10. Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks

The Winter of Mixed Drinks was a slow burn for me this year, it didn’t start out on the top ten list but made its way there eventually. The band seemed to mature greatly since Midnight Organ Fight. The Scottish punch in the teeth element it still alive and well but there’s also a new level of sophistication and seriousness that’s been missing. After all there’s only so far that songs about hitting someone upside the head with a brick will take you.

Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You”

9. The Love Language – Libraries

Outside of “Lalita”, The Love Language’s self-titled debut album didn’t get a lot of recognition. Aside from “Lalita” I don’t think I could name one other song from that album. Luckily, with signing to Merge Records, the band found some quality studio space that was true to their lo-fi energy, an energy that came through loud and clear on Libraries.

The Love Language – “Heart To Tell”

8. The Black Keys – Brothers

Brothers is a surprise to the list this year. While The Black Keys have been around for nearly a century now, they haven’t really spoken to me until now. I’m not sure what changed in their approach to this album but it worked all around landing them a #3 slot on the Billboard Album charts in its first week of release.

The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”

7. Jónsi – Go

Solo album are tricky, especially for a band as established as Sigur Rós. So when lead man Jónsi Birgisson branched out this year it was either going to be feast or famine and as it turns out Jónsi produced an album that, in my opinion, far exceeds anything that Sigur Rós has put out.



Jonsi – “Go Do”

6. Chief – Modern Rituals

Chief is the brand new kid at school. In a matter of a few months Chief was presented under the EP Night and Day and almost automatically was receiving praises for their harmonizing folk rock, beautiful instrumentation and song writing aptitude.



Chief – “Night & Day”

5. Yeasayer – ODD BLOOD

Yeasayer far surpassed 2007′s All Hour Cymbals this year, that’s saying a lot for an album that received critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork who put it on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000′s. I’m not sure what the band did to hone their sound but my hopes are that they’ll keep it up in the future.

Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”

4. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Band of Horses continue to leave everyone’s jaws gaping open with Infinite Arms. Opening up with three killer tracks in “Factory”, “Compliments”, and “Laredo”, doesn’t hurt the album’s listenability and keeps a new fan hanging around for the duration. “Older” is a little too twangy for my liking but other than that there isn’t a dud among the tracklist.

Band of Horses – “Compliments”

3. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

Mumford & Sons kind of screwed up my lists this year and last by having their debut album released in the UK in 2010 and in the US in 2011, what’s a reviewer to do? After much debate it was decided that the US date stands supreme and so here it is making a strong showing. My love for this album still grows strong, even with the massive amount of attention that they’ve received this year. Everything in my initial album review still holds true.

Mumford and Sons – “The Cave”

2. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

Gorilla Manor possesses everything that I love in an album, well thought out instrumentation, over-the-moon harmonies and out-of-the-box thinking with the addition of multiple percussion lines. My fondness of this debut album only multiplied after seeing the band live and finding that they were able to reproduce their difficult music and vocals in a live setting. The only problem is that Local Natives are going to be hard pressed to match the popularity of Gorilla Manor on their sophomore album. That’s a tall order to fill.

Local Natives – “Wide Eyes”

1. Midlake – Courage of Others

There are few albums released that could have each track be its own successful single. Midlake has produced such an album with Courage of Others. From the very first note the mood of Courage is set in place, there’s no playing around with different sounds or textures. Midlake found what they excelled at and took it around the bases. Fans of Van Occupanther might find themselves a little disappointed with not having another “Roscoe” to salivate over, but salivation is not what this album is striving for, it’s about cutting a wide breadth all while cutting to the core.

Midlake – “Core of Nature”