DECORP

The Best of the Rest from 2011

Girls “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” A grower with tunes strong enough to convince me this dude is here to stay.

 

Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues” The title track alone gets this on the list, but the album is packed with great shit, including Robin’s first track (I think) without reverb on his pipes. Gimme more of that, please sir.

 

My Morning Jacket “Circuital” Breathe easy, it’s not over. A great return to form.

 

Kurt Vile “Smoke Ring for My Halo” I finally get it!

 

Megafaun “Megafaun” For me they went from “interesting band with interesting sounds” to “watch out, these fuckers can write songs, too!” They made a more focused & concise record, but with wings spread much wider.

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Best Record I Need More Time with from 2011
Fucked Up “David Comes to Life”

It seems to me that Fucked Up has a lot of records I loved in high school & college in their record collections. This feels like the lost follow-up to Fuel’s classic “Monuments to Excess”, but with a better understanding of classic non-punk rock & roll than any of those great 90s bands seemed to have.

I haven’t spent enough time with this to decode the concept & story, but I’m looking forward to digging in further, and ready to dip into Fucked Up’s back catalog as well. Apparently, I almost missed the boat!

Falling for this record has me wondering if I’m Fucked Up for not paying attention to melodic underground punk & hardcore anymore, and wondering if underground punk & hardcore still exists! Does it?

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Very Promising EP from 2011
Hundred Visions “Last Cab from Tunis”

One song is a little LCD-y, one’s a little Stroke-y, and another is a little Television-y. Not a bad little group of influences, right? It’s a bit schizophrenic but in this little three-song package it all makes a good bit of sense.

The guitar shit that comes in halfway thru the title track from this really gets me going. Check it below. This is the LCD-esque jam, but you can see how the band twist and turn the reference points into their own thing.

Side not: I had to fight my instincts to not include this due to the font/artwork. Try not to hold it against them.

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Super Good Demos from 2011
Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch “Classic Glass Demos”

Mr Graham sent me three demos on December 30th 2010 and I listened to them countless times though out 2011. He’s making a new record, I’m told, and he seems pretty crazy, I’ve observed. You can give two of the demos a spin below. I can’t find the third one anywhere but Myspace and I would never do you the disservice of linking to that abyss. It’s called “Final Boss” if you want to venture out to it on your own. It’s the most Velvet Underground-y and maybe least inventive of the three I was sent, but still pretty solid.

I hope this dude delivers a killer album. The promise shown on these tunes continues to turn me on.

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Tell Me A Tale by MichaelKiwanuka

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Most Surprising Record from 2011
Bright Eyes “The People’s Key”

Never was a fan, but wasn’t a hater, either. I liked that first song on “Lifted” okay, and would note things here or there over the years that might strike me (mostly lyrically), but mostly found it a bit over the top. I think Mr Oberst suffered from a lack of self-editing. When he put out the first record under his own name, something lead me to listen and the thing ended up on my Best Shit List in 2008. The follow-up was a pretty serious misstep, and so I wasn’t sure what to make of a new one coming out under the Bright Eyes moniker. I assumed it would be a mediocre last gasp.

Wrong!

It seems that almost no one heard this record. I feel like if it were released by a different band, someone without history or baggage, this woulda sold tonnage. Sadly, it feels like this one came and went silently.

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Best Album by a Band I’m Afraid I Won’t Like Anymore Next Year
Youth Lagoon “The Year of Hibernation”

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Best Side-A of an LP from 2011
Centro-matic “Candidate Waltz”

Will Johnson & Co. rarely disappoint; their only crime historically might be overloading listeners with too many great songs too often. It’s a bummer, but fifteen years on from the debut Centro-matic release, even a serious fan might shrug off a new album or miss it all together. My advise to you, long-time fan or newcomer to Will’s tunes: Do not sleep on “Candidate Waltz”.

That said, if you’re down to precious little space on your hard drive or if your record stack is tipping over from the weight of the unlistened, I can lighten your load. Really, you can get away with just Side-A of this newest LP. It’s a front-loaded affair. Five songs, all top notch in the familiar & well-practiced Centro-matic tradition, but showing a nice dose of growth & sonic adventure, too:

• Against The Line
• All The Talkers
• Iso-Residue
• Estimate x3
• Only In My Double Mind

That said, if five songs are still just too many to add to your list, please make sure you don’t miss “Estimate x3”. If you can’t find time for the full three-and-a-half minutes, at least spin the final minute-and-a-half of this understated little tune. The deceptively simple but insanely catchy couplet repeated & repeated & repeated backed by hand claps & classic Centro-matic background vocals definitely ranks in the top ten ‘parts’ from Will’s entire career.

Estimate x3 by Centro-matic

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An Obscure But Very Good Record from 2011
Adele “21”

It’s a shame that this thing flew under the radar this year. Perhaps down the road this youngster will find her audience.

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The Best Album of 2011
The War on Drugs “Slave Ambient”

A record as subtle as they come. It slowly & steadily wormed its way through me since first listen. An astonishingly sturdy set of tunes wielding a perfect confidence never flaunted & always understated. It stops just shy of swagger, and that’s certainly for the better. The perfect music for me this year morning, noon, and night. Goddamn, this is one for the ages.

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