This is my favorite stuff from 2011. There's even an album from 2010 in here, how many year-end lists can say that?! boosh.
This is my lazy Top Ten From Oh-Eleven. I had a top 50 but decided to whittle it down to 10 albums so the numbering/ordering actually meant something and did not make my brain explode, causing spinal fluid to leak out my ears, rendering music listening impossible, ensuring I never write another music critique again.
If you don't have the means to download or purchase this music, I highly recommend quickly signing up for a free Spotify account to stream these records using the provided links (every hyper-linked album also goes to Spotify). I have provided alternate stream links for albums which are not on Spotify. For those of you who are boycotting Spotify for not adequately compensating artists and/or indie-labels: while I tend to agree with this sentiment, I am still using Spotify links here because they are quick, easy, and free for the moment. And for God's sake, do not just plug these artists into Pandora. Or at least do so after listening to the actual albums first--Pandora, unlike, Spotify, actually does compensate artists and labels fairly.
10. The music used throughout the film Drive, from start to finish, not the Original Soundtrack which omits the Brian Eno stuff, and is all out of order and crap, although it will do if you really hate Ryan Gosling. // Spotify // Grooveshark
This was my favorite film that came out this year, and to me, it felt more like a 90-minute music video than a feature film. Of course many moviegoers hated this, but I was feeling it, in the most boobie-touching-est way ever. While the soundtrack does contain the year's best electro-smash "Nightcall" by Kavinsky, I prefer the music in the film over the Original Sound Track, as they omitted all the Brian Eno tracks in the OST. Despite the aforementioned gripe, I've included a Spotify link for the OST above, but I highly recommend watching this great film, preferably on a TV/Computer connected to a bomb-ass stereo system.
This album is on every single year end list I've read so far. It contains the track "Midnight City," which rules my face. Not much more needs to be said that hasn't been said already about this one. I went back and listened to their 2003 record, "Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts", which is a purely instrumental album. It made me realize that m83 is a great example of how a band can change, evolve, and become a more polished and musical without losing its roots.
8. Shabazz Palaces - "Black Up" // Experimental Hip-Hop // Spotify // Grooveshark
It is obvious the Daisy Age stage names the Digable Planets came up with back in the day are no longer relevant to hip-hop today. These were the names of the members of Digable Planets:
-Ladybug Mecca (female)
-Doodlebug (male)
-Butterfly (male)
Why any guy wouldn't want butter or doodle in their stage name is beyond me. Regardless, they have since changed their performance pseudonyms. Ladybug and Doodlebug have changed their names to Lady Mecca and Cee Knowledge, respectively. Butterfly is Ishmael Butler, who performs under the moniker Shabazz Palaces. This year, Shabazz Palaces put out the most forward-thinking hip-hop record I've heard since Cannibal Ox's "The Cold Vein", entitled "Black Up". Clear some space out, so you can space out.
This record made me go back and listen to Digable Planet's possibly underrated second effort "Blowout Comb", which is a certified hip-hop classic from 1994. Check it out if you've never heard it before.
Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love DFA records. As far as I am concerned DFA can do no harm. Dance-Rock, Dance-Punk, House, Electro-House, Electro-Rock, these are things I love. DFA records signs bands that encompass pretty much all of those styles, which are my favorite styles of dance music. Label-head/DJ/Producer/Remixer/Engineer James Murphy had a little band called LCD Soundsystem, easily my favorite band of the last ten years. It was a brilliant achievement in marrying rock production with dance sensibility and pop lyricism. Getting to the point--Portland darlings YACHT have been given the full DFA treatment on their latest record, and it has made the band shine brighter than the sun [sun sun sun]. I've always thought some of the dance-oriented bands from Portland would flourish given half a chance in the hands of James Murphy, Tim Goldsworthy, and the rest of the DFA crew. YACHT has proved that Portland can produce musicians ofHoly Ghost!'s caliber, or in other words, hang with the cool kids from Brooklyn.
"Dystopia" and "I Walked Alone" seem to be the tracks that everyone loved this year. I was more into the lead off track "Utopia" and especially the slower "Love in the Dark". But I love the whole damned album regardless.
YACHT embraces an interesting brand mixture of new-age cultism, dualism, and DYAOism, (Dancing Your Ass Off). These are reflected in the somewhat ridiculous lyrics, but in my world, the beat and moving your buttock (or twin buttocks!) in a rhythmic fashion comes before whatever lyrics you can't decipher while the 3000 watt subwoofer right next to you is moving your soul in sync with the rhythm of the cosmos. Yeah, I bet you thought I was going to write some joke about yacht-rock or going yachting, or yacht-club or something. Moving on..
6. Darkside - "Darkside EP" // Insert Genre Here // Stream
I have no idea what the hell this is, really. I know the names of the guys involved; Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington. I don't know if it's the same Dave Harrington from Kronos Quartet. It's minimalist/lo-fi downtempo pop music that really stuck out to me this year. Nicolas Jaar solo put out a great minimal house/ambient record this year called "Space is Only Noise" which made a lot of year-end lists, and is also definitely worth checking out. In a recent interview Nicolas has said that the sound [of Darkside] is “centered around a fairy I met in my dreams. And the black keys…” I think that almost sums up their sound.
5. Battles - Gloss Drop // Experimental Rock // Spotify // Grooveshark
Battles is easily the most original instrumental-ish rock band out there right now. While they certainly came crashing onto the scene with a sound and composition that is entirely their own, they have not stopped evolving, as some avante-garde bands do once they conjure a truly original sound.
Tyondai Braxton is no longer in the band, and I believe the band is better for it, nothing against Mr. Braxton, but their compositions have become a little more accessible, and there's no more awkwardly pitch-shifted vocals, as opposed to a group like The Knife or Fever Ray (same chick), who uses pitch-altered vocals in a much more pleasing way. Beyond that, watching him try and wah-wah pedal his voice between normal voice pitch and twelve octaves up during a live show was painful. Without Tyondai, they are now mostly an instrumental band, but they have a few tracks with guest vocalists. these vocalists "appear" in an amazingly well-done fashion in their live show using video screens behind the band that sync up recorded vocal tracks with a gigantic singing head of each guest vocalist.
If you are fortunate enough to see Battles, the best live band I saw this year, in a small to medium-size club, you will be hit in the chest by an intensely powerful live sound. They have a very unorthodox backline amp setup and signal routing. Basically they use about a half-dozen giant bass amps on stage, running a bunch of different instruments through all of them. I think it is worth noting the synth sounds they use, in addition to being punishingly loud, are organic in a way that blends musically, something not often heard in a rock band that emphasizes keys. The totality of these elements results in the effect of a thai-kickboxing master repeatedly beating you in the chest over and over for an hour straight. A show not to be missed.
4. Black Lips - "Arabia Mountain" - Old School Garage Rock // Spotify // Grooveshark
Nearly every garage rock band on the planet wishes they could produce an album that sounds like this one. I am not just talking songwriting, or any part therein, be it the lyrics, melodies, vocal harmonies, drum patterns, guitar solos, or basslines, but the overall sonic ear-coitus. The subtle lo-fi/mid-fi sheen that adds a beautiful nostalgic feeling to the record without losing listenability. Some lo-fi garagers get this right, but most don't in my opinion. Black Lips absolutely nailed it with this one. Side-note: this album contains the best song ever about taking psychedelics at high-art galleries.
3. Hello Electric - "Skychief", "Dead Champion EP" // Rock with Electronics // Stream
This is my favorite rock band from Portland, OR right now. Skychief came out in 2010, meanning these guys kick so much ass they transcend the restrictions of a 2011 list. They are a heavy rock band that uses some clean tones, synth, and samples/sampled beats on their records and in their live set. They sing about the most skull-breakingly cool shit like a Bear talking to the Natives about how he is the goddamned king of this forest, need I say more? Guitarist/singer Kirk Ohnstad makes insanely good use of Gibson semi-hollowbody into a big-ass fender amp, for great down-tuned clean riffs followed by the most sonic-erection-producing fuzz tones you've heard in a while. Kirk seems to have somewhat mastered something I wish I could do on a daily basis: alternating between singing and shouting while keeping the dynamic listenable. The rhythm section aka, the rest of the band, is bolstered by tight drumming and bassist Henry Gibson doubles on synth, the kind of synth that sounds like what you would imagine that after-sex smell to sound like if it was a sound instead of a smell. That is, when he's not pumping his Fender Jazz through a Big Muff to ear-fuck your brain until you hemorrage sub-sonic plasma (which doesn't exist, but it should).
If you go see them live, you sure as shit will not be dissapointed. I really hope these guys get the support they deserve in 2012, they should be opening for big-name indie acts right now.
2. Grails - Deep Politics // Post-Rock with lots of samples and electronics aka I am so homosexual for Emil Amos that I once told him that I would set myself on fire just to see Grails play a Portland show for once, and that my therapist has advised me stop obssessing about Grails // Stream // Spotify // Grooveshark
It's hard for me to express in words how much a musician like Emil Amos inspires me. It's hard for me to express in words how much Grails music never ceases to bore or amaze me, listen after listen. This album came out in early 2011, and I haven't stopped listening to it, along with three other Grails records, "Black Tar Prophecies, 1,2,&3", "Black Tar Prophecies IV", and "Take Refuge in Clean Living". Oh, "Burning Off Impurities", has made it onto my weekly listening routine as well. Despite his album titles and such, I find it hard to believe Emil does much if any heroin or other downers, as he is one of the most productive dudes on earth. He's so busy, I just don't see him having the time to go out and cop, I mean really, you think a guy in this many bands that tour all over the world has 3 hours to sit in a parking lot waiting on Javier? Don't think so.
In addition to being a core member and songwriter in Grails, he has been making music under a long-running and hugely prolific solo project called Holy Sons since the '90s. If you enjoy Grails, you most surely will also bonerize to Holy Sons as well. He is also now the permanent drummer for renowned mantra-metal duo OM, with ex-Sleep bassist Al Cisneros. OM has sort of redefined what slowed-down-riff-heavy rock can be these days. Their live show is a most definitely a spiritual or at least pseudo-spiritual experience. It has also occured to me in the last thirty seconds that Emil Amos plays guitar in Portland indie rock band Dolorean. Not to be confused with Spanish band Delorean.
1. The Weeknd - Two of the three 2011 mixtapes: "House of Balloons", "Thursday", "Echoes of Silence" // R&Beats // Download House of Balloons // Download Thursday // Download Echoes of Silence
I fucking love the Weeknd. I have had House of Balloons on repeat for a while now. Massive Attack meets R&B, whaaat? The fact that this dude, Abel Tesfaye, got me to love R&B singing so damned much, is some sort of sign from god that the apoloclalypse is coming or some such nonsense. I had a wee bit more admiration for the guy when I thought he produced all the music himself, turns out I was wrong. He works with producers, but what hip-hop/R&B singer doesn't? I am sure he had a musical vision that resulted in these very hard-hitting almost glitch-mob like beats with very minimal cymbal work, but are not dubsteppy (shittiest word of 2011 right there, folks). I am too lazy to figure out what producers he works with right now, but they certainly murdered it on these mixtapes, which just seem like records to me. I've only begun to delve into his just released (two days ago) "Echoes of Silence" but so far, as KJK put it "I'm on board. Hard." I encourage everyone to listen to the Weeknd--love it, hate it, I don't give a fuck. Just make sure you don't let this potential penile/pinnae-tumescent music pass you by unlistened.
Honorable Mentions: Ambient Music!
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 // Spotify
Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise // Spotify
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica // Spotify
Biosphere - N-Plants // Spotify
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