Favorite Music Albums, 2011 Edition

Writing blog posts that are already outdated seems to be something I do, and like doing. I do this every year, so might as well do it again. Here are my favorite music albums from 2011.

1. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
I listened to the samples, and originally skipped this one. But by 2012 it take much thought  to find my top album of the year. Beautiful, haunting, simple, relaxed. This shares many of the strengths of Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, while also positive progression. Blood Bank didn't do that for me--it was more like an interesting experiment. This self titled album adds the band, and complexity, to music that still reminds of lonely winter days in Wisconsin woods, in all the best kind of ways.

2. Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
This a return to form for Coldplay in my opinion. I was disappointed with their last record, but this one hit the spot just right. They took their music in a new direction, again, but stayed rooted to their Coldplay sound. Every song is a ephemeral brushstroke of sounds and bright colors. True, nothing profound here, but overall the most fun record to play through the year.

3. Destroyed, Moby
Moby describes his album as "broken down melodic electronic music for empty cities at 2 a.m." And that's pretty accurate. It smells of insomnia, with a woman's voice crowning on one track "I'm in love with this isolation." And humanity has it's place too, as Moby sings "I will always be right here." The instrumental track "The Violent Bear It Away" is one of Moby's best, in my opinion. A great album for working late at night, or night driving.

4. Departing, The Rural Alberta Advantage
This has been my favorite I-need-something catchy-and-upbeat-while-I'm-working album. And it's loaded with lots of folk sound and sensibilities. A good sophmore album, even if it sounds incredible simular to their last effort. I look forward to hearing more from TRAA in the future.


5. Minnesota, Mason Jennings
Oh, love, loss, and Minnesota. Mason Jennings does it so well in this short album. With his penchant for interesting sounds, his loopy but attractive singing, Mason brings simplicity and straightforward song writing to this effort. You want to listen again as soon as it ends.



There's been a lot good music released this year. I also enjoyed with My Brightest Diamond's All Things Unwind, Peter Wolf Crier's Garden of Arms, and Thurston Moore's Demolished Thoughts. And others. But this all I have time for now.

What music did you find striking this past year? What releases are you looking forward to?