Mark’s Best of 2011
2011 was truly a blessed year for music. Many of my favorite groups released new records and, as always thanks to NME, I found some fab new ones to geek out over. Without further adieu, here are my Top Ten Albums and Top Ten Tracks of 2011 (Click on the album or track to purchase).
Albums
10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
This Portland, Oregon band have a a combo lo-fi, groovy throwback sound that makes me smile. “Thought Ballune” is a must download.
9. American Revival – The Worst Is Over Now
My fave new local band by way of Pete getting me back into alt.country. Their debut is magnificent. Here is their first video which showcases one of the best local bars, Williams Pub.
8. Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys!
Yes, these Ramsbottom, Bury lads sound like Genesis avec Peter Gabriel but so what? Every new release sees treasure after treasure.
7. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
I can’t wait to see all the music this band is going to make over the years. Caught them live in a warm up for the Arctic Monkeys last spring. Bril!
6. Noel Gallagher – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
It’s about time that Noel did his own thing. I say it all the time – he’s the better singer. This album has been like a comfy blanket to me of late.
5. Beady Eye – Different Gear, Still Speeding
I was pleasantly surprised to see Liam try on some different musical styles. The results speak for themselves.
4. The Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See
Another great fucking record from the Sheffield lads. I don’t think it’s possible for them to make a bad one.
3. The Kooks – Junk Of The Heart
Every three years The Kooks make an album that is seamless from the last one in its perfection. Just a joy to play over and over again…like this Simon and Garfunkel-esque gem..
2. The Original 7ven – Condensate
This barely missed being the album of the year. The only thing that honestly held it back was it came out later in the year (October) and I haven’t lived with like I did with my #1 pick. Morris, Jerome, Jimmy, Terry, Jesse, Monte, and Jellybean made the best Time album out of the five with this absolute corker of a record. Done without the help of that dude from Chanhassen, the greatest band in the history of funk delivered a stunner that has deepened my desire to be Morris Day.
1. Friendly Fires – Pala
The soundtrack to my summer and, indeed, the entire year. I think I have played this disc at least 200 times start to finish since it came out and I still find layers to it previously unheard. Pala sets a mood that is sorely lacking today, not just in music, but in our culture in general. I’m not entirely certain I can describe it in words but it’s reminiscent of what the most gorgeous flower would sound like as it blooms…in a club at 1:30am with piles of sweaty bodies writhing around to massive and thumping beats. And if it could tell Robert Browning-esque love stories. Like their self titled first release, Pala deserves to be forever enshrined in any Hall of Fame.
Lay back in the sun and listen to the title track…
Tracks
10. “Whirring
” – The Joy Formidable
I imagine this song as being the soundtrack to an indie love story. A true gem from this North Wales group.
9. “Endless Blue
” – The Horrors
It begins like a gentle kiss from a beautiful woman and switches mid way through into a full on frenetic, saliva-dripped shag…just like love making should be.
8. “Boogabear
” – American Revival
“I’m so tired of fighting the battle for who could care less…” singer Thomas Pendarvis croons in my fave from the Mpls alt. country outfit’s debut. This song is now officially the anthem of every bar in every small town for every person having a cold one. (No video here so go listen to the track by clicking on the song).
7. “Minnesota, WI
” – Bon Iver
The Eau Claire, WI natives perfectly captured that autumnal shimmer that I write about constantly. A nice shout out to my neighborhood of the country.
6. “Wasted
” – Glass Rock
I love the mood this song sets and the album cover art is the best of the year. It’s a photo I would take. And it came out on my birthday! (No video here so go listen to the track by clicking on the song).
5. “Shuffle
” – Bombay Bicycle Club
This Crouch End, London group may become my new Brit Rock darlings. This track struck me as sounding very different from what I normally hear from across the pond. It’s free on Amazon!
4. “Days
” – The Drums
This is my son’s best track of 2011. He wanted me to make note of it and it’s funny because it’s appropriate considering the video below. This Brooklyn based guitar pop outfit continues to make great music with their third release, Portamento.
3. “Post Break-Up Sex
” – The Vaccines
If Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks is the best break up album of all time, this track holds the best break up song mantle. We’ve all been there, and it’s wonderful.
2. “Junk Of The Heart (Happy)
” – The Kooks
A perfect pop song in just about every way. Luke does it again!
1. “Blue Cassette
” – Friendly Fires
Not simply the best track of 2011, but one of the best of all time. Friendly Fires really outdid themselves with this stunning song that waxes nostalgic about cassette tapes and lost love. My heart melts every single time I listen to it.
Those are my albums and tracks. What are yours?
Widescreen Music
As the dog days of summer wind on, my thoughts have turned to the disc that I have been obsessed with since its release last May. Pala by St Albans, Hertfordshire band Friendly Fires is an astounding record that achieves what I continually look for in good music: creating nostalgia for a time that never was.
Their first offering (the self titled Friendly Fires) is still played heavily in my house, in my car, and on my iPod even three years after its release. Whether it’s a long run (inside or out), a van ride with the kiddos, or 2AM at the club, Friendly Fires fits any mood or setting. I tried my best to curtail my expectations for their second album but it didn’t matter. Pala is fucking stunning and it has become the soundtrack for my summer, taking its place along their debut in continued rotation.
“If we had an manifesto for this album” says Friendly Fires’ singer and bass-player Ed Macfarlane, “it was a simple one; make an exciting, colorful pop record”
“Our goal is to make vibrant, widescreen songs” adds guitarist Edd Gibson. “but they must retain a spontaneity, have an energy and mysticism around them.”
Achieved, lads. Very well done.
Here is live version of my favorite track from the record which will likely be my Track of the Year. I’m not ashamed to admit I well up a little every time I hear it simply from how amazing this song is in both theme and style.
Markadelphia’s Best of the Noughties
The last decade of music was fucking amazing. One would think that being the Brit Rock maniac that I am I would be all about the 90s. While I did enjoy that decade, the music that came out in the last ten years made me wish it was a woman that I could kiss deeply and shower her with love and affection.
So what were the best ones? Here is my Top Ten with comments followed by my other 40 to round out the Top 50 CDs of the Noughties!
10. The Coral – Roots and Echoes (2007). Haunting, beautiful and brilliant. The best album of their career. Also contains my son’s favorite song of all time–“Cobwebs.” A psychedelic kiss…
9. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires (2008).
Like Ennis Del Mar, I can’t quit this album. They musically illustrate what it’s like to “Jump in the Pool” on the track of the same name. Wow! Every track is a dime. And they are a great live band. See them.
8. Mercury Rev – The Secret Migration (2005). From the first sound of this disc, the listener begins a sacred feminine journey that is a kiss to be cherished forever.
7. Coldplay – Parachutes (2000). Their first album is still my favorite. “High Speed” is the very definition of dream pop. Memories of those I love wash over me when I hear it…
6. The Kooks – Inside In/Inside Out (2006).
A stunner of a debut. Pop bliss wrapped in an amorous red bow.
5. The Fratellis – Costello Music (2006). Sometimes you hear a record for the first time and yet you have known it your whole life. This is one of those records. “Her’s is the tonic and mine is the gin”–mega…
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not (2006).
The heirs to the Beatles and Oasis. This disc is filled with love soaked Brit tales that are guaranteed to warm the heart and make us all Holy Knights of the British Empire.
3. Sterephonics – Just Enough Education To Perform (2001). Their finest album. NME will never forgive Kelly for “Mr Writer” and I think that is fucking wonderful.
2. The Subways – All Or Nothing (2008). The album that has defined my life. I think Billy and I are kindred spirits. Listening to this record is an answer to the question “Just what is Mark’s romance with women and music all about?”
1. Brian Wilson – Smile (2004).
An album 38 years in the making. Even in 2004 (just as in 1966), the concept of this album is light years ahead of its time. Brian Wilson is a genius. He is the American John Lennon. I was fortunate enough to see this album performed live in its entirety. It left me with no doubt that there is a higher power because, in addition to being the best show I have ever seen, Smile is one of the purest forms of beauty I have ever heard.
The rest of the best…
11. The Verve-Forth, 12. Keane-Hopes and Fears, 13. Doves-The Last Broadcast, 14. Snow Patrol-A Hundred Million Suns, 15. The Subways-Young For Eternity, 16. Delays-Faded Seaside Glamour, 17. Joe Jackson-Volume 4, 18. Ryan Adams-Love Is Hell, 19. The Kooks-Konk, 20. Coldplay-X and Y, 21. Snow Patrol-The Final Straw, 22. Stereophonics-You Gotta Go There To Come Back, 23. Doves-The Last Broadcast, 24. Saint Etienne-Finnesterre, 25. Travis-The Invisible Band, 26. U2-All That You Can’t Leave Behind, 27. Todd Rundgren-Liars, 28. Planet P Project-Go Out Dancing Pt.1, 29. The Last Shadow Puppets-The Age of the Understatement, 30. Kings of Leon-Holy Roller Novocaine EP, 31. Tom Petty-The Last DJ, 32. Doves-Some Cities, 33. Stereophonics-Language, Sex, Violence, Other, 34. Phoenix-United, 35. The Libertines-Up The Bracket, 36. Muse-Black Holes and Revelations, 37. Green Day-American Idiot, 38. Neil Young-Silver and Gold, 39. Beck-Guero, 40. Starsailor-Love Is Here, 41. Captain-This is Hazelville, 42. Kaiser Chiefs-Employment, 43. The Strokes-Is This It? 44. The Vines-Highly Evolved, 45. Paul McCartney-Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 46. Stereophonics-Keep Calm and Carry On, 47. Yeah Yeah Yeahs-EP, 48. Neil Finn-One Nil/One All, 49. John Starkey-Live at Jitters, 50. Oasis-Dig Out Your Soul
…and I took the sword from the Lady in the Lake
Resident Anglophile Mark returns to Ickmusic with a review of the recent White Lies / Friendly Fires show in Minneapolis. I need to add a “Tell Us How You REALLY Feel” category just for Mark’s colorful posts… – Pete
Friendly Fires / White Lies / The Soft Pack
April 4th @ the Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis
Friendly Fires Beginning last Saturday night, the next six weeks of my life will be filled with music from the Holy Land (aka the United Kingdom). This cavalcade of music was actually supposed to begin on March 30th with Bloc Party at 1st Avenue. But sadly, Kele (lead singer and guitarist) was sick, so the show has been postponed until May 4th, which is fine because it fits nicely between Franz Ferdinand and Keane. So, my first review of the series of shows I will see in April and May (which Pete has graciously agreed to let me write about) begins with the White Lies/Friendly Fires show at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.
It had been way too long since I had seen a show, let alone a sacred band from the Empire. The last one was Oasis in Chicago last December and, like a man with heavy balls that have not been fully drained in quite some time, I was ready on Saturday to spray my musical love all over the pit of a fucking club. Both White Lies and Friendly Fires sell out much larger venues in the UK, so getting to see them in a place with a max cap of 500 was highly appealing. I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation.
My buddy Ross and I got to the Triple Rock around 9:30pm. I had heard a little about the place trying to be a competitor of First Ave and the Fine Line, but not much. They really have a nice set up which reminded me a lot of the Urban, a popular musician’s club back in the day, because it had a bar that is separate from the music room. So you could chill out on the bar side and wait for the bands to come on, take a break from the noise, or just hang out all night where the music is playing. Ross and I chilled out in the bar and as soon as we heard the music start, we went into the other room.
The first band up was The Soft Pack. They’re a very cool band from San Diego who sound much like early Jam. The drummer plays standing up which is always tons of fun. How lucky are they to be out with two big Brit bands! I was immediately struck by how great the sound system was sounding. Yep, a musician’s club.
Next up was White Lies who really got the party started. They have a very 80’s Smiths sound to them. As they ripped through their set, I scanned the crowd to see many boy couples there. Honestly, I hadn’t seen as many men dancing since an 8th grade dance back in my Prairie School days. In fact, a girl standing next to me thought that Ross and I were a couple – asking me where “my guy” was when he went to take a piss. I politely informed her that we were not that cool. Best songs of the White Lies set were “Unfinished Business” and “Death.” Lead singer Harry McVeigh was his typical emo intense glory filled self.
White Lies Then Friendly Fires took the stage and the place turned into a bloody rager. I first heard their song “Paris” back in late 2007. They essentialy recorded this lush, shoegazing melody in lead singer/keyboardist/loop demon Ed McFarlane’s dad’s garage. It quickly became for me one of those tracks that creates nostalgia for a time that never was or hasn’t happened yet – a key ingredient in all the best music and a typical one in the sounds that comes from the Holy Land (in this case, St. Albans Hertfordshire).
They opened with “Lovesick” a hard bass dance floor corker of a track followed quickly by “Jump in the Pool”- it’s pounding effervescence shimmering over all of us. As the set progressed, the frenetic intensity of the pit grew exponentially-the band running all over the stage playing a wide variety of instruments backed with Prodigy-esque loop tracks- until the song “Paris” came and a nuclear device was summarily detonated. Everyone was screaming out the chorus, “They’ll be out for us!” at the top of their lungs. Arms, bodies, and legs were flailing all around me as I felt comforted and warm in one of the many places I like to call home.
This tour still has dates left in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, SF, LA and SD…so basically out west. I highly recommend seeing this show in such small venues – a rare treat and one that should be honored. So go forth, take the sword from the Lady in the Lake, and buy thyself a ticket to see White Lies/Friendly Fires!
Links:
White Lies: Official | MySpace
Friendly Fires: Official | MySpace
The Soft Pack: MySpace
