Album roundup: November 2021

Much like last year 2021 has been a great year for music. With it being the second year of the pandemic a lot of us have been able to indulge in new releases and old favourites during isolation periods and lockdowns throughout the year with November coming up with some great offerings

An Evening with Silk Sonic by Bruno Mars and Anderson Pakk

Bruno Mars made his return to music in March five years after 2016’s 24K Magic Forming his R&B project Silk Sonic, alongside one-time tour support Anderson Pakk. Fans were clambering for an album after the duo released the single, Leave the Door Open while the album finally released early in the month to much acclaim delivering a fun nostalgic throwback paying tribute to classic 70s Soul and R&B

The Dentonweaver by Racoon Tour

Not a best selling album by any means but a personal preference for me. I discovered Racoon Tour in 2020, through the YouTube channel of lead singer and founder Nate Burr. They have a huge following within their local alternative scene in Boise, Idaho, USA, the album which had been conceptualized by Nate while he was in high school. The album has been in development since 2017, with Burr’s viewers having joked over the years that it would never be released. When it finally did earlier this month, I was really impressed by how well produced it was given the fact that these guys are just a small indie band from the States. The songs on the album can be seen as quite generic and sad indie rock though musically they flow well.

30 by Adele

Adele finally made her highly anticipated comeback with new album 30, her first in six years. I’ve never been much of an Adele fan since she seems to just write the same sad mopey breakup song repeatedly, but it will impressively dominate pop radio for the next year or so. The album is much the same here, although the sequencing is impressive. Most of her album sales in the UK are on CD, so may show up as a biggest seller in charts but it probably will be the best seller of 2021.

Best-Selling Album of 2021 – As of November

Morgan Wallen | Dangerous: The Double Album – 2,820,000 sales

Olivia Rodrigo | Sour – 2,448,000 sales 0

Drake | Certified Lover Boy – 1,516,000 sales

Pop Smoke | Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon – 1,349,000 sales

Justin Bieber | Justice – 1,306,000 sales

The Kid Laroi | F*ck Love – 1,288,000 sales

Du Lipa | Future Nostalgia – 1,246,000 sales

Doja Cat | Planet Her – 1,179,000 sales

The Weekend | After Hours – 1,175,000 sales

Luke Combs | What You See Is What You Get – 1,135,000 sales