EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/BMpAJ.png)
God, this was such a rewarding year in terms of music. I killed myself listening.
And here I go again, good TL people, striking back with pretty much the best music I encountered in 2011. Believe me or not, but I actually skimmed through like 300 albums last year, which was quite crazy to get so much audible knowledge about various genres and artists. The following lists are mostly exploring alternative music areas such as ambient, post-rock, jazz, noise pop and so on (no metal or hip-hop whatsoever; sorry). Anyway, I hope you'll like the final conclusion:
I. BEST ALBUMS OF 2011:
1. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
2. Disco Inferno - The 5 EPs
3. Deaf Center - Owl Splinters
4. Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens De Couleur Libres
5. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
This list has five spots, because this particular year, five albums were considerably ahead of the rest of the pack. The rivalry was tight, and the winner took #1 narrowly. It shall be noted that each of those five releases is quite spectacular, which is also a reason why some other pretty good albums + Show Spoiler [Runner-Ups] +
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Chapter 2: Judges
Grails - Deep Politics
Panda Bear - Tomboy
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Virus - The Agent That Shapes the Desert
Grails - Deep Politics
Panda Bear - Tomboy
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Virus - The Agent That Shapes the Desert
II. BEST SONGS OF 2011:
10. Disco Inferno - Second Language + Show Spoiler +
By no means the weakest of those ten songs, Second Language comes last purely because it's a reissue of a song that's been made about 15 years ago and so far, remained obscure. Fortunately 'The 5 EPs' revived it a bit, as Disco Inferno is a band from which many artists are currently ripping off. Uplifting psychedelic pop stuff, I guess, though it's truly vague description of what happens here:
9. M83 - Midnight City + Show Spoiler +
It almost pains me to put M83 so low on this list, but Midnight City, despite being a nice song, hardly compares to Anthony Gonzalez's old works - not to mention the fact that entire 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming' was kinda boner killer. The latter, nearly final part is what carries this song to my Top 10, although I feel it wouldn't get my attention on a more formidable year than this.
8. Blanck Mass - Chernobyl + Show Spoiler +
In general, Blanck Mass is a point where Fuck Buttons meet conventional ambience. However, on this self-titled debut, the band scored a top notch track by giving up noisy experiments and making an art from pellucid simplicity. It's really hard to tell anything else about it, since it's abstract ambience itself - but it sounds much more chilly and optimistic than it's title.
7. The Drift - Dark Passage + Show Spoiler +
As a band, The Drift has been so far centered around trumpet and guitars; nothing fancy, just sort of music between post-rock and jazz. But here, the drums lead the charge, and the going gets more trippy. The song marches towards noisy areas, where guitar disostrion and unstable rhythm get overwhelmed by a bunch of layers. All announces the coming of Blue Hour; third album of a band that deserves some props.
6. Shels - Journey to the Plains + Show Spoiler +
Shels' second album 'Plains of the Purple Buffalo' is very hit-and-miss release; they keep on trying to fuse hardcore vocals with some sort of symphonic post-rock, which sometimes turns out great, and sometimes... the other way around. Journey to the Plains at least raises high expectations - little bit of hard rock, little bit of brass instruments and a good climatic riff. Sadly, the rest of the album ain't like this.
5. Virus - The Agent That Shapes the Desert + Show Spoiler +
My experience is limited, but I guess here it is: a first band that can legitimately call itself a doom rock band. Sounds stupid, isn't it? Yeah, but I can't find more accurate genre classification for those Norwegian folks. Combining dynamic guitars with sligthly deranged vocals, Virus reached to an interesting conclusion - that song doesn't really have to be loud and extreme to maintain the 'metal' atmosphere.
4. Grails - I Led Three Lives + Show Spoiler +
God, I love psychedelic songs. The only thing I love more than a psychedelic song is a psychedelic song with sophisticated structure and unusual highlights. Which is what exactly I Led Three Lives sounds like. It develops slowly, even awkwardly, but there isn't a single boring moment in it; especially the droning guitar layers are what elevate it to a level of decency. And that outro starting at 7:20 - yummy!
3. Tim Hecker - The Piano Drop + Show Spoiler +
Continuing to make what was described as 'church music for atheists', Tim Hecker this time reached for slightly colder and monumental sounds, to produce soundscape entitled 'Ravedeath, 1972'. It's quite rare to listen how well this guy can operate with chord progression, strenghtening it by adding or substracting some volume. Overall, a decent opener to a great album that deserves attention.
2. Matana Roberts - I Am + Show Spoiler +
Matana Roberts pretty much outclassed the field of jazz musicians in 2011. The thing is, she really recorded avant-garde album; here, for example, she uses female screaming as a vocal tool, which finally merges with the vibration of her saxophone. I couldn't imagine how the hell it could fit into jazz aesthetics, but then, I listened to it. 'Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleurs Libres' - you better remember this title.
1. Gang Gang Dance - Thru And Thru + Show Spoiler +
The closer of 'Eye Contact' combines pretty much all the decency of Gang Gang Dance that accumulated on it's three most recent longplays. As usual, it's wild, tribal, sort of acid trip, powered by extensive vocals of Lizzie Bougatsos. I find funny that most of it's strength lies in nearly medieval hook - certainly something you would never expect for such futuristic band. Will they 'live forever'? Good luck on it.
III. BEST OLDER SONGS DUG IN 2011:
10. At the Drive-In - Quarantined (2000) + Show Spoiler +
9. The Third Eye Foundation - Anhedonia (2010) + Show Spoiler +
8. Apse - The Letter (2009) + Show Spoiler +
7. Macha - Salty (1999) + Show Spoiler +
6. Moonshake - Secondhand Clothes (1992) + Show Spoiler +
5. Biosphere - Poa Alpina (1997) + Show Spoiler +
4. King Crimson - ProzaKc Blues (2000) + Show Spoiler +
3. Unwound - Summer Freeze (2001) + Show Spoiler +
2. The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist (2001) + Show Spoiler +
1. The Twilight Singers - Verti-Marte (2000) + Show Spoiler +
IV. MY 10 MOST LISTENED SONGS: + Show Spoiler +
According to Windows Media Player counter (yes, I use this program cause I don't care):
10. Long Distance Calling - Fire In the Mountain + Show Spoiler +
9. Clipse - Trill + Show Spoiler +
8. Aphex Twin - Xtal + Show Spoiler +
7. TwinSisterMoon - I Wish I Could Drown the World In Reverberation + Show Spoiler +
6. Apparat Organ Quartet - CargoFrakt + Show Spoiler +
5. Year Of No Light - Persephone II + Show Spoiler +
4. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Photosynthesis + Show Spoiler +
3. Sonic Youth - Tom Violence + Show Spoiler +
2. Amon Tobin - Get Your Snack On + Show Spoiler +
1. Shora - Arch & Hum + Show Spoiler +
V. OTHER AWARDS:
Best artists dug in 2011:
3. Birchville Cat Motel (New Zealand; drone artist) + Show Spoiler +
2. Amon Tobin (Brazil; composer of futuristic electronics) + Show Spoiler +
1. The Necks (Australia; avant-garde/minimal jazz band) + Show Spoiler +
Best older albums dug in 2011:
3. Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I (2004) + Show Spoiler +
Modern classical meets laptop-made sounds. Very uplifting:
2. Troum & All Sides - Shutun (2006) + Show Spoiler +
A captivating, 53-minutes, one-song, dark ambient masterpiece:
1. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission (2000) + Show Spoiler +
Very slow, breeding jazz record. Haunts and chills at the same time:
Most disappointing album 2011: Radiohead - The King of Limbs + Show Spoiler +
Thom's band pretty much evolved to the point of self-degeneration:
Worst song 2011: Rebbeca Black - Fryday + Show Spoiler +
Joins Oprah, Ebola virus and Carriers in a chamber of things you wish they never existed:
Worst artist 2011: Lady Gaga (keeps the throne)
Have fun listening! Hopefully 2012 will turn out even better.
