Albums of the year, part III

Part I
Part II

#3 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
M83

The single most atmospheric album of 2011. It delivers exactly what the title promises. This record most of all reminds me of The Suburbs from the last year, in terms of grandiosity, anticipation and achievement. Even if you're not a fan of electronic pop, close your eyes and let the music sink in. It will grow on you, I promise.

Best tracks: Midnight City, My Tears Are Becoming a Sea, Splendor



#2 Neighborhoods
blink-182

Just when I was beginning to fear that the album would never come out... Blink took their time, didn't leave anything to chance and it paid them off big time. Neigboorhoods eventually surpassed any expectations, if it's even possible, and people showed they still cared about Mark, Tom & Travis. The best thing about the whole album, though, is its lasting value. I can still spin Neighborhoods endlessly and never get bored with it. This will be the landmark album of 2011 for me.

Best tracks: Natives, After Midnight, MH 4.18.2011



#1 Welcome Home Armageddon
Funeral For a Friend

For weeks preceding the release, the number of rave reviews giving the album 9 out of 10 stars had been rapidly increasing. No wonder my expectations had been pretty high, if not unrealistically. That fact, of course, lead to me being a little underwhelmed by the final product at first. But it's not uncommon, that the best albums take time to grow on me. In the course of the following weeks, I slowly started to appreciate Welcome Home... more and more, and it eventually turned out to be that killer record I'd hoped for it to be.

It's perhaps their heaviest album to date, most of all reminding of their debut, Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. Screaming vocals and heavy guitar riffs mark yet another change of direction for the band, who turned away from the more mainstream sound present on their last two full-lengths. The answer to whether this was a good decision or not is a resolute and loud yes.

Their last album also hit the top spot on my list of that year, so I might be a little partial here...

Best tracks: Front Row Seats to the End of the World, Sixteen, Welcome Home Armageddon

The Honorable Mentions

The Smile Sessions, The Beach Boys

The most famous album never released? Not anymore.

Paris Or India, The Midway State

Optimistic Keane, that's what I think of The Midway State. Just when I was about to forget that I still had their debut on my hard drive, they released an even better album.

Elsie, The Horrible Crows

Ever since The '59 Sound, Brian Fallon has been one of my favourite singers and songwriters. Even after Elsie, it seems that the man can do no wrong. However, I would choose The Gaslight Anthem over his side-project anytime.

We Do What We Want, Emery

While it certainly falls short of the brilliance of In Shallow Seas We Sail, it still cements Emery's position on the forefront of post-hardcore. Let's rejoice, the genre is not dead, yet.

Ritual, White Lies

The lead single Bigger Than Us was huge, the rest of the album not so much. On their path to becoming the next Editors or Interpol, White Lies are still lost somewhere along the way.

Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab's seventh studio album seemed to be destined for greatness. The indie crowd always had an implicite faith in the band's capabilities and there hadn't been many letdowns during their long career. And while all their trademarks are still present here, Codes and Keys never really connects.

Other memorable albums released this year were Augustana's self-titled, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, the comeback album of Yellowcard, Vice Verses by Switchfoot, their best album in a long time, the pop rock goodness Bad Habits by Every Avenue, or similarly entertaining The Symphony Soldier by The Cab, and of course, the much anticipated british heavyweights, Ceremonials by Florence + The Machine, Let England Shake by PJ Harvey, Skying by The Horrors, A Different Kind of Fix by Bombay Bicycle Club, and even one unexpected christmas album Funny Looking Angels by Smith & Burrows.

The good thing is, the break-ups and hiatuses of once beloved bands like Augustana, Thursday, Thrice or The White Stripes stayed overshadowed by the quality and quantity of new releases. We could finally hear the new Blink album, which, thankfully, didn't become the pop punk's Chinese Democracy, we witnessed the stunning comebacks of FFaF, Foo Fighters, Thursday, and discovered many new bands (The Decemberists, Cults, The Pierces). So overall, this was a great year in music.

...and I can't wait for the next. :)