Given Rough Trade and the lovely Rounder both have their lists out I guess we can do ours, and comment on others.
Here's Rounders:
1.THE HORRORS - "Skying" (XL)
Album number 3, and a second Rounder Album of The Year! Hugely deserved, if "Primary Colours" was a wild dark night, this album is a glorious dawn, a psychedelic Psychedelic Furs
2.SUUNS - "Zeroes QC" (Secretly Canadian)
Kinda out of nowhere in Jan, this glorious debut which is the handsome bastard child of Fugazi and Clinic. Damn good live as well.
3.THE WAR ON DRUGS - "Slave Ambient" (Secretly Canadian)
Secretly Canadian double whammy time - a marvellous record of shoegaze psychy Americana, channelling both Tom Petty and Dylan.
4.PJ HARVEY - "Let England Shake" (Island)
Hey! We nearly agreed with the Mercury Music Prize judges! A wondrous return from Polly - musically and intellectually.
5.HYETAL - "Broadcast" (Special Branch)
Where dubstep meets John Carpenter for a skulk around town with some beautiful analogue interludes.
6.FORD & LOPATIN - "Channel Pressure" (Software)
7.NEON INDIAN - "Era Extrana" (Transgressive)
8.JOHN MAUS - "We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves" (Upset The Rhythm)
9.MOON DUO - "Mazes" (Souterrain Transmissions)
10.PEAKING LIGHTS - "936" (Weird World)
11.THURSTON MOORE - "Demolished Thoughts" (Matador)
12.SBTRKT - "SBTRKT" (Young Turks)
13.METRONOMY - "The English Riviera" (Because)
14.YUCK - "Yuck" (Mercury)
15.MAYER HAWTHORNE - "How Do You Do" (Universal Republic)
16.CAT'S EYES - "Cat's Eyes" (Polydor)
17.BOOKER T JONES - "The Road From Memphis" (Epitaph)
18.THE FIELD - "Looping State Of Mind" (Kompakt)
19.STEPHEN MALKMUS - "Mirror Traffic" (Domino)
20.VERONICA FALLS - "Veronica Falls" (Bella Union)
21.WILD FLAG - “Wild Flag” (Wichita)
22.JOHN TEJADA - "Parabolas" (Kompakt)
23.JUSTICE - "Audio, Video, Disco" (Edbanger)
24.BEASTIE BOYS - "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" (Capitol)
25.JAMIE WOON - "Mirrorwriting" (Interscope)
26.MEMORY TAPES - "Player Piano" (Something In Construction)
27.LOCUSSOLUS - "Locussolus" (International Feel)
28.NO JOY - "Ghost Blonde" (Mexican Summer)
29.GUI BORATTO - "III" (Kompakt)
30.WIDOWSPEAK - "Widowspeak" (Captured Tracks)
31.MOGWAI - "Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will" (Rock Action)
32.MARTYN - "Ghost People" (Brainfeeder)
33.ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER - "Last Summer" (City Slang)
34.J.MASCIS - "Several Shades Of Why" (Sub Pop)
35.TORO Y MOI - "Underneath The Pine" (Carpark)
36.THE KILLS - "Blood Pressures" (Domino)
37.WASHED OUT - "Within & Without" (Weird World)
38.RINGO DEATHSTARR - "Colour Trip" (Club AC30)
39.DENNIS COFFEY - "Dennis Coffey" (Strut)
40.EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - "Take Care Take Care Take Care" (Bella Union)
41.GRUFF RHYS - "Hotel Shampoo" (Ovni)
42.TOM WAITS - "Bad As Me" (Anti)
43.MODESELEKTOR - "Monkeytown" (Monkeytown)
44.HOLY GHOST - "Holy Ghost" (DFA)
45.RUSTIE - “Glass Swords” (Warp)
46.KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS - "Smoking In Heaven" (Sunday Best)
47.WOODEN SHJIPS - "West" (Thrill Jockey)
48.BALAM ACAB - "Wander/Wonder" (Triangle)
49.ST. VINCENT - "Strange Mercy" (4AD)
50.BLOOD ORANGE - “Coastal Grooves” (Domino)
I cannot argue with the top 4, maybe not in that order though. I also got to see all the top 4 live in 2011 as well (as an aside it was a great year for gigs I have lost count of the shows I have been to).
My album of the year did not even make the cut...Yuksek's Living on the Edge of Time. Saw him live as well. I also feel Gruff should be in the top 10. I heart Gruff. I'm not convinced by the new Justice album yet. PlanningtoRock is another noticeable absentee. And Ford and Lopatin is a good call.
Here's Rounders:
1.THE HORRORS - "Skying" (XL)
Album number 3, and a second Rounder Album of The Year! Hugely deserved, if "Primary Colours" was a wild dark night, this album is a glorious dawn, a psychedelic Psychedelic Furs
2.SUUNS - "Zeroes QC" (Secretly Canadian)
Kinda out of nowhere in Jan, this glorious debut which is the handsome bastard child of Fugazi and Clinic. Damn good live as well.
3.THE WAR ON DRUGS - "Slave Ambient" (Secretly Canadian)
Secretly Canadian double whammy time - a marvellous record of shoegaze psychy Americana, channelling both Tom Petty and Dylan.
4.PJ HARVEY - "Let England Shake" (Island)
Hey! We nearly agreed with the Mercury Music Prize judges! A wondrous return from Polly - musically and intellectually.
5.HYETAL - "Broadcast" (Special Branch)
Where dubstep meets John Carpenter for a skulk around town with some beautiful analogue interludes.
6.FORD & LOPATIN - "Channel Pressure" (Software)
7.NEON INDIAN - "Era Extrana" (Transgressive)
8.JOHN MAUS - "We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves" (Upset The Rhythm)
9.MOON DUO - "Mazes" (Souterrain Transmissions)
10.PEAKING LIGHTS - "936" (Weird World)
11.THURSTON MOORE - "Demolished Thoughts" (Matador)
12.SBTRKT - "SBTRKT" (Young Turks)
13.METRONOMY - "The English Riviera" (Because)
14.YUCK - "Yuck" (Mercury)
15.MAYER HAWTHORNE - "How Do You Do" (Universal Republic)
16.CAT'S EYES - "Cat's Eyes" (Polydor)
17.BOOKER T JONES - "The Road From Memphis" (Epitaph)
18.THE FIELD - "Looping State Of Mind" (Kompakt)
19.STEPHEN MALKMUS - "Mirror Traffic" (Domino)
20.VERONICA FALLS - "Veronica Falls" (Bella Union)
21.WILD FLAG - “Wild Flag” (Wichita)
22.JOHN TEJADA - "Parabolas" (Kompakt)
23.JUSTICE - "Audio, Video, Disco" (Edbanger)
24.BEASTIE BOYS - "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" (Capitol)
25.JAMIE WOON - "Mirrorwriting" (Interscope)
26.MEMORY TAPES - "Player Piano" (Something In Construction)
27.LOCUSSOLUS - "Locussolus" (International Feel)
28.NO JOY - "Ghost Blonde" (Mexican Summer)
29.GUI BORATTO - "III" (Kompakt)
30.WIDOWSPEAK - "Widowspeak" (Captured Tracks)
31.MOGWAI - "Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will" (Rock Action)
32.MARTYN - "Ghost People" (Brainfeeder)
33.ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER - "Last Summer" (City Slang)
34.J.MASCIS - "Several Shades Of Why" (Sub Pop)
35.TORO Y MOI - "Underneath The Pine" (Carpark)
36.THE KILLS - "Blood Pressures" (Domino)
37.WASHED OUT - "Within & Without" (Weird World)
38.RINGO DEATHSTARR - "Colour Trip" (Club AC30)
39.DENNIS COFFEY - "Dennis Coffey" (Strut)
40.EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - "Take Care Take Care Take Care" (Bella Union)
41.GRUFF RHYS - "Hotel Shampoo" (Ovni)
42.TOM WAITS - "Bad As Me" (Anti)
43.MODESELEKTOR - "Monkeytown" (Monkeytown)
44.HOLY GHOST - "Holy Ghost" (DFA)
45.RUSTIE - “Glass Swords” (Warp)
46.KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS - "Smoking In Heaven" (Sunday Best)
47.WOODEN SHJIPS - "West" (Thrill Jockey)
48.BALAM ACAB - "Wander/Wonder" (Triangle)
49.ST. VINCENT - "Strange Mercy" (4AD)
50.BLOOD ORANGE - “Coastal Grooves” (Domino)
I cannot argue with the top 4, maybe not in that order though. I also got to see all the top 4 live in 2011 as well (as an aside it was a great year for gigs I have lost count of the shows I have been to).
My album of the year did not even make the cut...Yuksek's Living on the Edge of Time. Saw him live as well. I also feel Gruff should be in the top 10. I heart Gruff. I'm not convinced by the new Justice album yet. PlanningtoRock is another noticeable absentee. And Ford and Lopatin is a good call.
