Favorite Music of 2021

As I’ve done in the past, I went through all of the playlists from the Free Form Freakout radio and podcast show from this year to try and assemble a list of some personal favorites that really stood out and consumed a fair amount of my listening time, including a few newer titles that’ll be featured on upcoming shows. Given how much time I spent listening to new music this year, I could have easily doubled this, but I thought I’d stick with a reasonable 50 new albums and 10 reissues as I’ve done in previous years. One difference, though, is that I just lumped all of the new releases together regardless of their format instead of a separate category for cassettes. It seems kind of silly at this time when artists and labels are now waiting over a year for a vinyl release to come out to relegate the cassette format to some type of sub-category, right? 

I encourage you to click through the links provided for each release below and if you discover something you like, please make every effort to support these artists and labels in whatever way that you can. I didn’t include any of the five new releases that came out on Round Bale Recordings this year, but I’m very proud of each of those and feel grateful to have gotten to work with those artists too.

Whether you’re a long-time listener or reader of Free Form Freakout or have just stumbled upon this website, thanks for checking out what we are doing. We’ve got some new features and collaborations that are in the works for the year ahead, so I hope you’ll check back often.

David Perron  / FFF Bunker in N. Mankato / December 2021

New Music:

[Ahmed]Nights on Saturn (Communication)Astral Spirits
Jeffrey AlexanderReyesGarden Portal
Daniel BachmanAxacanThree Lobed Recordings
Bardo Todol y sus Aves sin Nido & Anne-F JacquesLand of RitualsPresses Précaires
Olivia BlockInnocent Passage in the Territorial SeaRoom40
Blue ChemiseFlower StudiesB.A.A.D.M.
Bobby WouldWorld Wide WorldLow Company
The Bohman BrothersIn Their 70sFort Evil Fruit
ChannelersAnother EntranceInner Islands
Cindy1:2Mt. St. Mtn./Tough Love/Paisley Shirt
Johnny ColeyAntique SadnessSweet Wreath
Alex CunninghamAs Slow as the Stream Cuts the Dirt from BeneathArkeen
Erin DemastesThing MusicPublic Eyesore
Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia DaltLucy & AaronHanson
Enhet För Fri MusikÖmhet & SkilsmässaDiscreet Music
Eyes of the AmaryllisS/TCor Ardens
FlowertownTime TrialsPaisley Shirt
Myriam GendronMa DélireFeeding Tube/Les Albums Claus
Jean-Luc Guionnet & Will GuthrieElectric RagAli Buh Baeh Records/Editions Memoire
Steve GunnOther YouMatador
Dereck HigginsFuture StillFPE Records
Matthew HimesHemlock & BergamotHome & Garden
H.M.S. RMANaughty CoolALTER
Ignatz & De Stervende HondenSaturday’s DenUltra Eczema
KoeosaemeAnnulusOrange Milk
Charmaine LeeKNVFErratum
Sarah LouiseEarth BowEarth Bow
LowHey WhatSub Pop
MadlibSound AncestorsMadlib Invazion
Dan MelchiorOdesCudighi
MonokulturOrmens VägEver/Never
Monte EspinaPaElevator Bath
Moor Mother & billy woodsBRASSBackwoodz Studioz
The NotwistVertigo DaysMorr Music
Ora ClementiSylva SylvarumBlack Truffle
Bill Orcutt & Chris CorsanoMade Out of SoundPalilalia
Painted ShrinesHeaven and HolyWoodsist
Charlie ParrLast of the Better Days AheadSmithsonian Folkways
RambutanParallel SystemsSedimental/Tape Drift
The Reds, Pinks, & PurplesUncommon WeatherTough Love/Slumberland
RosaliNo Medium + ChokeweedSpinster / Unifactor
Space AfrikaHonest LabourDais
Nick StorringNewfoundoutMappa Editions
Styrofoam WinosS/TSophomore Lounge
Tongue Depressor/GatewayFlashes on the Past PartitionWorkingman Laydown
Train FantômeNous Sommes Dans Un RêveCudighi
Tuluum ShimmeringEmerald Trees of Mottled Green + The Bright Moon Emerges +++Tuluum Shimmering Records
Vanishing TwinOokii GekkouFire
Wau Wau CollectifYaral Sa DoomSahel Sounds
Yasmin WilliamsUrban DriftwoodSpinster

Reissues/Archival/Compilations:

Don Cherry’s New Researches featuring Naná VasconcelosOrganic Music Theatre: Festival de jazz de Chateauvallon 1972 + The Summer House SessionsBlank Forms
C.O.B.Spirit of LoveEast Central One
Alvin CurranFiori Chiari, Fiori OscuriBlack Truffle
The Dead Goldfish EnsembleFishy TailsConatala
Beatriz FerreyraCanto+Room40
FrigateDreams of the DeepD.Q. Records
HeronS/TTrading Places
SeefeelRupt + Flex 94-96Warp
StephenRadar of Small DogsJoyful Noise Recordings/Yellow Electric
YumboThe Fruit of ErrataMorr Music

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