2011: gone, and the general consensus is "good riddance". for me personally,
this year was impart made possible via the great music that was released this year. aside from the rigors we have to contend with daily due to the economy, big government, and the Green Bay Packers, we are quite fortunate that well-crafted music is being formulated once again and i have come to know 2011 as one of the biggest years in some time for experimental music and art to take hold. one of the few good things about a poor economic state is that production line arts cease to hold leverage. what we're doing no longer is working and so we are freed from expectation and are given room to improve.
i am making this list to share and call attention to the efforts that i saw put forth by the stronger musicians of our day and am also including a ranking based on personal iTunes statistics and what the particular album says about that band or musician's moxie. here are my picks, agree/disagree if you will but please take a little time to explore their music and if you like it, obviously spread the word:
11. The Vaccines - "What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?"
especially notable: Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Post Break-Up Sex, Wetsuit
10. John Maus - "We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves"
especially notable: ...And the Rain, Hey Moon, Cop Killer
09. Gardens & Villa - "Gardens & Villa"
especially notable: Cruise Ship, Orange Blossom, Carrizo Plain
08. Toro Y Moi - "Underneath the Pine"
especially notable: Go With You, Before I'm Done, Got Blinded
07. Washed Out - "Within and Without"
especially notable: Echoes, Soft, Far Away, You And I
06. Death In Vegas - "Trans-Love Energies"
especially notable: Black Hole, You Loft My Acid, Coum, Scissors
05. Radiohead - "King of Limbs"
especially notable: Bloom, Little by Little, Lotus Flower, Codex, Give Up The Ghost
04. Megadeth - "TH1RT3EN"
especially notable: Public Enemy No.1, We The People, Never Dead, Deadly Nightshade, 13
notes: i simply had to move this up from 07 to 04 today after thinking about it for three days straight. as of 1-3-12 Megadeth has been awarded two 2011 Loudwire Music Awards, one for "Metal Album of the Year" and another for "Metal Song of the Year" for Public Enemy No.1. heavy metal (particularly thrash) has seen an incredible and completely unpredicted resurgence in the past couple of years, however; Dave Mustaine and Megadeth never left. this veteran act has been a favorite of mine for nearly my entire life. Mustaine's role in maintaining this great metal sub-genre through its highs and lows can never be underestimated nor taken for granted. to come up this year and dominate by actually improving upon their past effort and masterpiece Endgame (thanks impart to the return of long time bassist Dave Ellefson), Megadeth shows no signs of relenting. with the current state of our world teetering and where the media does all but tell us that doom is certainly waiting for us around every corner, TH1RT3EN calls it all out and shoves it right back into the hole it crept from.
03. Opeth - "Heritage"
especially notable: The Devil's Orchard, I Feel the Dark, Häxprocess, Famine, Folklore
notes: a band i've been listening to from Sweden since 2002. originally a black metal band, they've been through so many transformations that it takes quite a long time to grasp the scope of their work. founder and lead man Mikael Åkerfeldt holds his musicians to very high expectations and as such, this band is known for it's technical prowess and ever plus-eight minute songs. Heritage is something Åkerfeldt "always knew he could make". known for mixing death and clean vocals, not since 2003's masterpiece Damnation has an Opeth album been entirely clean and completely "unheavy". Heritage is a powerful culmination of a band who has never been afraid to start from scratch, reinvent, yet remain identifiably themselves. go the Special Edition version of the album as it features two bonus tracks, "Pyre" and "Face in the Snow". both are well-illuminated and breath-taking additions. apparently I'm not alone here in my sentiments, Heritage ranked #2 in the 2011 Roadrunner UK poll results.
02. Processory - "Change Is Gradual"
especially notable: Take Me To Your Leader, Young Italians, Trickle Down, Nightfall, Human(Unfortunately), Recovery Measures, ok... all of it.
notes: Processory is a collaborative project out of Finland between dj and producer extraordinaire Jori Hulkkonen and vocalist Jerry Valuri. i first heard Hulkkonen's solo work in 2006 while working for Kevin Bruk Gallery in Miami and anything he touches is turned into liquid galaxy platinum. on an island, i have his records. on a space station, i have his records. in the shower, i have his records. a true pro of the electronic music game, he is totally slept on and it's a shame. Change Is Gradual takes a long time to digest, and the more you work on it, the more rewarding it becomes. if science fiction had a cold, dark, danceable, and introspectively cybernetic sound to it in the 26th century it may sound like this. the lyrics (english) are incredible and word play is all but lost in space. "life would be so nice for a change". well put.
01. THE HORRORS - "SKYING"
especially notable: All, buy it.
notes: having only been listening to England's The Horrors since 2009 starting with that year's Primary Colours, I cannot remember the last time i listened to one record that many times. i was at Sea-Tac Airport coming back from Alaska chatting online at an internet cafe with an old friend when he told me to check out the album. done, love it, want more. Alas, 2011 brings Skying. through out my entire music listening history this album represents exactly the blend of past influence and experimentation that i appreciate above all else. the work ethic is here as lead man Faris Badwan knows exactly what he's doing and where he wants to go. to further fortify, their show this year at Lincoln Hall in Chicago was flawless and they rocked my spine out my eyes. their instrumentation, aesthetics, theatrics, ambiance, song-writing, and stage presence are something i'd hate to have to step to if i were a musician and they are only on their third album. Badwan somehow even found time for a side project this year called Cat's Eyes featuring virtuoso Canadian-Italian soprano, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira. that load of fine work in one year deservedly puts Skying right up at the top, no pun intended.
