Mac Wilson, Host

M83's Anthony Gonzalez conceived his latest, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, as a double album in which each song had a twin on the other disc - there is a sister disc, and a brother disc. Many of my favorite albums of 2011 found themselves paired in uncanny bonds.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart — Belong & Dum Dum Girls — Only In Dreams

A pair of retro enthusiasts: the former aims to emulate early Smashing Pumpkins, while the latter aims to emulate a perfect hybrid between Blondie and the Raveonettes. It makes perfect sense, then, that the Pains hired Pumpkins producer Flood, while the Dums hired Blondie's producer and an actual Raveonette to craft their own record.

tUnE-yArDs — w h o k i l l & Radiohead — The King of Limbs

w h o k i l l was as bold, complex, and jaw-dropping as their band name is annoying to type out, establishing Merril Garbus as one of popular music's most beguiling new talents. The beguiling alt veterans of Radiohead, meanwhile, released an album that wasn't an instant, five-star classic; this subsequently got The King of Limbs pegged as a disappointment, when in reality, it's as beautiful - and subtle - as anything the band has done.

The Go! Team — Rolling Blackouts & M83 — Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Both records trigger memories of bygone sensations; what's more, they're things from my childhood I didn't realize I valued as much as I do. When I listen to both records, I think of things like Radio AAHS, 3-2-1 Contact!, and that specific era of early '90s, non-Disney/pre-Pixar animated films like FernGully and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. It's a feeling that's both bittersweet and joyful, just like both records.

Black Lips — Arabia Mountain & Wilco — The Whole Love

The Whole Love executed a fairly straightforward trick: it got me to care about a band I wasn't sure if I'd ever really care about again. It is a dense thicket of words and music that offers many opportunities for analysis and re-evaluation. As for the Black Lips, they impress me more with each new release. Arabia Mountain packs 16 songs into a zippy 41 minutes, with nary a bum track.

PJ Harvey — Let England Shake & Bon Iver — Bon Iver

I've spent months debating the merits of these two albums against each other. In a way, they're a fitting contrast: a legend taking a brutal, unforgiving look at the effects of warfare, versus a brash newcomer staging his own battle between irony and sincerity. Ultimately, I think it came down to this: we always knew PJ Harvey was a brilliant musician. Let England Shake is another stunning classic in her storied career. What we didn't know is what Justin Vernon could have in store on the heels of his word-of-mouth sensation For Emma, Forever Ago. After Bon Iver, we've now begun to recognize the sheer magnitude of his talents. Two (soon-to-be) seminal albums, each brilliant in their own fashion, each with their own slant on humanity, each the work of a master. You could almost think of them as a sister and a brother.



More Top Picks

Services
Become a Sponsor