Articles In The Category:
Best-Of-2011
- tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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As inventive as any album this year, Merrill Gerbus’ sound is a junkyard of Afro-Caribbean, R&B, Funk, and Modern Rock influences, though her voice maybe her music’s most unique quality. After her first album, BiRd-BrAiNs, found an audience despite being recorded on a digital voice recorder, Gerbus’ took advantage of her first studio-recorded release that turns tunes to treasure. —James Vest - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
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This album is beautiful in its quiet grace, and the honesty of its lyrics. Even 9 months after its release these songs still get happily stuck in my head. —Liz Smyth - Detroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
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I haven’t listened to any other album this year more than Kaputt. I am infatuated with every track here. I guess artistic audacity just gets me every time. I want to hear someone giving a crazy idea his all, even if that could potentially mean utter failure. Dan Bejar could’ve made the worst decision of his life by releasing Kaputt, but as long as listeners like me are around, we’ll make sure this isn’t the last time an artist doesn’t play it safe. Kaputt is my favorite album of the year. —Dylan Peterson - The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
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Giant, swirling walls of guitar and a tremendous sense of intensity, that great build-up and release, made The Big Roar perhaps the best shoegaze album since the heyday of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. —Shawn Campbell - The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
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Springsteen, Dylan, Petty are the common comparisons…but with a hypnotic bend. Roadtrip music that makes you drive faster…be safe, use cruise control instead. —David Staples - The Weeknd – House of Balloons (XL)
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The debut mixtape from Toronto’s mysterious The Weeknd spread through the interwebs like wildfire. House of Balloons collected over 200,000 downloads in a matter of weeks and quickly made these guys into a household name. It’s easy to see why. As far as contemporary R&B goes there aren’t too many artists, The-Dream aside, that are doing stuff like this. The beats are so good they might buckle your knees if you’re not prepared, and when combined with Abel Tesfaye’s considerable pipes and a penchant for darker subject matter this stuff becomes downright sinister in the best way possible. —Stephen Dobek - M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)
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Anthony Gonzalez reimagines the grooves of the 80s and makes them sound new again. The child-like “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” might be my favorite song of the year. —Erin Van Ness - Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
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As good as Sleater-Kinney? Yes. —John Schechinger - Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
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Since these guys have been hammering away in Chicago for years now, you wouldn’t have thought this album’s greatness would have taken anyone by surprise, but Neverendless felt like it came out of nowhere – slamming into your senses like the 2-ton flatbed truck that Cave commandeered to share its new songs with the city. Crisp and clear production with impossibly tight songs. Somehow these epic jams all seem to end too quickly! —John Lombardo - Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)
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The most unique and exciting album I heard this year hands down. This is music I’ve never experienced before and the fact that it comes from one musician, playing one instrument, recorded in one take is absolutely mind-blowing. —Mike Pakowski - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
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Seattle outfit Fleet Foxes sophomore effort is the perfect soundtrack to a lazy Sunday morning. The Foxes effortlessly evoke the feel of early 70’s light rock bands like Crosby, Stills & Nash. Check out the warm vocal harmonies on the albums title track, “Helplessness Blues.” —Jim Waiter - James Blake – James Blake (Universal Republic)
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Staying with the theme of amazing UK-ness, but completely changing, well, everything, the music of James Blake has had a huge impact on 2011. Not only has he stretched the genre of dub-step into a calmer territory, much more accessible to all, but the kid is brilliant! At the time of the release in February, he was 21! And now, he’s a household name. Well, a household name in my shabby apartment. —Michelle Nadeau - Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
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Hey, guitars! Yeah, that’s an instrument for old dudes, but Kurt Vile doesn’t care. He knows how to write a great song with his guitar, and he should continue. Kurt has an aura that you can’t really fuck with. The timelessness of songwriting wins again here, whether you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth, or Arcade Fire, Kurt Vile’s music somehow stretches across decades of rock and roll cool and comes back with a uniquely original style. —Dylan Peterson - Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
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I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this album when it was first released. The knock on Noah Lennox’s follow up to his landmark album Person Pitch was that it’s “more of the same.” But sometimes that’s a good thing, especially when it comes from a gifted musician who continues to sharpen his electro-ambient-avant-pop craft. —Clarence Ewing - Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)
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It takes guts to make a debut album this indecipherable. Garage production without the garage rock, this Kiwi-American trio have put together a quick half-hour of spare, danceable tunes penned by Flying Nun vet Ruban Nielson. UMO have hooks galore, but are just as content to ride the main riff of a track through the fade-out. —Austin Bainard Harvey - Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)
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“I still keep my baby teeth, In the bedside table with my jewelry, You still sleep in the bed with me, My jewelry, and my baby teeth. I don’t need another friend, When most of them I can barely keep up with. I’m perfectly able to hold my own hand, but I still can’t kiss my own neck. I wanted to give you everything but I still stand in awe of superficial things I wanted to love you like my mother’s mother’s mothers did…Civilian…”
No explanation needed. —Bobby Evers
- Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)
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I would think that by now Radiohead would have worn out their ability to make this kind of music so well—you know, said everything they can say? Anyway, they haven’t. —Tony Breed - The Decemberists &ndash The King Is Dead (Capitol)
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Decemberists get rootsy, release one of their strongest efforts to date. —Al Gabor - Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)
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If a young Elvis could have somehow been body swapped with Leonard Cohen, Elvis presumably would have ditched Rockabilly for Rhythm and Blues. Because such a situation isn’t possible, there’s Timber Timbre to put to rest what that scenario would have sounded like. The album is a haunted space–expansive, mysterious, and eerily exciting, making you want to cling to something you love. —James Vest - Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)
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Ernest Greene’s got the voice and he fuses it seamlessly with electronics. It’s hard not to like this music. Every track does well. —Richard Paul - Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
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Formulaic and catchy? No problem. Married types are unattainable. It’s okay. —John Schechinger - Cults – Cults (In the Name of)
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Bouncy but creepy take on sixties girl group sound and themes. —Al Gabor - Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
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A lovely pop album from the adorable couple that is Tennis, Cape Dory is delightful, light, and fun. It’s about love. It sounds like summer. It makes you want to dance. I really enjoyed it. —Abbey Fox - Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place (Asthmatic Kitty)
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A beautiful, dreamy, hypnotic album. Julianna Barwick’s voice is enchanting, soothing and magical. —Mike Pakowski - Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
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It almost makes me feel yucky how much I’ve listened to Yuck in 2011, pun not intended. But why should I? They’ve earned their place on my playlists! Maybe it’s their delicious 90’s throwback garage rock sound or perhaps it’s Daniel Blumberg’s amazing fro that instantly reminds you of Sideshow Bob (not in a super creepy way, though). I cannot wait to hear what this London group does next. —Michelle Nadeau - Disappears – Guider (kranky)
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Another year means another Disappears album on my top 10. This band, that we are all very lucky to have locally, just keeps getting better. There is a new album due in March and it makes me wonder if they will make it 3 for 3 on my list in 2012. —Andy Weber - JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Want More (Bloodshot)
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Chicago’s favorite soul crooner is back in full force with the fabulous Uptown Sound for their first release on Bloodshot. The only thing better than this album is seeing these guys live. —Sara Miller - Likki Li – Wounded Rhymes (LL)
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Lykke Li portrays her vulnerability with such passion on this album. “I Know Places” is one of my favorites. —Liz Smyth - Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
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Waits’ collaborator/wife Kathleen Brennan laid down the law: no songs over 4 minutes. Well, a few creep over that mark, but concision leads to the sharpest songs Waits has created in a long time. From barroom balladeering to scuzzy blues to rockabilly, Waits is in control on his best album since Rain Dogs. —Mike Bennett - Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI)
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Well when I first listened to this album I was blown away just by the fact that Wilco was able to excite me again. Just when I had written them off they pull me back in. Well done! —Andy Weber - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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It’s rare to find an album that really grabs you and smacks you around this way. There’s something about these afropop-inspired polyrhythms combined with Merrill Garbus’s balls-out singing style that just gets under my skin. - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
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PJ Harvey has been making music for years and is still totally on top of her game. This album is really top-notch. - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
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Yes, Fleet Foxes. Folky harmonies, sweet melodies, beards. I’m not made of wood, people. - Grace Jones – Hurricane (Play It Again Sam)
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Thanks to a long-delayed US release, I get to put this album on this year’s top ten despite having had a copy myself for two years. I can tell you it stands the test of time; I still listen to it often. - Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy)
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Dengue Fever has been doing more or less the same thing for a while (and doing it well). With Cannibal Courtship, they finally break the mold, with excellent results. - John Vanderslice – White Wilderness (Dead Oceans)
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I love John Vanderslice, but for me his albums have always hovered at about 11 on my end-of-year list. But on White Wilderness, he teams up with the Magic*Magic Orchestra and really kicks his game up a notch. - Daniel Knox – Evryman for Himself (Chicago Independent)
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Basically, sardonic piano cabaret music. I love this guy. (If the description “sardonic piano cabaret music” doesn’t pique your interest then I don’t know what to say to you.) - Jens Lekman – An Argument with Myself (Secretly Canadian)
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Oh Jens. Everything you do is so enjoyable. - The Mast – Wild Poppies (Channel A)
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Like Dead Can Dance with Guitars, and fantastic drumming that propels it along. - Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)
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I would think that by now Radiohead would have worn out their ability to make this kind of music so well—you know, said everything they can say? Anyway, they haven’t.
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow
Wild Flag – Wild Flag
The Feelies – Here Before- Dessa – Alibi
Battles feat. Gary Numan – My Machines
Malachai – My Ambulance
Wild Flag – Romance - The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
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Springsteen, Dylan, Petty are the common comparisons.. but with a hypnotic bend. Roadtrip music that makes you drive faster.. be safe, use cruise control instead. (Fav song.. Come to the City) - Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)
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Dynamic…Loud when it needs to be, Hushy when it feels right to be hushy… and Jenn Wasner’s smoky voice! It’s all so haunting and mesmerizing. (Fav song.. Holy Holy) - I Break Horses – Hearts (Bella Union)
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Vocal effects and pedal tapping… hypnotic shoegaze rotates around from time to time even now… (Fav song.. Hearts) - Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
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Like a psychedelic Brian Wilson. Best enjoyed alone with headphones and ice cream. (Fav song.. Alsatian Darn) - Low – C’Mon (Sub Pop)
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Their 9th album and I’m still enthralled. Minimalist royalty in the music world. Also one of the least depressing of their body of work. (Fav song.. Witches) - Lumerians – Transmallinia (Knitting Factory)
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Garage psyche from the Bay Area that sounds like it could have come from the 60’s. Heavy and droney with African percussion, this album would go great with oil-wheel projector visual effects.. and a mean case of the munchies.. (Fav song.. Melting Space) - Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
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Released way back in January, it shoulda been the soundtrack to summer. Created by a husband/wife team from Colorado about the romance of boats, sailing, beaches, sand… Gorgeous album indeed! (Fav Song.. Baltimore) - National Skyline – Primitive Parade (Hype Music)
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Synth rich, ethereal, warm, emotional guitar driven electronica created by Jeff Dimpsey (ex Hum). It’s a fine follow-up to 2009’s Bliss & Death (I’m not counting the film soundtrack material in between). My single favorite song of the year is Dream Like Me, and it’s on this album. (of course, favorite songs change places with each other like popcorn in a popper, but as of this writing….) - Cross Record – Magnetic Current (Another New Calligraphy)
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A lo-fi collection of delicate, beautiful and haunting songs. This album stopped me in my tracks. Pull the covers up and stay inside today. Hope ya like clarinets. (Fav song.. Black Cat) - White Hills – H-p1 (Thrill Jockey)
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Loud, loud, loud psychedelic free-form space-rock that drones you into hypnosis, but in a scary way. It’s as unnerving as it is addictive as it is intense. I would walk about with this on my iPod and occasionally find myself looking over my shoulder, worried about what’s behind me. I suppose I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a twelve foot praying mantis looming over me, holding a boom box over its head like John Cusack. Ok, surprised isn’t the right word. (Fav song.. Paradise) - Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
Implodes – Black Earth (Kranky)
Wooden Shjips – West (Thrill Jockey)
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador)
- Cults – Cults (In the Name of)
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The girl-group splendor of 1960’s pop has seen its share of revival attempts, but what Cults managed with their much-anticipated debut album is more than tribute. These are pop songs not of any particular era, but simply a load of melodic hooks that shimmer enough to soundtrack a snowfall, but too exciting not to be summer jams. Ultimately, Cults may be a one-trick pony, but once stuck, this trick is impossible to remove from your head. - Razika – Program 91 (Smalltown Supersound)
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Four 19-year-old Norwegian ladies who’ve known each other for over a decade record a full album on weekend breaks from school. Before you think the result will be akin to The Shaggs, you’ll hear a joyous, ska-influenced post-punk that plays up the band’s youth without sounding immature, snotty, or cloyingly saccharine. If 2011 was “The Year Of Boring”, this was the exception to prove the rule. - Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)
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It takes guts to make a debut album this indecipherable. Garage production without the garage rock, this Kiwi-American trio have put together a quick half-hour of spare, danceable tunes penned by Flying Nun vet Ruban Nielson. UMO have hooks galore, but are just as content to ride the main riff of a track through the fade-out. - Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)
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For all intents and purposes, Radiohead made an album of dance music in 2011. The result is simply their best record since Kid A. Sonically dense and yet immediately listenable, and at times even fun, the Oxford quintet once again expand their palate with a new set of classics. - The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
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This Welsh trio survive mediocre production and an overly-compressed mix to put together one of the year’s more emotionally intense records. Hard rock with an ear for melody and a riff, the songwriting chops are there, while Ritzy Bryan’s double-wallop of arena-ready guitar crunch and soaring vocals make me believe they’re going to be around for the long haul. - Village – Local Moves (Self-Released)
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I have to admit that I’d much rather listen to classic rock than chillwave, or rehashed 80’s soft-rock; and local guys Village do more than their part to sate the need. Part alt-country, and part barroom stomp, it’s a record that never tries too hard and never misses the mark. If you need a fix of the basics, this is where to go. - The Psychic Paramount – II (No Quarter)
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An instrumental rock record that emerges from the fog, destroys everything in sight, takes no prisoners, and walks away victoriously. Pulsing, loud, unapologetic, and brash, parts of this album reminded me of Steve Reich’s “Pulses” fed through a heavier sort of Krautrock. It’s a beast of a record, and you’ll feel better for having survived it. - Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
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Sure, it’s 2/3rds of Sleater-Kinney, and has parts of Helium and The Minders, but never mind that. These ladies made perhaps the most fun record of the year by becoming greater than the sum of their parts, or their history. They also made a six-and-a-half-minute jam on being a racehorse into perhaps the year’s best straight-up rock song. - Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
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British indie from the mid-80’s is probably due for a revival of its own. With a cadre of influences that don’t include The Smiths in the first breath, this London quartet crafts cutesy indie pop with lots of dark undertones, but enough melody and sass to keep you from forgetting that Belle & Sebastian didn’t make an album this year. - Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi (Domino)
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Ms. Calvi’s songs range from quiet, desperate, and cavernous, to urgent, plaintive, and encouraging. Her songwriting chops are exceeded by her guitar wizardry and killer pipes. Melodramatic without going over-the-top, the London wunderkind’s continually impresses with repeated listens. - 11. Cave — Neverendless (Drag City)
Chicago’s motorik masters have released their best yet. Don’t sleep on ‘em before they blow up.
12. Office Of Future Plans — Office Of Future Plans (Dischord) J. Robbins of Jawbox fame snags a cellist in his new band. The result is grown-up DC emo with hooks galore.
13. Austra — Feel It Break (Paper Bag)
If The Knife were a little less creepy a little more dancey, they’d be dead ringers for this Toronto trio. Dark, cold, and wonderful.
14. Wilco — The Whole Love (dBpm)
Wilco’s best album in a decade sees the band taking risks for the first time in nearly as long. They sound more comfortable now than they ever have.
15. Girl In A Coma — Exits & All The Rest (Blackheart)
The San Antonio trio’s third album draws from punk, grunge, and guitar pop to give us the album of 90’s revivalism we’d all hoped for.
16. PJ Harvey — Let England Shake (Vagrant)
Polly Jean (no relation) explores her native country’s journey through wars and finds a new voice for herself, plus a shiny new Mercury Prize.
17. Fucked Up — David Comes To Life (Matador)
The hardcore sextet from Toronto create a four-act rock opera with tons of characters and even more bite. A monumentally tough, albeit rewarding listen.
18. Kate Bush — 50 Words For Snow (ANTI-)
Bush’s 2nd album of the year is a wintry-themed record with guest spots from Elton John and her own son. Piano-driven prog-adult contemporary that even indie kids can get behind.
19. The Caretaker — An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (History Always Favours The Winners)
James Leyland Kirby explores amnesia by remixing old 78’s and keeping the surface noise. Haunting, beautiful, and heartbreaking.
20. Destroyer — Kaputt (Merge)
Here because no other album captured the year’s indie trends (soft rock, saxophone, overly clean guitars and production), and still made them sound decent. - Detroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
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Dan Bejar is one of the coolest people on the planet and this album is just effortlessly smooth and brilliant from beginning to end. Every time I listened to it I found something new that kept me coming back for more throughout the year. - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
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Thank you Polly Jean for this amazingly sombre and beautiful gem. An incredible heartfelt album filled with powerful songs/stories. - Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)
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The most unique and exciting album I heard this year hands down. This is music I’ve never experienced before and the fact that it comes from one musician, playing one instrument, recorded in one take is absolutely mind-blowing. - Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place (Asthmatic Kitty)
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A beautiful, dreamy, hypnotic album. Julianna Barwick’s voice is enchanting, soothing and magical. - Dirty Beaches – Badlands (Zoo)
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I’m a sucker for nostalgia albums and there was no shortage of them this year. However with Badlands, Alex Zhang Hungtai did something really special with this low-fi take on 1950’s rock n’ roll. - Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
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A hip-hop album that sounds like it came from outer space instead of from Seattle. - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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Such an enjoyable album from start to finish. There are so many musical genres uniquely blended together on whokill; and Merrill Garbus sings and plays her heart out on every track. - Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
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To be honest, I don’t have much of a history with the music of Mr. Waits. But after spending some time with the lovely and honest Bad as Me, I can’t wait to grab some whiskey and find out what I’ve been missing. - John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (Ribbon Music/Upset The Rhythm)
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Thought-provoking minimalist synth-pop. - NewVillager – NewVillager (IamSound)
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This was my feel good album of 2011. Just a fun, enjoyable mix of soul and indie-pop. - Sandro Perri – Impossible Spaces (Constellation)
Cults – Cults (In The Name Of)
Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer (Merge)
Girls Names – Dead To Me (Slumberland/Tough Love)
Black Lips – Arabia Mountain (Vice)
- JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Want More (Bloodshot)
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Chicago’s favorite soul crooner is back in full force with the fabulous Uptown Sound for their first release on Bloodshot. The only thing better than this album is seeing these guys live. - Various Artists – Thai? Dai!: The Heavier Side of the Luk Thung Underground – Finders Keepers
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Finders Keepers is at it again with an awesome collection of tracks I would have never known existed if it weren’t for them. A grab-bag of funky, pyschy, rocky tracks from Southeast Asia; what’s not to like? Also of note this year from Finder’s Keepers, Bollywood Bloodbath. Musical bits and pieces from Bollywood Horror flicks – fantastic. Next time you see ‘em, buy those fellas at Finder’s Keepers a drink. - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Bulletproof Brass EP (ChoiceCuts)
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Need to get pumped up about something? Then listen to “Touch the Sky.” This Chicago band of brothers (literally) will have you up and out of your seat in no time. If that song doesn’t get you moving, then let’s face it, you were never going to run that marathon anyway. - Darren Johnston’s Gone to Chicago – The Big Lift (Porto Franco)
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Some of the finest players in Chicago improv jazz appear on this album led by San Francisco trumpeter Darren Johnston. Want a taste of what’s going on with jazz in Chicago these days? Then give this album a spin and take a ride with “Glass Ceiling, Paper Floor.” - A Lull – Confetti (Mush)
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This is one of those albums I bought just for one song, “Weapons of War.” After hearing that single, I knew I had to find out what else this Chicago band had to offer, and they didn’t let me down. I’m not sure why, but this album has become my defacto morning commute album. It’s somehow upbeat and calming at the same time. Kind of a perfect combination for a Chicago morning, just add coffee. - Booker T. Jones – The Road from Memphis – ANTI-
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The brillant Booker T. is backed by the Roots on this album, and Questlove produces. That alone makes this a top ten. Add to that guest apperances by Matt Berninger, Sharon Jones, and Lou Reed. Must I say more? - Jamie Woon – Mirrorwriting (Candent)
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I admit it, I have a crush on this man, and his music. I know James Blake is the young rising dubstep star of the year, and for good reason (he’s made my honorable mentions list); but there’s something about the R&B stylings of Woon than just slay me. I could listen to “Night Air” on repeat for days. - YACHT – Shangri-La (DFA)
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Cramming for a final? Trapped at the office for another 15 hour day trying to meet a deadline? Try this album by YACHT. There’s enough dance pop energy here to get you through the longest of long terrible weeks. Liquified, it’s like drinking twelve 5-hour energies at once, just, not as bad for you. - Slow Club – Paradise (Moshi Moshi)
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This Sheffield duo knows how to create some mighty fine pop music if you ask me. The songs “Two Cousins” and “If We’re Still Alive” took up some serious real estate on my stereo this past fall after the September release. Also of note, the gorgeous black and white video for “Two Cousins.” - The Roots – Undun (Def Jam)
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I just listened to this album for the first time when it came out in early December, and I’ve been listening to it nonstop ever since. Undun has already gotten a ton of acclaim, and it’s sure to be a huge win for the Roots. Apparently, it’s the 13th time that’s the charm. - James Blake
Bill Callahan
Colin Stetson
El Rego
tUnE-yArDs - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
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Grim, haunting songs sweetly sung. Next time, PJ, more guitar please. - Brief Candles – Fractured Days (Guilt Ridden Pop)
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Shoegazers from Milwaukee = bowling shoe gazers. Stellar from start to finish. - Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
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These kids do the 90s better than most 90s bands. - Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI)
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Best since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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Wha? Ukelele-driven African beats? One of the year’s best surprises. - Little Gold – Weird Freedom (CDBY)
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Former Woods guitarist gets his pubrock/psychedelic/alt country freak on. - Cults – Cults (In the Name of)
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Bouncy but creepy take on sixties girl group sound and themes. - Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer (Merge)
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Stream of consciousness tour of Manhattan and other islands. - Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
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Waits and Nick Cave give aging rockers hope. - The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Capitol)
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Decemberists get rootsy, release one of their strongest efforts to date. - Archers of Loaf – Icky Mettle (Merge)
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Favorite reissue. 18 years later and still crunchy. - Madeline – Black Velvet (This Will Be Our Summer)
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This latest album is a slightly more psychedelic, Southern Gothic approach to pop. Madeline’s greatest asset, however, remains her angelic Joni Mitchell-esque singing voice and strong songwriting ability. - The Lonely Forest – Arrows (Trans/Atlantic)
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The third full-length from this Anacortes, Washington pop band is clean and smooth, crackling with arena-ready anthems that draw strength from lead singer John Van Deusen’s powerful voice. - Police Teeth – Awesomer Than the Devil (Latest Flame)
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The third LP from this quartet is their best to date, a collection of melodic, catchy post-hardcore punk. Mixing chaotic heaviness with tuneful pop, you can hear the exhilarating influence of Superchunk, Drive Like Jehu, and the Wipers. - Cristina Bautista – Gold Parts EP (Local 638)
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This is a punchy set of pop songs, hook-laden and earnest. Bautista’s greatest strength lies in her enormous voice, sounding occasionally like Neko Case and/or The Reputation’s Elizabeth Elmore, applying it to her irresistibly shiny power-pop compositions with dramatic effect. - Sandrider – Sandrider (Good To Die)
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A huge polished slab of triumphant stoner heaviness on this Seattle band’s debut, a succinct recording of catchy riffage, booming drums, dynamics, and surprisingly melodic vocals. Even if you don’t like metal or heavy rock, you might want to give this a try…and yes, the name is a Dune reference. - Frank Ocean – “Novacane” single (Self-Released)
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This R&B number was an insidious earworm for me in 2011. “Girl, I can’t feel my face / What are we smoking, anyway?” You can’t smoke novacaine, Frank. But you can sure feel numb if you rub your life raw. - Seacats – “We Don’t Sleep” b/w “Hard Truth” 7” single (Fin)
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If “Novacane” was my jams for the second half of 2011, “We Don’t Sleep” by Seacats was there for the first. The song is simple pop catchiness, with moog synths and handclaps, all of it made by high school students. I’m not even kidding – these kids are literally kids. They wrote a song that is amazing! - Bone & Bell – Loom EP (boneandbell.com)
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Chicago songwriter Heather Smith has a special talent for melancholy, precise folk songs that are instantly hummable and carefully crafted. Her music is regal and charming, possessing a literary feel. - Radiation City – The Hands That Take Us (Tender Loving Empire/Apes Tapes)
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This is a mellow, lush exercise in pan-genre-pop: swirling atmospherics and chanting atop walls of guitar in one moment, cool soul in the next. As a means of combining eras and elements of various pop trends, from the quietly blipping drum machine percussion to the generous application of reverb and synths, this album is remarkable. - Slow Skate – Count the Days with Me (Parlour Trick)
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Languid, ethereal Americana featuring reverb-infused vocal and guitar lines from married duo Caitlin Sherman and Jason Goessl. Slow Skate resembles a jazzy Mazzy Star playing a Beach House where Joanna Newsom meets Portishead. - Tape – Revelationes (Häpna)
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“Gorgeous” is the best word to describe the ambient, experimental, instrumental folk from this Swedish trio. - Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)
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Ernest Greene’s got the voice and he fuses it seamlessly with electronics. It’s hard not to like this music. Every track does well. - The Field – Looping State of Mind (Kompakt)
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How do you do it Sweden? And I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you again on this list. Who would have thought repetitive loops would make a “Best of” list? The Field must have. And so, I thank you Axel Willner. - Gotye – Making Mirrors (Eleven)
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The Belgian-born Australian Wally De Backer took home the 2011 ARIA awards (think Australian Grammys) for Single of the Year, Best Pop Release and Best Male Artist all for very good reason. - James Blake – James Blake (Universal Republic)
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I do not like dub-step, but James Blake has molded it into something I like very much. - Detroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
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This album really kicked off the year with a bang…in a soothing sultry kind of way. - Nils Frahm – Felt (Erased Tapes)
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Nobody gets as much emotion out of a piano as the Berlin gentleman named Nils Frahm. - The Drift – Blue Hour (Temporary Residence, Ltd.)
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There’s no better way to grieve than through your art form. Experience the anger and resolution as The Drift deal with the loss of their trumpet player, Jeff Jacobs. - Roll the Dice – In Dust (The Leaf Label)
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Ah, Sweden again. If you ever need to fast forward time. Put on this album. After one song, you’ll swear that 10 minutes did not just pass by. When, in fact, they definitely have. But you have no complaints about how those 10 minutes were spent. No complaints at all. - Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence, Ltd.)
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Explosions can just do no wrong in my ears. They may not be as cutting edge as they once were but I believe that they completely put their all into every single song that they make. And for that, they have all of my gratitude. - Beirut – The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
Talkdemonic – Ruins (Glacial Pace)
Loney, Dear – Hall Music (Polyvinyl) - The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart (Sub Pop)
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Beautiful harmonies and lyrics that sound like home. I might just be a small town girl at heart after all. - Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now (Thirty Tigers)
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A breath of fresh air. This is what REAL country sounds like. - M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)
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Anthony Gonzalez reimagines the grooves of the 80s and makes them sound new again. The child-like “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” might be my favorite song of the year. - Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire (Capitol)
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Heartfelt themes of lost love, longing, and regret show the softer side of this notoriously moody fella. - Beirut – The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
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I love me some trumpet, what can I say? Same gorgeous sound, with an air of growth and maturity that makes this album feel more genuine to me. - The Antlers – Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)
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There’s something about the Antlers’ music that just pulls at me, and this album is no exception. Lush, melodic, and beautiful. - Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
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If you can get past the ridiculous album cover, you’ll find a solid throwback pop album, perfect for reminiscing about breezy summer nights. - The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow (Sensibility Music)
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Joy Williams and John Paul White were made to sing together. It’s as simple as that. - The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
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If Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen had a baby that grew up to be a musician, it might sound like this. - Thao & Mirah – Thao & Mirah (Kill Rock Stars)
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Cute, playful, and quirky, this album plays to the strengths of both of these amazing ladies. - Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra (Self-Released)
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The usual array of indie-white-kid-friendly rap/pop stars made hits this year – Kanye, Jay-Z, Beyonce dropped two albums between them, each of which were fantastic by anyone’s measure. But the secret ingredient in both of those chart-topping albums is named Frank Ocean. Penning one song for Beyonce and appearing on two for the boys, Ocean’s touch is already in high demand (he’s written for John Legend and Justin Bieber in the past as well). But far from being the next Scott Storch, Ocean is just a 24-year-old kid with a tumblr of gifs, twitter-sized updates, and Sade and Pink Floyd videos.
What he brings to the turntable, is hard to pin down, if not hard to appreciate. The odd storytelling of “Novacane”, the heart-on-sleeve angst of “Swim Good”, the wry send-up of hip-hop love songs on “Songs For Women” – Ocean’s charm is multi-faceted, but always held down by his top-notch production and top-tier R&B croon. Kanye’s clever/confessional rubric is certainly a blueprint for Ocean, but he’s stepped into the shoes without the anger or ego. If people still wonder how much Odd Future is a joke that the boys are in on, they need only look as far as Ocean: he epitomizes the vast knowledge a good student can learn, as well as the earnest naivete needed to attempt – and succeed – at besting your teachers. - Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Fat Possum)
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Unknown Mortal Orchestra might be one of many acts with an air of mystery about their origin/identity this year, but they’re probably one of the best. Coming off like a lost-long psych rock artifact, the album finds timeless hooks with a dusting of fuzz on them. While on first glance nothing but sunny and upbeat, the songs also curiously all share a melancholy tone – songs like “Ffunny Friends” and “How Can U Love Me” toe the line between hippie cheer and wistful sadness. Maybe it’s a choice; or maybe they’re sad that they have to settle for making nostalgia from this modern world. - The Weeknd – House of Balloons (XL)
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Canadian Abel Tesfaye stayed almost completely anonymous as he released his debut album this past March. It was easy to picture a famous singer adopting a disguise to release this ode to burnt-out excess – the cold production and lyrics like “he’s what you want, I’m what you need” reeked of such vile, hollowed-out sex talk and an indifference to anything other than the next high, it had to be from someone riddled with years of soul-decaying fame. One can only hope House of Balloons is not purely confessional, but it’s eminently believable. The sparse church-organ beat on opener “High For This” shines a dim spotlight on Tesfaye’s angelic and soulful voice. Of course, that voice is spouting lines like “Drinkin’ Alizé with our cereal for breakfast/Girls calling cabs at dawn, quarter to seven” over Vangelis-meets-R. Kelly production, making this album one of the dirtiest slices of R&B imaginable. - Mesita – Here’s To Nowhere (Self-Released)
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James Cooley is 23 years old, and is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. He’s not as world-famous as Zach Condon of Beirut yet, but that part of your brain that doles out pure jealousy should probably be kicking in soon. Releasing EPs through his own webpage since 2008, Cooley’s first official LP finds him collecting his acoustic-guitar-driven melodies into a proper package. Opener “A Million Shades of Sky” is at heart a kid strumming his guitar, but the lush production and depth of layers is truly impressive. The bouncy bassline of “Somewhere Else” makes it the standout – robbed of anything else funky to partner with, the bass simply makes the falsetto croon and guitar fingerwork all the more head-bob-worthy. - SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Young Turks)
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Another of London’s up-and-coming producers, Aaron Jerome and his debut are vivid frontiersman of a new sound. SBTRKT’s music employs soca, dem bow riddims, trance, Chicago House and the equally hard-to-define “UK Funky”. (Don’t worry, there’s no witch-house in here). The easiest musical parallel to draw is to Basement Jaxx, whose use of a medley of vocalists is followed here. Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano soulful wail elevates the dubstep of “Wildfire” to another level, while the smokey-voiced Sampha adds his accented croon to half of the tracks on the album. - Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine (Carpark)
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Chillwave might have been the sound of 2010, but it’s hard to pigeonhole South Carolinean Chaz Bundick into a fad. The tunes of “Causers of This” might have trended towards friend Washed-Out’s blissful vocal washes, but gems like “Low Shoulders” hinted at Bundwick being capable of some good, clean funk. Underneath The Pine doesn’t miss a step, with the wobbly, danceable funk of “New Beat” right at the front of the album. Purpose and percussion are here in plenty, with those chillwave tones taking a back seat but not going away completely. Album standout “Still Sound” is an innocent, funky dream of a love song, with what sounds like a dash of ESG’s “UFO” hiding underneath. - Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse (Brainfeeder)
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Stephen Bruner – the bassist of Suicidal Tendencies – has a jazz album. Scratch that: Stephen Bruner who has played for Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Snoop Dogg, and anyone who wants one of the best bassists alive – that guy has a jazz album. Completely devoid of irony, Thundercat simply lays down easy-listening jazz, with his own bass acting as a major anchor. The centerpiece of the album is the tandem of “Is It Love?” and “For Love (I Come Your Friend”. The former is a slow lead-up teaser, and the latter is a cover of George Duke and Frank Zappa’s masterpiece of the same name. While the square-goateed one is not laying down his unstoppable guitar work on this cover, there’s no need for a replacement: the percussion is lock-tight, Bruner’s falsetto soars, and his fingers fly across the bass with such beautiful, nasty funk that even Stevie Wonder would raise his sunglasses and blink. - Moss of Aura – Wading (Friends)
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The devastating and powerful rock of Future Islands is irrevocably stamped with the growling tenor of Samuel Herring. But without his presence (and the firm basslines of William Cashion), what’s left? Gerrit Welmers, AKA Moss of Aura, shows that there is addition in subtraction. Completely instrumental, Wading is a collection of Welmers’ beats made in spare time while not on tour with Future Islands. A vaguely tropical, almost cheesy theme connects the album, with a nostalgic postcard feel to everything (no accident, as the album is packaged with a set of five postcards). Simple, unforced, and in eternal repose, the album elicits and suggests relaxation of the highest order. - Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – We’re New Here (XL)
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A phenomenal story as well as an album, Jamie xx’s debut is a monster effort. Taking the vocals of “I’m New Here”, the young brainchild of The xx handwrote letters to the musical legend, mixing his vocal samples into a dizzying array of dub, dubstep, drum-n’-bass, and a dash of chipmunk soul. Tracks like opener “I’m New Here” demonstrate the full range of Jamie’s production, but the album also holds soft love-letter gems like “My Cloud” in its array. The wobbly and wonky beat of “Ur Soul and Mine” is the prime of several examples where Scott-Heron is almost completely discarded, but finale “I’ll Take Care of U” finds a gorgeous dovetail of the two artist’s unique musical worlds. - Bibio – Mind Bokeh (Warp)
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Always a treasure trove of found sounds, warped cassettes, and general hazy bliss, Bibio’s book has more than a page or two borrowed from Boards of Canada. But his most recent records have revealed a more in-focus production aesthetic, none moreso than Mind Bokeh. Opener “Excuses” rises from a subterranean-sounding atmosphere towards a sparsely-backed, acid-tinged vocal, and finally emerging (inexplicably) gracefully as trunk-rattling beat worthy of any freestyle. The middle of the record can be hit or miss, with kitsch getting applied too heavily at times. But the phenomenal “Saint Christopher” wraps things up in a soft-focus, dreamy 4/4 pastoral dance floor monster – a beautiful paradox. - Junior Boys – It’s All True
Deerhoof – Deerhoof vs. Evil
Memory Tapes – Player Piano - Disappears – Live at Echo Canyon (Plustapes)
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It seemed obvious after listening to Guider that Disappears are, perhaps strangely, at their very best on live cassette. Only their two Plustapes releases in 2008’s Live Over the Rainbo and this relatively short release from New Jersey capture the same sort of ruthless intensity that their live shows always betray. Lower fidelity suits their gritty nature, this the best example yet of why listening to the band is so important. I’m almost wishing the arrival of Pre Language in March wasn’t so soon. Almost. - Various Artists – Bangs & Works Vol. 2: The Best of Chicago Footwork (Planet Mu)
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Last year’s first Bangs & Works compilation was a revelation I wished I’d heard in full before submitting my 2010 list, but nobody’s perfect, and anyway, this is the more listenable of the two. A few Mortal Kombat samples here, a few R&B/soul samples there (Young Smoke’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” is the standout), and more than a few of the ankle-breaking beats you’ve come to expect from footwork’s birthplace. We’re really lucky to be living this right now. - DJ Diamond – Flight Muzik (Planet Mu)
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If the Bangs & Works compilations are a good starting point for footwork, I see DJ Diamond’s Flight Muzik as the next logical step beyond the source material, the raw data. There are tons of footwork artists (or people who think they are, anyway), but it’s not always the point that they make it listenable; Diamond’s great feat on Flight Muzik (aside from the coolly understated album cover) is making a footwork LP that actually sounds like it’s suited for the form. Surprisingly listenable for a genre that thrives on confrontational twists and turns more than passive 4/4 head-nodding. - blink. – The Architects (Whistler)
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This album took up a fair amount of my listening in the early part of the summer. Really enjoyable record front to back, mostly because it went beyond merely cycling through the motions of jazz ages past; this is a thoroughly modern record that suits our city’s famous improv scene. From the the electronic eye winks that kick off “Protect From Light (I)” to the choir of “The Secret Life of Quiz Shows,” this one’s a can’t-miss. - Indian – Guiltless (Relapse)
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I think I complain about how much I miss the “old” Mastodon pretty much every year as a warm-up for expressing my gratitude to bands like Indian for existing, carrying on Remission’s forgotten promise. Guiltless surpasses the power of their earlier EPs and makes for the most brutishly sludgy album I heard this year. With Sanford Parker’s prowess behind the boards on full display, this LP duly rewarded Relapse’s support with dope-smoking doom par excellence. - Mannequin Men – Mannequin Men (Addenda)
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This dropped right in the middle of a three- or four-week period of exemplary local records (Netherfriends, Russian Circles, Heavy Times, JC Brooks, on and on it went), so it actually took me more time to get to than I’d originally expected. Maybe I was just saving the best for last, though: Memorable moments like “Cheryl Tiegs” and “Enough” grabbed hold and made me remember what I’ve loved about these guys from the first time I heard them years ago on Fresh Rot. Incredibly addicting rock n’ roll. - Implodes – Black Earth (kranky)
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One of Chicago’s darkest records this year (in case the silhouette holding a knife on the cover didn’t give it away), my clearest memory is playing the distant, haunting “Oxblood” alone late in the studio late one night and being unable to shake its vibe for the rest of my show. “Oxblood” on loop, that’s all that was going on in my head. But any of these songs could’ve done the same thing to you, such is Black Earth’s trance-like seductiveness. A nice companion to their distinctively separate live show. - L.E.P. Bogus Boys – Now or Neva (self-released)
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It’s funny to me that these guys opened up for Drake, A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar on a recent Club Paradise tour stop considering how much more experienced they are in the rap game and how much more mature they sound on a mixtape as good as Now or Neva than… any of those kids, really. “Amerikkka’s Worst Nightmare” is a foreboding start without sounding cheesy, and the entirety of the tape supplies a steady stream of serious bass and blow talk. Grittiest mixtape from the City of Win this year. - JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Want More (Bloodshot)
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This band is too good at what they do to be from this decade, but lo, here they are, living and breathing the sounds of Numero Group’s lifeblood. Best part is that you don’t have to do any digging; they’re right here in front of us, delivering the truth one sterling soul gem at a time. The only thing that made it less than convincing was the incredibly crisp recording quality. The implications of needing poorer fidelity to enhance the listening experience reach far beyond what this paragraph is capable of sustaining, but the point is that it’s not the band’s fault. They’re more than holding up their end of the bargain. - Heavy Times – Jacker (HoZac)
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As any listener can tell you, nasty garage is one of CHIRP’s cornerstones. Few bands excelled at this well-trod path in 2011 quite like Heavy Times. The agitated, occasionally flat-out rancorous Jacker wasted no time getting to the point on “Motionless Drift” – about as inaccurate a song title as you could find this year – then proceeded to burn through 11 more roughened pop diamonds en route to one of the year’s better aural assaults. Don’t miss it. - Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
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Bad As Me was probably the album I was most looking forward to this year and I am pleased to report that it was also one of my favorites. Sure, it’s nothing really new in Waits terrority; he still sounds like a tortured voice that dares to speak the raw truth singing (often) dark and (sometimes) sweet love songs…and damn, he’s still really good at it. And that version of Auld Lang Syne at the end of the album? Perfection. You get the sense that this is the bad-as-me-kind of guy that wants all acquaintance to be forgot-sort of thing. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
Recommended: “Raised Right Men,” “Kiss Me,” “New Year’s Eve” - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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What can be said about Merril Garbus that hasn’t been said already? Seeing her live ignited my passion for Tune-yards. She is one of the most inventive, beautiful, and JOYFUL performers who so clearly loves making music….and all by herself. W H O K I L L continues to showcase her fascinating use of the vocal loop, random drumming on whatever is close to her, and over-all infectious energy that always present. It is often hard to capture someone so wonderful live on a recorded album, but listening to W H O K I L L only makes me like Tune-yards even more. Merril Garbus is awesome. This album is no exception.
Recommended tracks: “Gangsta,” “Riotriot,” “Bizness” - Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
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A lovely pop album from the adorable couple that is Tennis, Cape Dory is delightful, light, and fun. It’s about love. It sounds like summer. It makes you want to dance. I really enjoyed it.
Recommended tracks: “Pigeon,” “Marathon - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
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Building on the success of their 2008 release, this sophomore album does not disappoint (in fact, it makes my top ten list). Introspective lyrics about one’s own relationship with society and thus one’s place in the world [lyrics ‘so now i am older/than my mother & father when they had their daughter/ now what does that say about me?’ open the album] are the beautiful forefront of the album for me. I’m in my mid-twenties, I feel like it was written for me, and I think the Fleet Foxes showcase modern folk music and its finest.
Recommended tracks: “Montezuma”, “Sim Sala Bim”, “Helplessness Blues” - Beirut – The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
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Critics have called it the most ‘restrained’ Beirut album; the one that manages to find the perfect balance between creative experimentation of his East European -influenced music (horns! strings! keyboards!) and earnest lyrics, and I agree. The Rip Tide has an expansive romantic sound that clocks in at only 33 minutes. And I again say, Zac Condon and crew: I want more!!
Recommended tracks: “East Harlem,” “Payne’s Bay,” “Vagabond” - Tinariwen – Tassili (ANTI-)
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They’ve been around for the past 30 years, but Tassili was my introduction to this amazing Sub Saharan band. A mixture of their native Arab influenced sounds and American blues performed on acoustic guitars will get stuck in your head for days. It doesn’t matter that you can’t understand the language, you feel their exploration of struggles and belonging. This is the kind of album that continues to grow on you, and I keep discovering new nuances with every listen. (also to be noted: they collaborate with Dirty Dozen Brass Band & TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone on this album)
Recommended tracks: “Walla Illa,” “Tamiditin Tan Ufrawan,” “Iswegh Attay” - Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside – Dirty Radio (Patrtisan)
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This quirky little debut album by this bluesy-rockabilly band stuck with me all year. Based in Portland, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside have a fun sound that still manages encompass raw emotions and pure honesty.
Recommended tracks: “I Swear,” “Write Me a Letter,” “Where Did You Go?” - Yellow Ostrich – The Mistress (Afternoon)
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“WHALE” is my favorite song from 2011, hands down. The rest of the album is great too…front man Alex Shaaf really knows how to work a vocal loop pedal and harmonizes perfectly. I’m really psyched to watch this band grow in the next couple of years.
Recommended: “WHALE,” “Mary,” “Bread” - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
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I was never a PJ Harvey fan until this album. It’s not that actively avoided her music, but nothing ever quite stuck with me like this album did (and does). It’s a highly political album that brilliantly illustrates the complexities in our ever changing (and often violent) world. Harvey sings for her life on this album, it’s often terrifying but it’s always beautiful.
Recommended tracks: “In Dark Places,” “Let England Shake,” “The Words that Maketh Murder” - Steven Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic (Matador)
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Lo-fi indie rock at its finest by one of our forefathers from Pavement. He continues to make weird words fit together in a way that makes you bob your head like you agree. Stephen Malkmus’s musical range is huge, will get you moving and will make you nostalgic in a way that also makes you excited for the next album.
Recommended tracks: “No One Is (As I Are Be),” “Tigers” - Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
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Since these guys have been hammering away in Chicago for years now, you wouldn’t have thought this album’s greatness would have taken anyone by surprise, but Neverendless felt like it came out of nowhere – slamming into your senses like the 2-ton flatbed truck that Cave commandeered to share its new songs with the city. Crisp and clear production with impossibly tight songs. Somehow these epic jams all seem to end too quickly! - Wugazi – 13 Chambers (self-released)
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Mash-ups are by no means a new idea, but somehow these two non-DJ, diehard Fugazi fans managed to put together everything here perfectly. Everything from the pairing the tricky, unorthodox Fugazi riffs with b-sides of rare Gravediggaz outtakes down to the clever word play on song titles and the blended cover art, these guys nailed it! - Thank You – Golden Worry (Thrill Jockey)
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The new 4-piece Thank You mix their jagged and jangly guitars, drums, and keys into an tight 6-song album that smoothly spills from one song to another, riding groove after groove through epic freak-outs. - Dead Luke – Meanwhile in the Midwest (Glymph)
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Madison, WI’s noisy troubadour overhauls classic Americana with blankets of distortion and scratched-up magnetic tape. An album as beautiful as it is chaotic. - Fungi Girls – Some Easy Magic (HoZac)
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Weeding their way through the recent wave of garage revivalists, this young Texan trio distill everything great about surf, psych, lo-fi, and pop through though the filter of a teenage mind. - Wooden Ships – West (Thrill Jockey)
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Wooden Shjips have put together perhaps their masterpiece. Not quite completely shedding their skin of minimalist drone, they’ve tightened their song focus and re-worked their psych approach with heavy nods to Sabbath and Spacemen 3. - X-Ray Eyeballs – Not Nothing (Kanine)
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Twisted, dark, and eruptive. This album is bittersweet in its lyrics and saccharine sweet in its melodies. - Chad Vangaalen – Diaper Island (Sub Pop)
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The man who gave us those Women records with their fractured, lovely charm unleashes his fourth album, debuting the toys of his new studio – Yoko Eno. Undeniably catchy songs about love and life that seem to never resemble the album’s unsavory title. - Obits – Moody Standard Poor (Sub Pop)
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The next super-group in Rick Froberg’s growing arsenal, Obits have upped the ante with their second album. This album took a few listens to really embrace after fixating on I Blame You for about a year, but it is every bit as captivating - Heavy Times – Jacker (HoZac)
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Pure, relentless, sinewy rock and roll with big payoffs. Packaged in two-minute bursts, this record doesn’t calm down once until your needle is spent, exhausted, and pleading. - Tammar – Visits (Suicide)
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So this band clearly hijacked my music library while I was sleeping. Digested said library over a long period of time. Then they made this album perfectly crafted to my taste. I would like to take this opportunity to thank this outfit from Bloomington, IN for doing such a thoughtful thing! - Ponytail – Do Whatever You Want All The Time (We Are Free)
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If you dislike the word “one” for any reason stay very far away from this recording. I happen to love the word “one.” Hence the ranking! This is an extremely fun album that can even be slightly haunting at times. Lots of energy abound. - Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
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Cave highest ranking Chicago band on my list which thus dubs them my favorite Chicago band of 2011 apparently. The best way for me to sum up this album is a collection of psych drones that will enter your soul and never leave. You will be feeling this album long after it is done playing! - The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
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This is just a very intelligent sounding album with layers of sound and style. - Givers – In Light (Glassnote)
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Every year I need a “happy fun” album and for 2011 Givers presented me with such an album. This debut full length for the Louisiana band is not just for fun it has some depth as well. But it is best played with the sun shining! - Disappears – Guider (kranky)
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Another year means another Disappears album on my top 10. This band, that we are all very lucky to have locally, just keeps getting better. There is a new album due in March and it makes me wonder if they will make it 3 for 3 on my list in 2012. - Walter & Wendell – Adjusted Automatically (Movings)
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This is more great music to come out of our fair city. Put together by former members of The M’s this is a collection of beautiful tracks. It features one of my favorite songs of the year, “Old Times” - Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI)
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Wilco? Really? Wilco made my top 10? Well when I first listened to this album I was blown away just by the fact that Wilco was able to excite me again. Just when I had written them off they pull me back in. Well done! - Ducktails – Arcade Dynamics (Woodsist)
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OK for this slot it was going to be Ducktails, Woods, or Real Estate. Ducktails wins out! Although I like all three albums a lot this Ducktails album stuck out slightly more as a complete album. No slumps throughout and slightly more adventurous as the off shoot of Real Estate. - Mannequin Men – Mannequin Men (Addenda)
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This just snuck in at the end of the year. What a good album! This band really grew up with this release. I will not be surprised if a much bigger audience stands up and takes notice of this Chicago band. - Afro Soul-Tet – Panoramic & True – Quintron – Real Estate – Paleo – Woods – Yellow Ostrich – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
“The One Song I Cannot Get Out Of My Head” for 2011: Quintron – Ring The Alarm - Pete and The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures (Stolen)
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Great guitar oriented pop records seem fewer and farther between nowadays, so the second LP from this Reading, England group was a revelation. This band reminds me of favorites like Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Only Ones, Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians and so many others. With its memorable melodies, killer guitar lines, quirky lyrics and multiple hooks per song, I played this album more than any other this year. - Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (Hear Music)
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This album plays like a summary of everything Paul Simon does well. Some of the songs sound like lost ‘60s gems, while others sport jumping rhythms from places like Africa and New Orleans. Simon focuses mortality and what life is all about, and his lyrics are more than up to the task, with wit and wisdom giving weight to these wonderful tunes. - The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
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The most accurate album title of the year from a Welsh trio that takes the sounds of the harder side of the ‘90s shoegazer scene and amps them up even more. Singer-guitarist Ritzy Brian is a great frontwoman, getting amazing sounds from her instrument, and the band shows enough songcraft that there is something enticing in most songs before the band explodes. - Van Hunt – What Were You Hoping For? (Thirty Tigers)
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Hunt not only left a major label, he burst out of the retro soul straitjacket he was fitted for, and he is now letting his freak flag fly. He still has a bit of a Curtis Mayfield thing going, but it blends in with hints of Prince, George Clinton, Cee Lo Green and other eccentrics, as soul, rock and funk all come into the mix on a thrilling set of songs. - Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
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Waits’ collaborator/wife Kathleen Brennan laid down the law: no songs over 4 minutes. Well, a few creep over that mark, but concision leads to the sharpest songs Waits has created in a long time. From barroom balladeering to scuzzy blues to rockabilly, Waits is in control on his best album since Rain Dogs. - Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi (Domino)
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This tiny chanteuse is a mean guitar player too. Her flamenco runs support her dramatic torch songs (is that redundant?) and her powerful voice, which is reminiscent of Patti Smith and P.J. Harvey. Nick Cave and Brian Eno (who sings some backing vocals on a couple of tracks) are big advocates, and those guys wouldn’t steer anyone wrong, right? - Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – From Africa With Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory)
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Fela Kuti has two sons carrying on his afro pop traditions, the older Femi, and the younger Seun, whose band is comprised primarily of guys who played with his father. These are sleek, tight songs with intoxicating rhythms, funky guitars and political lyrics, made for all night dancing (or protesting). - Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ (Columbia)
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Saadiq again looks to the past, showing his mastery of ‘60s and ‘70s soul and R & B. Here, he not only goes beyond Motown and Stax but adds funkier stuff like Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield to his approach. More importantly, he finds a way to make his songs not just homages, but new “old” soul classics. - Jonathan Wilson – Gentle Spirit (Bella Union)
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Wilson has spearheaded a revival of the ‘70s Laurel Canyon sound. This is epic singer-songwriter rock, as Wilson has learned his lessons well from mentors such as Jackson Browne and Graham Nash. There is also a melodic sweetness that reminds me a bit of Elliot Smith, which adds to the warmth and intimacy of this collection. - The Features – Wilderness (Bug)
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This Murfreesboro, Tennessee band creates roller coaster rock songs that blend dynamics a la bands like the Pixies with exciting twists and turns in their songs (think early Roxy Music or Sparks), sprinkling in other influences along the way. Singer/guitarist Matthew Pelham is alternatively crazy or nuanced and drummer Rollum Haas is spectacular throughout. -
Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie)
tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
Disappears – Guider (Kranky)
Roots Manuva – 4everrevolution (Big Dada)
Hollie Cook – Hollie Cook (Mr. Bongo)
Mannequin Men – Mannequin Men (Addenda)
Das Racist – Selena (Greedhead)
Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine (Bloodshot)
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
k.d. lang & The Siss Boom Bang – Sing It Loud (Nonesuch) - James Blake – James Blake (Universal Republic)
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James Blake’s self-titled debut is both inventive and original. Blake sings in a warm, soulful style, over glitchy experimental electronic stuttering, stop-start, beats. It’s hard to describe, but a very rewarding listen. For a taste, listen to “Unlucky.” - Atlas Sound – Parallax (4AD)
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Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox latest solo album, under the Atlas Sound guise, has a pleasant, otherwordly quality. These a well constructed pop songs that are guided and lifted by some quality studio engineering. “My Angel Is Broken” hits me perfect. - Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi – Rome (Capitol)
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Producer-composer Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Luppi team up to produce a soundrack that rivals classic ’60s and ’70s Ennio Morricone scores. Features guest vocals from Norah Jones and The White Stripes’ Jack White. Check out “The Rose With A Broken Neck.” - Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow (Fish People)
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Kate Bush has been producing wonderful art rock since the seventies. On this album, she whispers seductively over her beautiful and gentle piano pieces. 50 Words Fr Snow, her first release since 2005, is delicate and ethereal, perfect to take in next to a fire while the snow sheets blanket the ground outside. Try the oddly beautiful, “Misty.” - Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum)
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Chicago’s own Smith Westerns second album is well produced fuzzy and shimmery rock and roll affair. Smith Westerns continue a legacy of Chicago’s power pop bands, sprinkle in a bit of T. Rex glam, and come out with an all around winner. For the uninitiated, check out “Dance Away.” - Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
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Panda Bear’s follow up to 2007’s Person Pitch continues the tradition of gently drifting multi layered songs. The reverbed vocals create a pleasant, moody, atmospheric feeling to go along with his solid melodies. To download, “Last Night At The Jetty.” - Cut Copy – Zonoscope (Modular Interscope)
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Cut Copy use their cut and copy abilities to recreate the eighties synth pop years. Reminiscent of several good bands of the time, from OMD to Heaven 17, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this recent offering, well done. Grab your Ray Ban’s and pretend you’re in a John Hughes film. “Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution” is a standout. - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
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eattle outfit Fleet Foxes sophomore effort is the perfect soundtrack to a lazy Sunday morning. The Foxes effortlessly evoke the feel of early 70’s light rock bands like Crosby, Stills & Nash. Check out the warm vocal harmonies on the albums title track, “Helplessness Blues.” - Wooden Ships – West (Thrill Jockey)
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Wooden Shjips always remind me of the psych rock from Loop or the Spacemen 3, and that’s never a bad thing. With droney, fuzzed out, spacey, noisey guitars, this is their brightest and best produced album to date. Love the opener, “Black Smoke Rise.” - The Horrors – Skying (XL)
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More mid-eighties retro with Skying. Listening to this, Simple Minds, Psychedelic Furs and the like jump to mind. The Horrors do it well. Check out “Still Life.” - The Advisory Circle – As The Crow Flies (Ghost Box)
The Bewitched Hands – Birds & Drums (Look Mum No Hands)
The Naked And Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You (Fiction)
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge) - Belong – Common Era (kranky)
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Considering where you read the reviews for this release (ahem, Pitchfork) This was one of the most underrated releases of the year. This album features some of the best elements of 1980’s shoegaze, synth-pop and noise from the echoed drums of Jesus & Mary Chain to the lurking bass lines of early Cure - Earth Girl Helen Brown – Story of an Earth Girl (Forest Family)
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A side project of Sonny “and the Sunsets” Smith, set up as a guise of unearthed recordings from “Earth Girl” Helen Brown, a girl who grew up in a cult outside of Athens, GA, that was recorded in the early ’90s. Featuring SF mainstays Kelley Stoltz, John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees and Grace Cooper of the Sandwitches as Helen – it’s beach Pop w/ the dark humor story-telling one has come to expect From Sonny & the gang. - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – Soul Time! (Daptone)
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Ms. Jones and her guys squeak another record in at the end of the year to again make my top list! (Even though I’m sure they didn’t have me in mind.) Yet again, I am floored by sultry soul revival from this group, but this time there is much added funk to the mix. I don’t think there is anything this group can do wrong. - Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread (Drag City)
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The garage-pop master from San Francisco is back again, this time with is first full length from Drag City. While last year’s “Melted” had lean, economical fuzz-pop; this record invokes the likes of John Lennon and Marc Bolan to create a cleaner sound while still maintaining his punk intensity. - Mikal Cronin – self-titled (Trouble In Mind)
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It might be a little unfair to cast Mikal Cronin under the shadow of his colleague Ty Segall by calling this his debut self-release as the “Melted of 2011,” but the comparison is apt, and by no means negative. Full of layered garage pop tunes with sunny Beach-boy esque harmonies. Please keep releasing records like this, I just eat it up. - Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
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WHAT?! A hip-hop record on Caitlin’s Top Ten list? Why, yes. This record, thanks to the influence of my boyfriend and CHIRP radio helped me to expand my mind a bit and let me know that – hey, remember you like hip hop? “Clear some space out so we can space out” - Shannon & the Clams – Sleep Talk (1-2-3-4 Go!)
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I think I can honestly say this was my favorite record of the year. or at least it’s the record that received the most spins from me. Do you remember that scene Back to the Future, when Marty McFly plays “Johnny B. Goode” at the 1950’s prom, and then ends up tearing up the stage? Take that image, mix it with a little bit of Ramones, Ronnie Spector and Beth Ditto – you get a sense of what Shannon & the Clams are all about. - Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler/The Dream (In the Red)
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This SF group is one of my favorites over the past couple years, but their prolific recording doesn’t always rub me the right way – case in point, “Castlemania” from earlier this year. Carrion Crawler/The Dream is different, it encapsulates the band’s live sound – which is I’m glad to know they realize that’s the best part about them. Killer intensity, rockin’ sound. - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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Merrill and the gang deserve to have much praise of their record this year. It is eccentric, funky, soulful and downright infectious. Their penchant for face paint is also delightful. - Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
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My most anticipated record of the year turned out to be what I had hoped for, as I was a fan of both Sleater-Kinney and Helium. I first saw Wild Flag this year at the SXSW NPR day party and they rocked my socks off. Pure, fun-loving rock n’ roll. - Girls Names – Dead To Me (Slumberland)
Lady Gaga – Born This Way (Interscope)…SERIOUSLY.
Low – C’mon (Sub Pop)
Razika – Program 91 (Smalltown Supersound)
Sex Church – Growing Over (Load)
JEFF the Brotherhood – We Are the Champions (Infinity Cat)
Terror Bird – Human Culture (Night People) - Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
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- Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop)
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- Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You (Labrador Sweden)
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- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumberland/Collective Sounds)
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- Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love (Matador)
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COMMENTARY - Asobi Seksu – Fluorescence (Polyvinyl)
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- Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
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- Surf City – Kudos (Fire UK)
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- Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (Hear Music)
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- Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears – Scandalous (Lost Highway)
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COMMENTARY - Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
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It almost makes me feel yucky how much I’ve listened to Yuck in 2011, pun not intended. But why should I? They’ve earned their place on my playlists! Maybe it’s their delicious 90’s throwback garage rock sound or perhaps it’s Daniel Blumberg’s amazing fro that instantly reminds you of Sideshow Bob (not in a super creepy way, though). I cannot wait to hear what this London group does next. - James Blake – James Blake (Universal Republic)
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Staying with the theme of amazing UK-ness, but completely changing, well, everything, the music of James Blake has had a huge impact on 2011. Not only has he stretched the genre of dub-step into a calmer territory, much more accessible to all, but the kid is brilliant! At the time of the release in February, he was 21! And now, he’s a household name. Well, a household name in my shabby apartment. - St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)
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To start, I’ve always liked Annie Clark. Not only does she have a beautiful voice, but the sounds she creates in her music are wonderfully obscure, albeit sometimes out of place in my life. That was until…she released the beauty that is Strange Mercy. Incredibly eerie and at times makes you feel awkward (“I’ll make a living telling people what they want to hear”, “If I ever meet that dirty policeman who roughed you up”), Annie Clark has found a permanent place in my heart and my Google Music. - M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)
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Perfect. Epic. Thank you Anthony Gonzalez for bringing this gem into my world. Snowboarding film soundtracks around the world rejoice! - Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI)
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Yes, I’m from Chicago. Of course I like Wilco. And I love Jeff Tweedy (did you see the YouTube video of his renditions of The Black Eyed Peas at the Hideout? Priceless). So I’m automatically inclined to own this album on vinyl, cd and mp3. But, the best part about it all? This album rocks. Amazing. All I will say is…the bookend tracks changed my fall. But no, I don’t have a Wilco sticker on my car, thanks for asking. - Cut Copy – Zonoscope (Modular Interscope)
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I’m proud to say that Cut Copy is responsible for my nominee of “Most Fun Show of the Year” at the Pitchfork Music Festival. These Aussies sure know how to get the crowd going! It also doesn’t hurt that this 2011 release oozes of new wave-ness and pop, both sounds are core to my heart. - Bibio – Mind Bokeh (Warp)
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I’ll be honest, before this release, I didn’t exactly know a ton about Stephen Wilkinson. Well, if I’m being honest, I still don’t quite know much about him. But I do know that I have continually been recommending this incredible mix of pop and ambient to listeners and friends worldwide. - The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Capitol)
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This album received a lot of press. And why shouldn’t it have? This album hit #1 in the charts and brought The Decemberists to an almost untouchable level. They probably won’t be doing much touring in the likes of Schuba’s anymore. But in other cool news, I heard on NPR that one of the tracks is literally about nothing. Absolutely nothing. The words don’t even make sense. Shoot, The Decemberists don’t need to make sense to make glorious music. They just do. - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
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I was slightly saddened to have Fleet Foxes headline Saturday at Pitchfork this year. Especially because the 2010 headliner was LCD Soundsystem. ‘Nuff said. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they performed under that pressure and the sparse Chicago stars. I found the album getting more and more playtime in my collection and it turned out to be the perfect not-quite-so-much pop album that was perfect in more that 13 different moods. - Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
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Psych-prog-rock from Chicago. Need I say much more? Smooth, deep, guitar, bass or drone, these guys have got it figured out. These tracks bring you somewhere deep in your brain and leave you there for anywhere from 6-15 minutes. - The Drums – Portomento
Zola Jesus – Conatus
tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l
Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch the Throne
Seapony – Go With Me
Starfucker – Reptilian
Katy B – On A Mission - Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact (4AD)
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New York’s Gang Gang Dance stole the show for me this year. In an era when genre descriptors are used to exhaustion GGD escape easy categorization. Their sound isn’t tied to any particular time, or any particular place, it’s unfamiliar and weird but at the same time it’s totally intoxicating and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.
Favorite Song – ‘Glass Jar’
- Mark McGuire – A Young Person’s Guide to Mark McGuire & Get Lost (Editions Mego)
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Released in April, A Young Person’s Guide is a collection of older material from this extremely prolific Clevelander and member of Emeralds. The 2 disc collection is pure instrumental magic, and serves as a great entry point for anyone unfamiliar with his music. His latest album, Get Lost is an electro-acoustic journey that shows McGuire’s mastery of the guitar and all the wonderfully different sounds you can make with it. This stuff is introspective to the core, and will easily transport the listener anywhere their mind desires.
Favorite Songs – ‘The Marfa Lights’ & ‘Alma’
- Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4Eva (self-released)
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2010’s K.R.I.T. Wuz Here piqued my interest in this Mississippi native and his follow up to that superb slice of Southern hip hop has been my constant companion ever since. R4 isn’t necessarily memorable for K.R.I.T.‘s prowess on the mic, but rather his abilities as a producer. He rolls out track after track of soul-kissed magic that is pure Dirty South, recalling the likes of Outkast and UGK. With a Def Jam contract now under his belt the sky seems to be the limit.
Favorite Song – ‘Get Right’
- The Weekend – House of Balloons (XL)
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The debut mixtape from Toronto’s mysterious The Weeknd spread through the interwebs like wildfire. House of Balloons collected over 200,000 downloads in a matter of weeks and quickly made these guys into a household name. It’s easy to see why. As far as contemporary R&B goes there aren’t too many artists, The-Dream aside, that are doing stuff like this. The beats are so good they might buckle your knees if you’re not prepared, and when combined with Abel Tesfaye’s considerable pipes and a penchant for darker subject matter this stuff becomes downright sinister in the best way possible.
Favorite Song – ‘The Morning’
- Miracle Fortress – Was I the Wave? (Secret City)
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Driven by endlessly positive and propulsive drum beats Was I the Wave? is a fine follow up to Miracle Fortress’ debut, which garnered the one-man band a Polaris Prize nomination. This time around Graham Van Pelt is dabbling in the synth-pop of Depeche Mode and other 80’s stalwarts and taking his sound to a whole new level.
Favorite Song: ‘Everything Works’
- Pulseprogramming – Charade is Gold (Audraglint)
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Chicago electro poppers Pulseprogramming came of age on this album, sounding like a fully coherent unit with a fully coherent focus. The somber electronics of Charade is Gold are mixed exceptionally well, and when listened to in headphones the experience is transcendent.
Favorite Song – ‘Island Answer Anywhere’
- Ford & Lopatin – Channel Pressure (Software)
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Joel Ford and Dan Lopatin don’t just pay lip service to the 1980s, they totally immerse themselves in the decade. Channel Pressure, the duo’s debut LP, is made using vintage synths and old school recording techniques, no laptops or Logic Pro for these guys. It would work well as a soundtrack for any Reagan era sci-fi movie.
Favorite Song – ‘Break Inside’
- Tycho – Dive (Ghostly International)
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Scott Hansen’s second album as Tycho is a pastoral mix of live instrumentation and electronics that is bathed in perpetual sunset. His slow burning synths were the perfect companion for the shortened days of fall and almost any outdoor activity.
Favorite Song – ‘Coastal Brake’
- DaVinci – Feast or Famine EP (SWTBRDS)
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DaVinci has never sold out an arena, he’s never appeared on MTV, he doesn’t have a Grammy. The production value of his music, and the confidence he shows on the mic would make you think differently though. Feast or Famine is a slick set of 8 songs that further cements this San Franciscan as one of the hottest underground MC’s today. Big things are coming for DaVinci, but for now I just hope he keeps doing what he’s doing.
Favorite Song – ‘Where My Dough At’
- Korallreven – An Album by Korallreven (Acéphale)
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If it’s Swedish and it’s pop then I’m probably going to love it. Case in point is the uber-lush debut LP from this Scandinavian duo, a record that puts a smile on my face and a skip in my step. Listening to it is to be transported a tropical paradise.
Favorite Song – ‘The Truest Faith’
- Craft Spells – Idle Labor (Captured Tracks)
G-Side – The One…Cohesive (Slow Motion Soundz)
Rustie – Glass Swords (Warp)
Junior Boys – It’s All True (Domino)
Soft Metals – Soft Metals (Captured Tracks)
- Alexander – Alexander (Community Music)
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Alexander Ebert created an album so diverse, so uniquely ambitious, it was instantly written off as unfocused. Maybe CHIRP heard a bit of itself when it put Alexander into rotation–an album with a Kevin Ayers sensibility, unbound by genre, an explorer and a mirror of it’s own vision and influences. Armed with a Jeff Buckley vocal range, Ebert puts together an album bursting with musical curiosities waiting to be appreciated.
Island Song: “Truth” - Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)
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If a young Elvis could have somehow been body swapped with Leonard Cohen, Elvis presumably would have ditched Rockabilly for Rhythm and Blues. Because such a situation isn’t possible, there’s Timber Timbre to put to rest what that scenario would have sounded like. The album is a haunted space–expansive, mysterious, and eerily exciting, making you want to cling to something you love.
Island Song: “Woman” - Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)
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If I told you a bass saxophonist recorded an album with only one instrument, recording live in one take, you might say that sounds pretty weird. If that sounds weird, you need to hear this album. “I’ve never heard anything like it” is just the beginning of this dark, dynamic, blast of sound that is an experience to behold from being to end. Even with vocal guests, the sounds coming from Stetson’s sax draws the focus. A truly original work of art-amazing what can be expressed by one instrument.
Island Song: “Judges” - Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
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Charles Bradley isn’t “new soul trying to sound like old soul,” this screaming eagle is the very definition of old soul. From 40 years of hard knocks, Charles Bradley emerged singing songs of heartache and love of a man glad to be alive. Backed up by the equally brilliant Menahan Street Band, this album is as close as we can get to that timeless soul music of the ‘60s.
Island Song: “Lovin’ You, Baby” - Maker & Joe Beats – Falcon By Design (Fieldwerk)
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Maker & Joe Beats have their own rich histories as Hip Hop producers, so playing back to back on this split release, they have a beat building foundation that doesn’t need an MC to stand tall. The album is a sightseeing tour from beginning to end, of urban strength and hustling feet, tightly flowing from riding the train to working out–a perfect soundtrack for Chicago.
Island Song: “Blunted Lapdance” - Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread (Drag City)
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Goodbye Bread sounds like something John Lennon could have recorded if he had lead The Kingsmen instead of the Beatles. Segall plays all the instruments on this garage romp, that packs as much toe-tapping, pop sensibility as it does fuzzy guitars, that when mixed together will fill your winter with warm, psychedelic sunshine.
Island Song: “You Make The Sun Fry” - Ikebe Shakedown – Ikebe Shakedown (Ubiquity)
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Both hailing from Brooklyn, it’s hard not to compare Ikebe Shakedown to the venerable Budos Band. Yet both house different ingredients into their Afrobeat-Soul kitchens. Ikebe Shakedown adds ‘70‘s cinematic soul and disco elements to a lively collection rhythm and horns that will have your body shaking long before the credits role.
Island Song: “Tujunga” - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
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As inventive as any album this year, Merrill Gerbus’ sound is a junkyard of Afro-Caribbean, R&B, Funk, and Modern Rock influences, though her voice maybe her music’s most unique quality. After her first album, BiRd-BrAiNs, found an audience despite being recorded on a digital voice recorder, Gerbus’ took advantage of her first studio-recorded release that turns tunes to treasure.
Island Song: “Bizness” - Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: Nickel and Penny Labels (Numero Group)
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In the ‘60‘s and ‘70s, Chicago’s #1 Dusties DJ Richard Pegue helmed the Nickel and Penny labels writing, arranging and producing some of Chicago’s most beautiful soul records. Numero Group spent five years digging up and restoring these gems to soul museum quality, despite the death of Pergue during the process. From Bar-Kay gospel-funk instrumentals, to Motown Do-Wop clap-a-longs, to Funkadelic-Sly-Stone-love-fests, this is Numero at their best.
Island Song: “Shadows” - The Beach Boys – The SMiLE Sessions (Capitol)
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The history of 1967‘s SMiLE is as big as the music itself: the legendary, heartbreaking backstory and the label of “most famous unreleased album of all time.” Add in bootlegs and individual song releases over the years and the 2004 resurrection and complete re-recording by Brian Wilson, and it would seem impossible for the actual album to offer anything new. Yet SMiLE’s ability to continue to surprise me every time I hear it, a timeless testament to the Brian Wilson’s unbelievable range and artistic depth, cut short. SMiLE was so far ahead of it’s time, it’s a fitting discovery in any century.
Island Song: “Vega-Tables” - Iceage – New Brigade (Dias/What’s Your Rupture?)
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Yes yes yes! This quartet from Copenhagen bang out 12 quick tunes a la Wire’s Pink Flag or early Joy Division. The hooks and melodies are there, but they are secondary to frantic guitar playing and full throttle drumming. An impressive debut from this young group, I’m stoked to see what’s next. - Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)
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Just one guy, a saxophone and a whole bunch of microphones. Stetson is able to fill up a whole lot of sonic room just with his saxophone (Laurie Anderson and Shara Worden lend some vocals) and without any overdubs. The multiple microphones capture percussive noises, ambient sounds, Stetson’s breathing and other miscellany providing additional textures. Making an albums worth of engaging solo saxophone pieces is a tough feat, but Colin Stetson certainly has on “Judges.” - Psychic Paramount – II (No Quarter)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This is some time travel music. Put on some headphones and hop on your bike (please bike responsibly), press play on this album and your normal 25 minute commute will now take about 10. This trio play bombastic instrumental music that doesn’t let up. One minute it is wandering and hazy then the drummer (total beast) steps on the gas and it is five blissful minutes of dive bombing guitars and helicopter bass playing. This is the music I wanted Acid Mothers Temple to play before I had heard Psychic Paramount. - Starlicker – Double Demon (Delmark)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Local jazz trio Starlicker is made up of superstars Rob Mazurek on cornet, Jason Adasiewicz on vibes, and John Herndon playing drums. Everyone in the band is involved in about 10 other groups which makes it a wonder that this album got recorded in the first place. Adasiewicz is a remarkable talent providing an array of colors and tones while Mazurek steps in and out of the picture, leading when it is called for and holding off to let the other two shine. - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
PJ Harvey albums are exciting because each one is different from the last, so you are not quite sure what you are going to get. All the more impressive is the fact that she has continued to put out great music with each album and “Let England Shake” sits among her best work. The album which focuses on the conflicts of her homeland and the images she conjures are often grisly. The music compliments the lyrical content and prevents this from being a grim album, resulting in what can best be described as Harvey’s take on folk music. - Hauschka – Salon des Amateurs (Fat Cat)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I tuned into Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka’s music last year for his fantastic “Foreign Landscapes” for which he paired his prepared piano with a 12 piece woodwind ensemble. On “Salon des Amateurs” Bertelmann chose a different route, pairing his piano playing with several percussionists (members of Mum and Calexico), strings, and electronic noises. Post-classical never sounded so catchy. Sounds bubble along and the music comes up just short of full on dance tunes. - Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Making his debut at the ripe young age of 62 Charles Bradley has recorded a monster of an album. Backed by one of the best contemporary studio bands, the Menahan Street Band, “No Time for Dreaming” delivers 12 sharp funk/soul tracks. Akin to James Brown, Lee Fields, or the local group JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, this is prime material for your soul dance party nights. - Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Tiker Tape Ltd.)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
There is so much baggage and hype with Radiohead that I just leave them alone. I was drawn in after hearing a couple of tracks on “King of Limbs” and had to question my previous stance on the band. They recorded a concise album that moves even further away from the guitar albums of the 90s/early 2000s and into the realm of brooding electronic sounds and studio constructed music. - Shawn Lee & The Ping Pong Orchestra – World of Funk (Ubiquity)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This is one of those albums that is not an earth shattering great record, but it is really solid and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Shawn Lee, for this album takes a slew of instruments found commonly in the music of other cultures around the world and used them to record a globe trotting funk album. You are treated to sneaky grooves, Korean scatting, exotic sounds, and much more. - Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat Dan Singa – Suara Naga (K)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This gets my great weird album of the year award. Arrington de Dionyoso fronted the late blooming Beefheart inspired band Old Time Relijun before he started his Malaikat Dan Singa group, which further mines the territory of his old band. He sings in Indonesian over some heavy post-punk weirdness. The album title translates to dragon’s voice which gives you a clue to Dionyoso’s singing style. He also plays the bass saxophone which he wields with abandon. This record is in a league of its own, give it a shot. - It has also been a great year for reissues. Here are my top 5…
Skip James – Today! (Vanguard)
Raincoats – Odyshape (We Three)
El Rego – El Rego (Daptone)
Vagrants – I Can’t Make a Friend (Light In The Attic)
Beach Boys – Smile (Capitol)
- Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I still want to know where they learned those glam rock ethics. I could only hope for more harmonies, a few new stompboxes, and please keep those amazing hooks. Time is on their side.
Songs: “Still New” and “Smile” - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This record still haunts me, so I won’t give it up. I was never into PJ until now. Better late than never.
Songs: “The Last Living Rose” and “Hanging In The Wire” - La Sera – La Sera (Hardly Art)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
How can we control fate so the next album blows us away? Another great debut LP. Very vinyl worthy.
Songs: “Never Come Around” and “Devils Hearts Grow Gold” - The Feelies – Here Before (Bar None)
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I cannot rave too much about this record without dissing a fair to significant amount of music released in the last five years. Boring or old? no, just good.
Songs: “When You Know” and “Time Is Right” - Cults – Cults (In the Name of)
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Songs: “Walk at Night” and “You Know What I Mean”
and…
The Poison Control Center – Stranger Ballet (Afternoon)
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Songs: “Porcelain Brain” and “Reoccurring Kind”
Two of the most accessibly great pop records of the year released on the same day.
- Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
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As good as Sleater-Kinney? Yes.
Songs: “Short Version” and “Electric Band” - Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
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Formulaic and catchy? No problem. Married types are unattainable. It’s okay.
Songs: “Beachy Head” and “Veronica Falls” - Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Ambition and song craft kick in the head. This is not selling out, but selling up. Shockingly grower of an album.
Songs: “Heartbeat (Take It Away)” and “In My Head” - Class Actress – Rapprocher (Carpark)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
A record that makes a case for the eighties retro sound and shockingly delivers.
Songs: “Keep You” and “Weekend” - Escort – Escort (Escort)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Finally! They released an album!
Songs: “Makeover” and “All That She Is” - tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I’m not the kind of person who stands on street corners loudly exclaiming “Holy S#%!” with my headphones on, yet that's just what I did when I first gave this album a listen while waiting for a bus. Merrill Garbus' melodic gymnastics and fiercely inventive technique (backed by Nate Brenner's sweet bass lines) are just brilliant. - Battles – Gloss Drop (Warp)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
They combine the blunt force of a punk band with the dexterity and precision of a chamber orchestra, genre-hopping all over the place to suit their needs. It's the most focused and confident experimental music or the most advanced pop music I've ever heard. Either way, it's fantastic. - White Hills – H-p1 (Thrill Jockey)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
A hot vortex of noise-rock that brings to mind jet engines, the drone of a billion computer servers, sports stadium entrance music, the static-y aftermath of bomb explosions, and political rallies, all mashed together and powered by anger and fear. No other album I've heard in the last decade so completely nails what the 21st century sounds like. - Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this album when it was first released. The knock on Noah Lennox's follow up to his landmark album Person Pitch was that it’s “more of the same.” But sometimes that's a good thing, especially when it comes from a gifted musician who continues to sharpen his electro-ambient-avant-pop craft. - Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place (Asthmatic Kitty)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
If forests could sing, I suspect this is what we would hear. - Daedelus – Bespoke (Ninja Tune)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
A remarkable sampler of the bleeding edge of dance and electronic music from a group of today's brightest talents (including Milosh, Inara George, Baths, and Young Dad) whose common denominator is Alfred Darlington, an accomplished musician in his own right and one of those guys who knows everyone in the scene. - Blueprint – Adventures in Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
A terrific offering from a gifted rapper who draws from many musical sources to express himself (everything from gangsta beats to club-ready dance tracks to New Wave retro to Coldplay-ish anthemic mainstream pop), tied together by an undercurrent of melancholy and world-weariness. It's not just a great musical journey but a vivid picture of an individual. - The Cool Kids – When Fish Ride Bicycles (Green Label Sound)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
When it comes to rap, artists need to either move forward into new territory, or go back to what made it so great to begin with. This album from Antoine "Sir Michael Rocks" Reed (Matteson, Illinois) and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll (Mount Clemens, Michigan) takes the latter path, using stripped-down beats and vocal dexterity to breathe new life into an increasingly stale pop genre. - The Fleshtones – Brooklyn Sound Solution (Yep Roc)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Remember a time when you could not play Rock unless you knew how to play Blues? The Fleshtones remember, and this legendary New York outfit serves up meat-and-potatoes glam-garage jams that pack more punch than most of today’s distortion-and-effects-laden alt-rock. And they make it sound effortless (after all, they've been doing it since 1976). - The Eternals – Approaching the Energy Field (Addenda / Submarine)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
The Eternals sound like what would happen if a funk band and an avant-garde jazz ensemble had a jam session one sunny afternoon in the ‘70s. Channeling the spirit of Sun Ra and Sly and the Family Stone, with political comment and poetry added for good measure, this is the modern example of how to do Fusion. - And Some Outstanding Singles from 2011...
"Beat and the Pulse" by Austra
"Fast Challenges" by Chad Valley
"Mop It Up" by Gauntlet Hair
"As young As Yesterday" by Korallreven
"Natural Causes" by Nite Jewel
"Amor Fati" by Washed Out - Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- tUnE yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Likki Li – Wounded Rhymes (LL)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints (Soulterrain Transmissions)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Steven Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic (Matador)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Mates of State – Mountaintops (Barsuk)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
- Detroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I don’t think a great album can ever be neutral. The best records probably get an equal amount of love and hate (I’m thinking Trout Mask Replica, Velvet Underground, Another Green World, In Rainbows, Rumours, anything by ELO, etc.). Believe it or not, people still think Bob Dylan has a weird voice. And yeah, Kaputt should divide us. People should get upset when they hear this easy-listening, cheesy-sax-drenched, vocals-recorded-lying-on-a-couch, artsy shit.
But what can I say. I haven’t listened to any other album this year more than Kaputt. I am infatuated with every track here. I guess artistic audacity just gets me every time. I want to hear someone giving a crazy idea his all, even if that could potentially mean utter failure. Dan Bejar could’ve made the worst decision of his life by releasing Kaputt, but as long as listeners like me are around, we’ll make sure this isn’t the last time an artist doesn’t play it safe. Kaputt is my favorite album of the year.
Best Track: Kaputt - Real Estate – Days (Domino)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I completely slept on Real Estate’s self-titled debut, but after seeing their show at the Subterranean this summer, along with a majority of new songs in their set, I woke up. You don’t have to look too deep beneath the haze to hear a band that cares deeply about music. Precision and harmony are of utmost importance to Real Estate, and the result is an arresting album of indie surf rock. And no, you shouldn’t just listen to this in summertime. I just listened to it again, and it sounds great on 40-degree Chicago evenings.
Best Track: All the Same - Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Chillwave came out of the bedroom in 2011. Washed Out is the frontrunner of the movement, and is taking pride in being so. Whether you’re getting high, having sex, dancing, reading, or sleeping, Within and Without should be the soundtrack. It’s a strange time for music like this though. Washed Out opened for Cut Copy on their last North American tour, and leaving the venue I overheard some awful girl call Washed Out “the hipster Enya.” First I wanted to turn around and tell her to check this out, but then I just shrugged it off and thought, “Enya is awesome.”
Best Track: Soft - Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Hey, guitars! Yeah, that’s an instrument for old dudes, but Kurt Vile doesn’t care. He knows how to write a great song with his guitar, and he should continue. Kurt has an aura that you can’t really fuck with. The timelessness of songwriting wins again here, whether you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth, or Arcade Fire, Kurt Vile’s music somehow stretches across decades of rock and roll cool and comes back with a uniquely original style.
Best Track: Jesus Fever - Korallreven – An Album by Korallreven (Acephale)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
It was a great year for quiet music. Actually, I don’t know. Does screamo exist anymore? Is punk still a thing? I have a feeling that loud shit doesn’t do as much for us anymore because of how easy it is to make a high-quality album in one’s bedroom with a laptop. Our ears are collectively refined, and emotional music can’t be achieved as easily or brutishly these days. Korallreven is like new-age, Native American, sacred music, ambient, Sigur Ros and chillwave delicately smooshed into one lovely as honey viiiiiibe.
Best Track: The Truest Faith - M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
It was 2011’s epic album. And hey, if I’m looking for something grandiose and overwhelming, this is the stuff. It sounds like the 80s, but no, it actually doesn’t. It sounds like 2011. This is music that people are connecting with right now. We’re not going back in time. We’re hearing synths clearer than ever, and they warm our hearts. Don’t forget about shoegaze either. M83 is a culmination of a couple decades worth of ideas, succeeding today and today only.
Best track: Midnight City - Chad Valley – Equatorial Ultravox [EP]
BUY: Insound / iTunes
If anything should be considered a “surprise” in my top 10, I guess this would be it. Equatorial Ultravox wasn’t even reviewed on Pitchfork, so y’know. But these seven tracks still get me up. He sounded great at Schubas, so I have really high hopes for a full length (or another EP, or whatever he decides to release). It’s the ideal chillwave, and I am still unapologetic about loving it. These guys are making fresh music, and it gives me the bliss.
Best Track: Fast Challenges - G-Side – The One…Cohesive (Slow Motion Soundz, LLC)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Rap album of the year. In a recent interview I did with ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova, they said that their music is not cloud rap, just Alabama music. But whatever we want to call it, G-Side has the most radical sound in hip-hop today. They sample Beach House, Enya, and Tame Impala like it’s nothing. Seriously, they’re not gimmicky at all. If the sound works for their song, that’s why they’re sampling it.
Best Track: How Far - Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I couldn’t stop listening to this when it came out. Replay value is what gets an album in my top 10. I would\ rather not even explain why this album works for me, it just does. If you also put these songs on repeat, you got it. If you turned it off seconds after hearing it, fine. I don’t think this an album that needs to be defended.
Best Track: Beth/Rest - Active Child – You Are All I See (Vagrant)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
An ex-choirboy plays the harp over post-dubstep beats. I don’t really feel the need to say anything more. He gets a guest vocal from How To Dress Well, brought Chad Valley along as the opener of his North American tour, and is now the opening act for M83’s tour. He is running with the right crowd. We will hear a lot more Active Child in the years to come. You Are All I See is a beautiful haunt of an album, but it really feels like the beginning of something special.
Best Track: Hanging On - PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This album is beautiful in its quiet grace, and the honesty of its lyrics. Even 9 months after its release these songs still get happily stuck in my head. - The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
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This group is very easy to listen to (beware of spontaneous sing-alongs). Their accessible rock/pop mixes lilting verses with grungy, crunchy choruses. - The Weeknd – House of Balloons (XL)
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The title track is great, and the rest of the album is filled with solid, lush night music. - Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)
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I love the inventiveness of this group, and especially on this album. It’s like the melancholy love-child of a crooner and a folk-rock band, with atonal influences. - Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound (ATO)
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This album is perfect for quiet mornings. I appreciate the detail given to every song, from the lyrics to the subtlety of its chord and voicing changes. - Radiohead – The King of Limbs (Ticker Tape Ltd.)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This is another album that contains a ton of musical detail. I’m probably in the minority, but I really enjoy the electronic and jazz influenced direction Radiohead has gone lately. - Likki Li – Wounded Rhymes (LL)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Lykke Li portrays her vulnerability with such passion on this album. “I Know Places” is one of my favorites. - Adele – 21 (XL)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I and every person in America love this album, but who can deny the pull of “Rolling In the Deep” or “Someone Like You”? - Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (Capitol)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This album makes me feel like a bad-ass, which is hilarious. I especially like the first half of the recording. - Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Does anyone else feel like Fleet Foxes are our generation’s Simon and Garfunkel? The title track is one of the best on the album in my opinion. - The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Capitol)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
The first #1 for Pacific Northwestern indie folk troupe The Decemberists saw them stripping away 100% of their theatrics to get back to their roots and do what they do best: simple, sweet folk songs with an alt country bent. Play to your strengths, Meloy.
Recommended Tracks: Rise to Me, January Hymn, June Hymn, This is Why We Fight
- Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
At first I was listening to it over and over again because I was trying to see what all the hype was about. It charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and everyone was talking about it. I couldn’t quite figure it out, but eventually I was listening to it over and over again because I couldn’t stop. It had become the film-within-the-book in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest that renders the audience incapacitated.
Recommended Tracks: Holocene, Michicant
- Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
“I still keep my baby teeth, In the bedside table with my jewelry, You still sleep in the bed with me, My jewelry, and my baby teeth. I don’t need another friend, When most of them I can barely keep up with. I’m perfectly able to hold my own hand, but I still can’t kiss my own neck. I wanted to give you everything but I still stand in awe of superficial things I wanted to love you like my mother’s mother’s mothers did…Civilian…”
No explanation needed.
Recommended Tracks: Civilian, Holy Holy, Doubt
- Thao & Mirah – Thao & Mirah (Kill Rock Stars)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
What started as a tour together between Kill Rock Stars darlings Thao Nguyen (of her assembled Get Down Stay Down) and Mirah Zeitlyn of Mirah quickly turned into collaborative songwriting and the world was made better for it. The album was produced by Merrill Garbus (see #5).
Recommended tracks: Eleven, Teeth - tUnE yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This is the year Merrill Garbus exploded with her musical project tUnE-yArDs, a collage of multi-instrumentation and sound effects. The album is bombastic, fun, and incredibly original. I seriously didn’t understand what I was listening to the first time I heard it streaming on NPR.
Recommended Tracks: Gangsta, Powa, Bizness
- Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie Music)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
The follow-up to her debut Neptune City, singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins is moody and soulful and dark. Taking inspiration from Ennio Morricone, a lot of the songs give you the unsettling feeling you’re living a David Lynch movie. It was actually her poster hanging at Subterrenean the night after she performed there that made me listen to this record, making me immediately regret missing her there.
Recommended Tracks: Cry, Cry, Cry, Hotel Plaster, This is For Love, War Is Hell
- Adele – 21 (XL)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Another #1 record, this is the sexy, soulful followup to her debut album 19 (I hope she titles all of her albums the age she was at the exact moment she wrote them, like a diary). It is all at once empowering and heartbreaking soul pop.
Recommended Tracks: Rolling in the Deep, Rumor Has It, Someone Like You
- Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Ridiculous album cover aside, this is a record by a married couple who traveled the world and then made an album about it. It is dumb, fun twee pop and one that I listened to over and over again at work, alongside Bon Iver and Civilian. Unfortunately I missed them at Lollapalooza, but I could still hear them.
Recommended tracks: Take Me Somewhere, South Carolina, Cape Dory
- Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
2011 saw a return-to-form for John Darnielle’s songwriting project The Mountain Goats after a dissappointing response to 2009’s Life of the World to Come. It is driving, full, and dripping with the cleverness audiences come to expect from Darnielle.
Recommended tracks: Damn These Vampires, High Hawk Season, For Charles Bronson - Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne (Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation/Def Jam)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Another collaboration that once it came together seemed fairly obvious with fantastic results. An annoying ad campaign for a pretty brilliant hip-hop album that is dark and fun and has a cornicopia of special guest stars including Beyonce, Frank Ocean, Mr. Hudson and a polarizing use of an Otis Redding track. The songs that have “featuring” credits are the best ones on the album. This album is kind of a big deal. If you haven’t heard this, you’re basically out of the loop.
Recommended Tracks: Otis, No Church in the Wild, Lift Off, Made in America, That’s My Bitch
- December Means It's Time for CHIRP Radio's Best of 2011! by Clarence Ewing
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011
For the entire month of December, CHIRP volunteers have been posting their favorite records of 2011. Now, we’ve compiled the lists, have done the maths, and put together the definitive CHIRP best of 2011 list. Enjoy!
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Tony Breed)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Tony Breed.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
Songs of the Year
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (David Staples)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from David Staples.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Austin Bainard Harvey)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Austin Bainard Harvey.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Mike Pakowski)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Promotions Director Mike Pakowski.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Sara Miller)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Sara Miller.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Al Gabor)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list (in no particular order) is from Al Gabor.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Matt Garman)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from of the Top 10 Underrated/Overignored Releases of 2011 is by Matt Garman.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mention
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Richard Paul)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list (in reverse order) is from DJ Richard Paul.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Erin Van Ness)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Erin Van Ness.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Dan Morgridge)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Dan Morgridge. (Check out his Spotify playlist, too.)
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Patrick Masterson)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and Music Director Patrick Masterson.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Abbey Fox)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Abbey Fox.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (John Lombardo)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and Assistant Music Director John Lombardo.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Andy Weber)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Andy Weber.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Mike Bennett)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and CHIRP Board member Mike Bennett.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
I’ve listened to roughly 120 or so 2011 releases and I was pleased with the variety of cool sounds that I heard this year. It was a great year for local music. In addition to the Disappears and Mannequin Men records that made my Honorable Mentions, there were great releases from Cheer-Accident, J.C. Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Mickey, Wilco, The Lawrence Peters Outfit, Smoking Popes, Vee Dee, Pet Lions and many others. Yet again, CHIRP exposed me to sounds that I never would have heard before, and I’m so happy I get the chance to share some of those sounds on chirpradio.org every Saturday morning.
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Jim Waiter)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Jim Waiter.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Caitlin Lavin)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Caitlin Lavin.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Craig Reptile)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Craig Reptile.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
And one More…
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Michelle Nadeau)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and Assistant Fundraising Director Michelle Nadeau.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Stephen Dobek)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and Assistant Music Director Stephen Dobek.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
Honorable Mentions
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (James Vest)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from James Vest.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Patrick Seymour)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list (in no particular order) is from Patrick Seymour.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Jon Schechinger)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Jon Schechinger.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
(Albums listed chronologically by release date)
Reissue:
Honorable Mentions:
Belong, Blood Pressures, Sucre du Sauvage, Dirty Beaches, Strange Mercy, Mannequin Men. Where Are You?: Rage Against The Machine, Queens of the Stone Age, NOFX, Weezer, The Cure, The Smiths, XTC.
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Clarence Ewing)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members' top albums of 2011. The next list is from Assistant Online Media Director Clarence Ewing.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members' picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Curt Swank)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from volunteer Curt Swank.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Dylan Peterson)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Dylan Peterson.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Liz Smyth)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from Liz Smyth.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
CHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Bobby Evers)
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. Our first list is from CHIRP DJ Bobby Evers.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
In making this list, I realized 2011 has been a year of “Don’t Miss” albums. Like, you should absolutely make it your business to listen to “The King is Dead” “21” “Watch the Throne” and “Bon Iver, Bon Iver.” The word “epic” gets thrown around a lot, but 2011 seems to have turned out to be a pretty important year albums-wise.
First, The Honorable Mentions: Artists whose Albums I regret not listening to more that likely would have made the list had I gotten around to it: Peter Bjorn and John, Bill Callahan, Fleet Foxes, Radiohead, Tapes N’
Tapes, The Joy Formidable, Feist, Death Cab For Cutie, Beyonce, Fruit Bats, Mister Heavenly, Saves the Day, Wilco, Bjork, St. Vincent, BOBBY, Eleanor Friedberger.
And now, the top 10…
P.S. I also made a Spotify playlist that is accessible to anyone with Spotify that has a lot of the aforementioned recommended tracks.
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