUGS featuring LUCIUS - I Don't Live Here Anymore
Captivating and grandiose, like all the best War on Drugs numbers. Lucius proves again that less is more.
02) LORD HURON - Mine Forever
Proving you can take the same twelve notes and arrange them in new and memorable ways. Future nostalgia.
03) LORDE - Solar Power
A sparse and sprightly summer anthem for the ages, released during what, for Australians, would have been winter.
04) COIN - Chapstick
Inexplicably hooky "alternative rock," at a time when that means almost nothing anymore.
05) NATHANIEL RATELIFF & the NIGHT SWEATS - Survivor
Like an auditory brick-to-the-head you didn't even know you wanted, nay, needed.
06) NEAL FRANCIS featuring DEREK TRUCKS - Can't Stop the Rain
The best kind of retro-styled positivity born of pessimism.
07) MY MORNING JACKET - Love Love Love
Back to the well for MMJ - this is the sound of carmel corn on mushrooms.
08) WET LEG - Chaise Lounge
Unapologetically throbs steadily. Not remotely fancy, like a "black sheep" relative at dinner.
09) DAISY the GREAT x AJR - Record Player
Bubblegum for the new millennium. As an earworm, nearly impossible to eradicate.
10) KHRUANGBIN / LEON BRIDGES - B-Side
Hypnotic, deep-down-in-the-groove smoothness from experts on the subject.
-TOAST'S FAVORITE COVERS of 2021-
!!! – Man on the Moon (R.E.M. cover)
DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO – Careless Whisper (Wham! cover)
DR. LONNIE SMITH / IGGY POP – Sunshine Superman (Donovan cover)
LEFTOVER SALMON – Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
MOLLY TUTTLE / IRON & WINE – You Don’t Get Me High Anymore (Phantogram cover)
-TOUR DIARY-
WIDESPREAD PANIC – 6/25/21 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS – 7/23/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO
SIERRA HULL & JUSTIN MOSES- 7/24/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO
DEL McCOURY BAND – 7/25/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND – 7/28/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM
TRAMPLED BY TURTLES – 8/22/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM
KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE – 8/27/21 Railyard Plaza, Santa Fe, NM
SAMANTHA FISH – 9/19/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM
CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM – 9/24/21 Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN
THUNDERCAT - 11/22/21 Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM
-LOCAL FAVORITES 2021-
FELECIA FORD – Ocean of Love
HOTH – Tell Me How You Feel
ROBBY ROTHSCHILD – self-titled EP
-MORE, PLEASE!-
CHA WA
CHARLIE CROCKETT
FREEWAY JUBILEE
HAUNTED SHED
INDIGO de SOUZA
MDOU MOCTAR
RIVER KITTENS
SAULT
SIERRA FERRELL
STRUNG LIKE A HORSE
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