Years from now I think we’ll look back and agree that 2011 was an abnormally great year for music. There was such a wealth of good music released by both old and tested acts as well as some stellar debuts from a promising new crop of talent. Here are some of the albums I especially enjoyed.
You can find my best songs of the year here
20 // And So I Watch You From Afar – Gangs
19 // Small Black – Moon Killer Mixtape
18 // Tancred – Capes
17 // State Lines -Hoffman Manor
16 // The Wonder Years – Suburbia, I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing
15 // Joyce Manor – Joyce Manor
14 // Damion Suomi And The Minor Prophets – Go, And Sell All Of Your Things
MP3 // PEARLS (BEFORE THE SWINE)
13 // Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
AN ECHO FROM THE HOSTS THAT PROFESS INFINITUM
12 // Alexander – Alexander
11 // Young Man – Ideas of Distance
10 // New Found Glory – Radiosurgery
I feel like I’ve been put in a time capsule and transmitted back to 2000 with my CD Walkman and New Found Glory’s S/T on replay. Really though, it’s nice to see the forefathers of the modern pop-punk movement still churning out awesome records over a decade later. It only seems appropriate that in such a convincing year for the genre, these guys would put out their best work since Sticks and Stones. It stumbles a bit at the start with the awkward opener, but picks itself up and doesn’t look back after that.
MP3 // ANTHEM FOR THE UNWANTED
09 // The Cinema – My Blood Is Full Of Airplanes
Who would’ve thought that Leighton Antelman’s venture into top 40 pop would turn out to be such a success? Just picture Lydia’s Illuminate thrown into a blender with The Postal Service’s Give Up and add in an endless dose of saccharine production and you’ll have a little bit of an idea of what to expect. It’s a tricky affair, one that is full of lush electronica, light autotune and an endless assault of hooks, but it’s one that works all the same.
MP3 // ALL THE LIGHTS
08 // Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
It’s likely that The People’s Key will be the awkward bookend to the illustrious career of Bright Eyes. Much like 2007′s polarizing release Cassadaga Conor Oberst delivered a mixed bag that boasted material featuring some of BE’s best and worst moments. It’s likely there will be few pickings here for the casual listener, but for the Bright Eyes faithful like myself The People’s Key will suffice as another cherished chapter in their incredible lifework.
MP3 // LADDER SONG
07 // The Strokes – Angles
This may very well be collectively the weakest album The Strokes have put out, but the bright spots shine too bright to discredit it as a whole. It sounds like a band that had been so precisely calculated in the past just letting go and having fun and in the end I think they fared pretty well. It would be impossible for me to walk away from an album including tracks like “Gratisfaction” “Taken For A Fool” and “Machu Picchu” and tell you I was disappointed. The Strokes will forever be the gods of rock to me, and Angles only continues on that tradition
MP3 // TAKEN FOR A FOOL
06 // Glassjaw – Our Color Green / Coloring Book EPs
I’m combining these two releases because Glassjaw deserve to be here. It was a long, and antagonizing wait for the diehards that waited nearly a decade to hear new material from the band. When it came, it didn’t come as the full-length many had hoped for, but in piecemeal singles which eventually turned into two EP’s. The work found here is a testament to Glassjaw’s patriarchal influence. Whether it be through the chaotic post-hardcore anthems layering “Our Color Green” or the electronically dense apparatus of “Coloring Book” the work found here ranks as a new landmark in an already proven and remarkable career.
MP3 // VANILLA POLTERGEIST SNAKE (coloringbook)
MP3 // YOU THINK YOU’RE JOHN FUCKING LENNON (our color green)
05 // Pianos Become The Teeth – The Lack Long After
The Lack Long After is an uncompromising documentation of the passing of vocalist Kyle Durfey’s father. Throughout an eight song onslaught, Durfey struggles through the events surrounding his dad’s death in a trembling and often out of tune howl. Struggling to stay afloat over a disorderly wall of furious screamo his misery becomes a tangible experience, one that becomes impossible to dismiss. It’s that broken hearted honesty that makes this record such an unshakable experience, one that will stay with you long after it’s final notes have faded away.
MP3 // LIQUID COURAGE
04 // O’Brother – Garden Window
It’s immediately apparent from the opening tones of “Malum” that you’re entering the belly of a beast. Throughout the subsequent hour O’Brother defiantly present an epic collage of scarred post-metal and volatile prog rock that’s mind numbingly impressive for what is just the bands 2nd release and 1st legitimate full-length. The songwriting is immaculate and it’s delivery, terrifying. O’Brother have succeeded through many missteps that would normally plague such a massive undertaking and deliver with a stunning portrait of near perfection
O’BROTHER // LAY DOWN
03 // The Story So Far – Under Soil And Dirt
There’s no question that 2011 saw the convincing rise and return of pop-punk. If there was any album that encapsulated that standard, it was Under Soil & Dirt. The guitars are crunchy and melodic and the hooks are plentiful. Parker Cannon’s vocals complement the styling of the music perfectly, encapsulating the mantra that has become permeated throughout this year. Pop Punk Is Not Dead.
MP3 // QUICKSAND
02 // Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math
With Simple Math, Manchester Orchestra have proven that they are no longer a band playing in the shadow of the music that influenced them, but a band that has exceeded that shadow. The dubiety of time will quiet any comparisons between Simple Math and it’s predecessors, and no comparison is really necessary. Simple Math stands up in an already flawless discography and marks another chapter in their bright, bright future. With such calm and confident poise, this band has finally stepped into the shoes they were always meant to wear, poised now to sit at the top as the scenes’ much needed savior. [FULL REVIEW]
MP3 // PENSACOLA
01 // La Dispute – Wildlife
“…fumbling uncertain towards a curtain call that no one wants to happen, that no ones gonna clap for at all. but that still has to be.”
The painstaking process of making Wildlife has already been well documented. Take one look at the albums lyric sheet and you’ll see first hand how much deliberate thought and care went into it’s creation. The undertaking of such a massive record alone nearly warrants this albums spot atop my year end list. Once you’ve been sucked into Wildlife, there is no turning back. It’s an album built on a backbone of unrelenting despair, but one that ultimately emerges with a profound message of undying hope. There are few bands out there that I think could make such a heartfelt and immovable record, but these guys have proven once again that they are more than capable.
STREAM // WILDLIFE
MP3 // KING PARK
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4 responses so far ↓
1 2011 Year-End Online Music Lists Update – December 6th | Music Blog List // Dec 9, 2011 at 5:27 pm
[...] Club (best albums) The Adventures of Dusky Panther (favorite albums) Antiquiet (top songs) Bedwetting Cosmonaut (best albums) Business Insider (best albums) Captain’s Dead (top albums) CHARTattack [...]
2 mark // Feb 8, 2012 at 8:54 pm
did you listen to balance and composure – separation at all? and what did you think?
3 cj mckinney // Feb 13, 2012 at 12:32 pm
loved about half of separation. when it was good it was good, just couldn’t get into the rest
4 BreakThru Radio // Feb 29, 2012 at 2:06 am
[...] recent studio session courtesy of IndieAmbassador. Check out the band playing "Sputnik" from their bestof'd debut album Garden Window. Head over to the Ambassadors site to catch another clip of the band [...]
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