It was hard for me to narrow down my list, recalling all of the music I’ve enjoyed over the past twelve months. However, I decided to keep my list at a simple four, because I had so much to say about these albums. They deserve all the praise they get, and hopefully just because 2011 has passed, these albums won’t pass too.
1) The Weeknd, House of Balloons
The Weeknd released a series of three mix tapes this year including House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. From Abel Tesfaye’s (the Weeknd’s) Michael Jackson cover on Echoes of Silence which eerily recalls Jackson’s voice, to the despondent and pessimistic, yet captivating lyrics, Tesfaye’s mix tapes are the best thing I’ve listened to all year.
House of Balloons is by far the best of the three. While Echoes of Silence builds on lyrics and melodies from the previous two, House of Balloons is an entirely unique work. In it Tesfaye’s character struggles with his lustful desires, releasing all of his socially unacceptable thoughts and vengeful, self-satisfying behaviors.
The album lacks the discretion that many artists have when creating an album, and that’s one of the qualities that makes this mix tape so exceptionally good. Through the heavy bass patterns reminiscent of early R&B and his smooth, seductive vocals, Tesfaye creates this miserable, brooding, dispiriting sound that somehow always leaves me wanting more. *Listener discretion is advised.*
2) Thursday, No Devolucion
When I first listened to Thursday, I was hardly a fan. Their past albums were just too serious and full of screaming. However, No Devolucion seems to get it right. The perfect combination of harsh and smooth vocals, lyrical content and instrumentation make this their best work.
The lyrics themselves are the key ingredient that enticed me to repeatedly listen to the record. There’s this tranquillity and serenity in the way singer Geoff Rickly sings and in the layered, smooth guitar lines, despite the poetic and complex ideas presented in the lyrics.
Standout track, A Darker Forest, takes on qualities of existentialism, questioning whether life’s choices matter, and reflect the lost and let-down theme of most of this album. The use of echo and repetition, and even the minor key it’s in, work together to even further the idea of life being a lost cause, and never being satisfied with the mediocrity of our lives.
This was a great step for them. Sadly, Thursday won’t be releasing anything further because they announced their break-up mid-November.
3) Real Estate, Days
Easy, the first track off the album, sets the mood for the rest of the record. It falls somewhere under the category of beach-folk-indie music. Every time I listen, I lose myself in the nonchalant, laid-back, summer-esque tracks. The group seems to take delight in simple things from the surrounding world.
In, It’s Real, singer and guitarist Martin Courtney sings, “skated across the frozen sea.” Interestingly enough, he talks of things that aren’t even feasible, but in this dream world that Real Estate has created, anything is possible.
Given the description of the style, it would be easy to assume that Days is bland, but that is far from the case. There are so many layers of melodic, acoustic, upbeat guitar that it’s hard to determine how many parts are actually going on at any given time.
The rolling, cheery rhythm pulses through each song and it’s just a magnificent blend of harmonizing, lulling vocals and intertwined, crisp, clear guitar.
4)Gotye, Making Mirrors
It seems that some of the most creative and inspired albums are made during periods of desperation and depression. Wouter De Backer, who performs under the stage name Gotye, delivers a multifarious collection of songs that seem about as bipolar as the albums on this list.
The album begins on a more solemn note with tracks like, Somebody That I Used to Know, the first single off the track (and by far the best), evoking hidden but indelible memories, recalling the strange emptiness of a broken relationship. Backer’s own battle with depression shaped the more passionate songs on the album. But then, as Backer overcomes this, he shifts gears and writes songs like, I Feel Better, which could easily be disguised as a mo-town song from 50 years ago.
With a drumming background from his previous band, Backer made the album interesting, making the beats, rhythm and percussion (many of which were sampled) very diverse and atypical from song to song. The album sounds like a mix between Beck’s albums Odelay and Sea Change but with more powerful vocals than Beck could ever muster up.
Because Backer’s introspection was the idea behind most of this album, it’s very easy to empathize with because we all experience these emotions. It’s something many artists attempt to achieve but never really master.
