Last Week's Album

At the end of each year, most people like to reflect on the past 365 days and remember the good times. We at Last Week’s Album are no different. So for our Top 10 Albums of 2011 list, we didn’t just pick all the albums we gave 5 out of 5 lighters. Instead, we selected the ones that haven’t just stood the test of time, but have gotten better with each listen. And just to keep things fair, 5 of them are from Kevin and 5 of them are from Derek. So without further ado, here are our Top 10 Albums of 2011.

Derek’s Top 5

5. Fight Less Win More by My Sad Captains

I only reviewed this album in mid-November, but My Sad Captains still find themselves in my regular iPod rotation. Their acute attention to detail and ability to meld guitars and other keys/synthesizers together into extremely pleasing melodies make for some fantastic tunes. Though Fight Less Win More has yet to be out for an entire month, limiting whatever marketing traction can be gained in such a short period of time, their tunes are absolutely solid, and should help the band continue its climb towards indie-rock success.

4. In the Mountain in the Cloud by Portugal. The Man

In my original review, I stated that I was “initially blown away by intricate array of sounds and melodies.” Three and a half months later, little has changed. The band’s first major label release allowed the fellas to spend some quality time on each track, tying up all possible loose ends, and creating a fantastic album. The vocals and vocal melodies are catchy as can be, and the added production value of a major label release really allowed Portugal. The Man to build on the strength of its vocal melodies. Further, expanded instrumentation, including synthesized strings on tracks such as “So American” and “Floating (Time Isn’t Working My Side)” allowed the band to reach new heights. One of my favorite road trips albums, I don’t see this one falling out of my playlist rotation any time soon.

3. Tripper by Fruit Bats

I had minimal expectations for this album before writing my review, yet this album has stuck with me more than most other albums I reviewed this year. Instrumentally solid front to back, Tripper really flexes its muscles in regards to the stories it tells. As noted in my original review, Fruit Bats’ frontman Eric D. Johnson wrote this album based on stories he might have encountered if he had stayed on a train with a vagrant he met. Each track tells a different tale about life on the road, against a rich folk/rock backdrop. Although this album did not reach the masses, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard “Shivering Fawn” during the credits of an episode of Weeds. After months of play on my iPod, I can definitely say that Tripper is a trip worth taking.

2. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes

In my review, I claimed that this album would find its way into many Top Albums of the Year lists… and here it is! This band of bearded Oregonians released their sophomore full length with Helplessness Blues to much fanfare following the critical acclaim of their debut. I found Helplessness Blues to be a solid effort, far away from the fabled “sophomore slump.” Though Fleet Foxes did not stray far from their folk-heavy bread-and-butter sound, the album’s tracks were much more complex and in-depth than their indie-rock cohorts in the Pacific Northwest.

1. Bon Iver by Bon Iver

There was no doubt that a follow-up to For Emma, Forever Ago was going to be tough task for anyone, let alone Bon Iver genius Justin Vernon. However, Vernon showed that he was up to the task with the self-titled sophomore release under the moniker Bon Iver. Though Bon Iver presented many staggering differences from For Emma, ranging from the inclusion of drums, more distorted guitars and, at times, shockingly deep (read: non-falsetto) vocals from Vernon, it was still able to capture some of the intimacy that made For Emma as great as it was. Like I said in my review, Vernon’s expanded instrumentation also allows his songs to reach new emotional heights, as drums, distorted guitars and other instruments allowed Vernon to add a greater intensity to his already intimate music.

Kevin’s Top 5

5. Torches by Foster the People

On my original review, I called “Pumped Up Kicks” the “song of the summer for 2011.” But I was wrong –- this jam went on to become quite arguably the biggest pop hit of the entire year, and rightly so. “Don’t Stop” also made into the eardrums of almost everyone in the U.S. by way of those ubiquitous Nissan Versa TV ads (watch them here and here). Also including standout jams like “Helena Beat,” “Call It What You Want” and “Houdini,” Torches turned out to be much more than just another superficial pop album. It’s a mix of catchy hooks, dancefloor beats and subtly emotional lyrics. And even if the radio and TV made you sick of their biggest hits, you can’t deny that Foster the People can write and record some seriously contagious jams.

4. Bright Lights EP by Gary Clark, Jr.

Yeah, I know, it’s only an EP and not a full-length album. So what? Carrying on in the spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan and others, Gary Clark, Jr. is the next big Texas blues man. Bright Lights only included four tracks, but it still encapsulates this young gun’s deft guitar playing, expansive breadth of emotions and original style. One song he’s rocking your ass off, and the next he’s ripping your heart out. The title track was so killer, it made it onto a Jack Daniels commercial. So even though Bright Lights is short and sweet, Clark has the chops to keep me coming back time and again, long after my review. He also puts on a phenomenal show at his concerts, and he’s as humble as they come. I know it’s just an EP, but Gary Clark, Jr. is definitely ready for the bright lights. 

3. Circuital by My Morning Jacket

With five albums under their belt, My Morning Jacket honed their sound as well as they ever have on Circuital. As stated in my review, they dropped the lengthy barnburners but still found ways to follow jams where they led in a tighter fashion. “Victory Dance’s” random voice-and-trumpet hook gives way to a groovy track, “Circuital” displays all five players equal time in the spotlight with its everybody-together-now bounce, and “Holdin On To Black Metal” rocks out in silly style with horns and a girl-choir backing. The album as a whole proves that My Morning Jacket haven’t lost their imaginations with age and their ability to bridge unfamiliar sounds has deepened with time. Rock on, brothers.

2. Screws Get Loose by Those Darlins

These girls (and one guy) really blew me away when I reviewed them this year. Not only can they write smart, catchy quips, but they can tear their instruments to shreds (proof of that here). And although Screws Get Loose is just their second album, they’ve somehow already mastered a signature country/garage sound and a palpable group chemistry. Their sophomore effort contained well-crafted Southern indie-rock gems like “Be Your Bro,” “Let U Down,” “Tina Said” and “Boy.” The album as a whole helped them craft their sound and gained them enough notoriety to get “Red Light Love” on a Kia Sorrento commercial. I can’t wait to hear more outta these talented ladies (and dude).

1. GB City by Bass Drum of Death

I wish I could go back to the day I gave this album just 2 out of 5 lighters and give myself a swift kick in the nuts. GB City has easily become my favorite album of 2011, mainly due to Bass Drum of Death’s uncanny ability to fuse garage rock with old-school doo-wop. It’s left their jams ringing in my ears, pulsing through my veins and blaring through my speakers ever since I got my hands on the album. “Nerve Jamming” rocks with beating drums, fuzzy guitar and effected vocals; “Get Found” has sick guitar hooks and punching percussion; and “Young Pros” boasts snarling lyrics and falsetto backing vocals that harp pack to Motown’s formative years. Even the tracks I found difficult to listen to at first have found their way into my regular listening repertoire (“Velvet Itch,” “High School Roaches,” “Spare Room” and “Leaves”). I sure didn’t call this one in my review, but I now take a trip to GB City anytime I can.

So there you have it, kids. We hope you’ve had as much fun reading out albums as we’ve had reviewing them, and we look forward to another year of even more. If you’ve really dug an album this year, we recommend showing the band some love by buying said album as a gift for someone else. After all, what better way to spread some cheer than spreading the music you dig?

What’s your favorite album of 2011? Let us know in the comments section below, our on our Facebook or Twitter.

On My Morning Jacket’s sixth LP, Circuital, Jim James and crew deliver a record that’s tighter than their previous releases. But while there are fewer tracks and shorter jam-outs than usual, they’re still all over the map. You’ll hear plenty of bouncy, almost reggae keys; slow, mellow steel guitar; blaring horns; girl choirs; and the obligatory reverb and falsetto. Most importantly, you’ll hear a band that never gets old continue to evolve with superb style, form and exploration.

Sounds Like:
My Morning Jacket have arrived right where they started — honest and edgy as ever

Like the album’s cover art, its opening track, “Victory Dance,” was inspired by James’ recent Lasik eye surgery. Your ears are immediately jolted by his falsetto voice and a trumpet blaring “Do-da-lay do-da-lay do-da-lay do-da-lay” in unison. It’s no surprise that he begins the song (and album) with a such an odd duet, as one of James’ favorite sandboxes to play in is that weird space between sincere and silly. He seems to be completely tongue in cheek at the outset with that Tenacious D-ish opener, bouncy keyboards and high hats that give the track its groovy feel, only to build on a deeper meaning with philosophical questions, waning guitar licks and crashing cymbals.

Circuital’s title track is another standout, this time more for the band as a whole. It begins with a choir holding out one note and quickly fading, then a simply plucked guitar and James’ signature vocal stylings. “Spinning out, gracefully / Going nowhere, quickly” he croons. Soon there are ethereal tones rising up in the background, followed by a heavily strummed acoustic riff. Suddenly bassist Two-Tone Tommy, lead guitarist Carl Broemel and drummer Patrick Hallahan crash their way into the circle of sounds, and things get really rockin’. Later, keyboardist Bo Koster’s asending-and-descending piano hook adds some playfullness, until lead guitarist Carl Broemel nibbles at the neck of his guitar before chomping right through it. Then true to circuitous form, the band drops out until its just James’ voice, those atmospheric tones and that bouncy, plucked guitar fading out. Somehow My Morning Jacket can deliver an over-seven-minute rocker so gracefully that it never drags, just eloquently flows and ebbs.

Key Tracks:
Victory Dance, Circuital, Outta My System, Holdin On To Black Metal, Movin Away

What follows are three simpler tracks. “The Day Is Coming” has poppy backup vocals, a classic-but-nice melody ending each verse, relentlessly jingling bells, and a generally ominous feel that suits the mood perfectly. “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” is a stripped-down ballad about how awesome it feels to take a step back and look at how far you’ve come every now and again. “It matters to me / Took a long time to get here / If it would have been easy / I would not have cared” James reminisces. There’s a nice touch of barely there steel guitar and backing vocals. Light drums come in for the last two verses, giving it the subtlest of airy, country jam feels. “Outta My System” take a justified view of youthful experimentation. “I’m glad I did it all then, I know what I ain’t missin’ / Glad I went and got it all outta my system” James wails over fuzzed-out guitar, waning steel guitar and slow-pounded drums. According to Rolling Stone, “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” and “Outta My System” were written for a Muppets project that never saw the light of day. Your loss, Sesame Street.

Best Lyric:
“I can learn from way back when / And still live right now” - “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)”

Then comes a cover of Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” Wait a minute… nope… it’s just the very similar bass line of “Holdin On To Black Metal.” If the “Oh oh ohs” hadn’t come in so quickly, I would have been totally fooled. Despite the similarity, this track is a jam. Horn bursts, all-falsetto lyrics, choirs of girls and kids, wah-wah guitars and a killer breakdown make it all-over-the-place awesome. And the story of a black-metalhead who just can’t let go of the music of his youth adds another crazy element to the song. It’s a cautionary tale about not getting so deep into Satanic ideology that you can’t grow out of it as you age. I can empathize with James here — though I never got into black metal, I thought Rammstein and Papa Roach were the shit back in the day. But the themes of death, destruction, anger and hate just couldn’t retain my interest after high school. Just like James sings, “It’s a darkness you can’t deny / But it don’t belong in a grown up mind.”

                                     Music video for “Circuital”

Blaring guitar and rock drums open up “First Light,” on which James stretches his non-falsetto voice to the limits and a soulful, horn-infused rockout brings things to a very nice close. “You Wanna Freak Out” reminds us that we can’t hide our emotions forever, with poppy verses, keyboard, steel guitar and a fittingly fuzzed-to-the-max guitar solo drives the song’s message home. “Slow Slow Tune” is a bluesy, slow jam (no shit, right?) that’s an ode to one’s unborn children. The band breaks it down to just James’ soft, falsetto, until piercing guitar slices through the silence like fatherly advice through a child’s argument.

Finally, “Movin’ Away” closes things out with piano chords, high hats and snare that give the song a light carnival feel. It’s a goodbye dirge about how when two separated people fall in love, one feels the urge to move nearer to the other. “Possessed by your love / Under the influence / And though there’s a new life line / I won’t forget the one I left behind” James sings before a longing steel guitar solo. At the end, high keys wander around while low keys draw them nearer to middle octaves, making for a nice melodic analogy of the song’s theme. The mood is sad but glad, reminiscent but looking forward. And it’s that future-oriented outlook that brings us right back to where we started with “Victory Dance.”

Overall Rating:
   

On the short documentary that accompanies Circuital, lead singer and visionary Jim James explains the title and title track. “I feel like this record and this song are very circular. Perhaps, you could say, in contrast to the triangle waveforms of our last record. This record had more circular waveforms.” More being the operative word. See, the band and its frontman have always been too varied to ever release a typically “circuital” album. They’re never going to produce a perfect circle of a record, where the order and feel of each song complement each other in a flawless, resolved manner. But that is precisely the perfection of My Morning Jacket — they take you down a winding path through rivers of reverb, forests of falsetto and mountains of modern rock, only to leave you wondering how you’re still listening to the same band, whether it’s ten tracks or six albums later.