Monday 19 December 2011

Albums of The Year

For me I think 2011 has been a great year for music, so many good albums have come out and I was going to do a Top 5 but I actually have 7 (Awkward number!)These are just my favourites, of course there has been others I have been loving this year.

7) The Strokes - Angles
I was really interessted to see what this album would sound like since they hadn't released an album in a while and guess what, it sounds like a Strokes album! I really like it and it's good to see them getting back to their roots again. Some of my favourite songs are 'Gratisfaction' 'Taken For A Fool' and 'Machu Picchu'. I'm excited to see what they do after this one.

6) Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
I was never the biggest fan of Arctic Monkeys and after listening to this album I realised that it was the fact that some of their songs got so overplayed it annoyed me. This album is great, Alex Turner writes such interesting lyrics, the drums are great lots of guitar, all in all it's a great album and easy to listen to. Favourites tracks, 'Brick By Brick' and 'She's Thunderstorms'

5) Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
I was never a huge fan of their last album but this ones great because it feels a lot like their older stuff which I love. Chris Martin writes beautiful lyrics, all members of this band can be heard on each song we I really like. It's a really good album and Coldplay seem to be truely on form again. Favourite tracks, 'Charlie Brown', 'Hurts Like Heaven' and 'Princess of China'.

4) Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Oh I do love this album! It's more of a recent love even though it came out in May i've only just got round to listening to it but it's so good! Robin Pecknold has a beautiful voice that is so relxaing, musically this album is great. There's a lot of talent in this band and I will definitely be checking out some of their other works. Favourite tracks, 'Bedouin Dress', 'Montezuma' and 'Helplessness Blues'.

3) Fool's Gold - Leave No Trace
I got into Fool's Gold after hearing they would be supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers when I saw them in the UK. So I bought the album and fell in love. L.A have produced a lot of good bands over the years and this is another great one. For me they have an African feel to their music and a real good mood feeling when you listen. (if that makes sense!) They're a really good live band too with each member being able to play different instruments. Favourite tracks, 'Belmy', 'Tel Aviv' and 'Street Clothes'.

2) Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Anyone who knows me knows I love Foo Fighters and all their albums. After having a break they decided to strip things back and record this album in Dave Grohl's garage and on analoge meaning no computers. I think that really helped this album because you can really see how talented each member is. Dave's lyrics are great as always and the drums on this are incredible, Taylor Hawkins is one of the best modern drummers around. For me this is one of the best rock albums that has come out recently and Foo Fighters are one of maybe even the best live band at the moment. Favourite tracks, 'These Days', 'Arlandria' and 'Bridge Burning'. 

1) Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

So this is my number one album, why? Because there was a lot of preasure put on them to see what they would be like without John Frusciante in the band who helped write some of their biggest and most successful songs. After hearing it for the first time I knew I shouldn't have worried so much. Josh Klinghoffer has done a great job on this album, yes there is less guitar and less solos but it is still a great album and most of all sounds like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea's bass is great on this and there's more piano which I love. Anthony Kiedis always seems to get better with his lyrics and in my opinion these songs are some of his best written songs yet. I'm so excited to see the follow up to this one since they seem to be getting stronger as a band after every show they play and Josh seems to be getting more confident which is great. It's had mixed reviews but for me I love it and i'm glad to see my favourite band back on form. Favourite tracks, 'Monarchy of Roses', 'Meet Me At The Corner', 'Police Station' and 'Look Around'.

So there are my favourite albums of 2011, it was a great year for music even if you have to dig a little deeper to find good rock albums these days, they are always being made! I'm excited to see what comes out next year with some of my favourites bands like Warpaint and Queens of The Stone Age getting back together to release something next year. Also i'm excited to here that Dot Hacker (Josh Klinghoffer's side project) will finally be releasing their debut album.


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