Helen has sent in her musical hightlights of 2021 from Ireland
Albums
1. Shadow Land – Ben de la Cour
"A major musical find. The last time I remember feeling like this about an album was when I discovered Ryan Bingham's 'Mescalito' back in 2007. Ben's songwriting is of the calibre of Townes Van Zandt. This is his fourth album. A follow up, recorded with Jim White producing, will be out in the new year.
2. Teatro d’Ira Vol.1 – Måneskin
3. Voyage – ABBA
4. What Then – David Keenan
5. Where I Should End – Saint Sister
6. They’re Calling Me Home – Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi
7. Cairn – Fergus McCreadie
8. Afrique Victime – Mdou Moctar
9. The Diving Sun – Joe Pug
10. Carnage – Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
MUSIC FILMS
1. Summer Of Soul
2. The Sparks Brothers
3. Breaking Out: The Remarkable Story of Fergus O’Farrell (Interference)
4. Phil Lynott: Songs For While I’m Away
5. Love Yourself Today (Damien Dempsey)
6. Respect
7. The Velvet Underground
8. What Drives Us (Dave Grohl)
9. Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.
10. Underplayed
GIG OF THE YEAR
Ye Vagabonds – National Concert Hall, Dublin, 28 November
ONLINE EVENT OF THE YEAR
Celtic Connections, 15 January – 2 February
SONG OF THE YEAR
Zitti E Buoni – Måneskin
PODCAST
Rockonteurs – Gary Kemp & Guy Pratt
RADIO PROGRAMME
The Folk Show, Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
BOOK
(from 2018; best music book I read this year)
Coal Black Mornings – Brett Anderson