Top Ten Albums, 2011 – Part II, 10-8

10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (self-titled)

I’m a smiling alligator and I tell lies that ring true later. – “Thought Ballune”

I like all of my life, all of my life, all my funny friends – “FFunny FFriends”

A last-minute entry that edged out a lot of other things by virtue of it capturing my attention every time it comes on. It reminds me, variously, of Of Montreal and Barrett-era Pink Floyd and, when it’s not reminding me of those, feels wholly original, whacked out, and I don’t understand what they’re saying half of the time but it’s buried in a myriad of other interesting sounds and I am a-ok with that. I can tell this one is going to grow on me. “Nerve Damage”, with its off-kilter four-note main riff and oddball intro/outro vocoder-thingy, is already worming its way into the heavy rotation.

This album gets two quotables because this one’s a quick entry but I’ll just say that if you like Piper at the Gates of Dawn, you should give these Portland kids a shot.

9. Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams

I can’t live without your warmth. I just want to be adored. – “In My Head”

The subject matter behind these songs sounds bleak: the death of the lead singer’s mom as well as a bit of touring separation anxiety from her husband. And the record hits those notes eloquently, in that saturated Dum Dum Girls sound that comes off as just the right amount of melodramatic. I tend to shy away from reading record reviews, especially before I’ve heard a record, but for some reason was unable to avoid the reviews for Only in Dreams. The complaints of the album being very mid-tempo and overall kind of same-y are probably warranted but either you’re in the mood for an album like this– in which case, put it on and wash away in it– or you’re listening to it in the shuffle along with a few hundred other songs. It doesn’t feel like a flaw to me.

My favorite track would be “Wasted Away”, which to my mind captures perfectly the band’s aesthetic and has a up-beat rhythm and guitar contrasted against the albums themes of pain and loneliness: A song to rage your blues away.

8. Black Keys – El Camino

You know me, I had plans but they just disappeared to the back of my mind. – “Little Black Submarines”

Lead off by an advance stellar single (“Lonely Boy”) with a gimmicky record (it spins from the inside outward), I pre-ordered this album on the strength of the single and it did not disappoint. It’s a solid rock record with a lot of sorrowful lyrics to hang one’s solemn soul upon. A terse album— eleven songs, and only one is longer than four minutes— there’s a valid complaint in there about it all sounding much the same, but if it weren’t good then that might matter more. The album is still fairly new so it hasn’t sunken its roots into me yet, and these feelings may change, but outside of the first single, both “Little Black Submarines” and “Hell of a Season” really grab me, even if the vocal line for the latter song is, yes, incredibly similar to that of “Lonely Boy”. Still, this is my first real exposure to the band (despite their apparent prolificness as well as winning no fewer than three Grammys this year). As a first-time enjoyer of their music, it’s pretty damn enjoyable. Then again, I’m a sucker for a swaggering guitar riff, a pounding drum line, and a sad rock song.

Add comment December 28th, 2011

Top Ten Albums, 2011 – Part I, Introduction

2011 was a fantastic year for music, if you (a.) ask me and (b.) like that sort of thing. Picking a top ten is a very year-endy thing to do and, although a lot of times it can take me some time to warm up to albums I later find amazing, I’m going to do this thing because (c.) it’s fun, and (d.) I can.

Ten isn’t a very big number, so there are a lot of things that I liked quite a bit that, nevertheless, don’t make the cut. Amanda Palmer’s live album in Australia was a lot of fun; Battles’ Gloss Drop was a remarkable recovery for a band that had lost its lead singer; Girls and St. Vincent both put out very interesting albums that I’m still sinking my teeth into. Kay Kay’s second album had some standout tracks. Viva Voce’s The Future Will Destroy You was in my list until I remembered just one more album that I had to fit into the top ten. Agesandages’ excellent Alright You Restless, a fun, upbeat album with swarms of warm vocals, was similarly bumped out for the last-minute number ten entry; I liked it well enough but it still pales a bit in my mind compared to the frontman’s previous band, Pseudosix. And, finally, Jolie Holland’s Pint of Blood is also highly recommended for anyone who likes Jolie Holland which should largely include “people with pulses” (taste being the objective thing that it is).

But there are ten more records that I liked just a bit more. So, onwards to the top ten!

The correct answer in this post was (c.).

Add comment December 28th, 2011