Strange Mercy - St. Vincent (4AD, 2011)
It seems like the consensus on Annie Clark's latest album as St. Vincent has been that it is not nearly as immediate as her previous two. I would definitely have to agree with this. On first listen, Strange Mercy is sort of a snoozefest, but, once all of those subtle intricacies hit ya, it's quite the impressive record. Vocally, Clark is at the top of her game here, and the music is beautifully grandiose without being overtly dramatic or overwhelming. In spite of the overall soft and somewhat brooding feel, Clark's gnarly guitar chops add an interesting element that weirdly brightens things up a bit. Strange Mercy hasn't hit me as hard as Actor did, but it's certainly no disappointment. "Cruel," "Surgeon," and "Neutered Fruit" are some choice jams.
Freaking Out EP - Toro y Moi (Carpark, 2011)
Chazwick Bundick's output as Toro y Moi has been extremely impressive thus far. His 2010 debut LP, Causers of This was probably the best and most consistent of the first couple "chillwave" releases (including Washed Out's Life of Leisure EP and Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms). Now in 2011, he has far outshined the "chillwave" name and competition with Beneath the Pine, his upbeat R&B masterpiece, released early in the year. NOW, Bundick has already followed that up with the Freaking Out EP, which sounds like something he would have recorded before Beneath the Pine, though I don't think he did. While still smooth, Freaking Out features a louder, slightly more brash sound. In essence, there are five bangin' house tracks here that sound a little bit like early Daft Punk minus the futurism. This is totally fine with me, as the EP rules pretty hard. So stoked for what this dude does next. Maybe a house album with completely live instrumentation? That would rule.
In Heaven - Twin Sister (Domino, 2011)
At first, I was pretty disappointed in Twin Sister's debut LP, In Heaven, especially considering how spectacular 2010's Color Your Life EP was. Apperently it's a grower, because I get it now. Made up of mellow, dreamy mood music ("Stop" is especially good), sparse, disco-inspired gems ("Bad Street"), and gorgeous guitar and synth laden indie pop ("Saturday Sunday" and "Eastern Green"), In Heaven is a varied but consistent and unique statement. There are some duds in the middle, and Andrea Estella's vocals can be a bit difficult at times, but the album is concise enough and the high points are worth doing the work to experience.
Fucked Up Presents: David's Town - various artists (Matador, 2011)
I'm going to start off by saying that this has been quite the year for Fucked Up. Before releasing easily one of the best records to be released in 2011, the band released this little teaser back on Record Store Day: a compilation made up of fake British punk bands that existed in the setting and timeframe (late 70s) of the concept that makes up David Comes to Life. That the band took the time to create these personas, bands and songs is cool enough, but then they go and make sure that the majority of the songs are actually awesome. The ones that aren't are at least really funny (and some of them are even both, like "It's Hard to be a Dad" by Wonderer and "Do You Feed? (The Curry Song)" by Animal Man). I have no idea who all did what on this comp, but I know they worked with some guest musicians, one of them being A.C. Newman on In Good Company's "Harmony's Double." All of these listed are highlights, but Grain's "Light Rain" and The Wavy Originals' "Fake Moments (Of True Love)" are exceptional. What a cool project by probably the absolute most fun band around.
Slave Ambient - The War on Drugs (Secretly Canadian, 2011)
When I found out that Kurt Vile used to be in The War on Drugs, that's when became interested in this Philadelphia band. Their latest, Slave Ambient, was a very nice surprise to me in the sense that I had no expectations, and the album completely rules. It's definitely an interesting take on the folkier side of rock music, with some experimental and shoegazey undertones. Overall, Slave Ambient really just sounds like a louder, Springsteenier version of Vile's music, and "Baby Missiles" in particular sounds like classic Arcade Fire. But, I sure ain't complaining.
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