#1 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
I could go through a song by song review of how utterly amazing this double album is but that would be monotonous. Instead I will just state that this record is filled with 22 of the most wonderfully crafted, beautiful, rocking, stylistically diverse songs recorded this year. Opening with a 5 minute song titled simply “Intro” that trumps 90% of the music released this year and is positively one of the most beautiful things put to tape, it kind of lets it be known that when the introduction to an album is this grandiose you know you are in for a listening experience that will rival a sonic paradise. There are too many highlights to mention here, the entire album is filled with peaks of grand musical riches. From the straight ahead guitar rock of “Reunion”, to the pitch-perfect beauty of the ballad “Wait”, to the almost lullaby like quality of “Splendor” to the huge synth pop of “New Map” (which features some nice brass work during the song's ending) the stylistic diversity included here is just one of the many positive aspects of this incredible album. Another immense detail about what makes this album special is that fact that every song just feels huge and utterly larger than life. The details in the production are immense and plentiful and the songwriting hits crescendo after towering crescendo. But perhaps the very best thing about this record is that does a great job of showing the many facets of Anthony Gonzalez’s work as M83. While his last record Saturdays=Youth was one of my favorites records of 2008 it may have been too much of a pure pop departure for him. This does a good job of showcasing the pop sensibilities of that record with the more ambient textures of his earlier work. While I am not always a fan of overly long albums this flies by a lot faster than its 79 minute running time would suggest. The most rewarding sonic experience released this year by a long shot.
#2 Atlas Sound – Parallax
Getting an album a year from most artists would almost certainly bring overexposure but in the case of the great Mr. Bradford Cox it only shows that this man is truly just getting the ball rolling. Starting in 2007 with Deerhunter’s breakthrough masterpiece Cryptograms he has released at least one startling album length statement a year either under the name Atlas Sound or with his band Deerhunter. Every record is its own statement of purpose and all are extremely personal yet strangely accessible. This record Cox describes as his “summer” record. Even though certain tracks have a sunny disposition: “Mona Lisa”, “My Angel is Broken” this isn’t exactly a Beach Boys record. To me this is a perfect autumn record, filled with hope of new beginnings but waving goodbye to a time of innocence. For those of you unfamiliar with Atlas Sound or Deerhunter this isn’t a bad place to start, and if you are a fan of slightly off kilter guitar pop than you would agree with this record’s placement on my list. Perfection.
#3 Radiohead - The King of Limbs
After making the most brilliant game changing music for the past 15 years, Radiohead could have every excuse to just settle into a nice groove and continue being the best while repeating themselves. Instead we get this, the shortest record Radiohead have released to date which serves not as a detriment but as great asset to this extremely enjoyable, and at times, extremely challenging effort. Its brevity assures that this somewhat downtrodden album never outstays its welcome. Even the slightly upbeat songs like the amazing “Morning Mr. Magpie”, “Lotus Flower” and the incredible closer “Seperator” all have a melancholy nervousness to them, showing that this is a band that refuses to ever rest on their laurels. This album is truly about never settling into a groove, which is why it may have not been one of their best reviewed records but still manages to show true inspiration from a band who could have imploded years ago. Taking the unsettling paranoia of “Little By Little” as one example, on first listen this sounds like it could have been recorded throughout many different points of this bands unparalleled career but in the context of this record positively sounds disconcerting. Save for maybe “Codex” and the albums gorgeous highlight “Give up the Ghost” this definitely is not a record to relax to. This album is meant to test and dare the listener in a way that very few other bands would have the guts to do. At this point in their career Radiohead truly has no real worries except for their own expectations, and as long as they keep making remarkable, noteworthy music like this I will gladly follow them on their journey.
#4 Panda Bear – Tomboy
Going slightly away from the sound that gave his previous works more accolades than almost any other artist recently. Mr. Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear gave us this startling direct album in 2011. Like his previous solo efforts and his work with the great Animal Collective this takes at least 5 listens to fully “get” but once these tunes start to creep into your psyche you will not want them to go away anytime soon. This has a great beach vibe throughout with songs like the excellent “Last Night at the Jetty” and “Surfer’s Hymn” being the most obvious ones but truly the entire feel of this record just reminds me of a lazy summer day which is never a bad thing. While some may miss the more chaotic leanings of his previous work with or without A.C. this record shows that even with more accessible melodies Panda Bear's work is nothing but incredibly interesting.
5. Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow
A stunning masterpiece, one that is just simply gorgeous with a very spacious and mostly minimalist recording. Most tracks just feature voice, piano, as well as some impressively restrained jazz drumming. This is like a more accessible version of Scott Walker’s last two records and shares the starkness of Talk Talk’s masterpiece Laughing Stock as well as Mark Hollis’s solo album. Honestly this really is its own beast and proves what a vital and interesting artist Kate Bush really is. For the songs themselves, there is an Elton John duet that tells a fascinating story of two lovers that keep missing each other throughout history. There is the 13 minute tune “Misty” that is a shockingly not that creepy song about sleeping with a snowman. You can’t help but feel for the characters in this story, especially as you hear the sadness in Kate’s voice as she exclaims “he is melting”. The song gets relatively upbeat around the 9 minute mark (almost in a Vince Guaraldi way) setting the listener up for the dramatic close to the song. “Wild Man” sounds remotely like her excellent Hounds of Love period and features a crazy/creepy vocal effect that makes her sound like a robotic Eskimo. The title track features actor Stephen Fry reciting the “50 Words for Snow” (I love the fact that one of the words for snow is “bad for trains”). The entire record is just simply bewildering, something that needs to be heard to be believed. This is a perfect record for a snowy Saturday afternoon sitting indoors and letting these tunes take you on an amazing sonic journey.
6. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Like many other great dance bands, Australia’s Cut Copy knows the importance of the towering crescendo. Building up the beats while adding more and more layers and then completely dropping the entire melody to what seems like an entirely different song is something that has been done since disco but when a great rock band does this say like The Stone Roses on their classic “I Am the Resurrection” the results can be transcendent. This record and this band have truly mastered this technique beautifully on this wonderful record (check out “Corner of the Sky” for a great example). While their previous work sounded fully formed and unmatchable this record truly reveals itself to be their masterpiece. This is an impossible record to ignore, it is just extremely fun and enjoyable the entire time it is on. It will never stray from your attention span and your foot will be tapping to the beat 95% of the time it is on (careful when driving). Oh and the song “Alisa” is a strong contender for best pop song of the year, in a perfect world this would be a huge hit single but in the vast lost landscape of 2011 pop it realistically has no chance, that doesn’t stop me from blasting on every occasion I can though.
7. The Antlers - Burst Apart
A grand, sweeping and fully formed record, this shows the many facets to this wonderful band led by Peter Silberman. While their previous album Hospice was more direct and despairing, this one is just huge. Taking a large influence of recent Radiohead as well as some of their atmospheric tendencies this record just sounds insanely good, especially when played loud. Lots of great nuances pop up throughout especially on the standout tracks “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” and the devastating “Putting the Dog to Sleep”. Silberman’s voice is a treasure throughout as well, showing the emotion that has always been the trademark to his music.
8. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
An 18 track, four part concept album with alternating screamed male vocals with occasionally lily female vocals this takes the extremely overused word “epic” to grand new heights. Taking their experimental hardcore to a new level with their previous record, the great Chemistry of Common Life, Fucked Up has made an unabashed art-rock record here, truly the only thing that could even remotely classify this as “hardcore” is lead singer Damian Abrahams grizzly bear growl. This is much closer musically to Blur’s classic Parklife than to any Minor Threat record. Like most concept albums, the “story” can get a little convoluted but the basic ideas are there and with this many great ideas being thrown at your eardrums for almost 80 minutes you can’t help but be moved.
9. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Opening with an 11 minute track that really and truly doesn’t pick up any stream until the almost halfway mark may not be the traditional way to get a listening hooked into a full length album, but like the rest of this remarkably insane record the “norm” was not what the excellent Gang Gang Dance had in mind. This is truly original stuff here, great vocals that may suggest early Kate Bush or the Cocteau Twins, music that remotely could be compared to “Let’s Go to Bed” era Cure, albeit with a more modern electro beat, this truly does sound otherworldly and successfully avoids any reasonable comparison. This is just an album to put on and enjoy, preferably on headphones, alone. Trust me; it is well worth the journey.
10. James Blake - S/T
A truly understated masterpiece, while so much of what I loved about the many great records of 2011 were the impressive use of sonics and manipulation, it was truly refreshing to hear a minimalist, non overproduced statement like the one James Blake presents here. This runs on simple beats, gentle atmospherics, and a great voice. His cover of Feist’s “Limit to Your Love” is one of many highlights here and fits perfectly with the slightly melancholic tone presented throughout. All in all, in a year of crazy all over the place records (most of which I loved) this was a nice step back, a fully cohesive album that gelled completely and leaves you wanting a re-spin after its brief 38 minutes have passed.
11. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Nothing is more exciting to me than when a band comes crashing out of the gate with a great debut, which Girls did with their excellent first album back in 2009. Then a surprise came in a mini-masterpiece with their unbelievable Broken Dreams Club EP last year. The musical and lyrical growth of this band was astounding on that release and got me even more excited for this, their second full length. This thing not only expands upon the growth of the aforementioned EP but adds even more diversity as well. This thing is just all over the place in a grand, over the top kind of way. Just take the opening four tracks for a quick example; the first song sounds like pure am gold pop, the second like a standard guitar rock song, the third comes crashing in with a mean Deep Purple riff straight outta ’72, and the fourth song is a country tinged gem. The greatness doesn’t stop there, as there are still 3 songs over 6 minutes on the second half that show that this band can even work their way around an epic and make it interesting (which is not an easy thing to do). Also some points should be given for the fact that one of these long songs is called “Vomit” and is ironically one of the most beautiful things presented here. Complete with beautiful organ work and female background vocals ala Dark Side of the Moon. The entire thing is an astounding victory for this band and makes me even more excited for what they will do next.
12. Mastodon – The Hunter
So it’s not a concept album and it’s significantly less proggy than their last couple albums, but instead of making a run of the mill boring “rock” album this directness marks an exciting new chapter for the best metal band on the planet. Shorter songs for Mastodon basically just boils down to lots and lots of ideas stuffed into smaller packages, sure there is nothing as completely epic and over the top as “The Last Baron” from the last record, the ever peerless Crack The Skye (probably my favorite song of the last 10 years, btw) but what this album does have is the most focused singular music they have done since their classic Leviathan. What is so great about this band and all of their albums are how much the little details creep to the surface on repeated listens. The riffs are abundant but not in your face, “Octopus Has No Friends” has what to most bands would be just an epic guitar solo but it is used here as the song’s main (hand cramping) riff. Obviously no analysis of a Mastodon record would be complete without talking about Brann Dailor’s unparalleled drumming; his fills are abundant and always completely impressive. Check out the double bass throughout “All the Heavy Lifting” it sounds like the creature on the cover came alive and is stomping through your brains and you don’t want said creature to relent, you just keep begging for more. The title track gives some much needed breathing room for the band to mellow out and for Brent Hinds to deliver one of his many epically burning guitar solos. “Creature Lives” is almost reminiscent of Sabbath’s “Who Are You”, complete with flying synths and creepy laughing throughout the almost minute and a half intro, it then diverges itself with a melodic bassline before going into a fully fledged chant sung by Dailor. It is a huge detour for this record and could have easily fallen flat on its face but the sheer bombast (complete with a singing choir) just solidifies that this band can really do nothing wrong on record. This song may sound out of place on the first listen but this is a band that worships 70s prog so it shouldn’t be at all surprising in theory and it stands as one of the many highlights here. All in all the record isn’t as much of a detour as one might originally think, there are moments that are reminiscent of the band’s past but the slight sideways turns that do spark up here and there make this another complete winner for one of the most exciting bands currently existing under the sun these days.
13. Tune-Yards – Whokill
Strikingly original and gifted with a beautifully androgynous voice, Tune-Yards (the brainchild of Merill Garbus) is producing some of the most exciting and just plain fun music around right now. Honestly the last time I had this much sheer fun with an album was when I first heard M.I.A.’s debut back in 2005. This record features some great organic sounds as well, which is refreshing in these electronic age days. Great live drum beats, horn sections, guitar, and especially her trademark ukulele are all used to great effect here. There are some good uses of samples here but they aren’t used in a lazy retreading kind of way. More times than not this record sounds a lot like a crazy New Orleans street band (especially during the breakdown of “Riotriot” one of the best songs here), Garbus’s voice can go from sheer banshee wail to sweet angelic pixie at the drop of a hat which is quite remarkable in itself. Also, her use of dynamics is quite intriguing as well, both the chaotic “Gangsta” and the ultra soft “Wolly Wolly Gang” are equally affecting. A great snapshot of a very singular, interesting artist, I am very excited what she will do next.
14. Bon Iver - S/T
A huge sounding record, unlike his reasonably subdued debut, this features some enormous drums, horns, and strings throughout. While the production is surely colossal there are moments that revisit the intimacy of his debut. An example of this would be during the middle part of the stunning “Minnesota, WI” of course this guitar picking interlude escapes quickly to a fuzzy stomp and Justin Vernon’s layered vocals but the little retread is a great touch on a record with many exquisite little flourishes that pop up here and there. “Calgary” starts like a So era Peter Gabriel track before a bit of distortion hits the guitar and Vernon’s vocals. It’s another minor masterpiece on an album filled with them. But perhaps the best track, and one of the most talked about album closers in recent years, is the completely over the top “Beth,Rest”. It is a heartfelt ballad that would have probably been fine with just Vernon’s vocals and the electric piano but oh there are some added layers that would make any Richard Marx fan scream in amusement. It is a power ballad for the ages but somehow works grandly and makes perfect sense here ending one of the year’s best records in a perfect grade school dance kind of way.
15. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Since 1992 the always great Polly Jean Harvey has released at least four masterpieces and even if the last one was released 10 years ago ago she has continued to make some great, if slightly challenging, records for the past decade. While this album definitely classifies as her fifth masterpiece after 1992’s Dry, 1993’s Rid of Me, 1995’s To Bring You My Love, and 2001’s Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea it should be noted that this isn’t some sort of “grand comeback” as some publications initially reported during this albums release. Truthfully you never know what kind of album you are going to get with Harvey, her last record was a great collaboration with John Parish that was a complete 180 from the stark piano album White Chalk which itself was a left turn form the raw raucous Uh Huh Her. While this trio of very genre specific records were all compelling in their own right, they are all mood records which lacked the stunning diversity of her best work. Which brings us to this record, an exquisite 12 song concept album about her native homeland, while conceptually these songs all share a constant theme, the music here is completely varied and ranks as some of her best, most interesting work (which says a lot). There are touchstones to her previous work, some songs sound like they could have fit on any of the aforementioned albums, but there are also some tunes here that showcase many new sonic territories (the excellent use of a sample on “Written on the Forehead”). For any artist as singular and consistently brilliant as PJ Harvey to continue to challenge herself and her audience in this way is an astounding accomplishment.
16. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
As much as I try to avoid any comparisons between Malkmus’s solo records to his former band Pavement, sometimes said associations are inevitable. So yes, I am going to come out and say it, this album reminds me of a tamer, less stoned, crazy version of Pavement’s masterpiece Wowee Zowee. Basically this could be said about any record that features a lot of sonically varied songs stacked against each other without any concentrated effort to be cohesive. However, when the same artist is involved in the creation of both projects it makes the comparisons even harder to avoid. While this albums isn’t nearly as batshit crazy as Malkmus’s 2005 record Face the Truth, which still may remain my favorite solo record of his, this is a more varied effort than anything he has done since his debut solo record a decade ago. The songwriting here is top notch, not sure if the victory lap he took with his former band on tour sparked some creative juices but this album is pretty much better in every way possible than his last solo album, 2008’s slightly disappointing Real Emotional Trash. While that record certainly had its merits it definitely felt as though the focus was more on the jams than on the actual songwriting. Here the spotlight is centered squarely on the tunes and Malkmus delivers one of his most consistently amazing set of songs in a long time. The best thing about this record is not only the quality of all the songs but how they differ from one another. Just take the opening trilogy as an example, starting off with the slight psychedelic haze of “Tigers”, and then jumping to the gentle “No One Is (As I Are Be)”, then ending with the crazed shift-tempo of the hilarious “Senator” this proves the diverse, wide-ranging glory of what makes this album so special. Also the instrumentation is great without being too showy like it was on some of Malkmus’s more jam oriented records. Just check out the great guitar playing on “Brain Gallop” as an example. “Stick Figures in Love” is a great example of one of those beautiful tunes that only Malkmus could write. While “Spazz” sounds exactly like its title would suggest. The entire thing may take a few spins to figure out but this stands as one of the best things Malkmus has done with or without his former band.
17. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
An insanely raw, ambitious, and deeply emotional record, this debut by former Gowns singer EMA showcases an intense and fiercely courageous record. As cohesive as this record is, this truly is the kind of record where the individual songs really all stand on their own thus requiring brief song by song reviews. The first track “The Grey Ship” is one of those great building tracks that gets as far and intense as it possibly can get around the 6 minute mark before it eventually breaks down completely pre fade out. “California” has an almost cinematic quality to it and wouldn’t necessarily have been out of place on Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers” soundtrack, it is also one of my top 5 songs of the year. “Anteroom” sounds like an early 90’s lo-fi blast not unlike something from the first Liz Phair or Breeders records. “Milkman” is an impossibly huge rock song with an amazingly powerful chorus and is yet another highlight here. This is followed by the minute long a-cappella jam “Coda” which is succeeded by “Marked” another great lo-fi jam complete with scratchy acoustic guitar ala Elliott Smith circa Roman Candle. “Breakfast” follows and sounds like a chanting lullaby. “Butterfly Knife”, another highlight, shows a more angry side. “Red Star” closes things on a darkly uplifting note. The last minute and a half of this song may be the most beautifully cathartic 90 seconds of the year, an absolutely stunning way to close an absurdly great record.
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18. Cass McCombs - Wit's End/Humor Risk
The great Cass McCombs released two pretty amazing records this year. Starting with the near perfect Wit’s End back in April which was filled with a 70s soft rock vibe. Complimented with some nice Hammond b3 organ and clavinet textures, this record has a great Gene Clark, Fleetwood Mac, early/mid 70’s Beach Boys vibe to it. Humor Risk, his second record of the year released in November is pretty much the polar opposite of the slightly downtrodden Wit’s End. This is much more of a standard rock record, slightly recalling The Meat Puppets much more than the Nick Drake vibe of its predecessor. While song for song Wit’s End is the slightly better, more cohesive record both are great releases that work well when played back to back as they show two sides of this truly amazing artist.
19. Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
Featuring a great mid sixties “Laugh In”/Nancy Sinatra vibe, this second album by the great Lykke Li shows a maturity and extreme confidence that is completely refreshing. Whether it is slow, torch songs or fun rockers, every track on here is a complete winner. The production and varied sounds throughout give this record a larger than life persona that when added with Li’s great songwriting showcases a true raw talent and great musical personality.
20. The Drums – Portamento
Sporting an album cover that would suggest a Swedish black metal band more than a poppy indie band, this extremely fun second record from The Drums is a perfect minor pop masterpiece. These are tunes that sound extremely simple and unassuming at first but after a few spins you realize how intricate and crafted these songs truly are. This also features some of the catchiest melodies and fun drum beats I’ve heard in quite a few years. This is truly one of the most deceivingly addicting records of the year as well as one of the very best.
21. Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness
The vocals of lead singer Gareth remind me of a way less annoying version of Art Brut while the music takes me back to turn of the century indie vets The Anniversary or a less moog-ed out version of The Rentals. There are some great uses of strings throughout as well as some building verses that remind me of Funeral era Arcade Fire or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. In short this is something that I would have absolutely LOVED 5 or 10 years ago and proves that my tastes have not completely shifted from this style of highly emotional slightly overwrought indie rock as long as it is executed as finely as it is on this album’s 10 glorious tracks.
22. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
Sporting a great 80s Kate Bush influenced style, this very diverse record by Anne Clark aka St. Vincent is a complete winner. The diversity on this thing is what truly makes it special, one song “Cruel” alternates from fuzzy guitar to a beautiful string arrangement and back again without every truly missing a beat. There are so many great sounds going on with very intelligent songwriting and a truly original personality in the great songwriting of Ms. Clark. A very intriguing look at a very unique and impressive artist.
23. Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire to the Mountains
Opening with a slow burning organ jam that gradually and individually introduces every instrument is not a bad way to unleash and introduce a new sound to the world. But nothing could possibly prepare the listener for the unveiling of the crazy vocal stylings of Ellery James Roberts at just shy of the 2 minute mark. This record (and band) announce themselves as a true force to be reckoned with right out of the gates here, on this excellent debut. It may initially seem like this is just another 90s-era indie flashback band but that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Check out some of the drum fills in the excellent “Cave Song” plus the intricate harmonic guitar work throughout. Some may complain about the utter lack of any comprehensible lyrics but those same poor people obviously never listened to the beauty that is Sigur Ros. Speaking of S.R. this band shares their sense of writing torch waving anthems as well as the way similar minded bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky use the towering crescendo to great effect. But Wu Lyf ties these sounds to a more standard guitar pop format and the results can be transcendent more often than not. These songs all have that feeling that indie rock gave me in the late 90s/early 2000s when I would completely feel uplifted by my Built to Spill records or The Moon and Antarctica, it felt like it was a classic piece of art, and that I not only was part of it, but OWNED it. A record hasn’t made me feel that way in a mighty long time and I am thankful that it has here.
24. Iceage - New Brigade
I hear a great early Warsaw era Joy Division era influence here but a more accurate description of this amazing young band could be if Three Imaginary Boys era Cure fronted Black Flag. This is full of chest beating energy but not in a generic by the numbers full of rage kind of way. This is just the sound of youth, where you have a lot going on and you want everyone to know about it without instantly. This kind of momentum fuels this extremely cathartic and completely vivid record that is one of the best straight up punk records I have heard in a long time.
25. Liturgy – Aesthethica
Pulsating layers of guitar, vocals screamed from the depths of hell and buried under what sounds like 50 years of rotting leaves, this extremely innovative release from metal greats Liturgy is one of my favorite heavy records in a long time. There is almost a strange similarity to great electronic acts like Fuck Buttons or late era Chemical Brothers in the repetitive way the beats and sounds just plummet your ears in a completely hypnotizing and utterly seductive way. The breathtakingly perfect seven minute long instrumental “Generation” is everything I love about this band and this record all rolled up into one continuously long jam. Another highlight (and brief break from the heavy onslaught) is the very electronic influenced “Helix Skull”. The entire thing just needs to be experienced to be believed, a truly dramatic and invigorating listen from start to finish.
26. Yuck - S/T
As much as I wanted to avoid the lazy comparisons that I read about this album/band throughout the year after re-listening to the great opening track “Get Away” I truly can’t think of anything else to say about it but “Dinosaur Jr.”. So there it is, yes it sounds a lot like Dino Jr., is that a bad thing? Not even a little bit, Dino Jr. has always been one of my favorite bands so to hear a glorious guitar heavy rock band sounding similar is something I would never have a problem with. But what makes this album so interesting beyond that is that while there are many touchstones to the distortion heavy sounds of the aforementioned Dinosaur Jr as well as Sonic Youth, this band also has a great shoegaze vibe on a lot of the other songs here, recalling some of my old favs like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Slowdive. Also, they balance the running order of the record wonderfully with a good mix of slower ballads alongside the more rocking up-tempo numbers all the while keeping a youthful earnestness to every song.
27. Trash Talk – Awake EP
5 songs in 8 ½ minutes, this is no holds barred hardcore. Much like their counterparts in OFF! Trash Talk waste no time getting to the point and their thrash is pretty much picture perfect on this EP. While their previous album Eyes & Nines was a great effort, this EP pretty much betters their style in every way possible. Take “Blind Evolution” for example, in only a little over 2 minutes you get everything that makes hardcore so great, check the breakdown at the 1:20 mark if you don’t believe me. If you grew up on Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, etc. then you should really get yourself hip to these guys like right now.
28. The Men - Leave Home
Coming across like strange mutation of surf rock, post punk, hardcore, and shoegaze; The Men’s debut album Leave Home is a great heavy distortion filled masterpiece. Taking the deconstructionist attitude of classic noise rock bands like Big Black and The Boredoms but adding more of a standard punk backbeat this is not a album to kick back to, there is nothing pretty or relaxing about this and we are all the better for it. There is also an instrumental called “Shittin’ with the Shah” on this record so they get some extra points for that.
29. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien
The second album by this great young indie throwback band is yet another winner. While the first album showed a heavier Pavement/Superchunk/Built to Spill influence, this one shows the band growing up a bit more and showcasing a little more of their own style. The first song alone is an 8 ½ minute journey that shows everything that is great about this band in one long journey. After losing their original keyboard and bass player one would have thought this band would have lost some momentum but this record definitely proves otherwise. While I still hear the aforementioned influences on this release they are less obvious as they were on the debut and the addition of some great fuzzy feedback tones reminiscent of bands like Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine give this record a wider, richer sonic touchtone.
30. The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday
Taking a cue from the stark R&B minimalism of Kanye West’s 2008 release 808s and Heartbreak, These two excellent mixtapes from Toronto’s Weeknd showcase a raw emotionally direct intimacy that is missing from most mainstream R&B. The entire thing has a lazy, druggy haze to it. When he does lift the curtain off of the despair, as he does on the excellent “Glass Table Girls”, it comes across as an extremely cathartic soul bearing vent rather than a childish angry rant. The beats are almost all uniformly great and sample some of my favorites from past and present (Beach House, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees). This is raw, dark, naked stuff, kind of like a modernized version of Marvin Gaye’s classic Here, My Dear but where that classic had string heavy production, this has raw stark beats and extremely explicit lyrics. He is not hiding anything here and based upon his choice of words no interest in becoming a mainstay on conventional radio anytime soon either (although “Coming Down” should be a huge hit). There are more than a few chill inducing moments here as well; you can hear the pain in this dudes voice more often than not. While the first release House of Balloons is song for song the better album, his follow up Thursday is certainly no slouch and the fact that he released these two excellent mixtapes in a 5 month period is a great sign of things to come.
31. Tom Waits – Bad as Me
An insanely stylistically varied record that sounds like a great compilation of almost every genre that Waits has tried his hand at previously, this incredible album works not only as a great introduction to the vast work of Tom Waits but will inevitably be considered a future fan favorite from an artist who has many masterpieces already under his belt. “Pay Me” sounds like it could be from The Heart of Saturday Night, there are bluesy numbers that sound like the great sea shanties of his Rain Dogs period, and there are raucous barnburners that wouldn’t have been out of place on the classic Bone Machine. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this record is that throughout the album’s 16 songs (there are 13 tracks on the original version but try and seek out the deluxe with the bonus tracks if you can as the extra tunes are all pretty great) there is never a dull moment, no filler whatsoever and despite its dizzying array of different styles plays as one of the most cohesive and satisfying records Waits has ever released, and that is truly saying a lot.
32. Cults - S/T
Playing like a better produced, more 60s girl group influenced version of Best Coast (with much better lyrics) Cults also sports a more wonderfully electronic sound than the fuzzy chainsaw acoustics of the aforementioned Best Coast. Basically this is just a superbly catchy, brief 34 minute album with some great poppy tunes and one “Go Outside” that was actually a well deserved minor hit. Sure this isn’t life changing stuff but it may be a bit life affirming, which may not seem as important and vital at first but in the long run little good time tunes like the ones included here are what make being an avid music hoarder rewarding, it is like 11 little bursts of sunshine blasting through your ears, perfect for a summer day or a dreary one where you need some simple cheering up.
33. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo/So Outta Reach EP
Featuring a lazy sardonic draw ala J. Mascis and sometimes as on the great “Puppet to the Man” recalling Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at their most angry, Philly’s Kurt Vile has proven himself to be a modern day folk hero this year with these two excellent releases. There is a great hazy quality throughout these records making this the perfect soundtrack to a wonderful cloud, rainy day. Vile’s guitar work is excellent as well, especially the finger picking style he showcases on some of the tracks here. While the full length Smoke Ring for My Halo came out in March of this year, he released a deluxe version of the record with the excellent So Outta Reach EP as bonus tracks in November of this year (the EP can be purchased separately as well). Both are completely worth owning and complement each other greatly as they both share the same vibe throughout and were largely written and recorded around the same time as each other. This has proven to be a banner year for the great Kurt Vile and hopefully he can continue this incredible songwriting streak for years to come.
34. Real Estate – Days
As an intent and attention driven listener I never want to describe a record as “background” music, I even give Eno’s Discreet Music my undivided attention when I pop that on (and that was actually intended to be background music) but sometimes a record just floats on by in such an effortless haze and is so easy going/laid back that it just kind of floats along in your psyche. This is how both Real Estate records feel to me, but I do not mean this in any kind of negative way as this is easily one of my favorite bands and this record is one of the year’s best. It is just so laid back that it fills the room with good vibes, kind of the same way the great Beach House does when I play any of their albums. For a jangly guitar act this band lives by restraint and subtlety, even when they do branch out and feature a guitar solo as they do on “Younger than Yesterday” it is swallowed by the cloudiness in the production. This is also very much a “keyboards as colors” band meaning they fill in any empty space in the sound with ambient synth textures, which is never a bad thing but this adds to the wall of sound that brings the hypnotic feel of these tunes to the forefront (or background depending on how you look at it). Even when listened to intently or having it on in the background while doing something else this record will leave you in a better, more relaxed mood then you were when you put it on initially and upon repeated listens these songs (and their tiny nuances) will stick with you and leave you wanting to spin it again almost immediately.
35. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient
Opener “Best Night” immediately brings to mind a 21st century version of Gene Clark era-Byrds, while many other songs like “Brothers” sound like if Dylan was the lead singer on Tunnel of Love instead of Springsteen. On their core, these tunes are simple folk songs, but when combined with the layers of gauzy production create something truly unique, inspired, and completely distinctive. Using this great method of mixing seemingly raw folk songs to truly textured slightly shoe-gazy musical backdrops perfectly recalls what Nebraska would have sounded like if recorded with Brothers in Arms era Dire Straits as the backing band. For some reason despite the very European, almost Peter Gabriel ambience of a song like “Come to the City” the track still recalls the desperate Springsteen/Mellencamp version of early/mid 80s Americana. On paper an album that could be described as a perfect mix of folk rock mixed with electronic ambient textures sounds like something that would be impossibly perfect to my tastes yet completely unattainable to manifest. Somehow, magically this incredible band has not only succeeded at melding these two distinct styles together but also provided us with something entirely their own.
36. Battles - Gloss Drop
Featuring hypnotic, heavy grooves with enough perfect pop moments like “Ice Cream” to keep it slightly accessible, this second record by the great Battles is yet another winner for them. With former member Tyondai Braxton now out of the fold this album is mostly instrumental with a few tracks featuring guest vocalists. Without Braxton the band is pretty much at a new start here, this feels much more like a debut album than a follow up to an acclaimed modern classic which Battles first record Mirrored definitely is. That being said, there truly is no denying that this is a Battles release as evidenced by their signature bat shit crazy steel drum-esque sound pelting you in the face at repeated high velocity. Their choices of guest vocalists are pretty commendable as well as Gary Numan’s creepy croon literally could not have been a better match on the insanely rocking “My Machine” and The Boredoms Yamantaka Eye sounds possessed on the album’s highlight “Sundrome”. All in all, this album shows these guys as survivors after many wrote them off after losing a key member. With an impressive creative outburst like this record they proved they can not only continue, but absolutely thrive.
37. Destroyer – Kaputt
Sometime member of The New Pornographer’s Daniel Bejar has been making records under the banner Destroyer since the mid nineties, many of which are complete classics (City of Daughters and Destroyer’s Rubies are just two examples). As someone who has had an insane level of consistency for the last decade and a half it is utterly refreshing to hear him slightly change his style again, this time around he develops a suave late 70’s/early 80’s laid back So-Cal effortless cool. This is almost yacht rock in its complete effervescence that features tons of lite FM saxophone, Stevie Nicks-esque female background vocals and synth textures galore. These are perfectly and intensely crafted tunes that thrive to embrace the level of profound wonderlust that Ferry and the boys did on Roxy Music’s classic Avalon. Bejar hits this level of excellence throughout this fascinating record numerous times. One example is “Savage Night at the Opera” which starts with a Pointer Sisters/Grace Jones drum machine beat before literally being washed away by a tsunami of synthesizer and a general morning after coke-binge feel. Another absolute highlight is the 11 minute closer “Bay of Pigs (Detail)” which is basically a summarization of everything done here and completely works in the similar way that late era Talk Talk took their ambient grooves to the stratosphere.
38. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - We're New Here
Less a collaboration than a straightforward remix/reworking of Gil Scott-Heron’s last record I’m New Here by producer Jamie xx. This amazing album showcases two very different individual talents coalescing in a way that on paper would seem could never work, but completely succeeds here. Jamie xx essentially got Gil Scott-Heron’s vocal source tapes and added his own layers of incredibly minimalist, atmospheric production to them. The results, more often than not are simply transcendent, carrying out something totally new while never losing the sight, integrity, and depth of Gil’s original vision for these songs. Musically this album follows the vision of The xx debut album albeit with a less stark vibe and more of a slightly upbeat dark club feel. There is incredible space and room for each track to grow and stretch out, the songs never feel claustrophobic and probably could have worked as instrumentals if GSH would have pulled out of the project at the last minute. Thankfully he didn’t and we are left with this incredibly unique and singular record, one that takes two very different artists and unites their styles together seamlessly. In terms of the vocals, Jamie xx does treat and process some of the source material in his own style but more often than not GSE’s vocals remain intact, in their gloriously ragged form. When Gil does let his true “singing” voice out the results are gorgeous. Take “My Cloud” for one example, his voice is incredibly soulful and heartfelt, thankfully Jamie xx kept the production relatively simple here to focus on the amazing tone of this wonderfully expressive emoting. The album’s closer, “I’ll Take Care of You” features some great post-punk guitar that reminds me of Faith era Cure. The highlight of the entire thing is the great “NY is Killing Me” which takes GSE’s vocals to a dubstep level while Jamie xx gives us one of the funkiest beats I’ve heard from his thus far. The song is hypnotizing and is worth the price of admission here alone but truly the entire thing from start to finish is just an incredibly entertaining listen, completely unique and a true testament to the vision of these astonishing artists.
39. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
After releasing two excellent EPs in 2010, the great Shabazz Palaces (which is led by Ishmael Butler who was formerly Butterfly of the legendary Digable Planets) put out this, their first full length this year. After releasing two of my favorite hip hop albums in the nineties with his former group (1993’s Reachin’ and 1994’s super underrated follow up Blowout Comb) I couldn’t have been more excited when I read that this was indeed Butterfly’s new group. I always wondered why it seemed like he just disappeared from the spotlight when so much good hip hop in the breakup of DP was so clearly influenced by them. Although he did put one album out as Cherrywine in 2003 it truly felt like he came blasting out of nowhere with a new sound in 2010 when he released those two EPs. The production on those EPs and especially on this full length is just unreal. It is full of atmospheric, spaceship beats, like if The xx got together with Tyler the Creator, Kool Keith, or Doom. Just like his previous work there are some jazzy textures here but here they are mostly shrouded with off kilter beats and strange keyboard outbursts. Butler’s unmistakable voice and flow are in full effect here but with a time worn knowledge to his lyrics, this is truly an utterly refreshing work that hopefully sheds some light on the catalog of this underrated legend.
40. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
With vocal/guitar duties split evenly by Mary Timony (formerly of Helium) and Carrie Brownstein (formerly of Sleater-Kinney), the great Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks) on drums and keyboard player Rebecca Cole this band on paper sounds like an impossible to separate from their individual parts “supergroup”. The thing that is remarkable about this, their debut, is how natural and organic they sound playing together. With a remarkable chemistry and an extremely tight twin guitar attack this doesn’t sound too different from a late-era Sleater-Kinney record would sound if they had stayed together (and added a keyboard player), which of course is an extreme compliment as SK were one of my favorite bands. But truly, and perhaps surprisingly, this band does somehow forge its own sound on the majority of the tracks here. Take the slightly psychedelic haze of “Glass Tambourine” as one example, which even features a mid-song breakdown before going off into complete guitar heroics. While many of the other tracks take a great garage rock attack with a lot of changing tempos and interesting detours (like great harmony filled background vocals), they are all interchanged with a world-weary intrigue and an urgency that has you tapping your foot for 90% of the album. Simply put this is just the sound of four friends getting together and having fun with no over-thinking involved, and emerging with a near-perfect 10 song debut record which is something they make sound incredibly easy here but as many have proven previously is an extremely hard thing to actually execute.
41. J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
One of my favorite vocalists, inarguably one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and members of one of my all time favorite bands, Mr. J Mascis proves here on his solo debut that he truly can do nothing wrong. This absolutely breathtaking acoustic record couldn’t be more perfectly restrained and gorgeous. As the two recent Dinosaur Jr. reunion masterpieces proved Mascis truly has nothing to prove at this point in his career. Rather than rest on his laurels he turns the volume down and brings together this extremely focused and monumentally singular group of songs that prove even with a subdued vibe his tunes still completely shine on their own merits. While most solo albums from someone so connected with a band usually sound like they could belong to their main band, remarkably these truly sound like they were meant only for Mascis and not as just stripped down versions of songs he originally intended for Dino Jr. The only possibly exception to this might be the great “Is It Done” that totally has a Dinosaur Jr. vibe throughout and even features a blazing guitar solo to the backdrop of an simple acoustic track. This album also features some guitar work from the great Kurt Vile whose laid back style fits the vibe of these songs perfectly. As for highlights the title track is perhaps the most moving track here, it is awash in flawlessly haunting strings done in an incredible arrangement which complements the sullen tone of the track (and the whole album) perfectly.
42. Memory Tapes - Player Piano
While it may lack some of the “shock of the new” hysteria that his first record Seek Magic had, this second full-length from Dayve Hawk aka Memory Tapes is an incredibly strong follow up and a somewhat consolidated rendering of the styles showcased on his previous work. While Seek Magic seemed routed in the atmosphere, this one seems to bring the focus down to Earth a bit more. That is not to say that these songs don’t have space, as many of them do, but they seemed to be pointed in a specific direction more often than not, while the tunes on the first record seemed to float around with a less obvious finish line. This determination and focus leads itself to some perfect verse, chorus, verse pop songs with all the great production techniques (and little sonic surprises) that make Dayve one of the most gifted re-mixers and producers of our time but for the most part they lack the sense of adventure that the previous outing had. Despite all this, it seems that Dayve has improved as a standard pop songwriter here by leaps and bounds and while there isn’t any tune here as utterly chill inducing perfect as “Bicycle” or “Plain Material” from his first record. There are plenty of songs here that measure as some of this year’s very best (“Wait In The Dark”, “Sunhits”, “Trance Sisters” to name just three) and would make any fan of mid 80s New Order absolutely bleed with excitement.
43. Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing
A less fun, more solemn outing then their previous two; this third record from the funkiest nerds on the planet is yet another winner. Despite the somber tone of the record this group still can turn out grooves for days especially on the great space funk of “Cat Got Your Tongue” and “Taiwanese Roots”. “Spilt Milk” sounds like Tubeway Army, Kraftwerk, and Eno at their darkest and the organ/drum combo on “Yo Yo” is another highlight (and features some of the humor of their previous work that is sadly missing here for the most part). They still show their krautrock influences on their sleeve as well, as evidenced by the repetitive grooves on the great “Minestrone”. All in all this may not be the good time party records their first two were, but this is easily the most cohesive record they have released thus far and one of this year’s best.
44. DJ Quik - The Book of David
Magically sounding like it could have either been released in 1995 or 2011, this timeless new record from West Coast legend DJ Quik continues the absolutely shocking comeback stride he started with his perfect 2009 collaboration with Kurupt, BlaQKout. While this album isn’t as batshit crazy and stylistically random as BlaQKout, it is every bit as enjoyable and even with the large number of guests remains a completely cohesive experience. This isn’t to say no chances are taken, the beats are some of the most innovative and exciting of any I have heard this year and Quik can still turn a phrase like no other. His over pronunciation of certain words (one of his trademarks) makes the hilarity of his insanely humorous one liners all the more crack up worthy. But as great as his rapping/flow/lyrics and aforementioned one liners are, the real price for admission here are the uniformly great head bopping beats. While he doesn’t have the fame and mainstream popularity of his only true rival Dr. Dre, Quik is steadily proving himself to be not only Dre’s equal but maybe his superior. Check the atmospheric space funk of “Poppin’” it sounds like something The Neptunes may have done circa Hell Hath No Fury but here is given that laid back West Coast groove that could only be done by Quik. Simultaneously crowd pleasing and experimental this album is sure to please anyone with any interest in real hip hop.
45. Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!
While this is similar to other 80s influenced acts such as Cut Copy or Saturdays=Youth era M83 this band uses the decade’s tackier aspects as their chief influences. Parts of this album remind of cheese-tastic 80s nuggets like Nu Shooz “I Can’t Wait” or Sly Fox’s “Let’s Go All The Way” and they even have a real life Michael McDonald cameo (not a sample) on the absolutely amazing album closer “Some Children”. I hear echoes of Depeche Mode and Technique era New Order as well, so while this record and this band may not be the most original establishment of the year, it certainly is one of the most fun by a long shot.
46. The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
After releasing one of the most exciting debut albums of all time, the absolutely perfect and utterly uplifting Thunder, Lightning, Strike back in 2004, The Go! Team has basically made two sound-alike records since. Both of which feature the same amount of impossibly happy cheer and not a hint of gloom or a frown anywhere in sight, this, the second sound-alike and third album overall is another complete winner whose energy level is relentless throughout its entire running time. While many of these songs could have been interchanged with tunes on the two previous albums (progression really isn’t this band’s mode of operation) they still manage to throw an absolutely perfect pop nugget at our brains here. In this case it is the incredible “Buy Nothing Day” which features Best Coast's Bethany Cosatino on vocals and is easily one of the year’s best songs. Elsewhere we get the same sample heavy, ESG-esque female rapping, and full on culty sing song cheerleader chants that have become this groups trademarks. While it is pretty much safe to say this band will never touch their debut in terms of sheer perfection if they still keep coming up with great records like this every couple of years the world will surely see more smiles.
47. A$AP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP
Although he hails from Harlem, this great MC is clearly influenced by everything Houston and New Orleans proving that the circular influence of Hip Hop has truly come around a full 360 degrees. This youngin even interrupts his own great flow to break out into some Bone Thugs type verses from out of nowhere on a couple of tracks here. This debut mixtape is remarkable not only for Rocky’s aforementioned remarkable and incredibly versatile flow but also for the perfection of every single beat here. Seriously these are easily some of the strangest, most interesting, consistent, and just plain mind-blogging beats I have heard in a long time. Matching the amazing production to some of the most inventive tempo/cadence structures and changes makes this easily one of the best debuts in recent hip hop history.
48. Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts
Filled to the brim with not only Thurston’s great acoustic guitar work but tons of harp, strings, and gleaming electronic flourishes, this amazing solo record from Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore continues with the luminous consistency of his previous work. Truly, very few other artists can claim to possess the steadiness and constant level of quality that Moore has demonstrated with his discography both solo and with S.Y. Like J. Mascis, who also released a great acoustic record this year, this album obviously is more rooted in mellow folk numbers than the more noise-rock influence of his main gig. The production on this album is completely noteworthy as well, not only because it is one of two records produced by Beck this year on this list (the other being Stephen Malkmus’s incredible Mirror Traffic) but because of the way Beck lifts these deceivingly simple folk tunes into the stratosphere. The sound on this record definitely recalls Beck’s classic Sea Change in that way, but while that record reveled in its utter heartbreak and sadness this one evokes a milder melancholy, a slight sorrow that is almost welcomed, making this a pretty perfect cloudy day record that also works during blissful times.
49. The Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
Sunny fuzz pop filled with nice organ, piano, and synth textures this young band’s second record is a complete sonic breakthrough from the lo-fi garage rock of their previous work. These songs all have a nice polish to them but that doesn’t take away from the fact that these are, in fact, still simple pop songs underneath all the shine. “Still New” recalls Bandwagonesque era Teenage Fanclub complete with a cloned guitar break from that records “The Concept”. The rest of the album reminds me of turn of the century indie act The Anniversary in the way that band always had an impossibly sunny outlook coupled with ridiculously huge choruses. This band has it a true stride on this record, these are some of the most effortlessly infectious pop tunes I have heard in a long time and when stacked against each other make for an incredibly intoxicating full length listen.
50. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
Not really a dance album but definitely not an ambient release either, this debut full length from producer Nicolas Jaar kind of defies most easy genre labels. There is a myriad of different styles here but all of which keep the same restrained hushed tone. There is the almost reggae like rhythm of “Too Many Kids Finding Rain In the Dust” one of the most best tracks here, which features some beautiful cello and violin work finding their way into the mix. The slow dance beat of “Keep Me There” is another winner featuring dance tempos that leads into the album’s highlight “I Got a Woman”. “Problems with the Sun” may be my favorite thing on here though, almost sounding like a bastard cousin to Scott Walker’s work on Nite Flights. The robotic title track recalls Man-Machine era Kraftwerk. All in all this album is kind of all over the place but the randomness and lack of cohesion almost seem to be one of its many selling points, it places like a great spaced out mix tape that demands repeated listens.
51. Washed Out - Within and Without
This debut full length from Ernest Greene aka Washed Out is filled with strangely danceable, atmospheric, waves of musical glory. Each reverb heavy tune is drenched in layers and layers of synths and effects. While each song does offer up a slight variation and can each be singled out on its own merits, the entire record does share a mood and certain elegance that makes the entire thing go down as pure ear candy. Some highlights include “Echoes” which is a danceable track that recalls a post-punk version of a late 70s Rod Stewart jam. There are some nice strings in “Far Away” and the album closes with a haunting piano ballad named “A Dedication” that is one of the most riveting performances of the year. If you want hook heavy catchy tunes than this may not be your cup of tea, but if you want a solid unified album that you can put on and be instantly whisked away to a magical island than you may have found your audio version of a Calgon bubble bath right here.
52. The Roots – Undun
The Roots are one of the very few veteran hip hop acts to not only still be relevant almost twenty years after their first album but to actually be getting better. This, their first concept album is another amazing addition to their already untouchable discography. After putting out two recent dark masterpieces with Rising Down and How I Got Over this continues in that same slightly bleak vibe. For being a “concept” album this is completely a unified and tight record which covers a lot of ground in its brief 38 minutes. “Make My” has a great and slightly eerie early 70s Stevie Wonder vibe towards the end. “Kool On” recalls a great 60s block party jam but the highlight of the thing for me is “I Remember” another slightly eerie song with a catchy keyboard riff under the verses and a hooky chorus. The entire record is completely accessible but still challenging enough to make it warrant repeated listens, as pretty close to a perfect record as you are going to get.
53. Brian Eno/Rick Holland - Drums Between the Bells
Drums Between the Bells is a collaborative effort featuring spoken word performances of Rick Holland’s poetry recited by 9 various voices (counting Eno and Holland’s) set to some of the best instrumental work Eno has done in recent times. Honestly the marriage of spoken word to the ambient, textural work of Eno’s is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but anyone that is even a remote fan of any of Eno’s previous work needs to check this album out. The music here is utterly divine, proving yet again why I and so many others hold this guy in such high regard. Check the instrumental break towards the end of “Glitch” it is literally everything I love about Eno’s recent work, totally chaotic and otherworldly. While the distinctiveness of “Pour it Out” would fit on Eno’s 1975 masterpiece Another Green World. However, there are moments of utter pretentiousness here, I’m looking at you “"Fierce Aisles of Light" but for the most part the mutual visions of these two artists coalesces together in a very natural way making this a slightly challenging work but one that is easy to meet halfway.
54. Male Bonding – Endless Now
Power pop with a fuzzy edge that reminds me of some overlooked similar acts of the 90s like Smoking Popes or Samiam albeit with a more lo-fi edge, England’s Male Bonding returns here with another great and catchy album. The first thing people will notice about this album when compared to their excellent debut is the level of production has increased, which doesn’t seem to hurt this record, as little nuances are brought to the forefront such as some great vocal harmonies and even some catchy little handclaps ala The Promise Ring circa 30 Degrees Everywhere. This truly is the sound of a band growing up and coming into its own, the same way similar acts like Husker Du and Hoodoo Gurus did during their respective career arcs, here’s hoping they have the same level of consistency as either of those great bands did, with a sophomore record as impressive as this it doesn’t seem like too far of a stretch.
55. Wilco – The Whole Love
After a few relatively safe and slightly predictable (but still solid) albums, this new record from the great Wilco starts off with a true statement of purpose in the album’s crazy opener “Art of Almost”. Creeping in with a wave of distortion and an off-kilter drum beat this song announces that the experimental edge of Wilco circa A Ghost is Born or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot may be back in the fold here. While the song is a complete winner and a true highlight, it proves to be the token “weird” track of the record in the same way that “Bull Black Nova” was the strange focal point of their last record. The song is still a great and perhaps interesting way to start off a new record, especially around the 6 minute mark when the bottom falls out, all hell breaks loose, and the song goes into a banana sandwich freakout before collapsing and changing course with the second tune, the effervescent “I Might”. From here things get slightly more predictable, but there are a large number of little sonic surprises that show up throughout the record. Add that to the fact that this is an incredibly consistent batch of extremely well-written songs and that leaves very little to criticize here. Simply put Wilco still may be settling into a slight groove but as long as they are putting out consistently impressive albums like this they will still hold their ground as being one of the best rock n’ roll bands on the planet.
56. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
While a 52 minute instrumental electronic album could border on being a very boring new age pretentious mess what makes works this album interesting is the unsettling ease of the sonic journey at hand. Sure many could view ambient works such as this as simple background music but even if you try and ignore this, the mood and tone of these pieces just will not let you. This is an extremely unsettling and enormously fascinating work that just demands your attention. Taking a cue from the stark minimalism of composers like Steve Reich or Philip Glass (especially the formers use of phasing patterns) Tim Hecker recorded this album using a pipe organ in a church in Iceland (how macabre!) and truly from the manipulated sounds of the instrument to the black and white cover art this record just screams dreary. While most of this album does have a certain tense energy, around the end of the record (starting with "Analog Paralysis, 1978”) this thing starts to border on the dreamy sound-scapes of some of my favorite atmospheric shoe-gaze bands. Take “Studio Suicide” for example, this type of thing wouldn’t be out of place on a Slowdive or a Sigur Ros record. While the beginning of the “In The Air” suite that closes the album sounds like the little strange instrumental interludes on My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless only here those snippets are fleshed out and given ample room to breathe. All in all this isn’t an album to appease the masses but for anyone who has any passing interest in some slightly challenging instrumental music bordering on modern classical than this record will be right up your alley.
57. The Rapture – In the Grace of Your Love
Perhaps it was their move back to DFA or the amount of personal drama surrounding them (band members leaving, having a baby, death of family member, finding religion, etc.) but The Rapture sounds absolutely re-vitalized and reborn on this incredible album (their first in 5 years). Opener “Sail Away” is just an impossibly huge anthem with an intoxicating four on the floor disco beat, building verses, and a chorus that (pun intended) sails. Some other tunes take the straight rock edge of their label mates Free Energy to another level while others like the incredibly catchy “Roller Coaster” have a terrific poignancy that really elevates this record to another level. The entire thing is just full of their signature blend of danceable art rock but is just filled to the brim with winner after winner. Just try not smiling and tapping your foot to the monumentally uplifting jam “Children”, check the horns in “How Deep Is Your Love”, and the piano breaks in “It Takes Time To Be A Man” this is truly the sound of a band who has overcome some hard times and arrived on the other side truly superior and grown up. I never thought The Rapture would top anything off their classic Echoes but with this album they have come remarkably close, a solid classic and a welcome comeback.
58. Youth Lagoon – Year of Hibernation
An amazingly cathartic debut record by Trevor Powers aka Youth Lagoon, which captures the sound and uncertainty of our formative years in a completely perfect way. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the music here is uniformly gorgeous and utterly haunting. Each song sounds like a psychedelic lullaby while Powers vocals capture a youthful innocent exuberance throughout. There is an amazing vulnerability to this record but as downtrodden as these songs are at their early stages, almost all of them reach a towering hill of happiness towards the end. This record presents some of the most uplifting group of tunes assembled together but as joyous as each song becomes, they never feel forced or manufactured to reach their goals, it is hard to call a synthy bedroom record organic, but there is something here that feel completely homegrown and natural. A remarkable achievement and a record that will stick with you well after you are finished listening to it.
59. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
After working alongside the great Ariel Pink, John Maus takes the cue of Ariel Pink’s last record, the insanely great Before Today (an album I can’t recommend enough), and makes a “pop” record. Now my use of the word “pop” here needs some clarification, this isn’t exactly a Beyonce album but is much less lo-fi than Maus’s previous two records. The music is very early 80’s post-punk, like Faith era Cure with a little more sunlight. “Quantum Leap” sounds like a grumpy Joy Division outtake. Despite its ironic title “Head for the Country” sounds like it was recorded in a dark factory in Berlin with Kraftwerk overseeing the proceedings. Obviously this is never as sunny as some of the stuff on Ariel Pink’s recent efforts but this does have a great sense of paranoia and dread matched by some very bright synth lines. This dichotomy of happy music vs. growled angry droning vocals makes for an intriguing listen that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but still easily makes for one of the most interesting albums of the year for anyone even remotely interesting in synth-pop.
60. Oneohtix Point Never – Replica
A great, sample based recording that actually shows more emotion than other similar projects, there are moments here that remind me of the classic 1970s collaborations between Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. While most of it could be considered a sequel to The Art of Noise’s 1984 classic Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise? The closer “Explain” reminds me of The Talking Heads “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” (one of my all time favorite songs). Either way this is a truly original and intriguing listen to those of us who have the open mind to enjoy such a thing.
So there they are, my favorite albums of 2011. I have limited myself to 60 this year but there were plenty more records that grabbed me this year, below are the runners up, I have enjoyed all of these albums as well but had to limit the list somewhat. So unfortunately the records below did not make the cut but are still completely noteworthy and just missed making the list.
Jonsi – We Bought a Zoo Soundtrack
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi – Rome
The Black Keys – El Camino
Sepalcure - Sepalcure
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Pusha T – Fear of God II: Let Us Pray
Maritime – Human Hearts
Field – Looping State of Mind
Jay Z/Kanye West – Watch The Throne
TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
Wire - Red Barked Tree
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Belong
Neon Indian – Era Extrana
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine
Tyler, The Creator – Goblin
Das Racist – Relax
Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
S.C.U.M – Again Into Eyes
Gang Of Four - Content
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Pallers – The Sea of Memories
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Hysterical
Decemberists - The King is Dead
Mike Watt – Hyphenated-Man
Rival Schools – Pedals
The Raveonettes - Raven In the Grave
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
Buffalo Tom – Skins
DJ Shadow – The Less You Know, The Better
Dom – Family of Love
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
Vivian Girls - Share The Joy
