Best Albums Of 2011: 25-21

30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1

#25 Atlas Sound - Parallax


The never ending stream of music from Bradford Cox continues in 2011 with this new LP of grey shaded ballads and actual pop-centered crooners. Parallax picks up where Deerhunter's brilliant 2010 LP Halcyon Digest left off, exploring each new life experience like an unfolded diary. Atlas Sound has always been a place where Cox experimented with the leftovers with the results a mixed bag of agitation and improvisation. The fresh, single take feel is still here, but finding a subdued assuredness on this latest effort. It is obvious that Cox is finally comfortable with his accomplishments and successes, even if his song topics are often anything but settled.

Download Track | Purchase Album

Atlas Sound - The Shakes

#24: The Feelies - Here Before

It is the end of the year and I can still hardly believe I am writing about a new Feelies album. That patented, itchy guitar jangle that connected The Velvet Underground to the birth of alternative rock and, in turn, launched a thousand bands is back, unfettered and ageless. The band members are well into middle age, but by being meticulous and patient they conserve their efforts to create great moments in each release. In this era where new is never new enough, Here Before is a welcome reminder of simpler times, hard working bands and how some traditions never get forgotten.

Download Track | Purchase Album

The Feelies - Should Be Gone

#23: Wild Beasts - Smother


This album aches and throbs, whether it is the heartbeat drums, the longing piano or the lithe, operatic vocals. The sensual themes run taut though Smother as the falsetto of Hayden Thorpe grabs the listener and explores the dark reaches with the prime motive of seduction. Whether is the balladry of  "Albatross" or the catchy riffs on "Loop the Loop" and "Reach A Bit Further", Wild Beasts have set a solid foundation of lovely sounds that tease and entrap, even though you won't put up much of a struggle.

Download Track | Purchase Album

Wild Beasts - Albatross (video)

#22: M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

I am so tempted to call this album, Midnight City + Some Other Stuff  because there is so much to forge through on this double album of epic excess. This is coming from someone who loved the cheesy eighties spirit on Before The Dawn Heals Us and Saturday = Youth. Wanting to enjoy this album despite it's lack of self-editing, I did what I had to do (and what some recording engineer should have begged him to do): I indiscriminately cut out the crap. Once all of the often lengthy, directionless instrumentals were out of the way, I got what I needed. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is the most celebratory album of the year, a New Year party where no cover charge would be needed, no liquor license would end the evening too soon and no hangover would bring any regrets. And in case you were wondering, that annoying Frog Song had to go as well.

Download Track | Purchase Album

M83 - Midnight City

#21: Mr. Dream - Trash Hit


This would be my guilty pleasure album of 2011. Although the eighties sounds of excessive synth and glitz was the retro sound of the year, Trash Hit is that decade's latter years where thick bass, pummeling drums and wailing grunge licks kicked the crap out of new wave. Homages to the sainted members of bands such as The Jesus Lizard, The Melvins and one really obvious Nirvana riff, Mr. Dream is a reminder that the best times are found in the tightest packed venues, sweaty and bloody as the band plays loud, heavy and aggressive. Check the full album stream below and you will remember as well.

Download Track | Purchase Album

Mr. Dream (Full Album Stream)

Album Review: The Feelies - Here Before

Tweet

To be a fan of The Feelies, patience is a manifest prerequisite. Since their first album in 1980, the band has managed to release five full lengths in just over three decades. The act of listening to their meticulous music also takes a deliberate ear. The Feelies are much more than awkward elder statesmen of what was originally called Modern Rock. They share a direct lineage with The Velvet Underground whose monumental influence was propagated from simple mantras. Keep it simple. Take your time. Work within set boundaries. Deliver it effortlessly. 20 years after their last recording, The Feelies decide that the time is now for a new album. Even more surprising is how time has been suspended on Here Before, accurately representing the band through their more fertile years. It is the quality shines through despite the fact that The Feelies buttoned-up, yet earnest brand of music seems so unfashionable in the 21st century.

Kicking off Here Before is "Nobody Knows" where they lyrically express disbelief that they are even in the studio in 2011. The opening lines "Is it too late/To do it again/Or should we wait/another ten?" are self-aware but pinpoint accurate as they have a chuckle with their long waiting followers. The wistful lyrics throughout Here Before couple well with the branded Feelies guitar jangle, rubbery bass and crisp, purposeful percussion. "Should Be Gone" follows that lead adding some backing vocal harmony and a muted solo that could have been lifted from any of the previous works in their catalog. Continuing down memory lane are uptempo numbers "Time Is Right" and "When You Know" that remind of the high point rockers from 1988's Only Life without overextending themselves.

That jangle is what is instantly recognizable about the Feelies, but true beauty is found in their exercises in repetition and minutiae. The elemental nature of tracks such as "Later On" and "On and On" initially seem forgettable, but stick around as the infectious nature as the cyclic riff finds its place. The Feelies almost get emotional on "Morning Comes" stepping out from lyrical ambiguity and actually gritting their teeth with each annoyed pluck. "Change Your Mind" continues this trend, slowly building from restraint to a rockout coda that finishes with vitality and spark.

The concept throughout Here Before is whether or not one should move on from the past. Even the pastoral album cover looks like a idyllic place for the retirement that The Feelies left behind. Unlike the countless aged bands who are on nostalgia tours or half-assing new music just to cash-in, The Feelies did themselves a service by making a respectable and thought-out album that still works within the band's mission. They made a lot of committed and patient fans very happy as well.

Right-click to download "Should Be Gone" for free.

Purchase Here Before at Insound.

Three tracks from Here Before.


Way Down

The Feelies Give Away New Track, Album Out April 12

Tweet

As reported in a very excited earlier post, The Feelies are dropping a new LP in 2011, breaking a 20 year hiatus. In fact, I was so excited that I was inspired to write an ode to their oft overlooked 1986 album The Good Earth. Getting with the new millennium, the band has finally leaked a new track as well. "Should Be Gone" is quintessential Feelies featuring their melodic jangle, folksy lyrics, bouncing beats and bass and a free-form guitar solo that doesn't miss a step after three decades of music. For the dedicated fan, this track is like coming home again. The album Here Before will be out on Bar/None Records on April 12, with pre-order details coming soon.

Listen to the track below and right click to download it here.

The Feelies - Should Be Gone

RFC Article: Wiping Off The Dust: The Feelies - The Good Earth

The following is an excerpt from my article for Radio Free Chicago.

Just a few scant days ago, I heard some tremendous and jawdropping news. The Feelies are releasing an album of all new material this coming spring. Obviously this may not garner as much excitement for anyone under 35 and from most of said age bracket it would most likely inspire a quizzical "Who?". Notoriously reclusive and frustratingly sparse in their material, they are putting out their first full length since 1991's Time For A Witness. That's 20 years, my friends. If you have only heard of this influential band, you may have knowledge of their much lauded debut LP Crazy Rhythms as it tends to land on any respectable critics best of the 80's list. If you were a child of MTV, perhaps you caught the video for single "Away" off of their 1988 LP Only Life directed by their biggest fan Jonathan Demme. Proof of this is evident as The Feelies always seem to get wedged into his movies and on their respective soundtracks. Nevertheless, The Feelies are one the connecting links between The Velvet Underground and what was coined as "college rock". Without The Feelies, there is quite simply no stage being set for bands such as the dB's, Camper Van Beethoven and R.E.M.. It is scary how dull would the indie landscape be without these godfathers of jangle pop and indie folk.

Read the rest of the article at listen to more tracks from The Good Earth at Radio Free Chicago.

Tweet

Purchase the reissue of The Good Earth here.

The Feelies - Slipping (Into Something)