As we wrap up the year, we’re sharing some of our staff members’ favorite albums of the year. Here’s Ean Montague’s list.

5. ABBA – Voyage

A new ABBA album in 2021? I cannot begin to describe the immense joy this brought me. The audacity. The absurdity. The crazy CGI-Tron concert thing they’re going to do. It’s amazing.

4. PinkPantheress – to hell with it

Sometimes some really great stuff goes viral on TikTok, and PinkPantheress and her music are certainly one such thing. This album has really catchy, short tracks that are perfect for my ever-declining attention span. A great way to spend 20 minutes.

3. slowthai – TYRON

slowthai has this wild rebellious energy that you can’t help but get swept up in. With TYRON, he builds on his first record with some great features, deeply honest lyrics, and his trademark yelp-y (in a good way) flow.

2. Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime

Mdou Moctar takes his guitar virtuosity to dizzying, psychedelic heights on this album. Even if you don’t know a word of Tamasheq and have had no exposure to Tuareg guitar music before (like me) this album is so good it transcends any language barrier.

1. black midi – Cavalcade

Cavalcade is anxiety-inducing at times and then eerily comforting at others. It is musically daring and cathartic in ways I can’t fully convey in a Google Form.

You can listen to Ean’s entire Top 5 Albums of 2021 playlist below.