Melted Spinning Plastic

//M/S/P// Best Albums of 2011

• 20. Sonic Youth - Simon Werner Au Disparu                                                         … as good as or better than any of their recent commercial releases …
sonic youth - simon werner a disparu (album preview) by experimedia

• 19. Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder                                                                          … a universe of slow-motion aquatic soundscapes …   

10 Balam Acab - Expect by -Rx-

• 18. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

   … idiosyncratic experimental hip hop of the highest order  … 

• 17. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L

    … the brainchild of Merrill Garbus is a hodgepodge of genres, textures and    dynamics more intense than those found in the best mashups … 

tUnE-yArDs - Gangsta by ListenBeforeYouBuy

• 16. Gold Panda - DJ-KiCKS

  … putting a dj mix on a list of the year’s best albums is entering into dicey territory, but one this expertly curated and mixed deserves the honor … 

VA_-_DJ-Kicks_(By_Gold_Panda)_(2011)-29970 by user5122856

• 15. Beirut - The Rip Tide

  … Zach Condon’s many antiquated influences have been fully digested resulting in a signature Beirut sound and a record that bodes well for the future of the band …

Beirut - Santa Fe by Revolver USA

• 14. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

 … these youngsters cleaned up their lo-fi sensibilities to turn in a set of lush, melodic, psychedelic garage pop that worms its way into your brain … 

End Of The Night by Smith Westerns

• 13. SBTRKT - SBTRKT

 … this is bass music in a future-pop context  … stateside dubstep fans would be wise to wander in this direction  … away from their nectars, mau5es, and  …skrills(?)  … 

• 12. Sun Araw - Ancient Romans

 … an ocean of textures and tones unfurls languidly as it pulls the listener in before it turns into quicksand and refuses to let go …

sun araw - ancient romans (album preview) by experimedia

• 11. Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid/Mats Gustafsson - Live at the South Bank

 … the Hebden/Reid collaboration, which at times could be less than the sum of its parts, hits its peak here, in a live setting with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson adding bits of visceral aggression … 

• 10. Radiohead - The King of Limbs 

 …possibly underrated due to the fact that no one is surprised by anything these guys do at this point … contrary to popular opinion, TKOL is a marked improvement over their previous release …

• 9. Washed Out - Within and Without 

 … easily the best thing to come out of the blissed-out chillwave genre thus far …

Washed Out: Amor Fati from Yoonha Park on Vimeo.

• 8. Panda Bear - Tomboy

 … Animal Collective member Noah Lennox’s 2011 release is his second masterpiece in a row by my count …

Panda Bear- Drone from Miko Yung on Vimeo.

• 7. Motion Sickness of Time Travel - Luminaries & Synastry

  … Rachel Evans creates some of the most compelling pieces of any artist working with synthesizer textures and drones  … I wrote about this album here … 

Motion Sickness of Time Travel - Synastry from Motion Sickness of Time Travel on Vimeo.

• 6. Real Estate - Days

 … smart, reverb drenched indie pop that sounds effortless and doesn’t reduce the “beach” aesthetic to an aural cliche …

• 5. The Psychic Paramount - II

 … an uncontrollable force of a record that plows its way through the genres of math rock, psychedelic rock, post rock, and post metal without ever slowing to catch its breath and always with an ear toward the experimental …

The Psychic Paramount by Drew St. Ivany

• 4. James Blake - James Blake/Enough Thunder (EP)

 … this is a massive cheat on my part … the album alone would have likely garnered this slot, but the EP is too good to ignore (on the strength of the Bon Iver collabo,“Fall Creek Boys Choir” alone) but too slight for inclusion on its own, so it seemed as good a solution as any to put them together … Blake possesses the heart and soul of a folk singer and the ear and cerebellum of an EDM producer … this is highly unique stuff …

James Blake - Unluck by allstarsandrew James Blake and Bon Iver - Fall Creek Boys Choir (ft Bon Iver) by FBi Radio

• 3. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica 

 … Daniel Lopatin’s work gets better with each successive release … this is the widescreen 3D version of OPN … 10 miniature sonic worlds, rich in detail, color, and atmosphere …

Oneohtrix Point Never - Explain from Behind the Walk-in on Vimeo.

• 2. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

 … I’ve always been a sucker for sprawling double albums. I consider The Who’s Quadrophenia, Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime and Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me (among others) to be great records. So in some respects Anthony Gonzalez’s latest, and in fact greatest, effort is right in my wheelhouse. And it does not disappoint. This is a gleaming, retro-futurist synth-pop dream world rendered in high definition … 

M83 “Echoes” from GREG HUNT on Vimeo.

M83 | Midnight City from DIVISION on Vimeo.

• 1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

 … Up until the last week or so, I had been debating about which of the two albums that ultimately took second and third on this list would take the top spot… and then that deluxe edition was released … watching the videos from this souped up version of the record allowed me to hear it with more distance than I ever had. I realized just how much of this record had seeped into my subconscious, whether it be a bit of lyric cribbed from The Who or a snatch of melody with words that I just can’t quite make out. Mine certainly will not be last list that you see with this work sitting atop it. No, I’m sure it will be the trendy pick and it might even have to endure a backlash considering that it dominated the Grammy nominations … pretty impressive feats for a record that really isn’t that commercial and is much more about “sound” than “song” …

Honorable Mention: Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972; Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost; Mastodon - The Hunter, Zomby - Dedication; Russian Circles - Empros, WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain; Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure; Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Wolfroy Goes to Town; Ghibli - Pythia; Hubble - Hubble Drums; A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP; Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact; Atlas Sound - Parallax; The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble - Mr. Machine; Ganglians - Still Living; PJ Harvey - Let England Shake; Stare Case - Lose Today; Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges