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I take a week off to travel and suddenly there are thousands of leaked album to listen to 
So the so hyped 'album of the decade' has leaked? Mindblowing cover... not in a good way.
I found it to be pretty average. That wasn't worth the hype everyone knew, but it's not pushing boundary stuff nor a big step forward compared to her previous Fame Monster days. To me looks like in the subject 'Forward thinking electropop' Robyn and Annie stand alone.
That's what i've been trying to do! I don't know if it will prove to have some staying power, but so far it's heavy rotation over here, especially for a 2011 release.
Of course! I mean, it has no distortion at all.
Sad but true. They overlook it, but hopefully American critics won't jump the ship either. Europeans loved it and it deserves the raves.
Still listening to Panda Bear and Bill, they are slowly growing with each daily listening.
On first listen, Nine Types of Light was good but not great like their previous two. But TV on the Radio albums always take a few listens to sink in, so I'm sure it will grow on me. This one does seem more consistent but surprisingly lacks a standout track. "Second Song" is probably my favorite.
I like the new TV on the Radio as much as their other albums, which is to say some. "You" is my favorite - I've been walking around with that riff in my head for days.
In on the new Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Surprised it hasn't been brought up.
I still need to give a full listening to Crystal Stilts, Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Low! Hopefully they won't disappoint.
Albums That Matter:
1. Milkman - Algorithms
2. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
3. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (almost entirely on the strength of The Show Goes On and Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways))
4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
5. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
6. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
7. The White Panda - Pandamonium
8. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
10. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
Top 10 at the moment:
01. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
02. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
03. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
04. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
05. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
06. Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang
07. Josh T Pearson - The Last of the Country Gentlemen
08. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
09. Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine
10. Panda Bear - Tomboy
Haven't heard the new Fleet Foxes yet though.
I have not heard much albums yet but what I have heard from the UK and US have been quite disappointing, except for the Dodos (still way behind Visitor though) and Bill Callahan.
French music has been strangely exciting, the most acclaimed (it's sort of a bet given that French critics tend not to give grades) must be Cascadeur, and I have to say it is very good on the first times. I will see if it stands the test of time, given that some acclaimed it quite sounds like did not age well (Cocoon, Aaron...). Midlake appears in 2 songs and it has been compared with Erik Satie and Robert Wyatt.
Be warned, a friend of mine told me that the lyrics are lame enough to be annoying ; my english is not good enough to notice that for now, but yours might be.
Le Prince Miaou and Joseph d'Anvers have received lot of praise too, but the biggest buzz is directed toward La Femme, a band of teenage Parisians. Usually, that's almost an insult given the shitty rock scene (the Brats, Plasticine, Naast, BB Brunes...) which spread in the past years. But here they take their influence from bands like Taxi Girl, Joy Division or Stereolab. The female singer voice can be slightly annoying (like Yelle, who released a rather acclaimed album recently too, or Stereloab) but on this song, Telegraphe (from the name of a parisian subway station), they sound very promising.
Ok, Nine Types of Light has grown on me to the point where I'd consider it about even with Let England Shake for AOTY so far. The chorus of "Second Song" is just the bomb.
I do agree with reviewers that say TVotR decided to make a very good album instead of the great one they could have made, but even a decent effort for them blows away most other bands.
I can see myself listening to this album for a long time.
Yeah, like I mentioned before I also think Second Song is absolutely fantastic.
Gave the new Battles a spin, and it's a slight disappointment. Not bad, by any means, and I didn't expect them to get another song like "Atlas" but it's a bit too muddy compared to "Mirrored" which had a much clearer sound.
Has anyone heard Paul Simon's new album? It's getting excellent reviews.
I've heard it. It's really bland, very similar to Surprise. I love his voice though so I can listen to even the bland stuff, but I'm really surprised to see the good reviews because it's really not that good. There wasn't a song that hooked me but at the same time it's always nice to hear Paul Simon sing a few new songs. I doubt I'll listen to it again though.
Really? I think it's great, certainly the best thing he's done since 1990. I'm a pretty big fan, but I'm really enjoying this more than his last few albums. It's beautifully melancholy with some great lyrics. Dazzling Blue is gorgeous.
I like Simon's new album, especially the first couple of songs. But it's not up there with the best of the year so far, in my opinion.
Furthermore, I like Low's C'mon a lot. Reminds me to get into their back catalogue.
For the past few days I have been listening to the new Foo Fighters "Wasting Light" non-stop. This is a band that put out some good albums in the past, but nothing as dynamic and powerful as this album. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up in alot of year end lists. I wanted to get some feedback from anyone else that's checked it out so far and see if I am over-hyping this album, or if it's the real deal...
No,this forum doesn't do mainstream rock
No,this forum doesn't do mainstream rock
Douchenozzle, music is music... so if all the sudden indie goes top 40 does it make this forum irrelevant??? Just like 95% of top 40/pop, 95% of shit-hop and 95% of mainstream rock sucks ass, doesn't mean that when there is an exception to that it can't be discussed as relevant!!!
Douchenozzle, music is music... so if all the sudden indie goes top 40 does it make this forum irrelevant??? Just like 95% of top 40/pop, 95% of shit-hop and 95% of mainstream rock sucks ass, doesn't mean that when there is an exception to that it can't be discussed as relevant!!!
No doubt it will be too bland for all the hipsters on here,lumping it in with other lame post-Nirvana mainstream rock like Nickelback and Creed
Douchenozzle, music is music... so if all the sudden indie goes top 40 does it make this forum irrelevant??? Just like 95% of top 40/pop, 95% of shit-hop and 95% of mainstream rock sucks ass, doesn't mean that when there is an exception to that it can't be discussed as relevant!!!
No doubt it will be too bland for all the hipsters on here,lumping it in with other lame post-Nirvana mainstream rock like Nickelback and Creed
1) Mainstream rock does suck. That's pretty much unavoidable. Although I am a pretty big fan of the Foo Fighters, Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, QOTSA, and The White Stripes, five bands that seem to dominate the mainstream rock charts whenever they put out an album.
2) That being said, I do love indie as a whole much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much more than mainstream rock as a whole. The reason this forum doesn't like mainstream rock very much isn't because we're pretentious hipsters, the reason is that everyone here has good taste.
Way to dis the entire forum with your first post, especially without citing any facts to back up your viewpoint.
I don't think there's a single person here who can't distinguish between the quality of Nickelback and the Foo Fighters. And while I'm all for genre diversity, listening to even a few songs on virtually any mainstream rock radio station is nauseating. Looking at this chart, there's little hope for mainstream rock outside of the Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Strokes, etc.
I still have the Colour and the Shape in my all time top 50 ans it is clearly their best album in my opinion. I would put the self titled second and One by One third. Wasting Light is a good album, probably close to One by One quality and much better than In Your Honor and the very disappointing Echoes Silence Patience & Grace.
I'm not sure it is good enough for a EOY high placement though, it seems far from the Colour and the Shape or Songs for the Deaf.
The Foo Fighters have a few really good songs, but even their bad songs are leagues better than Nickelback.
Creed has a couple respectable songs too. Way better than Nickelback, way less good than Foo Fighters.
How many posts in this forum have you actually read? Mainstream rock is pretty popular. There just hasn't been much of it since about 1996.
In fact, I think a lot of the big indie acts now could have been mainstream in the 80's or early 90's. Not all of them, but certainly ones like The National, TV On The Radio, Arcade Fire.
Douchenozzle, music is music... so if all the sudden indie goes top 40 does it make this forum irrelevant??? Just like 95% of top 40/pop, 95% of shit-hop and 95% of mainstream rock sucks ass, doesn't mean that when there is an exception to that it can't be discussed as relevant!!!
No doubt it will be too bland for all the hipsters on here,lumping it in with other lame post-Nirvana mainstream rock like Nickelback and Creed
1) Mainstream rock does suck. That's pretty much unavoidable. Although I am a pretty big fan of the Foo Fighters, Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, QOTSA, and The White Stripes, five bands that seem to dominate the mainstream rock charts whenever they put out an album.
2) That being said, I do love indie as a whole much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much more than mainstream rock as a whole. The reason this forum doesn't like mainstream rock very much isn't because we're pretentious hipsters, the reason is that everyone here has good taste.
But there's also a ton of incredibly overrated indie musicians out there especially if their lead singer doesn't know how to sing. The whole sounding lofi vintage thing has run it's course. If the band is making money they should produce big sounding albums. So what if a nerdy indie critic labels it as (the DREADED)OVERPRODUCED. Better overproduced than generic and indie music can sound generic too. Just because a band doesn't go hog wild with auto tune or has the next flavor of the month British, young, female wannabe soul singer with a thick accent as their lead singer doesn't mean they can't sound as formulaic as the next hipster, Coachella aspiring, bland indie group. This year has had a lot of highlights especially in indie music but indie isn't always as fulfilling as the critics lead you to believe.
I agree there's some lo-fi that's just pop melodies with a grating quirky throaty voice and a lot of noise, and Pitchfork overrates it heavily, causing lots of other critics to follow suit.
But, that doesn't mean the whole appeal of lo-fi is just a 'Hipster fad' that's 'run its course'. Lower production brings out the emotion and the energy of a song and showcases the songwriting and technical talent of individual members of the group. Whereas high production when misused makes the song sound bloated, artificial and generic. Some producers go as far as to adjust the pitch of the instruments so everything sounds exactly the same, and it drains the personality out of the song.
The production level of a song should be based on what suits the sound of the band and the needs of the song.
I also dislike the term overproduced. "Poorly produced" would be better to use in almost all of these situations. Overproduced makes it sound like adding production effects inherently makes a song worse, as if songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" would be better if they were stripped down.
Lo-fi production is pretty hit or miss, but it's undeniable some artists do it well (ex. The Microphones). A lot of Pitchfork-endorsed stuff that I don't like also falls under this category, so I agree with BillAdama with that point.
Overproduced applies to a lot of rock music today. You can call it poorly produced I guess, but one of the main reasons it sucks is because the producer is the driving force behind the album instead of the band. It's why bands who jump to major labels put out bad albums quite frequently- the producer tries to get his signature on the music instead of just letting the music speak for itself.
That's not always a bad thing. It's how Phil Spector became famous because of his legendary Wall of Sound. Maybe it didn't work for every band but for the female groups it did work for, they became as popular as he did in their prime. In the indie world we have Steve Albini, Butch Vig, Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno who all have a distinctive sound and they've released some of the most acclaimed albums of the last 30+ years
Exactly. High production works for some bands and not for others. U2 or Kanye West wouldn't be the same groups if it weren't for their perfectionist approaches to effects and mixing.
Of course, in those cases, the artist is in charge of the producing. Also, the artist writes their own songs and has control over the music. I guess those are necessities for production to be a good thing. In pop songs where every drum hit sounds identical the next, every note is exactly on pitch and the singer's voice sounds perfectly smooth, it sounds forced and dull.
I've only heard 5 albums from 2011, and none of them are particularly great. My favorites so far:
1. The Strokes - Angles
2. The Human League - Credo
3. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
New Alison Krauss is awesome.
Horray for Bluegrass!
Not a huge fan of J Mascis's 2011 solo effort, but Where Are You is a fantastic song, and there are a couple other strong showings, as well.
Bon Iver returns in June
I'm sticking with my review of So Beautiful after listening to it again. There just aren't any memorable moments on the album for me, it just floats at the same level the entire album. It's missing that trademark Paul Simon soul just like the past couple albums.
I liked Paul Simon quite a bit. At least, as much as any of his other solo stuff I've heard. I also recommend Charles Bradley. It sounds like a Motown recording.
Does anyone know how to get more information about releases from groups from various genres lumped in the US as 'World'? Say, French rock, Brazilian pop, Japanese rock, Indian pop, etc? All the music publications from those countries seem to focus on the same music American publications do.
I feel like there's all these local rock scenes around the world I'm missing out on, and I don't have any portal to explore them.
Does anyone know how to get more information about releases from groups from various genres lumped in the US as 'World'? Say, French rock, Brazilian pop, Japanese rock, Indian pop, etc? All the music publications from those countries seem to focus on the same music American publications do.
I feel like there's all these local rock scenes around the world I'm missing out on, and I don't have any portal to explore them.
http://www.worldmusic.net/store/browse/label/rough-guide/
I feel like there's all these local rock scenes around the world I'm missing out on, and I don't have any portal to explore them.
Same here.
I find sruff here on AM in the end-of year spreadsheet from rest-of-the-world publications.
I also find stuff on RYM, genre "world music" or even "jazz", "folk" or "classical music", and by selecting "Limit to artists who were born in (or are currently located in) the following countries"
Pains of Being Pure At Heart- Belong is my new favorite album of 2011.
Off the top of my head, in a very vague order, are my favorites of the year so far.
1) PJ Harvey (It has grown on me with each listening, because I wasn't super impressed at first.)
2) Lykke Li (I'm surprised by a couple of things: a) That I like it this much, because it's generally not my type of music. b) No one else has mentioned it yet. Seems like she'd be right up Moonbeam's ally.)
3) The Decemberists (They're better when they don't have any grand concept they're trying to pull off)
4) TV on the Radio (I've only given it a couple of listens so far, so it could be a mover.)
5) James Blake (I'm surprised I like this one as well, but it's great mood music.)
6) The Drive-By Truckers (Consistently good as usual.)
7) Paul Simon (I think it's a notch above "Surprise," pretty even with "Rhythm of the Saints" and two notches below "Graceland.")
8) Tennis (Pretty hard to resist)
I can't remember anything else impressing me all that much. I haven't heard the Fleet Foxes yet, but I have heard Radiohead.
James Pants sounds like the modern day Suicide. Which isn't that bad a thing, really.
Smith Westerns grew on me hard.
let's not forget tomorrow big release... beastie boys hot sauce committe part 2 comin out! i've heard most of it through a preview they did and some leaks... classic beastie. glad to see they still rockin.
My scourging of the esoteric charts on RYM has finally paid off in spades.
Everyone check out Hungarian folk-metal band Dalriada, with their new release, Igeret! Year end top ten list contender.
Come for the satisfaction of saying 'Hungarian folk metal band', stay for the awesome music.
My top 5 (without order) :
Cascadeur : The Human Octopus
Panda Bear : TomBoy
Timber Timbre : Creep On Creepin On
The Go! Team : Rolling Blackouts
The Dears : Degeneration Streets
Cults streaming and so is Death Cab For Cutie
Never understood why Bon Iver is so acclaimed, even after hearing "Calgary". Just another indie singer.
I can't look at that album cover without laughing. Every picture I see of Lady Gaga looks completely ridiculous.
If this one gets good reviews I'll listen to a few songs from it.
Lady Gaga is a real mystery for me...I must confess than I prefer Dylan than Lady Gaga (I just want to know if gaga means senile in English as in French ?).
Otherwise, the two last albums I really food excllents are :
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Grails - Deep Politics
Listened to the album, and it's a fairly dull one, though I suppose if you liked The Fame Monster you'll dig this as well. Not even close to revolutionary or any other superlative mentioned by her and her fans.
Revolutionary? No.
But I'll take it over most of Madonna's albums, and I like Madonna.
I can't believe Tiny Mix Tapes gave her a 0/100. ZERO!!!!!!Those guys are total hardasses even more so than Pitchfork was in the early to mid 2000s (when they gave poor Liz a 0/100)They gave PJ Harvey, Fleet Foxes and Wild Beasts mediocre(the latter) to mixed reviews. They must be the sterotypical angry failed musicians that people like Bill Maher, Kid Rock and Prince like to make fun of.
But I'll take it over most of Madonna's albums, and I like Madonna.
How can you take it over Madonna when the title track rips off Express Yourself? And the other songs I've heard are rehashes of her hits from the last album. I hate to bash Gaga because she seems like a decent person and has stood up for a lot of good causes, but putting on a costume doesn't make her music original. I stand up for pop music more than most people on this forum other than Moonbeam, but she just isn't that good... although I do think she has the potential to be a great pop artist. She seems to have a head on her shoulders and if she's allowed to focus her energy into something original I think she has a great record in her. We'll see.
I don't know what to listen to next.
any recommendations ? I mean recommendations for Uncle nicolas, who's not a big fan of indie rock ?
Good things I have heard
Fleet Foxes
Charles Bradley (yes BillAdama, it's great)
Decemberists
the last two being good genre albums (traditionnal R&B and Americana) without being masterpieces.
Fleet Foxes are amazing. So mature. Props.
PJ Harvey was a disappointment given the acclaim it got.
Heard a few tracks from the Low album and it sounds great.
Nassim, La Femme sounds OK, but it sounds like the singer was standing as far as possible from the mike in the studio. It sounds like early 80's French new wave, but it's refreshing
The problem for a guy like me is that, for most of the indie scene the focus in terms of production and sound is on the late eighties - early 80's. obvious for TVOR.
Berlin Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, etc... cold funk. And.... (go to the first item in nj's Thanks we get it list)
One of the best things I have listened to this year is Kurt Vile's album, smoke ring for my halo. I don't know whether it crosses into the indie boundary, but it does have a lot of heart, which for me is the most important thing.
Zorg : I agree wholheartedly. I think most hyped indie bands are so obsessed by sounding different that they forget about the heart.
Don't gimme head music. Just gimme head (no no no no no that's a VERY bad joke).
More seriously this mainstream-indie opposition is really a drag, because there are very few crossover bands. You really can make good, smart and accessible music. But the problem is economic.
No recommendations in the field of hip hop / neo soul ?
^^^
Raphael Saadiq!!
Has anyone heard Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact?
I liked them before, but this album is the one that establishes them as a top-shelf band. It's instantly my #2 of the year behind PJ Harvey, with a good shot at becoming #1.
@Nicolas
Also, have you heard Alison Krauss's new record?
I listened to Eye Contact before but didn't think it was particularly great. I'll give it another spin.
Nicolas: I'm surprised you don't like Bon Iver, particularly For Emma, Forever Ago is some of the warmest and most emotional indie rock out there, and I'd argue the new album is als far from cold.
Same here. I haven't heard the new Bon Iver yet, but I think For Emma, Forever Ago has real emotional weight to it. It was mostly recorded in a remote cabin in deep winter after a difficult year for Justin Vernon, and whenever I listen to the album there's a warmth like a crackling fire that shines through the isolation and loneliness of the music. But hey, everyone responds to music differently.
Nicolas, I would love to recommend some albums but I haven't listened to many 2011 releases yet.
My problem with Bon Iver (along with a lot of indie acts) is the vocals. That falsetto. I'm very vocal-sensitive. But I'll listen to it again, for the 00's poll. The song "For Emma" is a good memory
But these guys have a much richer, wider vocal range and timbre !! Then again, maybe I paid too little attention to Bon Iver, so we'll talk about it again when 2007 comes around in the naughties poll.
F*cked Up's 'David Comes To Life' is going to be widely regarded as one of the albums of the year. Just wait.
One listen and I'm blown away. 78 minutes of accessible, catchy, melodic and yet pounding, visceral punk/hardcore. Doesn't outstay it's welcome at all, either. It's already got a 9 from Spin, a glowing review from BBC and the praise will keep flooding in I'm sure. I'm gonna get on the record now and say Pitchfork are going to score it between 8.9 and 9.2. Seriously, keep an eye out.
I liked them before, but this album is the one that establishes them as a top-shelf band. It's instantly my #2 of the year behind PJ Harvey, with a good shot at becoming #1.
Yeah, it's my AOTY so far. (With PJ #2.) Posted about this a week or so back, and my opinion has not changed.
Cults is AWESOME.
I liked them before, but this album is the one that establishes them as a top-shelf band. It's instantly my #2 of the year behind PJ Harvey, with a good shot at becoming #1.
Yeah, it's my AOTY so far. (With PJ #2.) Posted about this a week or so back, and my opinion has not changed.
Top 5 for me, probably top 3 in fact, alongside The Smith Westerns, Big K.R.I.T., Kurt Vile and Wild Beasts
Ahhh, I found the album of the year for me :
The Kills - Blood Pressure
The White Stripes are not here but the Kills, yes !!
Gillian Welch is BACK
White Denim - D is blowing me away.
These layered guitar riffs are simply incredible. One of the best of the year.
1. Cults - Cults
2. Milkman - Algorithms
3. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
4. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
5. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
6. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
7. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
8. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
9. The White Panda - Pandamonium
10. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
These layered guitar riffs are simply incredible. One of the best of the year.
Now that's some good news!
Last Day of Summer was arguably my 2nd favorite album of last year, so I'll look for their new album as soon as possible.
Tori Amos returns in September. After the disappointing and excessive last three records i shouldn't care no more, but after hearing that is based in classical music and plays from the last 400 years - also being reportedly released via a classic music label - i'm excited to see what she will deliver. Just play the piano again, Amos. :p
St Vincent just announced a new record slated to september
One listen and I'm blown away. 78 minutes of accessible, catchy, melodic and yet pounding, visceral punk/hardcore. Doesn't outstay it's welcome at all, either. It's already got a 9 from Spin, a glowing review from BBC and the praise will keep flooding in I'm sure. I'm gonna get on the record now and say Pitchfork are going to score it between 8.9 and 9.2. Seriously, keep an eye out.
The music is pretty good but I'm having a lot of trouble with the guy's voice. I love me some visceral punk but he has zero range.
Yes it is. Definitely my AOTY right now.
After performing a new song at sidney rumours are that Bat for Lashes will unveil her third album pretty soon and is supposedly slated to the end of the year.
I agree. Most of the songs aren't fast paced enough to be considered punk. If he toned it down a bit it would be a terrific alternative rock album otherwise it just sounds like the Arcade Fire fronted by the Ultimate Warrior
More than a month further ... time for an update:
(1) 1 Fleet Foxes
(2) 2 PJ Harvey
(-) 3 The Antlers
(3) 4 Lykke Li
(4) 5 Elbow
(-) 6 Wild Beasts (heard it only twice yet)
(8) 7 The Decemberists
(-) 8 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
(5) 9 Radiohead
(6) 10 Anna Calvi
TV on the Radio disappoints me and I did not hear Bon Iver yet.
My current list:
1. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
3. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
4. White Denim - D
5. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
6. Dalriada - Igeret
7. Cascadeur - The Human Octopus
8. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contract
9. Wye Oak - Civilian
10. Natural Snow Buildings - Waves Of The Random Sea
11. Gang Of Four - Content
12. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
13. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
14. Stupeflip - The Hypnoflip Invasion
15. Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
16. Bibio - Mind Bokeh
17. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
18. Those Darlins - Screws Get Loose
19. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
20. Amon Tobin - ISAM
One I couldn't connect with at all is the new Battles. It's like they have good ideas but no idea how to patch them together into something listenable, and no idea how to edit themselves.
Cults are going to make a very high appearance on my list.
so far this is what I've heard....
1. James Blake- James Blake
2. Let England Shake- PJ Harvey
3. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
4. Tomboy- Panda Bear
5. The King of Limbs- Radiohead
6. Cults- Cults
7. Zonoscope- Cut Copy
8. Kaputt- Destroyer
9. Nine Types of Light- TV on the Radio
10. Angles- The Strokes
No bad albums, but nothing as strong as my top 5 albums from 2010.
I'm going to be months behind, and just singmypraises for Fleet Foxes. Been a long time coming (3 years!) but I've finally got into both their albums, and I'm absolutely LOVING Helplessness Blues. I can't remember who said it, but i agree with whoever said that "The Shrine/an Argument" was the best thing they've done.
1. Kurt Vile - Smoke ring for my halo
2. smith westerns - dye it blonde
3. fleet foxes - helplessness blues
4. wild beasts - smother
5. radiohead - the king of limbs
6. pj harvey - let england shake
7. bill callahan - apocalypse
8. iron and wine - kiss each other clean
9. tune-yards - whokill
10. the go! team - rolling blackouts
still to listen - TVOTR, Cults, bon iver, James Blake, Tomboy, Zonoscope, kaputt, and many many more...
I've still not found a classic from 2011 yet. Admittedly, I haven't heard a great deal of albums from 2011 (8?), but nothing has been that impressive.
Gilliam Welch LP "The Harrow and The Harvest" is amazing. Its been a long while since she has released anything. This record could be a big one.
Liking WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain.
Looking forward to this record since she announced her return. Didn't know it had leaked! The reviews i saw have been extremely positive.
I recommend Antonia Font - Lamparetes
I don't know whether or not they're well known in Spain, but it's atmospheric indie pop with lush piano.
Current top 10:
01. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
02. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
03. The Antlers - Burst Apart
04. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
05. Low - C'mon
06. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
07. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
08. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
09. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
10. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
I'm terribly disappointed by Bon Iver
Same for me; I cant find an excellent surprise (except Fleet foxes, but they're noe a surprise)
Cat's Eyes isn't too bad. Cults is perfect. I think I even like them more than Tennis. If you're going to compare Tennis to Best Coast might as well do the same with Cults. They sound more like Best Coast than Tennis do. And neither really sounds that much like Best Coast at all. Tennis sounds like a cross between Neko Case and the Dittybops.
For me, my top 4 are 'potential classic' level. That is, PJ Harvey, Nicolas Jaar, White Denim, and Radiohead. And I think Gang Gang Dance has a shot at reaching that level.
There's also a robust second tier of 'Really good but sub-classic'.
My favorite album so far is Rival Sons - Pressure and Time.
I didn't care for Radioheads new album. But then, it's not my genre of music. (Anymore.)
New album of the year:
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres
Best new jazz album I've heard in a LONG time.
It's July ... another update:
(1) 1 Fleet Foxes
(2) 2 PJ Harvey
(3) 3 The Antlers
(4) 4 Lykke Li
(7) 5 The Decemberists
(5) 6 Elbow
(8) 7 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
(6) 8 Wild Beasts
(-) 9 Bon Iver
(10) 10 Anna Calvi
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up ... Sub-pops first hip-hop release sounds unlike anything in the genre
I've just heard a few tracks by a very promising Danish band called Treefight For Sunlight
Their shiny, dreamy brand of classic pop is delicious and impressing for a first album
Laura Marling releasing a new record in September 13. A Creature I Don't Know is the follow up to last year's critically acclaimed and British favorite I Speak Because I Can.
Girls also releasing the follow up to Album the same month.
In the midst of all the metal albums in the RYM top 100, don't miss this little marvel.
Well, I mean if you like progressive metal of the 70's
Too bad they lack of a good singer
The Horrors' new album is out. Anyone heard it/has an opinion of it?