Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 02

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

02. Joakim – Nothing Gold (Tigersushi)

You used to be young, now where do you belong? That’s the key question on Joakim’s track ‘Forever Young’, the first proper song on this LP. It made a good run for the top spot this one, as I absolutely adore this album. It just oozes with this aimlessness, this distance, yet in terms of the sound and the music it sounds terribly mature and terribly well crafted. Something like ‘Fight Club’, with the delivery and the rhythm of it, that is very well done. It is also just the atmosphere the whole album exhumes, both in terms of sound as well as in lyrics. I think it is such a plus for an album to not just have ten good songs on there, but to have ten good songs on there that are connected, that together create a certain feel. Individual songs are nice and all, but to have a whole album, in its entirety, give out a message, an emotion, that’s what sets the better albums apart for me. 

That melancholy in title track ‘Nothing Gold’ is amazing, and even per song all the elements really combine and by doing so they make the sum more than just its parts. It is an album that I think has been overlooked, but especially if you, like me, feel connected to the atmosphere this album evokes, then it is one you definitely shouldn’t miss. And what it evoked for me is this sense of being in a place where you have gone through all the emotions as a younger person, and now you’re not so much there anymore. Either because you’re too old to do the things that provided you with these emotions, or because those emotions have just dulled out and you’re stuck with all things happening around you but not quite feeling any of it. Which sounds more depressing than it really is, honest.

Joakim - Forever Young by Tigersushi Records

Linda:

02. Tune-yards – W H O K I L L (4AD)

And to complete this trio of female singer-songwriters: Merrill Garbus. She’s quickly grown to be one of my all time favourite artists. She is an amazing live performer, full of enthusiasm and energy and even able to get a Jimmy Kimmel audience who quite obviously don’t belong to her target crowd to jump along to her tracks. I’ve seen her three times in a year’s time, and each time she managed to completely blow me away. The ingredients for a great album were there on her debut, but really have clicked into place on this one. ‘Bizzness’ and ‘Gangsta’ are probably two of the best songs to have come out in 2011.

Although amazing on record, her live performance is so much better. Just witnessing how she builds up the rhythms for each song would blow anyone away, let alone her amazingly strong voice and personality that just makes you want to hug her right there (you’ll be pleased to know I managed to control myself though). And there’s even more to get excited about with the saxophones on this album! Amazing how she could think all this up when starting out with just a ukulele a few years ago. The most soulful album I’ve heard this year (and yes, that includes Adele), can’t wait for the next one now.

Tune-Yards - Gangsta by The Recommender

Our Top 50 Favorite Tracks Countdown - 15-11

Yessir, it has started, the countdown of the 50 best tracks of 2011! Everyday I’ll post one track in the Daily Clip section, but if you missed one don’t worry, after each batch of five I’ll be sure to post those songs with links on the site (you’ll find it in the main post). So for the next 50 days, nothing but the best, here we go!

Nr. 15 - ‘My Rescue’ by Canyons

Okay, so the album as a whole, for me, didn’t do it. Some of the songs were just a bit too experimental for me personally. Luckily there were some highs on there as well, and when this band hits the mark it really hits it. The vocals on this one are magnificent, love the (steel?)drums and the way this song constantly finds ways to propel itself forward. The vocals have a bit of edge to it, which juxtapose nicely with the beats and drums. I also love it when they put the vocals alone with the beat, that’s really lovely, and the voice somehow gets so powerful, really triggers something which really puts this song over the top for me. That’s excellence right there.

Nr. 14 - ‘All Night Long’ by Nicholas

Oh boy, Nicholas got it on this year and delivered some tunes that would all be worthy of being somewhere, some place on the list. I picked this one perhaps because it was one of the first I heard by him, perhaps because it has this really old school house thing going on which I really like, but certainly because it should get people on the dancefloor. Really old school house with the beat and then the piano coming in, some nice repetition to get into it, and then   those strong vocals really complete it all. I would be dropping this on the dancefloor at a house party in a heartbeat, no question. This fits right in. And as said, Nicholas really has had this whole string of stellar releases this year, so definitely one to keep an eye on and to turn to if you want to fill out your set.

Nr. 13 - ‘Ritual Union’ by Little Dragon

You know what, this really is the point where it’s all five star excellence. I would be happy to put this track at the top of any list, and then realize there are still twelve songs to come! Fuck me. This song is the lead off for Little Dragon’s ace album of the same name. They deserve all the plaudits they’ve received for just the first two tracks alone. Love the music, and these melancholic vocals fit in so well. “These ritual unions have got me in trouble again”, she laments. So it packs plenty of emotion, and in the meantime the drums keep it up at a steady pace so to keep the song moving along nicely. Very strong showing from this Danish band.

Nr. 12 - ‘Another Night’ by J Kriv feat. Adeline Michele (Greg Wilson remix)

Oh, I remember this being my soundtrack whilst walking to and from the local (yet awesome) festival here (at which the band responsible for the previous song, Little Dragon, played). Its got this lazy disco beat going to set both the tempo and the mood, and after a while Adeline Michele comes in to sing that it was “Just another night without your love”. Greg Wilson, though, takes his time to get there with all kinds of lovely variations on the initial sounds to really paint the right picture. Just short of three minutes in Michele starts narrating her story of love lost and how she longs for being held in someones arms again and truly feeling a spark.  For she knows, When it’s good, it’s so good. So if you’re walking around at night dreaming about someone to look you in the eyes lovingly, this surely is the right song for you.

Nr. 11 - ‘Jam for Jerry’ by Holy Ghost!

So much to love about this song. First of all, the tight drums and how that propels the song forward. Secondly, it is so catchy and dancey. Thirdly, it is so heartfelt. Instead going ballad after friend of the band (and Juan MacLean drummer) Jerry Fuchs died, the lads of Holy Ghost! go into homage mode by recalling the mourning process with this TUNE. In the chorus they sing “I’ve got the feeling I’ve done / something half wrong / it surrounds me / drowns me in it”, just to indicate that you can be emotional, you can say something conveying feeling, whilst you are making people dance. Excellence by the DFA duo, whom I interviewed as far back as 2010 (it’s 2012 now, remember?).

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 03

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

03. Hercules and Love Affair – Blue Songs (Moshi Moshi)

Out with the old, in with the new. Nomi Ruiz, Antony Hegarty, and the whole band went away, and Mark Pistel, Aerea Negrot, and Shaun Wright came in. And if you thought it couldn’t get better than the first album, here they are with a magnificent comeback. It is geared a bit more towards house than to disco, despite it having this old disco album set up of start up-tempo, drop it down to some ballads, and then have the people dance again. All of this with some amazing, amazing vocals. Negrot is fantastic, what a command she has over her voice. It’s all throwback, it’s all fun, it’s all house in the Eighties. It’s gender bending, it’s sexy, it’s playful, it’s naughty. Where Azari & III are a bit darker, more physical, more about sex, this is more about playfulness, about fun, about flirtation. 

I’ve seen the new line-up several times, and they are just fabulous, so fun and queer. I can understand people who say it borders on kitsch, but I like that, because you know what, so was disco the first go around (check some of these vids out y’all). It’s about fun and dancing together, and that vibe does come across on the album as well. Some absolute corkers you just have to dance to, and some ballads as well to inject it with some emotion (though, admittedly, former Hercules singer Nomi Ruiz outdid the band in the ballad department this year). And honestly, with such powerful voices, that is disco and house as well. Those fab vocals over that music that makes your body want to go to work. For me, and I’m probably in the minority on this one, but for my money’s worth I rather listen to this album than their debut, and that is saying something.

Answers Come In Dreams by moshi moshi music

Linda:

03. My Brightest Diamond - All things will unwind (asthmatic kitty)

After just having had Annie Clark, AKA St. Vincent, here’s another former Sufjan Stevens background singer! Her first album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, didn’t do much for me. Apart from opening tracks ‘Inside a Boy’, the tracks were quite forgettable. Maybe that’s why she remained to be in Stevens’ backing band until this last album came out. The album features maybe the best yet Occupy-inspired protest tracks in ‘High Low Middle’ and ‘There’s a Rat’, though compared to the rest of the album, they seem a tad bleak and rushed.

Luckily the rest of the album is of a much higher standard. Take ‘Escape Routes’, with its opening sentence “It takes a lifetime to learn how to love”, borrowed from Laurie Anderson. It’s a beautiful pop song with an extravagant chorus backed up by a small chamber music ensemble, yMusic, which she brings along to her live performances. ‘Be Brave’ and ‘We Added it Up’ are a few other musical gems on this album. Bit it’s not all easy pop songs, there’s also a track based on her grandmother: ‘She Does Not Brave the War’, which details how, despite women like her grandma not being allowed to go to war in those days, they did save the day by keeping the country running despite the absence of their ‘all-knowing’ husbands. So feminism, pop and protest songs, what shouts 2011 more than that?

My Brightest Diamond, "We Added It Up" by My Brightest Diamond

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 04

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

04. Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost! (DFA)

Every time I put this one on my record player and the vinyl gets a spinning I am reminded of how good these songs are. These are just fabulous disco songs, perhaps with  a slight pop edge, and they roll on just so smoothly and they make me so happy. They’re just so darn catchy, and then we are only talking about the stellar songs and not even about the real highs. One of them being ‘Jam for Jerry’, a song in memory of the late Jerry Fuchs, which (as a Jerry Fuchs tribute should) has some amazingly tight percussion thrown in there. I also love the emotion in the chorus though, “I’ve got the feeling I’ve done / Something half wrong / It surrounds me / Drowns me in it”, or something to that effect. The thing is, they got it right when they made this song so catchy, so danceable, and not some half-assed ballad. 

Another highlight is that they got Michael friggin’ McDonald on the closer of this album. And perhaps none were pleased more than they themselves, but anytime you get such a powerhouse on vocals, even if it just is for one track, that’s amazing. It also is what McDonald stands for, you know? The album, it may sound strange, but one of its big assets is that it is so darn easy on the ear. The songs are so catchy, so smooth, so easy to listen to; and yes, that’s most definitely a skill. To make songs that you don’t have to work for, but that just ease into your ear. Just a tremendous debut.

Holy Ghost! - Some Children (Free Download) by DFA Records

Linda:

04. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (4AD)

Annie Clark has returned! Three albums in, St. Vincent really seems to turn out to be the kind of artist who just can’t disappoint. As soon as I heard ‘Surgeon’, the first single of this year’s album, I knew we were going to be in for a threat. And how amazing is this album? It is off to a bit of a false start with ‘Chloe in the afternoon’, based on a 1972 film by the same name by Éric Rohmer. The song comes across unnecessary repetitive and a tad uninspired, but perhaps you actually need to have seen the film to fully appreciate it. However, as soon as the second track ‘Cruel’ begins to play, all is forgotten. Accompanied by a rather nifty video (in which Annie gets abducted by a motherless family and shreds in the trunk of a car - while bound and gagged) she returns to where she left off with her last album Actor: pop songs that could feature in Disney cartoons, but with a dark twist. 

Compared to Actor, the melodies have gotten much grander, and perhaps more appealing to a more general audience. Also, the album is more balanced, with tracks flowing into each other almost unnoticeable. And then there are the guitar riffs such as in the chorus of the aforementioned ‘Surgeon’. Wow. And the solos are even more impressive if played live: the whole set tends to turn into a guitar jam session featuring only Annie Clark (and in case you haven’t actually seen her: that is pretty amazing). She really has nailed it on this album. 

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 05

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

05. Little Dragon – Ritual Union (Peacefrog Records)

Those first two tracks, ‘Ritual Union’ and ‘Little Man’, I mean, stop the album, you just can’t beat that. Those two songs have me completely entranced, and honestly I couldn’t tell you how any of the other songs go until I hear them, because my whole mind just gets consumed by the best one-two opening punch since yonkers. Singer Yakumi Nagano, on the title track, heart wrenchingly narrates about “Ritual unions got me in trouble again”, about the contradictory feelings of marriage versus love and lust. I’ve played that song to death , I really have. 

And if that isn’t enough, they just about manage to honour the mixtape golden rule (first song must be great, second song must be even better) with ‘Little Man’, of which I love the instrumentation so much. Fast paced, it has got this anxiety to it, this energy, this rawness. And the delivery of Nagano fits in perfectly with that. “Something missing in your smile / something missing in your soul”, and perhaps this should be the Occupy Wall Street anthem, because I feel those two things might have something or another to do with money. The rest of the album is just bonus after that, but what a bonus it still is. It doesn’t beat out the opening tunes of this album, but honestly, nothing this year really does, and that dynamic duo makes you just want to listen to this album over and over again.

Seconds (vocal version) by Little Dragon

Linda:

05. CANT - Dreams come true (Terrible records)

With most side projects, I don’t really get the point. They sound marginally the same as the original band, with a slightly different line-up, and don’t seem to do anything they couldn’t have done using the original line-up. With CANT, it’s surprisingly different. Chris Taylor, the angelic apparition playing bass/clarinet/flute and doing backing vocals in the rather wonderful indie/folk band Grizzly Bear, decided this year it was time for GB side project that trumps Department of Eagles. And whatever you might expect from a multi-instrumentalist like Taylor, it probably wouldn’t be this album. Especially in a live setting, it’s outright danceable, with it’s beat driven songs and admirable guitar riffs played by Taylor-produced Blood Orange. 

The only recognizable feature is Taylor’s voice, which fits remarkably well both Grizzly Bear tracks as it does with this mixture of electro and experimental folk. What’s maybe even more surprising is Chris Taylor’s modesty and apparent apprehension on stage. He seems genuinely surprised Grizzly Bear fans like this side of the musical spectrum as well, and seems a bit hesitant to be the centre of attention for once. But with tracks ‘Believe’ and title track ‘Dreams Come True’ there’s no reason to be shy. With a bit of practice this might even outshine Grizzly Bear itself.

02 Believe by Transdreamer Records

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 06

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

06. Tiger & Woods – Through the Green (Running Back)

It is hard to find an own sound and stay consistent with that, especially if you don’t really work with vocals. Tiger & Woods, somehow, someway, manage it. I can now listen to a remix of theirs and go, Oh yeah, Tiger & Woods, and I can’t do that with everyone. That really means that they’ve carved out their own sound, their own niche within this house/dance spectrum. Well, you might say, if they have such a distinct sound, tell us what that is. But I have to admit, that isn’t quite as easy as recognizing they, in fact, have a fairly distinct sound. So best thing you can do is just to listen to it and find out for yourself. 

The tracks on this album, they just move, you know? They just keep on rolling, there’s a good balance between repetition and new elements, and if you think that at one point surely they have exhausted their inspiration think again, because the last two songs on the album are perhaps the most killing of all. ‘Gin Nation’ is a bit slower, the slowest of them all in terms of BPM I reckon, but I don’t know where they get those sounds from, and I don’t know how they can manage to repeat them to brilliance, but they do. ‘Speed of Light’ is a bit more up-tempo, and you hear that core sound coming through slowly and it comes increasingly more to the fore, which is just lovely. It is the art of repetition, and they control that better than anyone I’ve heard this year.

Tiger & Woods - Love In Cambodgia - Out Of Bounds EP by Bryan McQuade

Linda:

06. Wild Flag - Wild Flag (Wichita/Merge Records)

As a conglomerate of musicians from formerly influential bands like Sleater Kinney, Helium and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, you could ask whether Wild Flag really has anything new to add. Another all-girl punk band, like we haven’t seen enough of those. But put it another way, and Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Rebecca Cole and Janet Weiss might just have the experience and insight to know just what the musical world of 2011 needs. Although the album can hardly be said to push the boundaries of any genre of music, they do manage to create an amazing album. It’s catchy, has some great melodies and riffs and the band members have enough gravitas to get away with borrowing some of Deerhunter’s better guitar lines (the finale of ‘Short Version’ bears a striking resemblance to said band’s ‘Nothing Ever Happened’). 

But copyright infringements aside, the band really knows how to carry a tune. The album is filled with pop-punk that might have scared mothers in the ‘70s but can only endear in this day and age. The album shines in consistency: there is not a track that acts solely as filler. However, at the same time no one tracks stands out as an obvious anthem or even small indie crowd pleaser. But hey, that’ll probably mean their London gig next month won’t sell out just on one track that some hipsters heard on the radio, and that can only be good thing.

Wild Flag - Romance by MergeRecords

Our Top 50 Favorite Tracks Countdown - 20 - 16

Yessir, it has started, the countdown of the 50 best tracks of 2011! Everyday I’ll post one track in the Daily Clip section, but if you missed one don’t worry, after each batch of five I’ll be sure to post those songs with links on the site (you’ll find it in the main post). So for the next 50 days, nothing but the best, here we go!

Nr. 20 - ‘Pharaohs and Pyramids’ by Cut Copy

And we enter the top 20 with a Cut Copy tune! Shabbier ways to enter a top 20 there certainly are I think. Though the album Zonoscope as a whole didn’t really do it for me, some of the tracks, as well as the lads live, were amazing as usual. This one is my favorite of the album, because it is so terribly dancey and catchy. Love the chorus of please baby, don’t take my heart away, just safe it for another day, when you need my love some more. The rhythm is continuous  so you have no excuse to not dance. These guys excel in coming up with these dancey tunes that are easy on the ear and have a slight pop sensibility whilst not overdoing it. And I’m not really sure what’s not to love to be honest.

Nr. 19 - ‘Tripped and Fell in Love’ by YACHT

I had the pleasure of interviewing this DFA duo on the back of their quite excellent album Shangri-La, which is full of just fab songs (not to mention the Jacques Renault remix of ‘I Walked Alone’, which is ace as well). This song I perhaps love most. It’s this seven minute behemoth at the end of the album, when YACHT go dancey and get a moving. It is build on this great rhythm which you can really dance to, and it lovingly plays on that a bit. After a good minute the leading duo get into the fold with their very YACHTsy lyrics, all the while the main sound keeps on going and going. And it won’t let up, let me warn ya. Sometimes something gets added, sometimes something gets held back: but it keeps on coming. 

Nr. 18 - ‘Chain Gang’ by The Heels of Love feat. Max Essa

Love the start with the beat, the way it quickly seems to accelerate a bit, and then those deeper  synth tones come in. But what I perhaps love most of all are those vocals. It’s got this rhythm to it I really love. It’s not really really singing, but it is not spoken word either, but somewhere in between, and it provides a bit of spunk. It also just fits the music perfectly, which is perhaps the biggest draw of it all. It’s got a slight melancholic feel to it, perhaps because of the words “Oooh living it up like it’s real life” in the chorus. Love the strip back with mostly vocals and light key sounds, and there’s cowbell in it! And it fits the song as well! If that isn’t worth Nr. 18 then I don’t know what is.

Nr. 17 - ‘Nobody’ by Cassian (Mitzi remix)

This is one from early in the year, but it’s still high up on the list. This one starts lovely and fair enough, but it is when it gets that extra kick at 1:40 when it really gets me. That sound is just lovely, and I don’t mind them riding that at all. However, they thought it not enough and put in this lovely break in which they build back up to that sound again, and then get ready for it to get going with some extra gusto once more. Just fabulous to hear, and when those background aah-ha-haaaas come in, that’s what they call icing on the cake right there.

Nr. 16 - ‘Foreign Language’ by Flight Facilities feat. Jess

I remember doing this one for my Weekly Froth column, and at that time I hadn’t heard of Flight Facilities at all. But as you can see they really made a splash with this one for me. It just makes me happy. It has this whole positive vibe going for it, which is sure to get a smile on my face. This track is just so poppy and catchy it is hard not to like it, at least for me it has proven to be impossible not to like it. It is smooth, it keeps on rolling, and the vocals are very nice as well. A catchy, lovable pop song put together expertly.