Welcome to Anthems and Atleticos Top 10 Records of 2011 list, a collection of my favorite records from the year in music.
Honorable Mentions
- Washed Out- Within and Without
- The Black Keys- El Camino
- Adele- 21
- Holy Ghost!- Holy Ghost!
10. Real Estate- Days
Sun soaked and laid back, Real Estate’s Days is a fantastic reminder that bands don’t always need to resort to extremes to produce great music. This is an easy record to enjoy, giving you the sense that it was effortlessly made to perfectly accompany those windows-down, sunglasses-on, stress-free moments of summer. But don’t let the simplicity fool you, Real Estate has it all figured out on their sophomore offering- they’ve distilled a formula that’s as classic as it is refreshing. Listen to "It's Real":
9. Radiohead- King of Limbs
Radiohead is about the closest thing to an automatic qualifier as you’ll ever see on any year end list, mine included. While King of Limbs isn’t even close to being one of their best albums, Radiohead is still leading a game that most bands don’t event know how to play. Everything they do moves the needle forward, from how they record and release music to how they package it (KOL could make this list on they way it looks alone). It’s a small sample size at just over 37 minutes in total length, but that’s plenty of time for Radiohead to remind you that they’re in a league all by themselves. Listen to "Lotus Flower":
8. SBTRKT- SBTRKT
Beat-maker/producer Aaron Jerome’s sound may be as difficult to describe as his alias is to pronounce (It’s ‘subtract’, for all you vowel lovers out there). This record can be categorized as anything from post-dubstep to electronic pop, and each guest vocalist gets their own music styling to sing over. Jerome’s Young Turks label mate Sampha deftly croons on a majority of the tracks, but the standout moment here is easily the mesmerizing lurch of “Wildfire” featuring Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano. If songs this perfect are what SBTRKT is pushing out on a debut record, it’s easy to see how his sound (however defined) will be a major influence in years to come.
SBTRKT - Wildfire
