The Obelisk: The Top 20 of 2011

This list is made up of my personal picks, not the results of the Readers Poll, which is ongoing.

It was an impossible task to keep up with everything that came out this year. I’ll say flat out that I didn’t. There are records that I just didn’t get to hear, and I should note at the outset that this list is mine. It’s based on my personal opinions, what I listened to the most this year and what I think 2011′s most crucial releases have been.

I’ve spent the better part of this week and last, if brain-time counts constructing this list, and I finally got it to a point where I feel comfortable sharing. Since last December, I’ve kept a Post-It of names, and all year, I’ve logged bands I’d want to consider for the final top 20. In the end, there were 78 bands and more that I didn’t get to write down for whatever reason. 2011 was nothing if it wasn’t overwhelming.But here we are, anyway, and it’s done. Let’s get to it:

20. Suplecs – Mad Oak Redux
Released by Small Stone / Reviewed Nov. 5, 2010.

This is nothing if not a sentimental pick.Last year, I put Electric Wizard in the #20 spot because the record wasn’t out yet, and this year, I’m putting Suplecs interview with bassist Danny Nick here in just because I couldn’t imagine this list without them. Until literally a few minutes before I clicked “Publish” on this post, there was someone else in this spot, but ultimately, it had to be them.

The New Orleans trio’s first record in half a decade wasn’t what I listened to most in 2011, it wasn’t the best album, or the most important, or career-defining, but when it came right down to it, god damn, I was just happy to have Suplecs back. It had been too long.

19. Elvis Deluxe – Favourite State of Mind
Released by Harmony Records / Reviewed June 14

After a while, I was kind of shocked to find myself continuing to listen to Favourite State of Mind, the second album by Polish rockers Elvis Deluxe. The record’s dynamics didn’t immediately open up to me, but once I dug into the songs, I was wowed by their balance of catchy hooks and substantial-sounding riffs.

The album was genre-relevant without being genre-minded, with vocal changes, organ, atmospheric shifts and a whole host of moods and turns. After hearing their 2007 debut, Lazy, I wasn’t expecting much out of the norm from Favourite State of Mind, and I’m still thrilled by just how wrong I was, and ‘Take it Slow’ is among my favorite single songs of the year.

18. 40 Watt Sun -  The Inside Room
Released by Metal Blade / Reviewed Aug. 11.

The gloomy opening statement from former Warning guitarist / vocalist Patrick Walker turned heads around the world with its unabashed emotional conviction, which was so much the central focus of the record as to be made a novelty by those who don’t usually consider doom an emotionally relevant genre the widespread arguments against that notion I’ll leave for another time.

What most stood out to me about The Inside Room was how the sentimentality translated into a gorgeous melodic sensibility and resulted in a lonely mood that was engrossing. On that level, it was easily among 2011′s most effective releases. It made you feel what it seemed to be feeling.

Continue reading: The Obelisk: FEATURE: The Top 20 of 2011

Tags: 40 Watt Sun, Ancestors, Elder, Hull, JJ Koczan, Mars Red Sky, Red Fang, Rwake, Sigiriya, Sungrazer, The Obelisk, Weedeater, yob

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at 10:46 am and is filed under 2011, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended, Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.