The Top Ten Best Songs of 2011

10

Mallory

The History of Apple Pie

Melodic, retro, riff-driven noise-pop.
I can’t wait for more from this band in 2012.

9

Houdini

Foster The People

A real electro-indie gem from the Los Angeles trio.
Bouncy and elevating topped of with a soulful vocal delivery.

8

Machu Picchu

The Strokes

Perhaps the only offering from Angles that can honestly rub shoulders with the content debut This Is It.
The Strokes at their very, very best.

7

Youth Knows No Pain

Lykke Li

Perhaps the most upbeat and accessible track from the  outstanding album Wounded Rhymes. Reminds me of Santigold, who incidentally promises a new album in the new year.

6

The Words That Maketh Murder

PJ Harvey

A one of the standout tracks from arguably her greatest album to date, Let England Shake.

5

Still Life

The Horrors

A real grower. Layered synths, brass and reversed-guitars swelling away gloriously.

4

Money

The Drums

A song about being broke, that is catchy as hell.

3

Rolling in the Deep

Adele

Lead single from the mammoth album 21, powerful and with soul; a modern classic.

2

The Bay

Metronomy

This song had so much going in it, yet it doesn't feel crammed or rushed at all, quite the contrary in its ease.
A hook-laden masterpiece.

1

Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)

The Wombats

 An epic, synth-heavy, indie-dance stomp-along.

The Best Songs released/ from parent released albums in the year 2011

The Top Ten Best Albums of 2011

10

The Wombats –The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch

Pop album of the year. Witty, hook-laden and layered in synths; this is good time indie disco at its danceable finest.

9

The Vaccines –What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

What Did You Expect…. is an exciting, coherent, rock n’ roll debut and a shining example that guitar music still works.

8

Wild Beasts - Smother 

Smother is smoldering. A steady, intimate collection that is magnificently executed inviting a closer listen to lyrics on sexual tension and rediscovery.

7

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Burst Apart is uplifting album that displays a great deal of musical ability, wisdom, intelligence and emotional depth.

6

Adele - 21

21 is simply stunning and genuinely brilliant, even after some major over-exposure to the hit singles. It feels like you've always known it. Adele has left her contemporaries for dust.

5

The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

A striking record, packed full of intertwined vocals and sparse, organic instrumentation. Haunting, sultry and mysterious; their voices were made for each other and the songwriting is original and pure.

4

The Horrors – Skying

An album of sumptuous pop masterpieces; looped beats, beautiful synth layers and effect-drenched guitars. Their best work by far.

3

Foster The People – Torches

Torches is an authentic ‘feel-good’ electro-indie album. Despite covering darker themes lyrically, the bouncing tunes made it the soundtrack to the summer of 2011.

2

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

A rare, timeless sounding collection that works perfectly as an entire album.  

The songs are punchy, wise, passionate and often angry; The Mercury Music Prize judges got it right!

1

Metronomy – The English Riviera

The English Riviera feels like a homecoming, one that's relaxed and at ease, beguiling and sheer delight from start to finish. Gorgeous production. It's got both a Summery sheen and depth.

Metronomy - The Bay on YouTube

Bubbling just under the top ten:

Yuck – Yuck, Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind Of Fix, Battles - Gloss Drop, The Sounds - Something to Die For, The Drums – Portamento, St Vincent - Strange Mercy

The History of Apple Pie - Live 8/12/11 Bristol O2 Academy

Do not be put off. The History of Apple Pie are far, far superior at writing and performing their scuzzy, noisy, pop-tinged tunes than thinking up a band name.

 

Opening for New Yorkers The Drums at the O2 Academy in Bristol, the fresh five-piece appear to be relics from a Dinosaur Jr/ Sonic Youth/ My Bloody Valentine low-fidelity dream dating from somewhere just before Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ exploded globally.

Dressed in baggy, charity-shop grungery, with a pair of shoegazing guitarists and a downplayed, almost shy stage presence (lead vocalist Stephanie Min only took down the hood of her jumper three quarters the way into the set), The History of Apple Pie look just how they sound.

Laid-back, dirty guitar riffing and down-to-earth, cool bass and drums are noisily melded together in some dazzling, crisp songs. Dreamy vocals, float over this backdrop, but the real magic of the performance comes forth when the harmonization of both female vocalists blend to warmly lift sections of their repertoire, such as recent single release ‘Mallory’.

Elsewhere ‘Science for the Young’ has a retro-rawness of energy, ticking all the identikit-boxes of a recreation of Dinosaur Jrs’ ‘Freak Scene’.  Whereas strength in songwriting and arrangement is prevalent throughout the well-received set, melody-over-noise is really the real selling point that the multicultural London quintet wins the audience over with.

 

In their infancy as a band, they are finding their feet in terms of developing beyond some obvious influences, but with the flurry of excitement in the capital surrounding their initial releases on Roundtable and, with time on their side, expect positive things from The History of Apple Pie over the next year; though it is a little late to change THAT name…….