Shop our Big Takeover store for back issues, t-shirts & CDs
Follow The Big Takeover
Top 10 Albums of 2011
Well here it is, folks. Without too much further ado, I now present my favorite full-length albums of 2011. As always, these are the things I heard this year that made the greatest impact upon me and dominated my listening. I hope you like it.
Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)
Before this year, I liked Dum Dum Girls, but had no clue they were capable of an album like this. The first hints were in the quality and style of incredible “He Gets Me High” 12” EP which was also released earlier this year, but this incredible Lp trumps even those. Finally, frontwoman and songwriter Dee Dee comes completely into her own and delivers the best album of the entire female-fronted, noisy indie-pop scene (Best Coast, Vivian Girls, Frankie Rose, et al.) that has dominated my listening in the last few years.
Vivian Girls – Share the Joy (Polyvinyl)
Until I heard the Dum Dum Girls record, this was a lock for album of the year as it certainly dominated my listening in the spring when it came out. Anyway, I love the first two Vivian Girls Lps and their numerous singles, but this is by far their best work to date. The pace is slowed-down, harmony vocals emphasized and Cassie Ramone‘s gift for melody (and great guitar solos) is given more room to breathe here courtesy of Jarvis Tiniviere‘s fine production. I can’t wait for album number four.
Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
Between this great London band and the New York-based bands The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Big Troubles and Frankie Rose and the Outs, Slumberland is on quite a roll lately. Though this long-anticipated Lp reprises several of this band’s incredible single A-sides (most notably, “Found Love in a Graveyard” and “Beachy Head”), it doesn’t feel any less essential. Darker lyrically (just check some of the song titles) than most of their peers, but irresistibly catchy musically, it’s a winning combination that will hopefully pay dividends in the future as well.
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this given that their debut 7” was just OK, but the re-recorded version of those songs along with the rest of this Lp blow that out of the water. As such, they’re more evocative of their incredible live show! I almost don’t miss Sleater-Kinney anymore when Carrie Brownstein and company can create a record like this. More please!
Real Estate – Days (Domino)
Much like some of the other young bands on this list, Real Estate’s second album marks a giant step forward in terms of songwriting, production and the overall effect on the listener. I enjoyed their self-titled 2009 Lp and thought that the stop-gap Reality EP (recorded on a cassette recorder) in 2010 showcased their dreamy side a bit too much at the expense of the songs. However, this dream-pop gem is full of great moments like the single “It’s Real” and the fantastic “Out of Tune”, the album’s best track.
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic)
One of only two major label albums on this list, this Lp earns it fitting title and then some! In fact, the only thing preventing it from ranking higher is that about half of these songs were already released on last year’s also excellent EP A Balloon Called Moaning and on other releases as well. Still, the big production works really well for their sound and though it’s no match for their astonishing live show, it’ll more than do. It’s rare that I like a band who clearly sound like they want to be the biggest band in the world, but I’m pulling for them.
Nick Lowe – The Old Magic (Yep Roc)
It should surprise no one who’s followed his career up to this point that Lowe’s new album, his first since 2007’s also excellent At My Age, both doesn’t stray from the winning formula of that one and its three predecessors (particularly 2001’s late career best The Convincer) and that it’s typically excellent as well. This one features a great cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Poisoned Rose” (much better than his version of the same Costello Lp King of America‘s “Indoor Fireworks” from The Rose of England back in 1986) Long live Nick Lowe!
La Sera – La Sera (Hardly Art)
This is the solo project of Vivian Girls bassist Katy Goodman. As such, it shows that Cassie Ramone is not the only talented singer and songwriter in the band and like Vivian Girls’ latest Share the Joy, this one is a sleeper and major grower. In fact, it’s only in recent weeks that many repeat plays have compelled me to put it on here as it clearly belongs on this list. Beautiful and sparse songs like “Never Come Around,” “Beating Heart” and others convey heartbreak and sadness quite beautifully. Another La Sera record has been recorded (this time with Rob Barbato of Darker My Love) and I am eagerly awaiting its release.
The Feelies – Here Before (Bar/None)
Another grower, the first Feelies record since 1991’s Time for a Witness is perhaps most evocative of 1986’s sophomore, Peter Buck-produced The Good Earth and the quieter moments on 1988’s major label debut Only Life. In time, though, the album’s downbeat feel and material reveals itself and becomes almost as memorable as more upbeat material like “Time is Right” (the album’s best song) and opener “Nobody Knows”.
Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know (Virgin)
This is a late entry to this list as I’ve only heard it in recent days. I can’t stop playing it, though! I don’t usually go for many others who attempt Marling’s late ’60s/early ’70s folkie vibe, but she absolutely nails it. This is simply great singing, great guitar work and great songwriting! This may sound like hyperbole, but she reminds me a lot of early ’70s Joni Mitchell. She already has three albums under her belt at the tender age of 21, so it’ll be interesting to see where she’ll go next!
