When the chips are down, music becomes our life raft, buoying us through all the insecurity and instability with songs that empathise, galvanise, satirise or even trivialise. Music is the warm blanket, to wrap you up and steal you away, even if it's just for a moment.

And so to 2021 which, so far, has bore nothing short of a goddamn goldmine of new albums. In no particular order here are our favourites.

Music played

Arlo Parks - Caroline

Mogwai - Midnight Fit

Dry Cleaning - Unsmart Lady

Japanese Breakfast - Posing In Bondage

Serpentwithfeet - Fellowship

BICEP - Atlas

Sleaford Mods - Elocution

Cassandra Jenkins - Hard Drive

Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses

Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

https://blog.roughtrade.com/albums-of-the-year-so-far-2021/