SOUND BITES

When pondering this year's best albums, I was faced with a fairly difficult decision, in which I basically had to rethink my entire outlook on what makes a good album?  When it came down to crunch time (read: 20 minutes ago), I had to stop flip-flopping on the top two and choose one that would, by merit of its position on the list, be hailed as "the better album". My conclusion (for the purposes of this list, anyway) is that a masterwork in craft, skill and substance from beginning to end should trump a collection of great songs.  I'm not saying writing a song is easy by any stretch, but writing a series of songs and building them into a sum that transcends its parts is much more difficult.  In the end, I like the top two equally, but for different reasons.  #2 is hands down the year's better collection of songs.  But my pick for top spot is a shining example of the fading art that is creating a true album.  Yes, it's a bloated, confusing mess at times....

Choosing this list wasn't easy.  Not only did I have to ask myself what songs I liked the most this year, but I also had to ask myself why.  For me, 2011 will be a year that defines my musical tastes going forward; it's a year when so many genres and styles gave us songs that truly are great, it's very difficult to pick a winner without categorizing and sub-categorizing, and sorting into five columns within each sub... you get the idea. In the end, I had to turn off my head, and let my heart and soul put these jigsaw pieces into order.  And, before we get into the assigning of numbers to songs, let me say I'm well aware that taste is subjective.  I don't expect this list to match anyone else's, and I don't expect that I'd ever want it to.  I present it to you as a means by which to give some of my favourites the old fist bump and a mechanism by which I hope you check them out, especially if you haven't already.  Alright, enough stallin...

Having already posted 50 songs that turned my crank in 2011, I realized just before writing this post that I need help.  My intention was to give honourable mention to five additional artists that, for various reasons, were omitted from the main list.  So, naturally, here are ten more.  I think this is the sign I'm a music addict.  If you ever see a guy walk into a hotel room on A&E's Intervention to find his family gathered to show concern over his growing music collection, that'll probably be me giving them the stink eye as I back into the corridor.

If you can count you'll have noticed that today's post was the 50th nominee for Year in Rock 2011, which means that's the end of the road as far as nominations go.  I think those who've followed along daily will agree that there are a lot of styles and flavours represented in this year's class, and I sincerely hope that I was able to shine a light on a new band or two that you may not have experienced before along the way. I know that's the case for The Silent Comedy, a band who I gave the web equivalent of a fist bump to on December 17.  To my shock and amazement, that post is the landslide winner for most page views of all nominees; as of this writing, it alone counts for 50 (!!!) of all visits to Sound Bites.  All in about three days, to boot.  The next closest entry is Radiohead with a paltry 13 views.  And, even if it's only on my blog, it's nice to see a critic's darling juggernaut like Radiohead trumped by a considerably lesser known, up-an...

KAREN O, TRENT REZNOR & ATTICUS ROSS Immigrant Song From: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (soundtrack) Released: December 27 Cover songs can be a dicey proposition at the best of times.  Artists who take them on are faced with the daunting task of paying tribute to not only a song, but also every piece of legend that comes along with that song and the people who originally brought it into the world.  The risks are usually high; for every song, for every band, there's someone who holds them at such esteem that to attempt a recreation of any kind is nothing short of blasphemy.  To cover a song is to accept the fact that you cannot hope to improve on the subject of your tribute, and certainly never make it your own; it's not your emotion to convey, not your words to speak.  Very few are those who have wrestled a song from all association to its creator, and the vast majority who try are destined to fail miserably.

CHEVELLE Face to the Floor From: Hats Off to the Bull Released: December 6 Chevelle is one of those bands that time seems to have forgotten.  Bursting onto the scene with their 2002 breakthrough Wonder What's Next , they rose above the throngs of like-minded, downtuned rock bands of the era because of their penchant for strong use of melody, bombastic choruses, and their non-reliance on chest pounding, I'll-fuck-your-shit-up bro-rock.  However, as indie rock ushered in a sea change and substance became more valuable than volume, Chevelle were an unfortunate casualty by association.  As our interest waned, so did theirs; fourth album Vena Sera was a tired copy/paste job of what had preceded it, with nary a true standout track to be heard. Hitting the wall, so to speak, and getting knocked down a few pegs seemed to lift a weight.  They responded to their new found underdog status with the surprisingly strong follow-up Sci-Fi Crimes in 2009.  By now, Ch...

THE BLACK KEYS Little Black Submarines From: El Camino Released: December 6 What can I say about the Black Keys that hasn't been said already?  After slumming it in clubs and putting out records on tiny labels for years, they finally saw their fan base grow to the point of a major label deal back in 2006.  It wasn't until last year, however, when they finally hit paydirt with Brothers and its massive smash single Tighten Up .  So with the release of El Camino they not only had the daunting task of following up a great record (one which I named first runner-up for Album of the Year last year), they had to follow up a very successful one. El Camino is a fine chaser to Brothers ' blues/soul punch in that it forgoes all the laid back grooves present on that record in favour of rocking out.  Foo Fighters' Wasting Light is perhaps the only other recent example of a band ditching their more emotional side, putting their foot to the floor and going for maximum ...

THE SILENT COMEDY Gasoline (Acoustic) From: Cruelty & Clemency (EP) Released: November 1 How do you know you've found buried treasure?  In rock, the telltale signs of new discovery have morphed over the decades.  It used to be you'd hear of a band you'd never seen on MuchMusic, heard on the radio, or read about in a magazine.  Of course, it's 2011 now, so none of those things really exist anymore.  So, after listening to a random stream of Cruelty & Clemency last month, I suspected I'd stumbled upon uncharted territory.  Intrigued, I went to Wikipedia to learn more.  They didn't have a listing.  Undeterred, I went to Amazon.  Cruelty & Clemency wasn't available.  I then Googled their website, where I learned that the EP was not only nonexistent on CD, but that it wasn't even mentioned on their own website .  At this point, I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of it.  Through a haphazard maze of tw...

TOM WAITS Hell Broke Luce From: Bad As Me Released: October 25 Often eccentric, sometimes bewildering and always entertaining, Tom Waits has been padding his formidable resumé for the better part of forty years.  In fact, he's been at it for so long that he's one of very few musicians on the face of the planet you're surprised to hear has released only seventeen studio albums. Okay, so the numbers are skewed just a pinch; his various appearances and contributions are pretty much too numerous to mention, plus Bad As Me is his first new album in seven years.  Nonetheless, it seems like his recorded output is much more staggering in volume than it actually is.  I suppose if there's a reason to be found for the long delays between albums it could be his age.  I prefer to operate under the assumption that he takes his time, making sure an album is worthy of presentation before it's released.  In any event, you can't name many (if any) other artists who hav...

PUSCIFER Telling Ghosts From: Conditions of My Parole Released: October 18 In case you couldn’t tell from the album artwork for Puscifer’s second album Conditions of My Parole , Maynard James Keenan doesn’t take his third band and oft electronica-tinged side project all that seriously.  Then, there’s the utterly silly, redneck-lampooning video for the album’s title track, crammed with enough mullets and whiskey bottles to convince you you’re watching a Jerry Springer production.  All of these stunts amount to crude slapstick that serves as a ludicrous distraction from the music.  And, in the case of Conditions of My Parole , I can’t understand why all the deflection. If Tool is the Maynard’s proud legacy in rock and A Perfect Circle its slightly lesser known but equally respected cousin, then Puscifer has been treated like his redheaded stepchild, designed to be pointed and laughed at like a common novelty act.  And debut album V is for Vagina suit...

MUTEMATH Quarantine From: Odd Soul Released: October 4 You may remember Mutemath from their 2007 video for Typical , a revolutionary clip that was shot with the music and action in reverse.  If you do, you probably also remember Mutemath as kind of a standard, run-of-the-mill mid-aughts rock band; angular guitars, electronic flourishes, anthemic choruses, etc.  Furthermore, if you answered "yes" to both A and B, after hitting "play" on the nicely embedded video and taking it in for the next seven minutes, you will probably need a moment to reflect on just what the hell you heard and then another moment to come to grips with the fact that this really is that same band you remembered. Odd Soul is only Mutemath's third album, but it bears the stylistic leaps befitting a band with at least twice as many albums under their belts.  After slightly tweaking their sound with 2009's Armistice , Mutemath set fire to the house before making Odd Soul , and it ...

WILCO Born Alone From: The Whole Love Released: September 27 Wilco fans can be a hard bunch to please.  Granted, when you grace the world with such a sublime and effortless classic as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , expectations tend to be raised.  That album is the stuff of legend, partially due to its story.  The product of tension, exploration and drug consumption, it was the kind of album so strange you could see why a major label didn't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole (it actually cost them their record deal when Warner Bros. refused to release it), yet it was so thrilling you could also see why fans who heard it rallied for it feverishly (they eventually got it released on Nonesuch and elevated it to instant classic status).  It was the first album of its generation; buried by suits who didn't get it and resurrected by the internet not only as one of Wilco's better efforts, but also one of the greatest groundswell success stories rock has ever seen.

THE SHEEPDOGS I Don't Know From: Learn & Burn (Deluxe Reissue) Released: September 27 Okay sure, Learn & Burn was technically released in 2010, but only independently; so as to say, not many people outside of Saskatoon had the slightest inkling who these guys were.  That is until this past August, when the Sheepdogs became the first-ever unsigned artist to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Okay sure, they did so by winning a contest, but they had to work their asses off to win that contest.  And in doing so, they also got major label support, which saw their album reissued continent-wide in September.  That reissue saw their popularity rise thanks to the massive boost in radio play for the perfectly-suited-for-summer's-end vibed single I Don't Know . Okay sure, radio only jumped on board after the album shot to #1 on the Canadian iTunes chart after their Rolling Stone victory.  Look, can I stop rambling about technicalities and ...

MASTODON Curl of the Burl From: The Hunter Released: September 27 After taking their concepts just about as high as they would go, Mastodon decided to strip it down to the basics for The Hunter .  Naturally, a legion of haters cried foul, proclaiming the album to be a sellout rock record.  Sure, it has some elements of classic rock in a handful of its tracks, but it's still metal at its core.  If you need evidence, check the blistering Blasteroid , or the very much Mastodon-sounding Spectrelight .  In fact (and especially given the album's context), Spectrelight sounds like the kind of mind-blowing art-metal jam that Mastodon can write in their sleep.  That's why it's so refreshing to hear them unrestrained by concepts or expectations and just cut loose.  By doing away with the rigid guidelines that their concepts require, the band has gotten out of the corner they'd painted themselves into years ago, leaving them free to try new flavours and expend...

MACHINE HEAD Darkness Within From: Unto the Locust Released: September 27 Could anyone have predicted in 1994, when Machine Head released their debut Burn My Eyes , that seventeen years later they would be considered one of metal’s most important bands?  Even if you did, surely you’d reneged by the time they’d gotten around to the embarrassing nu-metal shtick of The Burning Red in 1999.  And yet, somehow, Machine Head survived that sketchy period and came out the other side with a renewed fury that brought them back from the bargain bin’s brink on 2003’s Through the Ashes of Empires and placed them at metal’s summit with 2007’s stunning masterwork The Blackening (which, for my money, is a serious contender for best metal album of the ‘00s).

THRICE Yellow Belly From: Major/Minor Released: September 20 When it comes to bands quietly going about their business, there aren't many like Thrice.  You never hear of infighting, scandals, backlashes and the like around this band.  It's because they aren't troublemakers; no bickering about money, no selling out, no drama of any kind.  They're just normal guys who started a band, got noticed, and have steadily grown as songwriters and musicians with each passing album.  They haven't undertaken any monumental sonic shifts from album to album since starting out as what may be considered an "emo" band (whatever that means anymore); they've simply added new colours to their palette over the years.  It all kind of came to a head on 2009's Beggars , which was as close to a pop album as we're ever likely to get from Thrice.  That album saw the band scale back the atmospheric nuances and conceptual tendencies that had abounded on their four E...

KASABIAN Man of Simple Pleasures From: Velociraptor! Released: September 20 Seemingly eternal poster boys for "adored in the UK but ignored in the US", Kasabian have built a really devoted following among British critics and fans in their short career.  In seven years, they've released four albums, each expanding their fan base and scoring higher success.  Their previous album, 2009's deliciously odd West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum , was even shortlisted for that year's Mercury Prize, the UK's most prestigious music award.  Released to rave reviews in September, Velociraptor! debuted at #1 in the UK, yet failed to even crack the top 200 in the US.  It's a bit of a headscratcher, although when you consider Kasabian's biggest American success, it starts to make a little more sense. Back in 2004 when Kasabian released their self titled debut, it was promoted in the States with lead single Club Foot , a song you've likely heard even if you ...

PRIMUS Jilly's On Smack From: Green Naugahyde Released: September 13 For years, Primus had been teasing us; after reuniting in 2003 and touring sporadically, eight excruciating years passed before a full album's worth of new material surfaced.  With only five new songs released as an EP alongside 2003's DVD collection Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People , longtime Primus fans were ravenous by the time Green Naugahyde finally saw the light of day in September.  Of course, the first question that begged asking in this situation was "is it worth the wait?"  Upon first reflection, the answer is "not quite"; it's not a very Primus-like album, despite that definitely being their name on the cover.  Frankly, it lacks much of the silliness that endeared the band to so many in their heyday.  Anyone looking for a sequel to Wynona's Big Brown Beaver is shit out of luck with Green Naugahyde .  It's a serious album, with serious subject ma...

ANTHRAX The Devil You Know From: Worship Music Released: September 13 If you follow metal at all, you're probably already familiar with the context surrounding Worship Music , Anthrax's first album with original singer Joey Belladonna on vocals since their 1990 breakthrough Persistence of Time , and first overall in eight years.  If you're not familiar with the situation or metal in general, there are really only three things you need to know:

THE HORRIBLE CROWES Mary Ann From: Elsie Released: September 6 Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon started exhibiting a soulful disposition on his band's 2010 album American Slang which, while still plenty in line with the aggro-Bruce Springsteen vibe they'd presented previously with breakout album The '59 Sound , displayed a much more versatile and Stax-loving band.  With new side project The Horrible Crowes (brainchild of Fallon and longtime friend and guitar tech Ian Perkins), Fallon expands his sonic palette a little more, revealing some stranger, darker influences.  Elsie was summed up by many reviewers as Gaslight Anthem Lite, and it's inarguable that some of the album does itself no favours in that department; however, the few tracks where Fallon really steps beyond the boundaries of comfort and lays into the unusual are quite pleasing in their own way.  Mary Ann , with its possessed preacher verses and stabs of accordion, sounds something like I'd...

BUTCH WALKER Summer of  '89 From: The Spade Released: August 30 It has to be a little frustrating being Butch Walker.  He's spent such a huge chunk of his career co-writing with and/or producing other artists' albums and watching them achieve massive success (see Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Pink, Simple Plan, Weezer, many others), while people have largely ignored his own artistic output.  Walker's former band Marvelous3 was a minor blip on the radar way back in 1999 with the song Freak of the Week , but since then he's had struggles holding the attention of listeners (myself included) through a string of increasingly adult contemporary-oriented solo albums.  That's why it was such a shock to hear Summer of '89 , a loud and raucous track that, while certainly sporting a pronounced pop sheen in its production, hearkens back to the wild and reckless arena-sized noise that Marvelous3 stopped making about ten years ago. As it turns out, the majority of ...

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Brendan's Death Song From: I'm With You Released: August 30 When you've been both as innovative and successful as Red Hot Chili Peppers have been in their close to 30-year career, making a new album can be a somewhat tricky proposition.  On one hand, there's a desire to continue to push the envelope; having been one of rock's most unique success stories, their inherent weirdness is one of the things that enamor them to so many people.  On the other hand, there's immense pressure not to go too far off the grid; the last time they did so (1995's oft-overlooked One Hot Minute ), it was considered by many to be a colossal failure simply because it was different.  Granted, much of the credit for that album's perceived sea change falls on the departure of guitar phenom John Frusciante; indeed, when he returned for the 1999 follow-up Californication , it was welcomed with open arms by fans and critics alike.  The criticism of the b...

I've been purposefully preventing myself to watch the original Swedish film trilogy that starts with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ever since I saw first mind-blowing trailer for David Fincher's upcoming remake.  That trailer, in addition to looking freaking awesome, was soundtracked by a most interesting snippet, that being the cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song by Trent Reznor and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame.  Now, that track is available in full for your listening pleasure below. The film's soundtrack is epic, to say the least.  Written and (mostly) performed by Reznor and Atticus Ross (whose score for The Social Network was pretty amazing in its own right and won a metric shit-tonne of awards), it clocks in at a double take-worthy three hours, and is in reputable record stores (as a 3-CD set) on December 27.  You can snag yourself a six-track sampler by submitting your email address (also below).  Also, if you're into the iTunes thing, pre-or...

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS Senator From: Mirror Traffic Released: August 23 When you're the former leader of a band as revered and scrutinized as Pavement was, it can be expected that your post-band solo career will be taken as a footnote, no matter what you may accomplish.  Indeed, while Pavement's run ended in 1999 at ten years and five albums, Malkmus has continued on since, and this year his recorded output with the Jicks matched that of Pavement.  And, whereas Pavement's final album was thick and layered with sound, Malkmus' fifth album with the Jicks is the closest thing he's come to recapturing the simple elegance that Pavement became known for nearly twenty years ago.  It's the product of relaxation; the bulk of Mirror Traffic is laid back and locked into its grooves, as opposed to much of Malkmus' other post-Pavement output, which often has the tendency to be too dense and weighed down in sonic architecture.  That approach made for some ...

MARIACHI EL BRONX 48 Roses From: Mariachi el Bronx II Released: August 2 When you hear that one of the world's fiercest hardcore groups has a side gig as a mariachi band, you can't help but think "novelty act".  And in 2009, when The Bronx released their first album as Mariachi el Bronx, a lot of folks scoffed at the idea, myself included.  However, upon hearing the album, that novelty didn't wear off.  In fact, there wasn't really any novelty there at all because the band is sincere in their love for mariachi.  So, having pleasantly surprised people who were expecting an awkward, piss-taking venture into the beloved Latino music, Mariachi el Bronx skipped out on making another hardcore record and instead looked to establish themselves with Mariachi el Bronx II .  In short, the novelty still hasn't worn off; this record is as enjoyable as the first, and the songwriting is incredibly sharp.  It's genuine mariachi, played with skill and heart.  A...