Favorite Albums of 2011 (and Some Stragglers from 2010)

Was 2011 a great year for music? No...I don't think so. If it's been a great year for music (for me, anyway), I have a hard time picking my top 10 albums. Sometimes I have a hard time picking my top 20. This year, I struggled to fill my top 10. It wasn't that there were that few albums that I liked. There were a lot of good albums. There just weren't a lot of great albums. I want my favorite albums of the year to exceed my expectations, not just meet them (even if I have relatively high expectations). So this year, it's just a top 7, + two 2010 albums that I didn't discover until 2011.

7) Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
 When Sam Beam released The Creek Drank the Cradle nearly 10 years ago, he was writing spare wisps of songs. The songs were quiet, but powerful. He could have released a few more albums like that and been remembered as someone who wrote pretty, sad songs--a modern Nick Drake (minus the tragic ending, one would hope). Iron & Wine's second album was actually pretty similar to the first, but then Beam started to evolve. If someone had told me a decade ago that he would release an album like Kiss Each Other Clean, I would have been incredulous. The songs are still powerful, and often still sad, but there's a richness to their sound and production that the early albums lacked. More instruments, more harmonizing, more everything. Sometimes more is less, but it works here. For the record, it did not work for me as well on 2007's The Shephard's Dog. That album seemed like more of an experiment of styles and came out as a bit of a mess. Kiss Each Other Clean is more cohesive. The opening single, "Walking Far From Home", quickly became one of my favorite Iron & Wine songs, but the whole album is highly listenable.

6) Alexander -  Alexander
 Alexander Ebert is better known for his work with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros and he is a damn hippie. I have a top-40-listening co-worker who calls everything I listen to "hippie music", and though she's wrong about 90% of the time, I have to concede that Alexander is indeed hippie music. Slightly weird (but not that weird), trippy, hippie music. For those not familiar with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros--and I highly recommend that you do familiarize yourself with them--the closest musician I could compare Ebert to is perhaps Cat Stevens, and probably Yusuf Islam (AKA, Cat Stevens). It's probably partly the beard, but their voices, their message, and their ability to write a good hook are not dissimilar. A fun album that I listened to way more than I expected to when I picked it up on a whim.

5) Say Hi - Um, Uh Oh
Say Hi is a boy named Eric, and he has also been making music for a decade. Eric Elbogen's music--whether under his original moniker, Say Hi To Your Mom, or the more recent Say Hi--has always been a bit spotty for me. Every album has at least a few songs that I really like, but 2006's Impeccable Blahs came the closest to being and album I really loved. On that album, every song was about vampires. Clever! But Um, Uh Oh achieves greatness without a clever gimmick. Every song--really every song--is a perfect little pop gem. Elbogen's formula hasn't changed much. Many of his songs are pretty much all chorus, but you know what? That's the part of the song everyone sings along to anyway. And that's exactly what I do when I listen to this album. I sing along to every song.
4) Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
I first wrote about Michael Benjamin Lerner's sophomore album back in March, and I kept right on listening to this album all year long. I don't know how many times I have to tell people: listen to this band.

3) St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
My first impression of Strange Mercy was a good one, but after the first listen I honestly didn't think this album would creep into my top 3 albums of the year. But it did. Though some of the songs seemed somewhat jarring at first, I got used to it. As I got used to it, it became clear that this is Annie Clark's strongest work yet.
2) Grouplove - Never Trust a Happy Song
Of the top three albums here, Grouplove is probably the least challenging band to listen to for the casual listener. I wrote about my infatuation with this album earlier this year, and that infatuation has since evolved into a full-on crush. Even if Grouplove disappeared tomorrow--and I hope they don't--I can already tell that this album will be joining a relatively small group to fall into my comfort music classification. The music is not particularly innovative...it's just fun as hell.

 1) tUnE-yArDs - Whokill
I, like most people, am usually doing something else while I'm listening to music. That's not to say that I'm a passive listener, but I'm a busy guy and I need to multitask. So when a song--or in this case, an entire album--makes me stop doing whatever else I'm doing, that's saying something. The first time I listened to Whokill, I was at work. It was a very unproductive 40 minutes. I'm fairly certain I just sat there with my headphones on, grinning from ear to ear, and probably failing to resist the urge to chair-dance in my cubicle. Merril Garbus manages to defy genre, convey her politics, and be incredibly entertaining, all on a single album--often in individual songs. Impressive. Listening to her music, watching her in her videos...I can't remember the last time I saw an artist throw self-consciousness out the window so completely and make it work. This was the girl in high school who danced like a spaz and didn't care what people thought of her. Yeah, she got teased, but the ones who got her really, really liked her.

and from 2010... 
--Allo Darlin' - Allo Darlin' 
Allo Darlin' is sort of the musical equivalent of watching the movie Juno. Now that will either be a selling point or a deal breaker, depending on who you are. For me, it's a selling point. These songs are clever, cute, and catchy, but never cloying. These are songs about love, watching movies, listening to music, and making chili. If I could write songs, these are the songs I would want to write. I think that's the highest compliment I can pay. I would want to write catchy songs that make me happy, and preferably I would like them to be sung by a woman with a pretty voice. Not a beautiful voice. That's an important distinction for some reason. I like a pretty voice, and Elizabeth Morris supplies that. I don't feel like I'm selling this album enough. It's awesome. Please listen to it.

--Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
I initially bought this album because, having lived in North Carolina for 6 years, I really liked the name of the band. Lucky me that the music turned out to be pretty incredible, too. I have heard a member of the band describe their music as "black minstrel".  Not sure what that means exactly, but I generally find that the harder it is to describe a band's sound, the more I like the music. There's certainly an old-timey flavor to these songs, but their mix of old songs from the earlier half of the century, covers of modern tunes (their version of "Hit 'Em Up Style" is amazing), and originals keeps it fresh.

O What a Dirty Thing

When I first saw Michael Benjamin Lerner in the bathroom at the Middle East a few years ago, I had no idea I was about to fall hard for his band. I wrote about that first show here, and his first album made my top 5 of 2009.

And now comes his follow up, 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

There are two types of songs that get stuck in my head. There is the Katy Perry-esque treacle that gets played so frequently that it might as well be a commercial jingle. These are the types of songs that I want desperately to never hear again--they are the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture. You know the song is going to come at you again eventually, so your brain seems to mentally prepare itself. This is not the good way to get a song stuck in your head.

Then there are songs like Lerner's. His songs will have a hook that creates a mental itch, and the only way to scratch that itch is to listen to the song again. And again. Soon you've got the album on the MP3-player equivalent of speed dial. Or, if you're an archaic old fart like me,  you carry the CD around with you everywhere.

And that's pretty much what I've been doing with 12 Desperate Straight Lines. I wasn't enthralled after the very first listen, but it pretty much had me by the second. It's definitely an easily digestible album. The longest song is a shade over 3.5 minutes, but most of the songs clock in at 2 and half minutes or less, including the amazing single, "Dirty Thing":

Telekinesis - Dirty Thing from Merge Records on Vimeo.

I challenge you to listen to this song twice and NOT get the "chorus" stuck in your head. I use quotation marks since I don't know if you can call it a chorus if it doesn't have words, but you'll know what I'm talking about when you listen to it.

And this is one of many great songs on the album. Merge has been on a pretty incredible streak as of late, and Telekinesis is probably one of their more underrated bands right now. Whenever a sophomore album equals--or in this case, maybe even surpasses--a strong debut, there's cause to celebrate. Or at the very least, cause to listen.

More Mini Music Reviews: April 2009

Still listening to a ton of new and newish music; still compelled to write about it. Here's what's been spinning lately...

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
This album has been pretty polarizing among Decemberists fans (of which I am one) and critics in general. Even I'm of two minds about it. Listening to the album from start to finish--which one should certainly do, since it's a concept album/rock opera/what have you--has been a roller coaster ride for me. Sometimes I think it's brilliant and innovative, sometimes it feels like the most pretentious tripe Colin Meloy has pulled from his literary ass. It's certainly beautiful. Tucker Martine's production has never been better. Some of the songs are among The Decemberists' best; "The Rake's Song" is both disturbing and witty, hearkening all the way back to "A Cautionary Song" in its style and quality. Dunno...I'll have to give more time. I know it won't be among my favorite Decemberists albums, but you have to admire their effort, no matter what you think of the actual music. For now, a B.

The Thermals - Now We Can See
Wow, I liked this album waaaay more than I thought I would. I never even heard The Blood, The Body, The Machine, The Thermals' second album, because I was only so-so on their debut, More Parts Per Million. I'm glad I took a chance on this one. The themes are pretty grim for the most part, as one might expect from tracks titled "When I Died", "We Were Sick", "When I Was Afraid", and so on. But the album's still full of jangly tunes that demand some head shakin' and leg slappin'. The title track is definitely a stand-out, but the whole album is highly listenable. Hutch Harris has a voice that you either really dislike, or you tolerate. I can't imagine many people really like it, but that's a small price to pay for songs this catchy. Besides, how many male indie vocalists are really any good? I'm giving this one a B+, though it might even lean towards an A-.

Dan Deacon - Bromst
This was my first foray into the Deacon-zone, and from what I understand, this album is one of his most user-friendly. I have never really immersed myself into electronic music--I listen to some, but not a lot. Deacon takes electronic music well past a thumping beat into something much more complex, and ultimately for me, rewarding. It's hard to believe all this music was made by one dude. There's a lot of texture here, and the album is very versatile in that I can either concentrate on it when I listen and find new things every time, or it could be pleasant background music. Still not something I could listen to tons, but a good intro to this interesting artist. B

Madeleine Peyroux - Bare Bones
Peyroux has a voice I could listen to even if she sang the phone book. Its bluesy warmth wraps around you like a glass of red wine on a cold night. I honestly don't know what most of these songs are about. I just like to listen to her sing. Known for her covers, these songs are originals, many written or co-written by Peyroux herself. This is the type of album you put on during cocktail party to impress your friends and make them think you're cultured. Except for maybe "You Can't Do Me," which is a fun song, but sounds kind of silly when you actually listen to it. B+

Telekinesis - Telekinesis!
I posted about this band recently when I saw them live a few weeks ago. I bought their album at the show and I'm glad I did. Two of the songs in particular, "Coast of Carolina" and "Tokyo" (see video below), are ridiculously infectious. I have to be careful when I listen to the CD because I'm garaunteed to get one of these two songs stuck in my head for hours. Michael Benjamin Lerner knows how write a hook. Really hooky hooks. The whole album is solid, and this band is well on its way to being one of my favorite newcomers of the year. A-

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles - The Stars Are Out
I enjoyed the first two albums by this group (one made my top 20 a few years ago), but I was a bit let down by this one. Borges and her band are definitely talented, but with the exception of a pretty cool Magnetic Fields cover (of "No One Will Ever Love You"), nothing really grabbed me by the lapels here. I don't know if the producer changed or what happened exactly, but when the best song on an album is a cover--even if it's a great cover--that's never a good sign. The band's previous albums tended to be more country than rock n' roll, but the opposite is true this time around, and that didn't do them any favors. A lot of bands tend to drop off a cliff at the third album, and though I wouldn't call this a cliff exactly, it's definitely a step down. C

Ida Maria - Fortress 'round My Heart
Holy crap. If you're reading this, go out and buy this album right now. I should probably give this album its own post, but I'm kinda lazy, and at least I'm saving the best for last. It's so rare for me to like an entire album upon the very first listen, but that's what happened here. The first track, "Oh My God", is bursting with energy and emotion, and Ida Maria Siversten manages to maintain that raw energy right to the last track, "In The End." The UK has apparently been all about Ida Maria for a while now, and I think it's only a matter of time before she starts hitting US charts. And I mean the real charts, not just indie and college radio. The album's first single, "I Like You So Much Better When Your Naked", is so ridiculously catchy that it'll make your head spin (see video here).

There's nothing hugely ground breaking here. The music is pretty simple. Well done, but simple. The lyrics are also relatively simple--lots of talk about booze, caffeine, cigarettes, and sex. You don't really expect any high falutin' literary shenanigans from a Norwegian anyway. I think the real draw for me is Siversten's voice. She lets it crack and stretch and howl in ways that you just don't hear that often from a female vocalist this day and age. My first thoughts upon hearing her sing were of Janis Joplin, and upon looking at some other reviews, I'm certainly not the first make the comparison. That rawness in her voice lends a sense of urgency and sincerity to all of the songs. And they're not all head bangers; "Stella", "Keep Me Warm", and the aforementioned closing track are all slower, but no less powerful.

Considering how much I've already been listening to it, I can already tell you that this'll end up somewhere in my top 10 for the year. A solid and enthusiastic A.

Concert Review: Telekinesis/Blind Pilot/The Broken West/Say Hi

So I actually went to a show last night--possibly my last one before the next bun comes out of the oven. It needed to be a good one, and when I saw that Blind Pilot and Say Hi were playing a double bill at the Middle East (with two Merge artists I'd never heard of), it was a go. It's rare, for me at least, to see four bands in one night and not have at least one of them suck. There was no suckage last night, so...yay! The breakdown of the sets:

Telekinesis
I nearly bumped into Michael Benjamin Lerner, the man behind Telekinesis, in the bathroom right before his band's set. An apparent Telekinesis fan started chatting him up while he was peeing, and for a guy who's clearly new at this indie rock pseudo-fame thing, he handled the situation well. Lerner is clearly a nerd, but he's a nerd who can rock your socks off, and I can dig that. Though he wrote and performed all the music on his forthcoming debut album, he (wisely) brought along a band for the tour. Lerner himself played drums and sang, which you just don't see all that much. The rest of the band was capable, if slightly bored looking. Lerner pretty much made up for that lack of energy all by himself however, and was the quintessential "I'm just so happy to be here" guy. The songs were punchy little numbers, and almost too short. Just as you were getting into them, they were over and the next song started. All in all, it was a fun set. I put a lot of faith in Merge, arguably one of the best indie labels out there, and I think they've got a potential winner here. Though sadly, the band has thus far failed to move a single object with the power of their collective minds.

Just a side note, I've never seen such a petite bass player. Seriously, her bass guitar was nearly as big as she was. She was also very cute, and I'm pretty sure my single friend didn't stop looking at her for the entire set. But for real, she could have fit inside her own bass case.

Blind Pilot
This was the band I was most looking forward to, and they met and surpassed my expectations. Blind Pilot is or was originally just two dudes, Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski , but the band that got on stage last night was much more than that. When six people get on a stage and start tuning their trumpet, standing bass, vibraphone, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, etc, then one tends to be wary. Too many wacky instruments can lead to a big ol' mess if not done correctly. But this band pulled it off with aplomb, and they enhanced the music from what was already an excellent album. I wish could find out the name of the woman who played the banjo, uke, and dulcimer (and on one song, the drums), because like The Dude's rug, she really tied the room together. The banjo, so often a scorned instrument, meshed remarkably well with the songs. This group had clearly been playing together for a while, and they seemed to be sincerely enjoying what they were doing. Even the banter was good.

They pretty much played most of the songs from their one and only album, as well as a few new ones (sorry I don't keep track of playlists like certain other bloggers, but I'm just too lazy). The new songs were great, and I sincerely hope it means another album is forthcoming. I also hope the album is recorded with this band. If so, I predict Blind Pilot is going to be on the radar of a lot more people in the next couple years.

Here's a video of the closest thing I could find to what I heard last night:


The Broken West
I probably have the least to say about this band. It's not that they were bad, but Blind Pilot was just a tough act to follow. Another Merge band, the music was pretty solid, but I was completely unfamiliar with the songs and I couldn't tell you what a single one of them was about. Stylistically, they reminded me of The Figgs, a band I really enjoy listening to when I hear them, but not a band I actively seek out very often. Good stuff--not great stuff--but good stuff. I kind of had the feeling they were having an off night though...I think they only played about 5 songs, then suddenly they were done with nary a "goodnight and thanks for coming." Kinda weird.

Say Hi
I just blogged about Say Hi's newest album the other day, and that post pretty much summarizes how I feel about the band. I didn't have super high expectations for their set, but I wanted to stick around for a band I'd been listening to off and on for years. Much like Telekinesis, the band that's actually touring with them right now, Say Hi is essentially a one man show, with Eric Elbogen recruiting whoever's handy for his tour band. Elbogen played his new album sequentially from start to finish, which was fine, I guess. I understand The Decemberists are doing that with their new album on the current tour, but that's a concept album, so it's a bit more understandable. As far as I can tell, Oohs & Aahs is not a concept album, so why play it like it is? At least they wrapped up with two of my favorite songs from my favorite album, "These Fangs" and "Sweet Sweet Heartkiller" from Impeccable Blahs.

Two things I found myself thinking about during their set. One, Eric Elbogen looks exactly like how I'd imagine Jay Sherman's son looking like, all grown up. Have no idea who Marty Sherman is? Here:

Yes, I am a pop culture geek. Two, and more importantly, I never really appreciated the odd structure of most of Say Hi's songs: they're all chorus. Whereas most songs are "Blah blah CHORUS blah blah blah CHORUS blah blah blah CHORUS" (wow, you can tell I never had any formal music training), Say Hi's songs are more like "Blah CHORUS CHORUS blah CHORUS CHORUS CHORUS CHORUS" full stop. In other words, it's like Elbogen stumbles upon two or three lines that sounds really good and just runs with it, generally unconcerned about whether or not they can or should be considered a real song. This is kind of a backhanded complement I suppose--I do genuinely like a lot of his songs. But they're simple. Some of them are REALLY simple. But any good ear worm has to be.