2011, My Ten Most Favorite Albums of the Year

10. "Apocalypse", Bill Callahan
 Good ol' Bill does it again. Haunting, sweeping, pining, melancholy.














9. "I Am Very Far", Okkervil River
Will Scheff conjures up a different sounding batch of songs. No storyline evolving here. Just some complicated, yet straight-forward songwriting.













 











8. "Circuital", My Morning Jacket
(see here)















7. "Kiss Each Other Clean", Iron and Wine
There is much to like here. Except the cover art. Sorry, Sam.














 












6. "Yuck", Yuck
Do you like Dinosaur Jr, Galaxie 500, Pixies, and Built to Spill? Yeah, so do these kids.















5. "Within and Without", Washed Out
(see here)





























                                                                             4. "Arabia Mountain", Black Lips
How would you like to have a psychedelic party with a pack of outcasts from society? Play this album and party on.













3. "Dye it Blonde", The Smith Westerns
 This album is a swinging, rollicking good time. These Chicago boys craft catchy hooks, and some surprising well-placed changes in song structure. Think of a Beatles' final 8-bars, then listen to "All Die Young" or "Dance Away". You'll be reminded of the fabulous britpop of the early 1990s. In a good way.








 

2. "Smoke Ring For My Halo", Kurt Vile
This album is much cleaner than some of his lo-fi early work, but this added polish is friggin' magnificent! I just love the sound of this album. The acoustic guitars ring, pushing the EQ into the red, clean, angelic notes, above a dirty, mumbling voice. This is a set of songs that deserves to be played through your headphones, directly into your ears. On repeat. Give it a couple of spins, and tell me I'm wrong. I dare you.










1. "Bon Iver", Bon Iver

Hands down. Greatest album released this year. Mark my words. When this decade closes in nine years, we will all be a little older, but this album will still be among our favorites. Again, I will mention the sound  of this album. It creates a feeling, a feeling of wind sweeping across a frozen Minnesota meadow. Wind chimes echoing, hidden by the horizon. Of frozen lakes, breaking the early morning sun's light into a blinding prism.

I won't be surprised if this wins the Grammy (since Arcade Fire was recognized last year). But fuck the Grammys. I like that Justin Vernon agrees with me.
His awesome quote, “I don’t think the Bon Iver record is the kind of record that would get nominated for a Grammy — I would get up there and be like, ‘This is for my parents, because they supported me,’ because I know they would think it would be stupid of me not to go up there,” Vernon said. “But I kinda felt like going up there and being like: ‘Everyone should go home, this is ridiculous. You should not be doing this. We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending this is important.’"

Everyone deserves to treat their soul, just a little bit. Go ahead and spoil yourself. Get this album.