EPL Picks-Best of 2011-The Ear in Review
Annotation:Originally this project started out 14 years ago when World Circuit producer Nick Gold attempted to assemble African and Cuban musicians together in Cuba. Visa problems prevented the African musicians from attending, so the Cubans went ahead and recorded a little album called “The Buena Vista Social Club”. Now it has come full circle with some Cuban musicians (Eliades Ochoa among others) travelling to Mali to record with local Africans (Tounami Diabate and others) with magical results.
Place a Hold
Annotation:The follow-up to “Reminder”, the 2007 breakout album from the Canadian alt/folk (?) artist finds her continuing to explore intimate soundscapes with sublime pop hooks.
Annotation:Probably most familiar for their pop hit “Stacy’s Mom” of a few years back, this power pop combo still continues to ply their songwriting craft with this collection of adult observational pop gems.
Annotation:Not as well known as his brother Femi, Seun has inherited his late father’s (Fela) band and subsequently sounds closer to the original spirit with many of the original players. It doesn’t hurt to have Brian Eno along as a co-producer as well.
Annotation:Jim James and the boys continue to plow their unique path through the indie mainstream with another strong album defying any attempts to pigeonhole them in one camp or another.
Annotation:Another band who marches to their own drummer (or drum machine), Radiohead stepped away from the “pay what you want” abyss of their previous release “In Rainbows”, while still offering a combination of the experimentation found on band members’ solo releases with songs reminiscent of the classic days of “OK Computer”.
Annotation:With their glory days as college radio heroes conquering the mainstream pop masses behind them, R.E.M. finally put the lid on a thirty year career with an album that recaptures some of their former spirit.
Annotation:With his first album of new material in seven years, Tom has pared down the Harry Partch influences, going for more of a gutsy R&B feel a la “Heart Attack and Vine”. The voice is still unmistakably his own, but the music is more direct, resulting in one of his finest releases in recent memory.
Annotation:The queen of the Americana movement returns after an eight year hiatus with a beguiling, sublime, and at times haunting collection of songs, performed acoustically with partner David Rawlings.
Annotation:Curbing some of their over-the-top experimental tendencies while not totally wimping out to soft-rock pop, Jeff Tweedy leads his road tested crew through one of their most balanced and memorable albums in their fifteen year career.
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Description
A personal selection by a longtime music fan of some of the significant releases from the past year in music. Presented in alphabetical order.
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