Ovacord’s Top 25 Albums of 2011
Greetings all!
Your friendly neighborhood Loud Rock Director for KSSU here bringing you the list of my favorite albums of 2011.
See the full list here…
25. Charlotte Gainsbourg – Stage Whisper
Stage Whisper contains eight new tracks as well as eleven live cuts on a second disc. The new songs are once again produced by and feature Beck and continue the sound and spirit of her last album, IRM, which remains one of my favorite offerings from 2009. The live disc comes as a nice addition seeing as the new songs are well worth the price, but having said that, Gainsbourg is quite solid in a live setting and I would have probably picked up that disc on its own as well.
Recommended tracks: “Terrible Angels” & “All The Rain”
24. Between The Buried and Me – The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
Ever since 2007′s Colors, it has been impossible for BTBAM to do wrong and Hypersleep Dialogues is no exception. The band retains their tendency to drop in melodic non-metal parts when you least expect them to and reintroduces more prominent heaviness that some felt The Great Misdirect lacked.
Recommended tracks: “Augment Of Rebirth” & “Lunar Wilderness”
23. Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
From what little I know about the band, they seem like they cannot release an album that is not just as good as the previous one. One would think that after thirteen albums John Darnielle would be unable to deliver his trademark poetry accompanied by wonderful indie-folk rock.
Recommended tracks: “Damn These Vampires” & “Age of Kings”
22. Childish Gambino – Camp
If you are able to listen to Camp and not take it seriously, you can find a clever and humorous rap album. It is infused with references to indie bands, childhood cartoons and various other elements of pop culture. This is Donald Glover’s first album he is actually selling for money, and it’s worth every penny if you’re a fan of his previous musical offerings.
Recommended tracks: “Bonfire” & “That Power”
Full review here.
21. Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
This album is exactly what it sounds like it will be. Eddie Vedder picks up a ukulele, writes some short songs and plays some covers. Pearl Jam enthusiasts will probably dig this.
Recommended tracks: “Can’t Keep” & “Tonight You Belong To Me”
20. Cormorant – Dwellings
Cormorant will be one of the next big bands. This album has been featured on Metalsucks.net several times and was NPR’s number one metal album of the year, and all of this praise is absolutely justified. The Novato, California four-piece jump in and out of so many metal subgenres that it makes them rather difficult to describe. The best I can do is to say that they are a more adventurous Agalloch. Grab it on their bandcamp. Support the indies.
Recommended tracks: “The First Man” & “Unearthly Dreamings”
19. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
Do I need to say anything about this man or this album at all? It is absolutely insane and all over the place musically. Which means it’s a good Waits album.
Recommended tracks: “Talking At The Same Time” & “Chicago”
18. Graveyard – Hisingen Blues
Sweden’s Graveyard brings the 1970′s-inspired blues better than most bands I’ve heard. It’s like if the Black Keys had a heavier lean and was more influenced by Black Sabbath than by Junior Kimbrough.
Recommended tracks: “Uncomfortably Numb” & “Ungrateful Are The Dead”
17. Opeth – Heritage
Heritage is one of those albums that divides a fan base. Opeth left the death metal out of the studio and instead produced a really interesting progressive rock album. It retains the darkness Opeth is known for while introducing some folksy influence.
Recommended Tracks: “Slither” & “The Lines In My Hand”
Full review here.
16. Black Keys – El Camino
The era when The Black Keys was just two weird dudes playing straight-up blues is over. The fans that they lost on Attack & Release or Brothers will stay lost for El Camino. Those like myself who enjoyed the previous albums will dig most of the new one. “Run Right Back”, one of the singles, really turned me off — but the rest of the album continues to be what I loved about Brothers.
Recommended tracks: “Little Black Submarines” & everything that comes after “Run Right Back”
15. Obscura – Omnivium
Omnivium is German progressive death metal at its best. Steffen Kummerer and his ever-rotating band have really outdone themselves on this Emperor-inspired album that features some of the best musicianship I’ve heard this year.
Recommended tracks: “Septuagint” & “A Transcendental Serenade”
(Sidenote: They nearly stole the show when I saw them open for Children of Bodom and The Devin Townsend Project in February. See them live!)
14. uneXpect – Fables of the Sleepless Empire
More people need to know about this band. They play highly technical operatic/death/black/everything metal and they do it well. The album can jump from haunting to horrifying to beautiful and back in an instant. Fables is an incredibly enjoyable musical experience. I cannot think of another album this year that showcased piano, violin and bass virtuosity in such an amazing way.
Recommended tracks: “Orange Vigilantes” & “The Quantum Symphony”
13. Machine Head – Unto The Locust
Doc from God Forbid described this album perfectly by stating, “If The Blackening was Machine Head’s Master of Puppets, then Unto the Locust is most certainly their …And Justice For All.” This album picks up right where their last album left off and continues what made The Blackening one of my favorite albums ever.
Recommended tracks: “This Is The End” & “I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)”
12. Thomas Giles – Pulse
As much as I love the music of Between the Buried and Me, I really feel like something isn’t clicking the way it used to. However, vocalist/pianist Thomas Giles Rogers has managed to create something really great on his own. Following the same idea the band uses of channeling any genre, Giles made a great experimental rock album that pushes the sound he’s most known for with melodic electronic elements, piano, and soaring vocals.
Recommended tracks: “Hamilton Anxiety Scale” & “Reverb Island”
11. Falloch – Where Distant Spirits Remain
Not big on screaming vocals, but enjoy blast beats? Then Ireland’s Falloch is the band for you. Their debut album is a unique experience for a black metal album. The band takes the new trend of the atmospheric black metal genre and does things that no one else is doing.
Recommended tracks: “We Are Gathering Dust” & “Beyond Embers And The Earth”
10. Cynic – Carbon-Based Anatomy EP
There seems to be a trend in bands abandoning the harsh vocals these days (see: Opeth’s Heritage). Cynic was forced to hop on this bandwagon following the departure of their most recent screamer/guitarist Tymon Kruidenier — and after listening to the new EP, I think it’s safe to say Tymon will not be missed. Carbon-Based Anatomy pushes the melodic-yet-heavy elements of the last full-length, Traced In Air, to the forefront, and adds a touch of a Middle Eastern influence. This makes me excited for the future of Paul and Sean’s future releases under the “Cynic” banner.
Recommended tracks: “Carbon-Based Anatomy” & “Elves Beam Out”
9. The Dear Hunter – The Color Spectrum
This is 2.5 hours of progressive indie goodness. Every four songs make up an EP that is assigned a color and each of the colors has a different feel. For example, the Green EP is calm acoustic songs reminiscent of Wilco; the Black EP has the attitude of Thrice’s heavier releases; the Yellow EP is half galloping indie and half tropical music. There are nine colors total. It has everything that fans of the multitalented Casey Crescenzo (the band’s main man) could want.
Recommended EPs: The Black EP & The Violet EP
8. Mastodon – The Hunter
Crack The Skye remains one of the best pieces of music I’ve ever heard, so The Hunter had colossal expectations to meet. Having said that, the new release didn’t disappoint one bit. Mastodon kept the 70’s inspired prog goodness I loved from Skye while reviving the energy not heard since Blood Mountain, or even Leviathan.
Recommended tracks: “Blasteroid”, “Spectrelight”, & “The Sparrow”
7. Wilco – The Whole Love
I was late to join the Wilco fanclub, and after hearing Wilco (The Album) I assumed that the band’s best years were behind them. I can now say that this assumption is completely unfounded. The Whole Love is my favorite thing they have ever done. To be blunt, it isn’t boring like the last few albums. A lot of ground is covered here in a great way.
Recommended tracks: “The Art of Almost”, “Sunloathe” & “Born Alone”
6. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
Annie Clark is one of my favorite people in music. She has a fantastic voice, awesome guitar skills and songwriting abilities. She cannot seem to create something that isn’t great. Strange Mercy, much like her previous work, is equal parts chaotic, haunting, enchanting, and catchy.
Recommended tracks: “Cruel”, “Strange Mercy” & “Surgeon”
5. Devin Townsend Project – Ghost
The final chapter of the Devin Townsend Project tetralogy ends the story on a hauntingly beautiful note. Ghost gives me chills at some point every time I listen to it. Townsend really proves himself to be a new age acoustic genius in the same way he is a metal messiah.
Recommended tracks: “Kawaii”, “Feather” & “Seams”
4. Last Chance To Reason – Level 2
It really feels like progressive metal is no longer progressing as a genre. Is this irony? The tech/prog death/djent/blah blah blah sub-genre of metal has just become bands being technical for the sake of being technical. Last Chance To Reason’s second album is prog metal done right. They do things that I’ve never heard a band do before and are actually pushing metal forward with this video game-themed metal adventure album.
Recommended tracks: “Programmed For Battle” & “The Linear”
3. Mr. Gnome – Madness In Miniature
It really does amaze me that Mr. Gnome are not a much bigger band, but after being named Rolling Stone’s Band To Watch for December 2011, maybe they’re about to get their break. Madness is the band doing what they do best, which is a guitarist/singer and a drummer performing an experimental indie rock extravaganza. The band channels Black Sabbath, St. Vincent, The Black Keys and so many other great bands throughout Madness. I cannot say enough great things about the band and the album.
Recommended tracks: “House of Circles” & “We Sing Electric”
Full review here.
2. Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction
The first time I listened to this album, I knew that it was the heaviest and most diverse that Townsend had ever produced. Initially, while my mind was blown, it wasn’t THAT blown. However, I now know that this is an album that improves with every listen. Anyone who abandoned Townsend after SYL broke up should be back for this one. It is easily the best heavy metal album of the year as it offers everything one could imagine. Townsend gives you death metal, black metal, circus music, djent, operatic metal, ambient music, progressive metal, farts, EVERYTHING!
Recommended tracks: “Poltergeist”, “Sumeria”, “Juular”, “Planet of the Apes”… every song really.
Full review here.
1. Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning
I was fifteen minutes into this double-album when I realized that this was my favorite release of the year. Steven Wilson, of Porcupine Tree fame, experiments with some Miles Davis-like jazz coupled with his evil Pink Floyd-style progressive rock. Wilson really should be known as a true musical genius, and I hope that this is the album that makes people realize he is on the same level as Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Geddy Lee, Robert Fripp and so many others.
Recommended tracks: “Raider II”, “Deform To Form A Star”, “Sectarian” & “No Part of Me”
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_Daniel Cordova
Ovacord
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