the horrorsskying
the horrors are the kind of band that have a hugely dedicated fan base, so the anticipation of their newest release skying had, suffice to say, HUGE expectations. my large appreciation for skying almost went past unnoticed, but i'd have to say after finding myself coming back to it at least once every week, they've certainly tapped into something quite genius. the first listen can go by in a bit of a haze, but if you really sit down and listen, the amount of detail and technicality in every song is really something of a marvel. this subtley which i admit i initially mistook for blandness is actually an incredibly redeemable quality in the world of indie rock musicians that often just try too hard. the horrors have come a long way since their early releases of grundgey 'sheena is a parasite' and catchy-but-coarse 'death at a chapel'. while those releases did show promise, the level of refinement just wasn't there. it is easy to tell, in sound quality and song composition, that skying has lived up to its high expectations, and thank. god. perhaps now that'll keep the screaming fangirls at bay long enough for the band to get some well-deserved rest.
highlight: still life
miracle fortresswas i the wave?
i've been a long time fan of miracle fortress, so some might call my absolute adoration for his new album bias, but i think since i'm always very critical of the bands i love most, there's been quite the opposite effect. hence, miracle fortress' earning of a place in the 2011 top ten is more perhaps deserved than any others here. i was pretty skeptical of how the album would turn out, seeing as how consistent - and to some extent monotonous - his previous album, five roses, was. i didn't think there was much room for growth in his music, but how i was proven wrong. while maintaining his old, quite idiosyncratic style, singer and producer graham van pelt has transformed miracle fortress into a band i can listen to over and over without ever tiring of them. the twee instability of pelt's voice suits perfectly the delicate electronic melodies, making for an emotive and evocative anthology of songs that is was i the wave?
highlight: raw spectacle (duh)
sebastiAntotal
no one does electro quite like the french, and sebastiAn is no exception. undoubtedly inspired by the more renowned french artist daft punk, total captures everything that makes the dance music scene great and a little bit more. what impressed me most about this album, besides the fact i think 'embody' is one of the greatest electro songs ever produced, was its simultaneous consistency and versatility. consistent enough for each song to be established as one of its creators, however versatile enough throughout for the listener to abstain from ennui. there's a range of styles for every kind of electronic music listener, from my preferable more lyrical songs such as 'love in motion' and 'CTFO', to more dubstep reminiscent tunes like 'fried' and 'doggg'. total is a stand out from the often repetitive scene of dance music, pertaining a little more creativity and a lot more edge than most of the albums around it.
highlight: embody
the weekndthursday
abel tesfaye's tortured soul has been an interest of mine for some time, namely since the release of his first album house of balloons. both house of balloons and thursday were released in 2011 with equal worth of a top ten spot, but having already previously reviewed house of balloons, i figured it was fair to give thursday a turn. i first heard about thursday after the release of his song 'the birds part 1' which was a sort of teaser for the album, which indeed teased very well. i could not wait for the release of his second album, but with anticipation came expectations and tesfaye lived up to every one of them. thursday is the kind of album you can listen to repeatedly without ever tiring of it. i should know, the weeknd is the only musician who's ever made it to my top fifteen most played artists within a matter of months. tesfaye's genre pastiche and introspective lyrics transform the everyday boundaries of music, and in turn, have transformed the way i listen to it. it's a big call to say that one musician has changed my life, but it's true in more ways than i could've ever imagined. i can't even spell 'weekend' correctly now without having to pause in thought.
highlight: lonely star
m83hurry up, we're dreaming
not that i'm an expert or anything, but this is what i would deem a perfect album. from first to last, each song works as an individual creation and as a holistic series. the french electro (big surprise!) duo of m83 have been around for a while, but i've never paid much attention to them apart from a few individual songs. what makes this album different is that it's not the kind of album you just pick a couple good songs out of, it's entirely synthesised; the songs seem as if they'd been ordered by fate. that, or just an incredibly talented producer. generally classified as 'electro', i think the style of m83 suits pretty much anyone, so long as they enjoy happiness. i think an album that you don't have to skip any songs on (although i must admit i sometimes skip forward to my personal favourite, the quirky raconte-moi une histoire) is one that's had a lot of effort, if not pure talent, put into it, and judging by the band's widespread chart-toppings, it's certainly paid off.
highlights: midnight city, OK pal
duran duranall you need is now
duran duran? in the top 2011 albums? no, i haven't ventured into a time-warp and/or gone insane, duran duran did indeed release a new album this year. although bits and pieces were leaked a little earlier, the entire all you need is now album was officially released in march 2011, the 30th anniversary of the band's first release "planet earth" and quite fittingly matched up to this nostalgic sentiment. what i find great about all you need is now is how they band has managed to come back after two decades and produce a whole album that remains entirely in keeping with their old style (albeit with some new technologies). all you need is now marks all the quintessential characteristics of the 80s music era - the synths, high hats and dance-like hooks - but with a modern injection from producer mark ronson. with classic facets like their motif guest of ana matronic, and additional features from modern artists like kelis, duran duran acts between a bridge for then and now, going to show that both them and the 80s are far from over. it's quite a brave move for such an already iconic band to go ahead and release new music so many years after their reign, but thankfully the masterpiece that is all you need is now relieves duran duran from any embarrassment and has potentially strengthened their place in the music sphere furthermore. in an era full of generic and recyclable bands, it just goes to show that true talent doesn't age.
highlight: runaway runaway
lykke liwounded rhymes
there are only so many female vocalists i can listen to without finding they all sound the same and ultimately getting utterly irritated, but lykke li is definitely an exception to this notion. her first album youth novels was released in 2008, which while fun, catchy and easy to listen to, seemed kind of improvised as i suppose most first albums are. wounded rhymes however, as its name suggests, seems a much more personal and involved album; an admirable trait in the spectrum of otherwise impersonal and money-minded artists. this is lykke li's first big step forward towards becoming what i would deem a 'proper' musician; playing the role of self-expression, which i guess what the art of music is all about. a little less playful than her first album, yes, but with her dreamy, cooing vocals, wounded rhymes is still equally as easy to listen to. li's compositions are individually all quite excellent but even better as a series. the album flows somewhat perfectly, each song like a part of a perfectly ordered set of books, compiling one large storybook that is the emotional ride of wounded rhymes. and with album artwork as pretty as the lady herself, who could say no?
highlight: sadness is a blessing
cold cavecherish the light years
this album is a bit disputable in terms of earning a top 2011 spot (probably should've gone with more of a crowd pleaser like cut copy's zonoscope) being of a genre most people don't listen to, but i nonetheless believe it has earned its spot. i'm a little new to and thus by no means an expert on darkwave, but being a big 80s fan i found it pretty easy to settle in, and i think its safe to say i could not find a better band than cold cave in this genre. cold cave have had a bit of an up-and-down journey in terms of musical achievement. after their first quite successful release of love comes close in 2009 they hit a rough patch with their next album cremations which i find GOD AWFUL (and that's an understatement). since then, however, with the release of cherish the light years this year, they've permanently withered their way back into my heart and tortured goth mind. despite being quite dark, it's also the kind of album that has a sense of fun to it, with the catchy hooks of 'icons of summer' and the somehow uplifting 'the great pan is dead'. having very distinctive vocals, i thought i'd get tired of listening to them over and over but somehow they've managed to make each song entirely unique so it's impossible to skip a single one, making for a pretty darn successful album i'd say.
highlight: confetti
jay-z & kanye west (aka the throne)watch the throne
now's time for a little musical chemistry. take two internationally renowned rap artists, partner them up, add some samples and boom! you've got two times the awesome and one top album of the year. having guest artists is nothing new in the rap sphere, and certainly nothing unfamiliar to kanye west and jay-z who have been starring in one another's songs since the start of the '00s. however it's only now that they finally decided to pair up officially to produce the shared masterpiece, watch the throne. my coming across this album was some kind of fate. while searching youtube for my favourite soul singer, i came across a video titled 'kanye west, jay-z and otis redding' (later to be known as the song 'otis'). i instantly thought wow, this is going to be fantastic. and it was. in my state of shock i did a little googling, only to find that yes, kanye and jay-z were releasing a new joint album...in three hours. suffice to say the next 180 minutes went by pretty slowly 'til i finally got my hands on one trustworthy illegal downloading link and that was that. i've been in love ever since. kanye and jay-z seem to have revitalised tired generic and rap formats in watch the throne, meshing west's signature sampling and jay-z's badass rapping disposition (see H.A.M). it's not all badass bravado and game-talking however. what i find a positive attribute of the album is the alternate subject matters of 'no church in the wild' and my personal favourite 'why i love you', which both deal with issues bigger than kanye's ego. power corruption and battling class structures is something close to home for rappers growing up with 'holes in ya zapatos', so it's nice to see, regardless of how incredibly far they've come, that they're still paying homage their roots.
highlight: niggas in paris
white liesritual
it's actually a little odd that i've never done a white lies album review before, not only because they released a wonderful album this year but considering that they are in fact my all-time favourite band. it's only natural, being my favourite, that i'd deem any creation of theirs perfection but i honestly believe that ritual is one of the most stand out albums of the year. white lies have always been one for dark, evocative and to some extent 'epic' songs, so it's inevitable that ritual too encompasses this characteristically brooding style. what they've done to further it, however, is a much more involved and controlled refinement of their songs, resulting in the memorable riffs of 'holy ghost' and 'streetlights' that patter away in your head all day, making their way down to your feet til before you know it, you're foot tapping reproductions of their songs all the way home (or maybe that's just me). staying true to their post-punk roots, what ritual has achieved more so than its preceding albums is a balance: a perfect unison of instrument and vocals that internalise feelings of restlessness and dismay into the fabric of their songs, giving them more depth than ever before. i'm sure i can't be the only person who feels as though their heart's been ripped out by the end of this album, and any music that can evoke that kind of pathos in its audience is music i deem a great success.
highlight:bigger than us
