[Derek]

10. Toddle - The Shimmer
Post-Number Girl side project. It’s a bit what you’d expect from them at this point and there’s nothing wrong with that considering how well written and well performed the songs are.

9. Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
This record was going to be hated no matter how great it was. I was in the majority who thought it’d be destined to fail when ‘The View’ was released but listening through the album with an open mind shows how well the albums works. I’ve even came to enjoy ‘The View’ in context with the album. The lyrics are some of Lou Reed’s best maybe ever and it’s nice to see him fired up in all cyclinders after being complacent for so long and of course it’s nice to see Metallica come out of their shell a little to improvise and loosen their song structures. In the minority with this but alas I think it’s a great record.

8. Satanized - Technical Virginity
Another strong record from the Skin Graft records canon. A short slice of noise rock accented with high toned riffs, loose drumming and crazy vocals.

7. Coma Cinema - Blue Suicide
‘Downer pop’ one man band from South Carolina. Very ambitious, arresting lo-fi recordings. Depressing and great to shoot heroin to.

6. Danny Brown - XXX
Out of all the mixtape rappers that surfaced fully this year, Danny Brown is definitely the most talented and noticeable. The dense beats mixed with Brown’s mildly hilarious rapping tone contribute to make the album really unique. His rhymes are smart, full of interesting metaphor and sometimes outright gross. I remember someone on facebook saying that someone said to them that Danny Brown is similar to Tyler the Creator lyrically with their response being ‘Yeah but Danny Brown would actually set your house on fire then piss on you’. Also, shouts out to the This Heat sample in ‘Adderall Admiral’.

5. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
I’m a longtime fan of Hecker and it’s always nice to see him release works with such consistency. He really knows how to capture atmosphere and how to construct interesting sound pieces and ‘Ravedeath, 1972’ is definitely no exception. My only complaint would be that this record is very similar to his past works but ultimately there is not much negative in that.

4. Tartar Lamb - Polyimage of Known Exits
Since the new Kayo Dot will now be a 2012 release, it’s fitting that I include this in my list. Another Toby Driver side project which features a stripped back sound consisting of Toby’s guitar and Mia Matsumiya’s violin. The difference between this and the project’s previous album is that there is a lot more at play here with synthesisers and brass taking a larger role. It’s refreshing and a great alternative to Kayo Dot.

3. Krallice - Diotima
Okay so they’re probably not ‘real’ black metal but that shit is trivial and irrelevant. Krallice continue to be one of the most melodically tight and exciting metal bands of this age. Colin Marston and Mick Barr’s guitar work is mindblowing, the vast tremolo picked adventures they take up and down the fretboard are insane and the way the parts segue into each other is flawless. Interesting about this record is that Krallice have evolved from shouted vocals to actual death metal growls which I’m ambivalent about but it’s not like it affects the music for me personally.

2. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
John Maus is probably ‘indie cool’ by now. I don’t know, I’ve listened to him since he was part of Ariel Pink’s band (or at least when that was all he was known for). A retro look at 1980’s new wave that was apparently influenced by Renaissance era melodies by Maus himself. I’m not a fan of this sound but it’s hard for me to criticise when the songs are tightly constructed, very melodic and have an almost cheerful melancholy through Maus’ compositional tones. Fascinating artist and I can’t wait to see how he progresses his music.

1. Grouper - A I A
Yes I’m grouping both of them together, they’re companion pieces essentially. Liz Harris became a massive underground star with ‘Dragging a Dead Deer…’ with it’s mix of ambient waves and singer/songwriter acoustics. ‘A I A’ takes the singer/songerwriter elements but throws them off the deep end with the ambient leanings. There is also a more lo-fi aesthetic to the records with gentle overpeaking distortion breaking through the layers of sound and tracks which sound like they were recorded about a mile away from the microphone. Really really beautiful, replayable and most enjoyable from 2011.