2011 :: Top 20 Albums « Harmless Noise

December 20th, 2011
2011 :: Top 20 Albums

Dec 20, 2011
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Albums, Best Bands, Featured, Irish, Music, Top 20 Irish Albums 2011
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This was the year when the “golden age” hype started to die down and we could all get on with the serious business of enjoying great music without a reason to be proud of it. And how much there was! I wrote more reviews than ever before this year – I dislike reviewing as much as compiling lists, which is to say I groan at the thought but end up feeling very fulfilled once they’re done – you can read some of those over at entertainment.ie/music where we’ve been counting down more top records based on how well they did with the critics.

This list however, is not critical. It’s not definitive. Some of my favourite bands released albums this year and they didn’t measure up to the top twenty I enjoyed the most. It’s wholly subjective: these are my favourite Irish albums of 2010.

20. B-Movie Lightning - Rain On A River (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="904928326" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: The Spooky West

19. A Lazarus Soul – Through A Window In The Sunshine Room (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="1583712106" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Contrails

18. Comply Or Die – Depths (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="3630015666" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Shanghaied

17. Catscars – Construction (White Plague)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="243431665" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Wish I Had

16. Goodtime – Colours Of Darkness (Temporary Secretary)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="3253304458" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Diamonds

15. Norabelle – Wren (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2809839076" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Gregarious Bird

14. Sons Phonetic – Twelve Labours (self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="4071880107" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Casino

13. We Cut Corners – Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards (The Delphi Label)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="4046113795" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Go Easy

12. The Driftwood Manor – The Same Figure Leaving (Rusted Rail)
:: That Lasting Final Hurt

11. Jape – Ocean Of Frequency (Music Is For Losers)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="57980627" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] :: Scorpio

10. Owensie – Aliens (Out On A Limb)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2602283744" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Subtle Connections
Owensie’s forays into the realm of solo, stripped-down guitar songs shone a light on a philanthropic natureof songwriting that was far removed from any other album – perhaps anywhere – on offer in 2011.

9. Laura Sheeran – Lust Of Pig And The Fresh Blood (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2609923536" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Take Me Where She Sleeps
One of 2010′s crowdfunding success stories, Laura Sheeran released this disquieting work of great beauty under difficult emotional circumstances. With varied instrumentation and great depth, it marked itself a redeeming record early in the year.

8. Tieranniesaur – Tieranniesaur (Popical Island)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="1491771623" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] In The Sargasso
The eagerly-awaited debut album from lizard queen Annie Tierney and her fantastic unfossilised band did not disappoint, winning fresh accolades across the land with a sunny nature and remarkable strength of songwriting.

7. Lethal Dialect – LD50 Pt.1 (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="854402641" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Metamorphosis
The Irish hiphop album that’s made a stone-cold fan of me since I heard it six weeks ago and haven’t been able to stop listening, LD50 is the first part of Dublin northsider Paul Alwright’s double-debut and proves there is a mighty force at work. Produced to startling clarity, and equipped with verisimilitude, knowledge, sharp vocabularly and concise cadence, this is new hiphop you’ve never heard the like of.

6. Patrick Kelleher and His Cold Dead Hands – Golden Syrup (Osaka)
Miracle Candle

Dark and dripping with synthcalories, adorned in vintage style while dragging a pointed toe over the line of conformity today, Patrick Kelleher says he regressed while writing the songs for Golden Syrup. If that’s the case, Ireland has a prodigious son to rival Mozart’s precocious talents.

5. 3epkano – Hans The Reluctant Wolf Juggler (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="1893328719" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Hax On, Hax Off
After many years in the making, the silent movie buffs known as 3epkano made a whole load of noise when Hans started howling this autumn. It’s instrumental music that socks it to post-rock, its gorgeous, garish cover and gregarious content proving that a passion for culture does not a shrinking violet make.

4. Cashier No.9 - To The Death Of Fun (Bella Union)
Lost At Sea

Gleaming with the golden touch of David Holmes’ exceptional production abilities, Cashier No.9 were Belfast’s big success story of 2011 with a Bella Union record deal and even bigger sound that merged folk and country with the irresistible jingle tones of good old indie rock.

3. Le Galaxie – Laserdisc Nights 2 (Self-released)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2592008982" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Powers Of Miami
With inescapable gravitational pull, Le Galaxie proved the biggest surprise act of the year by delivering an album that managed to be insouciant despite overt rhythmic and melodic indiscretion. Only bettered by the live shows’ astronomic energy levels.

2. Cian Nugent – Doubles (VHF)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2401853698" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Peaks And Troughs
The stand-out album in terms of ambition, Cian Nugent trusted in his own ability to release two pieces of guitar music that clocked up over twenty minutes apiece. And so settling in to sail the soundwaves, Doubles‘ able skill soundtracked a trip of swoons without the danger of keeling over that comes from lost concentration.

1. Yeh Deadlies – The First Book Of Lessons (Popical Island)
[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="1348519142" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#000000"] Disc Jockey Blues
My favourite album of the whole year, Yeh Deadlies have accompanied me on many journeys, real and imagined. It’s an unpretentious record of spirit and sweetness and space, longing to just whirl away the sadness of silly life and celebrate the daily best. Songwriting, melodies, versatility of genres and the most alluring charisma made this February release my best new musical friend of 2011.