Not even a week-old and Blue Ivy Carter, the first child of Jay-Z and Beyonce is making history. B.I.C. as she's credited in the soulful boom-bap of "Glory," currently sees herself sitting at #74 on the Billboard chart. This easily makes her the youngest person to chart and fulfills the chorus of Jay's "Star is Born." Major props Blue, with backing by the Neptunes there wasn't any doubt in my mind you would succeed.
Mississippi-rapper Big K.R.I.T. has announced his latest mixtape 4Eva & A Day will be released February 20th. K.R.I.T.'s 2011 mixtape Return of 4Eva was one of the strongest mixtapes of the year and the underground-rapper is promising to "take it back to a lot more lyrical content." With the first single, "I Got This" dropping on February 1, we'll get to see what sort of lyrical dishes K.R.I.T. is cooking up. Given his track-record so far, I have no worries that K.R.I.T. will deliver the goods on this tape while we wait for his LP Live from the Underground to drop in June.
It's official, after an 11-year hiatus post-hardcore group At the Drive-In is back and ready to pick up where they left off. Though details are sparse at this point, the band will be playing two sets at Coachella. For everyone (me included) who thinks the Mars Volta has been a poor-substitute for the scorching-fretwork of ATDI, this is huge news. So let's throw out all those Frances the Mute records and lovingly-embrace Relationship of Command once more.
Given his rattling-snarl, its not often that you can call a Rick Ross track smooth, but "Keys to the Crib," featuring LOX-member Styles P off Ross' Rich Forever mixtape perfectly fits that definition. With opulent-production from the Inkredibles, Ross mostly sticks to wealth & drug-talk which have become his bread and butter. But with that thunderous voice and this silky-smooth production, it doesn't even matter.
So here it is, the #1 album of 2011 as chosen by me. It's been a long-road getting here and its something I really didn't want to do as you'll soon find out. Thanks to everyone whose read the list so far and for those of you who haven't, here it is one final time.
30. 4- Beyonce
29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common
28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well
27. Alien Observer- Grouper
26. Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito
25. Cole World: Sideline Story- J. Cole
24. Weekend at Burnies- Curren$y
23. Suck It and See- Arctic Monkeys
22. Celestial Lineage- Wolves in the Throne Room
21. The Whole Love- Wilco
20. Bad As Me- Tom Waits
19. Live, Love, A$AP- A$AP Rocky
18. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
17. 21- Adele
16. Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li
15. Hilarious- Louis C.K.
14. Cults- Cults
13. Goblin- Tyler, the Creator
12. Tomboy- Panda Bear
11. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent
10. Parallax- Atlas Sound
9. Nostalgia, Ultra- Frank Ocean
8. House of Balloons- The Weeknd
7. Take Care- Drake
6. undun-The Roots
5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls
4. Dedication- Zomby
3. James Blake- James Blake
2. Watch the Throne- The Throne
#1 Bon Iver- Bon Iver
I’ll admit right now, I’m scared to write this review, terrified really. The reason for my fear is quite simple; no album was a bigger part of my life in 2011 than this one. From the moment I picked it up in the store, to the split-second I finished and pressed repeat, I was captivated. I connected with this album in a way I couldn’t with any other record this year. To me, writing this review marks the end of a year, and the album will never quite have the same importance again.
Bon Iver’s importance will only marginally diminish, given that it reads as the textbook example of a “perfect album.” The rippling waves of guitar on opener “Perth,” inform us this is a wholly new Bon Iver. Still subtle, but stronger. An echoing chorus soon escorts the line; a smooth snare drum beats in, paving the way for that voice. Even four years after his first album, I’m still mesmerized by that voice. It’s frail, yet sure of itself. “This is not a place,” he angelically sings. The puzzling line (one of many on the album) is endemic of the cover: familiar and foreign all the same.
"Perth"
The epic sweep is diminished by the slow crawl of “Minnesota, WI,” sporting well-timed horns and guitar lines. The third track “Holocene,” is one of the most beautiful tracks Bon Iver has crafted yet and warrants its Grammy nod. “Some way baby, its part of me, apart from me,” the song opens with. The line is so skillfully generalized that its empowerment or discouragement is entirely in the eye of the beholder. All of that is erased in the second verse where “3rd and Lake,” is recalled. “And at once I knew I was not magnificent,” the chorus goes, clinging to that place of pain for eternity.
"Holocene"
Bon Iver has always been effective at detailing a relatable sense of yearning; it’s a cold wind blowing through the lonely log cabin he builds for himself. The lush orchestration drives that point home, where Bon Iver’s loneliness was once conveyed by a single voice and guitar; it is now amplified by massive choruses and slow-motion synthesizers. “I was unafraid, I was a boy, I was a tender age,” is the greeting we get on “Michicant.” This is an album so consumed with the past; the present is of little concern. The first thaw Bon Iver is waiting for on standout “Wash.” encapsulates everything this album is about. So many of us spend our time frozen in a moment, waiting for a day that may never come. “All been living alone,” is how “Wash.” ends, and its true. When we spend all our time waiting, nothing will ever come. Bon Iver knows that pain of waiting all too well. It’s an album that transcends time, but is at ease with moving right alongside it. It will always represent 2011 for me, even if it no longer sounds the same.
"Wash."
I hope you all enjoyed the list, 2011 was phenomenal year for music and I enjoyed every second of it. Look forward to more coverage and reviews from me throughout 2012, stay safe, and enjoy the musical ride wherever it may take you.
Before we can get to the #1 Album of 2011, we need to see who the runner-up is. But before that, we need yet another recap.
30. 4- Beyonce
29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common
28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well
27. Alien Observer- Grouper
26. Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito
25. Cole World: Sideline Story- J. Cole
24. Weekend at Burnies- Curren$y
23. Suck It and See- Arctic Monkeys
22. Celestial Lineage- Wolves in the Throne Room
21. The Whole Love- Wilco
20. Bad As Me- Tom Waits
19. Live, Love, A$AP- A$AP Rocky
18. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
17. 21- Adele
16. Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li
15. Hilarious- Louis C.K.
14. Cults- Cults
13. Goblin- Tyler, the Creator
12. Tomboy- Panda Bear
11. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent
10. Parallax- Atlas Sound
9. Nostalgia, Ultra- Frank Ocean
8. House of Balloons- The Weeknd
7. Take Care- Drake
6. undun-The Roots
5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls
4. Dedication- Zomby
3. James Blake- James Blake
#2 Watch the Throne- The Throne
“It was all good just a week ago, then Watch the Throne dropped.” The hype for this album was fevered months before with the release of “HAM,” the Lex Luger track that served as the first taste of this collaborative-effort from Jay-Z & Kanye West. Many scoffed at the track, convinced the two had grown too egotistical for their own good. The song lacked the ambition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ye’s 2010 magnum opus, but it’s operatic second-half still told us something. It warned us that The Throne was here, and it wouldn’t be long before the kingdom was theirs again.
“Human being to the mob, what’s a mob to a king? What’s a king to a god? What’s a god to a non-believer who don’t believe in anything?” begs Frank Ocean on the initial lines of “No Church in the Wild.” From this world-weary line of thinking enters Jay-Z over a reeling guitar track with kingly visions, “tears on the mausoleum floor, blood stains the Coliseum doors.” Jay spends the remainder of his verse wondering if heaven pays attention to thugs, but Kanye has no such concerns, focusing on “forming a new religion,” where deception is “the only felony.” ‘Ye is back to the hedonism of “Hell of a Life,” loving every minute of it.
The balancing act of the moral and material is one that furiously teeters at every turn on this album, with the world paradise of “N****s in Paris,” darkened by the brooding “Welcome to the Jungle.” This blend is beautiful for the two, who have never sounded better together. On the pricey Otis Redding-sampling “Otis,” the duo plays lyrical ping-pong with one another. It’s an album that sees them turn in career performances, Kanye referencing his troubled relationship with Amber Rose on “New Day.” “I’ll never let him ever hit a strip club, I learned the wrong way that ain’t the place to get love,” he raps about the hard-earned life lessons he’ll deal to his eventual son. Here Kanye is fully aware of his ostracizing-ego, praying his son becomes a better person.
"New Day"
Hova’s high-watermark comes on “Welcome to the Jungle,” dedicating his second verse to fallen rappers. Referencing 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., and Pimp C, he comes to the sobering realization he’s the only one left. The man once scoffed at for declaring himself the King of NYC, is alone in his room, the reflection in the mirror his “only opponent.” “I’m f***ing depressed,” he decries. Nearly everyone Jay came-up with is either in the ground or turned their backs on him, as he spitefully recalls on “Why I Love You.” Even with all his millions, ‘Hov knows he can’t buy back what he’s lost.
Much has been made of the wealth-talk on this album. The point is bizarre when accounting for wealth-talk being rap’s lifeblood since Big Bank Hank bragged about his Lincoln Continental on “Rapper’s Delight,” in 1979. To criticize the two for something that’s been going on for years, is to miss the point. Where others wantonly spend, they spend to distance themselves from where they once were. Jay marking himself a scrambler on “Made It in America.” As he is quick to point out in “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” he went from “grams to Grammys,” so why is it now fashionable to deny him what he has earned? The African-inflection of “Murder to Excellence,” impeccably answers that question. After furiously examining black-on-black crime, ‘Ye labeling it genocide, the two describe “black excellence, opulence, decadence.” The point here is potent, “black excellence” is ready for all those willing to pursue it.
Other critics have adamantly attacked the pair for having a noticeable barrier between them. The duo’s dexterity on “Otis,” frantically pushes this notion aside. In reality, Watch the Throne represents the two biggest stars in rap getting together and reinvigorating their “sibling rivalry.” The album is the counterpoint to My Beautiful Dark TwistedFantasy. Where Kanye was once “lost in the world,” he has now found his place and “surviving in America,” is no longer a concern of his, the witch-hunt long since passed. For Jay-Z, this record is redemption after the bumpy ride of Blueprint 3. No record this entire year had more hype. It would have been easy for them to jog in-place, but they chose to run the rap-race with dogged determination, lapping their competitors in the process. Watch the Throne’s win is one more jewel for Jay, his kingly crown gleaming like never before. He can’t help but laugh, as he sits with Kanye atop the rap world. The “throne,” is safe.
Time for the top 5 to be revealed. Let's do a little bit of backtracking, then we'll kick in to high gear for #6.
30. 4- Beyonce
29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common
28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well
27. Alien Observer- Grouper
26. Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito
25. Cole World: Sideline Story- J. Cole
24. Weekend at Burnies- Curren$y
23. Suck It and See- Arctic Monkeys
22. Celestial Lineage- Wolves in the Throne Room
21. The Whole Love- Wilco
20. Bad As Me- Tom Waits
19. Live, Love, A$AP- A$AP Rocky
18. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
17. 21- Adele
16. Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li
15. Hilarious- Louis C.K.
14. Cults- Cults
13. Goblin- Tyler, the Creator
12. Tomboy- Panda Bear
11. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent
10. Parallax- Atlas Sound
9. Nostalgia, Ultra- Frank Ocean
8. House of Balloons- The Weeknd
7. Take Care- Drake
6. undun-The Roots
#5 Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls
“It just feels like it’s gone, like all of its gone, gone away,” Girls frontman Christopher Owens sings over chiming power chords on “Just a Song.” Underscored by xylophone strikes and introduced by inspired acoustic fretwork, the seventh track off of Girls second LP represents everything beautiful about the band. Like so much of their best work, the track looks longing at the past both lyrically and musically, while desperately attempting to move forward.
That desperation is fully-encapsulated on “Vomit,” the album’s bridge. Over a gloomy guitar figure not far-removed from classic-era Cure, Owens wearily sings “nights I spend alone, I spend ‘em runnin’ ‘round lookin’ for you baby.” This tension quickly explodes into the chorus which consists of the repetitive mantra “lookin’ for love.” The next scrawl of noise to swell from the song is even more abrasive than the last and sounds like the peak of a drug-induced frenzy.
Girls have received acclaim for their co-opting of classic 60s rock and pop sounds and tempering it with noise-rock and punk. On this record though, they seem less concerned with the punk angle, preferring to mine the depths of gospel and acid-rock on the aforementioned “Vomit,” while doing their time as a Black Sabbath tribute band on the frenetic “Die.” In the group’s strongest moment to date, “Forgiveness,” ragged acoustic guitar circa late 60s Stones brings forth a defeated Owens declaring “nothing’s gonna get any better, if you don’t have a little hope.” “I can see so much clearer, when I just close my eyes,” Owens sings at the songs conclusion. For an album riddled with pleadings, destructive behavior, and biting self-deprecation, closing your eyes and pretending it’s all an illusion is the only cure, no matter how temporary.
"Vomit"
#4 Dedication- Zomby
When I was first putting together this list, I didn’t think this album would factor into the discussion much. After all, two factors are influence and success, which handicaps this record before it can even get going. But its placement on the list is entirely due to Zomby’s success at creating a unified LP that surpasses all his prior work.
To call this album cold is an understatement. The music here is as frigid and barren as the Antarctic. The song-titles are equal foreboding referencing: death, the devil, witches, and a tortured artist (Basquiat). At times these chilly synth-lines sprinkled with piano twinkles carry us into a scene not far-removed from Halloween (“Florence” and “Haunted”).And just when you’re endanger of falling asleep listening to the lull, the drum hits of a song like “Digital Rain,” drop you right back into this audio-nightmare. This record should do away with any lingering notions that Zomby is in fact a “dubstep” artist. The overwhelming bass isn’t there and the synths are just too cold and uninviting to be framed in that light.
Any errors this album commits are forgotten the instant the luring piano-line of “Basquiat” slithers forward. In the song’s eternal two minutes, we realize that death is no longer imminent but has finally come to call us home. The rapid and “uplifting” closer “Moziak,” does little to temper this death knell and the coffin firmly slams shut.
The one error in this album is in “Things Fall Apart.” Animal Collective member Panda Bear’s vocals are just too warm, threatening to destroy the darkness. Were this a non-album track it would be a masterful collaboration, but in this desolate soundscape it comes across as a faint and underwhelming cry in the night, a night that perpetually grows darker.
"Basquiat"
#3 James Blake- James Blake
Calling this LP, James Blake’s first, post-dubstep is disingenuous. Such a term implies there is still a moderate reliance on the style proper. Though the occasional dubstep flourish does emerge, it’s short-lived, serving to mark this album as what is undoubtedly the first electronic singer-songwriter record.
In the dubstep world of 2011, Blake’s decision to sing, play piano, and bring in swipes of guitar is the electronic equivalent of Bob Dylan plugging in to an amp back in ’65. Geoff Barrow of Portishead snidely compared the work to that of “dubstep meets pub singer.” As forward thinking as the sub-genre has been since it first received a label, it is rarely kind to the vocal element, especially when those vocals are originals. Those who follow Blake closely should have seen this coming, since his work on “CMYK,” he has shown a fondness for making his tracks revolve around the vocals. When he brought in piano on the Klavierwerke EP, he was distancing himself from the scene he cut his teeth in.
All of that previous momentum pales in comparison to what can be found here, a fully-realized work that outshines all other electronic albums released in 2011. It isn’t just that Blake sings, it’s how he manipulates that singing. An touchstone is the work of Bon Iver, as Blake is often backed by an army of voices behind him. “My brother and my sister don’t speak to me,” he lonely sings on “I Never Learnt to Share.” Soon the bleak situation of the song is further spotlighted by a litany of Blake voices. When the dubstep sound does drop in the song’s second half, it’s an ironic catharsis, Blake looking at the genre he once called home and emotionally bidding it adieu.
Every song on here is a winner, whether it’s the sublime Feist cover “Limit to Your Love,” the stunning snare-backed track “Wilhelm Scream,” or the ringing piano of “Give Me My Month.” They all serve as glimpses into the frigid work Blake has crafted here, with closer “Measurements,” as the chilling summit. “Crease your pride, telling lies, that you’re not on your own,” he sings. It’s a state of affairs Blake should now be familiar with, having paid his respects to dubstep, he is now on his own. Trekking down a rousing musical road where he is the only traveler.
