Kind of Bleu’s Top 20 of 2011

Kind of Bleu’s top albums of 2011, with links to each review in the countdown.

Honorable Mentions:
Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan & Chris Thile – The Goat Rodeo Sessions
Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong
I’m From Barcelona – Forever Today
Panda Bear – Tomboy
My Morning Jacket – Circuital

20. Chris Thile & Michael Daves – Sleep With One Eye Open 

19. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life

18. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What

17. Wild Flag – Wild Flag

16. Tom Waits – Bad as Me

15. The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart

14. James Blake – James Blake

13. The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck

12. Wilco – The Whole Love

11. Feist – Metals

10. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World

8. Middle Brother – Middle Brother

7. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

6. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

5. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

4. The Antlers – Burst Apart

3. Destroyer – Kaputt

2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Top 20 of 2011: 1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Since the release of For Emma, Forever Ago and its follow up EP, Blood Bank, Justin Vernon has been doing just about everything but Bon Iver. He worked with Collections of Colonies of Bees as Volcano Choir, played a one-off with Peter Wolf Crier drummer Brian Moen as their old blues duo the Shouting Matches, made soft rock with Gayngs and even worked with Kanye West. He proved his versatility, but what was next for Bon Iver? After all that, could Vernon really go back and make another lonely solo record?

No. Instead, he enlisted the help of woodwind mastermind Colin Stetson, pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz , saxophonist Michael Lewis and yMusic’s Rob Moose and CJ Camerieri to bulk up Bon Iver’s already-impressive live band — Sean Carey, Matt McCaughan and Mike Noyce.

The intensity of For Emma, Forever Ago might have been a fluke — Vernon, sick with mono after breaking up with his band and girlfriend, finds solace in his father’s cabin in the woods and records something perfect. But even without a romantic backstory, Bon Iver effortlessly recaptures the magic of Emma on a much larger scale.

I’ve had this pegged as “Album of the Year” since my first listen. It’s absolutely enchanting from the thunders of “Perth” to the Bruce Hornsby-based ballad “Beth/Rest.” Bon Iver is one of those rare records — much bigger than itself, but so personal and meaningful.

Top 20 of 2011: 2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

A lot of music this year was built around expansions — bands coming into their own fully realized sound. Fleet Foxes did it beautifully. Helplessness Blues, the Seattle group’s sophomore album, blooms so majestically, their lush debut seems threadbare in comparison.

Helplessness Blues isn’t a departure by any means. It’s the blossom of the seeds sewn with their self-titled debut.

Robin Pecknold, the group’s songwriter, sought to capture the essence of Van Morrison’s 1968 masterpiece, Astral Weeks. He and the rest of the band succeeded wildly.

Spirituality flows from every song. The title track ponders the meaning of life, and Pecknold offers his answer: “And now, after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me.” He’s backed by an incredible array of instruments — everything from a hammer dulcimer and a Marxophone to woodwinds and Tibetan singing bowls — that elevate their sound far beyond indie folk.

Top 20 of 2011: 3. Destroyer – Kaputt

3. Destroyer – Kaputt

Destroyer’s ninth album is the most interesting thing to happen to music this year — and maybe even longer.

Singer-songwriter Dan Bejar’s acoustic guitar disappeared in a haze of smoke, drugs and nostalgia, replaced by saxophones, flutes and synths. Kaputt‘s light jazz and funk lifts his obscured poetry to a cinematic high. Bejar creates musical images of cocaine dealers walking through Chinatown in the late ’70s and hazy dreams of New York City streets.

Though it heavily recalls the ’70s and ’80s, nothing’s ever been made that sounds like Kaputt. Bejar treads a fine line between irony and Steely Dan worshiping. Whichever way he’s actually leaning, it’s fantastic.

I wouldn’t expect Kaputt II. Knowing Bejar, he’s bound to come up with some incredible and bizarre new direction soon.

Top 20 of 2011: 6. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

6. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

The Decemberists are a great band, but their theatrics can be a bit much. The heavy narratives of their last few albums — the song cycles of The Crane Wife and the full-blown rock opera, The Hazards of Love — were impressive, but a bit inaccessible.

That’s why The King Is Dead was such a surprise. The band’s sixth album isn’t another session of indie-rock theater camp. It’s a straight-forward indie-folk album, featuring tons of traditional instrumentation — harmonica, accordion, banjo and bouzouki, to name a few — and guest stars like Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck.

Songwriter Colin Meloy still spins incredibly detailed yarns about the days of yore, but this time, he’s more like Elvis Costello than a playwright. Meloy published his first novel, Wildwood, this year, so it’s possible that he got his need for plot-driven media out a different way.

The King Is Dead is arguably the Decemberists’ finest work. Its unpretentious, upbeat folk is thoroughly enjoyable, even without a theater degree.

Top 20 of 2011: 7. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

7. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

When Ryan Adams took a step back from music, it was uncertain how long he would be gone. Thankfully, like most musical retirements, his time off was short.

Ashes & Fire is different than the music he had been making with the Cardinals up until 2009, but fits right into his constantly evolving body of work. More stripped-down than anything he’s done since Heartbreaker (save for maybe the piano-heavy 29), Ashes & Fire is definitely a personal record. Adams sounds more at ease than he has since his debut, free from the pressures of a record label and waiting fans.

Adam’s 13th album isn’t just the sound of an artist coming back to music. It’s intense, sincere and, at times, heartbreaking. It’s the kind of record that’s only going to get better with time.

Top 20 of 2011: 8. Middle Brother – Middle Brother

8. Middle Brother – Middle Brother

Middle Brother is a collaboration of three talented songwriters: John J. McCauley III of Deer Tick, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit. These three frontmen got together in Nashville for a week to record 22 songs, 12 of which comprise their self-titled album.

Each has a distinct voice — ranging from sweet (Goldsmith) to raspy (Vasquez) to ragged (McCauley) — but they often come together in bar-room harmonies. It feels something like Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Young) without the competing egos.

The trio takes on folk, alt-country and even ’50s rock ‘n’ roll. Goldsmith’s mellow compositions sound a lot like the Avett Brothers, while the other two let loose a bit with more upbeat songs.

Unlike most side projects, Middle Brother hasn’t slowed down their other projects. Deer Tick and Dawes both put out new albums this year. In fact, McCauley’s original motive behind the collaboration was to share each other’s fans.

But there’s something about Middle Brother that outshines their other work. The balance of the trio keeps it just about perfect from start to finish.

Top 20 of 2011: 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World

Most of the music that comes out of Detroit is about the working-class. From Motown to Bob Seger to Eminem, it’s always been about working hard to overcome personal and social obstacles.

So Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. seems a bit out of place in the Motor City. Their blend of stellar electronics (in the vein of Panda Bear) and sublime Beach Boys harmonies doesn’t fit the city’s normal musical output.

It’s a Corporate World is the band’s debut album, after their pretty-much perfect debut EP, Horse Power — a tough act to follow. The LP features three of the EP’s four tracks, which runs the risk of sounding recycled. But even after heavy listens to Horse Power, the rerecorded “Nothing But Our Love,” “Simple Girl” and “Vocal Chords” sound fresh in the mix.

The album effortlessly mixes digital and analog. The opener, “Morning Thought,” features big, dreamy production, while tracks like the wispy “Skeletons” and the upbeat title track focus more on instruments. All the songs feature what might become their signature harmonies, a key aspect of their music.

Here’s hoping this is the new Detroit sound.

Top 20 of 2011: 10. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

10. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

Kurt Vile offers a unique take on the singer/songwriter. Smoke Ring for My Halo isn’t the sound of Vile strumming his guitar by himself or trying to recreate the songs of folk heroes like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen. It’s something else entirely.

While Vile’s gotten comparisons to the men mentioned above, it’s not because he really sounds like them. No, Vile is anything but a classic rock revivalist. He’s more like the updated version of those guys. Imagine Dylan or Springsteen coming of age today. That’s Kurt Vile.

Again, songs like “Baby’s Arms” and “Jesus Fever” don’t really sound like classic rock. If anything, it sounds like indie folk dipped in hazy, psychedelic rock. But the same feeling is there. Smoke Ring for My Halo just feels classic.

Top 20 of 2011: 11. Feist – Metals

11. Feist – Metals

Feist has written some incredible songs. Even beyond the massive, but impossible-to-hate “1,2,3,4,” her canon includes a score of impeccable songs like “Mushaboom,” “Limit to Your Love,” “I Feel It All” and “Gatekeeper.” Despite the number of great songs, her albums have always seemed to drag.

Metals is her first album that works beautifully as a whole. It’s dark, especially on the heels of the album featuring “1,2,3,4,” but it works perfectly.

Feist makes great use of her accompanying musicians. In addition to her longtime producers, Mocky and Chilly Gonzales (who also plays quite a bit on the album), she employed percussionist Dean Stone and keyboardist Brian LeBarton (Beck, Jamie Lidell).

Her core band tends to hide in the background, but other guest performers don’t. Broken Social Scene’s Evan Cranley plays euphonium and trombone, but Colin Stetson’s bass saxophone (in addition to his flute, baritone sax, tenor sax, trumpet and French horn) almost steals the show, adding dramatic undertones to the songs.

The other show-stopping guest is the Real Vocal String Quartet, an unusual group of women who sing while each plays her instrument. The warm strings and lush harmonies swell perfectly around the rest of the music.

Songs like “How Come You Never Go There” and “Graveyard,” while not as catchy as “1,2,3,4” or “Mushaboom” are every bit as beautiful. While it might not give her a hit single, Metals is Feist’s strongest album yet.