Heaven ’11

The Mirror’s music critics pick the best and worst albums, songs and shows of the year

Lorraine Carpenter

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• THE DRUMS Portamento (Frenchkiss)
• THE DEARS Degeneration Street (Pheromone)
• RICH AUCOIN We’re All Dying to Live (Sonic)
• YOUNG GALAXY Shapeshifting (Paper Bag)
• AUSTRA Feel It Break (Paper Bag)
• KATHRYN CALDER Bright and Vivid (File Under: Music)
• PJ HARVEY Let England Shake (Island)
• BEIRUT The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
• MIRACLE FORTRESS Was I the Wave? (Secret City)
• THE BARR BROTHERS self-titled (Secret City)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• PATRICK STUMP Soul Punk (Island Def Jam)
• TEDDYBEARS Devil’s Music (Atlantic)
• LADY GAGA Born This Way (Interscope)

Best Song: The Kills, “Future Starts Slow”
Worst Song: Limp Bizkit, “Shotgun”

Best Show: Janelle Monáe, Osheaga, July 29
Worst Show: My downstairs neighbours’ “jazz” band, weekly

I often keep my distance from Osheaga’s main stage, but on the first day of this year’s edition, I got as close to the barrier as possible to see Janelle Monáe. Her electrified glam-soul sound was a revelation last year, and live, she and her band created a spectacle that joined the energy and intensity of a classic soul show with the arty concepts of her associates Of Montreal, circa Skeletal Lamping. As for the band of inept Quebs who have frequent jams and illegal concerts mere metres away from where I sleep, they’re bound for the bottom of our Mini Reviews.

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Johnson Cummins

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
• LOW C’mon (Sub Pop)
• GRAILS Deep Politics (Temporary Residence)
• EARTH Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light (Southern Lord)
• LITURGY Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey)
• TRUE WIDOW As High as the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth (Kemado)
• PICASTRO/NADJA Fool, Redeemer (Broken Spine)
• TALK TALK Laughing Stock reissue (Ba Da Bing)
• LOCRIAN The Clearing (Fan Death)
• PINK FLOYD Discovery box set (EMI)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• LOU REED AND METALLICA Lulu (Warner)
• STEEL PANTHER Balls Out(Universal Republic)
• DRAKE Take Care (Young Money/Cash Money)

Best Song: Low, “Nothing but Heart”
Worst Song: Lou Reed and Metallica, “Little Dog”

Best Show: (tie) Wolves in the Throne Room, Death Church, Sept. 8; Locrian, Casa del Popolo, June 18
Worst Show: n/a

My Top 10 records are hardly listed in chronological order, and to be honest, I almost had a brain hemorrhage just compiling them. This has been an epic year for releases, especially for experimental metal, and it was near impossible squeezing in just 10. But my vote for the worst release of 2011 was far less taxing on the grey matter. What oddly enough could also coincidentally fit into the category of experimental metal, or more aptly, excremental metal, was the retarded pairing of Lou “Mr. Grumpypants” Reed with the utterly rudderless Metallica on their piece of complete dog shit called Lulu. Not surprisingly, this thing stunk worse than hot garbage, with both bands proudly stating that their days of “White Light/White Heat” and “Master of Puppets,” respectively, are a long ways away.

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Gerard Dee

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• JILL SCOTT The Light of the Sun (Warner)
• WARREN DEAN FLANDEZ Vintage Love (Universal)
• MARY J. BLIGE My Life II…The Journey Continues (Geffen)
• R. KELLY Love Letter (Jive)
• TROMBONE SHORTY For True (Verve)
• RAHSAAN PATTERSON Bleuphoria (Mack Avenue)
• ANTHONY DAVID As Above So Below (OneMusic)
• JENNIFER HUDSON I Remember Me (Sony)
• KINDRED THE FAMILY SOUL Love Has No Recession (Shanachie)
• LEDISI Pieces of Me (Universal)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• JENNIFER LOPEZ Love? (Universal)
• JOSS STONE LP1 (Stone’d)
• BOYZ II MEN Twenty (Universal)

Best Song: “Shame,” Jill Scott
Worst Song: “1+1,” Beyoncé

Best Show: Prince, Metropolis, June 24
Worst Show: Lauryn Hill, Metropolis, Jan. 23

After keeping fans, who braved -25 degree January weather, waiting for three hours before hitting the stage, Hill needed to be spectacular. She wasn’t. Instead, fans endured almost an hour of “reworked hits” before Hill hit her stride with “To Zion,” which was too little, too late. Fast-forward five months to a balmy June evening, when the artist currently known as Prince appeared precisely two minutes after showtime and proceeded to tear Metropolis apart for four hours with searing renditions of classics like “Controversy” and “Raspberry Beret.” Sorry Lauryn, but that’s how an icon brings it—thinking differently is sheer miseducation.

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Lawrence Joseph

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• BILL DIXON Envoi (Victo)
• BILLY BANG’S SURVIVAL ENSEMBLE Black Man’s Blues/New York Collage (NoBusiness)
• BRAHJA WALDMAN’S QUARTET self-titled (independent)
• DAVID S. WARE/COOPER-MOORE/WILLIAM PARKER/MUHAMMAD ALI Planetary Unknown (AUM Fidelity)
• DIXIE DEATH POOL The Man with the Flowering Hands (Drip Audio)
• MATANA ROBERTS Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres (Constellation)
• QUATUOR BOZZINI Le Mensonge et l’identité (Collection QB)
• THE SHIFT Songs from Aipotu (Leo)
• THOM GOSSAGE OTHER VOICES In Other Words (Songlines)
• OLAF RUPP/JOE WILLIAMSON/ TONY BUCK Weird Weapons 2 (Creative Sources)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• THE SMOOTH JAZZ ALL STARS Smooth Jazz Tribute to the Beatles (CC Entertainment)
• JILLAINE Jazzy Christmas to You! (independent)
• STEVE AMIRAULT One Existence (independent)

Best Song: The Dorf, “Now”
Worst Song: The Smooth Jazz All-Stars, “Yesterday”

Best Show: Charles Gayle, Casa del Popolo, June 8
Worst Show: n/a

Charles Gayle played a transcendent solo set as part of the Suoni per il Popolo festival. Leading off with three improvisations on sax, he then remained at the piano for the rest of the two sets. Gayle’s deconstructivist approach superimposed lines from different jazz eras with crazed abandon, fingers flailing across the keys like modern dancers. Tunes included the freest Monk-on-speed imaginable, with a barely heard voice humming the melodies to keep place. Gayle ended with a brief “Amazing Grace,” followed by a speech acknowledging that he was as touched by the audience’s response as they were by his performance.

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Erik Leijon

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• MIRACLE FORTRESS Was I the Wave? (Secret City)
• DEATH GRIPS Exmilitary (Third Worlds)
• NEWVILLAGER self-titled (IAMSOUND)
• ART VS. SCIENCE The Experiment (Kobalt)
• JAMES BLAKE self-titled (Polydor/Universal)
• ARAABMUZIK Electronic Dream (Duke Productions)
• DIRTY BEACHES Badlands (Zoo Music)
• WU LYF Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (L Y F)
• MOONFACE Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped (Jagjaguwar)
• RICH AUCOIN We’re All Dying to Live (Sonic)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• JESSIE J Who You Are (Lava)
• WIZ KHALIFA Rolling Papers (Rostrum)
• VIVA BROTHER Famous First Words (Geffen)

Best Song: Girls, “Vomit”
Worst Song: Owl City, “Alligator Sky”

Best Show: Think About Life, Église St-Édouard, Sept. 25
Worst Show: Greenhorns, la Sala Rossa, April 5

Think About Life never quite achieved the recognition they so richly deserved outside of their hometown, but Montreal’s pre-eminent party hosts can chisel into their gravestone that they were as fun as any band to grace a stage in our festive, crumbling burg. Therefore it made perfect sense for the group to ride off into the sunset not lavishly, but on a Sunday night in a church basement among friends and familiar faces (and stage-diving NBA star Matt Bonner). If they never perform again, their final performance of “Sweet Sixteen” will remain one hell of a way to kick the bucket. (EL)

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Darcy MacDonald

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• DEATH GRIPS Exmilitary (Third Worlds)
• BIG K.R.I.T. Returnof4eva (independent)
• TV ON THE RADIO Nine Types of Light (Interscope)
• J.COLE Cole World: The Sideline Story (Roc Nation)
• BEASTIE BOYS Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)
• YELAWOLF Radioactive (Shady)
• PHONTE Charity Starts at Home (The Foreign Exchange Music)
• JAY Z AND KANYE WEST Watch the Throne (Def Jam)
• ATMOSPHERE The Family Sign (Rhymesayers)
• FULL COURSE The Entrée (independent)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• WIZ KHALIFA Rolling Papers (Rostrum/Atlantic)
• TYLER, THE CREATOR Goblin (XL)
• DRAKE Take Care (Young Money/ Cash Money)

Best Song: Kanye West, “All of the Lights”
Worst Song: Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars, “Lighters”

Best Show: Death Grips, Blackie, Kou Chou Ching, Dapinknoise, Club Lambi, Sept. 23
Worst Show: Buck 65, Club Soda, July 2

In terms of scope and size, this could easily have gone to Eminem at Osheaga, or Yelawolf at Warped Tour for the sheer entertainment value he packed into 25 minutes. But nothing could trump the fun I had thrashing around a disgustingly sweaty, smelly Lambi to reach un petit mort over the Sacramento band’s unholy post-hip hop bass assault. Respect to the dude who fanned drummer Zach Hill with a sheet of busted plywood to help keep the party moving. All three openers—heterogeneous in style, yet meticulously well-selected—slayed, making this Pop Montreal showcase the most unique show I have ever attended. As for Buck, well, everyone has an off night.

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Erin MacLeod

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• THE WEEKND House of Balloons (independent)
• ADELE 21 (Columbia)
• BOMBINO Agadez (Cumbancha)
• ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU Cotonou Club (Strut)
• PJ HARVEY Let England Shake (Island)
• AFRICA HITECH 93 Million Miles (Warp)
• KATY B On a Mission (Rinse)
• VARIOUS Bangs & Works Vol 2: The Best of Chicago Footwork (Planet Mu)
• RAPHAEL SAADIQ Stone Rollin’ (Sony)
• ED ROBINSON Written in Stone (Push Broom Gang)
• JAHDAN BLAKKAMOORE Babylon Nightmare (Lustre Kings)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• LOU REED AND METALLICA Lulu (Warner)
• DRAKE Take Care (Young Money/Cash Money)
• JESSIE J Who You Are (Lava)

Best Song: Northern Cree, “Red Skin Girl” (A Tribe Called Red remix)
Worst Song: Tie: Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls)” and Specialist, “Street Hustle”

Best Show: A Tribe Called Red, le Belmont, Aug. 26
Worst Show: The B52s, Jazz Fest, July 4

I should have learned from the Stevie Wonder debacle that Grand événements are Grand pains. Forgetting that I was never a big fan of “Rock Lobster,” I wandered down to the Quartier des Spectacles and was reminded why the city needs to continue to support small venues and stop obsessing over noise abatement. After all, the defining musical moment of the year, for me, was hearing ATCR’s absolutely enormous remix of “Red Skin Girl” at le Belmont as part of the excellent Poirier-curated Karnival series. At that moment, it was more than clear to me that ATCR aren’t the next big thing—they ARE a big thing.

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Shawn Thompson

TOP 10 ALBUMS

• BILL CALLAHAN Apocalypse (Drag City)
• NICOLAS JAAR Space Is Only Noise (Circus Company)
• WILD BEASTS Smother (Domino)
• PJ HARVEY Let England Shake (Island)
• SANDRO PERRI Impossible Spaces (Constellation)
• SBTRKT SBTRKT (Young Turks)
• THUS:OWLS Harbours (HOOB)
• DESTROYER Kaputt (Merge)
• FLEET FOXES Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
• TIMBER TIMBRE Creep on Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)

BOTTOM 3 ALBUMS

• LOU REED & METALLICA Lulu (Warner)
• PANDA BEAR Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
• CSS La Liberación (Cooperative)

Best Song: Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
Worst Song: Rebecca Black, “Friday”

Best Show: The Pixies, Metropolis, April 14
Worst Show: The Sounds, Osheaga, July 31

Not only can I scratch “see the Pixies live” off my bucket list, but I can even say that despite their old age, the band made everyone in attendance turn 15 for a couple of hours, playing all their hits exactly as I remember them from when I used to shop at Rio. Between catching bodysurfers and moshing, we could still sing all of their lyrics in unison. On the other hand, who the hell invited the Sounds to perform in front of thousands of captive festival-goers? What a long waking nightmare. The Sounds sounds terrible. Clearly, not everything coming out of Sweden is cool. ■

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