Abbey Fox writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Abbey Fox)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Abbey Fox.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

• Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  Bad As Me was probably the album I was most looking forward to this year and I am pleased to report that it was also one of my favorites. Sure, it’s nothing really new in Waits terrority; he still sounds like a tortured voice that dares to speak the raw truth singing (often) dark and (sometimes) sweet love songs…and damn, he’s still really good at it. And that version of Auld Lang Syne at the end of the album? Perfection. You get the sense that this is the bad-as-me-kind of guy that wants all acquaintance to be forgot-sort of thing. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
  
  Recommended: “Raised Right Men,” “Kiss Me,” “New Year’s Eve”
• tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  What can be said about Merril Garbus that hasn’t been said already? Seeing her live ignited my passion for Tune-yards. She is one of the most inventive, beautiful, and JOYFUL performers who so clearly loves making music….and all by herself. W H O K I L L continues to showcase her fascinating use of the vocal loop, random drumming on whatever is close to her, and over-all infectious energy that always present. It is often hard to capture someone so wonderful live on a recorded album, but listening to W H O K I L L only makes me like Tune-yards even more. Merril Garbus is awesome. This album is no exception.
  
  Recommended tracks: “Gangsta,” “Riotriot,” “Bizness”
• Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  A lovely pop album from the adorable couple that is Tennis, Cape Dory is delightful, light, and fun. It’s about love. It sounds like summer. It makes you want to dance. I really enjoyed it.
  
  Recommended tracks: “Pigeon,” “Marathon
• Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  Building on the success of their 2008 release, this sophomore album does not disappoint (in fact, it makes my top ten list). Introspective lyrics about one’s own relationship with society and thus one’s place in the world [lyrics ‘so now i am older/than my mother & father when they had their daughter/ now what does that say about me?’ open the album] are the beautiful forefront of the album for me. I’m in my mid-twenties, I feel like it was written for me, and I think the Fleet Foxes showcase modern folk music and its finest.
  
  Recommended tracks: “Montezuma”, “Sim Sala Bim”, “Helplessness Blues”
• Beirut – The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  Critics have called it the most ‘restrained’ Beirut album; the one that manages to find the perfect balance between creative experimentation of his East European -influenced music (horns! strings! keyboards!) and earnest lyrics, and I agree. The Rip Tide has an expansive romantic sound that clocks in at only 33 minutes. And I again say, Zac Condon and crew: I want more!!
  
  Recommended tracks: “East Harlem,” “Payne’s Bay,” “Vagabond”
• Tinariwen – Tassili (ANTI-)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  They’ve been around for the past 30 years, but Tassili was my introduction to this amazing Sub Saharan band. A mixture of their native Arab influenced sounds and American blues performed on acoustic guitars will get stuck in your head for days. It doesn’t matter that you can’t understand the language, you feel their exploration of struggles and belonging. This is the kind of album that continues to grow on you, and I keep discovering new nuances with every listen. (also to be noted: they collaborate with Dirty Dozen Brass Band & TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone on this album)
  
  Recommended tracks: “Walla Illa,” “Tamiditin Tan Ufrawan,” “Iswegh Attay”
• Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside – Dirty Radio (Patrtisan)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  This quirky little debut album by this bluesy-rockabilly band stuck with me all year. Based in Portland, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside have a fun sound that still manages encompass raw emotions and pure honesty.
  
  Recommended tracks: “I Swear,” “Write Me a Letter,” “Where Did You Go?”
• Yellow Ostrich – The Mistress (Afternoon)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  “WHALE” is my favorite song from 2011, hands down. The rest of the album is great too…front man Alex Shaaf really knows how to work a vocal loop pedal and harmonizes perfectly. I’m really psyched to watch this band grow in the next couple of years.
  
  Recommended: “WHALE,” “Mary,” “Bread”
• PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  I was never a PJ Harvey fan until this album. It’s not that actively avoided her music, but nothing ever quite stuck with me like this album did (and does). It’s a highly political album that brilliantly illustrates the complexities in our ever changing (and often violent) world. Harvey sings for her life on this album, it’s often terrifying but it’s always beautiful.
  
  Recommended tracks: “In Dark Places,” “Let England Shake,” “The Words that Maketh Murder”
• Steven Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic (Matador)
  BUY: Insound / iTunes
  Lo-fi indie rock at its finest by one of our forefathers from Pavement. He continues to make weird words fit together in a way that makes you bob your head like you agree. Stephen Malkmus’s musical range is huge, will get you moving and will make you nostalgic in a way that also makes you excited for the next album.
  
  Recommended tracks: “No One Is (As I Are Be),” “Tigers”

Rubbed in Dirt, Dipped in Sugar writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (John Lombardo)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and Assistant Music Director John Lombardo.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

1. Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Since these guys have been hammering away in Chicago for years now, you wouldn’t have thought this album’s greatness would have taken anyone by surprise, but Neverendless felt like it came out of nowhere – slamming into your senses like the 2-ton flatbed truck that Cave commandeered to share its new songs with the city. Crisp and clear production with impossibly tight songs. Somehow these epic jams all seem to end too quickly!
2. Wugazi – 13 Chambers (self-released)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Mash-ups are by no means a new idea, but somehow these two non-DJ, diehard Fugazi fans managed to put together everything here perfectly. Everything from the pairing the tricky, unorthodox Fugazi riffs with b-sides of rare Gravediggaz outtakes down to the clever word play on song titles and the blended cover art, these guys nailed it!
3. Thank You – Golden Worry (Thrill Jockey)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   The new 4-piece Thank You mix their jagged and jangly guitars, drums, and keys into an tight 6-song album that smoothly spills from one song to another, riding groove after groove through epic freak-outs.
4. Dead Luke – Meanwhile in the Midwest (Glymph)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Madison, WI’s noisy troubadour overhauls classic Americana with blankets of distortion and scratched-up magnetic tape. An album as beautiful as it is chaotic.
5. Fungi Girls – Some Easy Magic (HoZac)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Weeding their way through the recent wave of garage revivalists, this young Texan trio distill everything great about surf, psych, lo-fi, and pop through though the filter of a teenage mind.
6. Wooden Ships – West (Thrill Jockey)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Wooden Shjips have put together perhaps their masterpiece. Not quite completely shedding their skin of minimalist drone, they’ve tightened their song focus and re-worked their psych approach with heavy nods to Sabbath and Spacemen 3.
7. X-Ray Eyeballs – Not Nothing (Kanine)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Twisted, dark, and eruptive. This album is bittersweet in its lyrics and saccharine sweet in its melodies.
8. Chad Vangaalen – Diaper Island (Sub Pop)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   The man who gave us those Women records with their fractured, lovely charm unleashes his fourth album, debuting the toys of his new studio – Yoko Eno. Undeniably catchy songs about love and life that seem to never resemble the album’s unsavory title.
9. Obits – Moody Standard Poor (Sub Pop)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   The next super-group in Rick Froberg’s growing arsenal, Obits have upped the ante with their second album. This album took a few listens to really embrace after fixating on I Blame You for about a year, but it is every bit as captivating
10. Heavy Times – Jacker (HoZac)
    BUY: Insound / iTunes
    Pure, relentless, sinewy rock and roll with big payoffs. Packaged in two-minute bursts, this record doesn’t calm down once until your needle is spent, exhausted, and pleading.

Andy Weber writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Andy Weber)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ Andy Weber.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

1. Tammar – Visits (Suicide)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   So this band clearly hijacked my music library while I was sleeping. Digested said library over a long period of time. Then they made this album perfectly crafted to my taste. I would like to take this opportunity to thank this outfit from Bloomington, IN for doing such a thoughtful thing!
2. Ponytail – Do Whatever You Want All The Time (We Are Free)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   If you dislike the word “one” for any reason stay very far away from this recording. I happen to love the word “one.” Hence the ranking! This is an extremely fun album that can even be slightly haunting at times. Lots of energy abound.
3. Cave – Neverendless (Drag City)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Cave highest ranking Chicago band on my list which thus dubs them my favorite Chicago band of 2011 apparently. The best way for me to sum up this album is a collection of psych drones that will enter your soul and never leave. You will be feeling this album long after it is done playing!
4. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   This is just a very intelligent sounding album with layers of sound and style.
5. Givers – In Light (Glassnote)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Every year I need a “happy fun” album and for 2011 Givers presented me with such an album. This debut full length for the Louisiana band is not just for fun it has some depth as well. But it is best played with the sun shining!
6. Disappears – Guider (kranky)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Another year means another Disappears album on my top 10. This band, that we are all very lucky to have locally, just keeps getting better. There is a new album due in March and it makes me wonder if they will make it 3 for 3 on my list in 2012.
7. Walter & Wendell – Adjusted Automatically (Movings)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   This is more great music to come out of our fair city. Put together by former members of The M’s this is a collection of beautiful tracks. It features one of my favorite songs of the year, “Old Times”
8. Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm/ANTI)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Wilco? Really? Wilco made my top 10? Well when I first listened to this album I was blown away just by the fact that Wilco was able to excite me again. Just when I had written them off they pull me back in. Well done!
9. Ducktails – Arcade Dynamics (Woodsist)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   OK for this slot it was going to be Ducktails, Woods, or Real Estate. Ducktails wins out! Although I like all three albums a lot this Ducktails album stuck out slightly more as a complete album. No slumps throughout and slightly more adventurous as the off shoot of Real Estate.
10. Mannequin Men – Mannequin Men (Addenda)
    BUY: Insound / iTunes
    This just snuck in at the end of the year. What a good album! This band really grew up with this release. I will not be surprised if a much bigger audience stands up and takes notice of this Chicago band.

Honorable Mentions

• Afro Soul-Tet – Panoramic & True – Quintron – Real Estate – Paleo – Woods – Yellow Ostrich – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
  
  “The One Song I Cannot Get Out Of My Head” for 2011: Quintron – Ring The Alarm

Mike Bennett writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2011 (Mike Bennett)

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. The next list is from DJ and CHIRP Board member Mike Bennett.

(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)

I’ve listened to roughly 120 or so 2011 releases and I was pleased with the variety of cool sounds that I heard this year. It was a great year for local music. In addition to the Disappears and Mannequin Men records that made my Honorable Mentions, there were great releases from Cheer-Accident, J.C. Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Mickey, Wilco, The Lawrence Peters Outfit, Smoking Popes, Vee Dee, Pet Lions and many others. Yet again, CHIRP exposed me to sounds that I never would have heard before, and I’m so happy I get the chance to share some of those sounds on chirpradio.org every Saturday morning.

Honorable Mentions

1. Pete and The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures (Stolen)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Great guitar oriented pop records seem fewer and farther between nowadays, so the second LP from this Reading, England group was a revelation. This band reminds me of favorites like Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Only Ones, Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians and so many others. With its memorable melodies, killer guitar lines, quirky lyrics and multiple hooks per song, I played this album more than any other this year.
2. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (Hear Music)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   This album plays like a summary of everything Paul Simon does well. Some of the songs sound like lost ‘60s gems, while others sport jumping rhythms from places like Africa and New Orleans. Simon focuses mortality and what life is all about, and his lyrics are more than up to the task, with wit and wisdom giving weight to these wonderful tunes.
3. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   The most accurate album title of the year from a Welsh trio that takes the sounds of the harder side of the ‘90s shoegazer scene and amps them up even more. Singer-guitarist Ritzy Brian is a great frontwoman, getting amazing sounds from her instrument, and the band shows enough songcraft that there is something enticing in most songs before the band explodes.
4. Van Hunt – What Were You Hoping For? (Thirty Tigers)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Hunt not only left a major label, he burst out of the retro soul straitjacket he was fitted for, and he is now letting his freak flag fly. He still has a bit of a Curtis Mayfield thing going, but it blends in with hints of Prince, George Clinton, Cee Lo Green and other eccentrics, as soul, rock and funk all come into the mix on a thrilling set of songs.
5. Tom Waits – Bad As Me (ANTI-)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Waits’ collaborator/wife Kathleen Brennan laid down the law: no songs over 4 minutes. Well, a few creep over that mark, but concision leads to the sharpest songs Waits has created in a long time. From barroom balladeering to scuzzy blues to rockabilly, Waits is in control on his best album since Rain Dogs.
6. Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi (Domino)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   This tiny chanteuse is a mean guitar player too. Her flamenco runs support her dramatic torch songs (is that redundant?) and her powerful voice, which is reminiscent of Patti Smith and P.J. Harvey. Nick Cave and Brian Eno (who sings some backing vocals on a couple of tracks) are big advocates, and those guys wouldn’t steer anyone wrong, right?
7. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – From Africa With Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Fela Kuti has two sons carrying on his afro pop traditions, the older Femi, and the younger Seun, whose band is comprised primarily of guys who played with his father. These are sleek, tight songs with intoxicating rhythms, funky guitars and political lyrics, made for all night dancing (or protesting).
8. Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ (Columbia)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Saadiq again looks to the past, showing his mastery of ‘60s and ‘70s soul and R & B. Here, he not only goes beyond Motown and Stax but adds funkier stuff like Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield to his approach. More importantly, he finds a way to make his songs not just homages, but new “old” soul classics.
9. Jonathan Wilson – Gentle Spirit (Bella Union)
   BUY: Insound / iTunes
   Wilson has spearheaded a revival of the ‘70s Laurel Canyon sound. This is epic singer-songwriter rock, as Wilson has learned his lessons well from mentors such as Jackson Browne and Graham Nash. There is also a melodic sweetness that reminds me a bit of Elliot Smith, which adds to the warmth and intimacy of this collection.
10. The Features – Wilderness (Bug)
    BUY: Insound / iTunes
    This Murfreesboro, Tennessee band creates roller coaster rock songs that blend dynamics a la bands like the Pixies with exciting twists and turns in their songs (think early Roxy Music or Sparks), sprinkling in other influences along the way. Singer/guitarist Matthew Pelham is alternatively crazy or nuanced and drummer Rollum Haas is spectacular throughout.
    • Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie)
      tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L (4AD)
      Disappears – Guider (Kranky)
      Roots Manuva – 4everrevolution (Big Dada)
      Hollie Cook – Hollie Cook (Mr. Bongo)
      Mannequin Men – Mannequin Men (Addenda)
      Das Racist – Selena (Greedhead)
      Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine (Bloodshot)
      Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
      k.d. lang & The Siss Boom Bang – Sing It Loud (Nonesuch)