Just like last year. From Jay, and now from me: I liked this idea better than a straight forward "Top 10 Albums of 2011" list. This is just a list of artists/bands that made me happy in 2011, for whatever reason. Have at it.
MY 10
1. The Veils - Early valentine. Serendipity may be a bizarre Manhattan restaurant peddling Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, or a so-inspired John Cusack rom com. But really it's moments like hearing The Veils for the first time in an art gallery in Portland, Maine opening for Liam Finn. Fast forward three years, a three album catalog, and hand-drawn Christmas card later, and I am one of Finn, Soph and co.'s biggest fans. I've been devouring and fattening my Veils-greedy heart with every musical morsel they drop. Their EP, Troubles of the Brain (January), was a delicious way to start the year. I've yet to hear another band mix bone-chilling wails and toe-tapping tunes in such a frighteningly beautiful (and flawless) way. In an ever-changing world, The Veils' greatness is as constant as Finn's melodramatic swag and funeral parlor getup. Can't wait 'til they tour this tiny corner of the world again.
2. The Low Anthem (& Jocie Adams) - Magicians. The Low Anthem are a magical band of brilliant musicians who perform other-worldly folk songs that swirl around in the ether before tickling your soul from the ears down. The songs on their latest album Smart Flesh (March) join their repertoire of ghosts. The Low Anthem's live shows (in April at Portland's State Theatre, in October at the Somerville and in the streets of Davis Square) never feel long enough - so special and fleeting you just want to close your eyes and exist wherever Ben, Jocie, Jeff and co. take you. Adorable Jocie is also embarking on a solo career (Bed of Notions was released in January) and I love what I hear.
3. Middle Brother - Supergroup of the year. Middle Brother is the "side project" of three stellar indie rock frontmen - Delta Spirit's Matt Vasquez, Deer Tick's John McCauley, and Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith - but it hardly sounds that way. The friends got together to write and play and record one of the brightest, funnest albums of 2011 (Middle Brother, released in March). The record and tour were everything these guys are - loud, rowdy, romantic, and ridiculous ("I got a dick so hard a cat couldn't scratch."). The Middle Brother experience is like getting punched in the face by and making out with the same person. And this year, it didn't get much better than that.
4. Dawes - Throw-me-back. Nothing Is Wrong (June) is the title of Dawes' second studio album and it's true. Nothing is wrong with Dawes. In March, Taylor Goldsmith was the frontman-I-didn't-know in Middle Brother. My knees were practically buckling 60 seconds into Dawes' opening song at Paradise that tour and, now, post-Newport...Middle Brother who? Dawes play classic, earthy American rock and roll with nothing but their instruments (Taylor's golden larynx included) and a helluva lot of talent. Their songs are as romantic as the nostalgia they make you feel for a time when you (and they) were not yet even slated for existence. Taylor lights up the stage in the kind-of-corny-but-fuckin'-awesome way only a California kid with big dreams can. Dawes inspired some serious fangirl swooning this summer, including a detour (en route to My Morning Jacket in Montreal) to see them at Ottawa Bluesfest and a late-night ass-haul to Rhode Island to catch their Newport Folk Fest farewell with Deer Tick (a few songs better than the wait 'til October for the bonafide album tour). Call me smitten.
5. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Lady jams. Maine's Aly Spaltro is Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. Her album Mammoth Swoon (December 28, 2010) came out so close to the end of last year, it counts for this one. It counts for this year because, even though she is now a Brooklynite opening for the likes of Sharon Van Etten, it was the last minute decision to catch her solo at the Middle East Upstairs in August that made Lady Lamb one of my favorite acts of 2011. This girl and her guitar belt out (kind of neurotic) songs that crazy-eight through melodies and tempos and have overwhelming amounts of lyrics. But she is completely awesome. Her lyrics are charming. Her raspy wail is badass. You forget how confused you are by the end of "Crane Your Neck" when she whips her hair around and slams a nearby cymbal with her guitar. She is everything a young artist who is making big things happen for herself should be ("starving for it"). I love those Lady Lamb jams.
6. Laura Marling - Wonderchild. Laura Marling is back again. She released I Speak Because I Can just last year and her latest album, A Creature I Don't Know, dropped this September. Not only is the 21 year-old prolific, she is near perfect. I think. I can't stop listening to this record - my favorite of the year. Laura sings more cautionary tales, this time on a more thematic album. A Creature I Don't Know is not just a collection of beautiful folk songs. Laura's transformed herself from a shy British songstress into a storyteller for the road - coloring her album with hints of jazz and blues and old Hollywood. She was enchanting on stage in September. She's just a treasure.
7. The Barr Brothers - Lifers, movie stars, archaeologists. I first heard Providence-bred, Montreal-based brothers Brad and Andrew Barr in The Slip. Although they've been playing music for nearly twenty years, they first rocked my iTunes library in the mid-2000s after my husband Jeff saw them open for My Morning Jacket on tour (and steal soda from a highway rest stop). Brad and Andrew have reincarnated themselves as The Barr Brothers, a folk-rock quartet featuring Sarah Page and Andres Vial (the story - and song- Brad shares onstage about listening to Sarah play her harp through their apartments' shared wall is the romance of movies). The Barr Brothers was out in September and their headlining show at Berklee's Cafe 939 this December was the holiday season's first gift to me. These guys (and gal) are just so wow. The tracks from the album vacillate between sweet and somber songs and ballsy, bluesy rock jams. The lyrics are clever. The Barr Brothers' impeccable live show reveals the tricks and treats behind the band's full, unique arrangements. Spools of string, cassette players, and all kinds of strange, antique percussive relics make them ever more compelling - as though they've gone digging through time's attic and made a masterpiece. So wow.
8. Fanfarlo - Favorite. I can't really articulate why I love Fanfarlo. My soul just glows when they're in my headphones. It only took one album (2009 debut Reservoir - still in constant rotation) to do me in. So maybe it's a story of love at first listen with these Londoners. I ticked off calendar days once I had tickets in hand to their latest Boston show in October. I sustain myself on anticipation and previews of new songs off their forthcoming record Rooms Filled With Light (2012). I can't wait. It was my happiest concert night of the year listening to the live North American premieres of their new material. Fanfarlo's sound is shifting - from Beirut meets Arcade Fire to some sort of run in with the Cure (farewell, folk. hello, electro-pop-rock.) They completely reimagined Reservoir for this mini-tour; every song was a surprise. They'll never sound stale. They won't let themselves. I can't wait.
9. The Wooden Sky - Buried treasure. Somewhere in Ontario is the best band you've never heard of. I've been listening to The Wooden Sky for less than a month now, but it feels like I can't remember my life before they were a part of it. That's just how much I've been listening to The Wooden Sky since our first tryst November 11 at Lizard Lounge. I'll forever think of Scott from visible voice as my musical fairy godfather for writing about these guys, posting tunes, and sharing the love. Gavin sings about restless youth in a way that makes it all seem magical - not ordinary or distressing. His voice sounds achingly familiar (like Ryan Adams, the Head and the Heart's Jonathan and a guy Stevie Nicks [holy vibrato!] knit tightly in a ball), yet recognizably unique. The Wooden Sky's 2009 album If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone is a sweet layer cake of indie folk-rock textured by lots of unforgettable little things. They released an EP, City of Light, on cassette this year (cassette! Be still, my cassette-reared heart!). The next day, their intimate living room set in Somerville (thanks, Kitchen Sessions) was the icing I didn't need to taste, but really, really loved sticking my spoon in. The Wooden Sky will never rely on big or fancy venues to sell their songs, but they are headed there. Toronto can't keep them hidden much longer. Delish.
10. Florence + the Machine - Epic girl power. I may never see Florence Welch perform at Paradise again (April 2010), but her meteoric rise to pop-rock stardom is so right on. Her 2009 debut Lungs is a gem, and so is her latest release Ceremonials (November). I've read music journalists describe lady Flo as the Stevie Nicks to our generation and I'll take it. Her soaring vocals, fierce vibrato and fringe-y fashion are just as bewitching. Her songs amplify the blood pumping through my veins. I feel like girls (and women alike) should be singing "Dog Days Are Over" into their mirrors and hairbrushes the way I once did "Gypsy". Ceremonials' second track, and single, "Shake It Out" is the perfect anthemic antidote for days when the world hangs heavy on your shoulders (and you just want to get down in your kitchen). "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake it out!"
2011: THE MIXTAPE
1. The Veils, The Stars Came Out Once The Lights Went Out
2. The Low Anthem, Ghost Woman Blues
3. Middle Brother, Million Dollar Bill
4. Dawes, Time Spent In Los Angeles
5. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Crane Your Neck
6. Laura Marling, Don't Ask Me Why/Salinas
7. The Barr Brothers, Beggar in the Morning
8. Fanfarlo, Deconstruction
9. The Wooden Sky, Angelina
10. Florence + the Machine, Shake It Out
(bonus track). Jocie Adams, Bed of Notions
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