2011 In Review

Now that 2011 is officially behind us, I can finally list my top albums and tracks of the year. Before I get to that, I feel it's necessary to preface my wrap-up by briefly talking about 2010.

Since I started Suburban Sound in November 2011 I immediately jumped into new music as it was being released in the latter part of the year. And while there were solid albums that came out in 2011 that inspired Suburban Sound, the idea wouldn't have manifested if 2010 hadn't been such a strong year in music. I won't sugarcoat it: 2010 is probably my all-time favorite year as far as new music goes. Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, and Kanye West all released their best albums to date (all three of which rank toward the top on my all-time favorite albums list). Vampire Weekend, MGMT,  and Crystal Castles all avoided sophomore slumps with fantastic albums in the first quarter of the year. The National continued their streak of great albums with their melancholic, baritone High Violet. The Black Keys (finally) had a breakout year with Brothers. Eminem released his best album since The Eminem Show. My Chemical Romance returned with the underrated Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Avenged Sevenfold released the surprisingly powerful Nightmare, their first album since drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan passed away in late 2009. LCD Soundsystem released their enjoyable (and final) album This Is Happening. The Gaslight Anthem gave us American Slang, their third LP that sounds like Springsteen going punk.

And then there were the debuts. Oh the debuts. Beach House, Janelle Monae, Broken Bells, Tame Impala, Two Door Cinema Club, Warpaint, The Drums, and The Naked and Famous all made solid LP debuts that gave me hope for the future of music.

I felt it was necessary to list all of that because I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by 2011's crop of music in comparison to the gift that was music in 2010. There were some good albums, but at the end of the day 2011 didn't bring the same level of quality that 2010 delivered. Here are the top 5 albums that really stood out this year.

5. Torches - Foster the People

   Fantastic debut album that doesn't produce a bad song. "Pumped Up Kicks" may have received the most airplay, but this album is chock full of catchy hits including the superior opening track "Helena Beat", "Call It What You Want", "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)", and "Houdini". 

4. Suck It and See - Arctic Monkeys

    After 2009's change of pace Humbug (which I really enjoyed) had some fans questioning the band's sound and doubting a return to form (which is stupid because Arctic Monkeys never lost their touch), Alex Turner and Co. told everyone to, well suck it and see. Britain's hottest band proved that they can still make fantastic music. Suck It and See took a few listens to warm up to it, but Alex Turner proves he can still write a great set of songs, including "She's Thunderstorms", "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", and title track "Suck It and See". Most of this albums tracks take a slower tempo approach, providing the yin to the yang that was 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare.

3. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - M83

    French musician Anthony Gonzalez's M83 finally achieved mainstream success on their infinitely enjoyable 2011 double album. The shoegaze act delivered a solid 80 minutes of electro pop bliss with breakout single "Midnight City", which was featured (but doesn't quite work) in a Victoria's Secret commercial. Other album highlights include "Wait", "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire", "New Map", and "Steve McQueen". Great album that is perfect for both club dancing and the late night afterglow. 

2. El Camino - The Black Keys

    Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney followed up 2010's breakout album Brothers by teaming up yet again with producer Danger Mouse for the equally thrilling El Camino. Nearly every track here is flawless. Gone are the slow burners that, while good, have chewed up time on previous albums. Instead, El Camino is a nonstop thrill ride of blues-rock  that never lets up in its 37 minute run.

1. Wasting Light - Foo Fighters

    The Foos returned in 2011 to give us their best album since 1997's The Colour and the Shape, not to mention the best album of the year. From start to finish, Dave Grohl and Co. (along with returning guitarist Pat Smear) deliver nothing but pure rock n' roll on each track and is the best rock album I've heard in a very long time. Every song is perfectly executed and the lyrics are as deep and catchy as they've ever been on a Foos album. As the Foos kicked off their North American tour in St. Paul, MN earlier this year, Grohl said it best to the crowd: "You know what's one of the greatest things about being in the Foo Fighters? We don't need any fucking computers behind us to do it. It's just guys on a stage. It's still possible to do that, ladies and gentlemen, and this is what it sounds like." These guys still have what it takes to make the best music to date and they've proved it with Wasting Light.

Honorable Mentions: SBTRKT's self-titled debut turned me on dance music. Red Hot Chili Peppers' I'm With You was better than most people give it credit for. The Strokes returned with Angles, which had some great songs, but not enough to make it a great album. Florence + the Machine, Fleet Foxes, and Lykke Li each avoided sophomore slumps with Ceremonials, Fleet Foxes, and Wounded Rhymes, respectively. And finally I'll give credit where credit is due to British powerhouses Radiohead and Coldplay, both of whom delivered good, but not great albums in The King of Limbs and Mylo Xyloto.

2011: The Playlist (in alphabetic order by artist)

1. "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
2. "Brick By Brick" - Arctic Monkeys
3. "Not Your Fault" - AWOLNATION
4. "Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism" - Big K.R.I.T.
5. "Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys
6. "Holocene" - Bon Iver
7. "Bonfire" - Childish Gambino
8. "Charlie Brown" - Coldplay
9. "You Are a Tourist" - Death Cab For Cutie
10. "Helplessness Blues" - Fleet Foxes
11. "What the Water Gave Me" - Florence + the Machine
12. "Miss the Misery" - Foo Fighters
13. "Helena Beat" - Foster the People
14. "Vomit" - Girls
15. "Up Up Up" - Givers
16. "Colours" - Grouplove
17. "Adolescents" - Incubus
18. "Limit to Your Love" - James Blake
19. "Niggas in Paris" - Jay-Z and Kanye West
20. "Whirring" - The Joy Formidable
21. "The Edge of Glory" - Lady Gaga
22. "I Follow Rivers" - Lykke Li
23. "Midnight City" - M83
24. "Blood Pressure" - Mutemath
25. "Little Talks" - Of Monsters and Men
26. "Lotus Flower" - Radiohead
27. "Brendan's Death Song" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
28. "Wildfire" - SBTRKT
29. "Cruel" - St. Vincent
30. "Under Cover of Darkness" - The Strokes
31. "Yonkers" - Tyler, The Creator
32. "Wicked Games" - The Weeknd
33. "Born Alone" - Wilco

Live Show of the Year

 

This is a tough one so I'm gonna cop out and say it's a tie between Arcade Fire at Coachella and Foo Fighters at the Forum. Coachella 2011 as a whole was the best concert experience of my life and it was highlighted by Arcade Fire's headlining performance on Saturday night. It was my first time seeing the greatest band to ever come out of Canada and they delivered masterfully, from cranking out last years tracks from The Suburbs, to playing older classics like "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "No Cars Go". However, the best part of the show was when a collection of glowing balloon balls fell from the stage into the crowd during "Wake Up". My sister even managed to snag one after the concert ended. It was a perfect concert moment that I'll never forget.

I can't praise Foo Fighters enough for their showmanship on stage. I was lucky enough to see them twice this year: the first time at KROQ's Weenie Roast as surprise guests and the second time in October at the Forum in L.A. Both sets, were fantastic but seeing them as a headliner at the Forum was truly epic. Every night on their tour they go out and perform for nearly three hours in arenas packed with thousands of screaming fans, whom they are extremely grateful to have garnered over the years. These guys know what it is to be a truly great rock band and it is evident in their never ending supply of energy. It's easy to forget how many truly amazing songs the Foos have until you see them performing live. Dave Grohl is one of the best musicians and entertainers alive today, Courtney Love be damned!

Rookie of the Year

I was about to call this one a tie as well, but I felt that one cop out doesn't deserve another. So instead of giving it to Foster the People, I'm giving SBTRKT the inaugural Rookie of the Year award at Suburban Sound*. The reason for this is simple. Before SBTRKT, there was never an electronic act or album I really enjoyed. 

Dubstep was a musical revelation that took the U.S. dance scene by storm in 2011. For the most part, I can't stand listening to it because it all sounds the same, despite the plethora of artists that put out new music in the genre: just wobbly basslines and distorted "womp womp womps". Skrillex, 12th Planet, Datsik, Noisia, Excision, etc. They all have the same awful rhythms that unleash a maelstrom of as much noise as possible and are highly overrated as "artists".

However, European dubstep is more than that. Yes the basslines can be a bit repetitive, but a lot of great European dubstep artists use actual lyrics in their songs, which keeps them from meandering on one bass line for too long. Artists like Katy B, James Blake, and SBTRKT use more minimal and/or melodic sounds accompanied by actual lyrics to enhance the quality of their music.

SBTRKT stood out from this bunch because of the different loops and samples he crafts in his tracks. They are minimal, but they each have a good balance of fast and slower jams. It doesn't hurt that he also enlists guest vocalist and frequent collaborator Sampha on 5 of the albums 11 tracks. Other guest vocalists include Little Dragon, Jessie Ware, and Roses Gabor, all of whom are used perfectly on each track they perform. In fact only 3 tracks feature no vocals and are spaced out evenly on the album, which makes them more enjoyable.  

SBTRKT opened up my mind to the positives of electronic music and has encouraged me to give the genre a legitimate shot. I'm now actually going out of my way to discover new electronic and dance acts.  The least I can do to thank him is to give him Suburban Sound's inaugural Rookie of the Year award.

* Though he's been releasing singles and EP's since 2009, SBTRKT still qualifies as a rookie in 2011 because he released his first LP in 2011.