Following the lead of Jeremy Porter, the records listed below were my favorites from 2021. As Jeremy said, it was another less than stellar year filled with a lot of strife, but at least the music was good. And Pencil Storm wants to wish everybody a Happy New Year and hopefully more live gigs in 2022.
1. The Pretty Reckless – “Death by Rock and Roll”
This is the fourth album by these hard rockers, fronted by the beautiful Taylor Momsen, who - for me - has the best female voice in rock. It may very well be their best record yet. My favorite track is “Witches Burn” which is a mid-tempo rocker but this record has everything from in-your-face hard rock to very haunting slower songs. There are some guest musicians such as Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden. There are three or four videos released, all of which are super artistic and well worth watching. This is easily my favorite record of 2021. It was not a close call.
“Only Love Can Save Me Now” featuring Matt Cameron & Kim Thayil
2. The Professionals – “SNAFU”
The Professionals were the band formed by Steve Jones and Paul Cook following the demise of the Sex Pistols. After a couple of strong records, they faded away. A couple of years ago, Paul Cook reincarnated the band with the blessing, but not the inclusion of Steve Jones. This is the second excellent record by this iteration of The Professionals. This is just really great, straight ahead rock n roll.
“Spike Me Baby”
3. Steve Whiteman – “You’re Welcome”
Steve Whiteman is the front man for the band Kix. Kix made a pretty great comeback record a couple of years ago called “Rock Your Face Off.” The band apparently was not too enthusiastic about making another album just yet, so Steve used his COVID time to make a solo record. My expectations were low, but he created a pretty great record. It doesn’t stray too far from the Kix formula and it’s filled with solid songs, not a clunker in the bunch. It’s not an artistic masterpiece, but it’s fun as hell.
“Kid Dynamite”
4. Ryan Hamilton – “1221”
Ryan has been a part of several various projects (Ryan Hamilton and the Traitors being my favorite). For 2021, he released one song per month, hence the name of the final product- “1221.” Great songs, every one of them. If you don’t know Ryan Hamilton, you should check him out.
5. Bat Fangs – “Queen of My World”
Big metal riffs, great female vocals, sounds a lot like Ex Hex (as it should, given that the band is fronted by Betsy of Ex Hex) – what more could you ask? This is their second record, and it is the better of the two. Just excellent stuff.
6. Poppy – “Flux”
Wow, this was a surprise if you know much about Poppy or her older musical output. The songs “Her” and “Flux” are spectacular. There are a few other nuggets as well. This is a really cool record. And the “Flux” video is pure art.
“Flux”
7. Enuff Z’Nuff – “Hardrock Night”
I wrote recently here on Pencilstorm about this record full of Beatles cover songs by one of my favorite bands. If you like Enuff Z’Nuff, you will like this record. If you don’t like Enuff Z’Nuff, or if you are a Beatles purest, you might hate it.
8. Cheap Trick – “In Another World”
I think this is the best output from Cheap Trick in quite some time. I really dig the single that was released early called “Summer Looks Good on You” and I also love “Gimme Some Truth.” Solid effort from these all-time greats.
9. Dave Hause – “Blood Harmony”
Dave just keeps putting out great records. The prior release, “Kick” was absolutely amazing. This record is not quite at that level, but it’s pretty damn good. Dave and his little brother Tim make a great team. Go see them live if you ever have the opportunity, you won’t regret it.
10. The Beaches – “Future Lovers” ep / “Let’s Go” single
I had a tough time picking number ten. The Beaches are an all female band that I listened to a ton in 2021. They released a single and an EP but not a full length. I’m putting them on my list simply as a band I really liked in 2021.