Sounds Cool 2021 (Also Cool’s Top Albums)

Illustration by Malaika Astorga

Once again, music has unsurprisingly gotten us through the year. Throughout the whirlwind of 2021, we here at Also Cool were lucky enough to discover a range of compelling releases across a spectrum of genres. What unites these projects is their radiance, their ability to captivate us through trials and triumphs and be a constant when seemingly nothing else was. In no particular order (except alphabetical), we’ve compiled a mix of stand-outs from our 2021 favourites. 

If you haven’t been introduced to these artists via our music section or radio shows on N10.AS and FSR, take a listen to our year in review. There’s something here for everyone, and maybe you’ll see one of your friends here, too – spread the love and send them this article to tell them that they are indeed also cool.  

We’d like to extend our gratitude to all the artists on this list for keeping us company through the last year. Our listening habits have been elevated and comforted by these selections, and we’re looking forward to what’s in store from here and beyond in 2022.

Whether experienced in-person during the brief resurgence of live music, or in solitude weathering out your headphones, here’s to music for filling the void in the best way possible. 

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Sounds Cool 2021 (Also Cool’s Top Albums)

Ada Lea - one hand on the steering wheel, the other sewing a garden (Next Door Records / Saddle Creek)

Interview with Ada Lea by Malaika Astorga (October 21st, 2021) 

“The introspective folk/pop songs walk with you through the process of finding your identity and losing it again to someone who's not worth it, daydreaming about life in other cities, and wondering when to go home again.”

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BACKXWASH - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (Ugly Hag Records)

Interview with Backxwash by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter and Rebecca L. Judd (June 20th, 2021)

“With I Lie Here, BACKXWASH claims her title as contemporary hip-hop’s greatest force to be reckoned with, and we are celebrating her reign.”

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Bnny - Everything (Fire Talk)

Interview with Bnny by Malaika Astorga (August 20th, 2021)

“Written in sessions that span several years by singer Jess Viscius as she processed the death of her partner, the album is a chronicle of love at its most complex and loss at its most persistent.”

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Clairo - Sling (FADER)

“On her second album, reluctant Gen Z ambassador Clairo turns back the clock, embracing classic touchstones of 1970s folk.” — Cat Zhang, Pitchfork

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Das Beat - Identität (Arbutus Records)

Interview with Das Beat by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (June 3rd, 2021) 

“In four flawless tracks outfitted with celestial atmospheres and pulsating undercurrents, Identität offers a dioramic perspective of the couple’s intimate creative dynamics, backdropped with the essence of Berlin’s esoteric nightlife.”

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Dish Pit - DIPSHIT (Self-Released)

“Following the sudden closure of their record label, Montreal-based DISHPIT's long-delayed debut album is finally seeing the light of day as the band begins working on the follow-up. DIPSHIT — recorded with veteran producer Steve Albini — unleashes a devastation of post-punk and lo-fi grunge upon the world.” — Matt Owczarz, Exclaim!

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Dorothea Paas - Anything Can’t Happen (Telephone Explosion)

Interview with Dorothea Pass by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 7th, 2021)

“On her new LP Anything Can’t Happen, Paas illuminates how she came to define success as encountering and reconciling self-discovery through her work, all while establishing growth on her own terms.”

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Ducks Ltd. - Modern Fiction (Royal Mountain)

Interview with Ducks Ltd. by Malaika Astorga (August 17th, 2021) 

“Toronto's Ducks Ltd.'s new single How Lonely Are You? is the perfect soundtrack for your mildly existential end-of-summer playlist.”

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Hildegard - Hildegard (Chivi Chivi / Section1)

Interview with Hildegard by Malaika Astorga (June 8th, 2021)

“Their debut record has been described as the result of merging their identities, coupled with a complete loss of ego. The result is a beautiful and experimental eight-track experience, documenting the creative bond they share.”

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Jane Inc. - Number One (Telephone Explosion)

Interview with Jane Inc. by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter 

“Building off samples, break-beats and Ableton tutorials, Jane Inc.’s debut Number One serves as a reminder that Bezic is no one-trick-pony.”

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Kekko - Dreaming Life (Spirit Goth Records) 
Interview with Kekko by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter

“If not already evident by the band’s namesake —which combines the last names of the husband and wife duo, Tim Kek and Cherie Ko— Kek’s lush atmospherics intertwined with Ko’s ethereal vocals manifest a radiance unique to a soulmate connection.”

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kolenżanka - Place Is (Bar/None)

Interview with kolenżanka by Malaika Astorga (June 16th, 2021)

“To leave an old life behind and begin a new one is an anxiety-inducing and transformative process that Phoenix-born and NYC-based singer kolenżanka has mastered.”

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L’Impératrice - Tako Tsubo (microqlima)

Interview with L’Impératrice by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 22nd, 2021)

“L’Impératrice’s latest venture is a shimmering think-piece on life’s ever-perplexing phenomenon of broken-heart syndrome, which derived from the name Tako Tsubo (meaning “octopus trap” in Japanese).”

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Magi Merlin - Drug Music (Self-Released)

Magi Merlin “Mock Meat” review by Malaika Astorga (February 23rd, 2021) 

“A little spooky, a little bit sultry, Magi Merlin's "Mock Meat" draws you in with textured sounds and silky vocals.”

Magi Merlin Drug Music premiere by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (March 5th, 2021) 

“Throughout Drug Music, Magi Merlin owns her truth between entrancing beats and smokey basslines, while getting hot and heavy with lush vocal harmonies and a playful raspiness.”

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May Rio - Easy Bammer (Dots Per Inch)

Interview with May Rio by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (June 22nd, 2021) 

“Much like its origin story, May Rio’s Easy Bammer documents and celebrates the romantic unexpectedness of everyday life.”

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Motorists - Surrounded (Bobo Integral / We Are Time / Debt Offensive)

Interview with Motorists by Malaika Astorga (September 16th, 2021) 

“Comparable to various eras of punk, jangle rock, and mid-2000s Canadian indie rock, Motorists express their struggles with isolation by pairing a post-punk vocal tone with optimistic and upbeat melodies.”

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New Chance - Real Time (We Are Time) 
Interview with New Chance by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (July 28th, 2021) 

“On her latest offering Real Time, Cheong brings her reflections on nature’s abstract cycles to the forefront, between spellbinding textures and an eclectic sampling of everything from Calypso percussion to a sunrise rooster crow.”

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Ouri - Frame of a Fauna (Born Twice / Lighter Than Air) 
Interview with Ouri by Rebecca L. Judd (October 30th, 2021) 

“Marking the latest notch in Ouri’s belt, Frame of a Fauna carefully wields experimental and classical curiosities to seek deeper truths between the bars.”

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Oxford Drama - What’s The Deal With Time? (Self-Released)

Interview with Oxford Drama by Rebecca L. Judd (July 7th, 2021)

“Inspired by the never-ending mazes of modern technology and society, the duo – consisting of Małgorzata Dryjanska and Marcin Mrówka – transforms crushing emotions and uncertainties into a musical experience that transcends the turmoil.”

Oxford Drama “Too Busy” video premiere by Malaika Astorga (December 9th, 2021)

“Although it may seem like everyone else has their lives together, they're probably just good at keeping a curated online presence. Our Polish pals Oxford Drama encapsulate this chaos energy perfectly in their music video for “Too Busy”, a single off their recent album What's The Deal With Time?”

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PACKS - Take The Cake (Royal Mountain / Fire Talk) 

Interview with PACKS by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (May 17th, 2021) 

“Toronto’s PACKS are filling an indie-rock void with their sound that is equal parts laid-back and jangly, while also sophisticatedly pensive and bright.”

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PinkPantheress - to hell with it (Parlophone) 

“The 20-year-old UK producer broke out on TikTok with snippet-sized songs that ache with nostalgia for the recent past. Her intimate, lived-in music succeeds where cheaper imitations fail.” — Arielle Gordon, Pitchfork

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Yves Tumor - The Asymptotical World (Warp Records) 

“Even on a brief EP, Yves Tumor’s prismatic world seems to get bigger as it mutates into certain conventions of goth rock, dream pop, and shoegaze.” — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork

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Listen to our year in review below!

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Oxford Drama Tackle the Never-Ending Spiral of Being "Too Busy" in New Music Video

Too busy to see friends regularly, too busy for work-life balance, too busy for the gig tonight, too busy to buy groceries... it's all a little bit too much, all the time. If this sounds like you, you're not alone. It seems that we're all struggling to keep up with life now that the world has (sort of) opened up again. 

Although it may seem like everyone else has their lives together, they're probably just good at keeping a curated online presence. Our Polish pals Oxford Drama encapsulate this chaos energy perfectly in their music video for “Too Busy”, a single off their recent album What's The Deal With Time?

They offer the important reminder with their lyrics, "The world only stops when you tell it to" – something that all of us need to take to heart more often. Setting boundaries, being firm in self-care routines, and prioritizing physical and mental health are all things that can get pushed to the side with the easy excuse of being "too busy."

According to the band, “Too Busy” is an honest confession about an unhealthy start to the day when you compare to everyone and everything around you. It's also a fierce statement about getting your own life back after quitting an addictive spiral of who's got it better. And despite the appeal of all those apps, sometimes you're just too busy for more punches from the modern world. 

Watch “Too Busy” below & read our last interview with Oxford Drama here.

Oxford Drama

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | YouTube

Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Apple Music

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Wrocław’s Oxford Drama Makes Light of Modern Absurdity with “What’s the Deal With Time?”

Oxford Drama, shot by Nelly Valverde

If the weight of the world has got you feeling sideways, you’re not alone. This sentiment is the driving force behind What’s The Deal With Time?, the third album by Polish indie-poppers Oxford Drama. Inspired by the never-ending mazes of modern technology and society, the duo – consisting of Małgorzata Dryjanska and Marcin Mrówka – transforms crushing emotions and uncertainties into a musical experience that transcends the turmoil.

Highlights of the concept album include “Not My Friend,” which is described as a “therapy session” in a track – its depth is punctuated by silky struts of guitar and Dryjanska’s warm vocals. “This is the Internet” strikes a refreshing balance, poking fun at algorithmic dependencies without veering into condescension. Then there’s “San Junipero,” inspired by the Black Mirror episode of the same name – a haunting piano ballad that shines through the pointed commentary, speaking to the subject of romanticizing the past and blurring the lines of what’s real.

In Oxford Drama’s persistence through heavy realities with flecks of optimism and wit, the band uncovers worlds of possibility. There is so much to be said about navigating the “today,” and so much more to be dreamt about tomorrow. We caught up with Małgorzata to chat about What’s The Deal With Time?, and covered everything from Seinfeld to the winning life accomplishment that is taking out the trash.

Rebecca L. Judd for Also Cool: Hi there Oxford Drama – thank you for your time, and for sharing your art with us at Also Cool! What's The Deal With Time? is a stunning album, congratulations on the release. To start, I'd love to learn more about both of you – what kinds of musical backgrounds did you come from, and how did you find each other?

Małgorzata Dryjanska of Oxford Drama: Thank you so much! Marcin and I met almost 10 years ago during an English language competition, where kids from different high schools in Wrocław had to prepare a speech about youth. Both [of] us were the only ones that had musical themes in our presentations, [and] we felt that we might have a lot in common. We were right about that, but it took almost two years of Marcin persuading me into forming a band. Our iPods matched, we both loved Blur, and because Marcin knew I liked to sing, he wanted to try to make music with me. I finally agreed, [and] it was worth it!

Also Cool: What's The Deal With Time? is a concept album, exploring plenty of complicated subject matter such as the pressing weight of nostalgia and societal relationships with technology. What does making a statement on these topics mean to you, and what is it that convinced you to do so?

Oxford Drama: As both Marcin and I are on a mission to understand the world, and especially nowadays — to understand the modern world — we felt intrigued by the idea of writing a concept album as both the observers and the receivers, actively taking part in the modern mess. 

We're kind of old souls, in the sense that we don't really find ourselves understanding every aspect of technology. We want to get our music out there in the world, so by wanting that we have to be visible in our social media feed. But we don't want you to be bored or frustrated by constantly seeing our faces, so we're very careful about choosing what we want to post and how we want to post it. 

And that's only us as professional users of social media – privately, we're also not happy with loads of ads trying to get our attention, [or] how we're living in our own bubbles and not always seeing other perspectives. These are the subjects that are frequent in our conversations, so we thought we might want to take those themes and present them in the form of pop songs.

Oxford Drama, shot by Nelly Valverde

AC: I took a special liking to "Bachelor of Arts" – it struck a relatable and tender contrast between all the world's possibilities and an internal lack of direction. Could you elaborate on this track, its formulation and its intentions – particularly within the context of the rest of the album?

OD: The theme of "Bachelor of Arts" started more as a joke. We just started writing some songs within the subjects we wanted to elaborate on, already knowing it's a concept album, and I [was thinking] that I'm just one of many in the modern world feeling [like] “...I'm not a kid anymore, but I'm kind of lost as an adult. I get work done, but man, sometimes I just need a hug and some peace and quiet.” 

I think that feeling of being lost is so universal, but I wanted to sketch it in a way [where], by listening to the words, you can see the picture. You imagine that person, the protagonist, and it's so vivid that you can also guess the surroundings. We wanted to be free in the interpretation, because in a way the person from "Bachelor of Arts" might also be the one in [other tracks like] “This is The Internet”... we don't know that. 

But what I think most of the songs on What's The Deal With Time? have in common is the humour that I think keeps us sane. Just like in “Bachelor of Arts,” I sometimes think I should get a medal for taking out the trash, but I know it's not going to happen. But yeah, I sometimes deserve it (laughs).

AC: It's mentioned that your album is inspired by Seinfeld – the cheeky reference in the title definitely gives that away! Can you elaborate on Seinfeld as an influence? What are some other cultural influences behind What's The Deal With Time?

OD: I knew this day was bound to happen! The story is kind of strange. My parents introduced me to Seinfeld when I was a kid, and I remember watching their favourite episodes and remembering the funny lines … and basically being in love with every element, creating the atmosphere of New York in the 90s. 

And so [that nostalgia] was always in the back of my head – Seinfeld, my love for Saturday Night Live and movies with Chevy Chase. My favourite video is the one with [Chevy Chase] for Paul Simon's “You Can Call Me Al.” Humour for me helps in dealing with the modern world, but I also love lyrics that are about playing with words, and have some irony or sarcasm in them. David Byrne singing about peanut butter, or Ezra Koenig singing about a falafel shop just fascinate me. So on What's The Deal With Time? I didn't want to present such important topics deadly serious, I wanted to add some lightness to them by adding some absurdity. And that humour in everyday situations reminds me of how I remembered Seinfeld as a kid.

Most definitely Black Mirror's episode “San Junipero” influenced us to write [the] song of the same title. Both of us understood the plot differently but we both shared similar emotions which the episode evoked in us.

[Lastly], this might be controversial, [but] U2 also inspired us in a way. In the fall of 2018, we went to Berlin to see the guys from U2 live, and the time spent in this beautiful city inspired us in ways we couldn't even imagine. We talked a lot about the history of Europe, about how Berlin inspired U2's Achtung Baby and Zooropa, but also Bowie's Low and “Heroes.” Despite knowing all of the albums really well before, this mixture worked so well that our heads started creating a lot of ideas, and then What's The Deal With Time? happened. [That] Berlin era is just full of great ideas.

Oxford Drama, photo provided by the band

AC: What's The Deal With Time was released into the world a couple of months ago – how have you celebrated since then?

OD: We finally binge-watched Six Feet Under! 

We're extremely happy with the response [to the album], and as perfectionists, it's the first time after the release that we still wouldn't change a thing, really. There are some gigs planned for the summer that we're extremely excited about. And now we have the time to start working on the new record, because there are a lot of ideas that are waiting to be taken care of – hooray!

AC: Thank you so much for your time, Oxford Drama. What's The Deal With Time? will be on loop for me for many long summer nights to come. What can we next expect from you?

We're excited to play [that] new material, because it's so much fun. Also, I guess we're getting back to the studio – that is our living room – to make the next record, as some ideas are waiting [to come out] and we kind of don't know how to relax, so…

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WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH TIME?

Released on March 26, 2021

1. Not My Friend

2. Too Busy

3. Bachelor of Arts

4. San Junipero

5. This Is The Internet

6. You Only See What You Like

7. Offline

8. Retromania

9. Episode Couples

Music by Małgorzata Dryjanska and Marcin Mrówka

Lyrics by Małgorzata Dryjanska

Produced by Marcin Mrówka

Drum recordings (tracks 7, 9) produced by Jacek Maciołek

Mixed and mastered by Michał Kupicz

Cover design by Hanna Cieślak

Band photos by Nelly Valverde

All rights reserved Oxford Drama, 2021

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What’s The Deal With Time? is now available to stream and purchase – take a listen here!

Oxford Drama

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | YouTube

Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Apple Music

Rebecca L. Judd (she/they) is the features editor of Also Cool Mag. She writes and creates out of her studio apartment in Ottawa, kept company by vivid dreams and a cuddly grey kitty named Dora.

This interview was conducted over email, and has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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