2010 was a year filled with high-profile releases from the likes of Kanye West, LCD Soundsystem, The National and others. By contrast, 2011 has been a year of records flying under the radar. The only records backed by significant hype were GOBLIN, which received attention more for its subject matter than its musical content, and Bon Iver, which wouldn’t have received half the pre-release attention it did without Justin Vernon’s appearances on the previously referenced Kanye album.
Of course, as a consequence of the toned-down hype, it’s possible that you, the reader, may have let some of the year’s best recordings pass you by. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen. This week, we’ll be bringing you our 20 favorite records from the first half of 2011; at week’s end, we’ll bring you our top 20 songs. We hope that you’ll agree with our assessments in some places and disagree in others, but mostly we hope you’ll find something you’ve yet to hear. Let the countdown begin.
20. Devotchka – 100 Lovers
DeVotchKa began as a backing band for a burlesque act, then made a steady stream of albums over the last decade, including the acclaimed soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine. The band has toured with Muse and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and like those two groups, makes music that is epic and grandiose, bombastic and bittersweet. 100 Lovers is a frantic tour of world music, with aspects of polka, mariachi, tango, and flamenco, distilled into a dozen indie rock songs. Above the band floats the tortured tenor of lead singer Nick Urata, who also plays the bouzouki – a Greek cousin of the mandolin— and the theramin, that eerie electronic instrument popular in psychedelic rock and science fiction soundtracks. While it’s tough to decode the lyrics, the music provides plenty of memorable moments. -KM
Devotchka – “All the Sand in All the Sea”
Devotchka – “100 Other Lovers”
19. Kurt Vile – Smoke Rings for My Halo
In many ways, Smoke Rings for My Halo is what Neil Young’s Le Noise should have been last year. -PL
Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”
Kurt Vile – “Ghost Town”
18. Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
Eye Contact is Gang Gang Dance’s most accessible record, or, to put it another way, their least bizarre. To call it pop record as some publications have done seems a tad extreme; after all, it begins with an eleven minute song and has three songs with lemniscates in their titles. But don’t be scared away; under all the experimental artifice is a record full of rich, haunting melodies and hip-gyrating grooves. -LVL
Gang Gang Dance – “Adult Goth”
Gang Gang Dance – “MindKilla”
17. Chris Thile & Michael Daves – Sleep With One Eye Open
If you ever need your sound palate cleansed of bass wobbles, soul samples and every other overdone modern production technique, look no further than Sleep With One Eye Open. Made for and by New Yorkers who can’t help but be romantic about bluegrass and the Old World it once lived, Sleep With One Eye Open scratches a special itch that began with rye whiskey, acoustic instruments and good friends. It perpetuates a cycle we have no interest in breaking. -PL
16. The Antlers - Burst Apart
The most striking thing about The Antlers’ follow-up to 2009′s well-received Hospice is its restraint. Hospice was a record filled with soaring choruses and sprawling songs, a record that was written for the arena. By contrast, Burst Apart is filled with soothing bedroom electronics, and as a result the record might pass you by on first listen. But, with repeated listens, Burst Apart slithers its way into your heart and mind, with songs like “French Exit” and “Rolled Together” loitering around your memory long after the record has ended. An ode to the understated. -LVL
The Antlers – “I Don’t Want Love”
The Antlers – “Rolled Together”