411 Music Ten Deep 1.13.12: My Ten Most Played Albums of 2011
Posted by C.A. Bell on 01.13.2012
From The Decemberist's The King is Dead and Wild Flag's self-titled debut to Ben Lear's Lillian: A Folk Opera and more, 411's Christopher Bell counts down his top 10 most played albums of 2011!
The List
The Honorable Mentions (And Excuses) The Decemberists - The King Is Dead AgesandAges - Alright You Restless Typhoon - A New Kind of House Firehorse - And So They Ran Faster... My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind Destroyer - Kaputt Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/The Dream
The Ten
10. Cowboy Junkies - Demons: The Nomad Series, Vol. 2 on Razor & Tie. Demons is an absolutely wonderful record that I will be cherishing for a long time to come.
9. Ben Lear - Lillian: A Folk Opera on Underwater Sounds. Lillian I wasn't expecting much. This has all of the tell-tale signs of a record that I'm not going to be interested in. A concept record (with titular use of the term 'Folk Opera', no less), from a second generation celebrity (his father is Norman, of TV writing fame) Brooklyn solo artist. I expected the same high-minded bedroom project flotsam that particular scene has become so adept at churning out. What I got was a phenomenal record. An NYU-trained musician, Lear is no slouch as a songwriter. The true strength of this work though is how he uses his songs to serve the story, and not the other way around. Lillian is the story of a boy searching for his lost love at sea. Wrought with environmentally-conscious imagery and wonderful role-playing performances, this is the first time in recent memory that a concept record actually had me itching to find out what would happen next. It also didn't hurt that I found out during a subsequent interview that Ben is an entirely pleasant human being. That aside, Lear made a fantastic album that I'm still finding new things to love about.
8. Apex Manor - The Year of Magical Drinking on Merge Records. The Year of Magical Drinking early in the year and I have enjoyed the result all year long. Coming in at only 35 minutes, this album is a perfect fit for any light mood. This isn't a record that will probably be considered high art, but it is a whole lot of fun. Tracks like "Under the Gun" and "Southern Decline" remind me of my favorite tracks from Wilco's Being There and got heavy Pod play. There is plenty enough in these ten songs to look forward to what Apex Manor has planned next.
7. AA Bondy - Believers on Fat Possum. Believers , he casts a long dreamy shadow over the end of our summer, warning of the winter to come. This is a record that holds together well and improves with repeated listens. Thanks to brilliant tracks lik "Drmz" and "Highway/Fevers", this is the best work of his young career and his increasing maturity is appreciated. If we could just get this guy on some caffeine, there could be a monster of an album in his future.
6. Los Campesinos! -- Hello Sadness on Arts & Crafts. Romance Is Boring . Generally panned as a trainwreck, Romance was the band's first attempt at an 'adult' record that left fans wondering if they had completely lost their minds. With Hello Sadness , Los Campesinos! bring back the signature energy of their earlier work, but temper it with a more adult pace, bringing fans the porridge that is just right.Hello Sadness , Los Campesinos! provide a full performance that hits on most levels that count. I get the feeling I'll still be coming back to this record for more years from now.
5. Kyle Andrews - Robot Learn Love on Elephant Lady Records. Robot Learn Love are unavoidable. I don't begrudge Andrews for this, because he is really good at it. Tracks like "Bigger" and "I'm Comin 2 Get U" are perfect fits for any Katy Perry fan, and I think they are much better than anything Perry has provided us with. The biggest drawback is Andrews' singing. As a James Murphy fan, I am in no way saying that everyone should be Al Green, but the type of song that Andrews likes to write would greatly benefit from a set of pipes that could hit those huge notes. Andrews' bombastic soundscapes necessitate a huge voice just to keep up. This point aside, Robot Learn Love is a fine record. I love it when a record makes me feel a little bit better about the world. For that, the music here is a perfect fit.
4. Crooked Fingers - Breaks in the Armor on Merge Records. Breaks in the Armor makes it difficult to believe that Eric Bachmann has been making records for nearly twenty years. When you look at other artists that debuted around the time that Bachmann did, like Bend Folds or Chris Cornell, you have to start thinking that this guy knows something they don't. Mainly written in Taipei where Bachmann was teaching ESL through 2009 (attention Beard Rockers, he just trumped your 'cabin in the woods'), the songs on Breaks in the Armor are nothing short of wonderful. Today, Bachmann's voice is important as it ever has been before.Dignity and Shame are not as drastic as say the difference between Springsteen's The River and Nebraska , the payoff is roughly similar. Breaks in the Armor shows Bachmann still reaching out to do new things musically and being successful when he does. Crooked Fingers is one of the most consistent payoffs of Indie Rock. With this album, Bachmann delivers just another set of timeless tracks that will continue to set him apart from his contemporaries as time passes on. In short, with Breaks in the Armor Eric Bachmann is hardly showing any.
3. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing on Sub Pop Records. American Goldwing is just another addition of fantastically fun songs to Blitzen Trapper's already impressive catalog.American Goldwing there is nary a song that isn't indisputably Blitzen Trapper. This is a band that has tried something new with each album and always puts a premium on listen-ability. American Goldwing is a record that will easily be in contention for best-of-the-year on my personal list. Blitzen Trapper prove that no matter how good you are at manipulating a computer, there is simply no substitution for a group of people that can play and have fun doing it. Ride, Blitzen. Ride.
2. Big Harp - White Hat on Saddle Creek Records. White Hat , they put that experience to use and create a refreshingly simple sound. This record is rocking chair comfortable in parts, and hot rod teenage rambunctious in others, making it a perfect partner for the departing summer season.John Wesley Harding before it, White Hat is a record that is more defined by the things that it isn't trying to be than those it is. Uncluttered by studio effects, noise, or unnecessary virtuoso performances, Big Harp rely solely on the strength of their songs. It is a strategy I wish more artists would apply. This album doesn't feel like it is trying to be something huge and its short 38 minute run time would suggest an easy listen. The record might indeed feel easy, but it packs a punch that most artists wish they could carry. Senseney and Drootin are excellent songwriters with a unique vision and I look forward to seeing what they have in store next. Until then, White Hat will have to endure repeated listening. I think I can handle that.
1. Wild Flag - Wild Flag on Merge Records. Wild Flag is the kind of record that has absolutely no weak spots. Any time a song from this record pops up on my iPod, it instantly makes my day better. There isn't anything about this album that is overwrought or pretentious. Every note is perfectly placed, raw, and expertly performed. Carrie Brownstein's vocals are on point and the playing from Janet Weiss on drums and Mary Timoney on guitar is the best I've heard this year. Altogether, this group recalls the very best Rock 'N Roll has to offer. They are having fun and showing it. That is the point of the record and why I love it so much. Tracks like "Romance" and "Racehorse" are why I listen to music. I'm not the only one that loves this record, as it has made and appearance on almost every year-end best albums lists I have seen. Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune even named it the best album of the year (and he wasn't the only one). If Wild Flag can do more records like this, I don't understand why they wouldn't become one of the most important groups of this generation.The Comment Bag
Frequently Written Hatemail Who is this guy? What do you know about music? I don't know any of these artists, so they don't deserve to be on your list/The common person wouldn't know any of these artists. might love. Second, I think this comment represents a wholly impossible responsibility. How in the world am I supposed to know what artists you are familiar with? We live in a day and age when music is being defined by ever increasing and smaller circles of influence. With the biggest selling record of the 2011 selling a full two-thirds less than the biggest selling record of 2001, huge labels are folding on a regular basis and their stable of megastar musicians are downsizing with them. At the same time, the age of podcasts and fan groups allow us to sit completely within our own genre bubble, completely ignorant to things going on around us. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone (I still haven't listened to any record made by an American Idol alumnus). So, it is incredibly easy for any of us to have never heard of an artist that has sold millions of records. I can't possibly be expected to take that into consideration when making a list of the music that I think is best..for me . Making selections based on what I think anyone else would be familiar with is nothing short of dishonest. Third, I'm just not as 'hip' as you are giving me credit for. I defy you to find an artist I have discussed that hasn't also been covered by several other nationally-established media outlets, be it NPR, All Music Guide, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, or NME.This list should just be called (insulting oversimplification)/I hate your mother and your stupid face...moron.
The Rational Arguments figures, typical nirvana hack shit. lets put nirvana at number one! yay! vs, probabaly pearl jams best cd is reissued, but because of the unwarranted nirvana love is largely ignored. -Guest#2488 Ten was reissued in 2009. At the time, the argument for not releasing it this year was because the label did not want to compete with the Nirvana box set. So much for 'hack shit', whatsoever that might be.I thought the Some Girls mix almost ruined an amazing album. If it got you into it, though, I can't argue with that. New of the World . The HD mix of "Teo Torriate" on Day at the Races is one of my favorite bonus songs of all time. I was extremely upset with the Jazz remaster however. That was the album that I thought most needed a new mastering and the work they did was terribly spotty. I think part of the problem *might* be that the original vocal tracks are just shoddy, but I still don't understand why they made parts of songs extremely loud and left other parts completely untouched. No Alternative or DGC Rarities compilation I believe, though I could be wrong). Regardless, the known version didn't really have any improvements to be made, so I prefer the different version. The other bonus material sounds leagues better than any existing versions I have heard to date. I was very upset with most of the sound quality on Turn Out The Lights , and a lot of that material shows up here in a listenable form. Furthermore, I was extremely happy to hear the songs repeated throughout. It was fascinating to hear "Lithium" travel from the Devonshire cut, to the official album recording, and then to the band's live interpretation from the time. Then again, I am a bit of a geek when it comes to this album, so I can see where someone else may not find that as interesting as I do.Yes, I know it's a landmark album. Yes, I know it changed popular music. Yes, I know it killed hair metal. "Nevermind" deserves its accolades for those three reasons, but, I find it to be--along with the rest of their oeuvre-- to be unlistenable these days. I think the two biggest reasons are the aping of the Pixies (when I want a Pixies tune, I'll just take Black Francis and be happy) and Butch Vig's production, which for me is far too glossy and pretty for a Nirvana record. Nevermind never owns radio like it did. Without that, the amount of people that would even know who the Pixies are today would be a lot smaller. Part of the reason why I think Nevermind was so good was that it took influences from groups like the Pixies, the Melvins, the Meat Puppets, Wipers, and Flipper and made them digestible for the general public. Some will make the argument that it makes the record derivative, but what is Dylan without Woody Guthrie, Bowie without the Velvet Underground, or Led Zeppelin without Muddy Waters? Music is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Nevermind is a fantastic record because it came at just the right time, with just the right sound. I think the box set proves that Vig was an integral part of that sound. The demos recorded before Vig entered the process sound a lot more like the Melvins than the Pixies, and I just don't see how that version of sludge metal would have broken through without the Pop aspect. I'm fine with people preferring that version of Nirvana, but without Vig, I don't know that you would have ever gotten to hear either. 3 R's and John Downey's Love/Hate News Report .No synthesizers whatsoever were used during the writing of this column. @ChrisBell81 and keep the conversation going on our Facebook page.
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Comments (2)
I must be the only one who found Wild Flag's album to be stunningly mediocre. The concept (Sleater-Kinney meets Helium!) is a lot better on paper than in execution; every song sung by Carrie sounds like a watered-down SK song, and every song sung by Mary sounds like a watered-down Helium song. I never felt like the talent blended together naturally, say the way Down feels like a blend of Corrosion Of Conformity and Pantera. This felt more like an all-star band doing half-hearted covers of each others' material. To each their own.
Jed (Guest) on January 14, 2012 at 12:00 AM
