The Top 10 EPs of 2011:
1. Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High (Sub Pop)
I couldn't get enough of this slice of pop perfection over the past year. While sometimes the full-length Dum Dum Girls album could be just a little too much to take, this really hit the spot - short and sweet. Three excellent original tunes and a fabulous cover of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", how could you go wrong?
2. Moon Duo - Horror Tour (Souterrain Transmissions)
A slice of vinyl available only, appropriately enough, during the band's fall tour, this gives fans four more reasons to love this Wooden Shjips side project. But really you only need one, "Sickener" is one of the greatest jams of the year and very likely one of the best things out of any of the related projects yet. Just killer.
3. Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods (Scion A/V)
I'm not exactly sure why Scion decided to invest so heavily in marketing to metal dudes, but as long as they keep throwing us bones like this I'm not going to complain. Enslaved is one of the most consistent metal bands around and this stop-gap EP nicely continues the streak. It'll do until the next full length, especially at this price.
4. Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (Metal Blade)
This 30-minute EP serves as the first part of a two part conceptual release that should be soon followed by a full-length, but this is a monster in and of itself. A lot of people aren't into this particular blend of schizophrenic metal, but the immense talent of the entire band elevates this to something great, when it could easily just be a mess.
5. The Soft Moon - Total Decay EP (Captured Tracks)
Like I mentioned in the introduction to this year's recap, Captured Tracks was one of my go-to labels over the past twelve months and this EP is just reason number 23 why. The Soft Moon's full-length debut was well enough, but this even darker and shadowier EP hit me in all the right spots. I can't wait to hear more from these guys.
6. The Decemberists - Long Live the King (Capitol)
To be perfectly honest, this year's Decemberists full-length was a bit of a letdown for me. It was decent enough folk influenced rock, but the blatant R.E.M. worship and slightly too Americana tinge left me a little cold. Pretty enough, but I like the band best when they stretch out, play, and get all literary on us. This EP made up some ground as far as I was concerned, the overall vibe was a little bit darker and a great cover of the Grateful Dead's "Row Jimmy" meant I spent more time with this than the album proper.
7. Crystal Stilts - Radiant Door EP (Sacred Bones)
Another reason why I'm still a big fan of the EP format? Because you get to hear slight diversions such as this. I'm not sure this shinier approach would have held my interest over a whole full-length, I tend to prefer the darker and spacier Stilts stuff, but I'm still glad to have this in my life.
8. Mogwai - Earth Division EP (Sub Pop)
Typically I get more excited for their louder and more aggressive material, but the majority of this release was quieter, more contemplative piano-based pieces and I was surprised by just how much I liked it. "Drunk and Crazy" hews closest to the up-and-down dynamic the band is known for and it works well, but Mogwai in a mellow mood moved me more.
9. King Krule - King Krule EP (True Panther)
This was one of those out of the blue surprises in 2011 that knocked me off my feet. Archy Marshall, a 17 year-old Brit, released this fascinating debut EP late this year and I've yet to completely pinpoint why I love it so much. It might be distinct voice. Or the elegant simplicity of these songs, undercut with a bleak tension that draws the ear over and over again. I don't know, but I'm anxious to see what else this kid has up his sleeve.
10. Beach Fossils - What A Pleasure (Captured Tracks)
Yep, another gem from Brooklyn's Captured Tracks. Their full-length debut was fitting for the band name, beach-leaning pop that didn't rely as much on the cloying nostalgia as other acts in this vein have depended on. This EP, however, finds the guys stuck at home in the bedroom, adding a wistful tone without sacrificing the tunes.
The Top 20 Non-Eligible Releases of 2011:
1. The Smiths - Complete (Rhino)
While this may not offer a lot of, or any really, buried gems for the longtime Smiths fanatic, this was something I was super anxious to get my hands on. I missed out on these guys in the 80s and its been hard to gather their discography in any sensible way, minus the few reasonably priced vinyl pieces I've managed to grab. This collects their four full-lengths, live album, and three compilations in remastered form, making for a great way to dive into the band's discography. Johnny Marr's remastering work is top-notch, these sound great, and the LP sleeve replicas are a nice touch. Fanatics will balk at a missing B-side or two, but really this is a minor quibble for a lovely set.
2. The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions (Capitol/EMI)
Only probably the most anticipated album ever, long talked about and bootlegged to the moon and back since it was shelved back in the late '60s. Fans are finally given the definitive version of all the songs that have been debated about, fiddled with, and rerecorded over the past forty some years. Great packaging and lots of neat extras, particularly if you sprung for the super deluxe box. A fitting end to such a drawn out saga.
3. Demdike Stare - Triptych (Modern Love)
So this is what happens when you lock a techno DJ and a dedicated rare record collector in a dark room for long periods of time? Someone should have gotten that together sooner. This collects three previously released EPs by the duo and adds roughly 40 minutes of new material, all of it haunting and engrossing in equal measure. There are no easy tags here, but think "dark", "moody", "elemental" sample-based pieces and you'll be getting close. Really you just need to hear it.
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish / Siamese Dream [Deluxe Editions] (Virgin)
The opening salvo in a years-long reissuing campaign gives me high hopes for the future, because these sets are lovingly compiled and fantastic sounding. These albums have been an integral part of my life for going on twenty years now and it feels great to rediscover them all over again. The bonus discs are amazing, plenty of newly unearthed gems that even a dedicated Pumpkins fan like me hadn't heard yet. Good enough to make me forget all about whatever is trying to pass as the Pumpkins these days. Crucial packages.
5. The Radio Dept. - Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 (Labrador)
I'll admit to being a relative newcomer to this band, but I couldn't have asked for a better introduction. This two-disc set compiles various singles and A-sides on the first disc, with a boatload of flipsides and rarities on the other. The most pleasant surprise was how hard it was for me, a newcomer, to tell the difference when I played 'em all on shuffle - that's how consistent these guys are. This serves as a great introduction, but rather than making me content to have a nice overview, it made me want to go back and collect the entire discography.
6. Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age [Remastered] (Rekords Records)
7. Can - Tago Mago [40th Anniversary Edition] (Spoon)
8. Kieran Hebden, Steve Reid & Mats Gustafsson - Live at the South Bank (Smalltown Superjazz)
9. Supreme Dicks - Breathing and Not Breathing (Jagjaguwar)
10. Grateful Dead - Europe '72: Volume 2 (Grateful Dead / WEA)
11. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam Twenty (Columbia)
12. Dwarr - Starting Over (Drag City)
13. Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle [Reissue] (Merge)
14. Sebadoh - Bakesale [Reissue] (Sub Pop)
15. Nirvana - Nevermind [Deluxe Edition] (Geffen)
16. Rush - Live in Cleveland: Time Machine 2011 (Roadrunner)
17. Sunn O))) - 00 Void (Southern Lord)
18. Neil Young International Harvesters - A Treasure (Reprise)
19. Death - Human [Remaster] (Relapse)
20. Pearl Jam - Vs. / Vitalogy [Reissues] (Sony Legacy)
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