It's an honor just to be mentioned
Hola, amigos and amigas. So much has happened since my last post, I'm tempted to just ignore the overview altogether. However, my hope is that when I am older and greyer, I'll be able to look back on this blog and say, "I forgot about when I took that vacation to Moldavia" as often as I will say, "I forgot how much I liked that one Belphegor album." Therefore, for historical purposes, a brief summary.
First, I got married while dressed as Beetlejuice, which was, by all accounts, a pretty cool time. Thanks to my dad, Sassy Frass and I honeymooned in Honolulu. Our romantic week was filled with intrigue due to all the international leaders in town for the APEC conference, and with serious heartburn due to all the smoked pork and pineapple I consumed. The day before Thanksgiving, I gashed my hand on a rusty exhaust pipe after my muffler and everything it was connected to fell off my aged Saturn. About a week later, I was admitted to the hospital for four days with cellulitis, the origin of which I will probably never know, although all the doctors agreed it couldn't have come from the rusty pipe. I spent most of December popping antibiotics, propping my leg up and adjusting to my sexy new compression stockings. Then, just before the New Year, the Saturn gave out for good, forcing me to upgrade to a new vehicle (a still-unnamed Toyota RAV4) for the first time since 2001. As for 2012, it's been comparatively uneventful so far, but at least it's going quickly.
Below you will find musings on what can be heard via that player to the right. These are songs from 2011 albums that I really liked, but didn't make my annual top 10, which is, of course, on its way. Consider these my official honorable mentions.
1. Misfits, "The Black Hole" (The Devil's Rain, Misfits) - By no means the best collection to bear the Misfits name, Jerry Only's horror punk project still does the venerable brand proud with this rickety rocket from his long-dormant crypts. Ex-Black Flag axeman Dez Cadena contributes a curious cock rock attitude via his solos, but his snarling monotone vocals are barely distinguishable from Jerry's adequate pipes. Yes, the dude still writes catchy-as-shit songs about movies I like, but his flat, personable singing really makes me miss Michale Graves. If I'm sounding harsh, keep in mind I like it enough to already know most of the lyrics by heart.
2. Hammers of Misfortune, "The Day the City Died" (17th Street, Metal Blade) - The fifth brainstorm from the revolving-door San Francisco troupe finds a little of the old theatrical flair returning after the strangely subdued Fields/Church of Broken Glass. A personal, insightful look at the ravages of urban renewal, particularly how it relates to guitarist/songwriter John Cobbett's experience, ties together the diverse Hammers threads of anthemic heavy metal, vintage progressive rock tones and classic pop hooks. This is one of my favorite songs of the year, Sigrid Sheie's piano and organ dancing around Joe Hutton's inescapable (and strangely Scalzi-like) vocal hooks. And, holy shit, that guitar solo!
3. Das Racist, "Selena" (Relax, Greedhead) - After two addictive, free downloadable full-lengths (the kids call them mixtapes), the indie rap duo plus hypeman finally release a traditional album. Heems and Kool A.D.'s dense, nutty rhymes continue to confound, dropping disparate cultural references, boasts and wry flashes of humanity with a stoopid/brilliant precision and offbeat humor that could easily be mistaken for slacker carelessness. Unless it is, and we're supposed to think it's not. You can never quite tell with these guys, which may be a sticking point for some. And once again, new musical directions appear (check the guest indie rockers on production), and even if it's not all successful, Relax proves Das Racist's mission is to expand paradigms while remaining as entertaining as possible.
4. Falconer, "Vid Rosornas Grav" (Armod, Metal Blade) - Having fared well in the past with the occasional song sung in their native Swedish, the now-veteran troubadours decided to release an entire album without English lyrics, ramping up the traditional folk elements in the process. Armod ("Poverty") also happens to be their most inspired set since stage-trained vocalist Mathias Blad rejoined the fold. Blad's ever-unique range duels gallantly with Stefan Weinerhall's rollicking guitar leads, and he is joined by his sister Helene for a few charming medieval madrigals. The emotional folk melodies lend themselves to a well-rounded set ranging from speedy riff fests to somber balladry.
5. Primus, "Last Salmon Man (Fisherman's Chronicles, Part IV)" (Green Naugahyde, ATO/Prawn Song) - As it's been 12 years since the mediocre, guest-choked Antipop, I was convinced that Primus would never actually deliver another full-length album, especially after Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde took the whole Sailing the Seas of Cheese album on tour. So, this little nugget crept out, and behold, it smokes their last couple of '90s albums under the table. Although they long ago traded the skater crowd for the jam scene, this is the funky, folksy, occasionally cranky, always creative outfit we used to love. If you've never heard Primus for some reason, this isn't a misleading place to start.
6. Anthrax, "The Devil You Know" (Worship Music, Megaforce) - For another blast from the past, in stomps the distant fourth of the fabled Big Four of thrash metal with a no-joke comeback. This is of course classic vocalist Joey Belladonna's big return to the band, and his wizened howl masterfully injects the anthemic flair with which Anthrax once made mosh pits around the planet sweat and bleed. Yet, the biggest surprise is how well Joey fits into the post-grunge grooves the band has been riding since his departure in the early '90s, and which have been hit-or-miss enough to cost them many fans over the decades. This time, thankfully, the songs click, and even a few that don't sound anything like '80s Anthrax come off like instant classics.
7. Plaid, "Upgrade" (Scintilli, Warp) - I don't know shit about electronic music and won't pretend to here, but I do know that British duo Plaid is strangely hypnotic to me, and I listened to their latest album a lot more than I thought I would after my old buddy The Wizard of Gore hooked me up with a copy. The rhythms are inescapable, but you can't really dance to them (this is IDM, I gather), and the overlapping mechanical textures have a bright, soothing quality I don't delve into very often. Combining this heady craftwork with intricate layers of melody and self-contained songs that don't all sound the same, Scintilli surprisingly sucked me in.
8. Macabre, "The Sweet Tender Meat Vendor" (Grim Scary Tales, Decomposed) - Finally, Chicago's veteran thrash/death/nursery rhyme metal band is back with another slab of slaughter, this time beginning a multi-album project focusing on mass murderers through time. Corporate Death's vocals are at their most diverse and least hysterical here, the mulleted madman bringing a true storyteller's touch to the tongue-in-cheek tomes. Like all Macabre releases, Grim is diverse, impeccably performed, informative (especially if you find serial killers interesting), and most of all, fun. Even the mid-album Venom cover fits the theme!
9. Heidecker & Wood, "Wedding Song" (Starting from Nowhere, Little) - Tim Heidecker's first move after the end (or hiatus?) of "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" was the release of this subtly perverse album, which he cooked up with the sketch series' prodigious musical director, Davin Wood. This is yacht rock cheese personified, perfectly rendered to the point that an uninformed listener might not perceive some tracks as anything but earnestly schmaltzy elevator music. Saccharine pop, sterile funk, assault by deadly saxophone and super-white folk harmonies eerily reminiscent of Fleet Foxes ensue. Stay away only if you're bothered by fuzzy-sweater "AM Gold" songwriting or intentional camp.
10. Mastodon, "All the Heavy Lifting" (The Hunter, Reprise) - If, like me, you subscribe to the theory that Mastodon have thus far followed Metallica's career trajectory, then you knew going in that The Hunter would be the Atlanta quartet's "black album," the ambitious, slick, accessible follow-up to the sprawling, legacy-cementing prog-metal monster that was album number four. For my money, this is a more organic, convincing and artistically successful mainstreaming, as the less jagged, dreamier guitar tone compliments the increased tuneful singing and bleary-eyed grunge flavors. Mastodon may have uncomplicated their playing and piled on the hooks this time, but the brute emotion and esoteric smarts are intact. As the square music world's token "real" metal band, we could have had so many worse representatives in 2011.
11. We Were Promised Jetpacks, "Boy In the Backseat" (In the Pit of the Stomach, FatCat) - After a powerful debut that, like early Bloc Party, crossbred driving post-punk and dreamy, dreary, Smiths-derived indie pop, the young Scots released a relatively timid EP that had me worried they might shed their nervous energy. The confident gutpunch of this record was a welcome shock, rocking surge after surge of defiant bluster while never skimping on brooding atmosphere. Adam Thomson's brogue adds a wounded charm, his voice a lonesome but proud instrument that can stand tall during the prettier tracks while holding firm when the maelstrom hits.
12. Woods of Desolation, "Somehow..." (Torn Beyond Reason, Northern Silence) - For more than a decade, I have loved Agalloch, who did not release any new music in 2011. This record almost filled the void. That's not to say the Australians of WoD are some sort of substandard clones, but they do synthesize melodic black metal and post-rock atmosphere with elegance and grandeur that follows in the tradition of the mighty Oregon cult. And, although often radiating a nigh-blissful vibe similar to what's felt on Wolves in the Throne Room's latest, their beautiful smears of ethereal keyboards set them apart from the starker so-called Cascadian black metal paradigm. Nerds definitely seem to like it.
13. TV on the Radio, "New Cannonball Blues" (Nine Types of Light, Interscope) - I have consistently enjoyed this much-hyped Brooklyn outfit for years, but I still find their music difficult to adequately describe. Yeah, it's a stew of art-rock restlessness, funk pizzazz and modern indie preciousness, and on their fourth LP it's intelligently streamlined into a romantic, immediate, immensely engaging pop record. The diversity of the electronic/rock instrumentation is mirrored in two lead vocalists, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, mercurial foils who can both do bold and sweet with personality. To me, TVotR's appeal remains less technical, since, although their compositions are layered and complex, the intense emotional thrust always wins out. (RIP bassist Gerard Smith, who passed away just after the album was released.)
14. Insomnium, "Only One Who Waits" (One for Sorrow, Century Media) - Despite being one of the styles that first lured me into extreme metal fandom, I haven't been a regular consumer of melodic death metal in a long time. That said, these Finns have never disappointed, and this time rediscovered the sweet spot between slicing guitar hooks and somber Northern gloom that made their early releases such standouts. Insomnium continue in the dour tradition of Åkerfeldt-era Katatonia, mid-period Sentenced and the long-dormant Rapture, yet keep it modern with pummeling heft and occasionally iffy, but overall effective clean vocal cameos. Opinions seem to be mixed on this one, but I think it's their best in years, and it's the only melo-death record that's really impressed me in recent memory.
15. Beastie Boys, "Long Burn the Fire" (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, Capitol/Brooklyn Dust) - Looks like MCA came out of his cancer battle OK, so the much-delayed Hot Sauce finally got dusted off, retitled and released to less fanfare than it deserved. Although they do sound older and wearier than ever, the aging Boys are now consciously evoking their funky, trippy early '90s sound, and they remain convincing because the rhymes are solid and they don't overreach for a change. There's no political hand-wringing or patience-testing experimentation anywhere, just groovy, mostly goofy jams with maximum reverb and minimal guest spots. The second half of the album goes by in a flash, maybe because many of the tracks are extremely short, or maybe because the first half is so stacked with memorable moments.
16. Junius, "All Shall Float" (Reports from the Threshold of Death, Prosthetic) - After I read the Hum and Failure references being thrown around, imagine my surprise when this album more closely resembled Katatonia's Night Is the New Day than, say, later Cave In. Of course, that is a record I worship, and here the young Boston act sands off its pummeling edges, replacing them with celestial layers of post-rock angel food and sweeter gothic keyboard frosting. Junius naturally has a gentler touch since they evolved into Reports' heavier sound from a more indie rock-informed perspective, as heard on their previous album (it reminds me of The Appleseed Cast). After hearing these guys, I was really pissed that I got to the show too late to catch their set opening for Enslaved a few months ago.
17. Screeching Weasel, "Come and See the Violence Inherent in the System" (First World Manifesto, Fat Wreck Chords) - Crotchety ol' Ben Weasel returns after eleven years, spitting venom at the aged pop-punk scene he so famously disdains while doing it better than just about anyone else today. Guitarist Jughead was out, but a strong crew including longtime collaborator Dan Vapid (also of the underrated Methadones) rejoined Ben on the storied path of snotty suburban anthems, at least until the frontman's display of rancor at SXSW made them all walk. The album's disarmingly sappy tracks clash greatly with all the fuck-yous being handed out, but the local legend's sugary hooks and infectiously bratty attitude add up to a Ramones-y blast of summer fun that almost overshadows what an enormous dick Ben Weasel continues to be in public.
18. Unexpect, "Silence This Parasite" (Fables of the Sleepless Empire, Ascendance) - While I do appreciate a good, concise, tasteful pop ditty, I am also drawn to chaotic, adventurous, outlandish musical statements. This marvelous Montreal troupe with stage names like Artagoth, Leïlindel and ChaotH (he plays a 9-string bass!) earns its mannered eccentricities and artistic indulgences, as well as the right to call their music "extreme." The sextet's batshit insane noodlings are a bit easier to follow on album number three, but the variety of influences (most of the faster-paced varieties of metal, opera, jazz, electronic, circus music, etc.) keeps you guessing. These people fortunately have the skills and confidence to back up their kaleidoscopic vision. Incomprehensibly conceived, unfathomably executed and a hell of a lot of fun to experience.
19. Mister Heavenly, "Mister Heavenly" (Out of Love, Sub Pop) - Any supergroup featuring Man Man singer/pianist Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus) would instantly get my attention. As Mister Heavenly, Honus, Islands singer/guitarist Nick Thorburn and Modest Mouse/Shins drummer Joe Plummer play what they have termed "doom wop," which amounts to a tuneful indie rock take on oldies pop styles. The addictive album is surprisingly consistent and cohesive for a side project, giving evidence that this is a true collaboration, rather than a repository for ideas rejected by their main acts. That said, I can definitely hear the raggedy swagger of Man Man and the freewheeling twee-freak pop of Islands in here, but the nostalgic melodies are unique and the Kattner/Thorburn vocal interplay works too well for Mister Heavenly to remain a one-off lark. More, please!
20. Primordial, "The Puritan's Hand" (Redemption at the Puritan's Hand, Metal Blade) - After 2007's astounding To the Nameless Dead, the Irish pagan metal icons finally achieved the international acclaim and fame they had so long deserved. The follow-up is, perhaps necessarily, not as instantly commanding as last time, a more contemplative album with fewer explosive moments that is more in line with their work from a decade ago, missing the black metal leanings. Still, no one else sounds as downheartedly majestic and potentially menacing as Primordial while lying in wait ("like a wounded animal," to borrow one of vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga's favorite similes), and Redemption ultimately reveals its bracing Celtic brilliance after a few journeys through its unhurried sprawl.
As of this writing, I have listened to 147 recordings that were released in 2011, which isn't too shabby. Naturally, I also have opinions on many 2011 recordings that didn't make either this list or the top ten...
-I listened to a lot more rap and hip-hop than I usually do in 2011, yet very few of those recordings made it to my lists, and I cannot really explain why.
-Two openly non-Christian metal bands that I enjoy, both veteran acts who remain critic and fan favorites while not being particularly commercial in the traditional sense, released free downloadable EPs in 2011. Enslaved's The Sleeping Gods and Immolation's Providence were nice gifts to their fans, but the really interesting thing is that both releases were presented by Scion. Yes, the car company. That is totally weird.
-Am I the only one who thinks M83 is getting less interesting with every album? Now that I've heard all of the back catalog, the much-hyped Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, while certainly pleasant and evocative enough, cannot compare.
-While I do agree with the crowd that Unseen is the most directionless album The Haunted have ever released, I do not feel the outrage that most do. As a longtime fan, after absorbing and admiring their abrupt shift to confessional alt/grunge metal on The Dead Eye, and then lamenting their unenthusiastic, underwhelming return to harder-edged thrashy stuff on Versus, I must accept that they need to follow their muses rather than try to make a "Haunted album." I do not love Unseen, it's too long and never picks up any steam, but its diversity keeps my attention and a lot of it is oddly catchy. If it were released by other musicians, I don't believe the widespread scorn would be as pervasive, which is not something I would say about, for example, the recent Morbid Angel material.
-I was really hoping the yet-again-reunited Jane's Addiction would make up for the coked-up cock rock mess that was 2003's Strays on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape Artist. It's definitely not as cringe-inducing, but its contrived new-agey stadium rock didn't restore my faith, either. These guys need to quit tarnishing their once unassailable legacy and hang it up for good.
-Other 2011 disappointments: Panda Bear's repetitive and uninviting Tomboy, Megadeth's flabby and recycled TH1RT3EN, Ladytron's emotionally inert Gravity the Seducer, Kool Keith's pathetically insubstantial The Doctor is In, and of course, Morbid Angel's comeback laugh riot Illud Divinum Insanus.
-Some other really good songs everyone should hear: "Stenka Na Stenku" by Arkona (ska-inflected Russian folk metal giddiness), "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes (beautifully harmonized CSN&Y worship for the iPad set), "Cullorblind" by Skinny Puppy (electro ear candy with a pitch-back industrial center), "Last Known Surroundings" by Explosions in the Sky (masterful, mind-melting post-rock textures), "Komeeta" by Oranssi Pazuzu (grimy black n' roll blasted into outer space),"Y U Mad (feat. P.H. and Kristmas)" by G-Side (sincere Southern rap with sumptuous, celestial soul), "February MMX" by Ulver (chilly art-rock jitters with proggy pop payoffs), "Georgia" by Yuck (catchy, hazy indie rock that makes me nostalgic for a musical age I missed the first time around), "The Shark Fighter!" by The Aquabats! (infectious, ridiculous superhero pop punk) and "Ljós í Stormi" by Sólstafir (a perfect marriage of post-punk dejection and metal defiance, in Icelandic).
AND... to fulfill final record keeping purposes, a complete list of every musical performer I saw live during 2011:
1. Young Prisms
2. The Radio Dept. (x2)
3. Radical G
4. Angelspit
5. Lords of Acid
6. Hate
7. Melechesh
8. Rotting Christ
9. Locrian
10. Worm Ouroboros
11. Agalloch
12. Call Me Lightning
13. Parts & Labor
14. Scarlet Mountain (x2)
15. Ô Paon
16. Earth
17. EMA
18. Battles
19. Curren$y
20. Das Racist
21. Animal Collective
22. Cold Cave
23. G-Side
24. No Age
25. Wild Nothing
26. Gang Gang Dance
27. OFF!
28. The Dismemberment Plan
29. Zola Jesus
30. DJ Shadow
31. Fleet Foxes
32. Kurt Vile and the Violators
33. Twin Sister
34. Shabazz Palaces
35. Superchunk
36. Kylesa
37. Toro Y Moi
38. Cut Copy
39. HEALTH
40. TV on the Radio
41. The Original Meters
42. MGMT
43. Phish
44. The Roots
45. Muse
46. Latyrx
47. Julieta Venegas
48. John Fogerty
49. Beirut
50. Arcade Fire
51. Dave Hiltebrand and Chris Siebold
52. Ov Plagues
53. Necronomicon
54. Kampfar
55. Vreid
56. Vintage Vinyl
57. (undetermined Mexican folk band)
58. Voyage
59. The Fabulous Thunderbirds
60. The Tossers
61. Kishwaukee River Band
62. Gene Ween
63. Loose Lips Sink Ships
64. The Action Blast
65. Brontosaurus
66. Luna Stella
67. Farraday
68. Brighter Arrows
69. AM Taxi
70. Pianos Become the Teeth
71. Milano
72. This Must Be the Band
73. The Wonder Years
74. mc chris
75. Cornmeal
76. Former Thieves
77. Tokyo Police Club
78. Future Rock
79. Alcest
80. Enslaved
81. Judas Beast
82. Katatonia
83. Opeth
84. Maunalua
85. Tommy Tuesday
First, I got married while dressed as Beetlejuice, which was, by all accounts, a pretty cool time. Thanks to my dad, Sassy Frass and I honeymooned in Honolulu. Our romantic week was filled with intrigue due to all the international leaders in town for the APEC conference, and with serious heartburn due to all the smoked pork and pineapple I consumed. The day before Thanksgiving, I gashed my hand on a rusty exhaust pipe after my muffler and everything it was connected to fell off my aged Saturn. About a week later, I was admitted to the hospital for four days with cellulitis, the origin of which I will probably never know, although all the doctors agreed it couldn't have come from the rusty pipe. I spent most of December popping antibiotics, propping my leg up and adjusting to my sexy new compression stockings. Then, just before the New Year, the Saturn gave out for good, forcing me to upgrade to a new vehicle (a still-unnamed Toyota RAV4) for the first time since 2001. As for 2012, it's been comparatively uneventful so far, but at least it's going quickly.
Below you will find musings on what can be heard via that player to the right. These are songs from 2011 albums that I really liked, but didn't make my annual top 10, which is, of course, on its way. Consider these my official honorable mentions.
1. Misfits, "The Black Hole" (The Devil's Rain, Misfits) - By no means the best collection to bear the Misfits name, Jerry Only's horror punk project still does the venerable brand proud with this rickety rocket from his long-dormant crypts. Ex-Black Flag axeman Dez Cadena contributes a curious cock rock attitude via his solos, but his snarling monotone vocals are barely distinguishable from Jerry's adequate pipes. Yes, the dude still writes catchy-as-shit songs about movies I like, but his flat, personable singing really makes me miss Michale Graves. If I'm sounding harsh, keep in mind I like it enough to already know most of the lyrics by heart.2. Hammers of Misfortune, "The Day the City Died" (17th Street, Metal Blade) - The fifth brainstorm from the revolving-door San Francisco troupe finds a little of the old theatrical flair returning after the strangely subdued Fields/Church of Broken Glass. A personal, insightful look at the ravages of urban renewal, particularly how it relates to guitarist/songwriter John Cobbett's experience, ties together the diverse Hammers threads of anthemic heavy metal, vintage progressive rock tones and classic pop hooks. This is one of my favorite songs of the year, Sigrid Sheie's piano and organ dancing around Joe Hutton's inescapable (and strangely Scalzi-like) vocal hooks. And, holy shit, that guitar solo!3. Das Racist, "Selena" (Relax, Greedhead) - After two addictive, free downloadable full-lengths (the kids call them mixtapes), the indie rap duo plus hypeman finally release a traditional album. Heems and Kool A.D.'s dense, nutty rhymes continue to confound, dropping disparate cultural references, boasts and wry flashes of humanity with a stoopid/brilliant precision and offbeat humor that could easily be mistaken for slacker carelessness. Unless it is, and we're supposed to think it's not. You can never quite tell with these guys, which may be a sticking point for some. And once again, new musical directions appear (check the guest indie rockers on production), and even if it's not all successful, Relax proves Das Racist's mission is to expand paradigms while remaining as entertaining as possible.4. Falconer, "Vid Rosornas Grav" (Armod, Metal Blade) - Having fared well in the past with the occasional song sung in their native Swedish, the now-veteran troubadours decided to release an entire album without English lyrics, ramping up the traditional folk elements in the process. Armod ("Poverty") also happens to be their most inspired set since stage-trained vocalist Mathias Blad rejoined the fold. Blad's ever-unique range duels gallantly with Stefan Weinerhall's rollicking guitar leads, and he is joined by his sister Helene for a few charming medieval madrigals. The emotional folk melodies lend themselves to a well-rounded set ranging from speedy riff fests to somber balladry.5. Primus, "Last Salmon Man (Fisherman's Chronicles, Part IV)" (Green Naugahyde, ATO/Prawn Song) - As it's been 12 years since the mediocre, guest-choked Antipop, I was convinced that Primus would never actually deliver another full-length album, especially after Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde took the whole Sailing the Seas of Cheese album on tour. So, this little nugget crept out, and behold, it smokes their last couple of '90s albums under the table. Although they long ago traded the skater crowd for the jam scene, this is the funky, folksy, occasionally cranky, always creative outfit we used to love. If you've never heard Primus for some reason, this isn't a misleading place to start.6. Anthrax, "The Devil You Know" (Worship Music, Megaforce) - For another blast from the past, in stomps the distant fourth of the fabled Big Four of thrash metal with a no-joke comeback. This is of course classic vocalist Joey Belladonna's big return to the band, and his wizened howl masterfully injects the anthemic flair with which Anthrax once made mosh pits around the planet sweat and bleed. Yet, the biggest surprise is how well Joey fits into the post-grunge grooves the band has been riding since his departure in the early '90s, and which have been hit-or-miss enough to cost them many fans over the decades. This time, thankfully, the songs click, and even a few that don't sound anything like '80s Anthrax come off like instant classics.7. Plaid, "Upgrade" (Scintilli, Warp) - I don't know shit about electronic music and won't pretend to here, but I do know that British duo Plaid is strangely hypnotic to me, and I listened to their latest album a lot more than I thought I would after my old buddy The Wizard of Gore hooked me up with a copy. The rhythms are inescapable, but you can't really dance to them (this is IDM, I gather), and the overlapping mechanical textures have a bright, soothing quality I don't delve into very often. Combining this heady craftwork with intricate layers of melody and self-contained songs that don't all sound the same, Scintilli surprisingly sucked me in.8. Macabre, "The Sweet Tender Meat Vendor" (Grim Scary Tales, Decomposed) - Finally, Chicago's veteran thrash/death/nursery rhyme metal band is back with another slab of slaughter, this time beginning a multi-album project focusing on mass murderers through time. Corporate Death's vocals are at their most diverse and least hysterical here, the mulleted madman bringing a true storyteller's touch to the tongue-in-cheek tomes. Like all Macabre releases, Grim is diverse, impeccably performed, informative (especially if you find serial killers interesting), and most of all, fun. Even the mid-album Venom cover fits the theme!9. Heidecker & Wood, "Wedding Song" (Starting from Nowhere, Little) - Tim Heidecker's first move after the end (or hiatus?) of "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" was the release of this subtly perverse album, which he cooked up with the sketch series' prodigious musical director, Davin Wood. This is yacht rock cheese personified, perfectly rendered to the point that an uninformed listener might not perceive some tracks as anything but earnestly schmaltzy elevator music. Saccharine pop, sterile funk, assault by deadly saxophone and super-white folk harmonies eerily reminiscent of Fleet Foxes ensue. Stay away only if you're bothered by fuzzy-sweater "AM Gold" songwriting or intentional camp.10. Mastodon, "All the Heavy Lifting" (The Hunter, Reprise) - If, like me, you subscribe to the theory that Mastodon have thus far followed Metallica's career trajectory, then you knew going in that The Hunter would be the Atlanta quartet's "black album," the ambitious, slick, accessible follow-up to the sprawling, legacy-cementing prog-metal monster that was album number four. For my money, this is a more organic, convincing and artistically successful mainstreaming, as the less jagged, dreamier guitar tone compliments the increased tuneful singing and bleary-eyed grunge flavors. Mastodon may have uncomplicated their playing and piled on the hooks this time, but the brute emotion and esoteric smarts are intact. As the square music world's token "real" metal band, we could have had so many worse representatives in 2011.11. We Were Promised Jetpacks, "Boy In the Backseat" (In the Pit of the Stomach, FatCat) - After a powerful debut that, like early Bloc Party, crossbred driving post-punk and dreamy, dreary, Smiths-derived indie pop, the young Scots released a relatively timid EP that had me worried they might shed their nervous energy. The confident gutpunch of this record was a welcome shock, rocking surge after surge of defiant bluster while never skimping on brooding atmosphere. Adam Thomson's brogue adds a wounded charm, his voice a lonesome but proud instrument that can stand tall during the prettier tracks while holding firm when the maelstrom hits.12. Woods of Desolation, "Somehow..." (Torn Beyond Reason, Northern Silence) - For more than a decade, I have loved Agalloch, who did not release any new music in 2011. This record almost filled the void. That's not to say the Australians of WoD are some sort of substandard clones, but they do synthesize melodic black metal and post-rock atmosphere with elegance and grandeur that follows in the tradition of the mighty Oregon cult. And, although often radiating a nigh-blissful vibe similar to what's felt on Wolves in the Throne Room's latest, their beautiful smears of ethereal keyboards set them apart from the starker so-called Cascadian black metal paradigm. Nerds definitely seem to like it.13. TV on the Radio, "New Cannonball Blues" (Nine Types of Light, Interscope) - I have consistently enjoyed this much-hyped Brooklyn outfit for years, but I still find their music difficult to adequately describe. Yeah, it's a stew of art-rock restlessness, funk pizzazz and modern indie preciousness, and on their fourth LP it's intelligently streamlined into a romantic, immediate, immensely engaging pop record. The diversity of the electronic/rock instrumentation is mirrored in two lead vocalists, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, mercurial foils who can both do bold and sweet with personality. To me, TVotR's appeal remains less technical, since, although their compositions are layered and complex, the intense emotional thrust always wins out. (RIP bassist Gerard Smith, who passed away just after the album was released.)14. Insomnium, "Only One Who Waits" (One for Sorrow, Century Media) - Despite being one of the styles that first lured me into extreme metal fandom, I haven't been a regular consumer of melodic death metal in a long time. That said, these Finns have never disappointed, and this time rediscovered the sweet spot between slicing guitar hooks and somber Northern gloom that made their early releases such standouts. Insomnium continue in the dour tradition of Åkerfeldt-era Katatonia, mid-period Sentenced and the long-dormant Rapture, yet keep it modern with pummeling heft and occasionally iffy, but overall effective clean vocal cameos. Opinions seem to be mixed on this one, but I think it's their best in years, and it's the only melo-death record that's really impressed me in recent memory.15. Beastie Boys, "Long Burn the Fire" (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, Capitol/Brooklyn Dust) - Looks like MCA came out of his cancer battle OK, so the much-delayed Hot Sauce finally got dusted off, retitled and released to less fanfare than it deserved. Although they do sound older and wearier than ever, the aging Boys are now consciously evoking their funky, trippy early '90s sound, and they remain convincing because the rhymes are solid and they don't overreach for a change. There's no political hand-wringing or patience-testing experimentation anywhere, just groovy, mostly goofy jams with maximum reverb and minimal guest spots. The second half of the album goes by in a flash, maybe because many of the tracks are extremely short, or maybe because the first half is so stacked with memorable moments.16. Junius, "All Shall Float" (Reports from the Threshold of Death, Prosthetic) - After I read the Hum and Failure references being thrown around, imagine my surprise when this album more closely resembled Katatonia's Night Is the New Day than, say, later Cave In. Of course, that is a record I worship, and here the young Boston act sands off its pummeling edges, replacing them with celestial layers of post-rock angel food and sweeter gothic keyboard frosting. Junius naturally has a gentler touch since they evolved into Reports' heavier sound from a more indie rock-informed perspective, as heard on their previous album (it reminds me of The Appleseed Cast). After hearing these guys, I was really pissed that I got to the show too late to catch their set opening for Enslaved a few months ago.17. Screeching Weasel, "Come and See the Violence Inherent in the System" (First World Manifesto, Fat Wreck Chords) - Crotchety ol' Ben Weasel returns after eleven years, spitting venom at the aged pop-punk scene he so famously disdains while doing it better than just about anyone else today. Guitarist Jughead was out, but a strong crew including longtime collaborator Dan Vapid (also of the underrated Methadones) rejoined Ben on the storied path of snotty suburban anthems, at least until the frontman's display of rancor at SXSW made them all walk. The album's disarmingly sappy tracks clash greatly with all the fuck-yous being handed out, but the local legend's sugary hooks and infectiously bratty attitude add up to a Ramones-y blast of summer fun that almost overshadows what an enormous dick Ben Weasel continues to be in public.18. Unexpect, "Silence This Parasite" (Fables of the Sleepless Empire, Ascendance) - While I do appreciate a good, concise, tasteful pop ditty, I am also drawn to chaotic, adventurous, outlandish musical statements. This marvelous Montreal troupe with stage names like Artagoth, Leïlindel and ChaotH (he plays a 9-string bass!) earns its mannered eccentricities and artistic indulgences, as well as the right to call their music "extreme." The sextet's batshit insane noodlings are a bit easier to follow on album number three, but the variety of influences (most of the faster-paced varieties of metal, opera, jazz, electronic, circus music, etc.) keeps you guessing. These people fortunately have the skills and confidence to back up their kaleidoscopic vision. Incomprehensibly conceived, unfathomably executed and a hell of a lot of fun to experience.19. Mister Heavenly, "Mister Heavenly" (Out of Love, Sub Pop) - Any supergroup featuring Man Man singer/pianist Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus) would instantly get my attention. As Mister Heavenly, Honus, Islands singer/guitarist Nick Thorburn and Modest Mouse/Shins drummer Joe Plummer play what they have termed "doom wop," which amounts to a tuneful indie rock take on oldies pop styles. The addictive album is surprisingly consistent and cohesive for a side project, giving evidence that this is a true collaboration, rather than a repository for ideas rejected by their main acts. That said, I can definitely hear the raggedy swagger of Man Man and the freewheeling twee-freak pop of Islands in here, but the nostalgic melodies are unique and the Kattner/Thorburn vocal interplay works too well for Mister Heavenly to remain a one-off lark. More, please!20. Primordial, "The Puritan's Hand" (Redemption at the Puritan's Hand, Metal Blade) - After 2007's astounding To the Nameless Dead, the Irish pagan metal icons finally achieved the international acclaim and fame they had so long deserved. The follow-up is, perhaps necessarily, not as instantly commanding as last time, a more contemplative album with fewer explosive moments that is more in line with their work from a decade ago, missing the black metal leanings. Still, no one else sounds as downheartedly majestic and potentially menacing as Primordial while lying in wait ("like a wounded animal," to borrow one of vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga's favorite similes), and Redemption ultimately reveals its bracing Celtic brilliance after a few journeys through its unhurried sprawl.As of this writing, I have listened to 147 recordings that were released in 2011, which isn't too shabby. Naturally, I also have opinions on many 2011 recordings that didn't make either this list or the top ten...
-I listened to a lot more rap and hip-hop than I usually do in 2011, yet very few of those recordings made it to my lists, and I cannot really explain why.
-Two openly non-Christian metal bands that I enjoy, both veteran acts who remain critic and fan favorites while not being particularly commercial in the traditional sense, released free downloadable EPs in 2011. Enslaved's The Sleeping Gods and Immolation's Providence were nice gifts to their fans, but the really interesting thing is that both releases were presented by Scion. Yes, the car company. That is totally weird.
-Am I the only one who thinks M83 is getting less interesting with every album? Now that I've heard all of the back catalog, the much-hyped Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, while certainly pleasant and evocative enough, cannot compare.
-While I do agree with the crowd that Unseen is the most directionless album The Haunted have ever released, I do not feel the outrage that most do. As a longtime fan, after absorbing and admiring their abrupt shift to confessional alt/grunge metal on The Dead Eye, and then lamenting their unenthusiastic, underwhelming return to harder-edged thrashy stuff on Versus, I must accept that they need to follow their muses rather than try to make a "Haunted album." I do not love Unseen, it's too long and never picks up any steam, but its diversity keeps my attention and a lot of it is oddly catchy. If it were released by other musicians, I don't believe the widespread scorn would be as pervasive, which is not something I would say about, for example, the recent Morbid Angel material.
-I was really hoping the yet-again-reunited Jane's Addiction would make up for the coked-up cock rock mess that was 2003's Strays on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape Artist. It's definitely not as cringe-inducing, but its contrived new-agey stadium rock didn't restore my faith, either. These guys need to quit tarnishing their once unassailable legacy and hang it up for good.
-Other 2011 disappointments: Panda Bear's repetitive and uninviting Tomboy, Megadeth's flabby and recycled TH1RT3EN, Ladytron's emotionally inert Gravity the Seducer, Kool Keith's pathetically insubstantial The Doctor is In, and of course, Morbid Angel's comeback laugh riot Illud Divinum Insanus.
-Some other really good songs everyone should hear: "Stenka Na Stenku" by Arkona (ska-inflected Russian folk metal giddiness), "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes (beautifully harmonized CSN&Y worship for the iPad set), "Cullorblind" by Skinny Puppy (electro ear candy with a pitch-back industrial center), "Last Known Surroundings" by Explosions in the Sky (masterful, mind-melting post-rock textures), "Komeeta" by Oranssi Pazuzu (grimy black n' roll blasted into outer space),"Y U Mad (feat. P.H. and Kristmas)" by G-Side (sincere Southern rap with sumptuous, celestial soul), "February MMX" by Ulver (chilly art-rock jitters with proggy pop payoffs), "Georgia" by Yuck (catchy, hazy indie rock that makes me nostalgic for a musical age I missed the first time around), "The Shark Fighter!" by The Aquabats! (infectious, ridiculous superhero pop punk) and "Ljós í Stormi" by Sólstafir (a perfect marriage of post-punk dejection and metal defiance, in Icelandic).
AND... to fulfill final record keeping purposes, a complete list of every musical performer I saw live during 2011:
1. Young Prisms
2. The Radio Dept. (x2)
3. Radical G
4. Angelspit
5. Lords of Acid
6. Hate
7. Melechesh
8. Rotting Christ
9. Locrian
10. Worm Ouroboros
11. Agalloch
12. Call Me Lightning
13. Parts & Labor
14. Scarlet Mountain (x2)
15. Ô Paon
16. Earth
17. EMA
18. Battles
19. Curren$y
20. Das Racist
21. Animal Collective
22. Cold Cave
23. G-Side
24. No Age
25. Wild Nothing
26. Gang Gang Dance
27. OFF!
28. The Dismemberment Plan
29. Zola Jesus
30. DJ Shadow
31. Fleet Foxes
32. Kurt Vile and the Violators
33. Twin Sister
34. Shabazz Palaces
35. Superchunk
36. Kylesa
37. Toro Y Moi
38. Cut Copy
39. HEALTH
40. TV on the Radio
41. The Original Meters
42. MGMT
43. Phish
44. The Roots
45. Muse
46. Latyrx
47. Julieta Venegas
48. John Fogerty
49. Beirut
50. Arcade Fire
51. Dave Hiltebrand and Chris Siebold
52. Ov Plagues
53. Necronomicon
54. Kampfar
55. Vreid
56. Vintage Vinyl
57. (undetermined Mexican folk band)
58. Voyage
59. The Fabulous Thunderbirds
60. The Tossers
61. Kishwaukee River Band
62. Gene Ween
63. Loose Lips Sink Ships
64. The Action Blast
65. Brontosaurus
66. Luna Stella
67. Farraday
68. Brighter Arrows
69. AM Taxi
70. Pianos Become the Teeth
71. Milano
72. This Must Be the Band
73. The Wonder Years
74. mc chris
75. Cornmeal
76. Former Thieves
77. Tokyo Police Club
78. Future Rock
79. Alcest
80. Enslaved
81. Judas Beast
82. Katatonia
83. Opeth
84. Maunalua
85. Tommy Tuesday
posted by SoulReaper at 12:22 PM
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