Listener - Wooden Heart (2010)

(b) Well, here's kind of a new genre. It's called  "Talk Music".And it sounds just like one would imagine. Ambient sound spheres, post-rockish guitars acombined with heart wrenching poems. Dan Smith and Christin Nelson invented this whole thing and "Wooden Heart" is their latest release. Just give it a chance.

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(b)'s Top 10 2011

(10) ST. Vincent - Strange Mercy

   

Great songwriting, lovely melodies. Easely her best yet.

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(9) Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For?

All in all, this is the best Neo-Soul record I've heard since "D'Angelo - Voodoo". 

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(8) P.J. Harvey - Let England Shake

 

So much power in this. P.J. Harvey brings her lyrical genius to another level.

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(7) The Antlers - Burst Apart

Not as heart-wrenching as "Hospice" but a little masterpiece on it's own.

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(6) Seekae - Dome

Spherical melodies, shimmering bass - "the best electronic album no one heard about" of the year.

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(5) Geotic - Mend

The beauty of "Mend" lies in it's dreamy melodies and rich guitar sounds. Definitely my ambient-album of the year.

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(4) The Roots - Undun

The best "Roots" album since their debut = the best hip-hop album of the last five years.

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 (3) James Blake - James Blake

After the smash-hit "Limit to your love", nobody expected the album to be as good as this song. Well, it was different, but even better. Dubstep, Downtempo, Ambient and James soulful voice made this the best debut I've heard in years.

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(2) Bon Iver - Bon Iver

After "For Emma, Forever Ago" we all expected another heartbreaking folk record. But what we got was so much more. After his "Bloodbank-EP", Justin Vernon worked with many artists, all coming from different genres (Kanye West, Gayng etc.). And that's reflected on his latest album.

It's not the Bon Iver we know, but he's heartwrenching as always.

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(1) How To Dress Well - Just Once

Yeah i know. It's just an EP. But I'm too lazy to make a "Best EP's of 2011" list. So get over it.

"Just Once" features orchestral versions of four tracks from "Love Remains". And goddamn, I had shivers all the way through and still get them every listen. Tom Krell's high, soft falsetto is so depressing, yet so beautiful. Everything about this piece of art is so stunning, you have to listen it to get an idea of what I'm talking.

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The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient (2011)

(b) The Philiadelphia based band "The War on Drugs" third album "Slave Ambient" is kind of a strange case. It's a combination between 80's softrock/pop, electronic, lo-fi and Krautrock. Sounds weird? Indeed, but result is an highly accessible piece of work that feels, at least for me, like the big brother of "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today".

I'm pretty sure that this one will make it into my Top 10 this year.

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Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For? (2011)

(b) I've just finished listening to this one. Van Hunt's second full lenght album is an interesting and refreshing mix of smooth Neo-Soul, Funk and Classic Rock. Everything blends together really well.

Nice song structures, great instrumentation, maybe the best melodies I've heard this year and especially Van Hunts powerful voice. Especially the second half of this album is just impressive.

All in all, this is the best Neo-Soul record I've heard since "D'Angelo - Voodoo". And that was 11 years ago. I will need a few more listens but I'm pretty sure that this will be in my "Top 10" at the end of the year.

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Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971)

(b) This guitar solo. Wow. Undoubtedly one of the best ever. Depressing, sad and very bluesy. Eddie Hazel at his best. It took only some inspirational words by George Clinton and the very first song emerged on the fantastic album "Maggot Brain". 

And even this alone is worth the whole album. This doesn't mean the rest of the album is not great. It is a dark record, with very psychedelic and provocative lyrics. An important lesson in Funk, everyone should know.

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Dark Castle - Spirited Migration (2009)

 

(c) This band definitely belongs to my dearest discoveries of the past months. They are quite special in two ways. First, this band is just a man and a woman – and guess who’s singing! More astonishingly though is the fact, that they only use drums and guitars to produce there sound. And let me tell you, it kicks ass! I don’t think there’s another band which is able to pull out such a massive sound with only two instruments. One could ask why they don’t have at least a bass guitar. Well… they just don’t need it. It surely helps that the guitars are tuned down, but the power comes from the riffs itself, not the sound. Together with very special vocals I never heard before, they do some great music!

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Sonny Sharrock - Ask The Ages (1991)

(b) Jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrocks last album is often considered as his best work. Unusual harmonious compositions, expressive saxophon playing by Pharoa Sanders and Elvin Jones masterly drumming make "Ask The Ages" one of the best free jazz records out there.

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