Another month, another new Top 10 Albums list from WDIY! Our on-air hosts have been playing on-rotation old classics and new favorites for our faithful listeners. Have something you’d like to add? Feel free to call WDIY's studio line with a request at 610-694-8100 x1 or leave your picks on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages.
#10
Béla Fleck
My Bluegrass Heart
Renew
September 10, 2021
Whatever musical adventures he embarks on, the title of Fleck's latest album makes it clear that, deep down, his heart belongs to bluegrass. On his newest album, Fleck has assembled some of the greatest instrumentalists in bluegrass music’s history alongside some of the most promising new generation players. These include mandolinists Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, and Chris Thile; fiddlers Michael Cleveland and Stuart Duncan; celebrated multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses; bassists Mark Schatz and the aforementioned Edgar Meyer; and guitarists Bryan Sutton and Molly Tuttle. The album first appeared in our Top 10 lists back in October. My Bluegrass Heart recently picked up the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
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#9
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
The Future
Stax
November 5, 2021
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nite Sweats released their third studio album, The Future, and it's apparent that the band is firing on all cylinders again after their brief break. In the six years since their 2015 debut, Nathaniel Rateliff released a follow-up album with the band in 2018 and then ventured off on his own for a solo album in 2020. Since then, the Nite Sweats have been back in action, including a tour date at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem last summer. Look no further than the boisterous singles like, "Survivor," and "Love Don't," for why WDIY's on-air hosts have been playing this frequently.
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#8
Amythyst Kiah
Wary + Strange
Rounder
June 18, 2021
Amythyst Kiah has an impressive musical resume for a Tennessee singer and guitarist. On her Rounder Records debut, Strange + Wary, Amythyst Kiah channels her heartland musical background through the lens of her lived experiences as a Southern Black LGBTQ+ woman. Musically, Kiah's old-time American roots music has a modern rock and pop sheen with impressive production that helps showcase her talents. Wary + Strange has been topping our monthly album lists since October 2021.
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#7
Janis Ian
The Light at the End of the Line
United for Opportunity
January 21, 2022
After the release of Folk is the New Black in 2006, Janis Ian decided not to make another record until she felt she had “an album’s worth of impeccable songs”. Although she released several private “for the fans” items, and continued touring, she also set up a whiteboard with a rotating list of songs and subjects she wanted to cover on the newest album. A recurring theme in her writing and her motivation was the love and support from her fans. Once the pandemic delayed live performances, she became very busy with volunteer work, book signings, and anything else she could manage to do safely. This is her final studio album.
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#6
Aoife O’Donovan
Age of Apathy
Yep Roc Records
January 21, 2022
Aofie O’Donovan recorded her third feature album titled Age Of Apathy through a unique arrangement with Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. While in the studio she shares with her producer Joe Henry, she logged daily hours online with GRAMMY-nominated engineer Darren Schneider to get the album done. Her previous albums were composed and recorded in the rush between tours, but Age Of Apathy was more deliberate and methodical as it was made entirely amid the stillness of COVID. The Irish-American artist spent plenty of her lockdown weaving an album that feels like a nostalgia trip that is somehow more dreamy and bittersweet than her other albums.
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#5
Buffalo Nichols
Buffalo Nichols
Fat Possum Records
October 15th, 2021
Buffalo Nichols holds a special place at Fat Possum Records as the label’s first solo blues signing in nearly 20 years, and his first solo album proves what he has to offer to the blues music scene. Nichols finds himself drawn to the black people’s influence on music, specifically within his genre, and the idea of keeping the origins of a genre alive while continuing to create a modern sound is something that stuck with Nichols. He tries to emulate this in his new record in an effort to modernize blues before it gets “frozen in time.”
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#4
The Accidentals
Vessel
The Accidentals
October 1, 2021
Just like a lot of musicians and artists, The Accidentals revolved their newest indie folk-influenced pop rock album around the life lessons many of us learned during the pandemic, like “taking everything into perspective, zooming out, seeing where we are, stop feeling like we're trying to race to get to a certain place.” Recording for the album started before the pandemic with the release date originally being for sometime in 2020. However, most of the album ended up being recorded from the band members’ homes.
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#3
Cat Power
Covers
Domino Recording Company
January 14, 2022
Covers is the eleventh studio album and third cover album by American musician Cat Power, the stage name of American singer-songwriter Chan Marshall. What started as studio bookings for an album of new originals turned into a fine-tuned jam session that we now have as her newest body of work. She pulls from equally incredible artists like Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, and Billie Holiday and reworks it into something that seems like entirely new songs and interpretations. Cat Power also included an updated version of her song “Hate,” from 2006’s The Greatest, retitled “Unhate.”
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#2
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Boy Named If
EMI Records and Capitol Records
January 14, 2022
The Boy Named If is the 32nd studio album by the English singer-songwriter, but is reminiscent of a previous album titled Blood & Chocolate from 1986. Calling back to the days of The Attractions (an old iteration of the band) proves how much these musicians have grown and adapted since their inception. The newest albums sounds simultaneously like an homage to their past as well as a test of their skills as a music group. It’s home to a blend of genres all tied together with a timeless rock-and-roll structure. A book written and illustrated by Costello himself accompanies the deluxe edition of the album, but it isn’t necessary to own it to understand how the album unfolds as a series of vignettes recorded during the pandemic.
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#1
Keb’ Mo’
Good to Be
Rounder Records
January 21, 2022
Five-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’ recently released his newest full-length, Good to Be, in the beginning of 2022 from a very personal place. The album was written between Nashville and his childhood home in Compton, California, which Keb’ recently purchased and renovated. The backdrop and inspiration behind the new release as well as Keb’s seasoned musicality makes the entire album feel warm and familiar. The album release was accompanied by an official video for the title track single, “Good to Be (Home Again),” which was filmed in Mo’s hometown and features the Compton Cowboys.
