Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Albums Of 2021

Words: Rajan Lakhani

I’m doing things a bit differently this year and writing a general review of the music I listened to in 2021, instead of doing short reviews of my top 10. Rest assured, you can still see my top 10 below, and I’ve curated a best of 2021 playlist that starts with songs from my top albums before moving into my favourite songs from the year.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Albums Of 2020

Words: Rajan Lakhani

It was so tempting given the challenges of 2020 to only listen to music that you know and love, to provide some comfort and reassurance while the pandemic was changing our daily lives. And that’s of course absolutely justified. But my favourite moments listening to music have been discovering something new, the first time hearing a record and how you can’t wait to hear it again. So here are my favourite albums of 2020, and hope you find something that you enjoy that you hadn’t heard before.

Year In Review: FADED GLAMOUR Top Albums Of 2019

Words: Rajan Lakhani & Saam Das

If you thought you'd escaped another "best albums of 2019" list, then you thought wrong. We've collated our top albums of 2019 below, nipping it down to a lean fifteen, ordered alphabetically to avoid mummy and daddy fighting. Honourable mentions include the likes of Fontaine DC's fearsome 'Dogrel', Charli XCX's poptastic 'Charli', Thom Yorke's 'ANIMA', and Slipknot's visceral return 'We Are Not Your Kind'.

Year In Review: Ten Of The Best Albums Of 2018

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Rajan here. It's been a tough ask to cut down my favourite albums of 2018, with excellent records by the likes of Beach House, Father John Misty, Janelle Monae, Jeff Tweedy and Boygenius just missing out on the top ten below. Tracks from these albums do however make it onto a Spotify playlist, alongside my other favourite songs of 2018, so check that out after you've read the list of ten of the best albums to come out last year below.

Watch: Suede - Life Is Golden [Official Video]

Words: Rajan Lakhani

While 'Life Is Golden' is the first official single from Suede’s upcoming 'The Blue Hour' album, it’s actually the third song released from the record following the orchestral, Morricone-influenced 'The Invisibles' and the rockier 'Don’t Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You'.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Albums Of 2017

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Following up my top tracks of 2017 comes a list of my favourite ten albums of the past year, including promising newcomers and returning giants. The YouTube playlist below will also handily take you through a song from each record.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Tracks Of 2017

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Kicking off our Best Of 2017 features with a selection of my favourite tracks of the last year, many of which soundtracked (and helped ease) the commute into work. In no particular order, here are thirteen of the best tracks of 2017, accompanied by a YouTube playlist for your viewing and listening pleasure:

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Albums Of 2016

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Before we jump right into my top ten albums of 2016, here's a collection of my top tracks of 2016 (some of which can be heard below):

Suede - 'No Tomorrow' / The Weeknd - 'Starboy' / Christine And The Queens - 'Tilted' / David Bowie - 'I Can’t Give Everything Away' / Jamie T - 'Tinfoil Boy' / Clare Maguire - 'Spaceman' / Mitski - 'Your Best American Girl' / Weezer - 'Wind In Our Sail' / Rae Stremmund - 'Black Beatles' / Band Of Horses - 'Hag'.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Tracks Of 2015

Words: Rajan Lakhani

10: Julia Holter - 'Night Song'

It was difficult to separate this from Tobias Jesso Jr’s 'Without You' for the final spot in my top 10. But I went for 'Night Song' - it’s a stunningly beautiful ballad from a brilliant album. When she sings heartbreakingly “What did I do to make you feel so bad?’, forgiveness is inevitable.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Albums Of 2015

Words: Rajan Lakhani

10: Sufjan Stevens - 'Carrie And Lowell'

When an artist lays bear their emotions and experiences so explicitly, the result can often be uncomfortable and overwhelming. 'Carrie And Lowell' avoids this fate, with Sufjan delivering a truly elegant record that is moving and memorable.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top 14 Songs Of 2014

Words: Rajan Lakhani

14. Merchandise - 'Telephone'

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Ten Albums Of 2014

Words: Rajan Lakhani

10. Popstrangers - 'Fortuna'

'Fortuna' is a fantastically ambitious, graceful record, with the band’s pop sensibilities coming through to the fore to create their most engaging album to date. The album's hazy atmosphere provides the perfect backdrop to their romantic tales.

2014 In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Five Albums Of The Year (So Far)

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Neneh Cherry – 'Blank Project'

Neneh Cherry’s first solo album in 18 years doesn’t disappoint. She has delivered not only one of the best but also one of the most innovative albums of 2014 so far. There is so much going on with the musical arrangements and even where perhaps they don’t quite work, they’re constantly interesting, providing an engrossing backdrop to her meditations on life and motherhood.

Watch: Howler - Don't Wanna [Album Preview]

Words: Rajan Lakhani

I hadn’t listened to anything by Howler for some time until the brilliant 'Told You Once' came on randomly on my iPod. By some happy coincidence, the band soon afterwards announced their new album 'World Of Joy'. 'Don’t Wanna' is the first taster from the record, watch the video to the new track below.

Year In Review: Rajan Lakhani's Top Tracks Of 2013 [Playlist]

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Following Simon FG's top albums of 2013, here are my top tracks of the past year. Listen to all thirteen of these 2013 picks in the YouTube playlist below, alongside some words. End of year polls collating the choices of several FG writers will follow soon.

Album Review: John Newman - Tribute

John Newman - 'Tribute' (UK Release: 14 Oct '13) // Words: Rajan Lakhani

John Newman has enjoyed a meteoric rise into the charts. He achieved a number one with his brilliant debut single 'Love Me Again' and his debut album 'Tribute' also duly reached the summit of the charts. Has a new great homegrown talent arrived or does 'Tribute' fail to match the buildup?

Album Review: Cass McCombs - Big Wheel And Others

Cass McCombs - 'Big Wheel And Others' (UK Release: 14 Oct '13) // Words: Rajan Lakhani

I’ve built up a suspicion of double albums as their success rate is pretty small. They usually fall under the weight of the musician’s ambitions with even the most talented of artists coming a cropper and struggling to deliver consistency across an extended running time. Almost all double albums would have worked far better on a shorter format – even the off cited classics such as 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness' or 'Sign O’ The Times' have filler which diminish their impact. Can 'Big Wheel And Others' prove to be an exception to this trend?

Album Review: Surfer Blood - Pythons

Surfer Blood - 'Pythons' (UK Release: 17 June '13) // Words: Rajan Lakhani

Events over the past few days have made me think about whether you can separate the personal views and actions of music artists from their music. It’s one of the reasons I struggle to enjoy Blur having seen and read many accounts of Damon Albarn’s self-importance - an artist who worked with him described him less carefully as ‘a bit of a cock’. This dilemma was raised when I came to reviewing Surfer Blood’s latest album, 'Pythons'.

Listen: Nine Inch Nails - Came Back Haunted [Album Preview]

Words: Rajan Lakhani

The release of a new song from Nine Inch Nails wasn’t the surprise perhaps Trent Reznor was hoping it would be. A tour had already been announced and although Nine Inch Nails haven’t released any new music since 2008, Reznor has remained his prolific self, recently releasing the debut album from his How To Destroy Angels project and contributing to the latest Queens Of The Stone Age album.

Album Review: Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Queens Of The Stone Age - '...Like Clockwork' (UK Release: 3 June '13) // Words: Rajan Lakhani

Between the late nineties and early noughties, rock music seemed to be thriving. It was enjoying huge commercial appeal, driven by the success of nu metal with the likes of Limp Bizkit and KoRn regularly featured on MTV. Most of the bands have either have split, are on hiatus (although in the case of Foo Fighters, this is probably a good thing) or delivering diminishing returns.