My top 2011 albums

I know this discussion might seem out of place now with the new year nearly twenty days behind us now, but none the less, I’ve been wanting to mention my album choices of 2011. Thus far today has been heavily devoted to the daily standard grind, so I figured I would spend a little time mentioning music that has really helped to shape how I view 2011. The way I figure I’ll do this is mention the top five albums that I listened to this past year and then go into more detail about my favorite two (man did I listen to these albums relentlessly… 

And now, introducing the albums… in some particular order, beginning with my absolute favorite and moving to a more amorphous collection of albums that were constantly playing at work:

1. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
2. Beirut – The Rip Tide
3. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
4. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
5. The Decemberists – The King is Dead 

What I love to find in music that I listen to on a regular basis is depth beyond a melody and a harmony. The Yeasayer’s album, Odd Blood, has intensely deep track layers that I find myself discovering a new sub-sub-sub melody after twenty listens. Of course, complexity alone isn’t what creates spectacular music, Yeasayer also manages to interlace all these melodies/harmonies/craziness into something almost pop-y. The upbeat melodies keep my focused intently on work, and the depth of the music keeps me coming back for more! 

The other album that I’ve consumed voraciously this past year is Beirut’s latest album, The Rip Tide. In a way, I want to claim similarities between it and the Yeasayer’s album… but that would be a trivial oversimplification. Beirut’s style lies completely in the folk domain, whereas Yeasayer’s could be considered something like psychedelic electronica. Again though, the depth of the melodies is what draws me to The Rip Tide. It is shocking what can be done with just vocals, horns, and the occasional synth.