ILM's Top 77 ALBUMS of 2011

(previously thought she was just a twee menace)

lol

ok, someone pls explain to me what makes WITTR exceptional? it sounds solid but i just don't hear what sets them apart.

Man I wish that Psychic Paramount sounded better cos the songs are great.

i think the only album that placed today that ive heard all the way through is drake's ://

For me, its ILXtallica...

re: what sets WITTR apart:

random excursions into almost ambient/4AD sounding stuff with fem vocals, field recordings, anti-civ philosophy as reflected in the song titles and artwork (the back cover photo is maybe my favorite single thing about the record).

So has Markers got Lulu into the top 60 then?

WITTR has songs!

Tree of Life is great and real and not like Drake. Drake is more like a mumblecore picture.

That Psychic Paramount record is fucking great, I feel a dunce for not putting it in my list. Gah.

I was a massive 'Drums & Guns' lover, but the new Low sounded a bit insubstantial to me.

Frankly hilarious that Jay-Z, Kanye and Drake all failed to hit the top 60.

I'm fine with the whole windswept Spectorish vibe that Lykke Li album is going for, and the songs are pretty good, just wish she didn't sing like she had a bad head cold.

I expected Watch The Throne to place at a low number, so I'm not sure where all the shock comes from... It's an inconsistent record with really awesome high points and a few of my favorite songs of the decade so far, but overall its placement here seems accurate.

I've never heard the band. I was just riffing on the name.

― jaymc, Monday, January 30, 2012 8:28 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^lol OK so I guess I just got that 'Veronica Falls' is a pun name?

I voted WITTR pretty high so that's neat, Psychic Paramount somewhere in the top 20 also

Katie Stelmanis seems like a p interesting character w/ good ideas etc but I never clicked w/ the Austra album

I didn't feel especially ill disposed towards Take Care when I played it except that it JUST KEPT GOING - like if I'd been listening right through without access to a clock of some sort I'd've guessed that it was a good two hours long

My votes thus far:

Robag Wruhme - Thora Vukk
Likely consensus pick for the best chillroom microhouse of the year, with a far broader range than recent favorite Pantha du Prince.

Barbara Panther - Barbara Panther
Veering on the bridge railing vocals chanting strident ESL lyrics over Matthew Herbert productions. A political Bjork with more vocal tricks. I'm a simple man with simple needs.

Austra - Feel It Break
Suffers from brittle production, synth presets and the recent flood of similar femme-fronted gothy electronica (Esben and the Witch, Julia Holter, Sleep ∞ Over, Zola Jesus) but Katie Stelmanis is the best songwriter of the lot, and after a couple listens I was already singing along "Who-ooo signed, the consent form?"

Kinda dissappointed in the placement of the Austra, as it means 80% of my ballot picks, including my 2 favorite albums (Emika & Gazelle Twin) are almost certainly out of contention.

I voted for Emika, don't give up yet

Feel like the Lykke Li album and the Cults album are going for a similar vibe, but i like how Lykke Li approaches it better. Feels newer and less self-consciously retro.

emika is great

i love the emika and gazelle twin albums, more than austra, but they were both juuuust outside my ballot. i'd be happy to see them place though

if i'd heard gazelle twin a bit earlier that might have made my ballot tbh

likewise re: gazelle twin, been playing that a ton lately. still haven't heard emika

Barbara Panther - Barbara Panther
Veering on the bridge railing vocals chanting strident ESL lyrics over Matthew Herbert productions. A political Bjork with more vocal tricks. I'm a simple man with simple needs.

I get the Björk comparisons, but people who think that's her only "thing" should check out this Acid Washed tune featuring Panther, which is fun and sexy and not really Björkish at all. I hope on her future records she'll do more aggressive tracks like the first on the album; my only disappointment with it was that there perhaps too much prettiness on it after that kicker of an opener.

Also, I think her ESL lyrics are kinda endearingly poignant, like on "Voodoo":

Every night I pray like a bitch
That one day the poor will eat the rich
And I don't care if that makes me a WAH WAH WAH witch!

yeah, the awkward lyrics and delivery are definitely a point in BP's favor

Shout out to my outloud cru homefries! Psychic Paramount is my only vote to place: I expected it to tbh. I tried to build a cosmic Dead coalition but I just don't think it was big enough, but PP album is even better!

Lots of stuff here I've been meaning to check out: Low, Austra, Veronica Falls...

drake is way too low

voted for thora vukk, such a subtle and rewarding listen, but i also have been digging the barbara panther and psychic paramount records in the past few weeks.

i remember liking austra ok but mainly because some friends wanted to go see them play and i forced myself to check it out. the production leaves kind of a lot to be desired tho, and that voice would def get on my nerves if i had to listen to it more

ok, someone pls explain to me what makes WITTR exceptional? it sounds solid but i just don't hear what sets them apart.

― the third kind of dubstep (Jordan), Monday, January 30, 2012 4:23 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

imo they just nail their sound way more frequently than most bm bands--they know what they're good at and they are very well-produced.

anything about the new WITTR that might appeal to ppl who feel that their previous albums are a bit boring?

no not really

Songs!

they always had songs!

Better songs!

It sounds better the ones before it iirc - the drums seemed to have a lot more wallop - but it's basically the same sort of deal.

hing about the new WITTR that might appeal to ppl who feel that their previous albums are a bit boring?

― his hands are a dirty fountain through which lives spurt (contenderizer), Monday, January 30, 2012 3:58 PM (24 minutes ago)

what sold me on this one (I wasn't as big a fan of Black Cascade) was that the band is now just the two brothers, they produced the rec as well I think. also, field recordings.

just the two brothers, they produced the rec as well I think.

$1000/year on cab fare too

well done

sorry guys but this barbara panther album is terrible

based on what i heard when we did this in the trax thread i don't really get the love

sorta how i feel about all of these so far :( xp

its like all the worst & most annoying parts of bjork w/ none of the beauty or drama or charm

i'll admit that the track that made it on the tracks poll is the least bad

i think jay is just as banal as kanye on WTT tbh

i still hate otis but i do like a few songs on WTT. both rappers are ehh at this point, but its def a record that got 'too big to fail'

ok the chorus on "Dizzy" is pretty awesome

See? Already you've stepped back on the "terrible" proclamation.

yeah this thing jordan is trying to sell like jay suddenly remembered how to rap after 7 years is so ??? to me, i just don't hear it at all

xpost but then it goes back to the verses and its terrible again

wait a few more seconds I bet the chorus will come back

i'm on the next song now and it too is terrible

haha

I can imagine a look of delight on his face, followed by a sourpuss, and then a return of delight...

i was the #1 vote for The Joy Formidable! crazy that they placed lower here than on P&J though, i guess we shore don't like them as much as morbz thought.