2011 - An Objective Look At The Year Thus Far

Rainard Jalen · 05-21-2011, 01:44 AM

Objective in the sense that I am not going to express a single opinion on whether anything was good or otherwise. I'm just going to consider matters as they appear to be in the eye of the general and critical consensus.

As we approach the end of the fifth month of the year, it might be fair to say that, to date, not a great deal has taken the alternative music world by storm. Is this unusual? Difficult to say. Somehow or other I feel as if I'm saying the same thing every year around this time, only to be humbled by the excellence of later releases.

From what I can tell, and I'm pretty sure of the accuracy of what I am about to say, there are probably a mere two albums that have garnered HUGE critical praise (by this I mean they have truly been mentioned time and time and time again in the press and almost always to great acclaim) and have been big hits with the generality of indie fandom too. They are:

PJ Harvey's Let England Shake
&
Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues

I shouldn't think it comes as a surprise to anybody that Fleet Foxes was one of them, as they ride on the back of their (rightly or wrongly) universally adored self-titled thingee back in 2008. They were always going to get crazy attention with the follow-up, but they seem not to have left many disappointed.

Above, I could have also included the Beastie Boys with their latest offering, Hot Sauce Committee Pt.2. I suppose it would not be inaccurate to describe them as long-standing darlings of alternative music critics dating back to good ol' Paul's Boutique. This current release has attracted similar level sof attention to the above two albums and, while not adored to quite an equivalent extent, it is not far off.

Moving swiftly on, there are another three albums that have been talked and talked and talked about, but which received more mixed reactions than might otherwise have been expected. They are:

James Blake with his eponymous
TV On The Radio with Nine Types Of Light

...and, of course, as if there was any chance of forgetting:

Radiohead with King Of Limbs

James Blake is somewhat of a new-comer on the scene. However, he's truly been making waves left right and centre and his album has turned out to be one of the most reviewed anywere in the music press. Nevertheless, it is one that divided opinion. As for Radiohead and TV On The Radio, well, what can we say? Both are scene veterans who sit comfortably and unquestionably among the most loved and cherished acts in the world-wide alternative community. However, they don't appear to have quite "done it" this time around. General consensus is that the releases, for want of a better phrase, delivered but didn't quite soar.

This takes us to a bunch of other releases that have received much praise but are probably never going to be thought of as iconic. They are worthy of mention because a significant portion of indie fandom love these albums and they have received enough attention from the media to back it up. They are:

tUnE-yArDs, Who Kill
Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes
Destroyer, Kaputt
Yuck, self-titled
Smith Westerns, Dye It Blonde
Wild Beasts, Smother
Okkervil River, I Am Very Far
Elbow, Build A Rocket Boys
Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo

Of these I was previously familiar with the works of Destroyer, Elbow, Okkervil River and Wild Beasts. Okkervil River I suppose are darlings of indie rock, and Stage Names of 2007 will remain an iconic release in the history books. Nothing they've done since though has had quite the same effect. Wild Beasts seem to be gaining strength following their previous success of a couple years back, and that's good to see. They may well end up being one of the great indie bands of our time. Elbow seem to have put in another worthy offering. Of the above, however, it is Who Kill appears to have made significant amounts of noise. I guess they are one to keep an eye on.

Other albums that may be a little more niche (??) but that have nonetheless generated a fair amount of positive attention are:

Tim Hecker with Ravedeath, 1972
Gang Gang Dance with Eye Contact
The Antlers with Burst Apart
EMA with Past Life Martyred Saints
Wye Oak with Civilian

Only previously familiar with the work of The Antlers. If anything, they seem to be maintaining some momentum, though have failed to really break into the upper or even mid echelons of the scene.

In conclusion, not a knock-out year to date, with really just a couple of albums that really threaten to kill those coveted number one spots in the end of year listings with frightful domination. Yeah, you bet your a$$ that PJ Harvey and Fleet Foxes will be in every top-10 list bar none. As far as the rest goes, it's really ANYONE's guess. I'm sincerely hoping that those releases will receive some stiff competition from whatever else is in store. If not, I'll be sorely disappointed.

Thoughts?

05-21-2011, 01:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
Rainard Jalen Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 2,219	2011 - An Objective Look At The Year Thus Far Objective in the sense that I am not going to express a single opinion on whether anything was good or otherwise. I'm just going to consider matters as they appear to be in the eye of the general and critical consensus. As we approach the end of the fifth month of the year, it might be fair to say that, to date, not a great deal has taken the alternative music world by storm. Is this unusual? Difficult to say. Somehow or other I feel as if I'm saying the same thing every year around this time, only to be humbled by the excellence of later releases. From what I can tell, and I'm pretty sure of the accuracy of what I am about to say, there are probably a mere two albums that have garnered HUGE critical praise (by this I mean they have truly been mentioned time and time and time again in the press and almost always to great acclaim) and have been big hits with the generality of indie fandom too. They are: PJ Harvey's Let England Shake & Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues I shouldn't think it comes as a surprise to anybody that Fleet Foxes was one of them, as they ride on the back of their (rightly or wrongly) universally adored self-titled thingee back in 2008. They were always going to get crazy attention with the follow-up, but they seem not to have left many disappointed. Above, I could have also included the Beastie Boys with their latest offering, Hot Sauce Committee Pt.2. I suppose it would not be inaccurate to describe them as long-standing darlings of alternative music critics dating back to good ol' Paul's Boutique. This current release has attracted similar level sof attention to the above two albums and, while not adored to quite an equivalent extent, it is not far off. Moving swiftly on, there are another three albums that have been talked and talked and talked about, but which received more mixed reactions than might otherwise have been expected. They are: James Blake with his eponymous TV On The Radio with Nine Types Of Light ...and, of course, as if there was any chance of forgetting: Radiohead with King Of Limbs James Blake is somewhat of a new-comer on the scene. However, he's truly been making waves left right and centre and his album has turned out to be one of the most reviewed anywere in the music press. Nevertheless, it is one that divided opinion. As for Radiohead and TV On The Radio, well, what can we say? Both are scene veterans who sit comfortably and unquestionably among the most loved and cherished acts in the world-wide alternative community. However, they don't appear to have quite "done it" this time around. General consensus is that the releases, for want of a better phrase, delivered but didn't quite soar. This takes us to a bunch of other releases that have received much praise but are probably never going to be thought of as iconic. They are worthy of mention because a significant portion of indie fandom love these albums and they have received enough attention from the media to back it up. They are: tUnE-yArDs, Who Kill Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes Destroyer, Kaputt Yuck, self-titled Smith Westerns, Dye It Blonde Wild Beasts, Smother Okkervil River, I Am Very Far Elbow, Build A Rocket Boys Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo Of these I was previously familiar with the works of Destroyer, Elbow, Okkervil River and Wild Beasts. Okkervil River I suppose are darlings of indie rock, and Stage Names of 2007 will remain an iconic release in the history books. Nothing they've done since though has had quite the same effect. Wild Beasts seem to be gaining strength following their previous success of a couple years back, and that's good to see. They may well end up being one of the great indie bands of our time. Elbow seem to have put in another worthy offering. Of the above, however, it is Who Kill appears to have made significant amounts of noise. I guess they are one to keep an eye on. Other albums that may be a little more niche (??) but that have nonetheless generated a fair amount of positive attention are: Tim Hecker with Ravedeath, 1972 Gang Gang Dance with Eye Contact The Antlers with Burst Apart EMA with Past Life Martyred Saints Wye Oak with Civilian Only previously familiar with the work of The Antlers. If anything, they seem to be maintaining some momentum, though have failed to really break into the upper or even mid echelons of the scene. In conclusion, not a knock-out year to date, with really just a couple of albums that really threaten to kill those coveted number one spots in the end of year listings with frightful domination. Yeah, you bet your a$$ that PJ Harvey and Fleet Foxes will be in every top-10 list bar none. As far as the rest goes, it's really ANYONE's guess. I'm sincerely hoping that those releases will receive some stiff competition from whatever else is in store. If not, I'll be sorely disappointed. Thoughts?