YEAR IN REVIEW: Albums of 2011: 10-1

	10. SBTRKT - SBTRKT The talented London producer's debut record is a soulful, varied and fun record that evokes many different feelings throughout. This makes it perfect for every occasion, be it relaxing at home or partying it up. 2011 has been a year saturated in amazing electronic music, but SBTRKT stands heads and shoulders above the rest in my mind, as the most well-crafted collection of songs. Sampha provides much of the vocal work throughout, but the many collaborations help elevate this album towards greatness. Each song has a distinct feel and it never gets repetitive. SBTRKT's debut album is one of the most promising debuts of the year.  DOWNLOAD: Trials of the Past
	9. Bon Iver - Bon Iver Gone are the days of recording albums in secluded cabins for Bon Iver. With his second album, Justin Vernon upped his game in a major way. The album is treated to arrangements of full orchestras while still maintaining that heart-wrenching soul that For Emma, Forever Ago showed so brilliantly. Beautiful harmonies permeate every corner of the album and every element feels like it was thoroughly thought-out and planned so precisely. It's a rather unforgettably beautiful album. DOWNLOAD: Towers
	8. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost With Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Girls created one of the most diverse and creative albums in the diminishing world of quality guitar rock. It draws influences from a vast pool of artists, and fuses them together to make on of the most solid rock albums in a fair while. Frontman Christopher Owens' vocals display an impressive range of emotions throughout the album, from the loved-up pop of Magic to the frantic rock opera of Die. The second album is usually a difficult thing to accomplish for bands, but Girls show that they have everything figured out terrifically. DOWNLOAD: Magic
	7. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L The way in which tUnE-yArDs style their name might look peculiar to the casual onlooker, but once you come to terms with Merrill Garbus's second album, you'll see that the name is one of the least strange things about it. W H O K I L L diverse, fun and just altogether different experience. She uses her voice as much as an instrument in its own right as a forms of communicating. The vocal ranges on display here are phenomenal, and the almost tribal beat of the album is really something you need to here. She has many different bases covered throughout the album, from the up-beat, bombastic stylings of Gangsta, to the eerie, haunting Wooly Wolly Gong. W H O K I L L is one of the most innovative, ingenious albums of the year. No one else makes music like this. DOWNLOAD: Gangsta
	6. Destroyer - Kaputt Destroyer, AKA Dan Bejar, have had a long history of creating music, with Kaputt being the ninth studio album under the moniker. I was blissfully unaware of the musician's existence until this offering, I had been missing out on a treasure trove of music. Kaputt was one of the most relaxing, intriguing records of the year, and the instrumentals on display were beautiful. Bejar employed so many different instruments for so many perfect occasions and combined it with his soothing vocals and honest lyricism. This album is absolutely essential listening for 2011. DOWNLOAD: Savage Night at the Opera
	5. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness Los Campesinos! aren't as young as they were back when recording 30 second songs filled with frantic drumming and yelping. Hello Sadness showed a distinct evolution to the band, and a distinct feeling of sorrow, but countered with an underlying feeling of confidence. Los Campesinos! are a band that just get stronger and stronger, and Hello Sadness is the most concise, powerful and brilliant collection of songs they have produced to date. DOWNLOAD: Baby, I Got the Death Rattle
	4. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic With Mirror Traffic, Malkmus's fourth solo album since Pavement's end, he compiled the most rhythmic, accessible solo material to date, with hooks everywhere, this was the true return to form we'd always been waiting for from the godfather of indie music. His trademark wordplay and vocals came together, along with intricate guitar playing, to create an album that encapsulates everything that makes Malkmus such an influential figure. Tigers, the lead single displays the infectious hooks that Pavement were known for, while Senator has that signature tongue-in-cheek attitude. Mirror Traffic just has track after track of good old fashioned indie rock, with excellent production by Beck himself. DOWNLOAD: Stick Figures in Love
	3. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation Combining minimalist instrumentation, hypnotic rhythm and soothing synth beats, Trevor Powers' honest, heartfelt lyrics help propel this debut forward. The songs start off simple, and build up and up into more complex structures, forming some of the most mesmerizing sounds put onto record this year. For someone of 22 years old to have created a collection of songs with the power, precision and passion on display in his debut is staggering, especially bearing in mind it was self-produced in his bedroom. The future for Youth Lagoon is almost blinding. DOWNLOAD: July
	2. St Vincent - Strange Mercy Annie Clark's third solo album was never going to disappoint. The musicians brand of off-beat fuzz-filled pop is always unpredictable in nature, and Strange Mercy displayed the diversity that we have come to expect from St Vincent. Her soft spoken vocals harmonise with the music perfectly, while the intelligent, witty lyrics slide by seamlessly. Strange Mercy sure feels like musical bliss. DOWNLOAD: Cheerleader
	1. The Antlers - Burst Apart Following up from 2009's Hospice was always going to be a difficult task, but the resulting album feels like it was conceived by a completely revitalised band. Burst Apart feels like the perfect middle-ground between the desolate misery of Hospice and happy-go-lucky pop. The songs flow together so well, and Silberman's haunting falsetto voice falls so delicately upon the music, it just all feels so right. The lyrics shine as much as the music itself; Silberman has taken his experience making hospice and refined his skill to create songs that can be at times brutally honest and the next moment upbeat and insightful. The emotion conveyed in Silberman's voice is second-to-none. Burst Apart is a record that is so well conceived and has enough variation to keep it exciting. It packs in just the right elements of raw emotion on display in Hospice, to create what is, to my mind, the best album that 2011 has to offer.  DOWNLOAD: Putting the Dog to Sleep

REVIEW: Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness

It feels like Hello Sadness has been such a long time in the making, when in fact it's only been around 18 months since 2010's brilliant Romance is Boring. A lot has changed within the band; some members have departed and there have been some new arrivals. Although they are still a seven piece, the dynamics have changed quite drastically.

Los Campesinos!, as a band, have only been making music for just over five years, and in those five short years we've seen 4 albums and 2 EPs, all of which are solid releases. You would think that the speed at which they release would have a detrimental effect on the quality of their work, but that is not the case, in fact it's the opposite. With each album, they seem to get stronger and stronger as a band, and with Hello Sadness they don't seem to be stopping that tradition any time soon.

The album deals with the themes of breakups, sadness and death, as is telling from the record's title, but it does so in a surprisingly upbeat fashion, although not to the extent of their previous work. There are some lulls in the pace  (Hate for the Island in particular) but for the most part they keep it moving upward and onward throughout all of the ten-tracks.

Frontman Gareth's ability to conjure vivid images in their listeners' minds is ever present across the record, with vast use of metaphor mixed with very down-to-earth lyrics that makes it feel like something we can relate to while still keeping it on multiple levels. For example, in a highlight of the album The Black Bird, The Dark Slope Gareth uses the image of a blackbird extensively to represent the dark side and flaws in him, and in all of us, and how they hold him back. In contrast, some songs, such as By Your Hand are very much grounded in reality, with lyrics such as "'cause we were kissing for hours / with her hands down my trousers / she could not contain herself, suggests we go back to her house" that we know and love from Los Campesinos!

  

Musically, the album is a lot more conventional in the way its structured and how it will be viewed in the eyes of the general public as far as indie-pop goes. It all feels a lot more toned down but this fits the overall mood of the album well. Gone is the sporadic shouting and distortion on most of the tracks, leaving a more refined, grown-up album.  

It'd be hard for a band to beat an opening track like In Medias Res from 2010's effort, but Los Campesinos! try their hardest and might have just succeeded. By Your Hand, the lead single from the album, starts the album off with a bang. The song is filled with sing-along choruses, Gareth's trademark, biographical lyrical styling's and arguably one of the catchiest melodies of the year.

The hooks found in their previous work are not lost in the transition to their new sound though. Songs like Baby I Got The Death Rattle and the eponymous Hello Sadness have massive triumphant finishes, and a hell of a lot of energy. Hearing a crowd shout the words "not headstone, but headboard / where I wanna be mourned" is quite an unforgettable experience, and just shows the emphasis LC! can put into their music while still maintaining their tongue-in-cheek nature.

Although it may sound like I'm overflowing with praise for the record, it's not all gravy. The final track on the album, Light Leaves, Dark Sees pt. II, feels like a missed opportunity. The track is a lot slower than others found on the album and with lyrics like "but they request that I leave / 'cause my sad eyes are too much to bear" it attempts to be a coveted emotional finish (a la Coda: A Burn Scar in the Shape of the Sooner State from RIB) but seems to miss the mark completely. The song then divulges into a chorus of woaaaah's from the rest of the band, it all seems a bit contrived. But that's only a slight knock at an otherwise brilliant collection of songs.

Hello Sadness sounds like a record made by a band who know what they want to do and are proud of that fact. They've always been associated with keywords such as 'quirky' and 'twee' but they've countered those views by making a record that is their most accessible yet and maybe they'll attract a bigger audience now with what might just be their strongest album to date. Heck, they deserve it.

9/10