Top 20 Albums of 2011 - #18 Coma Cinema - Blue Suicide

#18 Coma Cinema - Blue Suicide

Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Lo-Fi, Sadcore

Characteristics: Quiet, Woeful

Guys, here's Coma Cinema. The name and album title are ridiculously appropriate for the state of mind this record will put you in. The dog is a nice touch too. Not that the record will make you want to kill yourself, but you'll better understand why some people consider it. Musically, it's your average, quiet, self-produced singer/songwriter album. It's fairly simple in it's composition and delivery. If you put it on the overhead speakers at your local coffee house, all the little hipsters would subconsciously tap their feet, continue drinking coffee and smoking their Parliaments without giving it any more thought. ...But the lyrics, Damn! What a broken soul! The worst part is, the feelings portrayed feel genuine. He's obviously lost some great love, but he's losing his soul over it too. Take the song Hell, a cute little one minute song on the surface but within are lyrics like

"You are a mirror image of a god you'll never know, who created hell to show you how to be alone."

Or from Greater Vultures, (My favorite track)

"Rape my broken will, Are you hungry enough to kill...Are you willing to eat what the vultures will not."

It's enough to put a lump in your throat to hear a man on that level of heartbreak and derangement . To anyone willing to listen to this and take it all in: it's rough. It's still enjoyable on the surface if you're into what I call "Sad Bastard" music. You know, Ryan Adams, Elliot Smith, Smog, that sort of stuff (I hear a lot of Simon & Garfunkel in there too). But Coma Cinema takes the genre to a whole new level of low. Great Stuff!!! Rightfully deserves to make this list. Another free masterpiece! Available for free on his website. http://comacinema.org/sounds.html

Favorite Tracks: Greater Vultures, Hell,Wondering, Gentlewoman

Top 20 Albums of 2011 - #19 Cults - Cults

#19 Cults - Cults

Genre: Indie Pop

Characteristics: Sunny & Sugary

I don't have much to say about this one, it's just very enjoyable. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to listen to something short and sweet and easy to digest. It's enjoyable from front to back. Cults make perfect use of the early 60's girl group sound and then put an Indie Rock twist on it. I'm not getting much from the lyrics, but the sounds are enough to put a smile on my face and make my day a little brighter whenever I put the record on. You Know What I Mean has to be one of my favorite tracks of the year. Go listen to it.

Favorite Tracks: You Know What I Mean, Never Heal My Self, Bumper

Available on Spotify

Honorable Mention #1 - The Horrors - Skying

Honorable Mention #1 - The Horrors - Skying

This is a great album that came out 13 years too late for me. It would have blown my mind had it come out when I was a freshman in High School and was refusing to listen to any music that didn't come out of the UK. I would have had pictures of The Horrors on my algebra II and biology book covers. I would have been chasing down T-Shirts and posters on eBay. etc. Let me put it this way 2011 Gabe thinks this album is pretty good, but can respect anyone who does not feel the same. 1998 Gabe would have told fans of The Verve to go fuck themselves and demanded they listen to a real band, The Horrors.

Fav Tracks: Endless Blue, I Can See Through You

Top 20 Albums of 2011 - #20 Danny Brown - XXX (Thirty)

#20 Danny Brown - XXX (Thirty)

Genre: Hip-Hop

Characteristics: Irresponsible, Misogynistic, Sarcastic

*First off, the production on this record is sick, It would still make this list if it was just an instrumental hip-hop record.*

Wow, this album took me by surprise! I'm surprised I even gave it a try let alone was able to get all the way through it. I'm so glad I did. It was so highly recommended among the music reviewing community and they all would say the same thing. You gotta listen to it front to back for it to reveal its positive attributes. So I stuck with it. They were so right. It split perfectly in half, where the first half is all about typical rap stereotype content. Fucking, partying, drugs, violence, same garbage that usually keeps me avoiding the genre. But the joke is on the listener when you realize that Danny is being sarcastic and the album is actually about the pitfalls and consequences of this life style. He talks about his family and friends completely destroying themselves and how broken he is from this. He even changes his voice to play these two very different characters. At first Danny sounds like a complete douchebag tool rapping with a krunk, nasaly annoying inflection. As the album progresses he seems to keep getting wiser and his voice deepens and he has smarter things to say. It all gets tied together in the last song "30" where his two alter ego are basically battling it out, like his wiser 30 year old self is trying to suppress his XXX-minded younger self. It's a very climactic ending. Excellent Album. If you haven't heard this yet, stick with it. Don't be put off by his voice, you get used to it and it gets better. Relax through the first half and have a sense of humor at the absolutely hilarious one-liners like, "OH BABY I LIKE IT RAW AN' MY DICK SO BIG LEFT STRETCH MARKS ON HER JAW." Danny even gives us a very detailed, and hopefully useful to some, cunnilingus lesson on the track I Will.

It will all sum up to be a very rewarding listen, then you can go back and enjoy the stupid tracks with confidence knowing they are just part of a bigger picture. OH...BTW it's totally free!!! Get it here. http://www.foolsgoldrecs.com/xxx/

Favorite Tracks: Die Like a Rockstar, Monopoly, Blunt After Blunt, 30