A Round of Sound

#5) Real Estate – Days [Domino; released 10/18/2011]

“All those wasted miles. All those aimless drives through green aisles. Our careless lifestyle, it was not so unwise.”

“Green Aisles”

I wasn’t a huge fan of Real Estate’s self-titled debut album back in 2009. For whatever reason, that album bored me and I just didn’t find much of it very memorable. However, with Days, this Brooklyn based band seems to have mastered their version of dreamy pop-rock without really changing their formula from before, but rather just by improving it in every way. What’s great about Days is that its ideas aren’t big, and that’s what makes it such a relatable album. As Martin Courtney sings about drives through green aisles, its easy to picture yourself with windows rolled down driving through the countryside on a road trip with friends or perhaps a family vacation as a child. It’s in that simplicity and nostalgia that Days finds it’s joy, but by no means does the music match that simplicity. The harmonies are complex, as are the choruses, but it’s still a mellow surf-pop album at it’s core. There’s a lot to Days that is highly enjoyable as a background album, but in those same songs there’s plenty to get lost in with more effort, which I would highly recommend giving a try.

[“Easy” – Days]

#4) PJ Harvey – Let England Shake [Vagrant; 2/15/2011]

“What is the glorious fruit of our land? The fruit is deformed children.”

“The Glorious Land”

“Soldiers fall like lumps of meat” is just one of the many disturbing lines that show up on Let England Shake, the 8th album from English singer-songwriter Polly Jean Harvey. If that’s not an image that causes you some sort of visceral reaction, then you may be the exact audience she’s targeting and perhaps who could benefit the most from a spin of this record. Let England Shake is Harvey’s anti-war album and while that may seem like a rather easy target considering the world’s current condition, Let England Shake is a timeless album discussing the horrors of war long before Iraq. (There’s only one song here that directly references the Iraq War.) It’s safe to say that the current turmoil in the mid-east is what put Harvey over the edge here, but lets not forget her home continent went through two horrible world wars that is still feeling its effects today. But to overlook the musicianship of Harvey would be a shame as she has fused her imagery with wonderful songs full of her guitar/piano driven rock while also employing some unique production techniques. Let England shake is a stunningly poignant protest album first, but one that can be enjoyed for its melodies as much as its poetry.

[“The Last Living Rose” – Let England Shake]

#3) Bon Iver – Bon Iver [Jagjaguwar; released; 6/21/2011]

“At once I knew I was not magnificent.”

“Holocene”

At this point, the story of Justin Vernon is well documented: man’s band breaks up; man’s relationship ends; man retreats into the woods for months to create a cathartic masterpiece album. It’s not like Vernon is the first person to draw inspiration from such things and to create something so beautifully inspired by his isolation. But For Emma, Forever Ago captured that alienation in such an arresting and intimate way that it became maybe the shining example of how to do it best. And it was because of that, that For Emma Forever Ago was my album of the year in 2008 upon it’s re-release. Now here we are with the highly anticipated follow up and Vernon has blown up as an artist with his work in his experimental side project Volcano Choir, his inclusion in soft-rock band Gayngs, numerous compilations, and his budding friendship with Kanye West of all people. (And now a Grammy nomination.) With his sophomore album as Bon Iver, Vernon has expanded from his stripped down folk tunes to something much more ambitious using influences from all his side-projects. But the thing is, even with his expanded scope, Bon Iver is just as intimate, just as arresting, and just as stunning as his debut. He’s moving on from the album that will most likely over-shadow his entire career, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he chose to self-title this release. This is Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver, one that can stand on its own merit and not just a romanticized backstory.

[“Calgary” – Bon Iver]

#2) M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming [Mute; released 10/18/2011]

“The city is my church.”

“Midnight City”

I’ve never been to space, and I’m pretty confident that it’s a trip I’ll never be taking in my lifetime. But I’m also pretty confident that there’s few artists that do such a good job of transporting me to the outer reaches of our universe than Anthony Gonzalez does with his album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. When Gonzalez announced this new album he promised it would be “very, very, very epic” and upon listening to it, I think he could’ve thrown another “very” into his description. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is a double album filled with 22 tracks sitting at 74 minutes, but what makes it so inviting is that despite it’s scope and length, it is hardly an exhausting listen. That is partly thanks to a collection songs that can stand on their own as well as being part of something greater. In no track is this more evident than my song of the year, “Midnight City”, complete with instantly catchy synth-pop and subtly powerful sing along verses climaxing in a freakin’ saxophone solo, all capturing the nostalgic, yet futuristic vibe Gonzalez has mastered with his version of electronic-rock.  The album is such a remarkable accomplishment, something so exhilarating and as close as we’ll get to zipping around in a spaceship throughout the same M83 galaxy for which Gonzalez’s band is named.

[“Midnight City” – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming]