These records resonated most for me this year, year-end lists always regard a higher level of personal curation, legend of what moved me the most. I gave up long ago being mad at derivative artists and recordings and made a conscious effort to focus on the feelings vs the intellectual reference points and obvious music criticism.
These are the records that broke emotional ground 2011.
The Year of Hibernation is my favorite record of the year. Youth Lagoon aka (Trevor Powers) debut surprised me, I was not expecting it to mean so much, but at the end of the year I found it the one that made me the happiest over and over. Perhaps it’s that it came out when it did, becoming a well played soundtrack into the end of the year..and as it did – it took on even more importance and meaning.
It’s like he was watching the lyric..“Kids are swinging from the power lines Nobody’s home, so nobody minds in… Arcade Fire’s Neighborhood #3 and offers them (the kids) another anthem to save them. Both recordings take place in your life but not to late in the game to change things, now that you have an soundtrack to really living it.
Even fatally titled Funeral offered that lane towards hope, remembering something of meaning to power it. The Year of Hibernation reflects on that time away, safe, emerging from a warm place, glowing like the posters on your bedroom walls. Daydream, Afternoon, July, Montana, 17, Cannons.
My guess it was anything but easy. ….
and probably why I never want these melodies and songs to end.
- Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
- PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
- Yuck – Yuck
- M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
- Real Estate - Days
- Dum Dum Girls – Bedroom Eyes
- Washed Out – Within And Without
- Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972
- Atlas Sound – Parallax
- F–ked Up – David Comes To Life
- Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
- Mates of State - Mountaintops
- Mull Historical Society – City Awakenings
- Panda Bear – Tomboy
- Antlers – Burst Apart
- Cults – Cults
- Bon Iver – Bon Iver
- Tom Waits- Bad As Me
- TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
- Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
- Mazes – A Thousand Heys
- Bjork- Biophilia
- Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
- tUnE-yArDs, w h o k i l l ]
- Wild Flag – Wild Flag
——————————————————– - Cut Copy – Zonoscope
- EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints
- Feist – Metals
- Holy Ghost – Holy Ghost!
- Wild Beasts – Smother
- Metronomy – The English Rivera
- Los Campesinos – Hello Sadness
- Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
- The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
- The Throne – Watch The Throne
- The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient
- CANT – Dreams Come True
- Twin Sister – In Haven
- St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
- Wild Beasts – Smother
- Black Lips – Arabia Mountain
- Destroyer – Kaputt
- Man Man – Life Fantastic
- Cage The Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday
- Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
- Still Corners – Creatures Of An Hour
- Givers – In Light
- Austra – Feel It Break
- The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart
- Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital












