Artist: Pamela
Album: 7″ EP
Hails From: Oakland
Release Date: Pre-order now
Featured Track: “Desert”
I feel a Southpaw Records homage coming. Here’s another Southpaw nugget from the group Pamela, featuring members of The Splinters/Ex-Wax Idols, who are set to release their 7″ EP. Pre-order it now. Only 300 copies.
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Artist: The Younger Lovers
Album: The Young Lovers 7″ EP
Hails From: Oakland, CA
Release Date: December 07, 2011
Featured Track: “The Boy From Leeds”
Home to some of my favorite hometown heros like Ty Segall, Bare Wires, The Sandwitches and Shannon and the Clams, Southpaw Records have recently released a new 7″ from Oakland’s The Young Lovers. Classic Bay Area lo fi garage rock. Yummy.
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Artist: Jeremy Jay
Album: Dream Diary
Hails From: Los Angeles
Featured Track: “Out on the Highway”
There’s always the one album that gets away every year. And this year, for me, it was Jeremy Jay. Surprising too since I’ve been such a diligent follower of his work. Own every album he’s released, in fact. But it wasn’t until I stumbled upon (and purchased) a copy of his 2008 release, A Place Where We Could Go, in the vinyl bin at Amoeba that I was reminded of his indie pop charms. I highly recommend you roll up your sleeves and dig in to his work. His David Bowie/Belle and Sebastian-esque sound will hook you for sure. It’s a mood and meant to be consumed in it’s entirety.
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Artist: Ava Luna
Album: Ice Level
Hails From: Brooklyn
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Featured Track: “Wrenning Day”
Dayam. What is this? Tune-Yards meets TV on the Radio? It’s so….fresh. With The Windish Agency behind them, they’re certainly bound to pop. Enjoy!
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Artist: Royal Baths
Album: Better Luck Next Life
Hails From: Brooklyn by way of SF
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Featured Track: “Darling Devine”
I silently stalked the Royal Baths (formerly known as The Baths) during their debut album launch for Litanies last year, simultaneously in awe of their lo fi sound and androgynistic style. While it took a while to track down a consumable format for their music (no, I still don’t own a tape deck), they had no shortage of local live shows to satisfy my hunger; opening for some of my fav local acts like Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall and The Fresh and Onlys. Unfortunately for me those SF beer soaked bar room sets are over. The group recently signed with Brooklyn-based tastemaker label, Kanine Records, and relocated to the indie music mecca to release their sophomore album, Better Luck Next Life. How fortunate for them.
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December is always a time of reflection and nostalgia for me; some of it sweet, some not so much. But revisiting my favorite music of the year always falls on the sweeter side of the spectrum and inevitably puts a smile on my face as I trace back all the music that moved me through the course of the year. Whether it’s musing over the hype and hyperbole of a buzz band that’s come and gone (ahem, The Vaccines) or rediscovering a gem that time almost forgot (read: Lia Ices), compiling my annual ‘Best Of’ list has become a ritual I cherish.
So, without further ado, here are my favorite albums of 2011. My 2011 rewind. Kinda sorta listed in order but I find the process of ranking music to be like splitting hairs. All that really matters is that this is the music that moved me this year. The albums I came back to again and again. I enjoyed them. Immensely. Hope you will too.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Self Titled
Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring for My Halo
Mikal Cronin, Self Titled
Washed Out, Within and Without
Widowspeak, Self Titled
Ty Segall, Ty Rex
Abbe Mae, Design Desire
The Sandwitches, Mrs. Jones Cookies
Vetiver, The Errant Charm
Blouse, Self Titled
Fungi Girls, Some Easy Magic
Quilt, Self Titled
Thurston Moore, Demolished Thoughts
Nick Waterhouse, Is That Clear EP
Charles Bradley, No Time for Dreaming
Lia Ices, Grown Unknown
Thee Oh Sees, Carrion Crawler/The Dream
Shannon and the Clams, Sleep Talk
Wooden Shjips, West
Papercuts, Fading Parade
That Ghost, Songs Out Here
Tune-Yards, WHOKILL
Yuck, Self Titled
Jeff the Brotherhood, We are the Champions
Black Lips, Arabia Mountain
Future Islands, On the Water
Radiohead, King of Limbs
Yellow Ostrich, The Mistress
White Denim, D
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Mirror Traffic
Artist: Low Roar
Album: Self Titled
Homeland: Iceland by way of San Francisco
Featured Track: “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”
A simply gorgeous album. If you’re a sucker for pathos and Bon Iver (like me), this album is your anecdote. Ryan Karazija is the man behind Low Roar, who just released his debut, self-titled album this November. Ryan moved from San Francisco to Iceland and began writing this album as he found himself in a state of loneliness struggling to provide for his family in a foreign land. Anyone who as ever picked up and left a stable life in hopes of finding something new/better/different or just to escape from their past knows this feeling of despair, fear of the unknown, and hope of what’s to come. Dive in and wallow in it.
Artist: Vic and Gab
Homeland: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Genre: Indie Pop
Featured Track: “I Haven’t Seen You”
That is the track description from song writing sister duo, Vic and Gab, that I stumbled upon trolling Soundcloud recently. And it is just … perfect. The description, the lyrics and the tune. Indie pop perfection. Sounding like the next generation Tegan & Sara, the Wisco pair have made their childhood hobbies in music their passion in life. Check out their entire EP on Facebook.
…is at the 2011 Noise Pop Holiday Shop on Sunday, December 11 at Bottom of the Hill. Not only does the event showcase chic, locally made goods for your holiday shopping pleasure, it also features a special raffle benefiting Potrero’s Daniel Webster Elementary School where the purchase of a $5 ticket can earn you one of these fabulous prizes to round out your holiday gift list.
Better than a Kmart special. And if shopping’s not your thing, not to worry. You can go big and stay home by purchasing ticket packs online. Even if you win bubkis, all the proceeds support a great cause. Like keeping music and arts programs in my kid’s school at Daniel Webster. And that’s important. So pony up.
Artist: Pontiak
Album: Echo Ono
Homeland: Virginia
Release Date: February 12, 2012
Featured Track: “Lions of Least”
Pontiak has been kicking around their Southern-inspired, good ‘ol rock ‘n roll since 2006. The latest effort by the brotherly trio, Echo Ono, is a concept album born under the inspiration to explore color and texture through song and music. Painting through music, if you will. What manifested is their love of loud music and the texture and color it produces. Music so loud it produces physical vibrations in your chest. Described as their most direct and concise album to date, “it was like walking to the top of a hill in a field and watching the sky expand, a vision fully realized.” Turn it up to 11 and see for yourself.
