2012-03-21T15:44:00.004-07:00

Albums of the year 2011

1. Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow

“Come on now, you’ve got 32 to go” Bush interjects as Stephen Fry recites 50 synonyms, mostly invented, for snow. At 53 years old, Kate is still making music like nobody else. She may not be prolific, with just two albums of original material in 17 years, but when she does release something, we are assured it will be something special. In fact, 2011 proved to be Bush’s busiest year yet with the release of the equally fantastic ‘Director’s Cut’ which saw her revisit and reinterpret some of her earlier works from ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘The Red Shoes’. ‘50 Words for Snow’ is a concept album based around the theme of winter which incorporates elements of jazz, classical, electronics and that amazing mid-register vocal which has only gotten better with age. She is accompanied, as ever, by her trusted piano. This album flits between communing with a snowflake, watching ghosts, making love to a snowman, time travelling with Elton John and tracking down the Yeti. If this does turn out to be Kate’s swan song then she has certainly bowed out in style!

Essential Tracks: ‘Wild Man’, ’50 Words for Snow’, ‘Snowed in at Wheeler Street’

. PJ Harvey: Let England Shake

“Arms and legs were in the trees” intones P.J. Harvey in her distinctive voice on ‘Words That Maketh Murder’. Harvey has always been one for vivid and graphic lyrics, however Let England Shake actually marks a departure from her earlier works from the personal to the political. She does so with resounding success. The tone of the album is angry and almost disillusioned but never resorts to becoming protest songs or preaching at us. The album covers global conflicts throughout the 20^th and 21^st centuries from The Great War to Iraq. The lyrics are certainly the key to this albums success as it would work alone as a collection of poems. However, that should not distract from what is some breathtaking music; from those octave stretching vocals to the use of Auto Harp, this album is, overall, one of the most cohesive from P.J. Harvey. The album does have a very ‘English’ feel to it but that is by no means a criticism. Polly Jane makes one proud to be British.

Essential Tracks: ‘Let England Shake, ’The Glorious Land’, ‘On Battleship Hill, ‘The Words that Maketh Murder’.

3. tUnE yArDs: ‘WHOKILL’

After the low-fi debut from Merril Garbus, this was certainly not the expected route expected from tUnE yArDs on her follow-up WHOKILL. This time around she adopted the help of bassist Nate Brenner along with various other musicians to provide a much fuller sound overall. The result is absolutely stunning. I think it can be safely said that there is nothing really quite like this around right now. Garbus seems to have tossed a whole range of musical styles into a pot – including hip-hop, jazz, folk, R&B – stirred it up along with dense beats and samples and created a hybrid of all of these elements. In short, this is a tour de force of genres, ideas and accomplishment. She isn’t just repackaging an altered genre of music; she is creating a whole new one. At times its awkward, angular and insane but it’s always intriguing and transfixing. The more I listen to this the more I like it.

Essential Tracks: ‘Bizness’,’My Country’, ‘Gangsta’

4. Cut Copy: Zonoscope

Many have considered ‘Zonscope’ to be if not a step back for Cut Copy then at least just a side step from 2008’s ‘Ghost Colours’. The truth is though, that when listening to this Australian bands third offering, there is very little not to like. There isn’t a weak track here. In fact, this is probably better than Ghost Colours as Zonscope isn’t neatly packed into the three-minute radio-friendly songs. The arrangements are given space to breathe and build into euphoric numbers as they do on the opener ‘Need you Now’. Although this album is generally an electronic album, the pop sensibilities from the 70s and 80s provide them with even broader appeal than some of their contemporaries such as LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk. On top of that, the album is superbly produced, and it maintains a happy summer feel to the whole album; with tropical drums, hooks from every angle, a solid four-to-the-floor beat throughout, and rich vocal harmonies, However, this album is not a one trick pony, they can also do midtempo rock ballads, (‘Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat’), and melancholy (‘Strange Nostalgia for the Future’). This is the best electronic album of 2011.

Essential Tracks: ‘Need you Now’, ‘Take Me Over’, ‘Pharaohs and Pyramids’, ‘Blink and You’ll Miss A Revolution’.

5. James Blake: James Blake

With a voice situated somewhere between Anthony Johnson and Bon Iver, James Blake gained attention for his acclaimed EPs in 2009 and 2010 with his abstract dubstep approach to music. His eponymous full album of material was something equally as spectacular. From the amazing cover of Fiest’s ‘Limit to Your Love’ which stripped the song bare and transformed it to from a song of mere questioning into one of complete despair; to the mid-song breakdown into adance track on ‘I Never Learned to Share’. This album is phenomenal and all from someone just 23 years of age. I appreciate that with overwhelming bass, predominately heavily synthesised vocals, reverberant drum patterns, and an overall feeling of gloom this is certainly not for everyone. However, the production, vocals, and songs are all floorless. James Blake is one of the biggest talents in the UK right now.

Essential Tracks: ‘The Wilhelm Scream’, ‘I Never Learnt to Share’, ‘Limit to Your Love’.

6. The Black Keys: El Camino

After last year’s flawless ‘Brother’s’ it was surprising that The Black Keys came out with something so quickly. Even more surprising, is the fact that it is equally as good as its predecessor. Its success is largely due to them picking up where ‘Brother’s’ left off with the same producer (Danger Mouse) and a continuation of that retro-soul sound: the stomping Mowtown beats; the glam rock guitars; and the handclaps. Although this album is certainly a nod to the past but it is clearly placed in the modern, or postmodern even. ‘El Camino’ is an all out romp from beginning to end only broken with the acoustic number ‘Little Black Submarines’. This is probably the best true rock-and-roll album of the year. Any other band would have buckled under the pressure of following Bothers, not the Key’s, as far as indie-rock goes, The Black Keys are the best there is right now and they only seem to be getting better.

Essential Tracks: ‘Lonely Boy’, ‘Run Right Back’, ‘Stop Stop’

7. Radiohead: King of Limbs

I’m almost waiting for Radiohead to run out of creative steam and produce a substandard album. It surely must happen sometime. Is that time now? Most certainly not! Just take the opener ‘Bloom’: from those skittering angular beats and that distinctive wail from Yorke sandwhiched between Philip Glass inspired trills at the start to the slight change of pitch in the dying seconds. This is Radiohead doing exactly what they do best and boy do they do it well. There are no major surprises along the way as we are taken along a dense, highly textured offering but the result is sublime. Many will probably be disappointed given that their previous album, ‘In Rainbows’, saw Radiohead in the most accessible form they have been in for a while only to return to this. If anything, this is probably picking up where Kid A left off. The beginning of the end? Not even close!

Essential Tracks: ‘Bloom’, ‘Morning Mr. Magpie’, ‘Little By Little’, ‘Lotus Flower’

8. Seasick Steve: You Can’t Teach an Old Dog

It’s hard to believe that before he reached 60, Steve Wold was an unknown travelling hobo. This guy sings the blues but not in the traditional sense. If this were to be classified as anything it should be punk blues. His sound is raw, rough, and fast and, from the lyrics it is clear that this guy has lived demonstrating a firm and wide perspective on life. In saying that, this is probably Wold’s most polished to date but still retains that rugged and raw quality. ‘You Can’t Teach and Old Do New Tricks’ and ‘Don’t Know Why She Love Me But She Do’ are not just great tracks on this album, they are two of the greatest rock-blues songs ever written. With that roaring home-made slide guitar and Dan Magnusson’s possessed drumming they completely blow the roof of any building. However, this isn’t just a pounding all-out rock affair, or blues, for that matter as ‘Treasures’ and ‘Whiskey Ballad’ prove. This guy can do country and folk just as well. One can only hope that this guy keeps writing songs, and when he’s done, write some more.

Essential Tracks: ‘You Can’t Teach and Old Dog New Tricks’, ‘Don’t Know Why She Love Me But She Do’, ‘Treasures’

9. Destroyer: ‘Kaputt’

Dim the lights, pour yourself a nice martini, and settle down to the sounds of Bryan Ferry and Kenny G. If we were in the 1980s, nice work you may be thinking; from the perspective of 2012, maybe not such a good idea. The same can probably be said of Daniel Bejar’s album ‘Kaputt’. From the outset, this sounds like a soundtrack to those late night TV shows from the 1980s. Expect copious synths, soft drums and saxophone at any given opportunity. I should hate this but for some reason I actually quite like it. I like it a lot. ‘Kaputt’ is fantastically produced album with some rather catchy melodies and chilled world which he creates. I can understand why people may be bored and not give this the time of day but this album does just seem to work. It’s not fresh, it’s not original, but it is great!

Essential Tracks: ‘Suicide Demo For Kara Walker’, ‘Chinatown’, ‘Downtown’, ‘Song For America’

10. M83: Hurry Up We’re Dreaming

Double albums are rarely a success, even The Beatles couldn’t get that one right. So when Anthony Gonzalez stated that this album would be “very epic” there was certainly some worry of endless soundscapes in the making. Thankfully we were all proved wrong as Gonzalez et al. have embarked upon an album of lush and expansive tracks on ‘Hurrry Up We’re Dreaming’. There are many different styles evident from the great downtempo ‘Wait’ to the electro-dance track ‘Midnight City’. Along the way are amazingly tight harmonies, electronic elements, piano led tracks, and imaginary worlds of frogs spoken over bouncy synths. This album ends up sounding depressing yet uplifting at the same time; like it’s the soundtrack to the end of the world and the creation of a new one at the same time. An added bonus is that in a world of digital downloads, this album is best suited to CD given its two-sided format and great cover art. If you like classic 1980s Depeche Mode and New Order, you will like this.

Essential Tracks: ‘Midnight City’, ‘Raconte-Moi Une Histoire’, ‘Wait’, ‘New Map’

11. Florence and the Machine: Ceremonials

The sophomore album is difficult for any artist but for Florence and the Machines the pressure to perform was even greater. After being showered in accolades and releasing a critically acclaimed and musically diverse debut (‘Lungs’) it seemed almost an impossible feat to equal or surpass. In some ways, ‘Ceremonials’ is bigger and better than ‘Lungs’. The album is produced wonderfully, it’s bombastic and epic in outlook and dense in sound. The vocals as ever soar and it appears that everything is going to unravel at any moment. However, largely due to the capable hands of Florence Welch, things are held together perfectly. Like a storm, it thunders in, causes havoc and then leaves. Welch didn’t buckle under the pressure and try to produce something different. She stuck to what she knew and the result is fantastic.

12. Cliff Martinez: Drive

Once in a while a great movie comes along with an equally great soundtrack. The last time that occurred was 2006s ‘Once’. Five years later we have another monosyllabic title to share that honour, ‘Drive’. This soundtrack is amazing and clearly compliments the film. The album, written by Cliff Martinez, skilfully uses 80 retro synth pop to create an effortless drive along to steady percussion an epic synths. If nothing else it highlights how great an artist French DJ, Vincent Belorgay (aka Kavinsky) is on the opening track ‘Nightdrive’. If you are fan of classic Air, jean michel jarred, or the chilled tracks of Daft Punk then this is an album for you.

13. Adele: ‘21’

Just a few years ago Adele was being promoted as the new Amy Winehouse and her album compared to Duffy’s as to who had the most potential. Shoot forward a few years and Amy Winehouse has sadly departed us, Duffy’s second album sank without much trace. Adele, on the other hand, is probably the biggest international female artists around right now. Where Duffy failed on the notoriously difficult second album Adele excelled. I think everyone was in consensus that the her voice was something special but what nobody could have realised is just how good she was at crafting pop songs with such wide appeal. Adele has a phenomenal talent for writing catchy and emotionally heart-wrenching ballads which almost everyone can relate to. ‘Rolling in the Deep’, ‘Don’t You Remember’, ‘Set Fire to the Rain’, ‘Someone Like You’. Some of the biggest songs of 2011 are here.

14. The Strokes: Under the Covers Of Darkness.

After what looks to have a been a career defining debut, The strokes have clearly struggled to equal the brilliance of ‘Is This It?’ They clearly took their time with this one (among a series of fruitful solo projects) and have come back with something that, although doesn’t equal it, is their best since their debut. ‘Angles’ is a far more polished sound than we are used to which should work against them, but it’s part of what makes this album work so well. From the reggae inflected ‘Macchu Picchu’s to the all out stomper of ‘Under the Cover Of Darkness and Taken for a Fool, we are clearly back to classic Strokes territory. However, they also demonstrate they can include synths and do ballads. It’s not quite the complete package but it comes pretty damn close.

15. Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What

Any spetegenarian producing music right now is probably doing one of two things; either relying on their past success releasing repackaged albums of past glories; or releasing albums under the pretext of misery and regret reflecting on a life lived. Paul Simon is neither of these. In fact, this is the best album Simon has released in a decade. He has returned to exactly what he does best, write a great straightforward pop songs. He isn’t looking back on the past, these are optimistic, current stories of a man living in the present regardless of his age. Many of the songs are anchored in polyrhythms, chattering guitars and the odd digital loop. Great work Paul!

16. Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues

Using poetry from Yeats, obscure instrumentation such as fretless zither and the Marxophone as well as enough harmonies to make even Simon and Garfunkel cry for mercy may be seen as pretentious. Is their only aim to prove they are bigger and better than their competition such as Mumford and Sons and Midlake? Well, that is almost beside the point as there is no doubt that these guys are at the top of their game. They create acoustic baroque / chamber pop like nobody else around. The lush harmonies are all over this album like a layer of thick paint with the only voice audible being that of lead vocalist, Robin Pecknold. This is the most beautiful offering of 2011.

17. Bjork: Biophilia

As ever, Bjork marches to the beat of her own drum. Biophilia is a suite of interactive iPad and iPhone apps that explore humanity’s relationships with the sounds and the universe. She even commissioned the construction of specialist instruments to realise her vision. Each track is related to some theme, whether that be earthbound or extraterrestrial. It’s hypnotic, beautiful, and pushes music into, albeit predictably, new directions. Nobody else would even think of embarking on an album like this let alone attempt it. Even if this album wasn’t new in concept, taken as a standalone album it’s still up there with Bjork’s already impressive back catalogue.

18. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi: Rome

‘Rome’ sees Danger Mouse team up with Italian composer, Luppi, to realise his vision if paying tribute to the original Italian Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s. For this he employed many of the musicians who worked with Morricone on the original scores as well as guest appearances from Norah Jones and Jack White who share vocal duties. Although this took five years to make, it was certainly worth the wait as the vision was clearly realised. It’s almost a waste that this wasn’t used as a soundtrack for a movie as it conjured up images of shoot outs, desolate landscapes and romance.

19. Beirut: The Rip Tide

When Zach Condon releases something you always know that if nothing else it will be interesting. Whether that be collaborating with a Mexican folk music, French chanson, minimalist electronics, or Balkan it’s always well crafted music. ‘The Rip Tide’ doesn’t disappoint. Although it relies more on a pop-oriented sound that previous releases it is still a uniquely Beirut sounding affair. What we have here is a collection of eclectic orchestral indie pop.

20. Tinariwen: Tassili

This group of Tuaregs formed in the Ghadaffi rebel camps some time ago and blen elements of Middle Eastern with African styles. This album was recorded acoustically in Algeria then taken to the US where guitars and brass were added. The beauty of the album is that it reflects the setting of where it was recorded as well as their make-up. The sound is dusty and raw and meanders through the arid landscape. The western elements add to the sound without ever encroaching upon it. This music is beautiful and timeless.

2012-03-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Music News: March 21st

Daft Punk reject claims they are to release a new album this year, boo!
NME launch search to find the ultimate musical icon of the past 60 years.
Regina specktor and Feist announces two live shows for this summer.
Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp to collaborate on a cover of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain. Is it April 1^st?
Paul Weller releases new album, Sonik Kicks.
Noel Gallagher, Kate Bush and ABBA, Bowie, T-Rex, Elbow, Blondie, Dylan and Arcade Fire to release material for Record Store Day.
International Jazz Day set for 30 April.
New Swedish record label named Ingrid is set-up by Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn and John, Miike Snow, and Teddybears.
One Direction make history by toping the US Billbaord with debut album

2012-03-20T08:30:00.003-07:00

Music News: 20 March 2012

George Michael reschedules dates for Synphonica Tour.
Stock, Aitken, and Waterman reunite for 25th anniversary concert this summer including: Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Pepsi and Sherlie, Rick Astley, Steps, Sinitta, Sonia, and Brother Beyond.
This year's entry for Eurovison sung by veteran crooner Engelbert Hunperdinck was premiered yesterday titled Love Will Set You Free.
British artists accounted for 11.7% of all albums sold in the US in 2011, up from 9.8% the year previously.
Sade leads the way as Britain's biggest music export according to 2012 US money list at $16.4m compared to Adele's $13.1m.
Adele overtakes Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as 7th biggest selling album in the UK.
Daft Punk finally set to release new album sometime this June?
Neil Young and Crazy House set for new release in June, that one's a definite!
Beach House reveal album cover for new album Bloom

2012-03-20T08:02:00.001-07:00

Song for Eurovision: Love Will Set You Free

Veteran Crooner Engelbert Humperdinck's UK entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest was premiered on Monday. Is Love Will Set You Free the chance for the UK to regain the title last held by Katrina and the Waves in 1997? Or is this destined for the same fate as Jemini's infamous 'nul point' of 2003? Does anyone really care!? It's retro, it's cheesy, it appears perfect for Eurovision. However, it's anyone's guess. If Azerbaijan can win it, surely anyone can!

2012-03-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

New Music: Hot Chip: 'Flutes'

Two years after the wonderful 'One Life Stand', Hot Chip return with a taster from their new album 'In Our Heads', set to be released on 9 June. Goddard recently explained that the album was inspired by extended 12" mixes from the 1980s.

His intentions are certainly realised in Flutes which, in what was apparently built around a sample from a two-note flute melody; and James Holden's remix of Nathan Fake's The Sky Was Pink. Clocking in at over 7 minutes, Flutes builds from vocal samples into a graceful blend of synths, beats, and beautifully intoned melody. The sound is certainly better than the video which basically revolves around a camera in the middle of the studio being left to spin on a turntable, hardly pleasurable viewing. So, close your eyes and enjoy the sound of Flutes. If this taster is anything to go by, 'In Our Heads' is going to be fantastic!

Music Matters