A lot of people have been saying across the inevitable smorgasbord of countdowns that have flooded the internet over the past couple of weeks that 2011 has been a fairly ordinary year for music. On the surface it’s easy to agree – particularly as 2010 seemed to be such a standout – but on closer inspection there are a bunch of excellent albums that have been floating around for the past 12 months.
I think instead, what 2011 has lacked is a standout album. For the past few years it has been easy for me to pick out an album that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. This year it’s a bit different – and that doesn’t mean there are no great albums, just a lot of really good ones.
So I’m taking the easy way out and putting my top 10 albums in alphabetical order. A cop-out, perhaps (there definitely has been some albums I’ve liked more than others), but I can’t give any one in particular the ‘best album of 2011’ title. So here goes!
Architecture in Helsinki – Moment Bends
The fourth album from the Melbourne outfit saw a return to form after their party-fuelled but over-the-top Places Like This. Four years in the making, Moment Bends takes the best of AIH’s earlier dreamy moments and combines them with the pop sensibilities that Places hinted towards. The result is by far their most accomplished album to date. Pop music is often derided, but Moment Bends proves that when done right it can be intelligent, feel-good and just so darn catchy.
Bon Iver – S/T
It would have been easy for Justin Vernon to release a carbon copy of his heartache-filled For Emma, Forever Ago, and a lot of people would probably have been happy. Instead, with his second self-titled record Bon Iver have managed to go above and beyond any expectations and produce a lush, gorgeous record. Mostly named after places (including our own Perth), instruments may have been added, but Vernon’s lyrics are as vaguely beautiful as ever. Holocene’s refrain of “I was not magnificent” is hits home hard because it rings true for so many. And then there’s that final song, which at first has so much 80s cheese it’s funny, but ends up bringing together an album with many musical styles. I have tickets to see Bon Iver at the Opera House in March, and I cannot wait.
Gotye – Making Mirrors
When it comes to Australian music, 2011 belonged to Gotye. Making Mirrors has made its way onto many top 10 lists this year (even my mum wants it for Christmas) – but there’s a reason for that. Buoyed by the everywhere-you-turn single Somebody I Used to Know, the most refreshing thing about Mirrors is that it’s not even the best song on the album. Each track is unique; ‘I Feel Better’ could belong on a jazz record, while ‘Easy Way Out’ brings out De Becker’s rockier side. Things get more interesting in the second half of the record though, when Gotye gets more experimental – ‘State of the Art’, an ode to his organ, is easily a highlight. While extensive commercial play means we’re certainly not going to hear the last of Gotye anytime soon, it’s great to see some local pop music that thinks outside of the box getting so much attention.
James Blake – S/T
In a year where dubstep went mainstream, ruling the airwaves and making its way into festivals across the globe, James Blake proved that it’s not all ear-grating ‘melodies’ and shirtless bogans dancing with glowsticks. Call it post-dubstep, R&B, whatever, but Blake has managed to combine the best elements of numerous genres to create a stunning debut record. Building on the sounds of the numerous EPs he released in 2010, Blake is often barely understandable, hiding behind syncopated beats and altered vocals. It could easily sound cold and fake, but there is a naked humanity to the songs on the record that make James Blake the standout in an otherwise terrible genre of music. Plus the fact that Blake followed up with no less than two more EPs later in the year (including a great duet with Bon Iver), proves he’s not only one of the most talented new artists around, but also one of the most studious too.
Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness
After very nearly topping my list last year, Los Campesinos didn’t waste any time and returned in 2011 with an altered lineup, a few (more) broken hearts and a brand new album. While reviewers often say it with every new LC album, Hello Sadness saw a much more serious turn for the band, documenting a particularly nasty break-up involving lead-singer Gareth. I really wanted to like Hello Sadness as much as I adore their previous efforts, but try as I might it didn’t quite have that spark. Perhaps it was their self-confessed ‘more direct poppy sound’, or the lack of violin, or the underuse of the female vocals. Nonetheless, there are songs on Hello Sadness are still among some of the best the band has ever released – ‘To Tundra’ just about kills me every time – so it still deserves a place on this list.
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
What is it about Swedish artists and making excellent pop records? Lykke Li burst on to the scene as a shy 22 year old in 2008 with debut Youth Novels, a coming of age album filled with coy brushes with love and heartbreak. Three years later and Li has grown up, and her music has certainly followed suit. Wounded Rhymes is bigger in every way; opener ‘Youth Knows No Pain’ is a sly comment towards her first album, as if to say that she’s moved on; the thumping drums continue in lead single ‘Get Some’, where she states “I’ll be your prostitute, you gon’ get some”. But it’s in the albums more tender moments where Li really shines; ‘Unrequited Love’ is a simple yet beautiful ballad about a tough break-up. It also provided one of the most special live moments of the year; a wicked wind during her set at Parklife made the performance all the more hauntingly beautiful.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
I’ve always enjoyed M83, but on the flight home from Europe I discovered that I had never actually listened to the albeit excellent Saturdays = Youth the entire way through (something about putting it on while on public transport or just before I go to bed meant I always fell asleep by the 7th or 8th song). There’s no worry about this happening with the French producer’s latest effort though. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is a superb double album filled with 80s synth-pop gems. Usually double albums are a bit much, but Hurry Up manages to keep you interested for the whole 1.5 hours without ever feeling overwhelming. Gonzalez employs some excellent guest vocalists to help out, including the same soothing monotone present in S=Y. Lead single ‘Midnight City’ is easily one of my favourite songs this year, while ‘Raconte-Moi Une Histoire’ is almost unbearably cute.
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
I stumbled across St. Vincent a while back when a friend lent me their CD; and I’m so glad she did, because Strange Mercy is easily one of my favourite albums of the year. The brainchild of Annie Clark, Strange Mercy deserves all of the accolades it has received. Distorted guitars swoon over almost R&B-like drumbeats, accompanied by some of the most poisonous lyrics of the year – in the title track Clark cries “If I ever find the dirty policeman who roughed you up…” leaving the ambiguous threat hanging in the air for the listener to decode. But she has fun as well, even if it’s somewhat juxtaposed: lead single ‘Cruel’ is a catchy ode to the harshness of society’s standards placed on women. Probably as close as it gets to my favourite album of 2011.
Tune-Yards – Who Kill
The mixed capitalization of tUnE-yArDs’ name hints at the kind of craziness that led to lead singer (and everything else) Merrill Garbus releasing one of the most unique albums of the year. When I saw Tune-Yards in Amsterdam in June, it was practically a one woman show; Garbus records and plays almost every instrument on Who Kill, and somehow manages to do it live as well. Part soul, part R&B, Garbus’ incredible voice almost yells over the top of looped drum rhythms and layered ukulele and saxophones. But it’s never over the top; she’s purposely restrained in opener My Country, a scathing commentary on modern America. In singles Gangsta and Bizness she lets rip, and the album builds until the final declaration that ‘all my violence is here in the sound’ on the final song, Killa. Tune-Yards are heading to Australia in 2012 early, and I would highly recommend getting along to see this one-woman powerhouse.
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
Three years since the release of the excellent Dear Science, it seems that TV on the Radio have settled down. A departure from a band known for their political sentiments and scathing commentaries of modern society, Nine Types of Light is a collection of songs about love. While it could easily have been cheesy, there is much to love about the Brooklyn outfit’s fourth LP. The death of long time bassist Gerard Smith earlier this year hit the band hard, but oddly it’s one of their most positive albums yet. Opener ‘Second Song’ sets the tone for a rollicking ride featuring some of their best tracks ‘Repetition’ and ‘Will Do’, while closer ‘Caffeinated Consciousness’ proves that art-rockers can do area-sized music incredibly well. While some lament the lack of the frenetic energy present in their earlier work, TVOTR could keep releasing albums this good and still be firmly cemented as one of the finest bands of the 21st century.
—
And there we have it. Honourable mentions should also go to Ball Park Music – Happiness & Surrounding Suburbs, Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know, Oscar + Martin – For You and Fatty Gets a Stylist’s self-titled debut. So all in all, 2011 was not such a terrible year for music after all.