The 2021 Ho Media Awards
Even now, I'm not sure if this is an entirely fair assessment. I'm quite behind on all of the things that came out in 2021. Since my reading schedule was mainly long and challenging works, I couldn't do a lot of simultaneous critical listens to new albums. Anything that isn't mentioned below is probably missing because I haven't yet given it enough time. As for the rest: These 13 by Andrew Bird & Jimbo Mathus This one's a lot of fun. I'm more partial to Andrew's voice than Jimbo's, so there's what I would consider an unfortunate number of Jimbo-lead songs here. The recording itself is very loud and can be harsh on the ears at times. I understand the artistic decision there, but it's still regrettable. How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine BRM's second LP is a solidly progressive step forward from the first album. Sprawling across 64 minutes, it feels like maybe they pulled in some of the Volca...