2011 marks a transitional time for me musically. A lot of the genres I was big into in the 2000s were dead. I moved out of Georgetown and to Waterloo, where I heard Lil Wayne and The Game play in my student house every morning, the streets were packed with frat boys and the wind carried dubstep to every corner of the town. I could look down on them from the roof of my trashed duplex throne, but it came from my house too. The album I listened to most this year was Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows by the Craig Owen's revival band, D.R.U.G.S. While I did have a great time with a few cinges re-listening to this album for nostalgia purposes, it did not make my list, for perhaps obvious reasons. I think 2011 makes me think of immaturity, naivety, and embarrassment. My list is composed of albums I've come to enjoy in recent years.
10. Foster The People - Torches
Almost didn't put this on, but there's so many bangers its hard not to. This band took a while to get into because of the edge 102 problem I spoke about in the last top ten... with Pumped Up Kicks never leaving the radio. I bet if you turn on whatever shitty Toronto "inde" radio station the kids are listening to, you'll have a chance of hearing it. Every song on this album is good. Big debut.
Bangers: Helena Beat, Don't Stop, Call It What You Want
9. Bayside - Killing Time
Lots of bangers on this album. This album starts so strong its crazy. The songs are super fun, and easy to listen to, despite a lot of cheese in the lyrics, "I wish upon a satellite..." thanks I want to puke... put on Already Gone again.
Bangers: Sick, Sick, Sick, Already Gone
8. Cloud Nothings - S/T
Second album by Cloud Nothings, certainly not my favourite album by them. Attack on Memory came out the following year and blows it out of the park, but none the less this album is still a good time. Can't go wrong with Cloud Nothings.
Bangers: Should Have, Understand At All
7. Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread
Ty stands on his own. He's recorded something like 50 albums. This one from his solo project, easy listening lofi tunes. Good for chillin on the beach and/or smokin blunts.
Bangers: You Make The Sun Fry, Goodbye Bread
6. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard - Willoughby's Beach
Lots of firsts in this list. Another first from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, who would go on to release albums in many different genres and styles. Always fresh always slaps. These guys are so fun, and fresh in an often depressing industry, they bring a unique approach and its easy to hear in the music how much fun they have making it. This first album is a surfy lofi, one of their more generic albums but a still a good time, and in my top 10 King Gizz albums. Well there's 20...
Bangers: Dead Beat, Lunch Meat
5. Bass Drum Of Death - Gb City
Bass Drum of Death debut album! This album is such a good time. Super Lo-fi hard hitting west coast sounding tunes from this Mississippi DIY duo.
Bangers: Nerve Jamming, Young Pros
4. Protest The Hero - Scurrilous
Hmm what to say about this album. Well at the time of its release Protest The Hero was still probably my favourite band of all time. Scurrilous was the last album to be made by the four original members, and marks a fairly big change that would continue; shifting from lyrics written by bassist, Arif, to vocalist, Rody. This small change had a huge impact as Arif wrote dark epic concept albums, Rody wrote about his personal struggles and experiences with the music industry. To be honest this is a change I did not welcome and it was very hard to come to terms with it, but it did help the band grow in the end and to this day has some of my favourite Protest songs of all time.
Bangers: Hair Trigger, Dunsel, C'est La Vie
3. Citizen - Young States
Citizen's first album. This band continues to grow in amazing and surprising ways. I love everything they put out. Eight upbeat and punk emo songs. Great debut.
Bangers: Detached, Young States
2. La Dispute - Wildlife
Well a lot of you already know because I never shut up about it. The 2010 Touche Amore/La Dispute split Searching For a Pulse/The Worth Of The World (Damn, I can't even type that out without singing along) is one of my favourite albums of all time. These two bands together is just the perfect combo, the songs are so dynamic it blows my mind. Just listen to How I Feel, and tell that's not some absolutely insane songwriting. Anyway... So looking at 2011, both Touche and La Dispute have albums one year later. It's really cool to compare both albums to Searching For a Pulse, while Parting the Sea is fairly different, Wildlife feels almost like an extension of the album and you can see where they both were musically.. Wildlife was the last album produced by the band before Will Yip took up the mantle, who likes to bury the vocals for some reason, just listen to Panorama and you'll see what I mean. Why does he does this? It's baffling... (I'm sorry if you like that album, now you won't be able to unhear it)
Bangers: Edit Your Hometown, King Park
1. Touché Amoré - I'm Parting. The Sea. Between Brightness. And Me.
This album marks the beginning of a Touche trend that will carry on for all future albums; the dramatic pause in the middle of a word: "So I'll need your full atten...tion!" When it hits in The Great Repetition its huge, odd it happens again in the same album, but its so sick who cares. Though I will say now its losing its magic a bit 10 years later. The guitar work on this album is amazing, just listen to the intro of Art Official. I've always loved Touches ringing chords patterns that appears all over their music.
Bangers: Art Official, Method Act
Thanks for reading!
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