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defrogContinuing our coverage of Team Def's favorite music of 2011.
Part 1 is here.
Part 2 is here.
And Part 3 is right where you are sitting now.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#1-10)
1. Cold In Berlin, Give Me Walls (2076 Records)
2. Dave Cloud And The Gospel Of Power, Practice In The Milky Way (Fire Records)
3. Sons And Daughters, Mirror Mirror (Domino)
4. Tinariwen, Tassili (V2)
5. Tom Waits, Bad As Me (Anti-)
6. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, No Help Coming (Transdreamer Records)
7. Gang Of Four, Content (Yep Roc)
8. Dengue Fever, Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records)
9. Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi (Domino)
10. Ivy, All Hours (Nettwerk)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#1-10): EXTENDED PLAY
1. Cold In Berlin
Give Me Walls (2076 Records) Technically this came out at the end of 2010, but it’s been kicking my ass all year, and still hasn’t lost any of its punch or bile. Cold In Berlin’s take on art-dance-punk is as angry, furious and disaffected as music by young people ought to sound in this day and age. Absolutely essential listening.
2. Dave Cloud And The Gospel Of Power
Practice In The Milky Way (Fire Records) Possibly Nashville TN’s best kept secret, Dave Cloud is a local karaoke legend and self-styled shaman who occasionally records lo-fi garage rock with the Gospel Of Power. The result is a gloriously weird blend of Beefheart, Waits, Kid Congo Powers, Johnny Dowd and The Fall. Batshit-brilliant and the most fun and inspiring album I’ve heard all year.
3. Sons And Daughters
Mirror Mirror (Domino) Third LP from the S&D, who’ve moved on from their Scottish folk-punk origins and pop explorations in favor of something a little more experimental and mystical, but without sacrificing their dark subject matter. It shouldn't work, but it does. Beguiling!
4. Tinariwen
Tassili (V2) Fifth album from the Tuareg band with the most bad-ass resumé in rock. This time they go for a more stripped down sound, with the effect of songs being sung around a campfire in the Sahara Desert in the middle of the night. And they pull it off without losing the edginess that made their previous album sound so great.
5. Tom Waits
Bad As Me (Anti-) Waits returns to the studio for the first time in seven years, and produces an album that unites his three dominant personas (demented bluesman, brokedown bar balladeer, batshit carnival barker) for probably the first time in his career. Just the fact that Waits can still come up with decent songs after close to 40 years in the business is accomplishment enough, but several songs here hold up to his classic material, and even Waits’ “fillers” won’t be a waste of yr time.
6. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs
No Help Coming (Transdreamer Records) Possibly no one does ramshackle brokedown American Gothic white-trash blues better than Holly Golightly and her current outfit, the Brokeoffs. This is their fifth album, and overall it’s a stronger collection of songs than the previous LP. It also features a great cover of Bill Anderson’s “Lord Knows We’re Drinking”, which fits seamlessly into the mix.
7. Gang Of Four
Content (Yep Roc) New album from seminal 80s band, and their first in 16 years. Which is sometimes a warning sign in itself, especially when it’s a band that’s competing with its own back catalog. I wouldn’t say Content is as great as Go4’s classic albums, but on its own terms I liked it a lot – and certainly by modern standards Go4 have more to say than most bands.
8. Dengue Fever
Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records) One of two Cambodian Garage Rock Revival Bands With Authentic Cambodian Singer in this year’s list (see Part 1 for the other one). This is Dengue Fever’s fourth album, and their songwriting craft has noticeably improved from their previous album, and thankfully not at the expense of their somewhat wry humor.
9. Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi (Domino) Debut album from singer/songwriter Calvi who on paper might seem pretentious (influences: Nina Simone! Maria Callas! Debussey!), but on record is an epic sound that reminds me of Chris Isaak by way of Wong Kar-wei/David Lynch movie soundtracks. Lots of drama and reverb, then. Stunning.
10. Ivy
All Hours (Nettwerk) It’s amazing to think that Ivy are still around – as much as I loved them in the 90s, I never would have imagined they’d still be making records 16 years later, though All Hours is only their sixth LP (and its been six years since the previous one). Singer Dominique Durand impresses more with her voice (and by being French) than her lyrics, but it's exactly the kind of record to wind down with after being up all night drinking.
And there you have it.
The inevitable ‘Top 10 Films” list will be available in 24 hours.
We never close,
This is dF
Part 1 is here.
Part 2 is here.
And Part 3 is right where you are sitting now.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#1-10)
1. Cold In Berlin, Give Me Walls (2076 Records)
2. Dave Cloud And The Gospel Of Power, Practice In The Milky Way (Fire Records)
3. Sons And Daughters, Mirror Mirror (Domino)
4. Tinariwen, Tassili (V2)
5. Tom Waits, Bad As Me (Anti-)
6. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, No Help Coming (Transdreamer Records)
7. Gang Of Four, Content (Yep Roc)
8. Dengue Fever, Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records)
9. Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi (Domino)
10. Ivy, All Hours (Nettwerk)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2011 (#1-10): EXTENDED PLAY
1. Cold In Berlin
Give Me Walls (2076 Records) Technically this came out at the end of 2010, but it’s been kicking my ass all year, and still hasn’t lost any of its punch or bile. Cold In Berlin’s take on art-dance-punk is as angry, furious and disaffected as music by young people ought to sound in this day and age. Absolutely essential listening.
2. Dave Cloud And The Gospel Of Power
Practice In The Milky Way (Fire Records) Possibly Nashville TN’s best kept secret, Dave Cloud is a local karaoke legend and self-styled shaman who occasionally records lo-fi garage rock with the Gospel Of Power. The result is a gloriously weird blend of Beefheart, Waits, Kid Congo Powers, Johnny Dowd and The Fall. Batshit-brilliant and the most fun and inspiring album I’ve heard all year.
3. Sons And Daughters
Mirror Mirror (Domino) Third LP from the S&D, who’ve moved on from their Scottish folk-punk origins and pop explorations in favor of something a little more experimental and mystical, but without sacrificing their dark subject matter. It shouldn't work, but it does. Beguiling!
4. Tinariwen
Tassili (V2) Fifth album from the Tuareg band with the most bad-ass resumé in rock. This time they go for a more stripped down sound, with the effect of songs being sung around a campfire in the Sahara Desert in the middle of the night. And they pull it off without losing the edginess that made their previous album sound so great.
5. Tom Waits
Bad As Me (Anti-) Waits returns to the studio for the first time in seven years, and produces an album that unites his three dominant personas (demented bluesman, brokedown bar balladeer, batshit carnival barker) for probably the first time in his career. Just the fact that Waits can still come up with decent songs after close to 40 years in the business is accomplishment enough, but several songs here hold up to his classic material, and even Waits’ “fillers” won’t be a waste of yr time.
6. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs
No Help Coming (Transdreamer Records) Possibly no one does ramshackle brokedown American Gothic white-trash blues better than Holly Golightly and her current outfit, the Brokeoffs. This is their fifth album, and overall it’s a stronger collection of songs than the previous LP. It also features a great cover of Bill Anderson’s “Lord Knows We’re Drinking”, which fits seamlessly into the mix.
7. Gang Of Four
Content (Yep Roc) New album from seminal 80s band, and their first in 16 years. Which is sometimes a warning sign in itself, especially when it’s a band that’s competing with its own back catalog. I wouldn’t say Content is as great as Go4’s classic albums, but on its own terms I liked it a lot – and certainly by modern standards Go4 have more to say than most bands.
8. Dengue Fever
Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records) One of two Cambodian Garage Rock Revival Bands With Authentic Cambodian Singer in this year’s list (see Part 1 for the other one). This is Dengue Fever’s fourth album, and their songwriting craft has noticeably improved from their previous album, and thankfully not at the expense of their somewhat wry humor.
9. Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi (Domino) Debut album from singer/songwriter Calvi who on paper might seem pretentious (influences: Nina Simone! Maria Callas! Debussey!), but on record is an epic sound that reminds me of Chris Isaak by way of Wong Kar-wei/David Lynch movie soundtracks. Lots of drama and reverb, then. Stunning.
10. Ivy
All Hours (Nettwerk) It’s amazing to think that Ivy are still around – as much as I loved them in the 90s, I never would have imagined they’d still be making records 16 years later, though All Hours is only their sixth LP (and its been six years since the previous one). Singer Dominique Durand impresses more with her voice (and by being French) than her lyrics, but it's exactly the kind of record to wind down with after being up all night drinking.
And there you have it.
The inevitable ‘Top 10 Films” list will be available in 24 hours.
We never close,
This is dF
