Genre: Hip-Hop, Soul, Electronica
After a brief 10 second intro you are immediately drawn into the track. The first half of the track is a very optimistic sounding beat that I would love to have blasted as my intro every time I walk into a room. Around 3:35 the beat drastically shifts to a completely different tone and if you are a recovering addict it is recommended that you never listen to the second half of this track.
Genre: Indie, Folk
At the beginning of the track Laura starts with a low, timid tone in her voice. At around 0:56 she quickly shifts to her extremely confident amazing voice. It's these shifts in her voice and the great underlying bass that makes this track great. The explosion of passion in this song starting at 3:10 to the very end is what made this song one of the year's best.
At the beginning of the track Laura starts with a low, timid tone in her voice. At around 0:56 she quickly shifts to her extremely confident amazing voice. It's these shifts in her voice and the great underlying bass that makes this track great. The explosion of passion in this song starting at 3:10 to the very end is what made this song one of the year's best.
Genre: Indie, Psychedelic
Just a great overall track. Everything about this song will make it hard for you not to dance around like Liz Lemon. It's a special thing when a song can have an amazing verse along with a chorus that can trump it.
Genre: Indie, Pop
This is an extremely straight forward synthpop song that seems to be ideal soundtrack music for a summer day in which you use to improve your life in any way; whether it be running errands, cleaning your house, going for a run, etc. A recurring trend in 2011 seems to be a retro feel to some of the music (with a modern twist) and this is one of those that pull it off well.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Like many other people that anticipated DR's debut album, I assumed it would be more along the lines of 'Sit Down, Man' and 'Shut Up, Dude' that were mix tapes of theirs meant for comic relief. Although 'Relax' does have some of the humor that we have come to love from DR, it is actually fantastic music as well. "Girl" is one of the great tracks from the album and gets better with every listen.
Genre: Post-Rock
One of the most amazing things about Mogwai is they lay down the foundation of a track and let your imagination add onto it without them having to "sing" any lyrics to you. This track is nothing short of spectacular and instead of saying how it makes me feel...how does it make YOU feel?
Genre: Alt Rock
Although the 'King of Limbs' is a great overall album, none of the tracks really standout like most Radiohead albums because they tend to make a collection of great songs as opposed to 1 or 2 singles per LP. Lotus Flower encompasses most of the great qualities Radiohead has to offer, which is why it made the list. If you're new to Radiohead and watch the music video for this, I will answer the question you will probably ask: No, Thom Yorke does not do drugs...drugs do Thom Yorke.
Genre: Alt & Indie
One of the best tracks most people haven't listened to in 2011. Does it deserve to be played non-stop on FM radio? Probably not, but there is a certain aura to this song that makes it appealing. The way the instruments intertwine with the vocals throughout the track makes it sound hauntingly beautiful. At the very end of the track you hear a thunderous applause as if they just performed live in front of an arena, but it is clearly just in the singers imagination...along with the rest of the song.
Genre: Alt & Indie, Folk
The opening track on one of the top LP's of 2011. The tempo of this song is very relaxing but the pure passion from it is more likely to make you get up off your ass then fall asleep. In particular I love how the main guitar riff mimics the chorus (a structure I don't really care for much) in a good way. This song leads into the next track on the LP flawlessly.
Genre: Indie Pop
Initially I thought of this as a simple "summer" type track that would eventually lose its luster due to lack of depth. I was completely wrong because the more I listen to it the more raw emotion I feel for it. The symbolism is fairly clear in this that she is surrendering herself to the man that "abducted" her heart and it's now up to him what he wants to do with it (which is a true yet scary feeling for most people). How they intertwine the female/male vocals to tell the story is timeless though.
Genre: Indie, Alt Rock
Another opening track for one of the top LP's of the year. I could've easily picked any track from this album but I feel this track sets up the entire album (no shit Sherlock...look at what she named the album!).
Genre: Indie Pop
Phenomenal. That's all I need to say about it because it only takes one listen to understand why Annie Clark is one of the greatest female singer/songwriters at the moment...not to mention she can shred on guitar, when needed.
Genre: Alt & Indie
What is there not to love about this song? Amazing guitar riff, great bass line, catchy vocals, and a perfect drum beat to boot. If you have some sort of un-biased towards them because of their reputation or jealous of the singer's wife...well then you are just silly.
Genre: Alt Rock
It has been awhile since I liked a Thursday track this much. "No Answers" is what I thought Thursday could mature enough to write. It took a few listens to adapt to this one but once I understood how great it was I had to listen to it nearly everyday. Quite a musical feat.
Genre: Indie Pop
I broke one of my rules by including more than 1 tracks from an LP. In my defense both are from my "Album of the Year" which makes it less of an offense in my opinion. As with the other Destroyer song on the list, patience is key. There are 2 intros to this track. The first is a pleasant guitar/piano piece and the second is an even more pleasant trumpet piece. You are then abruptly launched into the mind of a musical genius.
Genre: Alt & Indie
Think Tom Waits meets Arcade Fire. This is an important step of embracing WU LYF. The vocals might seem too "abrasive" at first to a new listener. I know they sure as hell came off that way for me at first. The instruments in the band are outstanding so I gave them a few more chances. Oddly enough, the vocals came around for me after numerous listens and I think it makes them unique. The last 2 minutes of this track are purely instrumental and it's simply breathtaking.
Genre: Electronica, Indie Pop
The intro seems to match the cover of this single quite well...creepy. The rest of the track is outstanding and grows on me every listen. Background vocals are one of my weak spots and this track offers the best background vocals of 2011. From 2:40 on, the duel vocals + horn intro + everything coming together makes this a top-5 track of the year.
3. TV on the Radio - "Will Do"
Genre: Indie
TV on the Radio never ceases to amaze me. "Will Do" is their best track to date (which is saying something). The song's composition is addicting and the climax at 2:45 is why it is one of the top songs of 2011.
2. Destroyer - "Bay of Pigs"
Genre: Indie Pop
While it may sound pretty erratic and unorganized on first listen, this song is nothing short of a masterpiece. The song comes across as an episode of 'Lost' or some drunken tale told by an ex-sailor, but the beautiful riff first seen at 4:08 is essentially the "constant" of the track. There's is no way I can explain the genius of this track in the next sentence because it takes Dan Bejar 11+ (necessary) minutes to explain.
1. Manchester Orchestra - "Simple Math"
Genre: Alt & Indie
Perfection. That is the only word needed to explain this track. There is not one note in this track that I would change. The climax (3:25) sums everything up perfectly. I'd also like to point out that the video I linked to does this song more justice than the official music video does, so check it out.
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