35. Imperial Teen – Feel the Sound (Merge). I missed out on this band during its infancy in the mid 90’s, but decided to give this new record a chance. Great indie power/pop in the mold of Ted Leo or Rilo Kiley. “Runaway”, “Last to Know”, and “Hanging About” are the highlights.
34. Diamond Rugs – S/T (Partisan). Diamond Rugs is a collaboration between John McCauley of Deer Tick, along with other members of Deer Tick, the Black Lips, Dead Confederate, and Los Lobos. The result is similar to the Middle Brothers release last year. The highlights include “Hightail”, which opens with a riff similar to “La Bamba” and then goes into a rollicking country rock number, along with “Gimme a Beer”, “Call Girl Blues”, and “I Took Note.” Since becoming a big Deer Tick fan a few years ago, this record along with the Tim EP was a nice placeholder until the next proper album.
33. Ceremony – Zoo (Matador). This album was much higher on my list back in the summer but started falling as I got into more new albums. Nonetheless it’s a solid old school punk record, at times even recalling early 00’s next wave punk bands like the Hives or Vines. It kind of tails off a little after the first half of the record though. “Hysteria”, “Citizen”, “Adult”, and “Repeating the Circle” were my favorites.
32. La Sera – See the Light (Hardly Art). This is the sophomore record from the side project of the Vivian Girls’ Katy Goodman. While it has some definite high points, I just didn’t find it quite as good as the debut, however the high points are really high. “Love That’s Gone”, “Please Be My Third Eye”, and “Break My Heart” are the high points.
31. Ben Kweller – Go Fly a Kite (The Noise Company). This is a bit of a comeback record for Kweller, after he did his “country” record in 2009, which kind of lost me a bit. This recalls his earlier releases more with a mix of finely-crafted pop/rock songs and some rockers. The highlights are “Mean to Me”, “Jealous Girl”, “Free”, and “Time Will Save the Day”.
30. Best Coast – The Only Place (Mexican Summer). I have listened to this album quite a bit because I still have a soft spot for Bethany Cosentino. I wanted to like it more than I did. Yeah I know the lyrics are kind of weak at times and the “verse, verse, chorus, repeat lines in verses” formula in virtually every song gets redundant. It was produced by pop/rock wizard, Jon Brion, who has collaborated with Rhett Miller, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, and Spoon, among others, in the past. So the setup was there for a huge sophomore record, and it just didn’t live up to expectations. Brion smoothed out the lo-fi rough edges and you were left with an album that just seemed to lack the punch of the first record. And that might have been ok if the lyrics had been better. Nevertheless, “The Only Place”, “Why I Cry”, “Better Girl”, and “Let’s Go Home” are catchy and sugary-sweet enough to have the harshest critics humming along.
29. Metz – S/T (Sub Pop). Overall, I haven’t been as down with the newer hardcore bands, but this record was pretty good. The songs on these albums tend to start running together for me, unless I’m listening to a mix of different records. Throughout the year I was checking out various singles and EPs from this band and then was flabbergasted when I heard they were putting out a debut LP that quickly on Sub Pop. Anyway, my favorites are “Headache”, “Wet Blanket”, “Wasted”, and “Negative Space.”
28. Rhett Miller – The Dreamer (Maximum Sunshine). You won’t find any more finely-crafted collection of twangy pop songs than this collection. While it lacks the high highs of previous solo records, from front to back this may the most consistent solo record from the Old 97’s frontman. It also sort of sticks to the same musical thread giving the album a feeling like Rhett and a cast of friends could have banged these songs out in his garage in one night. “Lost Without You”, “Long Long Long”, “Out of Love”, and “Picture This” are the highlights of the usual pop/rock ditties. “Swimmin’ in Sunshine” and “Marina” are the kind of songs you could listen to on repeat all day, the latter with just mainly Miller and his acoustic guitar working their magic.
27. Green Day – Uno! (Reprise). This legitimately seemed a like a back to basics, return to roots kind of record for Green Day, similar to Warning or even the Clash’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope. It would have been fine and my preference if they had stopped here, but then they went and released two more records afterwards, neither of which is as solid front to back as this one. When you are going the “back to basics” route, the key is to release 10 or 12 songs that kick people’s asses and leave them wanting more, not flooding the market with similar-sounding albums. Back in the 90’s and early 00’s when Billie Joe had a lot of extra songs, they’d wind up being released as complimentary “side projects” under the names Pinhead Gunpowder or Foxboro Hot Tubs, but I guess these days the pressure is there to release everything as “Green Day”. If you prefer the sound of the band pre-Punk Operas, this will be more to your liking. Check out “Nuclear Family”, “Stay the Night”, “Carpe Diem”, “Sweet 16”, and “Oh Love.”
26. Now, Now – Threads (Trans). This full-length debut album from the re-named Now, Now reminds me a little of Tegan & Sara but also fits nicely in with other similar female-led indie-pop bands like Stars or even Seapony. Some of these songs are just hauntingly beautiful. The highlights are “Prehistoric”, “Lucie, Too”, “Dead Oaks”, “School Friends”, and “Thread.”
25. Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky (Jagjaguwar). Even as much as I love the guitar-playing of J Mascis and the overall talent of Lou Barlow, the Dino Jr. reunion albums in retrospect were probably not quite as good as we thought at first. You could argue that sonically they were basically like the 90’s Dino Jr. output, but with the original lineup back in the fold to add more interest and more fawning “return to basics” coverage in the music world. That being, said, no Monday morning QB’ing here….I thought the first reunion album was great, the second was good, and even this third album, while kind of covering the same territory is still pretty darn good. The Lou songs are really good and J’s guitar playing, while similar to other recent songs, is still J. I have a feeling this could be one of those albums we’ll revisit in like 5 years and be like, “Wow, that was a lot better than I remembered it.” The highlights include, "Watch the Corners", "Pierce the Morning Rain", "Recognition", "See It On Your Side", "Almost Fare", and "Rude."
24. Seapony – Falling (Hardly Art). Hot on the heels of a 2011 debut album that I really loved, Seapony returned in 2012 with a sophomore effort that’s just a tad disappointing. It covers the same ground with songs that are a combo of redundant or just not quite as good as most of the songs on the debut. You could probably write that about 90% of follow up albums I’ve heard in recent years (see Best Coast and La Sera previously). The highlights include “Outside”, “Tell Me So”, “What You Wanted”, and “Never Be.”
23. Woods – Bend Beyond (Woodsist). Another year and another good album from Woods. While I think At Echo Lake and Sun and Shade were stronger, this was still a really strong release. The highlights include “Bend Beyond” which sounds like something from late 70’s Neil Young, “Cali in a Cup”, “Find Them Empty”, “Size Meets Sound”, and “Impossible Sky.” Like with most of these genre of records, the whole album sort of works together, so the highlights or lowlights aren’t as obvious.
22. Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth (Sunpower). I’ve heard this album compared to Johnny Cash’s recordings with Rick Rubin and it makes sense. A legend beginning a “rebirth” of sorts being produced by someone who idolizes him, in this case Rancid’s Tim Armstrong. Cliff is now 64 but you wouldn’t know it as his vocals are still as strong as they ever were. Shortly after getting this album, I went back and listened to some of his bigger hits from the 70’s and it’s amazing how similar the vocals sound. The album is a mix of originals and covers (“Ruby Soho” and “Guns of Brixton”) and some songs co-written with Armstrong. The highlights include the aforementioned covers, along with “World Upside Down”, “One More”, “Outsider”, and “Ship Is Sailing."
21. Japandroids – Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl). For awhile this year this record was hovering in my top 5. But then better albums came along. It’s basically more of the same – driving post-punk guitar rock from the Vancouver noise rock duo. Even though they are covering similar ground “The Nights of Wine and Roses”, “Evil’s Sway”, “Younger Us”, and “The House That Heaven Built” will still have you playing air guitar with the best of them.
Next:
20 to 11
Previous:
Part One
And the final top 10:
10 Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum). The Smith Westerns are a 3-piece that formed about 4 years ago in Chicago while still in high school. And for a band young enough to be my kids, they definitely have a retro 60's/early 70's sound to them, recalling T.Rex, the Beatles (or at least more suped-up versions of "My Guitar Gently Weeps"), Cream, along with a dance/rock sound that recalls newer bands like Franz Ferdinand as well. Dye It Blonde is their sophomore effort and there really isn't a bad song on this tight, brief 10-song record. It always feels like it ends too soon. Highlights include "Weekend" (video), "Still New", "Imagine, Pt. 3", "Dance Away", "Fallen In Love", and "Dye the World" (with one of my favorite guitar riffs of the year).
9. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador). Kurt Vile has simply been the best songwriter in Philadelphia over the last 3-4 years. I got him into last year and enjoyed the Square Shells EP and early single for "In My Time", which also appears on Smoke Rings. Vile grew up near Philly and has been on the scene for several years now, first in War on Drugs, and then solo. His sound is classic folk/pop in the mold of Dylan or Springsteen, but also with a hint of artists like Beck or classic Velvet Underground style garage rock. There really isn't a clunker on the album and the best include "Jesus Fever" (video filmed on streets of Philly last winter), "Baby's Arms" (video, filmed entirely on a phone), "Runner Ups" (awesome live clip), "Puppet to the Man", and "Peeping Tomboy" (live). Vile is a bit of an acquired taste, I suppose, but I have a feeling he is poised for more national acclaim as the years go by.
8. Veronica Falls – S/T (Slumberland). This quartet emerged from across the pond in London last year with a different take on the retro surf/garage sound that has been so big in the States the last few years. Roxanne Clifford's vocals along with James Hoare (both on vocals and guitars) are just different enough to help give the band a sound that is close to their peers but also unique and not derivative. They are similar to the Raveonettes or Vivian Girls, but more poppy. They are similar to Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls, but a little noisier. They are kind of in that sweet spot in between. Very few low points on here and lots of highs, namely, "Found Love in a Graveyard", "Stephen" (live at SXSW), "Bad Feeling" (video) with a pulsing 60's surf/rock beat, the title track, "The Box", and "Come on Over" (video).
7. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumberland). I took a liking to this NYC quintet a few years back, really digging their retro Brit pop (New Order/Cure/Smith) meets 90's fuzz (early Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine) sound. There seemed to be a lot of bands that popped up between say 2003-2008, especially in NYC, who were doing some version of this sort of thing (the Bravery, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, etc), some minus the fuzz part, but for whatever reason it seems that the Pains of Being Pure at Heart pulled it off most convincingly to me and with the most originality. Belong is a tight 10-song offering (notice so many of the albums on this list are only 10-12 tracks with no filler?) whose highlights are "Girl of 1000 Dreams", "My Terrible Friend", "Heart in Your Heartbreak" (live in studio), "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now", "The Body", and the album opening title track (live in studio). The more I listen to this album the more I enjoy it. The only drawback is from the clips I've seen online, a lot of these songs don't translate well live.
6. Yuck – S/T (Fat Possum). Here's another band young enough to be my offspring. Max Bloom and Daniel Blumberg have been together for years already in various projects in the U.K. They formed the quartet, Yuck, a few years back, melding the sonic assault of bands like My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, and Sonic Youth with the pop/rock sounds of bands like the Cure. It mixes well with an album of fast-paced rockers and some ballads. Luckily the music on here is good enough to overcome what is perhaps the worst album cover of all time. Anyway, the number of quality tracks are kind of astounding for a band this young. The standout rockers include the lead single "Get Away" (video), "The Wall" (Pitchfork video), the Dino Jr-esque "Holing Out", "Georgia" (live), and the album closer "Rubber" (live in studio). And "Shook Down" (video), "Stutter" (live in studio), and "Sunday" (live) are excellent ballads.
5. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Mirror Traffic (Matador). No matter the hype
surrounding the producer of this release, Beck, this actually does not sound
like a Beck production to me. Sonically, it doesn't really sound all that different from Malkmus’ previous releases in
the Jicks. When I heard Beck was producing, I expected something overly-experimental, but this is just pretty straight-forward Malkmus greatness. Even back in Pavement, Malkmus always had a knack for being able to capture a leisurely unrehearsed vibe on his studio recordings, with a feeling like he just walked into the studio, sat down and started playing, and singing whatever stream of consciousness word jumble was in his head. One of my biggest regrets of the year was passing on seeing Malkmus live because I didn't think he'd play much from his superb solo debut album. A)He did, B)He covered R.E.M's "Radio Free Europe" the week they announced their retirement, and C)He put on a great show. Anyhow, if you've read this far on the list, you probably like music, know music, and know all about Malkmus and his previous work in Pavement before going solo 10+ years ago. The best tracks were "Tigers", "Senator" (great video with Jack Black), "Brain Gallop" (live in studio), "Tune Grief" (live), "Stick Figures in Love" (live in studio), "Asking Price" (live in studio), and "Gorgeous Georgie." This is a nearly flawless album, with my only complaint being that at 15 songs it runs a tad long. Overall, this is Malkmus' best album since his 2001 solo debut.
4. Seapony – Go With Me (Hardly Art). Seapony are a 3-piece indie rock band hailing from Seattle. They have an infectious pop/rock sound that recalls the Jesus and Mary Chain, but with a recording style that results in a cleaner sound more along like the lines of the Dum Dum Girls or Best Coast. Like those bands the vocals are really what separate them from other similar artists, and Jen Weidl’s vocals are very good. They actually remind me a little of Monsters Are Waiting, who apparently were about 3 years too far ahead of their time. There are no clunkers in this tight 12-song release, with the only complaint being that the songs do tend to sound too similar on initial listenings. But in an era where hardly anyone really listens to "albums" any more, offering little incentive for artists to put a lot of time and effort into crafting good ones that flow together, bands like Seapony should be rewarded for putting together an album that flows well together. Some of the highlights include “Dreaming” (video), “Into the Sea”, “So Low”, “What You See”, "Where We Go", and “Go Away.”
3. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (Rough Trade). Honestly, I have
never been a big Decemberists fan, even though they've been one of indie rock's darlings over the last 5+ years. I liked some songs on their 2005 release, Picaresque,
but that was about it. I heard early good buzz on this record, so I checked it out. And before I even knew R.E.M’s Peter Buck plays guitar on some of it, I actually
thought it had an R.E.M. Out of Time-era vibe to it. You can really hear the Buck/R.E.M. influence on "Calamity Song" (video) and
"Down by The Water" (live), which also features Gillian Welch on backing vocals. The former has a riff that recalls R.E.M.'s “Talk About the Passion” or "So. Central Rain" and the
latter R.E.M's “Orange Crush" or "The One I Love" This record was just a pleasant surprise in every way, the old traditional folk/pop sound fits Colin Meloy's voice perfectly. I went into it with no expectations and immediately loved it and have not gotten tired of it at all. Besides the aforementioned songs, the best of the rest include "Don't Carry It All" (which sounds a lot like Tom Petty's 90's hit "You Don't Know How It Feels"), "January Hymn", "June Hymn", and "This Is Why We Fight" (video).
2. Male Bonding – Endless Now (Sub Pop). 2011 sort of became a retro bookend of
1991, as noted in my review of the Foo Fighters’ album, so I guess it’s only
fitting that an album with a retro-Grunge sound, released on Sub Pop, would be one
of my favorite albums of the year. This London trio burst onto the scene in the late 00's and this is their sophomore release. This is another band with similar influences as Yuck, but they seem to lean more towards 90's Grunge, at times sounding a little like Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins. If you are of a certain age, there's no way you can listen to this album cranked up without wanting to start moshing. John Arthur Webb's smooth vocal style fits these songs perfectly. And Frankie Rose provides guest backing vocals on "Bones" (live), which is a pretty good track, but there are so many better. And those include "Carrying" (live acoustic version), "Seems to Notice Now", "What's That Scene?", "Before It's Gone", "Mysteries Complete", and "Dig You Out" (live - check out the poster hanging near the drummer).
1. Cloud Nothings – S/T (Carpark). Hailing from Cleveland, OH, this lo-fi quartet is in the same ballpark as Best Coast, Wavves, and Male Bonding with the retro noise pop sound. This is their sophomore album and it's simple, short, and sweet - 11 songs in about 30 minutes. They are the brainchild of Dylan Baldi, who spent earlier years selling cassettes that he recorded at home, and also is, yes, young enough to be my offspring (notice a trend here?). So this is an actual fully produced album in the studio. It's a good listen all the way through and the best songs always seem to end too soon. The standout tracks are "Understand At All" (video), "Not Important", "Should Have" (live basement session), "Nothing's Wrong" (video), "Been Through", the more melodic "Forget You All the Time" (video), and "All the Time." They have a new album due out in early 2012 and will be playing Johnny Brenda's in March. I'd be hard-pressed to find an album I listened to more often in 2011 and this snags the lofty status as the Temple of the Blog #1 Album of the Year.
