THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2011: 20-11

[Honorable Mentions]

[30-21]

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20. BURST APART by THE ANTLERS

LISTEN: “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”

Remember how devastatingly beautiful Hospice was? The heartbreaking love story of a hospice worker and a terminally-ill patient through The Antlers ghostly collection of songs brought waterworks to listeners’ eyes. Though these guys are keen on sorrow, their latest LP, Burst Apart, was incrementally brighter. Though still containing many of lead singer Peter Silberman’s poignant lyricism, “We lost our chance to run/ Now the door’s too hot to touch/ We should hold our breath with mouths together now” (“Corsicana”), the instrumentation on Burst Apart is patently more upbeat. Whether it’s the Radiohead-esque “Parentheses” or the infectious “Rolled Together”, this album showcased a band that was OK with going on a slight departure from what many fans consider a classic, Hospice. The maturity seen on Burst Apart is evident, too, as each component of instrumentation is blended perfectly together—and even the fans of their more sorrowful work will find enough nooks to fill their tears with (“Putting The Dog To Sleep”).

-AR

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19. STRANGE MERCY by ST. VINCENT

LISTEN: “Cruel”

Yes, Annie Clark may be the cutest girl in the indie-game, but that doesn’t mean shorty can’t get her domineering spirit on. On Strange Mercy, a visibly more confident Clark dances with ghosts of the past in an attempt to answer her insecurities. This is evident in her lyrics, which are as strong as ever. On the lead single “Surgeon”, she defeatedly admits spending “the summer on my back,” and its sexual/defeatist double meaning only proves she’s growing fonder of allegorical songwriting. But her astute lyricism is only one half of this tremendous follow-up to the excellent Actor. She creates stirring arrangements, and her guitar play could make most dudes tremble in intimidation (I mean, just check out that chunky, fuzzy riff near the halfway point of “Northern Lights”). So though Ms. Clark is as cute as a button, she’s no stranger to being a commanding force, and on Strange Mercy, she reaches a new plateau of authority.

—AR

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18. EYE CONTACT by GANG GANG DANCE

LISTEN: “Glass Jar”

“I can hear everything. It’s everything time.”

I am getting the sneaking suspicion that the guys of Gang Gang Dance (and Lizzi Bougatsos, who charmed us all at the Pitchfork Fesitval this year) have experimented with drugs. I say this because Eye Contact came off more as a biography of an acid trip these guys had than just some album. “Glass Jar” is an immense opener that drops you right into the Gang Gang Dance mindset, and it’s from this point that the rest of this album flows. It’s not wise to form a whole album off of one song, but when that song is as massive and perfectly made as “Glass Jar”, it’s fine to break a few rules.

—BN

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17. PARALLAX by ATLAS SOUND

LISTEN: “The Shakes”

Everybody’s favorite Marfan is back again, this time with another Atlas Sound release. But Parallax seemes different from previous solo efforts from Cox, which tended to be more of wandering bedroom scenes than cohesive albums. Parallax is finally the full album that Cox would make on his own. One of Cox’s most glaring weaknesses before was his inability to transfer his meanings into words. This leads to both fantastic interviews that can take a sharp turn at any second and heavily-textured and loosely structured songs in ambiguous albums. Those worries are now gone (not the interviews though, they remain as entertaining as John Maus’). Bradford Cox is always recording or releasing something, so it can be hard to identify if his thoughts are well planned out or just the result of a stream-of-consciousness outpouring. There is no second guessing with this album, though. Bradford Cox sat down (in Iceland of all places) and put forth an album that pairs his ability to make beautiful sound-scapes with tight-knit songwriting. It works pretty damn well.

—BN

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16. ERA EXTRAÑA by NEON INDIAN

LISTEN: “Hex Girlfriend”

People who know something about Spanish, have you noticed the excellent double entendre in this album’s name? Is it a strange era, or was it once strange? Alan Palomo’s intentional blurring of what is and what isn’t is reflective of his Neon Indian project’s sophomore LP, Era Extraña. One of the pioneers of “chillwave”, Palomo and Neon Indian have seemingly moved away from those cruel connotations of a genre he helped to forge. Neon Indian’s latest finds Palomo dabbling with shoegaze, psychedelia, and an assortment of 8-bit euphoria. But just because he’s gotten a little more experimental doesn’t mean he’s ignored those who loved the danceability of Psychic Chasms. See “Polish Girl”, for example, with a keyboard riff that’s bound to get your knees moving back and forth, and your fingers snapping in rhythm.

—AR

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15. SBTRKT by SBTRKT

LISTEN: “Pharaohs (Feat. Roses Gabor)”

While we’re here reviewing the first dubstep-inspired (seriously, do I have to refer to this as post-dubstep?) artist on this list we should also bring up another Year End Award. I hereby declare that the OTIOBR Villian of the Year goes to: The Aggro Dubstep Bro (w/ accompanying beats headphones). The beauty of SBTRKT while sounding so dubsteppy was arguably the most halting development in the dubstep community, though (no, bro, Skrillex coming out of the closet is not a big deal). SBTRKT can build up an atmosphere as well as anyone out there, but it’s the way that he takes it all down that separates him from the rest. Where other dubsteppers relied on heavy bass to develop that bittersweet lump in your stomach, SBTRKT whipped out disarming lyrics and genuine longing to take you down as deep as that bass. SBTRKT doesn’t fall too far from the dubstep tree with his sound, but his exposition of himself is unique and inspiring.

Songs: Something Goes Right, Wildfire

—BN

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14. YUCK by YUCK

LISTEN: “Georgia”

I was born in 1990, but I can promise you that I don’t recall listening to bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Yo La Tengo until I was in high school. So why does British-based Yuck sound so nostalgic to me? There’s something about those fuzzed-out chords and stories of youthful expression that remind me so much of the music of those aforementioned bands. Despite the fact I didn’t get into them until my teenage years, they put you in a particular mindset that’s hard to escape. When you listen to Yuck, you feel like you’ve been transported to 1994, where Starter Jackets were still dope to rock, and Ross Perot was still relevant. Led by 20-year-old Daniel Blumberg, Yuck came out of nowhere with this stellar debut. As playful as it is wistful, Yuck makes the 90s seem not only a whole lot cooler, but a whole lot closer.

—AR

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13. SECTION.80 by KENDRICK LAMAR

LISTEN: “Kush & Corinthians”

From the opening text of the “HiiiPower” video:

“I wrote #Section.80 because I was ordered to do so. You’ll never understand my life and my world… I watch this video and reminise on that krazy am hour of september 13, 2010. I got a visit from Lesane Parish Crooks. Research this name. I remember being asleep. His image said “Don’t let me die.” I was paranoid. I said “why”? He said “because you the…..”“

If you are wondering who Lesane Parish Crooks is, this Clark County Coroner’s Report from September 1996 might help: http://www.cathyscott.com/images/coronersrep.jpg

That’s right, this guy had Tupac Shakur visit him in a dream. And even though I know this can’t be true since only the dead can appear as a spirit, Kendrick isn’t just blowing smoke here. Is he the second coming of Pac? Of course not! But, any extremely talented rapper who breaks into the game right now and then claims he’s gonna try to bring back the hip-hop of Tupac is welcome. And that happens to be exactly what Kendrick Lamar is doing. Technically sound? You bet, check out his flow on “Rigamortus”. Lyricism? Don’t even ask, Kendrick Lamar is that rare brand of a traditional rapper that places lyricism either on the same level or higher than delivery. Section.80 is a fresh revival of the sound that rap was built upon. How can you not be down with that?

—BN

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12. UNDERNEATH THE PINE by TORO Y MOI

LISTEN: “How I Know”

Coincidences are weird, man. Back in ‘09, Washed Out, Neon Indian, and Toro y Moi released debut records that brought forth the genre of the decade: Chllwave. And while that conversation could be a dissertation in it of itself, 2011 has seen these pioneers of a reverb-drenched sub-genre reach new heights. While Washed Out stayed with the sound he helped to push to the forefront, Neon Indian and Toro y Moi forged new paths. But that doesn’t mean they have forgotten their roots. On Toro y Moi’s sophmore album, Chaz Bundick has recruited a band to help expand his sound. With the sweet funk of “New Beat” and the pulsating vibe of “Good Hold”, Underneath The Pine showed Toro y Moi under a new light. While still maintaining those reverb-laden vocals and synths, this LP also manages to reach its arms out to grab influence from across the musical spectrum. With this album, Toro y Moi has shown that they’re not one-trick ponies, but rather, ponies with a whole boatload of goddamn tricks.

—AR

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11. WITHIN AND WITHOUT by WASHED OUT

LISTEN: “Eyes Be Closed”

We all pretty much know the story: the Beach Gods came down, blessed Panda Bear, he made Person Pitch, and then millions of loners everywhere crawled out of their bedrooms to find the “Chillwave” sound. If you’re the Wall Street Journal, the development of the Chillwave sound goes like this: “Now it’s just a blogger or some journalist that can find three or four random bands around the country, and tie together a few commonalities between them and call it a genre.” Let’s entertain Murdoch’s minion and look at these three or four random bands for Chillwave. Everyone pretty much know it, anyway: Neon Indian, Toro y Moi, perhaps Twin Sister, and definitely Washed Out.  In 2011 these chillwave giants released their follow-ups. These releases are the development of a sound, taking glo-fi and seeing how far they could go with it. In the end, be it by inches or miles, Washed Out ended up a lot further down the path than his brethren. (Toro y Moi is listed right behind this guy, but still, the point remains.) Within and Without brought us the most developed, full sounding, and utterly beautiful album the school of chillwave has ever given us. Washed Out takes the simple pop loops that we love and adds layers of grandiose without affecting the open nature of his sound. Well done.

Songs: Eyes be Closed, Amor Fati

—BN

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Check out more of these artists at our End of The Year playlist on Spotify.