Favorite Albums of 2011 20-11

20. Hey Rosetta! – Seeds
Lush strings, crunchy guitars and anthemic crescendos propel this ambitious and addictive collection of songs from underrated Canadian indie-popsters. 

 Hey Rosetta - Yer Spring

19. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
The sophomore effort from California-based road warriors Dawes didn't quite meet my high expectations.  A solid effort, seemingly teleported straight out of 1975 - but just didn't grab me the way North Hills did.  Still among the best live bands you'll see, though.

 Dawes - Fire Away

 
18. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
A welcome return to the straightforward folk sound that the band had moved away from on recent records.  No bloated arrangements or convoluted storyline - just simple songs and Colin Meloy's lyrics on full display.  Plus a little help from Peter Buck and Gillian Welch.   

 The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight

17. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
Where past records were draped in a haze of guitar effects and muddy noise, Smoke Ring For My Halo is crisp and clear.  The melodies and lyrics are discernable and the genius of Kurt Vile's songwriting is on full display.  

Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms

16. Real Estate – Days
On Days, New Jersey beachniks Real Estate clean up the production a bit without losing their lo-fi charm, and deliver another batch of summery pop songs that range from roadtrip-ready singalongs to slow-burning sunset jams.

Real Estate - It's Real

15. The Devil Whale – Teeth
A lucky discovery early in 2011, The Devil Whale released their sophomore effort Teeth in May.  The Utah-based band creates catchy indie-pop that recalls Dr. Dog or a grittier The Head And The Heart. 

 The Devil Whale - Earthquake Dreams

14. Roadside Graves – We Can Take Care of Ourselves
Ramshackle, whiskey-soaked folk-rock from New Jersey's Roadside Graves.  A concept album loosely based on S.E. Hinton's classic "The Outsiders", the story of the Greasers and the Socs sets a backdrop but never feels forced or contrived.

Roadside Graves - Hank Williams

13. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
Ryan Adams' music ushered me through the most formative years of my life, from high school to college and beyond.  29, Easy Tiger and Cardinology kind of lost me - but Ashes & Fire has me back on board.  Focused, honest and sans-Cardinals...welcome back Ryan.

Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire   

12. The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh
Local favorites The Low Anthem return with their third full-length.  What Smart Flesh may lack in cohesiveness it makes up for in spirit - with whisper-soft hymns standing alongside ragged folk-rockers.

The Low Anthem - Boeing 737

11. Tristen –  Charlatans At The Garden Gate
I was late to come around on Tristen, but have been making up for lost time.  Tristen treads in similar waters to Sharon Van Etten, a strong woman writing about ellusive love and failed relationships.  However, she paints with a more vibrant and diverse pallette - great stuff.

 Tristen - Avalanche

Review: Kurt Vile at Brighton Music Hall 7.11.11

By Brian Hodge

Seeing Kurt Vile is not as easy as one would think.  For one, he quickly sold out the 340-person Brighton Music Hall, leaving a gaggle of onlookers inquiring about extra tickets from behind angular bangs.

Further complicating the matter, he and his band sport serious hair, often obfuscating his face.  Combine this with an overpowering sound system and a maxed out mix, and suddenly hearing Vile and the Violators was not as easy as one would think either.

On record, Vile comes across as methodically moving.  There’s a certain beauty in its simplicity, patiently building swells, swoons and poignant pay-offs.  In concert, his effect-laden guitars (and his proficient but painfully loud band) absolutely overpowered and overwhelmed the venue.

Gone were the swirling, building textures and in its place was brash and ballsy noise,  which - it should be noted - was performed well.  Drummer Mike Zanghi pounded out primal, open-handed cymbal splashes on opening “Overnight Rebellion.”  And closing tunes “Society is My Friend” and “Freak Train” careened to dizzying heights.  But too often the opened-tune guitar parts tried to build buzz, but without the textured dynamics, instead blared out blindly.

Not that the capacity crowd cared.

The boisterous bunch bellowed approval for the tracks from Vile’s excellent Smoke Rings From My Halo and indeed the attitude of the evening owed much to album opener “On Tour.”

“On tour, lord of the flies,” Vile’s voice rang.  “Aw, hey, who cares? What’s a guitar?”

For those who had the good fortune to see (and hear) Vile on tour, who cares indeed.

Arc In Round (Philadelphia, Penn.) began the night with cathartic, shoegaze-y dream-pop.  Their distorted textures started soundly with pscyhadelic swirls but unfortunately the aforementioned sound system didn’t allow the ideas to fully flourish.#  Guitarist Jeff Ziegler led the sound with ambient guitar lines and filled in on vocals, but the band took highest flight when keyboardist/ vocalist Mikele Edwards took the lead with a sweet, Asobi Seksu-like sound.  You can name your own price for their latest EP II from their bandcamp page.

Woods were next with their blend of folksy, lo-fi, rock.  Most eye catching is the woozy backing vocals and sounds form tape effects technician G. Lucas Crane.  The sounds generally gravitated towards Congratulations-era MGMT meets Brian Wilson pop phrasings.  The head noddings picked up in earnest when they dug into deep, heavy grooves.

Kurt Vile -I Know I Got Religion