. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: The CYPJN!? Top 11 Albums of 2011

2011 was a mixed bag in a lot of ways. But it dropped some pretty fantastic music along the way. Here are the ones I just couldn't shake...

11. Heather Christian & The Arbornauts - Cabinet

Okay… First we’ll ignore the fact that Heather’s a friend of mine. Next, we’ll ignore that the demo version of “Harvey” made my Best Of 2010 mix last year and that the album version did the same this year. We’ll ignore all of that and look at this album objectively.

I was graciously provided an advance copy of Cabinet before it was made available to the gen pop and it immediately went into heavy rotation. Weeding through the year’s output and deciding what I’m going to put my stamp on isn’t always an easy task. The most unbiased criteria I can use for this when the competition gets tough is playcount. By that standard, Cabinet earns its place clearly outside the shadow of nepotism.

A beautifully written and spirited endeavor, HC & The A’s debut is the rare anytime album that pierces through whatever ambient noise you have knocking about and pulls you into its own rapt narrative. The musical ground covered is vast and the shifts seamless. Shifts that sometimes happen within the same song. Album-opener “New Things” takes us from dreamy piano pop into 70’s glamgroove territory within a minute and twenty seconds and then returns us safely to the clouds. “Bounder” has a hushed intensity that blooms midway through into a gritty, slide-blues tiger lily, the kind of goosey, bend-and-soar gospel rave-up that causes involuntary sistahgurl neck rolls while riding the subway. “Jet Thrust & Blushes” is a gauzy, ethereal somnambulation, while “Centuries, Centuries” is a straight-up, top-down, Southern butt-shaker. And then there’s “Harvey”. A cinematic soul-stirrer whose crescendo peels the paint off my walls every time.

Cabinet is not only a solid debut, it’s just a plain great record.

Serving Suggestion: I spent some time with this on the porch. Late summer, early evening. A slate-y Chenin Blanc and some pecorino. But it’s a true anytime album. Just get it and listen to it. I’ve never steered you wrong before.

10. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

The word “formative” actually comes up a little short when I consider the impact Life’s Rich Pageant had on my 12 year old ears. Of the pentumvirate of bands that took over my young heart and mind in those years, R.E.M. was second only to U2 in terms of immediate impact and permanent absorption. (With Dead Kennedys, The Cure and The Smiths closing the loop.) So, it was with no small amount of bittersweet shock that I took in the news of the band’s decision to hang it up after 31 years.

I will say that I 1000% agree with and understand this conclusion. And, in my mind, no other band in history has handled their dissolution with such self-awareness, prudence and grace. I say I agree with the decision because it does seem like R.E.M. have reached a certain plateau in terms of what they have to say. Collapse Into Now definitely earned its place in my Top 11 Albums of 2011 on its own merits and has been a regular go-to since its release. But it feels less like a product of 3 years spent exploring new territory than it does a companion album to 2008’s Accelerate (my #8 album of that year).

That said, make no mistake: A really good R.E.M. record has a higher bar than even the best records by the kids coming up from behind. (I did wonder if there wasn’t a certain foreshadowy wink in the line, “I think I’ll sing and rhyme / I’ll give it one more time / I’ll show the kids how to do it, fine, fine, fine” from “All The Best”.) And there are songs here that I can happily put alongside some of my all-time favorites. “Uberlin” tips its hat to “The Great Beyond”, “Oh My Heart” serves as an actual sequel to “Houston” and “Blue” nods to “Belong” through blizzard-blown curtains of guitar squall. . In the end, Collapse Into Now is exactly what it needs to be. Stipe, Buck and Mills making exactly the music they want to make. One last time.

Serving Suggestion: I like to start the day with this one. Black coffee and a crisp, autumn walk will do you right here.

9. Washed Out - Within and Without

Ahhh, summer in The City. Morning runs along the East River. Glass and metal glinting in orange and purple as the first rays crest the horizon. Steamy, crowded trains. The bustling bake of midday Manhattan. Warm, breezy drives to the beach. Hazy sunsets. Humid, sticky, starless nights.

Often, all of this can be a fairly miserable and oppressive backdrop. But sometimes… with the right record… it can take on the romantic sheen of a well-placed music montage. The kind the 80’s got exactly right. The John Hughes Moment, if you will.

Within and Without did that for me this year. Tapping into the best of those sense memories and painting pictures very much of the present, without a hint of irony or nostalgia. Whatever derivative elements are here are used in service of something wholly of-the-moment.

Every good summer has its soundtrack. In 2011, this was mine.

Serving Suggestion: Grab some Prosecco or your favorite Hefeweizen and some orange slices. Get a blanket, park yourself by the nearest body of water on the longest day of the year and watch the sky turn every color it’s got.

8. Milagres - Glowing Mouth
I did a double-take the first time I heard Glowing Mouth’s title track. “This is… so hot”, I thought. And it is. There’s a citric sensuality and an accompanying pang that puts you smack in the middle of a deserted beach with a lover you’ve been longing to see, a tangle of sandy legs and warm mouths under a hot and waning sun.

This sultry yearning permeates the whole of Glowing Mouth and makes it one of the great surprise discoveries of my music year. Standouts include “Halfway”, “Gentle Beast”, “Lost In The Dark” and “For Disposal".

The way that certain albums surface at certain times has always felt like one of the great blessings of being an avid music consumer. This record became a blanket during an unexpectedly difficult September and I’ve returned to it faithfully ever since.

Brightly melodic, emotionally packed and surprisingly resonant, Glowing Mouth floated in out of nowhere, walked right in the front door and made itself at home. Just in time, as it turned out.

Serving Suggestion: I was travelling for work when this first started getting play on my iPod. The imprints are heavy with airplanes, taxis, early morning desert runs, stolen, bleary-eyed smoke breaks and late night hotel mini-bar binges. It seems the nature of this record is to make its own suggestions. We’ll wait and see what it has in mind for you.

7. Apparat - The Devil's Walk

The first time I heard “Ash/Black Veil”, I knew that A) it would be a solid Track of the Year contender and 2) if the rest of the album was half as good, it would more than likely make this list.

And so it came to pass. The next track I heard was “Song of Los”, which could just as easily vie for the same honor. By the time the record was finally released, hopes were high. That level of anticipation can often be a setup for disappointment. Not so here. The Devil’s Walk brims with atmosphere, but manages to transcend mere chillwave backgroundery. There’s an inherent ache in the bones of this album – both sonically and lyrically – that tugs a little harder, a little deeper than other records that might try to stand under the same umbrella. Electronic sequencing and samples may make up the spine, but the heart of The Devil’s Walk is roundly fleshed with strings, acoustic piano, a raft of live percussion elements and Sascha Ring’s lilting vocals.

Sometimes an album comes out of nowhere and crowns itself Exactly What You’re Needing To Listen To At Exactly This Moment. I love when that happens. And I love, love, love this album.

Serving Suggestion: Dark, moody and more complex than it seems, this one wants a Pinotage. Dim the lights, clear your mind and let it in all the way.

6. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

I feel like I could come up with a bunch of geekspeak hoo-hah about what a deliciously huge rock record The Big Roar is. Lush, layered, massive, satisfying, yippity-yap. I could tell you how fantastic The Joy Formidable are live. Ritzy Bryan’s indefatigable spunk and guitar prowess, Matt Thomas’ spine-rattling double-pedal eruptions, the sheer volume, the sweat, blah-blah.

I’ll save you some time. Watch this. You’ll get the idea.

Serving Suggestion: Too scrappy for vino. Commandeer the P.A. at your local dive bar, slip this on and order up a hearty nut brown ale.

5. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
One of the great thrills in a music geek’s world is the random discovery of a new band. A series of clicks that leads you from one site to the next until you come across – buried in the lower left hand corner of eMusic’s new releases – an interesting album cover by a band you haven’t heard of. You decide to give it a listen and then, lo and behold, you’ve found what will become one of your favorite albums of the year.

The flange-y, sun-soaked opening strains of “Best Night” happened to be exactly what I was looking for at a time when I didn’t know what I was looking for. I tracked through the rest of the album and had purchased it before the last sample even finished playing.

Slave Ambient has a looseness, a warmth, a diaphanous luster that sits squarely in my sweet spot. A really remarkable find.

Serving Suggestion: Perfect for a City stroll or a summer road trip. I particularly liked this one with iced coffee in the first hazy hours of an August day.

4. Wye Oak - Civilian

I first came across the title track for Wye Oak’s Civilian through KEXP’s Song of the Day podcast. It was one of those songs that I kept coming across randomly on my iPod and going “Who is this??” A shame, then, that it took me another few months to finally pick up the album.

Not knowing anything about the band beyond the actual record, I was genuinely shocked to discover that it’s comprised of only two members: Andy Stack on drums, keyboards and backup vocals and Jenn Wasner on vocals and guitar. A sound this rich and refined seems almost impossible with a personnel roster so slim. Alas, the two have a dynamic sensibility that betrays their size.

Though tinged with a certain darkness, Civilian never skews maudlin and is peppered with well-placed moments of sweet release. Wasner’s ghostly croon weaves effortlessly in and out of her own spare guitar lines while Stack’s savvy percussion and keyboard textures paint the stage on which they’ll play.

I’ve never casually listened to this album. I submit and follow it fully every time. And I anxiously await whatever Wye Oak have in store for the future.

Serving Suggestion: Hot toddies by the fire.

3. The Horrors - Skying

Primary Colours landed on this list in 2009. It remained such an unshakeable favorite that I wondered if The Horrors’ next stab wouldn’t be doomed to fall at least a little short. And then I heard “Still Life”, the first single from Skying. There was no question that the band had somehow figured out how to top themselves.

It would be another two months before the album was officially released and I could only hope that the rest of the tracks would follow suit. When it finally hit, it confirmed what I had been suspecting. The Horrors had evolved. Featuring slightly cleaner production and a clearer melodic focus, the band maintains the same sonic hallmarks that made them a hit with nostalgic ‘120 Minutes’ fans, but crafts a more nuanced and (ultimately) more accessible set of songs.

Beyond “Still Life” (yet another Track of the Year contender), other personal faves include “Changing the Rain”, “You Said”, “Endless Blue” and “Moving Further Away”.

As much as The Horrors’ overall sound may be a nod to its shoegoth predecessors, for my money they made one of the most singular and exciting records of the year.

Serving Suggestion: Light exactly one candle, pour the darkest, earthiest Pinot you’ve got and headphone up.

2. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

When details about the new Radiohead started to surface, I was apparently less hung up on the fact that it contained only eight tracks than the blogosphere was. It’s always been my position that an album should be whatever length it needs to be to say what the artist wants to say, whether it’s a double album or a 7-song EP/LP judgment call. We’d never presume to go back and tell Pollack he needed to add a couple more drips here or there. I figured, "If these eight songs are all Radiohead have to offer me this year, I’ll take ‘em."

We would later find out, with the release of 4 subsequent studio tracks that this wasn’t altogether true. And hearing these songs (recorded not long after the KoL sessions) does make one wonder why the band simply take some more time to see what they had. (Incidentally, “Staircase” easily became a Track of the Year contender, a distinction none of the KoL cuts were able to claim.)

Monday morning quarterbacking aside, King of Limbs remains unassailable as what it ultimately is: another astonishing Radiohead album. No band in recent memory has reframed what can be accomplished in the studio and this record is no exception. Haunting, intricate, otherworldly and genuinely incomparable, King of Limbs tickles all the places a Radiohead record should.

Serving Suggestion: King of Limbs gave me my first perfect iPod moment of 2011. Walking up Fifth Avenue along the east side of Central Park after a major snowstorm, Starbucks in hand, the trees and all surrounding structures layered in thick, untouched duvets of white. A stark and utter stillness. Just the occasional melty drip from an overhanging branch and the last three tracks of this album. If you can replicate this, you’ll be well served.