Highline, 2011

Oxford 5 piece Alphabet Backwards might be a new name to most, but they’re quickly showing up on everyone’s radar due to their infectious melodies and charmingly crafted indie-pop. With dual male/female vocals, bouncy rhythms, vivid synth work, and plenty of nods to the ’80s, this is very nearly the musical equivalent of a rainbow barely visible through a bright ray of sunshine. Lyrically it’s not a completely joyful affair, dissecting failed relationships and their aftermath, though despite the brooding you still can’t help but smile as wide as possible at the happy-go-lucky texturing.

Self-released, 2012

Gary Go has proven himself one of the most creative minds in today’s pop world, actually using the iPhone for composing a song by uploading an image of a heart-shaped balloon entangled with a tree and then asking his Twitter followers to send in lyric ideas. A record he not only wrote but produced, Now Was Once The Future is a concept album, relaying the story of a relationship gone awry, detailing the moment when someone you love abandons you. With an all star cast of musicians who have played with Mars Volta, Coldplay, Sigur Ros and even Elvis, Go delivers dance anthems and electronic balladry from a romantic angle that even takes nods at soul and funk on occasion. Armed with a voice that is rich and soulful, his songwriting is imaginative and flourishing with plenty of quirky pop accessibility.

Modular, 2012

A somewhat haunting collection of soulful and dark spirited songcraft, Woodroofe delivers like a seasoned vet here, penning hypnotic and seductive songs that alternate between fuzzed out guitar work, delicate twinkling and even soaring, majestic orchestral arrangements. Lyrically Woodroofe takes a mature angle, opting to relay stories of human desire and often disappointments in a very eloquent manner- a pleasant surprise seeing as some of these songs were written when she was only 15.

Creator Destructor, 2011

The Stereo State’s debut album lands on the melodic rock side of punk, bearing its emotion in the way ’90s Epitaph and Fat Wreck bands did. The Massachusetts quartet pull it off impressively, the 11 tracks carrying plenty of unaffected tunefulness, if also an unavoidable degree of the formulaic because of the well-worn territory involved.

Self-released, 2012

Irrepressibly bouncy pop-rock/punk debut from the Irish quartet, living up to their bright-eyed moniker. There’s not a great deal of depth beyond the US-styled emo catchiness just yet, but it’s a bright start nonetheless.

Sugar Hill, 2012

Maybe the most successful independent band ever, moe. changes things up here by enlisting a producer and working with a label- a big difference from their usual completely DIY approach. True to their vision of change, tracks here like “The Bones Of Lazarus” that have been staples on the moe. set list for over a decade came out of the studio with plenty of tweaking, and the overall feel of the disc is filled with even more robust melodies than previous moe. efforts. Undoubtedly a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, no two tracks sound the same, and the album’s chocked full of the patented moe. riffage and kinetic drumming that have kept moe.rons (i.e. moe. fans) coming back for more since the band’s inception in 1989. With their technically proficient songcraft that twists and turns with seemingly reckless abandon, yet being held together with a carefully calculated precision, this is hands down the most vital jam band that exists today.

TIF, 2011

Fairly decent pop-rock debut, taking its pointers from Anberlin and Jimmy Eat World. The High Wycombe, UK quartet pour the melodrama on thick, yet it works out well for them on tracks like “Hurricane”. Worth a spin, but they’ll need more originality to stand out from the crowd.

Righteous Babe, 2012

Perhaps the most fiercely independent female voice ever, DiFranco’s 17th studio album continues on with her robust guitar playing, charming melodies and insightful wordplay that alternates between playful and political. With an all star cast of contributors, including Pete Seeger who lends a hand on the title track that he popularized 5 decades ago, DiFranco meshes equal parts folk, rock and funk elements in an elegant, mature and beautifully textured manner. Even though this is a very gentle, soothing listen, there exists a lot of subtle power in DiFranco’s songcraft.

Sell The Heart, 2011

A disc that shifts from emotive and abrasive moments that parallel the intensity of Hot Water Music in their prime, to the twinkling, meandering, shimmering of Braid or even the fuzzed out guitar work of Dinosaur Jr., Build Us Airplanes almost come off as a ‘Best Of’ band of the last 20 years of punk rock. While there’s definitely some underlying racket here, it’s often hard to locate between the deeply ingrained melody, and the memorable songwriting warrants multiple listens instantly. Imagine if Lou Barlow grew up listening to Jawbreaker or early ’90s Dischord Records and you get some idea of how just how vital this is.

It’s been a crammed year, in almost every way possible: it seems simply more things happened in the world than ever before (as Charlie Brooker puts it, 2011’s been like “an end of season finale”), and for me personally it culminated in the sleepless rush to get my first novel released by Christmas (sneaky link here). The trend only continues musically; whereas last year I only managed a top 5 list of albums, this year it felt like an inundation of records vying for a place in the top 10 – as evidenced by the mile of honourable mentions.

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Top Ten Best Records of 2011. No particular order except Banner Pilot – the best disc hands down.

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Well well, here we all are again, another year in music passing us by. Like a system designed always to bring us just enough, never too little or too much, 2011 has been a remarkably interesting year, and perhaps also the Ying to 2010’s Yang. In 2010 we didn’t have any explosive one-offs but there were plenty of worthy mentions, whereas this year that quantity has definitely been replaced by quality.

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To be completely honest, I did not listen to a great deal of new music this year. At some point in time I got so excited about the reality of seeing so many of the great late 80s/early 90s bands I never imagined I would get the chance to see (Braid, Archers of Loaf, Descendants, etc.) that I fell into a well formed in 1995 and never looked back. These, however, are the albums that I managed to poke my head (or ears) out for, and thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed.

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Aeronaut, 2011

Out of the ashes of NYC faux-French band Les Sans Culottes comes Nous Non Plus, a pop-rock outfit who rely heavily on synth driven melodica from a sophisticated, textured and very sexy delivery. Though the band members all live in different cities on multiple continents, they met up in Austin, Texas to flesh out these clever pop songs with programmed loops, moog synth, and endless vocal harmonies. Sung mostly in French, the dynamic and varied instrumentation make this a very unique slant on French pop from a band who aren’t really from France.

MB3, 2011

Thought you heard every variation of every genre out there already? If so, you probably haven’t heard of Josh Dolgin yet- a Canadian Jewish artist who raps over an accordion among other things. A grab bag of sounds and textures, Sleepover plays host to jazz, folktronica, neo-soul, hip-hop, house music and various other lively, exciting avenues. The record utilises the voice of Roxanne Shante, though there are amazingly nearly 40 accomplished musicans making appearances here, even 95 year old pianist Irving Fields lends a hand alongside trombone legend Fred Wesley. You’ve never heard anything like this, trust me.

Temporary Residence, 2011

An outfit that sparked the inception of the genre ‘post-rock’, Bitch Magnet’s brand of abrasive meets delicate sonic texturing and melodic dual guitar work might best be described as beautiful noise. While their first disc Star Booty started out with more straightforward guitar crunch, beginning with Umber the trio’s use of density and space was becoming more apparent, and the explosiveness of their live show was being captured with their studio recordings. By the final LP Ben Hur, recorded with the legendary Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, etc.), things became even darker and more abstract with songs pushing the ten minute mark. Though the band only recorded for 3 years, their impact was immeasurable and they took their searing post-everything to an entirely new place in the world of independent music. A fantastic reissue by a legendary band.

Blood & Ink, 2011

Are You Watching Closely?, the debut album from Connecticut’s The Attending, calls to mind the early 2000s, a time when bands like Thrice and Brand New ruled the year-end lists of your favorite music blogs. Not to say that the band’s sound is dated, however, it is more a pleasant reminder of the strengths of that time – the emotive lyrics and their passionate delivery, for one – particularly illustrated in the album’s fifth track “Small Jars.”

Modern, 2011

Born out of the touring band of anti-folk superstar Adam Green during his 2008 summer tour, Spacecamp recorded their own music on a whim while laying down tracks for Dev Hynes’ second Lightspeed Champion disc after secretly paying the assistant to run the session. The guitars are fuzzy, the harmonies youthful and the riffage unstoppable. With psyche-rock nods, funk swagger and plenty of quick paced, loud melodies, there isn’t a dull moment within these 5 songs, Spacecamp coming out swinging on their first trip to the plate.

Spitnail, 2011

It’s nice to know songwriters aren’t completely abandoning straight up abrasive rock’n’roll. However KrashKarma aren’t quite that straightforward, as they inject angelic female backing vocals provided by drummer Niki Skistimas, creating a nice contrast between the hard hitting riffage and underlying melodica. If only all newer metal bands were this interesting- a meshing of alt-rock, metal thundering and electronic work that is as catchy as it is loud.

Over Pop, 2011

An assembly of late ’80s musicians who had some success at the inception of alt-rock as well as current players in numerous indie bands, The Thousand Pities manage to hold onto a sound that is reminiscent of what was deemed ‘college rock’ at the beginning of the ’90s. Jangly, melodic and often fuzzed out guitar rock crunch with power-pop punchiness and sophistication comprise the bulk of this, though with the addition of pianos, organs, synth and female vocals (Deena Shoskes of The Cucumbers) no two tracks sound alike and there’s even some well done balladry for good measure.