Top Ten Albums of 2011

Apologies for the delay in writing this, I have been quite busy recently. In fact half of it was written in January, the rest was finished more recently…

 

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year which is reserved for people writing about the highs and lows of the previous year. Fun, isn’t it. This does, however, remain the only sort of annual convention which I participate in willingly because, as you all know, my opinion is the only one which matters. So this, then, is my list of the top ten albums released in 2011. This year was the complete opposite of last year (Last year there were 7 albums which made my top ten, though if I was asked about the top albums of 2010 now the list would be quite different). 2011 saw a wealth of good music released. It is really quite amazing how many albums I added to my iPod in this time period. There hasn’t been as good a year for music as this in about 10 years. I really struggled to narrow it down to 10, sure the top 3 sort of pick themselves, but after that it gets rather complicated. So, without any further ado, here is my top ten albums of 2011. In reverse order, of course.

 

10 – Warm Winter by Memories Of Machines (23/05/2011 – Music Theories)

 

For quite a while this album was my Prog album of the year, though subsequent releases later in the year mean that it places at a rather respectable number 10 position. Memories Of Machines is a project by Tim Bowness (Noman) and Giancarlo Erra (Nosound) and was in the works for a number of years before its eventual release. Featuring Tim Bowness’ trademark vocals and a style which jumps from heavy rock to ambient at the flick of a switch, Warm Winter was definitely one of the highlights of 2011. It remained on constant loop on my iPod for 5 or 6 months. Definitely worth a purchase for anyone with even a vague prog leaning.

 

9 – Walk The River by Guillemots (18/04/2011 - Polydor)

 

Guillemots first album was amazing, one of my favourite pop albums, their second was great, though not up to the standards of the first album. Their third album, Walk The River, is probably the best thing they have ever released. The album was supported by the band doing a number of secret gigs and flash-mobs arranged through Twitter, this ranged from gigs in peoples gardens to rocking up the entrance hall to a museum. This album is such a fantastic musical achievement that it deserves to be played on the hour, every hour, on every radio station in Britain. Alas, this won’t happen because the record labels don’t like experimental pop to be broadcast. Walk The River has become my traditional “it’s the beginning of my working week” album which I play on the way to work on a Thursday evening. With sounds which range from slow and melodic to hyper and bouncy, this album has something for everyone and is very deserving of a place in this top ten, even if it is only at number 9.

 

8 – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will by Mogwai (14/02/2011 – Rock Action Records)

 

I only got into listening to Mogwai this year, they have been recommended to me before as a heavier, more electronic Sigur Ros. Hardcore Will Never Die is one of those albums which you love as soon as you hear it, as opposed to those albums which you have to listen to a number of times until they finally click (Like most Placebo albums and Heritage by Opeth). Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is without a doubt the best post-rock album of the year and for people of that disposition this album is a must-buy.

 

7 – A Dramatic Turn Of Events by Dream Theater (12/09/2011 – Roadrunner Records)

 

Once again Dream Theater are a band which, at the beginning of the year, I had only heard recommendations, and not anything which resembled any actual music. Before this album was released I had really gotten into Dream Theater, in fact I had ventured into heavier music in general, and was listening to quite a lot of their stuff on heavy rotation (Octavarium was my favourite album). A Dramatic Turn Of Events is, I believe, the best thing which Dream Theater have ever made. It is a fantastic Prog album, an excellent metal album and a great display of what music should be.

 

6 – Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay (25/10/2011 – Parlophone)

 

Now we’re into the section which I am apt to call “These three interchange on a daily basis”. Seriously, depending on what mood I’m in, this album could be fourth or sixth. For now it’s sixth. I have always been a fan of Coldplay, not something many people are willing to admit to (Though they’re still one of the best selling artists operating in the UK at the moment, work that out!). Their previous album was some of the best work they’ve done, and they followed it up with Mylo Xyloto – a concept album. Mylo Xyloto is amazing, and is one of my favourite albums this year, and has been on constant rotation on my iPod since it was released. This album deserves its place in this top ten, if only for the fact that they’ve sampled Takk.. . by Sigur Ros on one of their tracks.

 

5 – Heritage by Opeth (13/09/2011 – Roadrunner Records)

 

Ok, time for me to eat my words. This album is amazing. In my review of Heritage I was quite scathing, and I stand by what I wrote, except the last line where I state that Opeth should have stayed as a metal band. This album is one of the best Prog albums, not just this year, but of all time. It ebbs and flows and crescendos superbly. The album sounds amazing, with Mr Steven Wilson doing an excellent job with his production of it. Heritage is a fantastic achievement in music and, as previously mentioned, one of the best Prog albums of 2011.

 

4 – Build A Rocket Boys! by Elbow (07/03/2011 – Fiction)

 

This is a shock to me, when I reviewed this album back in March, I truly expected it to be the album of the year, or at least a close second. So to have it being a very distant fourth comes as a big surprise. BARB is the best album which Elbow have ever released and they are enjoying great success from it, with them being asked to write the Olympic theme to be used during the BBC’s coverage. The reason why this album is fourth is because of the sheer quality of the top 3 albums, one of which was anticipated, the other two came out of nowhere. I went to see Elbow live shortly after the release of this album and the tracks work fantastically in a live atmosphere. There have been murmurings that Elbow has lost some of what they had when they started out, if that is indeed the case then they have benefited from losing it. Build A Rocket Boys! is a fantastic album, and I wonder how they’re going to top it.

 

3 – The Legend of Zelda 25^th Anniversary Soundtrack by Koji Kondo (18/11/2011 – Nintendo)

 

Right, here’s where things get a bit tricky, the Zelda OST is a brilliant album. Truly phenomenal. The only problem with it is that it only contains one piece of music which was composed in 2011, admittedly a lot of the early 2011 releases can boast the same thing, but that’s not the point. Some of this music, as hinted at by the album title, is 25 years old. This album makes it onto the top 10 of 2011, then, purely because of how beautifully it is performed and recorded. That and the fact that I have been waiting for something like this for the last 10 years. I have always loved the Zelda music, from the 8-bit chimes to the fully-synthesised scores. Never before have Nintendo, and Koji Kondo, recorded an orchestral soundtrack to a Zelda game, something which critics were keen to point out with the release of Twilight Princess in 2006. However, with Skyward Sword (2011) they decided to go all the way and record it properly, and it has benefited from it. This is why it is number 3.

 

2 – We Are The Tide by Blind Pilot (13/09/2011 - Expunged)

 

When I went to see The Decemberists early in 2011 they were supported by Blind Pilot, a folk-rock band from Portland, Oregon. I hadn’t heard of the band before, and had no knowledge of any of their songs, and I was initially unimpressed by them when they were playing live. Then they played the closing track of their set and I was hooked. Their albums are unavailable for purchase from UK retailers so you have to order them from the US. Their first album 3 Rounds And A Sound is excellent, it was on constant rotation on my iPod from the day I got it to well into September, when We Are The Tide came out. From my review you may get the impression that I like this album. That would be wrong. I love this album. I can quite happily place it in my top ten albums of all time (OF ALL TIME, YO!) – alongside things like Fear Of A Blank Planet, by Porcupine Tree; Takk…, by Sigur Ros; and Spirit Of Eden, by Talk Talk; along with the following album, my number one album of 2011…

 

1 – Grace For Drowning by Steven Wilson (26/09/2011 – Kscope)

 

Yup, big surprise there. I’m not even going to justify this one. It really is the best album of 2011, and probably the best album of the last 20 years. ‘Nuff said.

 

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• 30.03.2012
• Blog, Music