top 50 records of 2011 - 44. The Field - Looping State of Mind

44. THE FIELD - LOOPING STATE OF MIND

Just to clear a few things up from my previous reviews of this artist:

1)I never thought I was dyslexic but I swear I read the artists name as "Alex" but it's actually "Axel".

2) He doesn't really look like Hitler. It was just one particular shot that was all over the magazines when he dropped his debut album in 2007.

3) That debut album "From Here We Go Sublime" felt so fresh when it came down my aerial. The minimal melodies and beats incorporated a new, windswept style. I compared it to how people must have felt when Daft Punk released "Homework" in 1997. Was I too young then?

4) I probably wasn't too young then. I was 13 turning 14. But, instead I was listening to Brit-pop. Our house was robbed and I claimed loads of Oasis, Blur and Supergrass CD's on the insurance policy.

5)"Looping State of Mind" finds Willner building on all the great sonics of his debut and 2009's follow-up "Yesterday and Today." This is still music constructed for walking around the city to, but this time instead of just looking down at the ground, you'll be imagining what's going on in all the office blocks around you, letting the drums and swathes of melody spray everywhere. Fuck, this is the first time you've been able to dance in the rain to The Field. A really valiant, further developed effort.

GO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amKTW2RkaAc

top 50 records of 2011 - 45. Cashier No.9 - To The Death Of Fun

45. CASHIER NO. 9 - TO THE DEATH OF FUN

It's raining horses and chickens here in Taipei right now. Pretty typical. The rain could never dampen the vibe here though. We're talking sunny indie pop with a jangly attitude.

David Holmes is on the production and he really brings the sound out in the band just like cooking with wine helps with Italian dishes like lasagne, penne rose or.. er...spaghetti blogonese.

There are a lot of bands that try that summer-beach kind of sound but a lot of them drown in the trend of the surf. Not this Belfast collective though. The songwriting is not just catchy; the instruments are nicely released into the mix and the album has commendable changes of pace and is sequenced down to a tee.

Perhaps the experience of band founder Danny Todd helps create a unique identity for Cashier. No 9 instead of mere Beach Boy mimicry like the young-guns do. Whatever: Taipei can rain horses and chickens all it wants. This album transports me into the sunshine!

GO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MguSkd-6U9k

top 50 records of 2011 - 46. Anika - Anika

46. ANIKA - ANIKA

I threw "Sadness Licks The Sun" into one of my mixes a few months ago because it captivated me the way that Anika - a 23 year old singer from Surrey, England - combines an off-key voice with some dusty and dubby production. It has the execution of post-punk too as this record is rough around the edges.

It's very late 70's and early 80's. It's the sound of a British woman singing in a German accent (her Mum is German.) It's varied. It has a few significant changes in pace, which is unique for a dub record. It's 9 songs long, clocking in at just over 36 minutes. If it was a time of year it would be late summer turning into autumn. It's nostalgic and it sounds utterly timeless.

The aforementioned track "Sadness Licks The Sun" really creeps up on you as the bass throbs and the strobe flashes around as interjected memories of the past whip round your nutjob mind. I feel this'll creep up on me even more later and I'll feel it deserved to be even higher on the list, but such is life when you do silly blog posts.

GO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhcFZwOE9g

top 50 records of 2011 - 47. Toro Y Moi - Underneath The Pine

47. TORO Y MOI - UNDERNEATH THE PINE

Hype & ting! Many people yo been spilling these loose definitions all up in the place. Chillwave? Mebbee, but I ain't so sure. When "New Beat" oozes out of the speaker after the two minute "Intro Chi Chi;" then boy I'm ready to dance.

Chillwave is built on shoegaze. This is funkier than that. This record is all about the instrumentation and all in all it's pretty civilized. The first Toro Y Moi record, 2010's "Causers of This" was a lot deeper in the sample side of things and ping-ponged back and forth. "Underneath The Pine" is just like the name suggests, taking refuge in the shade with a nice glass of Riesling or Pimms & Lemonade if you're British. American? Watered-down Coors Lite no doubt.

I digress. This is comfortable. "comfortable and civilized?" - these may be negative adjectives to some. But sometimes that's what I want. A drop of low-key. A splash of downtempo and a "shade" of funk. ;)

GO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4J6bFDvvwY&ob=av3e

top 50 records of 2011 - 48. Zomes - Earth Grid

48. ZOMES - EARTH GRID

I had a plan of what to write here and I was in the process of doing some basic research on http://www.last.fm when I saw this:

MWhipple wrote:

April 2011

don't really give a shit how this new one sounds...i'm just happy to have new zomes.

I don't give a shit whether the chicken is cooked or not. If it's raw I will eat it.

This is the second LP from Asa Osborne of hardcore band Lungfish. I didn't know that until about 10 minutes ago. I didn't really analyse the music so much, which is both rare and rewarding for me. It's geometric like Boards of Canada but lacks their electronic melody and playfulness. Instead it thrums and repeats; it's like a robot that meditates. It has the hardcore guitar lines and now I know about Osborne, I can make the link. However, it's nothing like hardcore, or like any guitar music at all for that matter. Drone?

"Drone" gets bandied about a lot as a genre and I hate fucking mentioning it, but it feels like it's gotta be done. Also, the beats and "lo-fi" acoustics make it sound like it's playing inside my body and I like that a lot. Comfort. In. Sound.

GO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbJBTlkWY2M

*looks like I fucked up the formatting when copying and pasting. looks quite good though. go and go fuck off!

top 50 records of 2011 - 49. Cornershop - Cornershop and the Double 'O' Groove Of

49. CORNERSHOP - CORNERSHOP & THE DOUBLE-O GROOVE OF

Cornershop have been around for 20 years now and this is their sixth album. While thev've experimented with funk, rock and mostly pop in their career, this album refreshingly gets back to their Punjabi roots and is playful in nature. Can we call it Indian indie?

It's highly danceable and it chops and changes enough to keep the listener entertained for the course of the 40 minutes. When it comes to things like Bollywood films and music, I like the initial shtick of telling an epic story through just a few minutes, complete with jaw-dropping costumes, but it loses its vitality after about half an hour as it's just too cheesy.

Whatever. Here though, it all sounds vital, as there's no dancing, cricket or Darjeeling tea there to distract me.

GO HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKkBhk2yVM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL40576C5F96E0DEDE

top 50 records of 2011 - 50. Wye Oak - Civilian

50. WYE OAK - CIVILIAN

Many compare Wye Oak to my winners of last year, Beach House, in that they play dreamy indie-folk with bodacious hooks. Also they share the same city of Baltimore, Maryland in the good old United States of America. And there are only 2 members in each band.

But where Beach House use gloss and incorporate a full-bodied sound on last years supreme "Teen Dream;" Wye Oak exploit a rootsy, here-and-now texture. Take the opening song "Two Small Deaths" and the listener is stepping right into a room of conversation and clatter, maybe a diner or cafe. The transportation into this space is sealed for the duration of this record and it only took a few seconds. Great execution. Like magic.

I feel very substantial and sheltered when I listen to this. When it's pissing it down with rain outside or I've had a bit of a brandy night, I'll spin it in the morning. It really picks me up. The pacing is overall quite steady, but "Civilian" does contain some absolute treasures like the title track that powers through with absolute tumbledown, knowing exactly what it wants to say.

GO HERE: http://vimeo.com/20877864