Top 11 of ‘11
I may be one of the last to have their say, and this list may be important to no one but me, but dadgummit here are my favorite, most meaningful albums of 2011. There’s so much coming out every year now that this can hardly be considered a wholistic picture of the last year for anyone but myself - not even among the “indiesphere” where most of these releases reside are these an accurate picture of what’s getting the most praise as the masses look back in hindsight over their most treasured songs & albums.
But… if you’re willing to look at a picture of how 2011 - the year I started a job, began dating/married my wife, & enrolled in law school - looked through my eyes and the music that accompanied me throughout, here are my top 11 treasured gems of 2011. Each one latched onto a different piece of me, and I’ll say, choosing those top 3-4 spots was rough. But in the end, my yearlong, steady suspicion for #1 remained true.
[edit: soundcloud embeds were giving me some issues, so each track is linked to it’s soundcloud page for further listening.]
#11:
Ghost Heart, The Tunnel
Living in Grand Rapids, Michigan has been a wonderful thing. The Tunnel is the debut LP from my favorite Grand Rapids band (Stepdad comes a close second) who caught my attention at their album release show earlier this year. I did a write-up on the whole evening (back when I had the time for proper recaps like that), picked up the album, and have revisited ‘em several times over these past months. They represent, for me, the excitement of self-actualization in a familiar place - a return to home with all the experiences of visiting the world under my belt. Nothing I’ve heard this year comes close to the reflective opening tones on the track Little Vampires (below), and the rest of the album strikes me as something both distinctly home and distinctly fresh.
Ghost Heart | Little Vampires
Read on below for #’s 10-1
#10:
Beach Fossils, What A Pleasure EP
As the only EP on my list (though had I some more time with it, this Oliver Tank EP would probably have climbed a few spots higher) I decided to include this one because it has so much goodness packed into 8 tracks that it trumps many of the big-hitters this year. I’ve always appreciated the clever guitar riffing and the one-liners that stick in my head for days (I’d give up country life // I’d fall for you anytime). And what’s more, just look at that baseball about to break a window. This whole EP is like that moment right there frozen in time, airtight and perfect, never-breaking apart.
Beach Fossils | What A Pleasure
#9:
The Dodos, No Color
I can’t help it. I love The Dodos. Visiter, in my opinion, is one of the greatest indie albums of the last decade. No Color continues their legacy of blazingly-fast guitar & drumwork that has me tapping my toes all the way through. The hint of dreariness present on this album doesn’t drag anything down but pulls it forward, sometimes slower, like in Companions, sometimes quicker, like in Black Night, but always with their patented precision and frantic-ness
The Dodos | Black Night
#8:
Young Man, Ideas Of Distance
This is a latecomer to my list, but I just could not let this one go when I got around to listening. There is some expert guitarwork at play on this album, and not just in technicality, but also with the way it hits and hovers; softly, then in a sudden outburst of fabulous sound. Ideas Of Distance is rich, and a soothing set of highly-pleasing songs. I’ll be spending more time with this one as I have yet to fully explore it.
Young Man | Tired Eyes
#7:
Male Bonding, Endless Now
Sometimes I second-guess myself. Endless Now hasn’t really hit a lot of year-end lists (from what I’ve seen) and I had to wonder if what I was hearing on this album really was as special as I thought it was. Well, in the end (1) it doesn’t really matter what other people think, this is my list, and (2) yes, it really is every bit as awesome as I thought it was. A simple visit back to (what I consider to be) the sleeper single of the year, Bones, and the bevy of other pulsing, lo-fi post-punk jams and it was never really that hard a decision to make at all.
Male Bonding | Bones
#6:
James Blake, S/T
James Blake got some flak earlier this year, at least on the twitterverse, for reasons I couldn’t quite understand. I’m gonna guess a lot of people are sick of the high-pitched warblers who write songs so fragile you feel like it’ll break upon listening - but there’s no way around it in my books: this may have been one of the most important albums of the year, at least in terms of how it made everyday people consider electronic music to have some substance (the dirty word being “dubstep”). All I can say in the end, really, is how I reacted to it - and from the moment I heard The Wilhelm Scream, all I wanted was to hear more. This album is a must-hear for 2011.
James Blake | The Wilhelm Scream
#5:
You Won’t, Skeptic Goodbye
Fun, upbeat acoustic/rock songs. This here was my sunny day album of the year and the one that was with me my entire wedding week. I don’t know where You Won’t will be heading from here, but this album, from front to back, appeals to the part of me that loves a straightforward, head-bobbin’ jam. And Television is one of the greatest songs of the year.
You Won’t | Television
#4:
Chris Bathgate, Salt Year
These last four albums were really hard to place. I respect all of them for so many varying reasons, but I think I’ve got ‘em ordered in terms of impact & enjoyment. Chris Bathgate released this absolutely splendid album in 2011 that grew on my so much I really couldn’t put it down about a month ago. I had the opportunity to see him play live earlier this year, which was really what capped it off for me - this is a great record, forged together and expertly written. Nothing about it seems like it came together easily for the man, but sitting here and listening to these songs is not unlike holding something weighty, a rock chiseled into something fine and markedly beautiful.
Chris Bathgate | No Silver
#3:
NewVillager, S/T
So, did anybody listen to these guys this year? Maybe I was a bit naive to think they’d take the world by storm, but by the way these guys make & sing music I thought for sure they’d have more listeners. They’re a bit wacky with their self-made mythological persona, but combined with their grandiose vision, their primal beats, and the most inventive melodies of any band I’ve known in recent memory they make me want to dance everytime. Now, to be fair, two of the songs on this LP, though great, were first heard back in ‘09 - but the rest of the LP is simply unbelievable! I don’t know, it seems like this one was passed over this year somehow and I can’t quite wrap my head around it.
NewVillager | Lighthouse
#2:
Bon Iver, S/T
There’s not much to say here. Bon Iver successfully followed up one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard, but he did it in a way that wouldn’t be confused with the original work of art - this album hit, despite some early naysayers, and stuck. Hey, if you’re not in love with his voice, no problem. I’m not gonna hate anyone for not really getting into this album. But when the fingerpicking strikes up on Holocene, I can’t help but be washed over with a sense of stillness. And let me just set the record straight: Beth/Rest is a great song. I love that he pulled it off, haters-gonna-hate style. Just relax and enjoy it for what it is.
Bon Iver | Calgary
#1:
New Animal, S/T, Eleven Songs, Up!, Still In Mind, & Lift You Up/These Walls
Yup. New Animal were my first bandcamp band, and however I first heard of them (maybe from yvynyl?), I spent the entirety of this year exploring their sound. And honestly, I’m still wading through all their material, which is partially why I’m including all of it as my favorite stuff of 2011. I mean, besides their self-titled album, there was their excellent Eleven Songs b-side, and their Up!, Still In Mind and Lift You Up/These Walls singles, all of which carry on in their same sing-songy, crooked, experimental lo-fi style, and all of which are offered for *free*. Their self-titled album was my winter album, my spring album, my summer album, and fall album for this year, persistent in its richness and depth. I don’t really know who or what to compare them to - nowhere I look does another band quite fit in the same mold. And more than anyone else this year (NewVillager came close) I found myself with that familiar, subconscious urge to sing out loud the parts I knew, over and over again - perhaps my greatest measure of good, compelling music. Take some time to listen over at bandcamp, or one of their newest tracks that I just now found existed. Man, these guys just never stopped giving this year:
New Animal | Out Of Your Mind
Hope you enjoyed this list as much as I enjoyed making it. ‘Till next year!
