21 12 / 2011
Favorite Albums of 2011: #25-21
No. 25
Jamie Woon: Mirrorwriting
More and more with every passing year I am introduced to artist’s I’ve never heard or even heard of, and Jamie Woon was one of the those that I got acquainted with in 2011. It was the soft, luscious sound of this album’s closing track, “Waterfront”, that hit my taste buds the right way and at the right time. I’m not sure how I came across that track first before any others on Mirrorwriting, but it forever gave me a terrific first impression of Woon’s sound. I was stuck on that single 4 1/2-minute track for a considerate amount of time, and I always meant to dive into more of the entire album but I didn’t get to it for a good while. I think I was a little afraid that the rest of Mirrorwriting couldn’t stack up to the brilliance of “Waterfront”. When I finally got around to giving the entire album a listen, my initial fears were indeed true. There isn’t anything on the album that holds a candle to the closing number, but it doesn’t have any misfires either. Mirrorwriting is a polished, quietly thundering collection of songs that give us an artist we need to be sure to keep a close eye on in the future.
Key track to possibly appear on my 100 favorites: “Waterfront”
No. 24
Blouse: Blouse
It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside knowing that there are lots of new bands emerging these days who are attempting to re-create all of the sounds of the ’80s that were done right. Each year there are a handful of artists who release an album full of homages to the sounds of bands like Roxy Music, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. The most notable group to nail this sound completely has been Twin Shadow. In 2011 there were some more succeeding at reviving this genre, and among them is the Portland-based trio, Blouse. The 10 songs on this full-length debut are somewhere between lo-fi and pristine sound, finding a middle ground that accents the lead vocals very well. Here is another new group that features a beguiling female lead voice on the microphone, which is becoming more of a trend now than ever in the independent music world. The album is more about songs than a complete album, so there are some blatant standouts on the record that are noticed immediately. “Ghost Dream” is a lush 80’s throwback that was almost single-handedly enough greatness for me to want to add this album to the list. It’s certainly going to be on my 100 favorites songs of the year. This is a promising debut. Here’s to hoping Blouse keeps going in the right direction.
Key track to possibly appear on my 100 favorites: “Ghost Dream”
No. 23
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks: Mirror Traffic
Whether or not it was his intention, Stephen Malkmus has made his most Pavement-like set of songs with Mirror Traffic, and that’s one hell of a good thing. The previous album he and the Jicks gave us, Real Emotional Trash, had its share of bright moments but was mostly taken over by some uneven, lengthy tracks that seemed like half-outlines of songs rather than fully realized ones. Malkmus enlisted Beck to be in the producer’s chair for Mirror Traffic, and together they work seamlessly and without ego intervening, making a dynamite album with a ton of short and sweet tracks that riff like the old glory days of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. For instance: I don’t think Malkmus has had as much fun on a single track in well over a decade than he does on “Senator” here, displaying an incredibly absurd sense of humor and instantly making the number one to add his classics. There are a total of 15 songs on the album, but it still clocks in at a modest running time, which I think is an essential contrast to Real Emotional Trash. It’s nice to hear Malkmus having a ton of fun all over this album, which is his best since Face the Truth.
Key track to possibly appear on my 100 favorites: “Forever 28”
No. 22
Soft Skills: $$$$
The trio of Midwestern fellows who make up Soft Skills have been a part of several different bands/solo recordings over the better part of the last decade, and it all seems like a journey that was required to culminate in the forming of this group; or more specifically - this sound. As someone who has known these guys (Robert Mathison, Josh Short, Noah East) for many years now, I’ve had the opportunity to hear and witness the evolution of how each of them (sometimes together, other times as solo acts) write, record, and create, and the different directions they take with genres and influences. I think the immediate difference I can hear with Soft Skills compared to their previous work is that it all seems meticulously pondered, each song given a chance to expand and let become something more. Nothing I’ve heard yet feels rushed, and their debut album, $$$$, progresses into a consistently rewarding, infinitely-layered project. The only real glaring issue I have had with the record since first hearing back in the summer is that I have never been able to accept “Dandelion” as a song to add to the rest of the set. It was clearly made at a time and place when they weren’t moving in the electronic direction that so much of their sound is currently defined by, and it being the opening track makes for a bewildering first impression. However, this can ultimately be written off as a major case of nit-picking on my part. In the overall scope of things, $$$$ gives us the most promising direction any of these guys have taken yet on their musical path. Let’s hope they’ve found a home and continue to evolve as Soft Skills.
Key track to possibly appear on my 100 favorites: “Suitcase”
No. 21
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy: Wolfroy Goes to Town
You can make a case for there being better songwriters over the last fifteen years, but there is no debate about who has been the most prolific in writing and recording. Will Oldham, most notably known as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, releases at least one full-length album of new material inside each calendar year, and 2011 saw him rush in a flurry of new material and with several different backing groups. His most recent solo offering as Bonnie, called Wolfroy Goes to Town, is something like his 12,723rd release, and it continues down the austere and lonesome path that his last LP, The Wonder Show of the World, traveled down. In my opinion, Oldham can rightfully join Tom Waits as music’s most eccentric and delightfully strange artists who can paint on any canvas and create something bizarre and unique every time out. He has taken a step back with Wolfroy, minimizing the instruments used and maximizing soft harmonizing duets with the wonderful Angel Olsen, to create one of his more pleasant-sounding efforts. It’s one thing to produce a lot of work, but it’s an entirely different thing to be this consistently good with each and every release, and in shape-shifting ways.
Key track to possibly appear on my 100 favorites: “New Tibet”
