Nite Songs Best Of 2021: Top 50 Albums Part 2 (40-31)

 

And so the countdown continues. Ten more today as we move into the Top 40 (cue up the old TOTP chart rundown theme should you feel so inclined)

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40.    THE MUDD CLUB - "Bottle Blonde"

From Kansas via Machnylleth, the Mudd Club blasted out of nowhere to come up with one of the better debut albums of 2021. No-nonsense two minute knucklehead garage-punk, it's the way the group attack the songs on Bottle Blonde with such sheer carefree abandon in the best X-Ray Spex/Adverts/Television Personalities style that makes this album a winner.

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39.    STEVE CONTE - "Bronx Cheer"

Conte's first solo album in seven years was a triumphant comeback from the guy with an impressively varied repertoire taking in everything from full throttle punk to laid back smoky blues jams. The guy deserves credit for putting together something this varied when it would have been very easy to just stick with a safe option and Bronx Cheer is an excellent listen.

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38.    THE ALARM - "War"

The Alarm have been on a good run of albums in recent years and War is a worthy follow-up to 2019's Sigma. Written by Mike Peters while housebound during lockdown due to his high risk health status, it sees him pouring every ounce of his hopes and fears into the album, reflecting on his own mortality and skewering social injustice with an impressive fire. Musically diverse and lyrically thought-provoking, this is the sound of the Alarm on top form.

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37.    FEROCIOUS DOG - "The Hope"

Ferocious Dog's fifth album may also just be their best to date. Tight and focused both musically and lyrically, it sees the band coming up with some of their strongest material so far ranging from barrelling folk-punk anthems to mournful acoustic laments. With a real energy, honesty and passion firing these songs along, The Hope is the sound of this band taking things up a level.

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36.    THE PROFESSIONALS - "Snafu"

If the Professionals' first post-reformation album What In The World was the sound of a band picking things up again after a long break then Snafu is the sound of them well and truly getting up to speed. Exactly the sort of barrelling rock 'n' roll you'd expect from Tom Spencer and Paul Cook and with excellent production care of Dave Draper, this is a set of songs that will stick in your head for days and stubbornly refuse to leave.

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35.    THE BRONX - "VI"

Nobody does melodic hardcore quite like the Bronx and VI is another strong album from these veterans. Brutally uncompromising and fierce when they want to be but with an undeniable ear for a tune and a commendable willingness to vary things up a bit to stop repeating themselves, this is the sound of a band well and truly on top of their game and taking no prisoners.

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34.    GARY NUMAN - "Intruder"

Another that passed us by when it first came out, Intruder might just be the strongest Gary Numan album in years. Packed through with the doomy electronica we've come to expect from the guy but with a furiously angry message about the destruction of the planet underlying a lot of the songs on it, this is anything but an easy listen but has the tunes and ferocity to reel you back in for repeated listening. A great effort which proves that Numan is anything but a spent force.

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33.    THE 69 CATS - "Seven Year Itch"

The 69 Cats' second album sees them well and truly taking their gothabilly formula by the scruff of the neck. With Jyrki69's vocals as broodingly sinister as ever throughout and Danny B Harvey cranking out the sort of deliciously twisted riffs you'd expect from a band like this, Seven Year Itch might not win any awards for originality but when the tunes are as good as this, it really doesn't matter.

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32.    THE PRETTY RECKLESS - "Death By Rock 'n' Roll"

It's easy to be cynical about a band like the Pretty Reckless but the truth is that they're simply very good at what they do. In an era where the classic rock field has been sullied by people desperately trying to pretend it's 1975 all over again, Death By Rock 'n' Roll attacks from the off with a killer set of tunes and hooks and a playful willingness to vary the sound up to prevent things from getting boring. A good keep-it-simple old school rock album - remember those?

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31.    DESCENDENTS - "9th & Walnut"

9th & Walnut's songs might technically date from the very early days of the Descendents (before they'd even released Milo Goes To College) but they've been re-recorded by that original line-up and are seeing the light of day for the first time so yup, it's eligible for our Albums of the Year list. More melodic than the sound the group would later become known for, there's nevertheless an enjoyable Ramones-style tunefulness to these songs that takes this album beyond a mere nostalgia exercise and into being a damn good effort in its own right.

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