Architecture In Helsinki – Moment Bends
This is poppy, upbeat, keyboard music. Their sound is very distinctive and at times very 80s, the opening song is actually reminiscent of the soundtrack to the never-ending story. There are some great songs on Moment Bends, and it certainly contains a lot of foot-tapping beats, but there are also quite a few weaker, filler type songs here, and the album somewhat peters out quietly. That said the best songs are strong and indisputably catchy, ‘That Beep’ in particular. Overall this is solid upbeat summertime stuff.
Sounds like: A more cheesy, 80s Crystal Castles.
Top tracks: Contact High, That Beep, Yr To Go, I Know Deep Down
7/10
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See
In ‘Suck It And See’ the Arctic Monkeys seem to have discovered the higher chords on their guitars. This is a different direction than their previous stuff, it is definitely not the return to their early energetic rock that many had hoped for. In truth this is much in keeping with their live performances, much more chilled out and less energetic. Make no mistake this is a very very good album, lyrically superb, and the sound they produce is excellent with a distinct 70s rock feel. In keeping with what seems to be a band tradition they round off the album with a superb track ‘That’s where you’re wrong’, which is pretty much to this album what ‘A certain romance’ was to their debut. Another excellent album in another direction for the monkeys, who seem like elder statesmen these days despite still being in their mid 20s.
Sounds like: Early Arctic Monkeys crossed with the Velvet Underground
Top tracks: Black Treacle, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala, Reckless Serenade, Suck It And See, That’s Where You’re Wrong
8.5/10
AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony
Energetic, electronic rock music seems to be the staple of AWOLNATION. This album contains a mixture of poppy and angry songs, with a couple of slower ones thrown in, and at times it has a kind of gospel, soulful feel. ‘People’ is probably the song most people will recognise, but the rest of the album has quite a different sound. This is very entertaining stuff, and they definitely have a unique sound.
Sounds like: A little like Beck, but more angry and electro
Top tracks: Soul Wars, People, Kill Your Heroes, Not Your Fault
8/10
The Black Keys – El Camino
More excellent bluesy rock from The Black Keys, a little dirtier and more up-tempo than their most recent stuff. El Camino is shorter, sharper, and a little more country at times. The album opens up with a huge kickstart in ‘Lonely Boy’ and is full of hits throughout, there are no fillers here. There is real variation in the sound throughout El Camino, ranging from high tempo rock to dirty blues. I would challenge anyone to listen to ‘Gold On The Ceiling’ and not appreciate. This is good old-fashioned rock at its finest, and it is easy to argue that right now The Black Keys are the best rock band in the USA. They have a huge sound, and this is simply one of the most complete albums of 2011.
Sounds like: A more bluesy early Kings of Leon, pre selling out.
Top tracks: Lonely Boy, Gold On The Ceiling, Money Maker, Sister, Stop Stop
9/10
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
British Sea Power produce a good sound, made up of solid guitars, pianos and unmistakable soft vocals. Valhalla Dancehall kicks off with the excellent rocking ‘Whos in control’, and is really up and down from there. There are some excellent catchy tracks along the way, but there are also some very long dragging instrumentals. You could probably chop off 15 minutes of this and make it a better album. This album makes for very pleasant listening, though unspectacular. A good chillout guitar album.
Sounds like: a little like Band Of Horses, or Embrace
Top tracks: Luna, Georgie Bay, Whos in Control, Living is so easy
7/10
Cage The Elephant – Thank You, Happy Birthday
This can be summarised best as energetic, dirty guitar rock. Cage The Elephant perform with huge energy, and this album contains some excellent tracks which are sure to have a big appeal. This album has its softer moments, but they are generally surrounded by heavier yet tuneful guitar riffs. Some very memorable songs on this record, overall it is a very solid rocking album. Listen if you feel like moshing.
Sounds like: A little like Ash, particularly their heavier stuff. With more screaming. And a little Pixies mixed in.
Top tracks: Right Before My Eyes, Shake Me Down, Aberdeen, Flow
8/10
The Chain Gang Of 1974 – Wayward Fire
Wayward Fire is a superb electro album. The Chain Gang Of 1974 produce an excellent catchy electro guitar sound, despite the terrible name, and in general the songs here are made up of slowly building beats before kicking off. The Album gets of to a steady start with ‘Stop’, which sounds like it could have been released in 1984. Most of the songs here are long and follow suit with building starts before the lyrics kick in. The music is very listenable, and there are some superb catchy hooks and sequences of bleeps along the way. ‘Hold On’ is probably the best examples of this, and must be up there with the top songs of the year despite being over 8 minutes long. Overall this is a great effort, and a very enjoyable album.
Sounds like: LCD Soundsystem / Clubfeet / New Order
Top tracks: Devil Is A Lady, Hold On, Heartbreakin’ Scream, Matter Of Time
8.5 / 10
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
More electro / dance / keyboard mastery from this very talented group. Zonoscope doesn’t really have the huge kicking off dancy tunes that ‘In Ghost Colours’ had, but there is enough on here to make it a very good album. You get the sense that they are experimenting with a different direction somewhat, and there is a distinct tribal feel to this album. This is a great piece of work, though not necessarily in line with their previous stuff. And regardless of what they say, the riff for ‘take me over’ really does sound like men at work..
Sounds like: Cut Copy. There is not much like them. Think New Order crossed with Daft Punk or Empire Of The Sun, and then more synths.
Top tracks: Alisa, Take Me Over, Need You Now, Pharaohs & Pyramids
8.5/10
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
More folky, storytelling tunes from The Decemberists. This is a very pleasant album, and very easy to listen to. Their aren’t many bands get away with using an accordion these days, but they manage it. There are some good singalong tunes on The King Is Dead, and at times there is a real nautical feel to the music. If I were on a mission at sea I’d listen to the Decemberists for sure.
Sounds like: The Levellers, REM acoustic stuff
Top tracks: Rox In The Box, Down By The Water, This Is Why We Fight
7/10
Destroyer – Kaputt
Much of this album could be used as the soundtrack to a softcore 70s porn film. This is generally soft, funky stuff, with a bit of saxophone and trumpet thrown in, and very soft vocals. There are rare decent moments on Kaputt, but there are also a lot of long dragging tracks or parts of tracks which are really just made up of random noise. Not good.
Sounds like: reminds me of Ariel Pink, but softer and weirder.
Top tracks: Chinatown, Poor In Love
4/10
Digitalism – I Love You, Dude
I Love You Dude is a very easy to listen to dancy electro album. Nothing too spectacular, its just a solid effort that is very easy on the ear. Solid background music.
Sounds like: Delphic, daft punk
Top tracks: 2 Hearts, Circles, Forrest Gump
6.5/10
Dirty Vegas – Electric Love
Dirty Vegas have a very catchy electro dance sound, and Electric Love is a very consistent album full of good tunes throughout. The album kicks of with the excellent ‘Little White Doves’, and doesn’t really slow down at all until the final track. There are some superb tracks on Electric Love, and it is genuinely one of the most listenable albums of the year.
Sounds like: kind of like Groove Armada’s danciest stuff
Top tracks: Little White Doves, Changes, Electric Love, Never Enough
8/10
Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys!
‘Build A Rocket Boys’ definitely feels a little slower than Elbow’s previous two albums, but it still sees them close to their best with their orchestral building rock style. You probably wouldn’t find many of these songs in the singles chart, but the album flows very well and it really is a beautiful piece of work overall. Elbow are not widely known in the US considering their popularity in the UK, but if you are a fan of bands like The National you should really listen to them.
Sounds like: The National with less guitar, and more pianos and violins. A slower version of the Black Keys slower stuff..
Top tracks: The Birds, Lippy Kids, Neat Little Rows, Open Arms
8.5/10
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Wasting Light is a solid album made up with textbook Foo Fighters rock songs, and is maybe a little heavier than their recent stuff. The album flows nicely but doesn’t really have anything as spectacular as an ‘Everlong’ to offer. A couple of the songs on here might make their greatest hits list – ‘Walk’ is a great song and for me is easily the best track on the album. Overall a good effort, but not the brilliant album many hoped it would be.
Sounds like: Foo Fighters. Bush
Top Tracks: Bridge Burning, The Days, Walk, A Matter Of Time
7/10
Foster The People - Torches
One of 2011 most hyped bands have delivered an excellent debut in Torches. Foster The People make poppy, entertaining, dancy electro music, thoroughly uplifting and very catchy. In ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ they had without question one of the biggest hits of the year. For me there are better songs on the album, but Torches is a very consistent release and is sure to be one of the most popular albums of the year.
Sounds like: Very unique, sort of like a poppier Friendly Fires, mixed with Empire Of The Sun
Top tracks: Helena Beat, Pumped Up Kicks, Don't Stop, Waste, Warrant
8.5/10
Friendly Fires - Pala
More funky, indie, keyboard disco stuff from the Friendly Fires. Pala is a very solid album, consistent songs throughout, a few of which could have been stolen right from the 80s. The bonus edition also contains a superb Depeche Mode cover. Very entertaining, upbeat stuff, Pala is pretty much the only slower track on the album.
Sounds like: Kind of like crossing Depeche Mode with Erasure
Top Tracks: Live those days tonight, Hawaiian air, True love, Chimes, Strangelove
8/10
Glasvegas – EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\
A slightly disappointing follow up to their excellent self titled debut album, Euphoric Heartbreak contains the same brand of euphoric guitar rock, but for me this is much more downbeat. The album is really propped up around one big song, ‘Euphoria, take my hand’, which is an excellent epic tune but shines very brightly when compared to most of the other songs on here. The chanty, repetitive choruses are still in plentiful supply, but the vocals here are more whiney and the album is generally quite depressing. The band still have a huge sound, and there are a few good songs on here, but I wouldn’t say this is their finest work.
Sounds like: Kind of Black Rebel Motorcycle club versus the Killers, but more miserable.
Top tracks: The World Is Yours, Euphoria take my hand, Lots sometimes
5/10
Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!
This is quite simply a superbly produced electro disco party. The beats are very simple but very effective, and after a steady opening track the album really kicks off. Filled with catchy, entertaining keyboard beats, the album plays like a greatest hits collection, which it kind of is considering some songs on here were released as singles as far back as 2007. The music is upbeat, funky, and very listenable, and there are some huge summery songs on here - Hold On, Hold My Breath and Say My Name being the best of them. Containing some of the most listenable music of the year, this really is a superb summer album.
Sounds like: Basement Jaxx / Crystal Castles / LCD Soundsystem / New Order
Top tracks: Wait And See, Hold My Breath, Say My Name, Hold On, Its Not Over
9/10
The Horrors - Skying
This was another highly anticipated album after their fantastic 2009 release Primary Colours, but Skying falls some way short of that release. The Horrors have an atmospheric, rocking sound, though that is not shown to its full potential on Skying. This is generally much slower stuff, with only a couple of very good songs. The album does get going towards the end, but the first half is largely forgettable.
Sounds like: At best, a kind of more keyboard oriented Arcade Fire, crossed with some heavier rock like Black Rebel Motorcycle club
Top tracks: Still Life, Wild Eyed, Moving Further Away
5/10
Kasabian – Velociraptor!
After 3 superb albums I was eagerly anticipating the next work from Kasabian, however in Velociraptor the band have gone in a slightly different direction to previous efforts. The album is generally darker and softer, there is not much that I would call classic Kasabian. There are some excellent standout tracks on here (Days Are Forgotten, Velociraptor!, Re-wired), but the best songs on the album stand a long way above the rest. Velociraptor! gets better as it goes on and finishes strongly, but some of the earlier tracks definitely drag a little. Re-wired is a superb song, it must be one of the best of the year. Overall this is a good album, but not up to the mark of their previous work.
Sounds like: Kasabian, but darker. They are kind of unique, with a great dancy rock sound
Top tracks: Days Are Forgotten, Velociraptor!, Re-wired, Switchblade Smile
7.5/10
Katy B – On A Mission
The music of Katy B has a distinctive 90s dance feel, combining funky soul stuff with an almost dubstep style beat at times. On A Mission flows brilliantly, with huge variation in the style of the tracks. Dark at times, R&B, soulful and dancy at others, there is a solid storytelling theme throughout. Very difficult to describe, this kind of music really came out of left field and it is a credit to the artist that it is impossible to categorise. Combining all sorts of musical styles that I don’t usually like, this is very much worth exploring.
Sounds like: ?
Top tracks: Power On Me, Katy On A Mission, Witches Brew, Movement, Lights On
8.5/10
The Kills – Blood Pressures
Blood Pressures is an excellent dirty rock album. The Kills make a huge sound for 2 people, and this album is full of reverberating guitars and catchy hooks. You can probably summarise the Kills sound by saying they are to dirty rock what the Black Keys are to bluesy rock. The songs just work well and the vocals of Alison Mossheart complements the guitar perfectly. There are some huge anthemic tunes on Blood Pressures, which is sure to be one of the very best rock albums of the year.
Sounds like: maybe the White Stripes crossed with Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Top tracks: Future Starts Slow, Heart Is A Beating Drum, Nail In My Coffin, DNA, Baby Says
9/10
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
This is very much dark indie pop. It is generally based around a solid beat using a mish mash of instruments – Drums, Bongos, pianos on top of the bass beat. There are some good catchy songs on Wounded Rhymes, but at times this is downright miserable. This is a decent album which Im sure will prove popular with many. Her voice really reminds me of Cyndi Lauper..
Sounds like:
Top Tracks: Sadness is a blessing, Rich Kid Blues, Get Some, I Follow Rivers
6/10
The Naked And Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You
With a distinctive electro guitar sound, The Naked And Famous have created an outstanding album in Passive Me, Aggressive You. They have a huge sound at times, which I would liken to Arcade Fire using keyboards and synths. There are some real epic tunes on this album, which is generally full of building crescendos and some 80s sounding beats and riffs. The album follows suit of many top albums through the years by starting and finishing with superb tracks in ‘All of This’ and ‘Girls like you’, and if you like Passion Pit I am sure you will appreciate this. Quite simply excellent, I will be surprised if there are many better albums than this in 2011.
Sounds like: Passion Pit, Of Montreal (their best stuff), an electro Arcade Fire
Top Tracks: Punching in a Dream, Eyes, Girls Like You, All Of This
9/10
Obits – Moody, Standard and Poor
Obits really could be the offspring of The Hives and The Stooges. This is proper punk rock – short, sharp, direct guitar music. The whole album is only 36 minutes long, and is full of entertaining rocking tunes. Obits have delivered a very good energetic album here.
Sounds like: The Hives, The Stooges
Top tracks: I Want Results, Shift Operator, No Fly List, Naked To The World
8/10
Oh Land – Oh Land
This is a solid album with some very good poppy disco tunes, mixed in with a few fillers and slower songs. The sound is very much electro pop, and Oh Land certainly have the ability to create catchy dancy songs. ‘Human’ is a massive disco song, and would not be out of place in a Broadway show. I expect it to be a very popular summer song this year.
Sounds like: A slower, poppier version of Little Boots, with a little Santogold mixed in
Top tracks: Son Of A Gun, Human, Voodoo
7/10
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have a good poppy soft rock sound. Belong has a bigger sound than their first album, but it could never be described as heavy. There are some very likeable tracks on Belong, and im sure this album will be very popular amongst fans of artists like Best Coast, Smith Westerns etc, as well as fans of softer early 90s Britpop stuff. Very pleaseant background music.
Sounds like: early 90s softer stuff, Echobelly. Some Lightning Seeds-esque riffs.
Top tracks: Heavens Gonna Happen, Heart In Your Heartbreak, Girl of 1000 Dreams
7/10
The Rapture – In The Grace Of Your Love
I’ll freely admit to being a big fan of The Rapture, one of the first bands I ever saw after moving to New York. In The Grace Of Your Love has a very different style to their previous work, particularly the more funky stuff on ‘Pieces Of The People We Love’, this is much lower key and much less disco. Maybe it is because the band lost a member? I’m not sure. There are some very strong songs on here, but there is also some pretty annoying stuff, you would probably only see 1 or 2 of these make it onto a Rapture ‘best of’ collection. A good album nonetheless, but I cant say Im overly impressed with the new path.
Sounds like: somewhere between Bloc Party, Pixies and Placebo
Top tracks: Sail Away, Come Back To Me, Children, How Deep Is Your Love
7.5/10
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
The RAA seem to produce slower, powerful guitar and keyboard music. The vocals are highly distinctive, and the album has a soulful and somewhat country, folky feel. There is some real beautiful sounding stuff on here, Departing is a very solid album.
Sounds like: a folkier version of The National
Top tracks: North Star, Stamp, Tornado 87, Barnes Yard
7.5/10
Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
Smith Westerns seem to be a youthful indie answer to the Beach Boys. This album is unoffensive without ever being remarkable, filled with poppy guitar tunes. Their youthfulness shines through in their music, which is easy on the ear but unfortunately seems to just wash over the listener. This is very summery music but there is nothing too memorable on Dye It Blonde.
Sounds like: A shoegazy, indie version of the beach boys, without the singalong songs.
Top Tracks: All Die young, Dance Away
5/10
The Sounds – Something To Die For
True to their name, The Sounds really produce a very interesting sound.. At times it feels like it is going to break into heavy warehouse style electro rave, and at others it is punky electro guitar, but the mix works well and ultimately Something To Die For is a very good album. It kicks off with a bang with ‘Its So Easy’ building up to ‘Dance With The Devil’, and the first 6 tracks really are the strongest and most upbeat on the album. Very impressive stuff, Im certain these guys will put on an excellent live show.
Sounds like: sort of like early Muse meets the Yeah Yeah Yeahs..
Top Tracks: Dance With The Devil, The No No Song, Better Off Dead, Something To Die For
8/10
The Streets - Computers And Blues
More interesting social commentary from Mike Skinner and co. This is much more upbeat than his earliest stuff, and is generally a fun and very listenable album. There are a few darker tunes on here, but it is obvious that he doesn't have the same issues to talk about as in his early days. His lyrical prowess hasn't declined however, and there are some great lines in here. Working ‘Frank Bruno’s nose’ into a song gets a lot of credit from me.. This is probably The Streets finest work since 'A Grand Dont Come For Free'.
Sounds like: The Streets. He pretty much pioneered this stuff.
Top tracks: OMG, We Can Never Be Friends, Soldiers, Without Thinking
7.5/10
The Strokes - Angles
It is pretty rare that a band gets back together after a long hiatus and produces something memorable. And this album is no exception to that rule. Much of the stuff on Angles sounds like B-sides to their great early stuff, there are a few standout tracks on here but overall nothing too notable. Most of the songs on here very much fall into the 'filler' category.
Sounds like: The Strokes. But softer. If you don't know them get their debut album 'Is this It'. An absolute classic. Like a less intense version of the Ramones.
Top tracks: Two kinds of happiness, under cover of darkness, Gratisfaction
5.5/10
Teddybears – Devil’s Music
Teddybears produce a very upbeat, cheesey, dancy sound, which makes Devils Music a highly entertaining and listenable album. They have very high profile collaborators throughout the album, and I imagine their live shows are pretty impressive.
Sounds like: Basement Jaxx versus Mark Ronson
Top tracks: Rocket Scientist, Get Mama A House, Cho Cha, Cardiac Arrest
8/10
Theophilus London – Timez Are Weird These Days
This electro rap album seems to have flown under the radar a little, but it is an excellent solid effort. Theophilus London produces a mixed bag of funky rap with a distinct electro influence. Wine And Chocolates is a highlight of the album, and would be up there as one of the best songs of the year. A very strong, entertaining record.
Sounds like: kind of like a dancier, electro version of B.o.B
Top tracks: Wine And Chocolates, Love Is Real, I Stand Alone, Lighthouse
8/10
The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
The Vaccines are one of the most hyped bands of 2011, and this album shows that the hype was totally justified. They produce a great guitar rock sound, reminiscent of Interpol and The Ramones. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines is a superbly complete album, it is basically great song after great song with no real fillers. ‘Post break up sex‘ is clearly the most publicly acclaimed song on here, and will be one of the most popular songs of the year, but there are plenty of other epic tunes on this album. Without question one of the best of 2011.
Sounds like: A more upbeat version of Interpol or The Editors, The Ramones
Top tracks: If You Wanna, A Lack Of Understanding, Norgaard, Post Break-up Sex, All In White
9/10
The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient
The War On Drugs produce a euphoric low-fi sound, which at times is nothing short of beautiful. Slave Ambient is a strong album, however for me some songs do drag a little. This will probably be an album of the year for many because the sound is fantastic, but for me it is a little slow. A solid piece of work nonetheless.
Sounds like: Broken Social Scene. A little like the Verve at times. Vocally very Bob Dylan-esque
Top Tracks: Best Night, Your Love Is Calling My Name, Come To The City, Baby Missiles
7.5/10
We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships
We Are Augustines have a very solid, classic indie guitar band sound. Rise Ye Sunken ships contains catchy repetitive songs throughout, with a few real epic tunes thrown in (Headlong into the abyss, new drink for the old drunk). At times the music is reminiscent of The National though We Are Augustines are generally more upbeat, and lyrically the two are very different. A very strong album.
Sounds Like: Somewhere between The National and Snow Patrol, but more rocking.
Top tracks: Headlong Into The Abyss, Book Of James, New Drink For The Old Drunk
8/10
The White Lies - Ritual
This was one of my most anticipated albums of the year after their superb 2009 debut 'To Lose My Life', and unfortunately Ritual does not live up to the perhaps unfair expectations. On the face of it this is a good album, a solid effort but really lacking the anthemic, epic tunes of their first album. The White Lies still have a great sound, and in that regard this album follows on where the first album left off, but quite simply the songs on Ritual don't hit the heights of to lose my life. I still believe they are one of the best new bands around, but this is not their finest hour. If you don’t know them, get their first album, it’s a classic.
Sounds like: somewhere between Joy Division and the Killers early stuff.
Top tracks: The Power and The Glory, Is Love
7.5/10
Yuck – Yuck
Yuck produce a solid indie guitar rock sound. This is a decent debut offering which gets better as it goes along, though at times the lyrics are somewhat repetitive. There are some good riffs here and a few catchy songs, though the standout tracks really do stand along way above the rest and overall the album is pleasant rather than remarkable.
Sounds like: their best stuff reminds me of Ash.
Top tracks: Sunday, Operation, Stutter, Get Away
6.5/10
