Cut Copy - Zonoscope (2011)

Zonoscope, Cut Copy's third studio album, is in many retrospects the ideal follow-up to the pop masterpiece that was In Ghost Colours. While retaining their sound, Cut Copy have kept it fresh by using more varied song structures and changing the album flow. Where In Ghost Colours flowed smoothly with short-medium length summer jams, Zonoscope introduces more lengthy tunes with crescendos and big climaxes. The vibe, however, remains the same.

'Need You Now' was a surprising opener to me, mainly due to lead singer Dan Whitford's deeper vocals. This varied pitch combined with heavier synths on songs such as 'Need You Now' and 'Blink and You'll Miss A Revolution' introduces a darker sound to the music, showcasing the band's post-punk influences more distinctively. 'Take Me Over' and 'Pharoahs & Pyramids', the two most IGC-like tracks on the album, maintain the classic Cut Copy feel to add nice variation and contrast. And the song that got people's expectations spinning, the 15-minute album closer 'Sun God', doesn't disappoint. It starts off with a thumping bass and a talking heads-like vibe, before going somewhere else altogether ("epic space disco" seems to be a popular term).

While Zonoscope is missing that little bit of atmospheric magic that In Ghost Colours had, it has its own feeling of vastness that makes it a worthwhile listen. It's definitely more of an homage to post-punk and the darker side of new wave as opposed to the happy pop feel of IGC. Something I feel I should add, it seems to be a grower. I enjoyed it much more on the second listen than on the first.

Buy it

Wiki

Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine (2011)

If you remember my Top 50 Albums list from 2010, you'll see Causers of This by Chaz Bundick/Toro y Moi on there at a cool 11th. It's no secret that this guy's probably my favorite chillwave musician.

This album can't really be narrowed down to that alone, though - "Go With You" sounds like bossanova gone summer-pop, "New Beat" is a great dance song, and "Before I'm Done" is a nice guitar-driven song, which is what a lot of Bundick's music sounded like on the June 2009 compilation (specifically, "109", "Dead Pontoon", etc.). Even if you don't like chillwave, you'll find something to like here.

Try it
Buy it
MySpace

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 (2011)

You might as well call 2011 off, the best album of the year has already arrived. First pass -- possibly the next Harmony In Ultraviolet, and certainly better than his previous effort. Astounding.

Mediafire ( V0 )

Buy It

Dumbo Gets Mad - Elephants At The Door (2011)

Dumbo Gets Mad is an Italian psych duo (That I just learned about last week) and this is their debut LP. The album sounds very fresh and trippy, and every track on the LP sort of stands out in it's own way, especially Plumy Tale. The band cites Flying Lotus and Gonjasufi as influences for this album, and it's really not hard to see why as the album is also experimental as both of their LP's from last year. The album is very warm sounding, and it's bound to give you a smile on your face if you take the time to listen to it. Also, while you can't get a physical copy of the album anytime soon, the band was gracious enough to give it out digitally for the cost of a simple tweet or Facebook status.

Download (Also stream a few tracks from it)

Last.fm

Cloud Nothings - s/t (2011)

I signed up to post this, so I might as well do so. Can't say I'm in love with this like I was with Turning On. This isn't bad, but it's a bit of a disappointment compared to that. Still, there's a lot to be had here, including Should Have, Rock, and Been Through. Fans of Big Troubles, Smith Westerns, and (because of the high improvement in recording quality and song structure similarity) Wavves' new album will like this.

Stream it here until I become unlazy enough to upload it
Buy it
MySpace

Heart On My Sleeve - Blood Is Not Thicker Than Wine (2011)

Screamo band from Sweden. Vocals are fantastic here. Somewhat reminiscent of Heaven in Her Arms or a number of more black metal bands in this respect. Great atmosphere, to boot.

http://heartonmysleeve.bandcamp.com/album/blood-is-not-thicker-than-wine

Lost Sounds - Lost Sounds (2004)

Led by Jay Jay (aka Jay Reatard of the Reatards) and Alicja Trout (Clears, River City Tanlines), Memphis' Lost Sounds are a glorious mess of punk rock artsiness gone awry in all the right places. Their 2004 In the Red effort, simply titled Lost Sounds, is a punk rock dance party guaranteed to merrily demolish every piece of furniture in the room. But this paranoid rampage is a far cry from the faux-sexy bass'n'drum din pumped out by the likes of Death from Above 1979. "Those things they put inside me/ You know they make me nervous," wails Jay through a cacophonous din of twitchy surf guitars and stuttering keyboards. Elsewhere the band declares that the end of the world is, "worth a laugh." And you get the feeling they mean it.

Download

Buy