My Favorite Albums of 2011

Review by: Sean Kayden

You won’t find any Billboard Top 40 songs here. This is a collection of my favorite albums of 2011. Quite a few records missed the cut, but as for the top five, there’s no denying them as my highest choices of the year. All of the records listed are deeply personal and deserve a look even if this isn’t your type of music preference. One thing is certain, each album is unequivocally beautiful, dense, engrossing, and passionate. You never know what you’ll discover if you don’t give them a chance.

10. Snowmine – “Laminate Pet Animal”
9. Minks – “By The Hedge”
8. The Drums – “Portamento”
7. Craft Spells – “Idle Labor”
6. Yuck – “Yuck”

5. The Antlers – “Burst Apart”
“Burst Apart” is an often subtle, perceptive, and emotive display of music. The record isn’t perfect, but The Antlers easily deliver some of the most personal, compelling, and heartbreaking songs of the year. Founder/vocalist behind The Antlers, Peter Silberman’s voice is as soothing as they come by these days. It’s the kind of tone that can mend a broken heart. He sings in a crooning manner that floats on top of the delicacy and intimacy of the often times majestic arrangements. It is very easy to get immersed into the incontestable beauty of the songs. There is a very special feeling you’ll experience while listening to “Burst Apart.” It will effortlessly tug on the strings of your heart and gently guide you back to previous moments in life. “Burst Apart” will lift those heavy eyelids, alleviate that tiresome mind, and facilitate a wounded heart. If you’re in need of all or any of the aforementioned, do yourself a solid and pick up this amazing record.

4. Bon Iver – “Bon Iver”
While the direction is faintly down a different path than his debut, Bon Iver’s music has never sounded so tranquil, transcendent and heartrending. Justin Vernon has taken some new liberties with his own artistry and yet nothing presented here feels false or misguided. Every song significantly matters and holds something vastly consequential. Instead of purely creating a beat-for-beat sequel to his debut, Vernon adds more instruments, higher production values and focuses his songwriting on an entirely different theme. All of this translates to a bigger and arguably more well-rounded soundscape. Bon Iver never overstays his welcome, yet at the same time, you wish he wouldn’t leave. That’s how this new album feels. At just shy of forty minutes, I don’t think there’s anything else you can be utterly inspired by in that period of time.

3. Destroyer – “Kaputt”
Glossy, new wave, retro, and even jazzy, “Kaputt” is pure 80s velvetiness. However, it’s not another replica of wannabe 80s inspired tunes from a contemporary band with a taste of nostalgia. The lyrics are sophisticated yet complicated and outspoken. The listener gets a real sense of comfort hearing Dan Bejar’s smooth vocals. However, you can still feel the pain, envision the tragedy, but contain a belief in the optimism throughout. This is a rare album where not only do the words tell a story, but the instruments speak as well. The arrangements of these songs are powerful, boisterous, and often magical. You get lost and found emotionally with every song. Destroyer helps me believe that music can once again be thought provoking, rapturous, and deeply personal.

2. Wild Beasts – “Smother”
“Smother” is dazzling, vividly trenched with imagery and transcendental intoxication. It’s tightly produced, atmospheric and a grand showcase of utter originality and creativity beyond the means of anything currently polluting the airwaves. Such brilliance and bravado are soaked within the confines of this record. The album will speak volumes to you in ways most compilations could only imagine to ever do. The heart and pulse of “Smother” beats methodically, gently, and cautiously. However, there is always a sense of impending doom on the horizon. A feeling of something imploding feels very close on the verge. To listen to the album in its entirety (the way it should be experienced) will place you on a voyage of awe and wonder. It unravels slowly, but what becomes fleshed out is something persuasively beautiful, terrifyingly imaginative, and artistically innovative. Arguably tied for album of the year with the #1 spot.

1. Future Islands – “On The Water”
Future Islands return with their third LP, “On The Water”, a carefully crafted and slow burning album that exudes love, lost, and life. Exploring these common themes may evidently be cliché in rock music, however make no mistake, Future Islands are everything, but ordinary. There is something mythical ingrained on this compilation. “On The Water” probes for the wonders of life’s mysteries by beginning with the past and looking into the future. There is so much beauty to be found if you let the album seep inside of you. It will carry you to another time and place, but remind you that the only way of moving forward is looking onward. Dreamy, passionate, and perceptive, these songs will pull you in and frankly, never let you go. A rare and majestic feeling that shouldn’t be missed by anyone that’s a fan of this music persuasion. While it will impact any listener in numerously different ways, one thing is for certain, you’ll be surprised of how deep it sinks into your mind, body, and most of all, soul. Future Islands also proves that mind, body, and soul are all super-connected.


Published by Mountain Views News on December 24th, 2011
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v05/htm/n52/p12.htm