This is our favorite albums of 2011 so far countdown! So just us saying which albums have been doing it for us in the first half year of 2011. I love scouring lists like these as there is so much music coming out I find it impossible to keep track of everything. And these lists indicate what people really have been enjoying, and sometimes you agree, sometimes disagree, and sometimes it tips you on a future favourite. So hence this list, and hope you find some stuff to enjoy in there!
Ilse: Nr. 7. Tyler, the Creator – Goblin (XL Recordings)
Despite being overly hyped, I have to say Tyler, The Creator (leader of even more hyped Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or OFWGKA for short) and his music somehow have their ‘charm’. Though ‘charm’ probably wouldn’t be the best word to use for someone who commands his listeners to “Kill people, burn shit, f*ck school”. To say Tyler is an obnoxious anarchist, would be making an understatement: his contentious raps involve rape, murder, violence, and telling the world to go fuck itself. This makes it, on the one side, not seem new or innovative, as everyone knows rappers aren’t exactly the cutest darlings to their ladies, attend the university of life rather than any other and are generally accustomed to drugs, money and violence. On the other hand, this album is different: it’s incredibly dark, the music is spooky and eerie, something going hand in hand with the concept of the album; Tyler, the Creator conversing with this ‘Goblin’, whose identity or origins remain a bit of a mystery to me. Is it a darker part of Tyler’s (alter) ego, whether his conscience or his subconscious, or is this some other person, as in physical, like a shrink or a guardian? (which could be his father, as he refers to a father figure abandoning him in several songs) I’m not certain, but it definitely creates an interesting, perhaps even deeper layered than at first imagined, take on storytelling. The frightening sounds that accompany this downward spiral into Tyler’s strange and unsettling mind, also have an interesting effect on the passionate rage and darkness he portrays: it makes the nihilism more effective, resulting into something Freud might’ve liked to have on his couch. In any case, it’s youthful and fresh; Tyler opens doors to unconventionality and stakes a claim against overproduced and mediocre rap made friendly for the mainstream.
Despite being overly hyped, I have to say Tyler, The Creator (leader of even more hyped Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or OFWGKA for short) and his music somehow have their ‘charm’. Though ‘charm’ probably wouldn’t be the best word to use for someone who commands his listeners to “Kill people, burn shit, f*ck school”. To say Tyler is an obnoxious anarchist, would be making an understatement: his contentious raps involve rape, murder, violence, and telling the world to go fuck itself. This makes it, on the one side, not seem new or innovative, as everyone knows rappers aren’t exactly the cutest darlings to their ladies, attend the university of life rather than any other and are generally accustomed to drugs, money and violence. On the other hand, this album is different: it’s incredibly dark, the music is spooky and eerie, something going hand in hand with the concept of the album; Tyler, the Creator conversing with this ‘Goblin’, whose identity or origins remain a bit of a mystery to me. Is it a darker part of Tyler’s (alter) ego, whether his conscience or his subconscious, or is this some other person, as in physical, like a shrink or a guardian? (which could be his father, as he refers to a father figure abandoning him in several songs) I’m not certain, but it definitely creates an interesting, perhaps even deeper layered than at first imagined, take on storytelling. The frightening sounds that accompany this downward spiral into Tyler’s strange and unsettling mind, also have an interesting effect on the passionate rage and darkness he portrays: it makes the nihilism more effective, resulting into something Freud might’ve liked to have on his couch. In any case, it’s youthful and fresh; Tyler opens doors to unconventionality and stakes a claim against overproduced and mediocre rap made friendly for the mainstream.
Random track to listen to: ‘Tron Cat’
Linda: Nr. 7. Destroyer – Kaputt (Dead Oceans)
Dan Bejar, the main man behind Destroyer, is one of those people that somehow nestles in the immensely complicated network of Spencer Krug-related musicians. I have given up on actually understanding how those Canadians are all connected in one way or other (and I say one, but I bet that once you start looking closely, they’ll have been in three, if not more, bands together at some point and will have spawned even more). But none of that really matters as it’s the music that we’re really interested in. Destroyer has been around for quite some time now: Dan Bejar can compete with bands such as Of Montreal in releasing more albums than anybody actually realises (this is number 9) and this one just might be his best. It contains the epic ‘Bay of Pigs’ which already saw the light of day on an earlier EP. On that EP it was the centre piece, the reason the whole EP existed, but on this album it feels a bit out of place. The rest of album is mix of folk and pop, with some blues influences here and there (anything with a saxophone qualifies as ‘blues’ in my book) and this 11 minute shout out to electronics just doesn’t fit in. It is nitpicking though, as on the whole it is one the best pieces of music I’ve heard this year (but hey, that’s what this countdown is all about) and there has to be some reason why this hasn’t ended up any higher on my list.
Random track to listen to: ‘Blue Eyes’
Stef: Nr. 7. Jessica 6 – See the Light (Peacefrog Records)
Nomi Ruiz, she of Hercules & Love Affair fame, started her own band with some of the Hercules & Love Affair members, and this is the result. A sexy, lovelorn, disco album with on one hand some nice and longing disco tunes with a beat and on the other hand some precious ballads. And on these ballads her voice really shines, and she is quite impressive there actually. And if she alone doesn’t pack enough vocal power Antony Hegarty pops up for a track as well. Disco was not the sole inspiration, with African and more jazz sounds being mixed in there too, so the sound isn’t just a carbon copy of disco albums from the Seventies or something like that. However, the feel, the atmosphere, is still very much disco. Pure emotions come to the fore in the songs, where at all times the typical disco symbolisms reign. Longing for either love or being free from the archetypical sense of the need of a man’s love, which before feminism was omnipresent in the imagery of women. Or the need for a perfect love and a freedom from a compromising love. A title like ‘Prisoner of Love’ says it all and is packed with that imagery all by itself. A mere glance at the title gives evidence to the reign of emotions. From ‘White Horse’ (we all know what is supposed to be on those things, right?) to ‘Freak the Night’ to ‘Not Anymore’ to ‘Blessed Mother’, they all immediately make it clear where the story is going to take you. And to do that is a feat in itself. Very embedded in female, gay, and disco imagery, and Jessica works that into some fab songs where she, perhaps better than in Hercules & Love Affair, can strut that beautiful voice of hers.
Random track to listen to: ‘See the Light’
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