1. M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
This is not only my number 1 album of the year it is probably my favourite record of the past 5 years. The M83 electro shoegaze sound is where I live. Every single one of the warped, distorted ingredients on this (Double!) LP not only have their place but enhance the track. Cinematic opener “Intro” actually made me wonder where he could take the ensuing 21 tracks after such an enormous opening statement. Midnight City was of course the immediate answer, a song that caught the imagination of a mainstream audience Gonzalez, in 7 previous full length releases had largely failed to reach. The beauty was he had done it on his terms, with one of the most originally bizarre vocal samples anyone had ever heard, using it as the basis for the whole track. After throwing in a sax solo to bring the thing home he’d managed to arguably produce the single of the year. The highlights kept coming though, songs like Reunion, Wait, Claudia Lewis, OK Pal and Steve McQueen interspersed with more brief yet no less gorgeous pieces that would take pride at the forefront of accomplishments for most other acts. There are qualities to this LP that make it sound like a film soundtrack, with Outro my funeral scene (ego clearly un-checked) in which I’d touched the lives of all I’d come into contact with and left heartbroken at my tragically unexpected demise. The vividness of the worlds created by my imagination when hearing these songs is immense and as a child of the 80’s the electronic brushes used to paint these soundscapes feel comfortingly familiar yet delivered with a fresh twist. I actually still get chills listening to this record and it has been in almost constant rotation for the best part of 3 months, it’ll take something special in 2012 to usurp it.
2. Real Estate – Days
Days is actually my first exposure to Real Estate but it most certainly won’t be my last. There are words that constantly get used in describing these songs such as “effortless” and “breezy” which lays testament to the skillful craftsmanship that these guys obviously possess as creating pop this great is anything but. The meandering guitar arrangements throughout this album are not only beautiful and interesting but bring about feelings of warmth, safety and contentment. It’s music to both curl up on the couch with a book on a rainy day and run around a sunny park with the dog. The mantra that the simple things in life are often the best never rang truer.
3. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
The notion of making a record in your own bedroom, sending it out into the blogoshpere and receiving critical praise in return is a daydream many a budding musician has had. Youth Lagoon has done exactly that. The Year of Hibernation showcases 22 year old Trevor Powers exciting knack for melody and ability to create emotionally stirring build and release songs from considerably minimal tools. Lyrically Powers explores youthful themes in an unaffected yet mature depth that perhaps reflect the relatively remote surrounds of Boise, Idaho where he resides. Although his ghostly distorted vocals take a backseat sonically, I was pleasantly to surprised after watching some live footage to find Powers has a voice that deserves and hopefully will be given a more prominent role in whatever we hear next from him. Overall it’s the nostalgiac quality of this record presented with such unironic innoncence that makes it so enjoyable to me.
4. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
Annie Clark is another artist that has come new to me in 2011 and the thing that struck me about Strange Mercy within hearing the first couple of tracks is the brilliant balancing act being played between pop and experimental sounds The minute a song threatens to drift off in a mess of fuzz it breaks into a lush melody. On the other hand just as we are settling into something resembling the familiar a buzz-saw guitar riff will emerge out of nowhere. Cruel has to be one of the songs of the year especially combined with it’s eerily dark suburban video. The meticulously clean production coupled with the dark vibe that emanates from these tracks brings to mind the ordinary-on-the-surface world of ‘Dexter’ with Clark hinting at the horror underneath it all. There is never a dull moment here.
5. Yuck – Self titled.
Yuck have become the posterchildren of the recent 90’s revival not only because of how precisely late last century they sound but because they’ve managed to create an album that would sit comfortably alongside that era’s better work. Although they wear their influences like a badge of honour they somehow instead of simply regurgitating 1992, make a late-entrance to one of it’s parties like a pack of guests who got epically lost on the way there. The appeal of Yuck to me comes from the uncomplicated nature of the songs, in that they are presented to us as if they were the 2nd or 3rd take from a garage jam session. The lyrics are for the most part minimal and unspecific allowing the listener to easily fill the blanks with their own personal situations and seem almost made-up on the fly. It’s this informality that gets me, like any imperfection actually adds to the appeal of the track and that lack of self-consciousness brings about a natural unforced sound. If Real Estate make breezy pop, Yuck make breezy rock.
jimmyfandangle 