Adele's 21 and Sneaky Sound System's From Here to Anywhere best two of the 20 essential albums of 2011
by: Cameron Adams From: National Features December 14, 2011
CAMERON Adams picks the best albums from what's been a great year for music in 2011.
1. ADELE - 21
The album of the year - and not just on sales. 21 arrived at precisely the right time, like Nevermind 20 years before it. A music world full of autotune, full of middle-aged men putting their words into young women's mouths, of lazy, corporate fluff. Adele connected with the masses (750,000 Australians, 13 million worldwide and counting) quite simply, through simplicity and authenticity. Every square inch of 21 is real. Someone Like You returned bare, honest, emotional storytelling to the mainstream. To think her record label originally wanted her to add a band to it! Adele resisted, saying it distracted from the story. You know the singles from heavy-duty exposure on radio (better Adele than LMFAO) and X-Factor auditions, but there's so much depth to 21 - like in the old days. From gospel (One and Only) to the Cure gone calypso cover (Lovesong) to the stomp and swagger of Rumour Has It, 21 documents the most enjoyable, most lucrative, most relatable broken heart in modern music.
2. SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM - FROM HERE TO ANYWHERE
Dance music in 2011 doesn’t have to be morons with robotic voices banging on about being in the club. Sneaky's third album was proof electronic music could be emotional, not promotional. Spurred on by fans Kanye, Jay-Z and Beyonce, Connie Mitchell upped her game, injecting heart and soul over the beats. It's wall to wall quality, like single Big - one of the most life-affirming pop tunes of this or any year. From deep house (Friends) to deep weirdness (1984) to deep pain (Remember) this album helped save dance music in 2011.
3. PJ HARVEY - LET ENGLAND SHAKE
PJ Harvey has yet to make a bad album. Or the same album twice. After the stark piano-driven, White Chalk, Let England Shake was positively uplifting. The woman's quality control is very rare these days - still operating within the mainstream but making interesting music on completely her own terms. And this is up with her best work - no easy feat.
4. GOTYE - MAKING MIRRORS
Who would have thought a minimal break-up song would be the highest-selling Australian single of the year? Or that it would come from underground DIY muso Wally de Backer. Somebody That I Used to Know was so problematic for the perfectionist de Backer to finish he almost ditched it. Phew. But there's plenty more to love here - jacked-up Motown (I Feel Better, Easy Way Out) to bonkers electro (State of the Art) to his usual gorgeous soundscapes (Giving Me a Chance). Where's Wally? Being interesting in the mainstream.
5. LAURA MARLING - A CREATURE I DON'T KNOW
British folk reviver Laura Marling is literate and prolific. Single Sophia hinted at something special - a majestic, rollicking ride. Her third album (at just 21) did not disappoint, with new found confidence (see the swagger in The Muse) and drama - mini-epic The Beast is this album's sprawling black heart. Should be incredible to see live next year.
6. THE JEZABELS - PRISONER
This Sydney band threatened greatness over a series of apprenticeship-serving EPs, then dropped a debut album bursting with intent. The opener and title track was everything you wanted from the Florence & the Machine album this year that didn't quite surface - gothic danger and intensity with a thrilling final quarter. They make pop that's exciting, eerie and individual - and extra credit for doing it all themselves.
7. FOO FIGHTERS - WASTING LIGHT
The most consistently awesome Foo Fighters album since The Colour and the Shape. Like Walk - what a fantastic song, especially the hectic end where you can almost see the sweat dripping out the speakers. Rope gave us both Grohl vocal approaches - passive and aggressive, and we got the closest thing we'll sadly ever get to a Nirvana reunion on the moody I Should Have Known, with trademark bass from Krist Novoselic.
8. COLDPLAY - MYLO XYLOTO
Sure, creatively it was a side-step after the giant leap for stadium kind that was Viva La Vida. But Coldplay still know how to write killer tunes, and Brian Eno still knows how to make them a little less linear. Overlooked single Every Teardrop is a Waterfall threw some synth riffs off the Edge while the Rihanna duet Princess of China is arguably the least Coldplay Coldplay have ever sounded.
9. JAMES BLAKE - JAMES BLAKE
Call him dubstep, call him whatever, but James Blake was a cyclonic gust of fresh air this year. Square-peg, off-kilter moments like The Wilhelm Scream or I Never Learnt to Share were an antidote to every neatly processed song structure that crossed your path. And in totally reworking Feist's Limit to Your Love, the closest thing to a single here, he may have delivered the best cover version of the year.
10. BON IVER - BON IVER
When not busy being hired by Kanye West, Justin Vernon made a different but still wonderful Bon Iver record. He still managed to make some of the best soundtracks for the wee hours - and Sunday mornings - usually just by opening his mouth in front of a microphone. And in the stunning Holocene, Vernon made 2011 that much more beautiful.
11. KD LANG & THE SISS BOOM BANG - SING IT LOUD
In which kd lang finds a new band and a new love for music. It shows. Channelling everything from Roy Orbison to the Little River Band, it's filled with goosebump-creating vocal moments and the sound of someone recapturing a spark.
12. THE STROKES - ANGLES
Their most democratic album was proof that solo careers can actually be healthy for a band. Busting out of their usual formula, there's much to love about this cruelly-ignored album.
13. GEOFFREY GURRUMUL YUNIPINGU - RRAKALA
Second album, no less majestic than the first. To paraphrase John Farnham, Gurrumul's the voice, you don't have to understand it, just let it take you away. True mood-changing music.
14. JAY-Z & KANYE WEST - WATCH THE THRONE
Two men. One album. This suffered slightly under the weight of expectations, but continued both men's mission to push the limits of hip hop - from Otis Redding samples to the Frank Ocean-assisted soundscape on the remarkable No Church in the Wild.
15. NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
The brains of Oasis trades under a new name but the same the sound. Well, the latter-day, grown-up Oasis. Noel Gallagher still makes some of the best dad rock out there, and in the almost-dancey AKA... What a Life, even got down with the kids... briefly.
16. FLEET FLOXES - HELPLESSNESS BLUES
The Seattle folk band do it again. No major advances, but no one was expecting that - indeed in the space of two records they've become instant comfort music, transporting you to somewhere warm, fuzzy and slightly baroque.
17. KIMBRA - VOWS
Kiwi-born, Melbourne-shaped Kimbra made pop music interesting again. Inspired by Prince, she covered major terrain on her debut, from lush (Two Way Street) to carnal (Wandering Limbs) and leaves you wondering what she'll do next.
18. ARCTIC MONKEYS - SUCK IT AND SEE
Four albums in and the Monkeys mean business. And that business is change. With a cinematic, panoramic scope to their music, front man Alex Turner is shaping up to be the best young lyricist of his era.
19. DARREN HAYES - SECRET CODES & BATTLESHIPS
Long term fan of emotionally-charged commercial pop returns to making emotionally-charged pop music. It's sometimes as simple as that. Bloodstained Heart is the grown up Truly Madly Deeply.
20. FLORENCE & THE MACHINE - CEREMONIALS
Left to her own devices, post-success, this is some heavy Flo - big production, epic sounds and maximum drama. The hooks aren't always as large, but how good is What the Water Gave Me?
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