My favorite albums of 2011:
1. Wye Oak -- Civilian
Most of my top albums are lighthearted pop records. Not this one. Serious, heavy, dark and mysterious, but also beautiful and rich. Gets better with every listen. Jenn Wasner's voice is mesmerizing and her guitar kicks ass.
2. The Decemberists -- The King is Dead
The Decemberists went back to a simpler song-oriented style with a focus on melody and this was the soundtrack of the summer (and probably many summers to come). A happier Colin Meloy, backed by Gillian Welch on several songs, made for the most listenable record of the year.
3. Eulogies -- Tear the Fences Down
Born of the death of a child, emotionally wrought, but eminently danceable. That's weird, but Peter Walker just writes great songs.
4. Low Roar -- Low Roar
Sorry King of Limbs, but the best Radiohead album this year was by this guy, Low Roar, not Radiohead. This has the moodiness, the atmosphere, the brooding, and the whiny indy vocals. Not necessarily any standout tracks here, but the album in full is perfect (if you're in the right mood).
5. The Submarines -- Love Notes / Letter Bombs
The Submarines are perfecting pop songwriting with every album. This is the best one yet and features some of the best pop songs of the year (Ivaloo, Fire, Shoelaces).
6. Fool's Gold -- Leave No Trace
They were the best I saw live this year, but their recorded work is great, too. The records bring out the stellar Afro-beat stylings of their guitarist with crisp production.
7. Cults -- Cults
It seems like there are a lot of retro-60's groups getting started these days. Cults are definitely one of the best, and they manage to make the retro sound still seem clearly modernized, which is important. Go Outside is definitely one of the songs of the year (I think it was in an iPhone ad or something.)
8. The Postelles -- The Postelles
I always seem to find one straight-ahead rock 'n roll album each year that I can listen to when I'm feeling all the twee, hipster, indie music I listen to slowly emasculating me. The Postelles wrote some fantastic guitar-riff-based pop songs that rock and these days, that's rare.
9. Paul Simon -- So Beautiful or So What
Rather than talking 'comeback' or 'best since' or any of that crap, let's just say that Paul Simon did it again with a new sound, immaculately produced as always, and some fantastic songwriting. National treasure, period.
10. Givers -- In Light
More great pop music that turns out to be more complex than it's extreme accessiblity makes you think (which is very impressive). Looking forward to seeing what they can do in the future.
11. Telekinesis -- 12 Desperate Straight Lines
Telekinesis is one of those one-man operations, the one man being drummer Michael Lerner. He's another outstanding songwriter and knows his way around a hook.
12. Vetiver -- The Errant Charm
Indie folksters Vetiver matured and smoothened their sound for this record. It definitely gets categorized under 'for mature listening audiences' (i.e. easy listening) but hey, we old people need music, too. If you want mellow music for a foggy afternoon, this is the one.
13. Seapony -- Go With Me
OK, this probably isn't one of the 20 best records of the year. But it's one of my 20 favorites. It's got all the elements that can make any album into one of my favorites: jangly guitars, upbeat tunes, clean production, and a soft-voiced girl singer. (See also The Postmarks, Headlights, and Camera Obscura...)
14. Charles Bradley -- No Time for Dreaming
Daptone Records came through with another retro-soul record that can confidently sit side-by-side with the best of the Stax and Atlantic catalogs of the 60's. New (but not young) singer Charles Bradley has a tone like Otis and can do a soul scream like James. Covering Candian whiteboy Neil Young's Heart Of Gold the way he does proves his soul.
15. Bright Eyes -- The People's Key
Not my favorite Bright Eyes album ever, but Conor Oberst at 75% is still the best songwriter in indie-land. I dismissed this album when it first came out, but every time I come back to it, I appreciate it more. I have a feeling I'll still be listening to this one when a lot of my poppy Top 20 are long gone from my mind.
16. Meshell N'Degeocello -- Weather
Ndegeocello can do hardcore funk & soul, but she can also do smoother and more serious songs that lean more on vocals and emotion. And this record is made up of the latter. She uses a sweeter vocal style, and it makes this album one of her most listenable in years.
17. Edie Brickell -- Edie Brickell
Remember Edie Brickell? She still sounds great and she can still write good tunes (and I think her lyric writing has maybe even gotten a little better). This album is a little too random to make it higher on the list -- can't figure out what genre it is -- but it's still great listening and I'm so glad Edie's still making music.
18. Blind Pilot -- We Are the Tide
OK, it's hard to follow up the incredible 3 Rounds And A Sound, but Blind Pilot did admirably well. Doing the usual -- growing the sound with a little more rhythm section, etc. -- unfortunately makes the Blind Pilot sound a little less unique, but it's still good.
19. Iron and Wine -- Kiss Each Other Clean
Iron and Wine continued the experimentation with the new album, mostly for the good, sometimes not so good (cough -- sax solos -- cough). But it's still got Sam Beam's awesome voice and melodies.
20. Bon Iver -- Bon Iver
I gave Bon Iver the last spot because when this record is good, it's very very good (when Calgary finally gets going at the end, and the building glory of Perth) but it wasn't as good as most people said. It borders on tedious throughout, and Beth/Rest may be the single worst song of 2011.
* Shout out to the best EP of the year: New Navy -- Uluwatu. Featuring one of the best songs of the year, Zimbabwe, this was a very high-quality set of 4 songs. Let's hope they put out a full-length in 2012 and it's this good.
Approved.
Posted by: Ilikevests | 01/04/2012 at 03:42 PM