One of the hardest years to pin down a top 20. It seems like every time I turned around, there was some new music to be heard: some by old standbys and a lot by new acts. A couple of labels seemed to stand out (Sacred Bones, Trouble In Mind). Looking at my list from last year, I noticed that not a lot has changed: a lot of power pop/punk throwbacks alongside the noisemakers and sadsack song-writers. The last couple of years, #1 choices jumped out; I don’t even know what my top choice is as I write this. I might just go with my gut and throw on whatever got the most spins.
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1. Cute Lepers – ADVENTURE TIME. Fits nicely between my plays of the Buzzcocks and the Rezillos. Cotton candy with some ground glass.
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2. The Men – LEAVE HOME. Some screaming borderline metal/noise, post-punk mishigas with a krautrock topping.
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3. The Ex – CATCH MY SHOE. First album with the new ranter. After overcoming my initial Sok-shock, Arnold de Boer fit right in. Still with the jagged guitars, jagged politics, elephant drums, some catchier-than-usual hooks and some blaring brass heralding doomsday.
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4. The Bon – STATIC ELECTRICITY. Leather Uppers off-shoot, all killer, no fluffernutter (I shouldn’t write this before I’ve had lunch), twin guitars, 60’s psych flute, cool Kinks cover.
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5. The Mekons – ANCIENT AND MODERN 1911-2011. The Last Of England, through caustic, sad eyes. “We’ll cut the grass after the bombardment..” Raise a glass to decay.
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6. Ivan Julian – THE NAKED FLAME. Former Voidoid first solo, really? Didn’t miss a beat, appearing like the last few decades never happened. passing time is noted with an ode to colleague Robert Quine, and a surprising, and effective, cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Broken Butterflies.”
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7. Mikal Cronin – MIKAL CRONIN. Lush on a budget. Sweet harmonies, melodies that would chart if this were 1967, some rough edges that keep the Brian Wilson/Beatles references from becoming cloying. “Again and Again” is the best pop
tune of 2011.
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8. Thee Oh Sees – CASTLEMANIA. Two albums this past year, both great. This one wins because of the nifty covers, including one by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. TOS play psych-garage like they are having fun and not concerned with re-writing the Nuggets recipe.
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9. Dexter Romweber Duo – IS THAT YOU IN THE BLUE? High drama and cigarette smoke garage-noir.
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10. Evangelista – ANIMAL TONGUE. Carla, Carla, Carla. Another gem, but this one takes awhile. Claustrophobic and bloody.
11. The Ettes – WICKED WILL 12. Total Control – HENGE BEAT 13. Live Ones – YER QUITE WELCOME 14. Ty Segall – MELTED 15. Bevis Frond – LEAVING OF LONDON 16. Mighty Fine – GET UP TO GET DOWN 17. Gillian Welch – THE HARROW AND THE HARVEST 18. Haunted House – BLUE GHOST 19. Howe Gelb – ALGERIAS 20. Amen Dunes – THROUGH DONKEY JAW
ALSO:
PJ Harvey – LET ENGLAND SHAKE Half Man Half Biscuit – 90 BISODOL Comet Gain – HOWL OF THE LONELY CROWD Insomniacs – JUST ENJOY IT Fucked Up – DAVID COMES TO LIFE Master Musicians Of Bukkake – TOTEM 3 Richard Buckner – OUR BLOOD Boston Spaceships – LET IT BEARD Eleventh Dream Day – RIOT NOW Sweet Clemintines – THOUGH IT WERE THE KISS OF DEATH Sex Church – GROWING OVER Kurt Vile – SMOKE RINGS FOR MY HALO Stephen Malkmus – MIRROR TRAFFIC Case Studies – THE WORLD IS JUST A SHAPE… Obits – MOODY, STANDARD AND POOR Metal Mountains – GOLDEN TREES Shana Falana – IN THE LIGHT Hayvanlar Alemi – GUARANA SUPERPOWER Kid Congo – GORILLA ROSE Sun Araw – ANCIENT ROMANS Tinariwen – TASSILI Twin Guns – SCENE OF THE CRIME
There’s more, but space is a place.
REISSUES, COMPS, ETC:
CQ – THE OUTSIDERS Bunch o’ Giant Sand Bloodloss – TRUTH IS MARCHING IN Neil Diamond – BANG YEARS Bunch o’ Jesus and Mary Chain Nick Lowe – LABOUR OF LUST Ty Segall – SINGLES 2007-10 Eddy Current Supression Ring – EDDY CURRENT SUPRESSION RING Southern Culture On The Skids – ZOMBIEFIED Archers Of Loaf – ICKY METTLE
SHOWS:
Yo La Tengo, The Mekons, Dave Alvin/Los Straitjackets, Barrance Whitfield/ Mighty Fines, Neko Case.
MOVIES:
Poetry. Moneyball. Meloncholia. Higher Ground, Attack The Block.
I’ll slap myself in the head for things I’ve forgotten, but the head Poopster just walked in and I wanna get this done. See ya.