Best and Worst of 2011 (Part I)

With the end of the year upon us it is time to review the music that came out over the past 52-weeks.  Here are my choices for the best and worst from 2011.  We start off with the more eclectic categories this week and work our way up to the Best Albums of the Year next week.

Best Cover of a Hip-Hop Song:

Holmes - "It Was A Good Day"

For the longest time I was going to give this award to Karmin for their wacky and very creative cover of Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" because any white girl in a cocktail dress that can bust out Busta Rhymes lyrics like Amy Heidemann does deserves an award. But ever since Karmin performed their version of the song on "Ellen" they've been getting a bit too much exposure so I am instead going with a song off of Holmes' awesome album of cover songs from November of this year.

While Holmes' disc has a ton of great tracks, it's his version of the classic Ice Cube song "It Was A Good Day" that is one of the best songs and best fits into this category.  Holmes twists the melody of the song into one of a piano-driven indie pop song in the same vein as what Dynamite Hack did to the NWA song "Boyz In The Hood" about a decade ago but rather than leaning on irony to make the song relevant, Holmes seems genuine as he sings the lyrics and it is the earnestness that really brings the song home.  It is an absolute joy that will have you examining the lyrics of the original song in a whole different light.  Listen to the Holmes version of the song lain over the original Ice Cube video below.

Best Cover of a Pop or Rock Song:

Revolver - "Monk" 

One of the best rock albums from last year was the self-titled disc from Mini Mansions (I gave it a 9.5/10) which featured brilliant songs from Michael Shurman, better known as the bassist from Queens of the Stone Age.   This year's best cover of a pop or rock song is by the French band Revolver (not to be confused with the British band Revolver from the early 90's) who cover a song from that Mini Mansions album, "Monk."  

They turn the song which originally had a spookier melody and a heavier overtone and give it an acoustic overhaul which, interestingly, adds to the emotion of the song and turns it into a song of regret and loss.  While the song isn't as haunting as the original, this version affects you to a greater extent such that you feel the pain that was brought about by his "two-timing whore."  Watch the original version and then compare it to the cover version below.  

Worst Cover Song

Mitch Winehouse - "April in Paris"

When you first listen to this track, your first thoughts are likely to echo my own--why is Mitch Winehouse (Amy's severely-limited-in-musical-talent dad) doing a spoken word version "April in Paris"?  Then, as you continue to listen, you start to realize that it's not a spoken word version but that's actually him trying to sing.  And then you just cringe and hope the bad crooning from the track doesn't haunt you until the day you die.  I don't really want to post the video below but I'm afraid you'd think I was exaggerating how horrible it really is.  I'm not.  Just give it a listen yourself and watch the crap video below.

Best Album Covers

We begin with the simple black and white image from the Cults self-titled album.  While the image itself is very simple, it conveys some strong feelings.  The flying hair from the dancing girl and the guitar player tell you that what you are going to hear will rock you.  I also like the fact that they obscure both faces which adds a layer of anonymity that allows the viewer to project their own personalities onto the two characters which allows us to personalize them.  The image then remains open to interpretation by letting the viewer fill in the blanks on two characters who are already rocking out.  A simple image that conveys a lot of meaning by letting the viewer to fill in the blanks.

Up next is this year's release from The Cool Kids', the "When Fish Ride Bicycles" album.  It's a relatively simple concept that plays with that old axiom of when-fish-ride-bicycles but brings it to life in a most humorous way.  The bright and colorful color scheme brightens the picture and lightens the image plus it's a really kooky fish costume that I find hilarious.  They also get bonus points as well for cross promoting both Mountain Dew and the band Cake--two of my favorite things!

Our final selection for best album cover goes to Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues for its trippy modern art style that borders on psychedelia.  I like how the image seems to be spiraling into (or out of) the circle in the middle like lots of little images being trapped in (or vomited from) a whirlpool.  The muted color palette heavy on earth tones makes you take a closer look at the image to try to make sense of it all while what it is really doing is making you take notice of the little details on the image. 

Worst Album Cover

This year's worst album cover goes to a band I've loved since I was in junior high--The Beastie Boys.  While the album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two had some very good tracks on it, the cover to the album is an absolute mess.  This modern art, multicolored spewing of squares has no relevance to the band, the music, nor the album and it's an art style that was already played out by the early 90's.  I know the boys aren't as young as they once were but this drivel is embarrassing especially when compared to the realistic and artistic covers of albums like Check Your Head or Paul's Boutique.  When I first saw this artwork I thought someone was playing a joke on me because I thought a Beastie Boys album cover would never be this dull or unimaginative.  How wrong I was...

New Music Reviews - 6/7/2011 - Arctic Monkeys, Cults, Depeche Mode, Sondre Lerche, and Ashlyne Huff

Cults Cults - Cults is an indie pop duo from New York.  Although this is their debut studio album, the band gained a 'cult' following (marginal pun intended) after releasing their three-song EP last year with their song "Go Outside" being named as the winner of Pitchfork's Best New Music award.  Bandmates Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin met while at NYU and started making music in their spare time.  I couldn't really find out too much information about the band (other than they really need to update their website) so let's move on to the review

The 11-track album opens with the spirited and catchy "Abducted" which acts as a rousing beginning to the disc with its get-stuck-in-your-head hook and distortion heavy vocals.  "Go Outside," one of the two songs repeated from their EP, follows and has another super catchy hook over a heavy bass line and some xylophone playing that manages to work well together to create a fun summer hit.   

"Never Saw The Point" has a more orchestral late 60's-esque sound with chamber string instruments, almost like a The Cardigans song, but on this track the heavy distortion hurts the song more than helps it.  The album ends with "Rave On" which is one of the cleanest songs on the album and made me wonder why some of the other tracks weren't produced as competently.

Cults is an album that opens very strongly with some extremely catchy summer pop songs but it fails to maintain that momentum over the entire album.  Vocals are enchantingly performed by the airy voice of Madeline Follin although the engineers go too far in distorting her vocals at times.  The melodies are well written with catchy hooks on most of the songs but the arrangements and production work seem somewhat amateurish at times and a few of the tracks struggle because of this ("Walk at Night"). 

 

Definitely a band to keep an ear out for but, as far as this album goes, you'll do just as well buying the first two tracks as singles unless you become a diehard fan of theirs.  However, if they ever get to work with a top notch producer in the future, then that album will no doubt make some serious waves.

Score:  6/10

Song(s) to Sample:  "Abducted" [sample it below] and "Go Outside"

Arctic Monkeys Suck It And See - The popular English indie rock band finds time away from their busy touring schedule to release a fourth studio album.  There is one song on the album, "Piledriver Waltz," that was already released on frontman Alex Turner's solo EP for the movie Submarine but the rest of the tracks on the disc are brand spankin' new.  Once again the band works with producer James Ford who also produced the albums Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) and Humbug (2009) for the band.

Don't be put off if you heard the monotonous and repetitive leaked track "Brick By Brick" and thought the band had jumped the shark.  The 12-track disc opens well with the melodic and fun "She's Thunderstorms" which instantly shows the band's new focus on melodies and harmonies.  "Library Pictures" is a riotous, energetic and well-structured track that is a real standout.

"Piledriver Waltz" was re-recorded for this album with the entire band and it firmly exhibits the poetry Turner can bring to his lyrics ("I etched the face of a stopwatch on the back of a raindrop/and did a swap for the sand in an hourglass").  "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" is another enjoyable song with clever lyrical wordplay although the somewhat generic backing music could have used a greater heaping of that magical touch. 

Right off the bat you notice that more time has been spent in composing and laying down the tracks on Suck It And See.  While this would normally be a good thing for many musical acts, for Arctic Monkeys it is more of a mixed bag because it denies us the raw energy and charm that permeated their previous releases.  The only thing consistent is Turner's vocals which has always had good wit with a crooner edge to it and this release is no different.

I see this as a transitional album for the band as it sacrifices the rabidness of their music for more practiced melodies.  Whether or not this shows growth in the band and their music writing or if it shows they are succumbing to the cookie-cutter appeal label executives want can't be determined from this release alone.  But the inconsistencies caused by this struggle prevents this release from a very talented band from achieving lasting greatness.

Score:  7.5/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Library Pictures" [sample it below] and "Piledriver Waltz"

 Depeche Mode Remixes 2: 81-11 - The seminal English new wave/synthpop musicians release an album of remixed songs from 1981-2011.  This release actually consists of three discs (for a total of 37 tracks!) so they cover both the well-known and the obscure songs over the duration of the time frame although their biggest hits were included in the first Remixes album.  Some of the more famous artists offering up remixed versions are M83, UNKLE, Dan the Automater, and Peter Bjorn and John.  Since Depeche Mode has already been covered and remixed innumerable times over the years, it's not surprising that the best tracks from this release are not the hit singles but the more rare titles (the world doesn't need any more versions of "Personal Jesus" with cranked up beats and additional synthesizers, thank you very much).  Both old and new fans will find some tracks they will enjoy on this album although older fans like myself will probably be better off skipping the songs they loved as a youth.

Score: 8/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Puppets (Royksopp remix 2011)" and "Fragile Tension (Peter Bjorn and John remix 2009)" [sample it below]

Ashlyne Huff Let It Out - The very cute singer/songwriter with gorgeous, giant eyes from L.A. by way of Nashville releases an album of dance-pop songs.  The majority of the album is well crafted, club-ready songs with a strong bubblegum flavor although there are some deeper songs towards the end of the disc.  Ms. Huff's vocals are very competent although she only gets to show off her range on a couple of songs from the eight track disc (plus one bonus tune).  In comparison to other, bigger name acts from the same genre; this album is miles above the most recent Britney Spears album and it is as enjoyable as the recent Lady Gaga release.  The bouncy feel of the songs makes this a fun summer debut so if you're forced to go to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys joint concert this summer, be sure to go early to catch Ms. Huff's opening set and at least your night won't be a total waste.

Score: 7/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Let It Out" [sample it below] and "White Flag"

Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche - Multifaceted Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche releases his sixth studio album (or seventh if you're a weirdo and count the Dan in Real Life soundtrack).  This eponymous album gives us ten more tracks of the lo-fi folk/indie rock we've come to expect from Mr. Lerche although it fails to match the music found in his two greatest releases, 2001's Faces Down and 2009's Heartbeat Radio.  However, there are a couple of pretty interesting tracks that will find their way to Lerche's greatest hits disc (if Astralwerks ever gets around to making one) but the overall impression left by this disc is that of great ambivalence rather than one of great ambition. 

Score: 4/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Go Right Ahead" and "Domino" [sample it below]