Ryan’s Top Ten Albums of 2011:
10. Adele—21
This isn’t even a guilty pleasure. 21 is a collection of well-written and incredibly catchy, soulful pop songs with lyrics at once intensely personal yet universally relatable. Sometimes it’s just that simple. More pop music like this, please.
9. The Luyas—Too Beautiful to Work
The Luyas exist in a far off world of moodswingers, tiny heads, and spherical mattresses, and Too Beautiful to Work is the medium between theirs and ours. There are earthly elements (guitars, drums, keys), but they make them feel futuristic (see the industrial, mechanical hum of “Spherical Mattress” or the heavily effected French horn on “Tiny Head”). One of 2011’s most otherworldly offerings.
8. Braids—Native Speaker
The members of Braids might only be in the early stages of their 20s, but Native Speaker is a startling mature debut. Filled with musical ebbs and flows and enchanting vocals, it’s like the kind of dream where you never want to wake up. That they’re young certainly isn’t the most important thing to know except to get excited for how much more there is to come.
7. Colin Stetson—New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
On paper, New History Warfare Vol. 2 is a man with a saxophone and 20 mics around a room recording solo pieces in single takes with no overdubs or looping. In actuality, it’s an album of stunning virtuosity and mesmerizing, progressive compositions that continue to challenge, confound, and amaze with each listen. Description only goes so far—it’s something you have to hear to believe.
6. Bon Iver—Bon Iver
Following up For Emma… was going to be no easy feat, but Justin Vernon and his newly expanded company made a beautiful sophomore record in Bon Iver. From the opening riff of “Perth” to the end of “Beth / Rest,” the album is a bigger, more textured production than its storied predecessor, but it’s no less moving, and just as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking.
5. Dodos–No Color
No Color is a misnomer—guitarist/vocalist Meric Long paints songs with a palette of adept finger picking and ferociously strummed chords, and drummer Logan Kroeber punches out bright bursts of complementary percussive accents. It’s a formula they’ve quietly gone about perfecting since the blogosphere buzz faded post-Visiter, and No Color sees them firing on all cylinders.
4. Handsome Furs–Sound Kapital
The joys of travelling to far-off locales are always well documented in Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry’s music, and their latest caught me in the middle of a semester wandering the streets of Europe. A little bit of “right place, right time,” yes, but this passionate electro-punk journey to the other side of the world hits just as hard on Canadian soil months after the fact.
3. Fucked Up–David Comes to Life
An honest-to-goodness rock opera, DCTL is ambitious even for a band as ambitious as Fucked Up. With 18 songs in 70-plus minutes, the convoluted tale of star-crossed lovers in Thatcher-era England is a lot to chew on, but bright guitars, pummeling drums, and Pink Eyes’ growl provide ample reason to invest the time. If speculation proves true and this is the last full length from this incarnation of the band, they’ve gone out on a high note.
2. Chad Vangaalen–Diaper Island
Chad VanGaalen reined in his more experimental side (relatively speaking) and came up with his most cohesive, straight-ahead, and arguably best record to date. Impeccably sequenced with psychedelic rockers fitting seamlessly beside quieter, introspective tracks, Diaper Island is the realization that being comfortable with the uncertainties of life is the only way to live.
1. Destroyer–Kaputt
It’s always cooler when you don’t care if people think you’re cool, and Kaputt is an album of uncompromising aesthetic, drawing on the soft rock and smooth jazz of the 1980s to craft some of the slickest and breeziest songs in recent memory. Borrowing from decades past for musical inspiration isn’t as novel as it used to be, but it’s never sounded better.
Nick’s Top Ten Albums of 2011
10. Frank Ocean—Nostalgia, Ultra
Frank Ocean is a member of OFWGKTA, the up-and-coming rap collective that deserves most of the credit for Nostalgia, Ultra’s viral success last Spring. Ocean’s perception of himself teeters from gloomy (“Novacane”) to pure loathing (“Swim Good”). The question still remains whether this street-savvy ladies man can overcome his unfortunate label as a featured guest on the tracks of more tenured artists.
9. Drake—Take Care
The minor flaws that held “Thank Me Later” back are all corrected here. There’s larger input from in-house producer Noah “40” Shebib, a catchier midsection courtesy of Ross and Minaj, and lyrical content that is both heavier and more expressive. Drake’s hesitance around fame is addressed frequently and without the usual braggadocio. This time around, I believe him when he says he still thinks about his old crew.
8. The Beastie Boys—Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
The sound is a different, harsher type of funky electronica, but that’s not to say that “Hot Sauce” is uncharted musical territory for the Beastie Boys. They go easy on the New York City worship here, choosing instead to pimp themselves out with characteristic hilarity. And the distorted sounds, scratchy mic feedback, and poor EQ actually serve their aggressiveness nicely.
7. Cut Copy— Zonoscope
Is this Cut Copy’s attempt at a release that is party-friendly and danceable from front to back? While it fails insofar as it embraces some of the cheesier aspects of the new wave, it does so only sparingly. This is their strongest album to date, just be sure to avoid the music video for “Need You Now” if your appreciation of “Zonoscope” is sacred.
6. St. Vincent—Strange Mercy
I’m unfamiliar with her attitude on her other two albums, but
I like how Annie Clark understands that accessing her dark side doesn’t necessarily require feigning edginess. Her demeanor is infectious, many of her songs have incredibly rewarding climaxes, and her voice is simply mesmerizing. “Strange Mercy” is a rarity—its pleasing enough at the surface to hook you after early listens, while its inner monologues will wait until you’re ready to dig deeper.
5. The Weeknd—House of Balloons
He’s an R&B singer, yes, but unlike his contemporaries there’s nothing sweet and adorable about his romances, if you can even call them that. The Weeknd is dark, his private life scandalous. The album campaigns pretty heavily in favour of the cocaine lifestyle, yet I’m not sure I’d trust this devilish Casanova around any intoxicants, illegal or otherwise. I suppose that’s the whole point.
4. M83—Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
One of 2011’s most expansive releases, Hurry Up is a sprawling two-disc experience enriched by ‘80s synth-pop, an artistic soft spot for Anthony Gonzalez. Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins—the list of artists who influenced the direction of this album is enormous. “Intro,” “Midnight City,” and “Reunion” is a hell of an opening set.
3. Panda Bear— Tomboy
More tidy and lacking the awe-inspiring 12-minute tracks from his previous album, Tomboy nevertheless builds upon Noah Lennox’s dreamy neo-psych ambitions. The songs are spacey, the vocals are heavily echoed, and the lyrics are welcome peripherals, as always. The comparisons to Brian Wilson are coming more frequently this year, and never have they been more deserved.
2. Ry Cooder—Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
Cooder’s post-Lehman Brothers skepticism of American government isn’t revolutionary, but Sit Down, which is steeped in irony, frustration, and barstool politics, provides an entirely unique approach to the craft. With an eclectic mix of blues, Americana, and country to provide the structure, Cooder’s bitter war stories (“Christmas Time This Year”) are brutal, spiteful, and extremely important.
1. Fleet Foxes—Helplessness Blues
Capable of gracefully navigating from singer Robin Pecknold’s inner tranquility to his whimsical psychoanalysis to contemplations of suicide, Helplessness Blues is an inspiring and humbling case study. And though it seems Pecknold may not possess the strength to change his damaged lifestyle, the journey makes him appreciate the greener grass of an honest living. A nearly flawless work of art.
