wtd’s favorite albums of 2011

Things were different this year, there is no clear cut “best record” as there have been in the past. Instead, this year a handful of records blew me away. Ranging from a collection of beats that somehow sounded better free of the vocals to an Austin trio hell-bent on reverb-ing your brain out of its capsule. Without trying, I somehow ended up with exactly 20 albums, check it out below.

20) Death Grips – Ex Military Mixtape [Self-Released]

Death Grips – Takyon (Death Yon)
Death Grips – Culture Shock
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19) Peaking Lights – 936 [Not Not Fun]

Peaking Lights – Tiger Eyes (Laid Back)
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18) Dirty Beaches – Badlands [Zoo Music]

Dirty Beaches – Lord Knows Best
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17) Big Troubles – Romantic Comedy [Slumberland]

Big Troubles – Sad Girls
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16) Washed Out – Within and Without [Sub Pop]

Washed Out – Amor Fati
Washed Out – Amor Fati (Clams Casino Remix)
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15) Tim Hecker – Ravedeath 1972 [Kranky]

Tim Hecker – The Piano Drop
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14) Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Self Titled [Fat Possum]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – How Can U Luv Me
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13) Yuck – Self Titled [Fat Possum]

Yuck – Holing Out
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12) Coma Cinema - Blue Suicide [Fork & Spoon]

Coma Cinema – Crystal Ball Broken
Coma Cinema – Gentlewoman
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11) Panda Bear – Tomboy [Paw Tracks]

The hoards of devout Animal Collective fans loved this blindly, the elitists cried foul and called it predictable. It lies somewhere in the middle. Tomboy is crafted around Noah Lennox‘s boyish-Brian Wilson utterances and from song-to-song its seamless. It is different from Person Pitch in its relaxing hymns and slow motion mantra. No matter what group you reside in, my suggestion is take another listen to this record in this frosty weather as it makes more sense now.

Panda Bear – Last Night At The Jetty
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10) Pure X – Pleasure [Acephale]

Often the phenomenal amount of reverb on this record tops out and hits the ceiling, as if it was too much for the recording equipment, but it becomes something of a normalized gift after repeated listens, you expect it to be there and you love it. Pleasure is a carbon copy of the Pure X live performance without the smoke and lights, unfathomably loud and even overwhelming at times but it retains pure mood and languidness.

Pure X – Twisted Mirror
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09) John Maus – We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves [Ribbon]

There is more to John Maus than we will probably ever know, and maybe we know too much. It is always important to separate the person from the music. When he did finally crawl out of his shell he pissed off a few people.  Though, he seems a quiet man when he’s not bashing his head with the mic on stage. To me, We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves is not a cryptic manifest or a philosophical doctrine, its marvelous pop music from a PhD candidate. The story behind the man is fascinating, yes, but the music speaks for itself.

John Maus – Quantum Leap
John Maus – Head For The Country
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08) Male Bonding – Endless Now [Sub Pop]

A record that didn’t make a splash this year, but won me over with its lush, bass-heavy production–a stark contrast to the homemade noise that is so prevalent. The Sub Pop money made it an option, but it was the band that pulled it off, having previously chose the static-filled discordance on their last release. Endless Now has all but passed its shelf-life as far as the media is concerned but this record is in my favorites of the year due to the swirling combination of its rotund production, loud pop-guitar and doo-wah vocal harmonies.

Male Bonding – Bones
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07) Young Prisms – Friends For Now [Kanine]

Its been done, but it is still a beautiful occasion when it happens. Young Prisms guitars reside in caves and their vocals float in the ether. Unfortunately albums that come out in January often get thrown under the eventual pile that amasses through the year. When I went back and started rifling through my pile, this record stuck out for the delicate vocals that only sometimes pierce the sustained wall of noise. The shining light of the record, “Sugar,” will easily end up on my ‘favorite songs of the year.’

Young Prisms – Sugar
Young Prisms – Breathless
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06) A$AP Rocky - LIVELOVEA$AP [Self-Released]

This is bound for many “best of” lists in the next two months and it is totally worth the attention. Simply put, A$AP Rocky is helping everyone remember why Houston was the heralded Southern hip hop mecca for years. With a Harlem-fierce but simple flow he pays tribute while shooting adrenaline into what had become a mundane, pedestrian sub-genre. Already, this has made this 23 year-old kid a millionaire.

A$AP Rocky – Wassup Prod By Clams Casino
A$AP Rock – Houstn Old Head Prod by DJ Burn One
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05) Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape [Type]
 

I always wonder how Mike Volpe aka Clams Casino reacted when people told him they wanted to listen to the beats he made stripped of vocals. The beats he had made specifically for Main Attrakions, Lil B, etc…  As everyone soon realized, he songs sound just as good (probably better) without the vocals obstructing the beautiful backdrops. The robust, pixelated sounds Volpe concocts from easily stand on their own and though it’s a compilation, the songs are analogous.

Clams Casino – Motivation
Clams Casino – Numb
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04) Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation [Fat Possum]
 

When I finally met Trevor Powers before his show, he told me he never thought he would see himself on my website, he wasn’t a musician when he was first introduced to WTD, so it hadn’t crossed it mind. It’s baffling to me that Trevor wasn’t even aware he had this incredibly talented musical ear.. When he eventually did try, what manifested was The Year of Hibernation. Powers’ songs are glowing with warm naiveté and bleak emotional insecurities. I’ve spoken the merits of this young man, man times, but stated plainly: Youth Lagoon is on this list for the instant familiarity you feel when you hear this collection of songs.

Youth Lagoon – July
Youth Lagoon – Cannons
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03) Moon Duo – Mazes [Sacred Bones]
 

Moon Duo was a pleasant surprise this year. First off, I didn’t expect this to be at all within the parameters of pop, but Mazes keeps foot-tapping and head-swaying in surplus. Making a psychedelic record within the constraints of pop music, its been done, but Mazes’ recipie add strong helpings of krautrock and feelings of the open road. Song after song, Sanae Yamada breaks out continuous streams of hook-laden keyboard rhythms, setting the pallet  for Ripley Johnson’s skillful brushstrokes and stoic incantations.

Moon Duo – Mazes
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02) Bass Drum of Death – GB City [Fat Possum]

The riff lover’s ‘guitar’ record. Despite being around for a few years, Bass Drum of Death had a breakout in 2011 with the release of GB City, a riffy collection of recordings that radiates from halls of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. Back in February I said the band was “Led by John Barrett’s infectious power-pop squeals and bouncy chord progressions this Mississippi duo is set to take 2011 by the gonads,” and I still concur.  I tried listening to similar release through the year but kept going back to these songs to refresh my ears afterwards, it was the genre-buster. My “favorites” list is always open to anything that is enjoyable, that is the only prerequisite, GB City never strays from this objective and never over-complicates the fun.

Bass Drum of Death – Get Found
Bass Drum Of Death – Young Pros
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01) White Fence – Is Growing Faith [Woodsist]
 

Almost exactly a year ago I was anticipating this release with the fervor of a child. Is Growing Faith surpassed my anticipation and took its rightful place as my favorite record of 2011. What began as Tim Presley’s private pet-project has turned into a full-fledged apparatus of his musical imagination. White Fence’s 2011 album squeals in and out of sound turbulence, from psychedelic-pop brilliance to distortion-ful crescendos. In two years Presley has released almost 40 songs, each one with it’s own personality but still falling into his psychoactive brand. I can only hope White Fence continues this increasingly sublime output.

White Fence – Lillian (Won’t You Play The Drums)

This was written by rellis, posted on December 14, 2011 at 7:16 pm, filed under lists, Uncategorized.Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.