Panel from Unknown World Comics issue #1, June 1952
Today, the fourth part of my Best of 2011 list.
#15 C'mon by Low (Sub Pop)
In my original write-up of this album, I referred to Low as "the best band from Duluth", and I stand by that controversial opinion. With great sequencing and a mix of slowcore epics and sweet pop songs, C'mon is quickly becoming my "go to" Low album. Sorry, Things We Lost in the Fire, but you've become obsolete. (Original review here.)
"Especially Me" by Low
#14 Father, Son, Holy Ghost by Girls (True Panther)
I'll admit that I'm not as enamored of the unprettily titled "Vomit", the big single from Father, Son, Holy Ghost, as some people, but there are plenty of hooky, psychedelia-tinged pop songs on this album to bring me back to it on a regular basis. The title's evocation of god/father and the lyrical references to "mother" provide a nice tie-in to Christopher Owens' famously odd upbringing as well, without the album being about growing up in a cult. (Original review here.)
"Honey Bunny" by Girls
#13 Wild Flag by Wild Flag (Merge)
I think there must have been a lot of anticipation and high expectations around the debut by ladies-of-PDX supergroup Wild Flag, because I can't think of another album as good as this one that got significant backlash this year. A Sleater-Kinney/Helium hybrid with she-Who guitar leads and heavenly harmonies is something I can't understand being mad at. (Original review here.)
"Romance" by Wild Flag
#12 Belong by the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Slumberland)
When I heard that the new Pains of Being Pure at Heart album used the early Smashing Pumpkins sound as a primary reference, I got worried. But there was no need - while that influence can be heard in some places, it's done tastefully (not all up in your face), and Belong is a soft-n-fluffy avalanche of twee-pop hooks and melodies to dispel any lurking echoes of grimacing '90s grunge angst. (Original review here.)
"Heart in Your Heartbreak" by the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
#11 New Theory of Everything by Mars Classroom (Happy Jack Rock)
This is the highest-placing Robert Pollard release of the five (!) that made it onto my Top 50 list, and I wish I'd had room for it in my Top 10 (if only because Pollard deserves to have one Top 10 slot reserved for him every year.) A collaboration with with Gary Waleik of '80s college-rock radio shoulda-been-heroes Big Dipper, Mars Classroom is the most rewardingly straightforward set of Pollard songs in ages, split neatly between creamy ballads and sparkling power-pop gems. (Original review here.)
"New Theory" by Mars Classroom
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