top 100 of 2011: #11-30

11. Cold Cave – “Confetti”

At one point the Cold Cave record was possibly my favorite of the year. It just got so many things right at the perfect time: we were due for a reexamination of 90′s wide-eyed teenage apocalyptic romanticism via some kind of self-conscious, unsubtle goth/industrial/synthpop revival. Heavy monosynth moongazing that’s simultaneously tongue-in-cheek hilarious and dead-fucking-serious. I’m not sure everyone got the high-wire act that Cold Cave was going for here.

12. Purity Ring – “Lofticries”

This is the track that introduced all of us to Purity Ring, I’m pretty sure. For some reason this strikes me as both totally modern and a nod to 90′s trip-hop via “6 Underground”. Whatever it’s totally fucking hot. That production is unparalleled.

13. Gang Gang Dance – “Mindkilla”

I’ll be honest, I couldn’t stand this song when I first heard it. The intro was kind of embarrassing. But like the best of GGD, it realigned the patterns in my brain. Got me thinking along some Global Psych Dabke Bhangra via Brooklyn Noise-Trance Ecstacy vibes. Futuristic World Jamz.

14. Destroyer – “Kaputt”

Adult-contemporary / yacht rock deconstructed into fragmented looking glass weirdo drunko poetry. Best use of sax all year. MUSIC FOR DRINKING AND THINKING ABOUT YOUR LIFE IN A BUZZED DAZE. SONGZ 4 AMERICA

15. Julianna Barwick – “Envelop”

YOU STOP TALKING AND JUST LISTEN TO THIS IN SILENCE
IN SILENCE
CALM DOWN
JUST LISTEN

16. Korallreven – “As Young As Yesterday”

Radio Dept. guy and some other guy make totally blissed joyous music inspired by spending time in Samoa and it’s every bit as good as you’d expect and makes you want to nod out forever the end

17. St. Vincent – “Surgeon” – youtube

Yes we’re all aware of St. Vincent but do you know-

18. Wye Oak – “Civilian”

- I still keep my baby teeth
in the bedside table
with my jewelry.
You still sleep in the bed with me,
my jewelry,
and my baby teeth -

19. Kate Bush – “Wild Man” – youtube

-Kate Bush came out of nowhere this year with music every bit as good as anything else she’s done? And that there’s some weird love-story arc involving the Abominable Snowman? I’m not sure about all that but few other musicians today could turn this into a catchy chorus: “From the Sherpas of Annapurna / to the Rinpoche of Qinghai / Shephards from Mount Kailash to Himachal Pradesh / found footprints in the snow.”

20. Blanck Mass – “Land Disasters” – youtube

21. Timber Timbre – “Lonesome Hunter”

Epic soundtrack to Lynch/”Badlands”-era Malick/whatever alternate-universe-Elvis so damn good and yes very creepy, but oh so right. Those quivering tremolo strings.

22. Kavinsky – “Nightcall”

I was in love with this before Drive came out, as evidenced by a few mixtapes I made this year, but hearing it over the opening credits of that movie really cemented it as top grade 80′s lucid dreaming for the disturbed millenial generation.

23. Cut Copy – “Take Me Over” – youtube

Yes we’re all aware by now of how good Cut Copy is. Not as good in 2011 as In Ghost Colours but still better than anyone else doing this kind of thing.

24. When Saints Go Machine – “Church And Law”

The synth-pop falsetto Kate Bush/Antony-influenced band you didn’t hear about this year and that’s a damn shame because listen to how all three of the movements of this song could stand on their own as individual amazing things whatever just listen

25. Odonis Odonis – “Seedgazer” – youtube

You didn’t hear about this either and I’m not sure why because it’s like some kind of unearthed shoegaze/noise/lo-fi mystic artifact.

26. Yuck – “Get Away”

Yes re: comparisons to Dinosaur Jr. and many other 90′s alt-rock staples but maybe that’s what we need right now. And I love how this band is too young to have experienced their influences first-hand.

27. Dirty Beaches – “True Blue”

28. Belong – “Come See”

Monochrome droning shoegaze greyed out no-wave ecstatic aesthetic that very few people got in 2011. Fuck the pitchfork review; like a jet taking off forever.

29. Hooray For Earth – “True Loves”

30. Little Majorette – “Never Be The Same”

Pick any Swedish band, literally at random (that’s how I discovered these guys) and it will probably be amazing. What’s in the water there?