Halfway point of 2011

very weak year for me so far

the only new albums i've heard that are any better than just 'good' are probably fleet foxes, cat's eyes and pj harvey

a lot of average stuff and some downright bad

..and Ben, that Tennis record is unlistenable

on the plus side, I have discovered tindersticks having never heard them before.

i was thinking about this the other day. so far this year has been pretty strong but it has lacked that absolute killer record that is a dead cert for number 1 in the my end of year list. bands that have had that spot recently have released lps this year such as the pains, vivian girls, bon iver, panda bear etc but whilst being good this years releases from those bands havent quite been blow me away special as some of their older stuff had been.

also i think there has been a fair few disappointments this year from more established acts. im still not to really click with the latest strokes effort, and was downright disappointed with the releases from the streets/herman dune/gang of four and wire.

on the other hand theres been good returns to form from the likes of radiohead and arctic monkeys.

at the moment though, my top few albums of the year include the babies, vivian girls, pains, yuck, raveonettes, james blake, wave pictures etc all of which have been fucking good but just lacking that spark to make them extra special records.

so year basically a shitload of 7/10 and 8/10 records this year but just lacking the 9s and 10s so far. though hopefully come the end of the year there'll be one or one of the current ones i can bump up to that level.

the closest so far, and probably my number 1 album of the year so far that has gone complete under the radar on here is the collaboration between aidan moffat of arab strap and bill wells. absolutely fucking beautiful stuff, some of the most gorgeous piano music youve ever heard with aidans spoken word lyrics drawled over the top. really hits the spot with me.

the song below is up there for song of the year for me...

i've enjoyed this year a great deal, even if i have been a bit slower on the new music uptake than with previous years. i don't really buy into the whole "this year has been shit/this year has been incredible". we get older, often more cynical and culture and media creates new permutations faster than ever and soon the lines between mixtapes/albums/eps blur, to the point where suggesting that there aren't enough 'classic albums' released in an arbitary period of time seems increasingly redundant. as long as the kids are making music that excites and divides, which they will forever more, i shall be happy.

i've really enjoyed music by pj harvey, various members of odd future, the weeknd, the arctic monkeys, the strokes and various post-dubstep/techno artists this year.

Possible album of the year:
Josh T Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall

Really good:
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic!
The Strokes - Angles (lol, yeah!)
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
Yuck - Yuck

A whole bunch that are around the 7/10 mark

& some ear cancer
James blake
iron and wine
deerhoof
james blake
Esben and the Witch
Mogwai
girls names
implodes
& james blake.

& shut the fuck up Baz. If you had a RYM account that you used you would be able to CLEARLY SEE if one year was better than the other.

IF the second half is as good as the first then for my money it'll definitely be better than 2010.

forgot about josh. t. pearson. love that album. and i still haven't got round to listening to BSP's newie

Pearson's LP has been a strange one for me. I've stuck it on one week & got bored with it then the next week found it to be one of the best records I've heard in years. Definitely one you need to be in the right frame of mind to listen to. Excited about catching him live later in the year.

BSP's might be my favourite they've done. Everybody always chooses the debut which is great but I've never quite liked it as much as everybody else. This one just ticks all the right boxes for me.

Been a great year so far, methinks.

Top five so far would have to be PJ Harvey, Anna Calvi, Go! Team, The Strokes, and Lykke Li

Really like the Cults and Sand Band records too

Only album I'd even consider in the album of the year debate at this point is Polly Jean.

Really liked REM, Elbow and arctic monkeys. The Streets last one was a bit spotty, beady eye had moments (and some shit)...sloan was good, disappointed by radiohead, beastie boys and the strokes. And others were just sort of there.

I agree with tendency that it's been a good year for 8/10 albums, but there's no one cracker, appart from PJ's one possibly. But there are lots and lots of good albums tbh. Apart from the already mentioned, I would add Cloud Nothings, Crystal Stilts, Smith Westerns and The Vaccines.

The BSP record was a disappointment in my eyes, although I've never been a big big fan.

PJ Harvey > an ocean of clear blue water > everything else

btw Ben did you put The Pierces in your list just to test if people were reading your post or do you actually embrace the most middle of the road act to exist on earth right now?

Miaow!

My fav from this years has been Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital ... that Babies record is pretty close though.

No. I like them. I've liked them since their debut and have mentioned them on past versions of the forum, but this new record is really their best work ever IMO. Im kind of surprised by their current UK embrace.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz