Welcome to another Bacon Top 31. I’d written a long diatribe about the general state of things here at the end of 2021, but I’ve decided to NOT start the year off on a down note. Let’s instead start the 2021 list off right: with the excitement I feel for the coming month of daily album reviews.

For those new here, a quick recap of what the Top 31 is. In the mid-00’s, a good friend of mine (hi Ryan!) created the Musical Advent Calendar, where he would count down his favorite 25 albums, with #1 being announced on Christmas Day. Despite remaining an active listener of new music, he decided to put down his quill in 2008.

I had liked his format of counting down an album a day, I was already personally charting what I was listening to each year up to that point, and I enjoyed learning about new music I’d heard because of his annual lists. So I decided to pick up where he left off — since 2009 (the Bacon Top 31 is officially a teenager this year!) I‘ve been counting down not my Top 25, but my Top 31 (as I did not want to tie my list to the Christian holiday).

This list is generated solely by your truly, and therefore reflects only my personal opinion. As you’ll see, I do enjoy listening to a wide range of music genres, but I definitely have my biases. This isn’t Pitchfork’s Top 50, or even Casey Kasem’s Top 40, but is instead all me, Royal Stuart, aka @royalbacon. Onto the show! The #31 album of 2021 is:

Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

2021 was another great year for music. Like 2020, spending a good portion of the year at home, with family all around, meant my listening habits were heavily influenced by their likes and dislikes. Not better or worse, just different from years past. With an active 3- (now 4-) year-old running around, a lot of fun, dancey music ended up in the rotation. And that’s why we’re starting this year’s Bacon Top 31 with the disco-influenced music of Durand Jones & the Indications.

The quintet met at university in Bloomington, Indiana. Led by lead vocalist Durand Jones, the band sounds as if they’ve been around since the early 70s, despite having only formed about 10 years ago. There’s no mistaking the grooviness of these songs. Your hips will instantly start shifting from side to side as soon as the bass line of the first song hits your ears. “Witchoo” – the 2nd song on the album and featured in the video above – is one of their most active songs. I especially love the crowd participation portion at the end.

Private Space is only the band’s third album, and I’ve not yet heard their earlier works. At 39 minutes, this album takes you on a ride from slow to bounce and back again, but never leaves the platform shoes and polyester suits behind. If disco is your jam, or even if you just simply like to cut a rug from time to time, you’ll definitely want to check out this album.

__________________________________________

There are many ways to listen to the 2021 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as the countdown is completed!

Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

View all previous Bacon Top 31s