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defrogInevitably.
It seems like every year, my Top 20 list is dominated more by familiar faces than new discoveries, with the familiar faces often with at least 20+ years of experience under their belts. This year is no exception, though it's interesting to note that this year’s Top 10 features two debuts, one of them taking the top slot. And the #2 slot is by someone who’s been around for decades but I’d never heard of him until this year.
What does this mean? Probably just that I’m at that age where it’s harder for new acts to impress me, but it’s also good that there’s always new music to discover, even if “new” means bands that have flown under my radar (or out of range) for ages.
Anyway, if nothing else this year’s Top 20 is a relatively strong one. And as usual, I’ll break it down into three parts for yr convenience.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought between December 2010 and November 2011, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#11-20)
11. The Cambodian Space Project, 2011: A Space Odyssey (Metal Postcard)
12. The Bellrays, Black Lightning (Fargo)
13. Shonen Knife, Osaka Ramones (Damnably Records)
14. They Might Be Giants, Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder)
15. The Duke Spirit, Bruiser (Fiction)
16. Parts And Labor, Constant Future (Jagjaguwar)
17. The Kills, Blood Pressures (Domino/Red Meat Heart)
18. The Pancakes, Brain Remnant Travel Notes (腦殘遊記) (Rewind Records)
19. Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds, Gorilla Rose (In The Red)
20. Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur, Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of (Ampla)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2010 (#11-20): EXTENDED PLAY
11. The Cambodian Space Project
2011: A Space Odyssey (Metal Postcard) One of two Cambodian Garage Rock Revival Bands With Authentic Cambodian Singer in this year’s list (and the only one actually based in Cambodia). This is their first LP, and it’s mainly covers of Cambodian pop classics from the likes of Ros Sereysothea and Pan Ron. Putting a garage-rock edge on the songs doesn’t always work as well as it should, but overall it’s a fun record.
12. The Bellrays
Black Lightning (Fargo) As I’ve said before, I’m astonished that The Bellrays have been around 20 years but I’d never really heard of them until this album came out. In any case, it pushes all the garage-rock buttons and whips a snow leopard’s ass, and occasionally surprises when they mellow out a little.
13. Shonen Knife
Osaka Ramones (Damnably Records) Now 30 years into their career, Shonen Knife (or rather, Naoko Yamano, the only original Knife member left) pay homage to the Ramones with a covers album. SK play it fairly straight musically, which means it doesn’t sound too different from other SK albums, as the band has been riffing off the Ramones for decades. Still, there’s something charming about hearing cute Japanese women play “Beat On The Brat”. Also key is the song selection, which goes for a mix of obvious and not-so-obvious choices.
14. They Might Be Giants
Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder) Another band pushing the 30-year mark, and their new album is reliably quirky and catchy, if a little inconsistent. Still, there’s enough witticisms here to satisfy longtime fans, and it’s great that TMBG can still sound like they’re having fun after nearly three decades.
15. The Duke Spirit
Bruiser (Fiction) Third album from what may be the most underrated band in England, though admittedly Bruiser has a hard time living up to Duke Spirit’s brilliant (and very underrated) second album. Not as many songs pack a knockout punch, but on a more subtle level their mystic-indie-rock sound and Leila Moss’s voice are still beguiling.
16. Parts And Labor
Constant Future (Jagjaguwar) Fifth album from experimental/noise rock Brooklyn band that hail from the same musical subgenre as A Place To Bury Strangers – lots of drone and feedback and bleeps and burps, but with strong pop hooks pulling it all together. Not many songs stick, but it sounds great when I'm actually listening to it.
17. The Kills
Blood Pressures (Domino/Red Meat Heart) It’s nice to have The Kills on this list. I’ve always liked their twisted experimental blues sound, but somehow their previous albums either never quite measured up to other albums that year or took a longer time to etch themselves into my brain. For whatever reason, I kept coming back to this one often enough that I pretty much have to rank it here.
18. The Pancakes
Brain Remnant Travel Notes (腦殘遊記) (Rewind Records) Latest album from local artist The Pancakes, a.k.a. Dejay Choi, who has been making twee indie DIY pop for over ten years now. She’s the perfect antidote to the local Cantopop Money Machine, though her last couple of albums seemed less inspired, or at least tended to retread old ground. Her new album shows she’s getting musically adventurous again, which is great. However, anyone who couldn’t stand her childlike singing style before need not apply.
19. Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds
Gorilla Rose (In The Red) One of the odder albums of the year – a tribute album to NYC punk-scene legend Gorilla Rose. Musically it’s kind of punk-tinged post-rockabilly you’d expect from a former member of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds. And while I didn’t really learn much about Gorilla Rose, I still found myself listening to it repeatedly.
20. Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur
Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of (Ampla) An album that I didn’t think would make my Top 20 on first listen, but it’s really grown on me over the year. It’s a great idea on paper – Cornershop’s Tjinder Singh hands the microphone over to Bubbley Kaur, who sings entirely in Punjabi. In practice, the music tracks (mainly constructed by sampling) are so offbeat it’s sometimes as though Singh and Ben Ayres decided to put Kaur’s vocals to a completely different track from the one she was singing to. But it also works, once you get used to it – it’s sort of like a Punjabi hip-hop album.
Up next: the technical awards!
Ain’t it a groove,
This is dF
It seems like every year, my Top 20 list is dominated more by familiar faces than new discoveries, with the familiar faces often with at least 20+ years of experience under their belts. This year is no exception, though it's interesting to note that this year’s Top 10 features two debuts, one of them taking the top slot. And the #2 slot is by someone who’s been around for decades but I’d never heard of him until this year.
What does this mean? Probably just that I’m at that age where it’s harder for new acts to impress me, but it’s also good that there’s always new music to discover, even if “new” means bands that have flown under my radar (or out of range) for ages.
Anyway, if nothing else this year’s Top 20 is a relatively strong one. And as usual, I’ll break it down into three parts for yr convenience.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought between December 2010 and November 2011, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#11-20)
11. The Cambodian Space Project, 2011: A Space Odyssey (Metal Postcard)
12. The Bellrays, Black Lightning (Fargo)
13. Shonen Knife, Osaka Ramones (Damnably Records)
14. They Might Be Giants, Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder)
15. The Duke Spirit, Bruiser (Fiction)
16. Parts And Labor, Constant Future (Jagjaguwar)
17. The Kills, Blood Pressures (Domino/Red Meat Heart)
18. The Pancakes, Brain Remnant Travel Notes (腦殘遊記) (Rewind Records)
19. Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds, Gorilla Rose (In The Red)
20. Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur, Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of (Ampla)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2010 (#11-20): EXTENDED PLAY
11. The Cambodian Space Project
2011: A Space Odyssey (Metal Postcard) One of two Cambodian Garage Rock Revival Bands With Authentic Cambodian Singer in this year’s list (and the only one actually based in Cambodia). This is their first LP, and it’s mainly covers of Cambodian pop classics from the likes of Ros Sereysothea and Pan Ron. Putting a garage-rock edge on the songs doesn’t always work as well as it should, but overall it’s a fun record.
12. The Bellrays
Black Lightning (Fargo) As I’ve said before, I’m astonished that The Bellrays have been around 20 years but I’d never really heard of them until this album came out. In any case, it pushes all the garage-rock buttons and whips a snow leopard’s ass, and occasionally surprises when they mellow out a little.
13. Shonen Knife
Osaka Ramones (Damnably Records) Now 30 years into their career, Shonen Knife (or rather, Naoko Yamano, the only original Knife member left) pay homage to the Ramones with a covers album. SK play it fairly straight musically, which means it doesn’t sound too different from other SK albums, as the band has been riffing off the Ramones for decades. Still, there’s something charming about hearing cute Japanese women play “Beat On The Brat”. Also key is the song selection, which goes for a mix of obvious and not-so-obvious choices.
14. They Might Be Giants
Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder) Another band pushing the 30-year mark, and their new album is reliably quirky and catchy, if a little inconsistent. Still, there’s enough witticisms here to satisfy longtime fans, and it’s great that TMBG can still sound like they’re having fun after nearly three decades.
15. The Duke Spirit
Bruiser (Fiction) Third album from what may be the most underrated band in England, though admittedly Bruiser has a hard time living up to Duke Spirit’s brilliant (and very underrated) second album. Not as many songs pack a knockout punch, but on a more subtle level their mystic-indie-rock sound and Leila Moss’s voice are still beguiling.
16. Parts And Labor
Constant Future (Jagjaguwar) Fifth album from experimental/noise rock Brooklyn band that hail from the same musical subgenre as A Place To Bury Strangers – lots of drone and feedback and bleeps and burps, but with strong pop hooks pulling it all together. Not many songs stick, but it sounds great when I'm actually listening to it.
17. The Kills
Blood Pressures (Domino/Red Meat Heart) It’s nice to have The Kills on this list. I’ve always liked their twisted experimental blues sound, but somehow their previous albums either never quite measured up to other albums that year or took a longer time to etch themselves into my brain. For whatever reason, I kept coming back to this one often enough that I pretty much have to rank it here.
18. The Pancakes
Brain Remnant Travel Notes (腦殘遊記) (Rewind Records) Latest album from local artist The Pancakes, a.k.a. Dejay Choi, who has been making twee indie DIY pop for over ten years now. She’s the perfect antidote to the local Cantopop Money Machine, though her last couple of albums seemed less inspired, or at least tended to retread old ground. Her new album shows she’s getting musically adventurous again, which is great. However, anyone who couldn’t stand her childlike singing style before need not apply.
19. Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds
Gorilla Rose (In The Red) One of the odder albums of the year – a tribute album to NYC punk-scene legend Gorilla Rose. Musically it’s kind of punk-tinged post-rockabilly you’d expect from a former member of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds. And while I didn’t really learn much about Gorilla Rose, I still found myself listening to it repeatedly.
20. Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur
Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of (Ampla) An album that I didn’t think would make my Top 20 on first listen, but it’s really grown on me over the year. It’s a great idea on paper – Cornershop’s Tjinder Singh hands the microphone over to Bubbley Kaur, who sings entirely in Punjabi. In practice, the music tracks (mainly constructed by sampling) are so offbeat it’s sometimes as though Singh and Ben Ayres decided to put Kaur’s vocals to a completely different track from the one she was singing to. But it also works, once you get used to it – it’s sort of like a Punjabi hip-hop album.
Up next: the technical awards!
Ain’t it a groove,
This is dF
