The Best of 2011 - in recorded form, that is!

I have definitely taken my sweet time getting this one out there - god this time of the year is busy! But there's no way in hell that I wasn't going to post this, as it's something I've always loved doing and so, because this thing is well overdue, let's get it started... with the TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2011, AND THEY ARE, IN MY HUMBLE LITTLE OPINION:

10. Noel Gallgher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
It's fair to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one! But then again, it was always something I needed to give at least a few listens to, given my past musical affinity with Gallagher, or to be more precise some band he used to be in called Oasis. Anyway, as we all know Noel finally left Oasis in 2009, finding himself no longer to put up with the constant war with his dear brother Liam; this would eventually see the Oasis name retired, with the remaining members continuing as Beady Eye, and Noel putting out a stellar album under this moniker. Not too far removed from the Oasis sound, there's plenty of upbeat guitar-driven material with some great hooks, balanced out with a few more reflective slower-paced numbers. Again, a surprisingly good release!
LISTEN TO: The Death of You and Me, AKA...What a Life!, Dream On

9. The Decemberists - The King is Dead
One of the earliest releases from 2011, it's nonetheless obviously made an impression as it's managed to carry itself through the year and have its high quality music stand up alongside all the other brilliant tunes that came along after it. Colin Meloy and his troupe of alt-folk-rocking friends have decided to simplify a bit on this album, cutting back on the lengthy songs and longwinded (but enjoyable!) concepts that have been a noteable feature of the two previous Decemberists albums The Hazards of Love and The Crane Wife. It's all still a very enjoyable listen; Meloy clearly hasn't lost his lyrical eloquence, nor his amazing voice, as he tells those stories as only he can in the form of song.
LISTEN TO: This is Why We Fight, Down By the Water, Dear Avery, June Hymn

8. Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Who would've thought that losing their drummer of 25 years could actually inspire a band to release one of their best albums in quite some time?! With the departure of Mike Portnoy, drummer and one of the two major creative forces behind Dream Theater, in late 2010, many were sceptical of how the band would recover from such a blow. That, coupled with the fact that Dream Theater have arguably been on musical autopilot over the past few albums they've released, meant that many fans of the band were going to treat this album with caution. However, once the new album arrived, there was a genuine sense of surprise in the air that Dream Theater had managed to shake off such a loss and still create an album that sounded fresh and inspired. Though nobody would deny that Dream Theater have slipped comfortably into their sound over their career and that this album is certainly going to sound familiar, on this particular album the ideas seem to be flowing a lot more than than on some of their previous albums. It's a solid album for a band that perhaps some were starting to give up on! I know I wasn't expecting to give this one a top 10 spot here!
LISTEN TO: Build Me Up, Break Me Down, Bridges in the Sky, Outcry

7. A Lonely Crowd - User Hostile
Here's a band I would never have been expecting to place in this countdown, as they're still a relatively underground group from my hometown of Melbourne, and one would think that their material just wouldn't have demanded the same attention as releases from other, more established, acts. However, I've thoroughly enjoyed the handful of live performances I've seen this extremely talent four-piece do, and when this album was released, I thought it might be something I'd enjoy - but not this freakin' much! A Lonely Crowd is the brainchild of the two Ancell brothers, Luke on guitar and Scott on drums, who have been going since 2008 with a variety of musicians getting involved in the lineup at various points. They've finally settled on the immensely talented David Morkunas on bass and keys and Xen Pow on vocals and flute. This album contains recordings from across their career however, so you still get to hear former band members Leah Ceff and Shane Lieber popping up on various tracks, as well as some handy guest vocals from Ennis Tola mainman Tomas Fitzgerald on one track! The band describes themselves as "experimental progressive-acidmath", which despite sounding a little ridiculous, is a good way of describing a sound that has many twists and turns - steadily rocking one minute, gentle the next, absolutely all-out thrashing metal madness the next! Recent live sets have featured a whole lot of new tracks, and the Crowd are currently recording their second album - who knows where they're going to go after this one!
LISTEN TO: Bipolar Bear, ADJustify, Barbed Haywire, Tyranny of Dissonance

6. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
Ah yes, we are now truly in the business end of things, with an album that received almost unanimous critical praise and earned the Canadian hardcore group a whole new audience. Despite being a pretty sonically abrasive act in the past (and with a ridiculously intense live show to match), on this album Fucked Up try their hand at some new, slightly more accessible ideas - and it's all presented in the form of a concept album, a love story between David and Veronica. You'd never know a band with a name like that could create something so catchy, so melodic and yet still retaining plenty of the intensity that the group have been previously known for. It really was the album that put the boys and girl on the musical map last year, and Australia was blessed to have them tour here twice!
LISTEN TO: The Other Shoe, Turn the Season, Running on Nothing

5. Fair to Midland - Arrows & Anchors
I was a bit late in getting this one; despite persistent recommendations/reminders from a great friend of mine whose musical opinion is ALWAYS one I value, it just didn't make its way into my collection until the very end of the year. Nevertheless, as you can see it's made quite an impression! The progressive rock/metal sound is one that always pleases my ears, and with Fair to Midland, it's nice to see them throwing some new ideas into the mix, including some folk-ish experimentation and some truly varied and impressive vocals (Rikki Tikki Tavi anyone?). Considering I hold bands such as Dream Theater, Karnivool and Dead Letter Circus very dear to my musical heart, this just seemed like a band I should have gotten into years ago! And they've JUST announced an Australian tour, count me in!
LISTEN TO: Short Haired Tornado, A Loophole in Limbo, Rikki Tikki Tavi, Golden Parachutes

4. Floating Me - Floating Me
Ah yes, a band that I've given quite a bit of attention on this blog (and my contributions to Fan Made Recordings as well), and with good reason, given that the five blokes involved with Floating Me have all made themselves a name with other musical endeavours that I've enjoyed in the past. Namely, the musical recipe that is Floating Me is made of three parts Scary Mother, one part Karnivool and one part Cog! Tasty! After a good response to first single Sugar, released in late 2010, 2011 was the year when Floating Me really began to take off in their own right, as they began the year touring with the likes of Shihad and Dead Letter Circus, then released their debut album and headed off on a few very successful headlining ventures! The album itself is quite a mixed bag of sounds; there's plenty of dark and brooding atmosphere present on the likes of Deathless and Xtoto, while upbeat numbers such as Narke and Breaking to Breathe show off this band's incredible rhythm section of Jon Stockman (Karnivool) on bass and Lucius Borich (ex-Cog) on drums! Throwing off the ties to their other work, this album and the live shows they performed throughout the year really showed that Floating Me just might be one of the most exciting acts to come out of this Aussie heavy/prog/rock scene in some time!
LISTEN TO: Narke, Bezhumous, Breaking to Breathe, Across the Gulf

3. Gotye - Making Mirrors
If you have ANY interest in music whatsoever, and live in Australia, then Gotye is a name you probably heard quite a bit in the year 2011, no matter how much you tried to avoid/deny it. It was a mammoth year for the man known to his parents as Wally de Backer, as the second single from his third album, Somebody That I Used to Know, propelled him to far greater heights of fame than he'd previously reached. Well, other than that particular song, the album served as a worthy follow-up to the critically-acclaimed (but not quite as commercially successful, let's not deny it!) Like Drawing Blood. With a five-year gap between albums, it was going to be interesting to see what Wally delivered this time, but his idiosyncratic cut-and-paste style of sample-based composition remained firmly intact on this recording! Yep, on here you can find plenty of musical ground covered, from the smooth jazzy groove of Smoke and Mirrors, to the outrageous 60s-esque pop of I Feel Better, to the outright bizarre sample-driven State of the Art - which just happens to be a song entirely about an organ! Ahh, Mr de Backer, Wally, Gotye, whatever, where will you go next?!
LISTEN TO: State of the Art, I Feel Better, Eyes Wide Open, Bronte

2. Battles - Gloss Drop
Battles' last album Mirrored was one that I enjoyed a HELL of a lot. I enjoyed it so much that when it got to the end of the year 2007 and the time came for me to do my beloved end-of-year chart, I placed that particular disc at POSITION NUMERO UNO. Not like my opinion actually counts for anything, but yeah, in that year I just thought that album particularly ruled (and it had one hell of a competitor in a certain prog-rock/metal album...). Anyway, fast-forward four years and well what do you know, Battles have released their long-awaited second album! But there's been one pretty big change happen in the band - vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Tyondai Braxton left during the recording of this follow-up, deciding for whatever reason that Battles just wasn't the band for him anymore. Fair enough. Nevertheless, Ian Williams (guitars/keys), Dave Konopka (bass/guitar) and John Stanier (drums) decided that Battles was still the band for them, and kept on keeping on to finish this longplayer. And I think we can safely say thank God they did, for this album is sheer brilliance! It's really the kind of album you would have expected them to make; it's a perfectly natural follow-up to Mirrored, with plenty of their trademark mathy noodling and electronic-ish loopy experimentalism present and accounted for. They've even managed to keep vocals present, although not quite in the band - outside help was called for, and Matias Aguayo, Gary Numan, Kazu Makino and Yamantaka Eye responded! All in all, there was a pretty high level of anticipation and expectation for this one in the music community, but Battles managed to deliver and then some!
LISTEN TO: Sundome, My Machines, Futura, Wall Street

It's now time for the big one, and from the moment it was released somewhere in the middle of the year, I knew that it'd take something pretty special to dethrone this one from its position at the top - unsurprisingly, nothing did. But what was it, you ask...

1. sleepmakeswaves - ...and so we destroyed everything

Holy mother of God, what an album. The Sydney post-rocking foursome have been doing their thing and doing it very well since their inception in 2006, but it's been a slow ride in terms of studio releases up until now. There's been a demo, an EP and a split with Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. But it's certainly been quality over quantity and the group have won themselves many fans and lots of positive feedback - and it all resulted in quite a lot of anticipation for this, sleepmakeswaves very first full length album. It's been a long time coming, but my goodness it has been worth it; post-rock is becoming a little overdone for some people, but then again, they probably just haven't heard albums like this. A very large part of post-rock is the extreme variance in dynamics, and sleepmakeswaves certainly know what they're doing in this department. Opener to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest (one of many delightful titles on this here album) begins with almost inaudible synth sounds before, without warning, a shrill burst of rapid fire musical mayhem EXPLODES out of nowhere, and then things settle down again, and then things get louder - and so on, and so forth. Elsewhere, the band's command of electronics and glitches are also given a healthy workout here - see the beautiful interlude-ish piece our time is short but your watch is slow for that - and when the album finally reaches it breathtaking conclusion in the title track, there's even vocals. Is there anything this album cannot do?!

LISTEN TO: a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest, ...and so we destroyed everything

SO. It took quite a while, but we finally fucking got there! 2011 was a bit of a slow year for me in terms of discovering new music, but as you can certainly see, there were still a few quality releases that pleased my ears immensely. And as always, not everything can make the top 10! Here is, in no particular order, a list of honourable mentions!
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead
Absu - Abzu
Alarum - Natural Causes
Art vs Science - The Experiment
Black Devil Yard Boss - Black Devil Rising
Frenzal Rhomb - Smoko at the Pet Food Factory
Geamala - Forking Paths
La Dispute - Wildlife
Laura - Twelve Hundred Times
Mastodon - The Hunter
Meniscus - War of Currents
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
Whew! There was quite a few of those. Maybe I need to do a top 20 next year? We shall see!

Moving along then, to the top five EPs of 2011! They were...
5. The Khyber Belt - The Khyber Belt
4. I Am Duckeye - Die
3. Heirs - Hunter
2. Solkyri - No House
1. [Me] - Naked
(Again, all Australian acts!)

Top five songs of the year:
5. Fair to Midland - Short Haired Tornado
4. Battles - Sundome
3. [Me] - Like a Fox
2. sleepmakeswaves - a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun
1. Sheriff - What You Want (because I can!)

Best live release:
Engine Three Seven - Becoming Atmosphere DVD

TOP TEN GIGS OF 2011! (Need I say more...)

Ah yes, it's that time of the year again, when I look back at the past year of live music and go, "Fuck, that's why I have a near $2000 credit card debt!" Now at this time of year, it's usually the point where I go, "Well, it's going to be hard to top THAT!" But 2011 raised the bar sky-high once again, and delivered us a whole lot of quality acts that made the year just as memorable as previous years. The year was so good that I had to change one of my long-standing rules about awarding gigs a place in my top 10, and that is the rule that festival performances cannot make it in to the countdown. I had this rule in the past because, well, anyone who considers themselves a proper gig enthusiast knows that a band is much better enjoyed in an actual proper music venue at their own show, rather than a truncated set on a stage that’s also playing host to numerous other unrelated acts before and sometimes after them! This year however, some certain acts put on some absolute belters at festivals, and were certainly among the highlights in terms of everything else. It’s also important to note that some performances are often held as exclusive to the festivals, and the artists didn't get the opportunity to perform outside the festival at a "sideshow". Therefore, I have amended the rule! If a band/artist plays a truly unique and outstanding performance at a festival, and preferably didn’t perform their own show during the tour, then they are now allowed to qualify! Anyway, enough preamble, let's begin!

10. Tool (USA), at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, February 2. With support from Jakob (NZ).
A few people expressed the opinion that Tool weren't really living up to the lofty expectations placed upon them at their Big Day Out performances, and indeed on the night of the Melbourne Big Day Out, a good friend and I decided to skip their closing performance on the Main Stage in favour of something a little more... visceral. Nevertheless, I had a ticket to their Melbourne sideshow a few days later (perhaps this was why it was so easy to walk in the other direction at BDO), and was very keen to see what they'd do given a lengthier set which took place mostly in darkness, at a pretty special venue. And, thankfully, it completely lived up to expectations! A few extra songs, some special guest apperances, a bloody FANTASTIC light/laser/visual extravaganza, this was Tool as they are meant to be seen. Despite the fact that they haven't released any new material since their last trip to this country in 2007, it was still a damn fine performance from the prog-inclined alternative metal titans.

9. Primus (USA) & Melvins (USA), at Palais Theatre, March 3. No support.
The news that Primus were heading to Australia for the first time in god-knows-how-long as part of the Soundwave Festival got a lot of people very excited in the pants (and just about every other) region, but when it was announced that they would perform a joint headlining sideshow with the MOTHERFUCKING MELVINS, there was understandably a mad rush for tickets for the relatively small (and completely seated) Palais in St Kilda. Buzz Osbourne and his crew (the full band this time, unlike their last appearance on Australian shores in 2009) got things off to a sludgy, slightly bizarre start, before Messrs Claypool, LaLonde and Lane brought the house down with an amazing set of timeless tunes from their back catalogue - even throwing in a few new ones here and there!

8. Russian Circles (USA), at Corner Hotel, September 8. With support from Coerce, SCUL HAZZARDs and Bronze Chariot.
What was it about post-rock last year?! Whether they were the bands from our own backyard doing their thing, or those more established internationals being brought over, it's fair to say that fans of all things noodly and complex had a fairly good twelve months in 2011 in terms of live gigs to attend. Unsurprisingly, it was Rob MacManus and his Heathen Skulls banner that brought over Chicago's Russian Circles, one of America's finest exponents of the "post-metal" sound - the heavier take on post-rock that has been pushed out almost into the mainstream by such bands as Isis, Pelican and of course the mighty Neurosis. Sounding surprisingly heavy for a three-piece, the band managed to wrestle some incredibly monstrous sounds of the Corner PA, balanced out by their own dexterity and technical proficiency with their respective instruments. Hypnotic at times, crushing at others, amazing at all!

7. sleepmakeswaves (AUS), at East Brunswick Club, 22 July. With support from This is Your Captain Speaking, These Hands Could Separate the Sky, and Lunaire.
Before I dive into a quick review of what was obviously an outstanding gig to make my top 10, can I just draw attention to somethig extra special? THIS WAS AN AUSTRALIAN BAND! In the three previous years that I have bothered to sort my gig memories out into some form of order based on excellence, for some reason local bands never quite seem to make the cut. Why is that so, I wonder? I think the obvious reason is that you usually get to see them quite often, more than you do those bands who have to get on an aeroplane to get here anyway, and it just doesn't seem quite as special to witness their live exploits. But nevertheless, this year a little post-rock (yep!) band from not-so-far-away Sydney came to Melbourne to launch their smashing debut longplayer on what I remember as being a very chilly July evening. The mood was set right from the word go by a series of excellently-chosen likeminded musical acts, and then once sleepmakeswaves took to the stage... WOW. Despite the fact that many in the room (including myself) were hearing these songs for the very first time, given that the album had just been released the day before, it stopped nobody from absorbing and enjoying the band delivering their amazing command of dynamics, tension and mood. And of course, what better to way to end the set than with a guest appearance from one Tim Charles, lending his incredible violin talents to fan favourite One Day You Will Teach Me to Let Go of My Fears? Utterly spellbinding.

6. Rammstein (Germany), at Big Day Out, Flemington Racecourse, January 30.
Well, it's fair to say that when a band of this calibre returns to Australia after a massive TEN year absence (ten years which featured the release of no less than four albums), the anticipation among the fans is expected to be at an all-time high. The German Neue Deutsche Harte six-piece have been known to deliver some pretty spectacular live shows, and this was no exception! It began with a giant black curtain stretching from the ceiling to the floor, completely covering the view of the stage. As the slow-building synthesiser chord intro to Rammlied became audible, Till Lindemann’s voice drifted out across the grounds of Flemington Racecourse, and then the guitars came in, along with the chant of “RAMM! STEIN!” That black curtain came down, only to reveal another curtain, which happened to be a giant German flag. Then as the second “RAMM! STEIN!” kicked in, an almighty explosion saw the flag/curtain fall, and there they were! The band certainly made up for lost time, playing a pretty ripping set which managed to cover all of their six albums at least once, but perhaps more notably featured some pretty spectacular pyrotechnics and other stage theatrics. Flamethrowers on microphone stands, a keyboardist on a treadmill (only after he got "killed" by having fireworks poured on top of him), a crossbow that shot fireworks, a "random fan" that got set on fire... it was all there!
FULL REVIEW OF BIG DAY OUT 2011 HERE

5. Mono (Japan) performing Holy Ground with the Wordless Music Orchestra, at Forum Theatre, October 7. With support from Wintercoats.
Japanese post-rock (again!) quartet Mono released a pretty special album in the year 2010 - entitled Holy Ground, it featured the amazing band playing a stunning set of songs from across their career accompanied by an orchestra, cleverly dubbed the "Wordless Music Orchestra" in homage to Mono's instrumental sound. In 2011, the Melbourne Festival (who always manage to put on some absolutely stunning shows) managed to get Mono into Australia, with no less than TWENTY-THREE musicians on various orchestral bit and pieces, for an exclusive repeat performance of the Holy Ground set. Having live strings, brass, and let's not forget the gong, really made the difference as this album was brought to life in the most spectacular form possible, in what was unquestionably a venue that was the perfect choice for such an occasion. Stunning!

4. Swans (USA), at Forum Theatre, March 10, and East Brunswick Club, March 11. With support from The Necks (Forum show only).
The unexpected 2010 reunion of the inimitable Swans project excited many in the music community, with their first studio release in fourteen years, entitled My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky receiving plenty of positive reviews and generally being viewed as a solid return to the scene. It wasn't long before an Australian tour was soon announced, with the stunning Michael Gira and his current six-piece incarnation of the group making their way to our shores in March. The band first took their magnificent show to a packed-out Forum Theatre on a Thursday night, and then headed to the more intimate environment of the East Brunswick Club to play a slightly longer set the following evening. On both occasions, Swans showed everyone that despite their overall sound and live performance being vastly different to their earlier days, they can still deliver a mesmering and incredibly visceral live show. If they ever play in your part of town, they are a MUST-SEE!

3. Spiritualized (UK) performing Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, at Vivid Festival, Sydney Opera Theatre, May 27. No support.
Though it hasn't been around that long, Sydney's Vivid Festival has really brought some great acts to our shores in its short existence, and the 2011 lineup was once again a cracker. As a Melbournian I didn't really get the chance to see all the acts I wanted of course, but there was one that I absolutely had to attend, and when one of your favourite bands is coming to perform one of your all-time favourite albums in full with a 30 piece orchestra, who cares what state the gig's in?!
FULL REVIEW HERE

2. Kyuss (USA), at Palace Theatre, May 8. With support from Fort.
Holy, fucking, shit. I saw Kyuss perform live. This evening completed my life. I'm not even joking.
FULL REVIEW HERE

1. Portishead (UK), at Harvest/The Gathering Festival, Werribee Park, November 12.
Yeah, after seeing Kyuss live I thought that there would be nothing that could possibly top it, but when the lineup for this festival arrived, I realised how wrong I was. Portishead were just absolutely stunning. Everything I expected from them, and a whole lot more. This was one special evening!
FULL HARVEST FESTIVAL REVIEW HERE

So that's it then! But you know what? We really were the lucky country last year in terms of all this live awesomeness being performed in our theatres, pubs and err, carparks! So for the first time ever, I'm going to throw in a few honourable mentions that weren't quite as good as the other gigs, but really, to not include them at all would just be wrong. In no particular order, the still great but not great enough gigs were!
Iron Maiden (UK), at Hisense Arena, February 23. With support from Rise to Remain (UK).
The Chemical Brothers (UK), at Rod Laver Arena, March 9. With support from James Holroyd (UK), Zane Lowe (UK) and Art vs Science.
Karnivool (AUS), at Corner Hotel, June 9, 10 and July 6. With support from Over-Reactor and Shockone.
Overground Festival at Melbourne Town Hall, June 12.
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (USA), at Corner Hotel, September 7. With support from Laura and Sincerely, Grizzly.
Gotye (AUS), at Forum Theatre, October 1. With support from Husky.
Fucked Up (Canada), at East Brunswick Club, November 30. With support from The Smith Street Band.
Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group (USA/Mexico) and Le Butcherettes (USA/Mexico), at East Brunswick Club, December 13 and 14. With support from Dead River and Bad Orchestra (first night), and Dead Wasp and River of Snakes (second night).
Future of the Left (UK), at Corner Hotel, December 16. With support from The Nation Blue and Brat Farrar.

Whew! But wait, there's more! I'd like to present two more new awards, and they are...
Best festival of 2011: Meredith Music Festival, at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, December 9-11. This was just a no-contest. I suspect it will be the winner just about every year.
Runner-up: Harvest/The Gathering, at Werribee Park, November 12.
Best live Australian act: Sydonia
Runner-up: Jericco, Engine Three Seven