Best of 2011 (albums) ICEAGE - New Brigade (What's Your Rupture?)

A group of teenagers from Denmark sound like they stepped straight out of the early 80s with the masters from a long lost post-punk classic under their arms and subsequently are hailed as the "next big thing" by the music press, even though their sound was the next big thing 30 years ago. Anyway, hype and backlash aside, "New Brigade" really is a fantastic record and is kind of mind boggling in how authentically post-punk it all sounds. It's like these guys have never listened to anything other than This Heat and Wire, which is perfectly fine by me. Frankly I hope these guys really are the next big thing, because I haven't heard a record sound this urgent in years.

"White Rune"

Best of 2011 (albums) EARTH - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 (Southern Lord)

Earth's most beautiful and majestic record to date, "Angels of Darkness, Devils Of Light Pt. 1," is a perfect combination of doom and hope. Given that the sessions that spawned this album took place following Dylan Carlson's diagnosis of Hepatitis B, the sound makes sense, but only if you understand that no one but Dylan Carlson could make this record. Regardless of how many (countless) imitators have sprung up over the years, there is only one Dylan Carlson, and this album is yet another example of why he is one of our few living legends.

On "Angels" the band sounds like the masters of the medium that they are. The band has a knack for making doom soulful and alive, even when it lulls you into a trance, a feat not easily accomplished, and one that I cannot begin to dissect or explain here. Earth's music simply breaths in the most primal and natural way possible, and in that breath is life and death and everything in between. The epic scope and contrasts inherent within have never been more apparent as they are on "Angels," at the same time the band balances light and dark here better than any album previously.

One of my absolute highlights of 2011 was sitting in the balcony at the Southgate House in Newport, KY while recovering from a thankfully infrequent bout of a reoccurring illness which may eventually spell my own demise as I age and watching Earth play one of the warmest and most comforting concerts of the year. Afterwards I got to briefly meet and talk to Carlson. I'll never forget shaking his hand. It was the hand of a guy who has seen a lot, but still maintained a smile. It was the hand of the guy who makes some of the very best music in the world, but who remains honest and humble. For a brief moment there everything was peaceful and joyful even as a whole lot of fear and sickness loomed. "Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light" is whole lot like that.

"Father Midnight"

Best of 2011 (albums) PETE SWANSON - Man With Potential (Type)

One half of the now legendary Yellow Swans has returned with the noisiest "dance" record since Black Dice attempted (and kind of failed) this sort of thing some years back. Pete Swanson's marriage of noise and techno is one of the most exciting records that I heard all year. "Man With Potential," constantly revels itself as something new and unique, while simultaneously nailing all of the sweet spots that the Yellow Swans used to hit. Given that this is a late year release, I'm still exploring it and finding an unending trove of sounds and emotions to discover. This is easily one of 2011's densest records, and I mean that in a very good way. At the same time, there is an immediacy that hooks you on the first listen. It's kind of the audial equivalent of that old crack commercial where the dealer says 'give them the first taste for free, and they will keep coming back for more,' except this record isn't bad for you; it might devastate you, and you might lose yourself entirely inside of it, but in the end that is a very good thing.


Pete Swanson - Man With Potential by _type

Best of 2011 (albums) GROUPER - AIA: Alien Observer/AIA: Dream Loss (Yellowelectric)

Grouper followed up her surprisingly successful "Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill" with her weirdest, darkest and most challenging work yet. Over the course of two records, Liz Harris traveled the distance from loose, minimalist song structure to impressionistic soundscapes. For anyone willing to follow her down the rabbit hole, it was, needless to say, more than worth it. She runs through an entire spectrum of sound, even as she smears it into a blur during these records, making for a meditative and endlessly fascinating experience for adventurous listeners. There are certain days that the only musician that I will listen to is Harris, and that is all you really need to know about Grouper.


"Alien Observer"

Best of 2011 (albums) TYLER, THE CREATOR - Goblin (XL)

The most divisive album of the year. It was also one of the most brilliantly subversive to anyone willing to get over it's coarse surface and dig deeper. In the end, "Goblin" was a love or hate proposition, and while at first it was totally cool to love it, now everyone and their overly-sensitive brother is piling on to trash it. Regardless of all the politically correct hand-wringing and critics attempting to distance themselves from Tyler, he still has plenty of kids listening. This summer I watched in awe as he drew the largest most passionate crowd that I've ever seen at Pitchfork, even in the kijillion degree heat and humidity. Likely if you are against Tyler and his crew, then nothing I could say will probably change your mind, but if you want to read my defense of the record, and why I still stand 100% behind this record, then you can read my rather lengthy original review here. The short version is that this was the most punk fucking rock record of 2011, and I love punk rock.

"Yonkers"

Best of 2011 (albums) BON IVER - S/T (Jagjaguwar)

I'll admit that originally I was a bit let down by Justin Vernon's much anticipated follow up to the universally beloved "For Emma, Forever Ago." I thought he crossed the line in terms of poor choices in instrumentation and left great ideas underdeveloped at crucial points on the record. Then I saw him perform one of the best shows of 2011 and each song suddenly made more sense. Mind you, this is not a situation where the songs are so much better live, but it took me seeing them live to understand them fully, to feel them entirely. Since that revelation, I've grown to absolutely love this record.

Minus my own developing existential relationship with this album, Vernon accomplished somewhat of a coup in channelling "Laughing Stock" and "Spirit Of Eden"-era Talk Talk into one of indie rock's most commercially successfully albums of 2011 (it peaked at Billboard's number 2 album and has been nominated for four Grammys). For that alone, this record should be celebrated.

"Michicant"

Best of 2011 (albums) DARK CASTLE - Surrender To All Life Beyond Form (Profound Lore)

Truly forward-thinking doom. Rather than rehashing the genre's traditional sound, Dark Castle craft a progressively unique and multi-layered approach that maintains all of the crushing power and darkness of metal's most primal form. The duo's harrowing songs are given an extra layer of massiveness by producer extraordinare Sanford Parker, who mixes traditional psych-doom with the kind of colossal heaviness and genre blending that made Twilight and Nachtmystium's albums so amazing last year. This is essential doom metal that will destroy every single molecule in its path. Every listen exposes something new and more devastating. I am continually captivated by this record.

"Seeing Through Time"

Best of 2011 (albums) JAMES BLAKE - S/T (Atlas/A&M)

There was a lot of hype surrounding James Blake at the beginning of 2011, which I thought was somewhat odd, not because Blake’s work isn’t worth it, but because this is highly experimental stuff, even if it does bare the imprint of traditional pop and R&B from time to time. Essentially a singer/songwriter record, Blake's minimalistic post-post-dubstep approach to song craft is both approachable and challenging, making for an album that can be enjoyed in the background, but deserves to be closely scrutinized in order to grasp the depth of his talent. In many ways this record reminds me of Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago," in that even the slightest increase in instrumentation or dramatic tension has a profound and contrasting effect against what is overall a subtle and nuanced whole. What Justin Vernon did with an acoustic guitar in a cabin, Blake does with effects and a piano.

As an aside, this is the best sounding vinyl record I heard all year, and needs to be listened to in that format. The digital just does not do justice to the spaciousness of this album. And, if you get a chance to see Blake live, do it. He unexpectedly blew my mind when I saw him perform these songs live.

"The Wilhelm Scream"

Best of 2011 (albums) TWELLS & CHRISTENSEN - Coasts (Digitalis)

Xela's John Twells and Zelienople's Matt Christensen teamed up to create this tour de force in experimental/drone music. As a part of my original review of this album I wrote:

"Coasts" was the first new recording I heard in 2011, and it has set the bar dizzingly high for the rest of the year. I've admittedly bagged on experimental and drone music from the past couple of years as simply being a retread of so many records that have come before (with the exception of William Fowler Collins and Locrian). With this record Twells and Christensen have proven that there is much life left in the genre by crafting one of its finest albums in recent memory."

Little did I know what a harbinger this record would prove to be, as 2011 ended up being one of the strongest years for experimental music in some time. Yet, twelve months and many excellent experimental releases later, this record still astonishes. While this is certainly drone music, there is nothing static about it. Tone, color, emotion, scope; everything changes by the second throughout "Coasts." I can't recall hearing drone pieces this consistent that are also this dynamic.

"Burning Bridges Together"

Best of 2011 (albums) CULTS - S/T (Columbia)

The summer album of 2011. Lyrically the band focuses on issues of oppression and freedom, which initially seems diametrically opposed to the sunny west coast vibe and 60s girl-group sonics that they channel. Ultimately though, their lyrical emphasis on individual liberation only adds to the freeing, breezy nature of this album. If there were ever a feel-good break-up/fuck you record, this is it. What makes the album worth returning to again and again is the intoxicating melodies and compositions present throughout. There are plenty of twists, turns, breaks and bridges throughout these songs, as well as what seems to be an infinite amount of subtle flourishes that would please even the most discriminating listener (i.e. music snob). In other words, this is pop music with a brain.

"Go Outside"

Best of 2011 (Lps) Honorable Mention

DEMONAZ – March of the Norse (Nuclear Blast)
BARN OWL – Lost in the Glare (Thrill Jockey)
ZOLA JESUS – Conatus (Sacred Bones)
URAL UMBO – Delusion of Hope (Utech)
PRURIENT – Bermuda Drain (Hydra Head)
SHABAZZ PALACES – Black Up (Sub Pop)
PLANKS – The Darkest of Grays/Solicit to Fall (Southern Lord)
LOSS – Despond (Profound Lore)
JESU – Ascension (Caldo Verde)
MATT CHRISTENSEN - A Cradle in the Bowery (Under The Spire)
BORIS – Attention Please/Heavy Rocks 2011 (Sargent House)
XANDER HARRIS – Urban Gothic (Not Not Fun)
TRUE WIDOW - As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth (Kemado)
LOW – C’mon (Sub Pop)
CLOUD NOTHINGS – S/T (Carpark)
RADIOHEAD – King of Limbs (self released)
MIKE WEIS – Loop Current/Raft (Barge)
DISMA – Towards the Megalith (Profound Lore)
MOGWAI – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop)
DESTROYER – Kaputt (Merge)
WIRE – Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag)
GHOSTFACE KILLAH – Apollo Kids (Def Jam)
MASTODON – The Hunter (Reprise)
MAMALEEK – Kurdaitcha (Enemies List)
BURZUM – Fallen (Byelobog Productions)
YOUTH LAGOON – The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum)
JON MUELLER – Alphabet of Movements (Type)
HORSEBACK/LOCRIAN - New Dominions (Utech)
WOLD - Freermasonry (Profound Lore)
BATILLUS - Furnace (Seventh Rule)
BLACK TUSK - Set The Dial (Relapse)
BLACK COBRA - Invernal (Southern Lord)
ANDY STOTT - We Stay Together/Passed Me By (Modern Love)
SUUM CUIQUE - Midden (Young Americans)

Best of 2011 (eps) #1 LOCRIAN - Dort Ist Der Weg/Frozen in Ash (Flingco Sound)

Technically a 7" release, this is one of the finest releases in any format that I heard all year. What follows is my original long form review:

Attempting to cover Popol Vuh is a particularly treacherous venture. To begin with you are trespassing on hallowed ground. There is simply not much you can do to improve on Popol Vuh at their best. They are legends for a reason. Furthermore, their brand of experimental krautrock doesn't exactly reduce itself to amped-up easy covers of their songs. No one gains anything from knocking out a Popul Vuh cover live or otherwise. Yet, despite all odds, Locrian not only covers Popol Vuh's "Dort Ist Der Weg" successfully, they knock it way the hell out of the ballpark. Adding more than a touch of beefed-up sonics, Locrian maintains the spaciousness of Popol Vuh's original, but turn in a heavier and darker take on the piece. Admittedly, the band sounds less like Locrian, and more like a mixture of Slint and Amon Düül II initially, but by the end of the piece, once the dissonance and screeches take over, you'll remember that you are listening to a Locrian recording, and a very fine one at that. If anything it calls to mind the psychedelic blues metal of fellow traveller Horseback, who the band recently collaborated with on the spectacular "New Dominions" LP.

Side two is a Locrian original and one of their finest at that. "Frozen in Ash" is a blasted drone that owes far more to Xasthur than krautrock. Built on a guitar progression that calls to mind classic Norwegian black metal, the piece gets nastier and noisier as it plays out before dissolving into a brooding apocalyptic folk coda of piano and acoustic guitar before drummer Steven Hess shuts it all down with a galloping snare.

Taken as a whole this is Locrian at their most epic, and it is hard to believe that a simple 7" can contain such a massive statement in sound. Although combined these tracks make up a mere twelve minutes and thirty-five seconds, this feels like a proper album, if only because of the emotional and sonic ground covered. Few, if any, bands could achieve what Locrian have achieved here. Successful Popol Vuh cover aside, the real accomplishment is a recording that contains more variety and depth in less than a quarter hour than most bands can produce in an entire career.

Locrian "Dort ist der Weg/ Frozen in Ash 7" single" by flingco

Best of 2011 (eps) #2 BURIAL - Street Halo (Hyperdub)

It's been a long time since we last heard from Burial (2007, to be precise), but this year we were finally gifted with a new collection of tracks from the dark dub-step master. Granted there are only three, totaling just over twenty minutes, but they were more than worth the wait. The tracks on "Street Halo" are the best that Burial has ever produced. Each track maintains his trademark spectral haunt, but contains a coiled energy unlike anything he has ever created. His approach is more streamlined, yet just as hazy and dark as his self-titled debut. Some of the pitch-shifted vocals of "Untrue" remain, but they are far more subdued, blending into the overall sound of each track here, rather than rattling about at the forefront. Elements of IDM and even techno and house are present, but it is far too cerebral an affair to call dance. There is also something deeply beautiful and cinematic about each of these tracks, even as they remain entirely restrained. I really can't say enough good things about "Street Halo." I only hope that this is a prelude to another full length soon. I don't think I can wait another four years for a new Burial record.

"Street Halo"

Best of 2011 (eps) #3 KURT VILE - So Outta Reach (Matador)

Kurt Vile didn't need to produce an all killer, no filler ep this year, but he did. In fact he produced an ep so spectacular that - for me at least - it threatens to overshadow his excellent "Smoke Ring For My Halo" album. This is Vile at his heaviest sounding. It's basically a collection of tracks for those who were blown away by his best Elliott Smith impression on "Halo's" "Runner Ups," and needed more of that sort of thing. Backed up by the heft of the Violators throughout, the record is the least delicate, and most fully realized Vile release to date, at least in terms of instrumentation. If you have been living in a cave and haven't heard Vile yet, this is an excellent starting point into the work of the best new artist to emerge over the past few years.

"The Creature"

Best of 2011 (eps) #4 THOU - The Archer & The Owle (Robotic Empire)

Clocking in at nearly forty minutes, "The Archer & The Owle" is a rather generous EP that features some of Thou's best and most dynamic work yet. Featuring songs from the same sessions that spawned the band's monumental "Summit" record, this is Thou at their most expansive. Piano, horns and choral-like vocals mix with the band's thunderous doom-sludge to great effect. The band sounds downright victorious on the anthematic "Voices In The Wilderness," while the dirge-like "Bonnet Carre" hypnotizes with sprawling guitar work. To round out the ep, the group includes a cover of Nirvana's "Something In The Way" that doesn't just do justice to the original, it actually kind of bests it, at least for anyone who felt like the chorus should have been screamed and not whispered. Also featured are a set of covers from the folk-rock band Pygmy Lush, which, of course, Thou totally destroys by turning them into hardcore doom epics.

"Voices In The Wilderness"

Best of 2011 (eps) #5 AUTRE NE VEUT - The Body (Hippos In Tanks)

Autre Ne Veut's "The Body" follows the same template of experimental R&B-influenced pop that characterized 2010's debut full-length, but it all sounds stadium-sized. It's bigger, louder and grander than before and dizzyingly great. In a mere thirteen minutes, "The Body" runs a gamut of emotional highs and lows, while continuing to push the envelop of experimental-pop. When it is all over, you are going to want more, of course, but there is more meat here to satiate you than most artists' full-length efforts. Full review here.

"Your Clothes"

Worst of 2011: M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Mute)

M83's "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" was universally lauded upon its release and ended up landing all the way at number three on Pitchfork's "Top Albums Of 2011." Of course, as a bubbling synth-pop record steeped in infantilism, it was tailor-made for the P4K generation. For anyone born before 1980 who had to actually live through that shitty decade consciously, it reeked of idealized nostalgia of the worst kind. It isn't just that synth-pop, with a few exceptions, was one of the enemies that American hardcore and punk rallied against during that overly romanticized decade, it is that M83's Anthony Gonzalez, who appears to be of adult age, can't seem to leave an idealized vision of youth and that decade behind. This was all sort of cute a few years ago, when pretty much everyone was making this sort of album, but it's tired now. Seriously, it's time to grow the fuck up and stop sucking your thumb. Why this record is somehow being recognized as anything other than just another synth-pop record in love with the 80's is beyond me. To make matters worse, it isn't even that good. It's somehow cheesier than even the cheesiest 80's songs. Yet this is not irony, Gonzalez sounds like he sincerely means all two hours and twenty minutes of this atrocity. I guess because of that sincerity and because of its "epic" nature, he has convinced a lot of people that this is an important work. I am clearly not one of them.


"Midnight City" (which, by the way, is the one song I can actually stomach)