Birds In Row's Quentin Sauvé tells us about his favorite albums of 2021
French post-hardcore greats Birds In Row have been pretty quiet since releasing their 2018 album We Already Lost the World, but they recently announced that they’re playing the Cult of Luna-curated Beyond the Redshift festival in London in March and “working in the shadows for the next step our band will be taking,” so maybe we’ll get more news from them soon. Meanwhile, bassist Quentin Sauvé (who also released the solo album Whatever It Takes in 2019) has made us a list of his 10 favorite albums (and one podcast) of 2021, including an array of artists that ranges from Lucy Dacus to Leon Bridges to Emma Ruth Rundle to Manchester Orchestra to Every Time I Die. Quentin also provided commentary on each pick. Read on for what he had to say…
Samia – The Baby Reimagined
When her song “Is There Something In The Movies?” played randomly through my Spotify I had to stop washing dishes and check it out. The Baby really became one of my favourite albums of this year even if it came out last year. This “reimagined” version from 2021 is also very cool: the same songs but made by other artists such as Christian Lee Hudson, Bartees Strange, Field Medic, Briston Maroney…
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Took me a bit of time to appreciate the “full-band” Julien Baker, but in the end I really like this album, especially the last song “Ziptie”. I really wanna experience this full-band live.
Ben Howard – Collections From The Whiteout
Big fan of Ben Howard from the beginning. This album is so interesting in many ways. The sound approach, the whole atmosphere. So good.
Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks Of God
Didn’t really dig this band before this album. I got caught up by unplugged video sessions, then I listened a lot to the album.
Lucy Dacus – Home Video
The lyrics, the sound, this one just make me feel good!
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
Don’t usually listen to this particular type of music but this album made my summer! Just wanna dance on it, or drive with it.
The First Ever Podcast (episode 23, 31, 36, 48, 51, 52, 56, 58)
So not an “album” here, but I found myself checking one episode, it was late August, and then I ended up listening to one a day for a whole week, and I think I really needed that at this moment. Learning more about the background of artists I’ve been digging for a while, as well as some I met but didn’t have the time to talk much. These were so relatable and it brought me comfort.
Mini Trees – Always In Motion
This was my “entering the fall season” soundtrack. I discovered this project when they opened for the Julien Baker release party live stream.
Heavy Heart – Closer
These are my friends, they just put out this album and it’s so good. Also recorded at my brother’s studio.
Every Time I Die – Radical
I always try to keep up with the bands I used to listen more when I was younger and more into hardcore music. This one felt so good and fun to check out.
Emma Ruth Rundle – Engine Of Hell
And then this one is what I wanna listen right now, because I didn’t get into it yet! I liked the single so I think I’m gonna like it!
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Read more year-end lists here.
