Here is the final post in this week’s look back at the best music from 2011. In a reversal from last year’s list, there are likely a dozen songs that could have been on this list, and many of the top 5 presented here might switch positions depending on which one I’m currently listening to. For what it’s worth these were my Top 5 songs for 2011…share your favorite tracks of 2011 here or on our facebook page!
***Honorable Mentions: Phonte – The Good Fight, The Sandwitches – My Heart Does Swell (live at KPFK), King – The Story, M.E.D. – Blaxican, The Echocentrics feat. Tita Lima – Jardim, Real Estate – Municipality, Real Estate – Green Aisles, WildCookie – Something About Those Days
5. The Strange Boys – “Doueh” – Live Music (Rough Trade)
Two things stick out to me about “Doueh” (which honestly I have no idea how to pronounce, I just say “Doo-eh” on the air) and are responsible for it being in my Top 5 songs of 2011. First, it’s in the interplay of the guitars. “Doueh” is one of the rare places where the Strange Boys’ love and knowledge of garage rock, country and gritty soul all come together at the same time musically. Though the rhythm stays the same virtually throughout, the guitars are constantly doing something a little different, from that main little strut and all the subtle variations throughout that (I’m not ashamed to say) always causes my shoulders to bounce, to the big wash of finger-picking that I supposed counts as a solo, even though it sounds like there are 2 or 3 additional guitar lines overdubbed along with the two main guitars. The way those guitars intertwine with each other shows how far this band has come in a short period of time.
The second big reason why this was my favorite song from the album Live Music and also one of my favorites of the year is the vocal performance of Ryan Sambol. That seems like a strange thing to say, because Sambol’s voice is not likely to win any competitions (I previously described it as a cross between Bob Dylan and Pat from SNL). It’s likely the quirky-ness of that voice keeps them from being major stars along the lines of the Black Keys or other bands, which given the most recent record from the Black Keys might be a very good thing. However, Sambol’s voice IS one of the more distinctive elements of the Strange Boys. On “Doueh” Sambol delivers maybe his best vocals to date, sounding sly and knowing when he remarks “my body betrays me, but I don’t betray it back,” but also fully confident, assured, forceful and strong in the 2nd verse, especially when he sings “I knew not a word, I couldn’t name a note, I swear I heard a language I didn’t know I spoke.” I don’t know where the Strange Boys are going to go from here, but it’s clear that Sambol and the boys have finally grown comfortable in their own skin and have found their sound and the best way to present it.
4. Lake – “Giving & Receiving” – Giving & Receiving (K Records)
For my year end show, this track from Olympia, Washington’s very un-Olympia sounding Lake, was the only song that I also played during the summer’s “Best So Far” program. Here’s what I said about this track back in the spring:
“While there are several rather lovely tracks on this album, “Giving & Receiving” is one of the best, not just on this album, but that I’ve heard off of any album all year (I’m always fascinated in how quickly I know a great song when I hear it…after one listen I was absolutely sure that this would be in my year end list of Best of 2011). It has a very early summer, lazy slightly hazy sunday afternoon vibe with its slower than mid-tempo, but still not that slow and soulful beat. Eriksson’s vocals caress the listener with their sweetness, even though lyrically the song seems to point toward a more downbeat mood. I especially like the moment at the literal half point of the song, just before the tempo change that accompanies the “There used to be fish in the Ocean” lyrics, with all those layers of keyboards, subtle notes from the horns and Eriksson’s just slight humming in the background. Just plain gorgeous.”
Months later nothing has dulled my appreciation for the understated beauty and subtle soul in “Giving & Receiving.” The song isn’t just dreamy, it’s literally sounds like the soundtrack of a dream.
3. Katalyst feat. Stephanie McKay – “Day Into Night” – Deep Impressions (BBE)
Katalyst feat. Stephanie McKay – Day Into Night
“Day Into Night” was one of a handful of songs that were a part of my summer playlist in 2011. With it’s reggae riddim and soulful vocals from Stephanie McKay, it just has this late summer vibe that I found irresistible well into winter. For some time I was convinced that this was somehow a sample of Phyllis Dillon’s “Perfidia,” but it’s pretty clear that 9/10’s of the riddim & the vocal sample come from Desmond Dekker’s “No Place Like Home”:
To my ears at least McKay’s vocals DO seem connected to Dillon’s track, which is likely part of the reason why I’m so drawn to “Day Into Night.” Whatever the source material, McKay brings such emotion to her vocals that there’s no way not to pay attention and feel the deep soul she puts into her work.
2. Hunx & his Punx – “Lover’s Lane” – Too Young To Fall In Love (Hardly Art)
Hunx & His Punx – Lover’s Lane
Here’s what I originally had to say about this song from Oakland’s Hunx & his Punx:
“I’ve listened to this track probably 30 times this week and I’m still floored by the way the backing vocals tumble out in waves during the chorus. It seems rare to have multiple singers sing in harmony, yet retain distinctive voices, perhaps it’s a slight studio trick, but it’s something I haven’t heard too much before. The way all those voices come together and separate, particularly in the last third of the song, just kills me everytime. I can almost guarantee that this song will be one of my faves at the end of the year.”
After listening to hundreds of songs, Lover’s Lane remained one of my favorites of the year, and was probably the song I listened to on repeat more than any other throughout 2011. As if things couldn’t have gotten better, they actually made a video for the song:
Totally trashy, in a Jon Waters kind of way and simply adorable…and it’s fascinating to me that after listening to this song hundreds of times, it’s only through the video that I even noticed that there were some subtle organ notes in the background of the whole track. I’d focused on the swirling mix of vocals, Shannon Shaw’s endearing squeal at the end of “I Wanna Go,” the neo-60’s beat and great gritty guitar solo so much that I missed that entirely. With new music from Hunx in 2012 and future music from bassist/vocalist Shannon Shaw’s Shannon & the Clams, it’s likely my musical love affair with the members of this group will only grow.
1. Charles Bradley – “I Believe In Your Love” – No Time For Dreaming (Dunham/Daptone)
Charles Bradley – I Believe In Your Love
As much as I love “Lover’s Lane,” no other song thrilled me in 2011 as much as “I Believe In Your Love” from Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band. Here’s what I said earlier:
“In terms of the music, “I Believe In Your Love” also is a standout track instrumentally. Menahan works a Hodges Brothers Hi-Records inspired sound, from the drums and the main guitar, adds washes of organ in the right channel, horns primarily in the left, little bells during the verses, and all the elements come together and just explode with sound during Bradley’s chorus. In the vocal version the interplay is damn powerful, in the instrumental version, the intricacies of the rhythm are a marvel to behold, as is the entire album.”
When people tell me that “retro-soul” is just a copy of older better music, I use this as exhibit A. You never would have gotten this same kind of sound in the 1960s and early 1970s. It’s a thoroughly post-modern pastiche of the best elements of that classic soul sound, updated into something that only could come about in the 21st century. A post-modern retro-soul masterpiece and my favorite song of 2011.