Best of 2011 (w/ Mixtape)

Active Child - You Are All I See

The album opens with a harp arpeggio loftily carrying the song along, and the same ethereal foundation runs through the album, paired with R&B style vocals, for a surprisingly delightful combination.

The Antlers - Burst Apart

One of the most sonically beautiful records I've ever heard. Glassy guitar textures lay a foundation for bouncing bass lines and big beats as they carry soaring falsettos through some of the best songs of the year.

Atlas Sound - Parallax

Bradford Cox continues his spelunking through the depths of rock n' roll history with another consistently great record. It's less ambient than Logos, but the same ambitious streak runs through it.  Cox apparently suffered a nervous breakdown around the same time as the recording of this album, which usually happens when an artist pushes themselves as hard as this.

BRAIDS - Native Speaker

The biggest surprise of the year, with looped guitars, layers and layers of keyboards, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-like vocals about love and sex and everything between the two. Dynamically, the record goes between bouncy dream pop and swelling, ambient post-rock, pulling both of them off with the same professional panache.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

See: lush.

Caveman - CoCo Beware

Glittery, folk-tinged indie rock in the vein of Grizzly Bear. One of the most listenable albums of the year.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Golden harmonies, sunshiny acoustic guitars, and some newfound psychedelic bents take Fleet Foxes' debut to higher heights and lower lows, filling all of the space in between. If this doesn't win a Grammy I'll be very surprised.

James Blake - James Blake

This is what happens when a dubstep producer takes a chill pill and listens to too much soul music. Down tempo and a little off kilter, this is a record for late night drives.

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

Imagine a super high Bruce Springsteen floating through space. And make it better than you're imagining. Lazy, hazy, and spacy, this is the dictionary definition of chill music.

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Through the 22 songs on this double album, Hurry Up takes the listener through the deepest reaches of synthpop, post-rock, dreampop, and indie rock, and the ride is well worth it.

Neon Indian - Era Extraña

Teetering between chillwave and shoegaze, Era Extraña is just a plain happy, fun record.

Panda Bear - Tomboy

The same great textures that made up the excellent soundscapes of Person Pitch put to pop structure.  Hazy keyboards, lo-fi beats, and the warmest harmonies this side of the Beach Boys make this one of the most hypnotizing records of the year.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs (and related singles)

What happens when you've exhausted the known reaches of western music, pop and otherwise? You just keep making great records. 

St. Vincent - Strange Mercies

Annie Clark just keeps getting better. This record is a balancing act between beauty and chaos, and she tiptoes the line masterfully.

Washed Out - Within and Without

In a year so clogged with chillwave, it takes a special record to stand out among the haze, and this is a worthy contender.

Wilco - The Whole Love

After a couple albums that were good and not much more, Wilco finally has gotten back to their studio noodling, and the results are better than we could have asked for. Glitches and fuzzboxes are back, as well as folk epics topping ten minutes in length. Wilco, it's good to have you back.

And why don't you download the sampler?

2011's Must Listens (so far)

There has been so much good music this year that I haven't been able to give it all the time it deserves. However, there have been many, many releases that I have been able to give the time they deserve, and more.

LISTEN TO THESE ALBUMS. ALL OF THEM.

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Etherial and beat-heavy, this release features a bunch of songs about heartbreak and not being okay with yourself.

Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure EP

This is what happens when a surf rock band with a decent debut decides to try their hand at post-punk. Think pre-dancepop New Order or U2's Boy album, but with more sunshine.

Bobby - Bobby

Ambient folk music--this makes For Emma Forever Ago seem straightforward.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

We've seen what Justin Vernon can do by himself with no budget. This shows what he can do with a bunch of a friends and quite a bit of toys. He breaks the chains of his folk-singer mantle and dips into indie rock, chillwave, and 80s pop. Anyone who's kept up with his side projects won't be surprised.

BRAIDS - Native Speaker

Loop driven and beat heavy one track, soft and swelly the next, all while their frontwoman sings about sex.

Cults - Cults

This is what Beach House would sound like if they were more fun and not so French.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

An incredible follow up to one of the most fantastic debuts in recent history. Harmony riched folk songs of existential crisis.

James Blake - James Blake

Soul songs by a dubstep producer. This is what ghosts listen to when they want to relax.

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

Americana at it's finest. This is what dreaming sounds like.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Belong

Do you miss 90s alt-pop already? Well, here's your fix. Think Belle & Sebastian with more distortion.

Panda Bear - Tomboy

Chillwave at its finest. The reverb drips off of this one. More straightforward than Person Pitch but with the same hypnotic production.

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't have listened to this yet, unless you were turned off by the haters. Well, haters gon' hate. This is a fine addition to the Radiohead canon, featuring some of the best beatwork, most claustrophobic, and prettiest songwriting of their career.

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

Remember how good Sea Change by Beck was? This is an acoustic record in the same way that was, with Beck behind the controls. All the same great guitar work and circling composition Moore has given us in Sonic Youth, stripped bare with strings and electronic bleeps tossed in for good measure.

Mixtape!

Multitrack Sneakattack, vol. XIII: Sleepbending

Half-year list

I've been wildly inactive for how much music has been going through my speakers, so I'm just going to make some lists, and maybe some descriptions.

BEST ALBUMS SO FAR

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
So much more spacious and ominous and human than the first. Absolutely fantastic.

The Antlers - Burst Apart
Ambient textures with huge drums and soulful falsetto-sung lyrics. I'm a fan.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong

Both more aggressive and sweeter than the debut, and so so so catchy.

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

You can't expect the larger force behind Sonic Youth and Beck to get together and make a bad album. Spacey and glassy and mashed up and all sorts of other things you wouldn't expect an acoustic album to be.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

I don't care what any critic says, TKOL is on par with any of the rest of Radiohead's catalogue, matching psychedelic and Beatles influences (Morning Mr. Magpie, Little By Little) with more beat work than they have ever done (Bloom, Feral), as well as writing the most disarming song of their career (Give Up the Ghost). And at only 5 minutes shorter than In Rainbows, the complaint of it being too short is hardly valid. It just leaves you wanting more.

Still on my list to familiarize myself with is TV on the Radio's "Nine Types of Light," Lykke Li's "Wounded Rhymes," and Panda Bear's "Tomboy," which I have greatly enjoyed so far. Expressly not on this list is Death Cab's "Codes and Keys."

ALBUMS I HAVE GOTTEN INTO

Beach House - Teen Dream

I checked this album out the first week of the new year to see what the fuss was all about, and I love it.

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
I've said so much about Tame Impala on here, so I will just recap: so so so so good

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

How did I even miss this when it came out? Every melody line is flawless, and every harmony is so sweet I get a sugar high just listening to it. Every guitar line is fresh and every song just gets better with every listen.

School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
Girl-fronted, electronic-driven shoegaze revival? I am all about every part of this.

Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Another 08 album that slid under my radar. This album isn't so much a collection of songs as it is a collection of atmospheres to cover yourself with.

The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

The funniest, catchiest, greatest lo-fi indie you'll hear.

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains

This album sounds like you took a mixtape of all of my favorite bands and the tape was corrupted so all the songs spliced together. omg.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights/Antics

I never gave Interpol too much of a listen when these albums first came out. But I since have, and have been rewarded by the first two brilliant albums of a band that unfortunately has turned a little sour.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

I have recently found the time to finally give this album the attention it deserves, and I have ended up kicking myself for passing up a $15 copy I found once. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

RECORDS THAT HAVE NOT LEFT MY TURNTABLE

Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On

Their absolute best record, and one of my favorite records of all time.

Television - Marquee Moon

Do you love Wilco's guitar work? Then listen to this 1977 breakthrough from contemporaries of the Ramones.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

My favorite from them. So synthy and poppy. It tugs at the heart of my ears everytime.

Deerhunter - Cryptograms, Flourescent Grey EP, Microcastles, Weird Era Cont., Halcyon Digest

DEERHUNTER HOW U BE SO GOOD???

New mixtape!

Multitrack Sneakattack, Vol. XII: The Revenge of Englebert Humperdink

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Ten songs into the twelve-song playlist of the psychedelia-tinged folk rock of Helplessness Blues, something interesting happens. Robin Pecknold, the hippie poster-boy for the soothing harmonies and pastoral imagery of the folk revival that Fleet Foxes helped usher in two years ago, gets angry. He gets angry, and it's the most arresting moment the group has put to record.
Two releases ago, Fleet Foxes emerged with the Sun Giant EP, already brimming with harmonies and folksy highs and lows, sounding like the folk version of the Beach Boys. Their sound was so fully formed for the EP that on continuous listens, it's easy to miss the change from Sun Giant and their debut full-length. Not that that's a bad thing--Fleet Foxes are the best at what they do (in fact, Fleet Foxes is the reason I don't like Mumford and Sons. They just set the bar too high), but the Sun Giant/self-titled combo needed no follow up. Contained therein was a world of green fields and yellow sun and budding trees and a golden hue to everything (even when singing about winter). And to be honest, after a while, all that summer started to wear on me. After too much time in its earshot, I grew lethargic, like after a day at the beach without sunscreen. And to be honest, the thought of a follow up frightened me. All that was good and pleasing about Fleet Foxes was contained in that album and a half. How could an attempt at a follow do anything but overripen their sound?

By growing, apparently. However spacious and thick the first record, Robin & Co. somehow found room to get even bigger--and at times ominous. The first track opens with Robin asking questions of worth and maturity and accomplishment, with much the same passive acceptance as in "He Doesn't Know Why" where he sings, "There's nothing I can do." As the record spins on through tracks like Bedouin Dress and The Plains/Bitter Dancer, it slips seamlessly between the familiar sunshiny folk rock thick with harmonies and minor-key swells with a similar tone to the Biblical prophets. The title-track contains the most bittersweet sentiment on the record, with Robin admitting that he would forsake uniqueness to serve something greater than himself, in the most familiar-sounding track. The album's instrumental, The Cascades, follows, showing that, in addition to widening his lyrical themes, Mr. Pecknold has also gotten better as a guitar player, ripping through breakneck arpeggios effortlessly.
A few pleasing tracks later, we finally reach the record's masterwork: The Shrine/An Argument, an eight minute breakup song filled with imagery of apple trees and pennies in fountains and the aforementioned anger, manifest when Robin sings in despair, bitter gloating, or jealousy, "Sunlight over me no matter what I do." The anger quickly gives way to a blissful key change, but it's impact is still felt. It's the type of moment that reminds me why I got into music in the first place. The opening section soon gives way to a cymbal-crash and organ pound that makes the explosive sections on "Mykonos" and "Blue Ridge Mountains" seem tame, until it ends with one final crash, the lone acoustic guitar hanging, with the organ and a sound like rubbed glass swelling to join as the Foxes layer their harmonies on as Robin sings about apple trees and being washed away by the ocean. Soon, in the albums largest wtf moment (and my favorite moment), two saxophones stolen by John Coltrane's Ascension sessions burst in screaming and cracking and flailing about, as a string section and drum set wax psychedelic underneath.
The last two tracks adequately bring it back to center after such a far wander of their 'signature sound,' with "Blue Spotted Tail" featuring a lone Robin Pecknold doing what he does best before "Grown Ocean" brings the whole band back to close with the closest Fleet Foxes has ever come to initiating their own wild rumpus, bringing the album to well deserved and satisfying close.

In the end, we never should have been afraid of what a group of Seattlites who are completely enamored with music and the making of it would create--the record is fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that in the year preceded by one in which Mumford and Sons and the Avvett Brothers were nominated for Grammys and Arcade Fire actually won Album of the Year, I would be surprised if Helplessness Blues wasn't at least nominated for Album of the Year.

My New Favorite Bands.

Dirty Projectors.

Islands.

The Unicorns.

Danielson Famile.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

Two Door Cinema Club.

A Review of The King of Limbs, As I Listen To It For The First Time.

Radiohead must certainly enjoy being free of a record label. Their last album, In Rainbows, was released through a controversial pay-what-you-want model that, to everyone's surprise, was actually profitable. Then, this past Monday, they announced that their eighth album, entitled "The King of Limbs," would be released on Saturday, then announced just this morning that, oh, guess what! It's available now. So now, it's not even eight o' clock in the morning stateside, and I've already got my hands on the MP3 version of the record (available exclusively at www.thekingoflimbs.com) and have, at the time of writing this paragraph, already listened to the first four of its eight tracks (I know..."Eight tracks??? That's it???" But don't worry. It's been worth it so far).

In order to ready myself for this release, I spent almost six hours yesterday doing all of my work with my iPod playing through their previous seven albums, and as soon as the opener "Bloom" started in, it was a natural progression from the rest of their catalogue--it maintains the more straightforward structure of In Rainbows, but with the electronics of Kid A and Amnesiac back in view. The track is almost disorienting in its fluidity, like being tugged along by the undertow through a coral reef, equal parts beautiful and terrifying. Morning Mr. Magpie begins in much the same way, but then takes a surprisingly Beatles-esque turn at the refrain. The first few tracks are actually surprisingly major, while still wrought with claustrophobic beats. The typical Radiohead staples are still here: you have the chaos track, "Feral;" you have the heartbreaking ballad, "Codex," complete with a horn section, and everything in between.

"Give Up The Ghost" is a surprise--it opens with a low-key, major acoustic progression with call-and-response vocals between Thom Yorke and a repeated line of himself, as the rest of the band--as well as the rest of the atmosphere--joins in slowly. The song comes to a climax with a a shatteringly beautiful vocal climb, proving itself Radiohead's most disarming song to date. After six tracks of thumping and claustrophobia, it's a welcome break--and not one that Radiohead affords its listeners that often.

The closer, "Separator" immediately kicks in with the same sort of shuffle beat found in In Rainbows tracks like "House of Cards," driven by Phil Selway's always-excellent drumming and a commanding bassline from Colin Greenwood. After the first chorus, twin-lead guitars come in playing lines not unlike the guitar solo in Fleetwood Mac's "Gypsy." Then, in true Radiohead fashion, even the atmosphere around them starts to swell, until the rhythm section cuts out completely and we're left with a few seconds of the reverb left over until their eighth, and still stunning, record comes to a close.

I'm left with a few moments of discontent when the record ends, just for the brevity. It's nothing that repeated listens won't cure, though. The first four tracks alone have so much buried inside of them that their richness make up for the lack of two extra tracks.

And, if you wanted to, I'm sure you could find a place for "These Are My Twisted Words" somewhere on the playlist. But all in all, Radiohead is a group of highly talented individuals that balance that talent with taste. The reason Radiohead is so good is because they know what good music is. It's been the secret to their consistency, and the trick doesn't break here.

As always (since The Bends, at least), Five out of Five.

Epic Amounts of Bass

On my thirteenth birthday, I got a bass guitar from my mother. It was the first instrument I ever owned, and the first non-keyed instrument I ever learned to play. When I picked up guitar at fifteen, that bass slowly drifted away from common use. But still, there is a soft spot in my heart for an excellent bass line, and what follows is a list of the best places to look if you, like me, like pumping the subs every now and then.

Radiohead - From the menacing drive of The National Anthem to the disconnected, atmospheric loop of How To Disappear Completely to the sheer power of the last two minutes of Exit Music (For a Film), Radiohead's bass lines are completely top notch, and they always do exactly what they need to. When they need to support the triplet guitar lines, they lay a nice, solid foundation, and when they need to push a song over the edge, they pull up their sleeves and hurl it over. An oft-overlooked piece of what makes Radiohead so darn good.

Deerhunter - During the first (more experimental) half of Cryptograms, Deerhunter emits an ambient swirl of phasing keyboards and guitar delay--until the bass comes in and starts pounding, bringing the rest of the band with it. The sonic exploration of songs like Cryptograms and Lake Somerset are led by a big, fat bass line running through the long grass with a torch in one hand a machete in the other. As for their more recent releases, the bass has been less focal, but it has nonetheless been the bedrock that the noise of the meandering guitars are built upon, and without that foundation, everything else would fall apart.

The Flaming Lips - Given the sheer mass of their output, I will limit this to two albums: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Embryonic. On Embryonic, the bass is the first thing that hits you, and it's the last thing to let go. I have described the bass lines on this album as sounding like they're out to get me, and I stand by it: they're fuzzed out, raw, and terrifying, and I can't get enough. On Yoshimi, the basslines aren't aggressive as much as they are beautiful. The bass glides up the scales during the more delicate tracks, and they bounce along with the more upbeat ones. Few acts can achieve both extremes show by these two examples, and the Flaming Lips are leading those few bands on the attack.

mewithoutYou - For all of the idiosyncrasies surrounding this band - the spoken word vocals, the free-range drums, the twin guitar lines that wind around eachother - the dubby bass guitar is my favorite. Go to a show and watch the bassist, or put on a record and pump the subs, and you'll find a bass that is always moving, with a style that's as punk as it is funk, and always, always fat. Whether it's during the band's extended jams on Brother, Sister, the punk outbursts on [A-->B Life], or the Middle Eastern vocal solo towards the end of Catch for us the Foxes, the bass is the focal point, holding the drums and guitars together, which in a band like this, is no easy task.

Fugazi - Fugazi was the personification of all of the energy, all of the rage, and all of the sarcasm that made punk rock punk rock. But beneath the squealing guitars and the sneering vocals, there's a bassist that plays as if all he listens to is jazz. While the guitars run along the fence of their sonic limits, the bass guitar stays inside, laying down the groove to end all grooves. Anyone who thinks punk+jazz=ska should promptly look here.

Gorillaz - There's a reason that animated basist Murdoc functions as de facto spokesman to his cartoon bandmates, and that reason is that the bass lines contained within the Gorillaz' records are the epitome of punk/hip-hop/electronica crossover bass lines -- aside from the fact that each bass line completely makes its respective song. On Plastic Beach, it rides under every track, walking up the scale like a jazz bassist with the swagger of a hip hop DJ. On Demon Days, it drips dub reggae influence, soaking the album with menace. You could fill a multi-volume encyclopedia with Damon Albarn's musical influences, and the bass is the clearest reminder.

Scientist - Dub reggae was built on bass loops, and every good bassist or bass enthusiast should listen and take notes.

Oh, it hurts so good...

Every so often (rarely more than every six months) I'll find a record that I just can't stop listening to. The latest record to hold this honor is the debut album from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It's noise rock with pop sensibilities that's as catchy as all get out. Essentially, it sounds like a My Bloody Valentine and The Smiths started a Belle & Sebastian tribute band. Listen to it. Just listen to it.

Explosion

The past few days have seen one of the largest music-discovery explosions in a long time. So huge that it's beginning to shift my opinion of important music. Suddenly, I'm obsessed with shoegazy, noise-centric pop music, thanks to:

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
The Unicorns
The Strokes (Is This It is still as good as it ever was)
Sonic Youth
Wavvves
Stereolab
The Velvet Underground
The Jesus And Mary Chain
and, Best Coast.

Record Player Log, Jan. 7 2011

The Stooges - Funhouse

It's often said that this is the best rock album ever. I don't know about that, but it's certainly leaves the fewest survivors. Protopunk at its best, with free jazz influence on the B side.

Atlas Sound - Logos

Bradford Cox always makes amazing music, whether it's with Deerhunter or this solo project, which features Noah Lennox of Animal Collective and Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab.

Joy Division - Closer

No one will argue that this is the most joyful record in the world. Regardless, there are times where I want to be put in the claustrophobic vice of their rhythm section and free form guitars and just let Ian Curtis's monotone voice crush me.

The Velvet Underground and Nico

If you haven't heard this record, listen to it now.

Beach House - Teen Dream

I completely let this slip by me during the last calendar year. I thought, "Eh, what's the big deal?" I listened to it a few days ago and was ashamed of myself.