Museum of Love - Life of Mammals (2021)

If you've ever imagined what a band influenced by Scott Walker, John Cale, Roxy Music, Jonathan Richman, DAF, dub, Robert Wyatt, post-punk and Krautrock might sound like, then you might finally have your answer. They're called Museum Of Love and they've made what may well be 2021's boldest album. "There's house music in there, too," adds Pat Mahoney, singer and co-writer, "although maybe not on the surface. I felt like our first album was more in that world, but with this record, we've ended up making a weird rock LP."

Weird, perhaps, but also enormous knockabout fun, at times approaching their song craft with the bombast of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', the outlook of the Marx brothers and matched with the production knowledge of a Basic Channel record. A bewitching combination that rewards repeat listens, it's doubtful anyone will release a more compelling and beguiling album this year.

Museum Of Love is Pat Mahoney and Dennis McNany. Mahoney is best known as the drummer in all-conquering NYC band LCD Soundsystem, while Dennis got his studio chops as an intern and assistant engineer at Plantain Studios in the West Village at a time when DFA's Tim Goldsworthy was in permanent residence and a whole scene was emerging from Manhattan. "In those early days," says Dennis, "it was just friends coming in and out, occasionally doing projects, so you would meet a lot of people. Pat was in and out and that's how we got to know each other. It just became a little bit of a family there for a couple years."