This year sucked HARD! Being in WA, I didn’t have to deal with lockdowns in the same manner or capacity as other states, and life went on somewhat as normal, but goddamn it was a struggle. Worst year ever!
But at least we got some good tunes huh?
TOP ALBUMS OF 2021
#10 Descendants – 9th & Walnut
#9 Chaser - Dreamers
#8 NOFX – Single Album
#7 Castle Bravo – Design Flaw EP
#6 Face To Face – No Way Out But Through
#5 Zebrahead- III EP
#4 The Last Gang - Noise Noise Noise
#3 Authority Zero – Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
#2 Rise Against – Nowhere Generation
#1 Ice Nine Kills – Welcome To Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XP0Mu1dETo
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2021
#10 The Crew – ‘One Voice’
#9 Nerdlinger – ‘Six String Demon’
#8 Bodyjar – ‘Get Out Of My Head’
#7 Måneskin featuring Iggy Pop – ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’
#6 Less Than Jake – ‘Need Some Shaking’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IT3ir3iH2I
#5 Frank Turner – ‘Non Serviam’
#4 Twelve Foot Ninja featuring Tatiana Shmayluk – ‘Over and Out’
#3 MxPx and Rivals – ‘Say Yes’
#2 Useless ID –‘Same Old Revolution’
#1 Blind Channel – ‘Dark Side’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIvaeu6Oxzc
TOP 5 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2021
#5 The Offspring – ‘We Never Have Sex Anymore’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESotrzAtglA
#4 Ice Nine Kills – ‘Assault and Batteries’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8vKjIakHbA
#3 NOFX – ‘The Big Drag’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT_EtBM06-I
#2 Till Lindemann – ‘Ich Hasse Kinder’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbfeH6Q8PzY
#1 Bowling For Soup feat. Hanson – Where’s The Love?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8B0tAHrM5k
FIRST GIG YOU HAVE LINED UP POST-COVID?
The only tickets I have bought in preparation for 2022 are: Rammstein in France in July (which I bought in July of 2019!) and Brakrock Fest, in Belgium in August. Other than that, first gig will probably be a local one.
WHAT BAND/S GOT YOU THROUGH THESE PAST TWO YEARS?
Too many to list: Ice Nine Kills, Zebrahead, anything skate punk or ska punk, particularly if it’s on Fat Wreck Chords.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tt2JHaoR7I
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU GOING INTO NEXT YEAR?
Same old me, might just give a bit less of a fuck.
FAV NEW BAND/MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2021
My favourite time of the year is Eurovision week, and I mean that in the most unironic way possible, and this year was one of the strongest showings in recent years. It gave us the Italian glam rock winners Måneskin, whose non-Eurovision entry ‘Beggin’’ was all over TikTok, and apparently became quite a success. Then there were Finnish boys Blind Channel, bringing a bit of nu-metalcore adjacent music to the stage. The weeks after Eurovision I devoured a whole lot of Blind Channel and was not disappointed. Their cover of ‘Left Outside Alone’ is a particular standout, but check out recent singles ‘Balboa’, ‘We Are No Saints’ and older stuff like LP Violent Pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o44fSc2f2Ms
NEXT BIG AUSSIE ACT TO WATCH IN 2022?
Castle Bravo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uJ2ApC_tPs
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2022?
Travel! It has been way too long since I have been overseas, and I am getting withdrawals, but if fortress WA finally opens up I will be spending part of our winter (their summer) in Europe, traipsing around seeing some of my favourite bands — and I cannot fucking wait!
Written by Carys Hurcom. Twitter: @CarysWos
