Here’s to 2011 – the Best Albums of the Year
So 2011 wasn’t like 2010, when Titus Andronicus worked its way inside my head and wouldn’t leave and LCD Soundsystem continued to be, by a number of measurements, the best band in the world. And it wasn’t like 2009, when Japandroids and Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Telekinesis exploded into the world and Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug released their finest moments (so far) respectively, as Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown. Instead, 2011 had a different kind of satisfaction – mostly steadily great bands releasing solid records, up and down the list. There are notable exceptions (Weekend, Big Troubles, Cloud Nothings), but for the most part, music in 2011 seemed to me a bit like comfort food – nothing to challenge you too much, but it never lets you down.
With that said – here’s Part 1 of Song-o-Matic’s end of year list:
1) The Mountain Goats: All Eternals Deck
Named after an apocryphal (read: made up) tarot deck and adorned with entirely three-word song titles, John Darnielle’s latest came calling with all his usual loose concept album trimmings. In the hands of a lesser songwriter, this would be a curse, but for Darnielle, it’s the way he constantly re-invents something that, honestly, would probably still be great without re-invention. This time around, the subjects are less focused but darker – the characters in All Eternals Deck are doomed and tragic, but as always, you can tell that Darnielle loves them. Highlights are many – from the alternate timeline Alpha Couple raver “Estate Sale Sign” to the delicate piano notes of “Damn These Vampires,” and the occasional sonic experiments are well-placed. Most importantly, throughout, Darnielle’s lyrics are as sharp as ever, and if All Eternals Deck doesn’t quite hit the heights of Tallahassee or Get Lonely, that should hardly be held against it. And I don’t.
The Mountain Goats: “High Hawk Season”
2) Telekinesis: 12 Desperate Straight Lines
For his second effort as Telekinesis, Michael Benjamin Lerner lost the exclamation point and some of the boundless summery enthusiasm of his first record, but then he also got a lot better at writing songs (which he was already pretty f-ing good at). 12 Desperate Straight Lines feels like a locomotive of pop hooks and chugging bass, with songs careening into each other while fighting for which one can be the catchiest. Lerner has said much of the inspiration for the album came from getting a new bass guitar and starting the writing process there, but honestly, if you couldn’t figure that out from listening, you should probably check your ears. Every song is propelled forward by the interplay of bass and drums – where Telekinesis! felt lush and warm and friendly, 12 Desperate Straight Lines is all taut energy and yearning, without sacrificing any of what made the first record great.
Telekinesis: “I Cannot Love You”
3) Cloud Nothings: s/t
There are albums that are conceptually satisfying, or intellectually stimulating, or have production quality that just blows you away… and then there are albums that are just fun. From start to finish, as fast as possible, as many hooks as can fit. There were a few albums that fit the bill in 2011, but the best of the bunch by far is the self-titled first full-length from Cloud Nothings. Guitars thrash through melodies, drums fly recklessly off the tracks, and the vocals are basically just another way to pack the hooks in. Lots of bands have more talent, but Cloud Nothings sound like they’re having the most fun.
Cloud Nothings: “All The Time”
4) Big Troubles: Romantic Comedy
The 90s were back in a big way in 2011, which I guess was bound to happen, but the nice thing about that is that even though there was plenty of bad music in the 90s, the parts that came back this year were the excellent parts – the hazy guitars of shoegaze, the companionable hooks of underground 90s guitar rock, even the appearance of a general lack of ambition that must be a signifier of a hell of a lot of ambition. Big Troubles has all these things – it’s not that Romantic Comedy breaks ANY ground, it’s that they took the things that were good about the 90s and made the kind of album that’s only possible with hindsight.
5) Handsome Furs: Sound Kapital
6) The Dodos: No Color
7) Say Hi: Um, Uh Oh
8) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Belong
9) Wildlife: Strike Hard, Young Diamond
10) Weekend: Sports- Wild Flag: s/t
- Moonface: Organ Music, not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
- Beirut: The Rip Tide
- Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
- Los Campesinos: Hello Sadness
