My Top 11 Albums of 2011

11. Mirrors by U.S. Royalty



With their blues and classic-rock tinged sound, U.S. Royalty actually got me to start feeling proud to be an American, which is a pretty big deal if you know me. "Hollywood Hollows," the album's first real song, is one of the first blues-rock songs I've ever enjoyed, and between the insanely catchy "Equestrian" and "Vacation Vacation," the middle of Mirrors is about as good as it gets. Thanks to my RD Rhett for hooking me onto this relatively new band from D.C.

10. The Long Surrender by Over the Rhine



After experiencing Over the Rhine live for the first time in April, I realized just how good of musicians they really are. The emotion in Karin Bergquist's is rarely matched in the musical world, and the story-telling/bantering of her and Linford Detweiler on stage is captured through the band's folk ballads and long-practiced harmonies. The Long Surrender is just another gem in OTR's continually growing catalogue of folk masterpieces.

9. Kiss Each other Clean by Iron & Wine



This album surprised me in a couple of ways. For one, I never expected Beam to use so much electric guitar and bass on an album, given his typical acoustic songs and nearly whispering vocals. And secondly, I never expected a complete album of his to be so good. Even though a few tracks really stand out ("Walking Far From Home" and "Monkeys Uptown" in particular), there really isn't a sub-par song on this album. Even though I loved the more hushed sounds of his earlier work, there's nothing to be sad about with this new direction of KEOC.

8. Torches by Foster the People



Despite getting over-played on radio stations and television commercials, it's still pretty easy to say that "Pumped Up Kicks" was the feel-good song of the year, or the summer at the very least. And in my humble opinion, Torches was the feel-good album of the year. Nearly every track hooks you within the first 30 seconds and keeps your head bobbing until the end. I did more in-car dancing than I'd like to admit thanks to this album, and if you ask my girlfriend I did more than enough dancing to this album in general, but this album made it pretty difficult not to.

7. Codes and Keys by Death Cab for Cutie



In all honesty, Codes and Keys wasn't quite as good as I was expecting from Death Cab after their last few albums. But then again, not many bands have ever topped Plans or Transatlanticism in my book, so expectations were rather high for this release. Despite being only an average album for the band though, Codes and Keys still showed that Death Cab are one of the best bands around, and "You Are A Tourist" included what may be the catchiest guitar riff I've ever heard. Ben Gibbard and his fellow bandmates continue to tighten their sound and make high-quality music that's hard not to love.

6. The King is Dead by The Decemberists



After the extremely concept-driven Hazards of Love, I really didn't know what to expect next from Colin Meloy and the rest of The Decemberists; The King is Dead answered that question with brilliant folk songs and simple, catchy melodies. Not quite as epic as other Decemberists ventures, The King is Dead is a simpler album, and lets listeners feel connected through its everyday life imagery, rather than over-arching, universal themes, and even the intense "This Is Why We Fight," conjures images of Civil War soldiers, rather than foreign men from long ago times fighting for a king.

5. The People's Key by Bright Eyes



Somehow Conor Oberst managed to change a whole lot without changing at all. Musically, the single "Shell Games" sounds nothing like most past Bright Eyes tracks (think "First Day of My Life" or "Bowl of Oranges"), yet The People's Key still remains true to what Bright Eyes has always been. The album is weird, skeptical, musing, basically Oberst-esque, even if it sounds more like pop-rock than just about anything else he's done before. For those who already loved Bright Eyes, this was an interesting new stylistic direction, and for newcomers to the band, I think The People's Key is an accessible beginning point to start enjoying one of this generation's most interesting musicians.

4. They Reappear by Jeremy Larson



In many ways, this album is what a complete album should be. Not only does Larson capture the classical sound through layers of strings, but he understands the concept of movement in music and uses transitional tracks to create one continuous motion throughout the 48 minutes that are They Reappear. If it's possible to pick out one track that does stick out, it would have to be "Empire," which is right in the middle of this classically-inspired musical journey. Definitely a set of songs that are very much meant to be listened to from start to finish, and when you do just that, They Reappear is a real treat.

3. Circuital by My Morning Jacket



If it weren't for Jim James' involvement with Monsters of Folk and the intriguing green eye on Circuital's cover, I probably never would have stumbled across what has now become one of my favorite bands. Simply put, My Morning Jacket just make good music. The guitar work is good, the songwriting is good, the vocals are good, and the general atmosphere of the songs is good. Really good. These songs take me places, whether it's the mountain-range sunset of "Victory Dance," the packed arena of "Holdin' on to Black Metal," or the emptying bar of "Slow Slow Tune," they take me places in a uniquely enjoyable way. Not to mention, Circuital opened my eye(s) to the rest of My Morning Jacket's fantastic collection of music.

2. Bon Iver by Bon Iver



Unbelievable atmosphere for a band that is basically just one man. Justin Vernon creates beautiful songs that are designed to represent places, as the titles indicate, and really do move you as a listener. More ambient than Bon Iver's first release, this self-titled effort is some of the year's best music from start to finish. There are no weak links here.

1. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes



Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut brought high expectations for their next release, and Helplessness Blues absolutely delivered on those expectations. This album is pure heart meets perfect harmony meets brilliant song-crafting. Plenty of beautiful layers of acoustic guitar, simple yet effective drums, and all kinds of heart in the singing. I'm more than a little jealous that my girlfriend got to see them live this year, and only hope I get to in the future. If this album and the one before are any indication, Fleet Foxes are on track to keep making what might possibly be the best folk-rock ever.

Special Mention - The Color Spectrum by The Dear Hunter



If these 36 songs could be considered an "album" and not something altogether beyond that, they would have definitely made the top 5 of the list. Basically, these are nine 4-song collections which each capture a different color (ROYGBIV plus B/W) through music. Given the magnitude of this project, the quality of these songs are mind-blowing, to say the least. This concept collection is one of the most interesting musical experiences I've had in a long time, and was probably the most ambitious musical endeavor of 2011.