Early contender for album of the year 2011

[dalliance]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Got round to listening to it over the weekend and the new Low album C'mon is great. What a fantastic band Low have been since the mid 90s.

[Er Liquidatore]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Any rap/hip-hop/grime fans should download the follwoing mixtapes forthwith:

Raptor - Some Bad Advice
Dirty Danger - Loose Change

Dange's album 'I Ain't Rich Yet' is out as well, I believe, but I haven't got my hands on it yet.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

The Cat's Eyes album is really growing on me. On first listening it's just a bit too much of a homage to a record collection, but after 8 or 9 listens the tunes start to really shine though.

Getting better with every listen.

[Mr Beast]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

dalliance wrote:

Got round to listening to it over the weekend and the new Low album C'mon is great. What a fantastic band Low have been since the mid 90s.

Yes - another great album by a great band.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Bought the new Panda Bear album and the Beans album at the local independent record store on Record Store Day.

On first listening, Panda Bear starts off all guns blazing for the first 3 songs, then there's a unfortunate spell where every song sounds like the last one, before a fantastic final flourish. The last two songs are amazing.

Currently listening to the Beans album, and it's very good.

Contrary to mumpo, I think this is a really great year for new albums.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

After repeated listenings to the Panda Bear album, I can confirm it is magnificent.

I really wasn't expecting it to be very good. I saw him play most of it in a concert last year and thought all the songs sounded really boring. But it all comes together on the album.

He namechecks a restaurant in the thank-you notes that's round the corner from my work-place that my colleagues and I go to fairly often. I used to see him (Panda Bear) in there quite a lot, having lunch with his wife, but haven't seen him eating there for a couple of years. So, it was a real surprise to see the place namechecked. The owners are these two really funny Benfica fans, both old and fat (the restaurant serves pretty enormous portions, hence its popularity with me and my work-colleagues) and they wouldn't have a clue who Panda Bear is. I don't know whether I should take the CD there to show them when I go for lunch on Tuesday, probably I'll just ask if they know about it.

[Mumpo]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

I had them down as Italo-disco also-rans a couple of years ago, but the new Metronomy album, The English Riviera, is an entirely different prospect. It's thin and haunted and forgotten, with plaintive synths that echo like a Wurlitzer in a deserted pavilion and vocals caught in the prismatic glint of a Polaroid lens. Perfect summer listening.

[dalliance]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

It has reviewed pretty well but did nothing for me really.

[Bored Of Education]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

When I arrived in Bath, the first gig I went to see was a band called 7 Crowns. I genuinely thought that they were much ado about nothing and, if this was a great band in Bath, I was going to haul arse off back to London ASAP.

Anyway, 7 years later and a couple of support gigs with them, I buy their album "Sun Skulls" out of politeness and, fuck me, it is fantastic hardcore in a Cro-Mags/Bad Brains mixed with AC/DC and Motorhead.

Great music by surprise is the greatest thing

[midlander]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

The Indelicates new album, released in May, looks interesting - a concept album based on the life of David Koresh. Video.

[Buzz Killington]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

I'm with steveeeeeeeee. PJ Harvey's new album is INSANELY good.

[Uosdwis R Dewoh]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Looking forward to getting into a lot of these. I suppose I'll (Nick) cave and listen to the new PJ Harvey album. I haven't heard a lot from this year, but for the new TV On The Radio and Katy B's debut album, both of which are fantastic. Despite not having listened to it yet, I notice no one has mentioned The Strokes yet...

[dalliance]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

God no, it's not the worst album I've heard this year but it's not that far off and it's far and away the weakest thing they have done as a band.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Update, as inca said, the Cornershop album is indeed one of the best of the year. The Beans album is all killer no filler. The Panda Bear album has gone a bit stale on recent listens - there are 3 good songs plus one great one, the rest are all a bit meh.

Kurt Vile and Ghostpoet are really growing on me.

[Fussbudget]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Away Goals wrote:

I haven't heard a lot from this year, but for the new TV On The Radio and Katy B's debut album, both of which are fantastic.

I finally got around to listening to the Katy B album and it is indeed amazing, head and shoulders above anything I've heard this year. I'm quite impressed that they've kept most of it sounding like a proper dance record and not been tempted to dilute it into sub-par MOR pop.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Okay, June update. Both Cornershop and Panda Bear were big hitters when I first got them, but I hardly play either album after about 7 or 8 plays.

My favourite albums of the year so far:

1. PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
2. Tune Yards: Who Kill
3. Ghost Poet: Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
4. Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for my Halo
5. Cat's Eyes: Cat's Eyes

(honourable mention to Lykke Li)

Recent new purchases are Cults (not bad) and Agnes Obel (interesting, but I think it was released last year).

[dalliance]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

The Panda Bear album didn't grow on me at all. Some good recent albums I have liked:

Bon Iver. Bon Iver (it's nowhere near as good as the first one but still pretty nice)
Fleet Foxes. Helplessness Blues
Phantom Buffalo. Cement Postcards with Owl Colours
King Creosote & John Hopkins. Diamond Mine
Parts & Labor. Constant Future
The Oscillation. Veils
PS I Love You. Meet me At The Muster Station
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat. Everything's Getting Older
Belong. Common Era
Moon Duo. Mazes
Psychedelic Horsehit. Laced
Thee Oh Sees. Castlemania

[Mumpo]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Best thing I've been listening to recently has been the Austra album, Feel It Break. That and Friendly Fires' Pala have been streets ahead of the pack. Apart from that, the Cats Eyes LP was patchy, TuneYards was pleasant enough in the car and the Tom Vek comeback isn't really firing me up.

Oh, I tell you who I have been getting into. The only other time they got a mention here was on O(ld)TF, where even Super Sharp Shooter seemed a little flustered. But this is magnificent, and there are a few tracks of comparable quality on their new LP.

[Bored Of Education]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Up the Workers, or, Capitalism is Good for Corporations That's Why You've Been Told Socialism is Bad by Thee Faction is great. They are bloody industrious as well, the last album was only out a year ago.

Tricky bastards to pin down to a gig though

[Tony C]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

I've listened to more jazz this year than I probably have in the whole of my life previously and without wishing to sound deliberately obscurist I absolutely loved 'Faithful' by the Marcin Waselewski Trio, certainly my favourite album of the year to date.

[Fussbudget]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Mumpo wrote:

Best thing I've been listening to recently has been the Austra album, Feel It Break. That and Friendly Fires' Pala have been streets ahead of the pack.

The Friendly Fires album is indeed fantastic, the production is especially great. It pains me to say this as I think they come off as a complete bunch of twats in interviews but I struggle to think of another band in recent memory whose first two albums have been that good.

[sw2borshch]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Mumpo- just watched that Pierces video and rather enjoyed it - I saw a print ad for them somewhere the other day and assumed they'd be rubbish, but yeah, I loved that Bond theme vibe thy had.

[linus]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Out of the couple of hundred albums I bought over the last year, I don't think I've bought any with new music other than the last from Broadcast and a couple of other records. I just can't get excited by groups like Animal Collective or the Fleet Foxes when there are hundreds of more interesting albums from period bands from which they ripped off their sound.

One of the few recent things I got was an EP given to me by a local Montreal artist. It cost me two drinks and it ended up being one of the best new things I've heard lately, then again I might have been swayed by her considerable charms.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Kara-Keith

"Get Up and Go Go" is one good bridge away from getting single of the year props.

[loose cannon]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

Picked up Rome - Danger Mouse & Luppi
V. good but wish they hadn't used Norah Jones, it was crying out for a stronger voice - my alternate imagined album would have featured Macy Gray

[sw2borshch]

Early contender for album of the year 2011

I'm going to steal Carcass' thunder by linking to the Quietus' Top 40 LPs so far this year - after a quick skim through, the one I have is the Battles album, which I really like. It's also the only album released this year I've bought (or downloaded, stole, heard,whatever), although there is a copy of that Katy B CD in the house.

WWell, not quite, as I've just downloaded the Elzhi "Elmatic" mixtape in the list too, but not yet listened to it - but I'm excited.

I did mean to get that Cornershop LP too, so this should act as a spur, and I quite fancy listening to the Deathgrips and PJ Harvey things too.