11.11

 ( ( ( ( < < < < listen > > > > ) ) ) )

1.  "Drift" by Broken Harbour from Gramophone Transmissions (2011). Crackling,looped orchestral pieces evocative of decomposing landscapes and abandoned cities. Lush depth.

 2. "Ruins Of Stone" by Mark Fry & The A. Lords from I Lived In Trees (2011). The sounds of an old man ruminating on his long passed child hood never sounded so beautiful. Excellent, melancholy psych folk from this elusive master.

 3. "Dry Ice" by Pure X from Pleasure (2011). Gorgeous, sleepy ballads in the vein of Dirty Beaches.

 4. "Endless Summer" by Still Corners from Creatures Of An Hour (2011). Imagine Julee Cruise backed up by Broadcast. Oh, you don't have to.

 5. "Object Of The Source" by Vinyl Williams from Lemniscate (2011). This guy combines some of the best contemporary psych ideas flawlessly and does it better than anyone else out there right now. An album of the year, for sure.

 6. "Soft City" by Seely from Seconds (1997). This was one of my favorite albums of 1997. It still hold up pretty well, I'd say. Seely was one of the few decent bands in Atlanta in the late 90s.

 7. "Kind" by Nils Frahm from Felt (2011). Excellent minimal piano pieces with found sounds and treatments.

 8. "Sketch 9" by Tim Hecker from Dropped Pianos (2011). This is a sort of departure for Hecker, in which he uses piano scotches from his last album to make a bit more stripped down and minimal group of works. Really enthralling and one of his best. 

9. "Ascension Phase" by Kuedo from Severant (2011). It's nice to see real artists emerging from the dubstep scene. Severant is a collection of excellent electronic pieces, one of the best and most original electronic albums I've heard in a while.

10. "Hideaway" by The Olivia Tremor Control from Black Foliage (Remaster) (2011). An amazing remastering that brings new depth to an already amazon-esque album of gold standard psyche rock. Included is a bonus disc of out takes and live jams, plus a download of loads of other extra pieces for the completist.

11. "Surf's Up" by The Beach Boys from The Smile Sessions (2011). I was never remotely a fan of the Beach Boys until Jeff Mangum introduced me to Smile back in 2000. My opinion of the Beach Boys was forever altered. Over the years he had cobbled together recordings of this lost masterpiece into their alleged album order. Like much contemporary bedroom folk, it had the warmth of lo-fi recording
as it stretched the bounds of psychedelic pop. As I listened, I came to understand that Brian Wilson understood more about the true power of music and songwriting than any of his contemporaries. I copied the bootleg CD Mangum had, but lost it in some file transfers. When Smile was officially released back in 2004, I was so disappointed at the atrocious Disnification of the phenomenal album I had originally heard that I wept. But now, we have the original recordings, released as they were originally envisioned, and it is a beautiful thing. A small part of the world is right again.

12. "Indulge Yourself" by E. Dresch from Short Stories (2011). Gentle acoustic guitar pieces perfect for wintery Sunday afternoons spent reading on the couch.

 13. "Remember" by Oneohtrix Point Never from Reflections (2011). This record is probably going to irritate a lot of OPN fans. It's much more experimental, relying on Reichian loops more than sweet, vintage sine waves. Not all of the tracks are perfect, but when he hits the right combination, things get rally interesting. Kudos to Lopatin for jumping way far out and trying something new. Can't wait to see where this leads.

14. "Secrets For Sale" by Kent State from Walk Through Walls  (2011). Great, dirty lo-fi garage rock. Really digging these guys.
Kinda has a 90s feel in some respects, but I can't quite pin down specifically how.









15. "Total Decay" by The Soft Moon from Total Decay 12" (2011). The Soft Moon explores more of the industrial side of their gothy cold wave aesthetic. More please!

16. "Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet " by Tuusanuuskat from  Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet (2011). Collaboration of madness from Fonal and Es helmsman Sami Sänpäkkilä and Kemialliset Ystävät cult leader Jan Anderzen. This might make your brain turn inside out, but once you get "comfortable" with it, it's a pretty amazing feeling.








17. "As Each Tucked String Tells" by Jacaszek from Glimmer (2011). More delectable ambient sound worlds from this brilliant Polish composer. This piece specifically stands out, brimming with fantastic ideas.

18. "La Ouaeynayki" by Farid El Atrache from the El Ho El Kebir & El Khourouj Men El Gana OSTs (1970). Beautiful songs from films by Egyptian director Henry Barakat. 

19. "And Instantly Take Effect" by Christina Vantzou from No. 1 (2011). Breathtaking ambient panoramas from Dead Texan member.

20. "The Art of Mirrors (after Derek Jarman)" by Harold Budd
from In The Mist (2011). This is, so far, the highlight of Mr. Budd's career. Crawling repetitions that truly make the listener feel immersed in some liminal mist. A masterpiece.