The Top 50 Albums of 2011
The year 2011 did not set any new standards in music. It was
not 2010. The top 3 albums from last year are easily better than anything from
this year. But in many ways it was a year of new beginnings, as many new
talented artists released surprising debuts (James Blake, Katy B, Youth Lagoon,
Cults, Washed Out) and seasoned artists pushed their music in new directions (M83,
Beirut, Radiohead, Mates of State, Destroyer, Danielson).
This was the Year of Electronic Music. The seeds that were
sown in 2010 bore fruit in 2011. James Blake is perhaps most symbolic of this trajectory,
but the influence of electronic music can be seen everywhere. The rise of
dubstep as a legitimate and serious mode of pop music is perhaps the most
exciting development.
My pick for the most surprising album goes to Mates of State
for Mountaintops. I’ve long been a
huge fan of their music, but the last few albums have been lackluster compared
to their earlier work. The new album does not retread old ground, but it brings
back a lot of the old magic. It is one of their best albums ever. My pick for
the biggest disappointment is an easy one: TV on the Radio, Nine Types of Light. After the stunning
achievement of Dear Science, I
expected something truly magnificent and groundbreaking for their follow-up
effort. Unfortunately, it is their least engaging and most uninspired product. No
doubt the loss of bassist Gerard Smith on April 20 due to lung cancer was a
huge blow to the band. I can only hope that they are able to recover soon and fulfill
the promise of their earlier albums.
What follows are my top 50 albums of the year. Only the top 25
are ordered in a way that I feel more or less confident about; the bottom half
are open to (nearly daily) revision.
1. M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Each year seems to have at least one album that expands the
definition of “epic.” In 2011, that album was the stunning two-disc work by
Anthony Gonzalez.
2. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Overrated? Hardly. But even if it is, it’s for good reason.
Justin Vernon’s sophomore album does much more than merely assuage those worried
that his debut might have been a lucky accident born out of an unrepeatable
revelatory experience in the Wisconsin woods. And if I hear one more complaint
about the cheesiness of the last song, I might lose it.
3. The Antlers, Burst Apart
The Antlers had a tough act to follow after their beloved Hospice, but this is, I think, the
superior album. It might be the album I listened to most in 2011, and it will
probably be the one that has the longest listening life.
4. James Blake, James Blake
Blake came on the scene in a big way with three magnificent
EPs in 2010. His self-titled debut brought his singular (post-)dubstep vision
into full focus. Of all the albums from this year, this one still strikes me as
the most artistically impressive.
5. Katy B, On a Mission
Katy B was for 2011 what Robyn was for 2010: a supremely
talented female artist producing club-ready music without the mainstream
recognition that each deserve. Kathleen Brien was indeed on a mission this year,
and it paid off beautifully.
6. Handsome Furs, Sound Kapital
The husband-and-wife duo of Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade
fame) and Alexei Perry fulfilled their promise with their third album, Sound Kapital. This album did for me
what Sleigh Bells did last year: it gave me total sonic bliss. It was as if someone
had extracted the magical kernel within Apologies
to the Queen Mary and dressed it within the garb of electronic indie pop.
It was love at first listen.
7. Youth Lagoon, The Year of Hibernation
The debut album by Youth Lagoon, the stage name of Trevor
Powers, was perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise of the year. His catchy,
atmospheric, dreamy, shoegazy sonic concoction delivers some of the year’s
biggest musical thrills.
8. The Field, Looping State of Mind
Swedish minimalist techno artist, Axel Willner, doing what
he does best. His third album is his best yet.
9. Dominik Eulberg, Diorama
I want to live inside the landscapes of this album. It’s no
surprise that the German musical artist occasionally works as a park ranger. If
I had to pick a soundtrack for the year, it would be Diorama.
10. Cults, Cults
The Cults debut album—self-released in June—is just about
the perfect summer pop album. Its effortless blend of post-punk, power pop, and
shoegaze makes me happy every time.
11. Beirut, The Rip
Tide
12. Washed Out, Within
and Without
13. SBTRKT, SBTRKT
14. Arrange, Plantation
15. Cut Copy, Zonoscope
16. Lykke Li, Wounded
Rhymes
17. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness
Blues
18. Radiohead, King of
Limbs
19. Mates of State, Mountaintops
20. Gang Gang Dance, Eye
Contact
21. Destroyer, Kaputt
22. Girls, Father,
Son, Holy Ghost
23. Thundercat, The
Golden Age of Apocalypse
24. Tim Hecker, Ravedeath,
1972
25. Wild Beasts, Smother
26. Danielson, The
Best of Gloucester Country
27. The Horrors, Skying
28. Marissa Nadler, Marissa
Nadler
29. Richard Buckner, Our
Blood
30. WU LYF, Go Tell
Fire to the Mountain
31. AraabMuzik, Electronic
Dream
32. John Maus,
We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of
Ourselves
33. Neon Indian, Era
Extraña
34. Moonface, Organ
Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
35. Nguzunguzu, The
Perfect Lullaby & Timesup EP
36. The War on Drugs, Slave
Ambient
37. Wilco, The Whole
Love
38. Panda Bear, Tomboy
39. Real Estate, Days
40. Apparat, The
Devil’s Walk
41. Los Campesinos!, Hello
Sadness
42. Drake, Take Care
43. Beastie Boys, Hot
Sauce Committee, Pt. 2
44. tUne-yArDs, Who
Kill
45. Boom Bip, Zig Zaj
46. Iron & Wine, Kiss
Each Other Clean
47. Shabazz Palaces, Black
Up
48. The Decemberists, The
King Is Dead
49. Com Truise, Galactic
Melt
50. Mountain Goats, All Eternals Deck
Comments
First of all, thank you for including Girls on this list, and as high as you did. I actually think *Father, Son, Holy Ghost* was better than *Album* and you had that at, what #5 or so in a better year for music. But still, thanks at least for putting them above Wilco, though they should be above Radiohead.
But man, do you like bank your indie cred on this list or what? Because other than that I can't think of a single reason why Florence + the Machine's *Ceremonials*, or Lady Gaga's *Born This Way*, or the *Foo Fighter's *Wasting Light*, or the Roots' *Undun* is not on this list. Not a single one of them!
But thanks for listening to all this music for me.
As for Girls, I was being pretty generous. I think it's an accomplished album, but I don't enjoy listening to it all that much. Not my type of music.
(That was me, Nate Kerr, by the way above. I don't know why it showed up as unknown.)
Did you give Tom Wait's new album a listen?
Also, I should clarify my comments about Lady Gaga. I absolutely love her stuff and I think her new album is far more theologically interesting than her earlier work (hence my appreciation for Peter's work). But I was very disappointed in terms of its musicality.
I would have WU LYF a lot higher, and Girls would be up there as well (a bit of a surprise for me based on their earlier stuff). I'm glad to see The Antlers so high because I thought Burst Apart was kick-ass (although I preferred Hospice, mostly because events in my personal life resonated very strongly with that album when it was released... which sucked but made for some great listening!).
I'm a sucker for The Mountain Goats so I would have them higher (NB: I tend to rate albums, not on their coherence or whatever else, but based upon the number of songs found on the album that resonate with me personally). Also, I noticed that you didn't mention The Airborne Toxic Event and, although I didn't dig their earlier stuff all that much, their 2011 album was amongst my favourites.
I was somewhat disappointed with Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. Also enjoyed Cults and Lykke Li.
Here are a few albums that you might have missed. I'm not sure how they rank, but there is a lot of great music on them.
(1) Hayes Carll KMAG YOYO
(2) Bill Callahan Apocalypse
(3) Charlie Parr & The Black Twig Pickers Glory in the Meeting House
(4) Wooden Wand and the Briarwood Virgins
Also surprised not to see Flo + Machine, but I'd add PJ Harvey_Let England Shake_; Crystal Catles_II_; Apparat_The Devil's Work_; and St. Vincent_Strange Mercy_.
St. Vincent was particularly awesome.