Some records that I enjoyed very much in 2011:
St Vincent Strange Mercy - Annie Clark darkens her canvas and gets personal. Standout tracks abound. Dilettante
Wye Oak Civilian - Fiercely rocking duo that can turn on a dime. Girl singer playing electric guitars? This was right in my wheel-house. Dog Eyes
Feist Metals - Rather than repeat the formula that made her a star, Leslie Feist shifts gears and churns out a highly percussive folkie gem. Undiscovered First
The War on Drugs Slave Ambient - Pitchfork described it as "excellent road trip music." Can't top that, though my own "Neu Dad Rock" ain't half bad. I Was There
Kurt Vile Smoke Ring For My Halo - Slacker grooves from Philly dude. Kept coming back to this one. Jesus Fever
Ty Segall Goodbye Bread - Scuzzy SF rocker makes his lo-fi Electric Warrior. Would do well to take his stuff out of the garage and into an actual studio. You Make the Sun Fry
Girls Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - Another group trading on late 60's-early 70's rock, yet so effortlessly, it sounds like they own it. Dark themes that ultimately lead to a song called Forgiveness. Could be my album of the year. Vomit
Atlas Sound Parallax - Deerhunter's Bradford Cox side project threatens to overshadow his main band. A lovely collection of mid-tempo ballads dripping with reverb. The ghost of Roy Orbison hangs over this one. Angel is Broken
Colin Stetson New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges - An amazing musician doing some weird and wonderful things with his horn. From No Part of Me Could I Summon a Voice
PJ Harvey Let England Shake- Her best record ever? She reaches into the heart of her homeland and gently plucks the beating organ from it's cancer ridden host. England
Deerhoof Vs Evil - A transitional record from the 'hoof. More keys, more synthesized beats, more weirdness. Not a classic in The Runners Four vein, but still chock-full of their signature timeshifts, and hooks galore. Behold a Marvel in the Darkness
tUnE-yArDs W H O K I L L - I wanted to dislike this on typeset alone, but I couldn't do it. The music, a mash-up of about a hundred genres--topped by that lustrous voice, made this the party record of the year. (Too bad I don't throw parties anymore...) You Yes You
Julianna Barwick The Magic Place - Imagine listening to a baby-monitor that's been tucked into a quiet corner of Heaven. White Flag
I haven't had a chance to listen to Tom Waits Bad as Me or Kate Bush 50 Words For Snow enough yet for inclusion on my list, but early indications suggest they would make the cut. I also enjoyed the Alabama Shakes EP, but left them off the list as the sound quality was demo-like at best. They are sure to benefit from a studio/producer on their first full-length.
download E-6 Best of 2011
ooo, please tell me i can take credit for a couple of these.
ReplyDeletetUne yArDs and Wye Oak, if I'm not mistaken. Especially Wye Oak. Hitman gets credit for Colin Stetson, right, or was that you as well?
ReplyDeleteWhoever is responsible, I love the title song on Civilian.
ReplyDelete-Corn
haha, payback's a bitch!
ReplyDelete(and yeah, i think that's the score)
I've only heard of 4 of these artists. Like my wife said, "We need to get out more." Will download for sure. Been doin' right by them all year. Thanks, buddy.
ReplyDeleteI just finished the Feist disc - what a great, lucid journey that was - and am now keeping this page open so I can hit the rest. You constantly steer me in the right direction. Thanks as always, E.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear, spooky.
ReplyDeleteThanks, E! I'm with you on 1, 2, 5 and 10. And I'm familiar with a couple of the others, but there are some new things here for me to check out.
ReplyDeleteI'd add for your consideration 2011's Richard Buckner, "Our Blood" and Peter Wolf Crier, "Garden of Arms." J Mascis, "Several Shades of Why" is not bad either. There were also notable releases from Gillian Welch, Bill Callahan and Bon Iver.
Excellent list, E. I bought five more of your recommendations at $4.99 each at Amazon. Thoughtful of you to negotiate that deal w/Bezos.
ReplyDeleteI know you want to know: I bought 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9. So far. But I figured that was a good day's work.
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteInitially had a Buckner tune on my compilation, but it felt like too big a downer for the mix. He's always good, though. I liked J's new record,too, but spaced on including it on my list. Still need to pick up Bon Iver and Callahan's latest, though I will. I'm embarrassed I haven't heard anything by PWC, what with them being Minneapolis kids and all. I will change that.
I'm just stunned at how much better this Feist CD is than the only Feist record I previously had, "Let It Die." How are the two intervening CDs? Do you have those?
ReplyDeleteThe new Bill Callahan is superb. Maybe half a notch off the previous two, but among the best of the year for either of the tracks "America!" and "Riding for the Feeling" alone. True genius at work there.
Buckner doesn't break much new ground on the new CD, but it's great to have something fresh from him. The Bon Iver is great and probably would have made your list. Just beautiful stuff.
Oh, yes, the Peter Wolf Crier CD is really good. It wanes in the second half, but they show promise. I saw after I posted that they are from your neck of the woods. Surprised I was able to poach them on you. That record reminded me a lot of Wye Oak. They're not there yet, but we can hope. Last year's "Inter-B" is worth having too.
I have one more suggestion for you, one I'm confident would have made the list: Woods, "Sun and Shade." It's more in keeping than most of my other suggestions with your predilection for the avant garde. Their "At Echo Lake" of 2010 was maybe even better.
Thanks again for the list. I promised your blog one of last year's vintage and never produced it. I blame you, for sidetracking me onto an Espers CD I hadn't considered. Off the top of my head I remember having a better personal crop last year. But your list has lifted 2011 above last year for sure.
Last word. Akron/Family's "S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT" probably belongs on the list too.
ReplyDeleteI got the recent Callahan and Bon Iver with an Amazon gift-certificate I received for the holidays. Should have picked up the PWC record, but I put the balance toward a Basquiat book.
ReplyDelete