WDPK’s Albums of 2011
I love reading top 10 lists. Unlike reading top 10 lists, writing them is kind of a butthole. There are soooo many factors to consider and so many elements to include to cater to readers. Luckily, I’m not going to do a top 10 list per se for albums but a list of my favourites this year. If there is an album not on the list or you don’t agree with I have to say, don’t be so rash and understand that everyone has difference tastes and preferences hence different year-end lists.
Azari & III – Azari & III
Did anyone really doubt I would choose Azari & III as album of the year? The Toronto duo has the spunk, attitude, fashion and house music production skills under their sleeves perfectly. Putting all these characteristics into album form solidified my feeling that they would do big things once I heard Hungry for the Power. The quartet polished four house music staples this year and though not as heavy as the aforementioned, pioneered half a dozen other numbers in 2011 that sounds so futuristic that I cannot wait to hear what the future has in store for them. House music prodigies? I think so.
Active Child – Active Child
Pat Grossi’s Active Child took me by surprise with its choir-quality vocals accompanied with eloquent instrumentals of the harp kind. It’s an unusually beautiful sound that is very distinguishable of Active Child though the album itself, though wonderfully thought and wonderfully paced, suffers from repetition near the end.
James Blake – James Blake
I dabbled in dub step productions throughout the year but no sound, artist, or vocalist could hold a candle to James Blake. In my opinion, he is to dub step what Daft Punk is to French house. His r&b soul screams vividly with his subtle dub step beats. His cover of Feist’s Limit to Your Love is a song that will be played for ages and so too will his album.
Metronomy – The English Riviera
I heard she broke your heart again… These are the lyrics I hummed silently to myself for weeks upon weeks, which is from Metronomy’s second album. People change, which is a lesson Metronomy learned all too well when their 3-piece crumbled to a 2-piece and ultimately now a 4-piece. And the transformation couldn’t be any more perfect. The English Riviera moved Metronomy aware from the pop induced Nights Out into a slightly more experimental form of pop, oozing with soul and, based on my ears, drew inspiration from various other genres to compile an organic third album. The addition of feminine vocals over some of their newer songs is a more than welcomed addition this year.
ZZT – Partys Over Los Angeles
Techno music (electronic music in general) enthusiasts have been waiting for a ZZT album for ages. They, over time, would tease us with small pieces of awesomeness but nothing like a full-fledged album. Until 2011 when Zombie Nation and Tiga put their electronic music genius together and produced a hard hitting, heart stopping, ear drum paralyzing album, Partys Over Los Angeles. In no shape or form is this a bad album. I feel though that the favourite songs form the album are songs we’ve already heard… long time ago. Is it that ZZT’s best sounds are behind them? Or has my sound taste evolved into something different? Whatever the answer, their album moved bodies in 2011.
The Rapture – In the Grace of Your Love
Now I’m not a rock guy per se, but if I like something in the genre, I will let it be known. And The Rapture’s In the Grace of Your Love is a titillating collection of garage rock sounds. Although the album does have its down times, the high points more than overshadow this lowly moments to equal an album of the year in most rock categories (can anyone vouch for this?).
Justice – Audio, Video, Disco
I know I sang the praises of Justice’s second album in 2011. But are writers allowed to have second opinions? Since the album dropped, and since I listened the hell out of it, I have simply ignored it. Their transformation to a genre of yesteryear was very refreshing but nothing to gloat about in the long run. Nothing is wrong with their production skills and the album itself doesn’t suffer from explicit wrongdoings but Justice, in 2011, has simply lost their aura. I simply cannot put my finger on it and I’m way too busy to hire a specialist to analyze their case. Ultimately, with Audio, Video, Disco, Justice has tarnished their image. That’s something worth making a year-end list, right?
Mr. Oizo – Stade 2
Who doesn’t love Mr. Oizo? He’s demented. Creative. Intricate. And these adjectives very much show in his sound. But it’s a sound we’ve heard time and time again and though it doesn’t miss a step, it’s growing kind of stale. How to the ever, Mr. Oizo’s sound is so unique and still very distinct only to himself that he proves, again, that you can be fun and demented while still making people dance.
Renaissance Man – The Renaissance Man Project
I really had high hopes for Renaissance Man. The Renaissance Man Project isn’t a bad album. It’s just they built up, over the years, this style of ghetto tech house that their fans grew to love that they were (me at least) waiting for its climax – a collection of 10 or so songs of blissful ghetto tech/grime house. Instead, fans were given a collection of intricate, complex bits of electronic music, which some could categorize as experimental, which was simply not danceable. With their architecture background, it is understandable that someone in such a discourse could piece together music with the same theories and criteria, which in some way does work and in some other way sounds off.
Surkin – USA
I do love how ambitious Surkin was with USA; structuring his album like a live radio mix. BUT the songs Surkin added lacked depth and were kind of boring. The Internet’s is well aware of his roots to hip hop, ghetto house and French house and unfortunately he did not expand on such sounds. Instead, his focus was on pop-ish dance music, that isn’t bad at all, just not resonating as his past endeavours. I miss Surkin’s Ghetto Obsession.
SebastiAn – Total
For me, unlike others, Total somehow missed the mark. His album is a confusing mixture of old and new and it appears as if no consideration was given to song choice. Although SebastiAn does deliver on a new sound front (Embody is yummy) there is something utterly deterring about listening to his album from start to finish. If the songs were structured into a more thoughtful process then possibly his album would have scored higher. Total, however, sounds like a mix CD someone in grade 8 that just learned how to download MP3s would burn.
The Art Department – The Drawing Board
The moodiness and gloomy feeling of The Drawing Board is made seemingly hip by The Art Department. If you’re depressed over an ex-lover or a lover you never had and were too embarrassed to unleash your emotions… well do what The Art Department did… put together some sweet deep house beats with ominous vocals that explain your emotions and it will be totally socially acceptable. This is the feeling I came to love about The Art Department. They’ve been able to pioneer a stand-out-from-the-crowd house music style that doesn’t sound dated or too forward-thinking.
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
There’s no denying that Lykke Li in 2011 grew to the superstardom she well deserved. And with Wounded Rhymes, which came out early in 2011, she proved that she isn’t just akin to pop songs but also deep folk sounds that when paired with her characteristics nasally vocals equal a perfect and well-balanced presentation and production. With her oddities on camera and her unorthodox and quirky music stylings, Lykke Li’s Wounded Rhymes is sure to top many other top 10 lists.
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Cut Copy seemingly appears in top form every time they come out with a production or remix. They are able to deliver production after production and Zonoscope is no different. Borrowing styles from the likes of The Beach Boys and others like The Knife, Cut Copy exhibited a desirable style of chill wave pop and moved in and out from psychedelic electronic sounds. Like I mentioned this year, I do miss their disco-pop but this matured sound is still very welcome.
