Erik's Top Albums of 2011: 20-16

20. OFF! - First Four EPs

Technically, this album came out really late last year, but I didn't discover it until early 2011. This album has really been a grower for me. After seeing a few punk shows this year from the likes of Trash Talk and Poor Lily, you really learn to appreciate the gravitas of a minute-long chunk of energy. OFF! does just that. The 16-track album runs a whopping 16-minutes long. And every track is just a blast of throwback hardcore energy.

Poison City- OFF! by Jongilbertsound


19. Liturgy - Aesthethica

Metal had a really interesting year. With the throwback thrash of Havok, to the insane technical and innovative work of Vektor, metal ran as nearly as wide of a range as hip-hop in its diversity. While the aforementioned groups really honed old pre-existing styles, Liturgy built on the idea of black metal and transformed it into something fresh and innovative. On Aesthethica, Liturgy found ways to meld black metal with elements of post-rock, progressive rock, and experimental music to really push the envelope. Oh, and it's fucking brutal.

Liturgy - Generation by muntersinger

18. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic

Classic Malkmus. Listening to this album rekindles what I imagine it was like hearing alternative and indie rock bands like Fountains of Wayne or Superchunk or, um, Pavement, for the first time at their peak in the 90s. Irreverent, fun, catchy, occasionally pointed, this album is far from perfect, but flashes of brilliance exist in those imperfections.

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Spazz by artsandcraftsmx

17. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical


On most of the overlap albums, I'm mainly going to refer to Tim's previous analysis. Hysterical was unjustifiably overlooked this year. But if you go into it without prejudice, you'd have to be crazy not to find it catchy and enjoyable.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Maniac by pillowjungle

16. Woods - Sun and Shade

I remember after At Echo Lake making the drunken claim that Woods was on pace to be the best band in existence based on a string of solid releases that showed nothing but progress. I retract that claim. Woods is on pace to become the next Spoon (in my opinion, of course). That claim is pretty much just an augmentation on my first claim, but bear with me. Right now Spoon has a few certified classic albums, a few unappreciated gems, and consistently release albums that try something new and inspire the listener to want more. Sun and Shade does just that by perfecting the jammy freak-folk and the jangly pop gems that defined their previous releases.

Woods: "Be All Be Easy" by alteredzones