Daniel & Derek's Favorite Albums of 2011

[Derek]

Aww, yeah. It's that time of year again, but after going solo for the last 4-5 years, this year I'm combining forces with the legendary Daniel Davis because two D's are better than one. And this way you prog metalheads can have a little fun too, since I'll sure as hell not be mentioning it!

So, 2011. Following the relatively tame year of music that was 2010, it brought us the most variety of brilliance in quite some time, with nearly every genre and sub-genre bringing at least one or two great albums to the table and even more importantly, artists pushing the boundaries of these arbitrary cages. As a whole, the music of 2011 often reflected the global anxieties and insecurities, manifesting this sense of helplessness in revolutionary forms. Of course, any broad, sweeping statement like that about any year is at least half bullshit, but it does seem music was more about pushing buttons and breaking boundaries (take my middle 3 honorable mentions alone) than any year in recent memory.

On that note, I'll leave you with my 5 honorable mentions, each of which was on my top 30 at some point within the past few weeks, so consider these equally strong recommendations as the picks I have coming up later.


HONORABLE MENTIONS (Listed Alphabetically)

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Not as consistent as their self-titled debut, Helplessness Blues nonetheless shows Robin Pecknold as a blossoming song-writer, full of confessions, self-doubt and sweet nothings amidst the deft combination of Pecknold's gentle, quiet solos and the group's beautiful harmonizing.

[youtube]Pgv6dKV03dA[/youtube]

The Necks – Mindset

Mindset is composed of two contrasting pieces, the first, "Rum Jungle", increasingly aggressive, unsettling and forboding, layering dark piano improvisations upon repetitive stand-up bass riffs, the second, "Daylights", minimalist, spacious, a comedown from the oblivion the first track takes you to. This band has been one of my best discoveries of 2011 and this album further secures their spot as one of the few go-to modern jazz bands out there.

[youtube]BJYgRD-ofUE[/youtube]

Snowman– Absence

The fury of The Horse, The Rat and The Swan is gone, but while it's highs don't quite hit those of its predecessor, Absence is a far more focused, consistent album that delivers weirdo, moody post-punk that few bands or albums can match. And now that they've broken up, we'll never know how much better they could've become.

[youtube]myr5E0cmuic[/youtube]

Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Perhaps no musician worked to redefine what his/her instrument can accomplish than Colin Stetson and his huge-ass saxophone. New History Warfare is full of skreetches and scronks, sounds that I didn't even realize a sax could make, transformed even further by extensive looping and occasional electronic backing to further intensify the album's wholly unique dark atmosphere.

[youtube]b3Pxh3hXc2A[/youtube]

The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

The best Kurt Vile album of the year was not Kurt Vile's, but his former band's. Slave Ambient certainly wears its love of Spacemen 3, Dylan and Springsteen on its sleeve, but this has a laid back confidence about it that makes it work as something totally its own.

[youtube]wOxdpqi6-Bk[/youtube]

[sevenarts]

Wow, pretty cool to see The Necks and Snowman get mentions here. Snowman was a 2011 discovery for me and I've gone back through their catalog after hearing the very good Absence. Definitely a really interesting band; I'm a sucker for bands that show that new sounds can still be found within the bounds of rock, and it's a shame that this'll be their last album.

That Necks album hasn't really grown on me yet. They're one of my favorite bands, but compared to the brilliance of discography highlights like Chemist or Drive By, this one seems like a letdown, and the first Necks album that I haven't instantly fallen in love with. It's not bad but I've come to expect transcendence from them, and this hasn't really delivered.

[D_Davis]

2011 was, for me, a different sort of year than that past few years have been. I listened to far more commercially available music, and far less ambient. But that's not to say that there won't be any netlabel or ambient music on my list, because there will be, and the entries representing those two categories are pretty darn fantastic.

I see that one of Derek's HM will be appearing much later on my official list, and I've already discovered that I will be checking out at least one new album - The Necks. I didn't even know they put out an album in 2011.

I don't have any honorable mentions, so I'll just dive right into my list.

#30 - @Peace - Self Titled
(available via Bandcamp - name your price)



I didn’t listen to much new hip hop this year, and as a result this is the only hip hop album on the list. In many ways, @Peace’s s/t album is a throwback to the Native Tongue movement of the early ‘90s; probably the reason why I love it so much. It’s up-beat, positive, melodic, and infectious. It’s the most pop-hip hop album I’ve been into in some time.

Check out:

Home
Time Travelling

[dreamdead]

No Blut Aus Nord for you, Derek. For shame. :lol:

In all seriousness, I'm looking forward to a year of new discoveries from the two of you. Fleet Foxes' title track off Helplessness Blues might be my favorite single of the year, so it's mildly surprising to not see it make the actual "list".

[ledfloyd]

good stuff. so far the fleet foxes album is the only one i've listened to (i'd heard a track or two from slave ambient) so i'm looking forward to being exposed to some new things. i particularly like that snowman song.

[Derek]

30



Cunninlynguists - Oneirology

Oneirology, the study of dreams, is a perfect match to Cunninlynguists laid-back, atmospheric sound, where synths and slow, heavy beats create an expansive sense of time for each rappers rhymes to flow through. Lyrically and sonically, this is as tight a hip-hop album as any released this year and while they occasionally bludgeon with overly literal lyrics and the production veers into a poppy clean territory that veers towards the cheesy, a majority of Oneirology is remarkably ambitious. Kno's production is incredibly varied, with nearly every track offering clear progression rather than relying on heavy repetition of beats and rhythms. Like the dreams the album focuses on, be it within the suppressed subconscious or waking life, Oneirology takes the listener on a journey, covering an array of tones, from dark to humorous, philosophical to crude, in conveying not only the ways our dream life reflect our deepest fears and desires, but how existence itself can be twisted into its own dreamworld.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]VsFL17DvOIA[/youtube]

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[youtube]zGdK_luHGh4[/youtube]

[D_Davis]

#29 Opeth - Heritage



One thing I’ve observed about metal fans is that they are extremely opposed to change. Sometimes that’s good because they are die-hard, loyal fans, and sometimes that’s bad because bands tend to get punished and shunned for evolving, changing, and experimenting (another example of this will come much later on the list). Opeth’s Heritage is a pretty big departure for the kings of new metal, and I've heard some rumblings of complaint from the trenches; it has more in common with Damnation than any of their other albums, but it also has more in common with ‘70s prog-rock than it does with Damnation. Just one listen to the opening track is evident of this, and the use of organ throughout the album reinforces the notion, not to mention the complete lack of Cookie Monster vocals.

This could be seen as Opeth's Larks' Tongues in Aspic.

Damnation is still my favorite Opeth album; I love their music but I’m just not into the growling found in most of their songs and albums. I’m also a huge fan of ‘70s prog-rock, and so it makes sense that I would love Heritage so much. But the album is not simply a throwback or an homage the music of a bygone era. It is still very much an Opeth album and contains all of things that I like about the band - complex arrangements, great instrumentation, and oodles of skillfully played licks and riffs. I’ve picked some good tracks to check out, but as is the case with most Opeth albums it is best to listen to the album as a whole from start to finish, and as loud as possible.

[youtube]G1pi7Dn87mY[/youtube]

[youtube]pdfa5SjMKds[/youtube]

[D_Davis]

"Get Ignorant" is a killer track. Really liked that one.

[D_Davis]

So I didn't have any honorable mentions, but I do have a couple major disappointments:

Harold Budd - In the Mist



Budd is my favorite composer, and among my favorite ambient artists, but when you are prolific as he is, you're bound to release a dud every once in awhile; In the Mist is such a dud. It just feels entirely phoned in. But rest assured, Budd is still on my list, and will be mentioned at least twice. He's made more albums since he has retired than some artists do their entire careers.



Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning



Mr. Wilson has had kind of a slow year. No new Porcupine Tree, and he didn't even work with Opeth in any major capacity on their latest album. And while his name will be mentioned later on the real list, it will only be in passing. His second solo album, Grace for Drowning, just isn't very good. It takes forever to get going, and once it does it never offers up enough hooks to hold my interest. I still haven't listened to the whole thing in a single sitting, and I doubt I ever will.

[Derek]

29



Radiohead - The King of Limbs

No band has been more important to me as a music fan or influential in shaping my music taste than Radiohead. The same, I'm sure, can be said by tens of millions of others who came of age in the 90s when the band offered a strange breath of fresh air that somehow worked its way into the mainstream. I still have vivid memories of how that alien gust of wind breaking into shimmering guitar at the beginning of "Planet Telex" made me feel at 16, the thrill of experiencing OK Computer in my room at night the day it came out, wondering what the fuck was going on with Kid A until a month of near-constant spinning was more than enough to make it one of my all-time favorites and even being bowled over with anticipation during the 10 days between In Rainbows announced release and its actual availability...and not being disappointed. These experiences are hardly unique to me; Radiohead, love 'em or not, are the band of our generation and when you release several of the most amazing albums ever and offer nothing short of unequivocal greatness in a 15 year span, it opens you up to an unfair amount of criticism and doubt when failing to make yet another landmark album.

Since The Bends, the bar for Radiohead has been themselves, each new album compared only to those the band previously released since it was a given that it'd be better than almost anything else released around the same time. Until now. But rather than piling on the pity party or mourning the passing of a band that many people conveniently forget are still more than capable of making another masterpiece - Yorke's work with Flying Lotus and Burial certainly show his willingness and desire to stay ahead of the curve musically - I'll simply continue enjoying The King of Limbs as a second tier work by a band who hasn't even had a second tier in 16 years. Limbs quaintness can make it underwhelming at times and clocking in under 40 minutes, kinda leaves you wondering where the rest is. I've heard the album called lazy and underdeveloped and within days of its release, conspiracy theories came out that a secret follow-up would soon be out - a rumor that proved to be false, but speaks to the astronomical expectations on a band that had just released a pretty great album...at least when judged on its own merits rather than stacked up against "the canon".

The King of Limbs finds Radiohead further tightening their sound, perhaps simplifying more than refining, though still moody, atmospheric and, at times, makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Even a song like "Codex", certainly one of their most pared down songs, uses sparseness in a way only Radiohead can, because only Radiohead have Thom fucking Yorke singing for them. The reliance more on subtle ambiance and unique drum rhythms rather than the killer guitar riffs we've come to expect from Jonny does leave the album with an unfinished feel, but also is evidence of a band in transition, a band who's accomplished more than perhaps any other in the past 20 years trying not to repeat themselves, to create something new even if it means subtracting things that made fans love you in the first place. But instead of focusing on all that's lost, let's celebrate the fact that what's left is still damn good.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]F3oRhwOcQ3w[/youtube]

[youtube]ZajltcEBncQ[/youtube]

[youtube]cfOa1a8hYP8[/youtube]

[D_Davis]

The second half of KoL is fantastic. I'd say that the last 4 songs would have made a perfect EP, and are some of the finest tunes Radiohead has crafted in ages - since OKC.

[D_Davis]

#28 Evan Abeele - Lineage
(Available via Bandcamp for $5)



Beyond this album I know next to nothing about Evan Abeele. This seems to be his only solo album; he has an artist profile on Pitchfork, consisting of a single photograph; and he also records as part of a duo called Memoryhouse (haven’t heard them). What I do know is that Lineage is wonderful little EP consisting of six neo-nostalgic compositions. I don’t really know what else to call this kind of ambient music, except for neo-nostalgia. I don’t even really know what that means, but I know the music when I hear it. It reminds me of anime-piano music, and utilizes more “real” piano and string sounds than it does electronic pads and sweeps, although the music also incorporates subtle elements of glitch and minimalism. Basically, it’s music that makes me want to create memories with, so that one day I can listen to the music and be nostalgic about said memories. So maybe it’s pre-nostalgia, or future-nostalgia. I don’t know - but there will be more entries in this made-up sub-genre.

[transmogrifier]

I would never call The King of Limbs lazy - in fact it is the opposite, completely overworked, too much emphasis on the texture of the song and not enough concern for the underlying meat of the thing. Very disappointing album, and one I rarely listen to these days.

[Derek]

I would never call The King of Limbs lazy - in fact it is the opposite, completely overworked, too much emphasis on the texture of the song and not enough concern for the underlying meat of the thing. Very disappointing album, and one I rarely listen to these days.

Yeah, it makes sense that someone less interested sonic textures would find it even more disappointing. I hear ya, but I think there's still plenty to like about it.

Agree with Davis that the second half is much stronger than the first.

Evan Abeele will be one of many I imagine I'll be adding to the "to listen" pile. Sounds awesome.

[EyesWideOpen]

I had never heard any Cunninlynguists music but that cover and those samples sold me. I just purchased it!

[D_Davis]

I'm going to jump a bit ahead of Derek because I'll be traveling over the next couple of days.

#27 Hammock w/ Steve Kilbey and timEbandit Powles - Asleep in the Downlights
(available via Bandcamp for $5)





Last January, If you would have told me that Steve Kilbey would be appearing once on my end of the year best albums list, I might have believed it. If you would have told me that he'd be appearing twice on my list, there is no way I would have believed it. But that's exactly what happened. And it's not that I have anything against Mr. Kilbey. For many years I loved The Church, and I've always thought that he and Marty Wilson Piper were super talented. But I haven't thought of those two guys in a long time....

Anyhow, onto the EP at hand. Asleep in the Downlights is short EP, a collaboration between new-gazers Hammock, and Steve Kilbey and timEbandit Powles of The Church. And it is really, really good. Hammock creates some of the most lush and spaced-out guitar tones this side of old Slowdive, and their style perfectly melds with that of Kilbey's and Powles'. While it's only about 20 minutes in length, the feel of Asleep in the Downlights is thoroughly epic. I'd love to see Hammock continue this experiment of teaming up with vocalists and other musicians. Simply put, if you like shoegazer stuff, just buy this. You won't regret it.

[D_Davis]

#26 Moby - Destroyed





Sometimes I feel like I'm the last person on earth who still likes Moby and U2.

I really don't understand all the guff that Moby gets. The dude is super talented, conscientious, and thoughtful, and he makes really good music. Animal Rights is one of my all-time favorite albums, and I think Destroyed is, perhaps, his second best album. I love it when Moby sings - he's got an earnest quality to his vocals - and Destroyed contains a couple of my favorite Moby vocal tracks, "Be the One," "The Day," and "After." These three songs are definitely the highlights of the album. But that's not to say that the rest of the album isn't worth listening to. In typical Moby-fashion, Destroyed is comprised of a mix of down-tempo jams perfect for when the night turns to dawn, and chilled-out ambient tunes perfect when dawn turns to day. Destroyed is an album to listen to very, very late, or very, very early.


[youtube]0JSVaSpD9xo[/youtube]


[youtube]Fp-xd43JKJ8[/youtube]




[youtube]tDZ9vtRnBqw[/youtube]

[Derek]

28



A Winged Victory for the Sullen - A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Half of A Winged Victory for the Sullen is Adam Wiltzie, himself a half of Stars of the Lid, so the fact that this debut is as assured as it is beautiful and moving is not surprising. What is surprising is that this is every bit as good as the Stars material I've heard and while not quite as expansive, Sullen's debut is remarkably economical - spacious and patient, yet using silence in a way that lends more meaning and power to the notes, particularly the piano, when they do land. The melancholy piano compositions are beautifully accompanied by gently rising strings and while the album has a few crescendos, it avoids the simplistic, though often pleasing, soft-loud/slow-fast progressions that many ambient and modern classical musicians lean towards, instead allowing their songs to unfold methodically like peaceful waves. Of course, restraint alone would not make this such an insanely gorgeous album to listen to were the pieces themselves not uniformly excellent, but I assure you they are. This was one of my few go to albums this year when looking for something completely serene.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]FoqBKYR312A[/youtube]

[youtube]P775tb6j9Es[/youtube]

[youtube]uNkWfiFWKuE[/youtube]

[Derek]

27



Real Estate - Days

Days was a latecomer to the list. I enjoyed Real Estate's self-titled debut even if most of it didn't stick and the first couple times I listened to Days, I admittedly thought it was more of the same well-crafted, summery dream pop with surfy guitar riffs. I kept hearing how their music was perfect for a laid back summer day and how people wished it was released in June rather than October, yet the more I listened to this album, the less any of that made sense. The chill, jangly guitars certainly have a summery quality about them, but this album is, for the most part, pretty damn melancholy. The overcast sky on the cover is more indicative of the tone and lyrically, the songs often focus on a profound sense of loss, particularly in the innocent joys of youth and the anxiety, doubt and entrapment that comes with having to live with the major decisions we make as adults, whether it's our job, loved ones or where we live. But despite its dealing with these emotions, Days remains light on its feet, quick and full of great riffs that keep your head bobbing rather than resting in your hands as you start thinking of what your own decisions may have cost you. Fortunately, the band takes that burden on themselves, leaving the music itself dreamy enough to zone out or dive into.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]d9wIxH4xlak[/youtube]

[youtube]2p1KEAGWX1Q[/youtube]

"Younger Than Yesterday"

[Derek]

26



Total Control - Henge Beat

The appropriation of everything 80s, particularly music, may have reached its peak in the past year or two, so hearing about yet another young band blending post-punk and new wave into their own sound isn't quite as exciting as it used to be. Don't get me wrong, it's a sound I love, but it takes something extra-special to really make it stand out from the crowd anymore. Well, Henge Beat is the kind of album that does, not only because it's a tight album of 11 mostly great tracks, but because it takes these ordinary ingredients - brooding post-punk rhythms occasionally tinged with dark synth wave touches all delivered with a furious, rough-edged punk attitude - and shoots off in every imaginable direction, from the building doom-and-gloom of "Meds II" and shoegaziness of "See More Glass" to the sheer speed and intensity of "Retiree" and the Krautrock interlude, "Sunday Baker", while somehow maintaining a cohesion and clarity of vision. With another album or two under their belts, these guys could really develop into a force to reckoned with.

Also, props to Boner for turning me on to these dudes. Saw 'em live as well and they were even better than I expected.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]jSplEYOqI7w[/youtube]

"Meds II"

"See More Glass"

[D_Davis]

I like that A Winged Victory...very pretty.

[Derek]

25



Danny Brown - XXX

XXX is, in every sense of the word, an album of excess, but unlike most other hip-hop albums of excess, Danny Brown doesn't rap over squeaky clean, over-produced beats about how awesome it is too have shitloads of money and women at his disposal. On XXX, excess morphs into self-loathing addictions becoming not a source of power or happiness, but an empty end in and of itself and with fame, dark, dangerous fantasies become a frighteningly sustainable reality. Their is a certain off-putting puerility to the album - after all, there is a 3-minute ode to pussy-eating and a line about Sara Palin that would make Lil Wayne blush - but it is also surprisingly self-aware, the all-consuming addiction to sex and drugs peaking in disgusting yet tragic existential crisis, excesses signifying the death drive, yet the insatiable desire to engage cannot be sated. XXX's trajectory is also quite brilliant - Brown's voice starting out on the first half as artificial, borderline annoying, yet containing a hyper-stylized and vibrant intensity that mirrors his absolute need to do bad shit, then shifting through the second half into something calmer, more collected, almost shamed in the midst of his helplessness in the face of addiction. Yet, through all this, XXX is really funny and a lot of fun even through its sobering second act where Danny gets reflective, the beats consistently topping most other 2011 hip-hop albums best and a sonic palette that is as wild and unpredictable as the personality rapping. There's a lot on and underneath the surface with this one.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]y-Q36-6tPtU[/youtube]

[youtube]6QLdynD5Wtg[/youtube]

[youtube]XE-BZCrcU-w&feature=related[/youtube]

[Derek]

I like that A Winged Victory...very pretty.

Yeah, that sums it up. Just a very pretty album that never tries to wow you.

Like the Moby album. It was much better than his last album, though I expected it to show up a little higher on your list!

[Raiders]

Real Estate is so awesome.

[Derek]

24



Tom Waits - Bad As Me

7 years is a long time for a musician to take off, but few musicians have proven as timeless as Tom Waits, less because his music is almost always great than that it exists outside time. Bad As Me is no more a 21st Century album than Rain Dogs is 80s, but herein lies Waits charm; he's able to bring to life something completely unique from the smoke-filled jazz clubs and burlesque shows that seemingly gave birth to him by filtering them through his rough-edged, world-weary personality. Anyone worried that Waits, now in his 60s, may have settled down, ditching his nomadic, outsider ways for the stability of domesticity, needn't wait past the album's opening few lines to recognize the same loveable curmudgeon of years past, feet set only long enough to take off for the next city or adventure or love, often disappointed, broke or bitter, but never without the appetite for more life. Bad As Me plays beautifully within this dichotomy - the excitement of always moving and exploring ("Chicago", "Get Lost") and the inevitable melancholy and displacement that comes with it ("Talking at the Same Time", "Pay Me", "Face to the Highway"); the two become inextricably linked, the album constantly vacillating, shifting from upbeat jazzy foot-stompers to depressing ballads, though the latter are so brilliantly crafted that, moody as they are, they offer catharsis rather than sadness. As unlikely as it sounds, Tom Waits has rarely been this good.

Favorite Tracks:

[youtube]B6Ta3H-ck6s&ob=av2e[/youtube]

[youtube]uquHa5O7MVk[/youtube]

[youtube]QAjtkyGVDxc[/youtube]