Tyler the Creator – Goblin
Grouper – A|A
Beirut – The Rip Tide
Hooray for Earth – True Loves
Justice – Audio, Video, Disco
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972
Korallreven – An Album by Korallreven
Mastodon – The Hunter
The Strokes – Angles
Drake – Take Care
Moonface – Organ Music not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
Beyonce – 4
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
Peaking Lights – 936
Araabmuzik – Electronic Dream
The Antlers – Burst Apart
COOLRUNNINGS – Dracula is Only the Beginning
CANT – Dreams Come True
Das Racist – Relax
Little Dragon – Ritual Union
The Horrors – Skying
Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape
Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!
1. Puro Instinct – Headbangers in Ecstasy
Awesome blog Gorilla vs. Bear turned me onto this new-ish group with their “Best of 2011… So Far” list they published in June. I didn’t recognize this group and the album cover piqued my curiosity, so I decided to check it out. I was very pleased with what I heard, especially the song “Silky Eyes” which featured sweet guitar lines and a feeling of being in, for lack of a better word, ecstasy. Headbangers in Ecstasy. Fitting.
2. When Saints Go Machine – Konkylie
I found out about When Saints Go Machine through Under the Radar magazine’s free mp3 giveaway they give subscribers. They gave away the song “Kelly” by them and I instantly fell in love with it. I then listened to the album and also REALLY liked it. But alas, it was kicked out due to surplus of amazing music from this year. Definitely check out this album though, especially the song “Kelly” which I featured on the blog HERE. Or you could watch it below.
3. CSS – La Liberacion
CSS is a crazy group. They’re a crazy awesome group with a bunch of radical dames who like to play games. Plus one dude. But whatever. They make jammin’, party-ready electro pop songs that really feel like they could put girls into power. Well, what I mean by that is they could energize girls to FIGHT THE POWER!!! GRRRL POWER! WOO! AWW YEAH!
Uhhh… yeah. So if you like partying, electro and girl power. This is for you.
4. The Dodos – No Color
DODOS! Awesome! These dudes rock, no lie. Some awesome indie folk rock jams on this here record, which I think the majority of the population would enjoy. Not much to say about this one. You’ll enjoy it though, I know it.
5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Another band introduced to me through GvB, particularly through the song “How Can U Love Me” which is a lo-fi pop masterwork, I think. The whole thing is extremely original with the right amount of vintage influence. DO IT, SUCKAS!
Now I know it’s not the end of the year yet, but I just wanted to share some of the albums that once were on my TOP 50 list of 2011.
Just because I am posting them here doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I still really do like them a lot. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t post them anywhere on the blog. These are albums that eventually got pushed out by new releases but I still want to feature them in some way on this here blog. Sound groovy? Awesome.
1. The Decemberists – The King is Dead
Everyone loves The Decemberists! I know I do, a lot! This album was chilling in my Top list for a long while because whenever I listened to the album to see if I should boot it, Colin Meloy’s voice would win me over again. I wish I could include this in my list but an insanely large amount of good music came out this year and The King is Dead was edged out. I still recommend listening to this album, though.
2. Friendly Fires – Pala
If you want to talk about a party in a record, try talking about Pala by Friendly Fires. This record just feels like a totally insane, tropical, radical party with tinges of retro influences along with modern electronic influences. Crazy insanity, put this in your backyard and you’ll grow a party there. The novelty just wore off a bit. Still a rockin’ jam though. Also the cover rocks. Seriously.
3. The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
I didn’t really know what to expect going into this album. First thing you see are the album name and name of the artist that made this: “The Caretaker” and “An Empty Bliss Beyond This World”. You can never really assume band names these days, so again I had no idea what to expect from the band name or album. What I got was a strange fusion of old jazz and new minimalistic electronic things. Apparently The Caretaker took influence from the ballroom scene of the classic film The Shining and it shows. This whole album sounds like a cold, rainy day that’s spent inside a creepy mansion. The sound is very echoing and ambient; I think a better word to describe it is ghost-like. So if you want to chill out and relax, listen to this album and be whisked away to some abandoned mansion to be accompanied by the spirits of the past. Creepy right?
4. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
This is an album that I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flak for for not having it. TV on the Radio is one of the most beloved bands of the 21st century and in many people’s eyes they can do no wrong. But unfortunately for me, I just don’t agree on the “no wrongs” thing. Hey don’t get me wrong, this is a really good album, but I’m just not feeling it as much as some of the other albums that came out this year. Some of the songs are sweet like “Caffeinated Consciousness” and “Will Do” but the whole album didn’t really strike it all for me.
5. Tennis – Cape Dory
This is an album that got snubbed due to a massive influx of albums of the same genre. Also it came out in January, which doesn’t help it. Anyways, this album is really good. I really like the sound and how they put their own spin on the “retro” method. It really makes me think I’m on the Northeast Coast on the beach, chilling with a bunch of friends. It’s like Best Coast without the weed, cats or teenage feelings (even though Best Coast isn’t a teenage band). It’s just good, alright?
Warm Visions 