I think of 2011 and I realize that most of the music that I associate with this year are either experiences that I had from my attendance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, as well as realizing that most of the albums that I was anticipating at ended up being not very good, and the albums that I didn't realize were being released, ended up being the bigger surprises that have become more permanent mainstays in my music library, and listening habits for the remainder of the year, and have carried over into 2012 as well. This of course, is not to say that some albums that I was counting on being excellent ended did not actually end up excellent, and nor was every new experience at Lollapalooza a good one (and in fact, some were just downright awful. Seriously, who could possibly like Smith Westerns?) either. I'm just glad I didn't end up at seeing something that would have been truly awful, like Coldplay.
The state of music as it is now in 2011, remains a continued fall in the curve of what passes for reasonable these days. I'm fine admitting that most of what I'm saying comes from the kid who grew up listening to his dad play Pink Floyd, Boston, Queen, and Zeppelin on the stereo, and fell in love with the chug and detrimental grind of the early 90s. Of course, I only realized these influences and understandings of what I enjoyed about 7 years too late, as I was only a 2 year old when my friends in the alternative nation began spiraling towards its better demise. I've continued to work myself past the gems that I exalt, and move towards the more modern sound of the indie camps, the pitchfork readers, and trying to get a grasp on the modern hipster movement from a location that isn't particularly ideal breeding ground for anything other than country pop, and strangely enough, glam metal.
I freely, and gladly admit that I am less of an indie kid than I may appear to be. My musical snobbery stems from the ideas that are concurrent, and are woven deeply into the doctrine of the indie camps and sensibilities, but my understanding of the music itself is far more archaic. My viewpoint on most of 2011 falls into my opinion of what I have heard, been subjected to, read about, and for better or worse, actually tried to incorporate into my musical library; the indie movement has gotten bogged down in its ideals, sensibility, and has forgotten about the movement in which it stemmed from in the first place. Unfortunately optimistic, and driven more by pop-reference catch phrases than guitar licks. Groups like xx (which are not the worst I've ever heard) are forerunning a movement of "indie pop." As if to say, "I'm okay with simple music that all sounds the same, just not if you can talk about it to anybody on the street." It doens't have to actually "sound" any different to simple, earworm, corproate mainstream music anymore. Corporate mainstream found its way into indie music long ago when people started thinking that Vampire Weekend was good music.
So here is what I liked about 2011
IAMX - Volatile Times
Volatile Times is far from the best release of 2011, but this album represents something that I don't think really has been particularly present throughout most of this year. IAMX once again represents to the most unfortunate degree of a band trying to do something absolutely unique getting looked over for things that are absolutely and simply, ordinary. As perhaps one of the most cynical and dry humored album that I have heard since Mike Patton stopped releasing 3 albums a year, its a nice contrast to the light and fluffy that most of the Top 50 Spin albums seemed to incorporate for this year. Dark, brooding, electronics and an undeniable pop-sensibility that stems more Trent Reznor than it does Portished, this is a standout album despite a few musical hiccups (I didn't really like "Dance With Me" or "Into Asylum" very much) and enough clever and unique instrumentation to boot.
Standout tracks: Volatile Times, Fires and Whispers, Oh Beautiful Town
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead
Despite the best efforts of The Smashing Pumpkins, prog rock was pretty much sealed to its fate of becoming non-commercial commodities at the advent of the first Linkin Park album. That is not to say it isn't dead, but you aren't going to here anything beyond 4 minutes long on any radio station that isn't a classic rock station advertising the fact that it is "special" because it plays the entire outro of Layla. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead continues in the vein that the Smashing Pumpkins burnt out on (and never recovered enough to continue, because who really cares about Billy Corgan now that Jimmy is out of the picture), and Tao of the Dead is perhaps the best release that they have come out with so far. I saw this band back in 2009 during the "Century of Self" tour, and compared to that album, Tao represents a much more stripped down, and truly unapologetic tribute to bands like Yes and Rush. One of my early favorites from 2011
Standout tracks:
"Pure Radio Cosplay" "Ebb Away" "Strange News From Another Planet"
Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
Why should you care about this band? The Arctic Monkey's are pretty much the best thing that the indie community has for guitar driven rock (a term that is generally frowned upon now, once again, thanks Vampire Weekend), and they've pretty much established themselves as the best you can get without looking into bands that crossover into the alternative category. Suck It and See is a little bit more reserved than their first two albums, but is much more guitar driven than Humbug (in the more traditional sense at least). They put on a fantastic live show, and this album in particular shows that they're going to be one of those bands that just does what they do best, and does not care whether or not you like it. Also, their drummer just rocks so much.
Standout tracks: "She's Thunderstorms," "The Hellcat Spangled Shalala," "All My Own Stunts," and "Suck it and See."
Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
One a pure, track-by-track album, The Big Roar doesn't quite match up with some of the other contenders that I have mentioned so far, but for a relatively new band, and for the unique sort of presence and energy that this band has is one of the most refreshing experiences that I've had in a while. I first heard of this band when on a whim decision, I ended up seeing them on a Sunday afternoon slot while at lollapalooza. They only played a half-hour setlist, but managed to bring one of the best performances of the festival during that time slot. The album itself has a little too much of what it advertises; big. The album doesn't take breaks, and for the most part that is good, but a few tracks drudge on without a guiding melody, and for the most part, could have used a little quality control. However, for the most part, their unique combination of shoegazing, hard rock (as influenced by Sonic Youth), and an absolutely fantastic rhythm section which you cannot truly appreciate until you see some of the things the drummer can do live. This band could be a hard one to appreciate if you aren't okay with songs jamming on for 3 to 4 minutes, and don't have a hardwired appreciation for feedback, but for those who can manage, this is one of the most rewarding rock albums of the entire year.
Standout Tracks:
"Everlasting Spectrum of a Lie," "Abacus," "I Don't Want To See You Like This," and "Whirring"
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
I don't think I could put this album into my top 5 for 2011, but I'm adding this to my list of one of the most important releases of 2011 anyways. The best selling artist for the year 2011 was Adele, and Wasting Light was the album that finally knocked whatever her album was called from the charts. It's also the best album that they've put out since the 90s. Its not the hard hitting excitement of The Colour and Shape, nor is it the experimentation and the darkness of "There Is Nothing Left to Lose," but Wasting Light represents a band that, after faltering around for the last 10 years (for the most part), has released a refined album that does everything that modern indie music does not. Three guitarists, thick distortion, overdubbing, and boosted up, distorted bass lines? What more could you ask for? Didn't really like "White Limo" all that much though. Sorry Dave.
Standout tracks
"Bridge Burning," "Dear Rosemary," "Arlandria" and "Miss the Misery"
Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
"The Incident" was a mediocre album at best. Well, maybe that isn't true, but after what Fear Of a Blank Planet gave the prog community, you think that maybe Steven Wilson would have tried to make some ideas that were sustainable for more than 2 minutes. For an album where the best tracks were the interludes between the actual songs, The Incident was hardly anything to write home about. Grace For Drowning however, Steven Wilson's second solo project (seperate from Porcupine Tree only in name really, as much of what is on this album could have been put into the heavier sections of some of the early 2000s Porcupine Tree), allows him a bit more room to breath. On Grace For Drowning, Steven Wilson proves that his ability to write the soothing, dream-lush pop that he has always had incorproated in the sound of Porcupine Tree is a strong as ever. His darker side also comes out, and sometimtes it is a little trite and conceited on this album, but it certainly is a much heavier and more experimental take than what he has done before. Never before has Steven Wilson flirted so much with the sounds of drone metal and ambient metal before, and the results are rather interesting. This is a difficult album, and the time commitment between some of the tracks make you wonder if there maybe could have been a little bit more quality control, but for the most part, this is a diverse, challenging, and excellent album.
Standout tracks:
"Postcard," "Deform to Form a Star," "Remainder the Black Dog," and "Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye"
Glassjaw - Our Color Green [EP]
It is a sad state of affairs when one of the best releases is not only an EP, but its an EP of songs that were originally released back in 2010, and only came out in an full format form on the first of the year. No, literally, this album came out on January 1st of 2011. Part of my inclusion of this album on the list is because, it is frankly a fantastic release, but also to remind myself that Glassjaw is still relevant, despite their second release this year which ended up being terrible except for 2 songs. (I'll talk about that more sometime later) Anyways, while this is not a full release album, it represents what should come on a Glassjaw album following the currently 9 year gap between Worship and Tribute, and whatever the hell Glassjaw are going release as their third album. It is raw, absolutely driving, and features instrumentation that pretty much blows away any other hardcore band without the words "Dillinger," "Escape," or "Plan" in their name. By far the best hardcore release of 2011.
Standout Tracks:
"All Good Junkies Go To Heaven," "Jesus Glue," and "Stars"
The Strokes - Angles
Here is an album that nobody really knew what to expect for. Of course, the single that was released before the album actually leaked to the internet community (which voices its opinions so often, although who am I to really comment about that one?) was the most "Strokes" sounding song you could possibly think of. And while it was one of the best songs released all year, it failed to truly represent the album under the best of conditions. In some ways, this was a bit of a disappointment, as I'm okay with admitting that I was hoping more Room On Fire than I was a 2000s tribute to The Cars, but I can still confidently say that this is one of the best albums of 2011. Its a bit jagged around the edges, and for the most part, The Strokes have overcome any sort of notion that they are this "garage" band anymore (although I really do appreciate that there is nobody on backing vocals in their live show, and that it's all Julian, which in a strange way is rather refreshing). They're a bit overblown, and it seems inappropriate to think of them as a worldwide band rather than a distillation of New York City, but if you are okay with getting your hands dirty on a little bit of tribute to the 80s and a little bit of grungy Julian Casablancas trying his best to become the most swaggered vocalist since Liam Gallagher, you'll love this album as much as I did.
Standout Tracks:
"Machu Pichu," "Undercover of Darkness," "Taken For a Fool," and "Metabolism"
The White Stripes - Breaking Up
No, this isn't an album, and I'm pretty sure that the White Stripes didn't actually release anything in 2011, but that is pretty much the reason why I am including this little post about them. The fact that one of the worst bands that has ever existed, (and probably my personal least favorite band ever) broke up in 2011 is enough of a reason to get excited about music again.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Unlike other years where I have thought back upon what all was released, there really wasn't any album in particular that struck me as the "best" album of 2011. That being said, I think the album that has stuck with me the most, and has impressed me the most, although for a lack of understanding as to why I should have been impressed (in the paraphrase of Noel, he doesn't write bad songs), was Noel Gallagher's solo release. Certainly its a bit of a different beast without the swagger of Liam as everyone has noted, but the more important thing about this album is understanding that it was Noel the whole time really. One review I read claimed his voice was pedestrian at best, but that is perhaps from a more British source, a land that has produced far more Mick Jaggers and Roger Waters than it has Brad Delps. The beauty of this album, is the simplicity of the music that Noel has created. Its only 10 tracks long, and judging from some of b-sides that I have heard, it should have included a few more songs (because once again, Noel has released some of his best material on b-sides, an ancient practice that should be abolished immediately), but what we have here is its purest form of everything that the indie community currently lacks. Experience, thick guitars, and the downtrodden passion of a man truly in love with music.
Standout tracks:
"Everybody on the Run," "Dream On," "If I Had a Gun...", "AKA... Broken Arrow," and "Stop the Clocks." Also download the B-side "A Simple Game of Genius"
Next time:
I'll talk about my disappointments of 2011, and my general disenchantment with many of the reasons behind said disappointments in another blog post sometime. This one is already a bit too long and convoluted, but until then, happy listening~
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