Review Explosion

Despite our best efforts, we unfortunately didn’t review in real time every consequential 2021 release; thankfully, there’s still time to catch up on important missed albums, EPs, and singles. Our two 2021 Catch-Up Explosions (of which this is the first) differ somewhat from typical Review Explosions: some of these reviews are shorter than usual, and this time we won’t include sound quality scores (though rest assured, those will remain a site fixture). We won’t be able to cover every worthwhile 2021 release, though it’s possible to provide a reasonably comprehensive roundup of the year in music. The reviews are listed alphabetically, not by merit. Let’s begin!

On her latest proper album Charli, British pop star Charli XCX creates a work that epitomizes, with an artsy bend, all of 2010’s pop music’s hallmarks. Blown out, hyper-compressed production, glistening synths, giant drum machines, and digitally-stressed vocals are in abundance on Charli, yet the choices that she and executive producer A.G. Cook (known for running the PC Music label) make often surprise the listener. Following the relatively normal and upbeat Troye Sivan-featuring “1999” (no relation to the iconic Prince song, but Charli’s track holds its own) comes “Click,” which thanks to Dylan Brady’s production, in the last third takes a noisy, abrasive left turn. Similarly, Cook and Lotus IV anchor “Cross You Out” with a warped synth bass that oscillates in and out of tune, with other electronic sounds unexpectedly popping out