Progarchives Collaborators Top Albums of 2021

[pxr5]

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=128588

Notable for me are Big Big train, A Formal Horse, Mastodon and Frost* in the list, but even better to see black midi and Shamblemaths at 2 and 1.

My favourite albums of 2021:

A Formal Horse - Meat Mallet
Evership - The Uncrowned King
Perfect Storm - No Air
Frost* - Day and Age
black midi - Cavalcade
VOLA - Witness
The Emerald Dawn - To Touch the Sky
Konom - Konom
Big Big Train - Common Ground
Porcupine Tree - House of Blues
Caligonaut - Magnified as Giants
Shamblemaths - Shamblemaths II

Some other good ones that need a bit more of my attention:

Motorpsycho - Kingdom of Oblivion
Gojira - Fortitude
French TV - All Our Failures Are Behind Us
Mostly Autumn - Graveyard Star
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W
Jordsjø - Pastoralia

Only had one play so far but have potential:

Elephant9 - Arrival Of The New Elder
Needlepoint - Walking up That Valley
Squid - Bright Green Field
The The - The Comeback Special (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)

[Slim]

Of those bands I'm only familiar with Frost*, Porcupine Tree, King Gizzard and The The. Didn't realise The The had had a comeback.

I love Frost*. Bought a Gizzard album a few years ago but it didn't stick.

[David L]

Didn't realise The The had had a comeback.

I see what you did there...nice one 

[Nickslikk2112]

All you need is Motorpyscho.

[pxr5]

And the PA Collaborators' Top Albums of 2022 have been announced. And of course black midi is deservedly number 1:

https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=130529&PID=6065909#6065909

This was my list from this thread:

http://betweenthewheels.net/index.php?msg=8868

Black Country New Road - Ants From Up There
Big Big Train - Welcome to the Planet
Von Hertzen Brothers - Red Alert in the Blue Forest
The Tangent - Songs From The Hard Shoulder
Porcupine Tree - Closure / Continuation
Birth - Born
Marillion - An Hour Before its dark
Tiger Moth Tales - A Song of Spring
Motorpsycho - Ancient Astronauts
Bubblemath - Turf Ascension
Evership - The Uncrowned King Act 2
iNFiNiEN - Beyond the Veil
Galahad - The Last Great Adventurer

As last year my Best album of the year is by black midi - Hellfire

[Thenop]

And the PA Collaborators' Top Albums of 2022 have been announced. And of course black midi is deservedly number 1:

https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=130529&PID=6065909#6065909

This was my list from this thread:

http://betweenthewheels.net/index.php?msg=8868

Black Country New Road - Ants From Up There
Big Big Train - Welcome to the Planet
Von Hertzen Brothers - Red Alert in the Blue Forest
The Tangent - Songs From The Hard Shoulder
Porcupine Tree - Closure / Continuation
Birth - Born
Marillion - An Hour Before its dark
Tiger Moth Tales - A Song of Spring
Motorpsycho - Ancient Astronauts
Bubblemath - Turf Ascension
Evership - The Uncrowned King Act 2
iNFiNiEN - Beyond the Veil
Galahad - The Last Great Adventurer

As last year my Best album of the year is by black midi - Hellfire

Out of that list I know & have 4 titles:
Motorpsycho (of course)
Porcupine Tree
Birth
Marillion
All 4 of them very good in their own right.
Motorpsycho is the one that speaks most to me but that's perhaps because I am a bit of a fanboy.
I was pleasantly surprised by Birth with the demo already, PT's continuation sounds very mature in my ears and Marillion I saw live just a few months ago playing the entire album.
Never been a big fan of Neo Prog to be honest, the Enchants and Arena's of this world are not for me.
Also with all genres bleeding into the next one I find it hard to see where the 'line' is these days. Not that it matters: good music is good music. When I see Imperial Triumphant and Elder shoulder to shoulder in the top listings of last year, I think we have come a long way. Equally so I see White Ward and Earthless on there, the onyl thing they have in common is that they play long songs and use guitars.
One minor highlight I need to mention here is Venus Principle - Stand in Your Light. Although a but neoproggy, but far evolved, I did really like that album for the genre. If you haven't heard it, check it out.