It's that time of the year again, kids! Astoundingly enough, I actually finished my End of the Year lists before the end of the year. I am not going to include the Best Of other media like movies (can't even think of a movie that blew me away this year), books (who has time to read?) or video games (ok, Dead Island, if they had hammered out a few more glitches prior to release, is fantastic). This is solely about music. Admittedly, I can end up on the verbose side of my writing. Which is why I'm splitting this year's Best of lists into two separate posts. First, you will read about the Top Ten EP's of 2011. This will include singles, EP's and 7 inches. This was a good year for music in general, but the EP's are really where the musical reunions took shape. Both Hot Water Music and Braid reunited and released a two song seven inch and an EP, respectively, this year.
Some EP's were teasers of albums that have yet to come out (eyes and ears forward to 2012!), some were small tastes of albums that did get released later in the year, and some were just short slices of certain bands doing what they do best. Here's the music that deserves a speed date with your eardrums.
Some EP's were teasers of albums that have yet to come out (eyes and ears forward to 2012!), some were small tastes of albums that did get released later in the year, and some were just short slices of certain bands doing what they do best. Here's the music that deserves a speed date with your eardrums.
Best EP's and Singles
10. Against Me! - Russian Spies/Occult Enemies 7"
After 2007's New Wave, I wasn't quite sure where Against Me! was going to go. New Wave was such a drastic departure from both the early anarcho-punk on their debut album Reinventing Axl Rose and also the straight ahead punk rock of the albums that followed. New Wave was glossy and heavily polished. Their brashness had been replaced by huge choruses and slick production. At the end of the album cycle for New Wave, original drummer Warren Oakes amicably parted with the bands to focus on running his Mexican eatery, Boca Fiesta.
For 2010's White Crosses, Against Me! enlisted the help of Hot Water Music drummer George Rebelo. The album was a huge step back towards the band's roots. They had retained some of their maturity and just enough of the shine but infused the music with a new found sense of urgency. The end of 2010 saw the band taking a break and George Rebelo returning to Hot Water Music to focus on their reunion.
The band didn't wait long before recruiting drummer Jay Weinberg and turning their focus towards making new music. At the beginning of the year, the band played a live session for Nervous Energies that showed a lot of promise. Jay Weinberg seemed as fast and frenetic as you could ever expect a drummer to be and the songs sounded good.
To make a short story horribly long, by midyear we had been given the Russian Spies/Occult Enemies 7". Gabel's lyrics are top notch and his vocals sound better than ever. "Russian Spies" is definitely the stronger song of the two but both feature a great blend of grittiness and production. The band should be in the studio right around this time and I'm eager to hear what their sixth full length is going to sound like.
Recommended Tracks: "Russian Spies" and "Occult Enemies"
For 2010's White Crosses, Against Me! enlisted the help of Hot Water Music drummer George Rebelo. The album was a huge step back towards the band's roots. They had retained some of their maturity and just enough of the shine but infused the music with a new found sense of urgency. The end of 2010 saw the band taking a break and George Rebelo returning to Hot Water Music to focus on their reunion.
The band didn't wait long before recruiting drummer Jay Weinberg and turning their focus towards making new music. At the beginning of the year, the band played a live session for Nervous Energies that showed a lot of promise. Jay Weinberg seemed as fast and frenetic as you could ever expect a drummer to be and the songs sounded good.
To make a short story horribly long, by midyear we had been given the Russian Spies/Occult Enemies 7". Gabel's lyrics are top notch and his vocals sound better than ever. "Russian Spies" is definitely the stronger song of the two but both feature a great blend of grittiness and production. The band should be in the studio right around this time and I'm eager to hear what their sixth full length is going to sound like.
Recommended Tracks: "Russian Spies" and "Occult Enemies"
09. Tim Kasher - More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions
Tim Kasher, being ever the fruitful bastard that he is, apparently recorded more than an album's worth of material around the time that he was writing for his debut solo full length, The Game of Monogamy. For the duration of recording, he sequestered himself in a cabin in Whitefish, Montana in the middle of the winter. The resulting album was a gut wrenching take on love and commitment. Musically, his solo effort ended up straddling the line between his two side projects, Cursive and The Good Life. He combined the intimacy and emotion of The Good Life with the raw, cathartic energy of Cursive.
The album was littered with string arrangements and layers of instrumentation, each decorating a new piece in the broken puzzle that is Kasher’s love life. While the album had its upbeat and enjoyable moments (“Cold Love”, “Bad, Bad Dreams”), it was also one of the more depressing albums I’ve ever listened to. Songs like “Strays” and “No Fireworks” are his personal testament to remaining alone forever. They are brutal songs to listen to and I still can’t bring myself to listen to them repeatedly.
Even with its somber tone, “The Game of Monogamy” is a worthy effort and a solid album overall. Now with that background in mind, we have to consider this EP. Despite its name (“More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions”), only one of the seven tracks was actually recorded during the Monogamy Sessions. The remaining six tracks were “loosely linked to and written during the same period as” the Monogamy Sessions – essentially, they were all recorded in various locations throughout the country during the following Spring. And one listen makes it REALLY obvious what the one song recorded during the actual Monogamy Sessions is. The rest lack the cohesion of the actual album and feel sub-par and borderline uninteresting. But that ONE song that was recorded during the sessions, “A Bluer Sea”, is an excellent addition to Kasher’s massive discography. It lives up to the album it was excised from and it would have felt right at home had it made the final cut. I should note that the cover of Azure Ray’s “Trees Keep Growing” is also a pretty good listen, though without Kasher’s hand in the lyrics, the content doesn’t match up to the rest of the material.
Recommended Tracks: "A Bluer Sea" and "Trees Keep Growing"
Recommended Tracks: "A Bluer Sea" and "Trees Keep Growing"
08. Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Go Down Under
This year was the year of Me First taking on continents instead of genres or eras. First they conquered Australia with the Go Down Under EP and then later in the year, they moved on to Japan with the Sing In Japanese EP, not to be confused with 2001's Turn Japanese. Sing In Japanese found the band tackling Japanese songs and actually singing them in Japanese, which is actually quite impressive. I read a review from someone who is a native Japanese speaker and he complimented the band's pronunciation. Unfortunately, a collection of punk covers of Japanese songs is difficult to get into because you can't understand any of the words and the melodies aren't that outstanding.
Go Down Under proved to be as entertaining of an EP as the band can possibly make. Leading off with an INXS cover was already enough to bring a smile to your face. But the second track is what seals the deal. As it begins, a monstrous bass line tears through your speakers. It took me a split second before realizing that it was the intro to Black Flag's "Rise Above". Finally, 15 seconds into the song, the band's humor makes its strongest showing of the album as you realize the song that they are covering is "All Out Of Love" by Air Supply. The segue from "Rise Above" to lead singer Spike Slawson's crooning of Air Supply is not as completely awkward as you would imagine, which speaks volumes about the band and their ability to reinterpret these original songs.
The rest of the song choices work except for the inclusion of "Friday On My Mind" by The Easybeats, a relatively unknown band. Since I'd never heard of them and still haven't heard the original, the cover version doesn't have any context. It probably would have been a better choice to go obvious and pick a song like "Down Under" by Men At Work, even if it has been covered by a ton of artists including Pennywise. The EP finishes strongly with a cover of Rick Springfield's "I've Done Everything For You". The cover adds a bit more zest and aggression to the song, making it a little less poppy and a little more bitter.
Down Under is another quality release from the kings of covers. Could you imagine if this band ever actually wrote an original song?
Recommended Tracks: "All Out Of Love" and "I've Done Everything For You"
Go Down Under proved to be as entertaining of an EP as the band can possibly make. Leading off with an INXS cover was already enough to bring a smile to your face. But the second track is what seals the deal. As it begins, a monstrous bass line tears through your speakers. It took me a split second before realizing that it was the intro to Black Flag's "Rise Above". Finally, 15 seconds into the song, the band's humor makes its strongest showing of the album as you realize the song that they are covering is "All Out Of Love" by Air Supply. The segue from "Rise Above" to lead singer Spike Slawson's crooning of Air Supply is not as completely awkward as you would imagine, which speaks volumes about the band and their ability to reinterpret these original songs.
The rest of the song choices work except for the inclusion of "Friday On My Mind" by The Easybeats, a relatively unknown band. Since I'd never heard of them and still haven't heard the original, the cover version doesn't have any context. It probably would have been a better choice to go obvious and pick a song like "Down Under" by Men At Work, even if it has been covered by a ton of artists including Pennywise. The EP finishes strongly with a cover of Rick Springfield's "I've Done Everything For You". The cover adds a bit more zest and aggression to the song, making it a little less poppy and a little more bitter.
Down Under is another quality release from the kings of covers. Could you imagine if this band ever actually wrote an original song?
Recommended Tracks: "All Out Of Love" and "I've Done Everything For You"
07. Kevin Devine/River City Extension Split 7"
Earlier this year, Kevin Devine toured down to South By Southwest and was supported on tour by the band River City Extension. On that tour, they had this exclusive split 7", featuring two songs from each artist. I had never heard RCE before but I found them to be a very folk oriented band, almost bordering on country music. They lack the punk ferocity of fellow folk artists like Frank Turner or Chuck Ragan and the nasal delivery has much more in common with typical country music. It makes for an interesting listen but not one that will call you back for repeated listenings.
Kevin Devine's side of the 7" is where, expectedly, the magic happens. He begins with a stripped down version of the title track off of Between The Concrete & Clouds. As you'll read in my review of that album, the song is much more powerful as an acoustic confessional than a full band affair. The content of the lyrics, with its painfully wise questions about God and the nature of faith, lends itself to an intimate arrangement. I know it would have been strange to include the acoustic version on the actual album but this is the version that I choose every single time.
Devine finishes the 7" strongly with a cover of Tom Petty's "Walls". It's a mostly unadorned, acoustic cover with beautifully produced vocals that layer over each other to create a pleasing effect. Despite the fact that it is, at its heart, just Devine and his guitar, it doesn't lose any of Petty's Americana vibe.
Recommended Tracks: River City Extension - "Ballad of Oregon" and Kevin Devine - "Between The Concrete & Clouds (Acoustic)"
Kevin Devine's side of the 7" is where, expectedly, the magic happens. He begins with a stripped down version of the title track off of Between The Concrete & Clouds. As you'll read in my review of that album, the song is much more powerful as an acoustic confessional than a full band affair. The content of the lyrics, with its painfully wise questions about God and the nature of faith, lends itself to an intimate arrangement. I know it would have been strange to include the acoustic version on the actual album but this is the version that I choose every single time.
Devine finishes the 7" strongly with a cover of Tom Petty's "Walls". It's a mostly unadorned, acoustic cover with beautifully produced vocals that layer over each other to create a pleasing effect. Despite the fact that it is, at its heart, just Devine and his guitar, it doesn't lose any of Petty's Americana vibe.
Recommended Tracks: River City Extension - "Ballad of Oregon" and Kevin Devine - "Between The Concrete & Clouds (Acoustic)"
06. Owen - O, Evelyn...
Owen (aka Mike Kinsella) provided us with this teaser of a 7” in early Spring. I truly enjoyed his last full length, 2009’s New Leaves, though this release makes it even clearer that many things have changed for the prolific man from Chicago. He’s grown up, gotten married, and had a cute little daughter. It’s her bright eyed face that graces the cover of this single and it is her that Mike is singing to as he practices his well-refined craft of acoustic indie music on the track “O, Evelyn…”
His songs are as esoteric as ever though the words still find a way to resonate. It’s not hard to tell that his intended audience has changed over the years. The single is backed with a cover of The Smiths’ “Girlfriend In A Coma” – a song that has also been covered by everyone from Panic! At The Disco to Million Dead (the magnificent Frank Turner’s former post-hardcore band). It also lends its name to an amazing book by author Douglas Coupland. But I digress – Kinsella puts his trademark spin on the song and makes it his own.
Recommended Tracks: “O, Evelyn…” and “Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths)”
His songs are as esoteric as ever though the words still find a way to resonate. It’s not hard to tell that his intended audience has changed over the years. The single is backed with a cover of The Smiths’ “Girlfriend In A Coma” – a song that has also been covered by everyone from Panic! At The Disco to Million Dead (the magnificent Frank Turner’s former post-hardcore band). It also lends its name to an amazing book by author Douglas Coupland. But I digress – Kinsella puts his trademark spin on the song and makes it his own.
Recommended Tracks: “O, Evelyn…” and “Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths)”
05. The Paper Melody - The Nightmare Academy
I’ve been following this band since they were first featured in Alternative Press as a band to watch. They bring together theatrical music elements and a blend of post-hardcore and melody. I had the pleasure of booking a “show” for them last year when they came through town in support of their first EP, Conducting The Motion. This year saw the release of their sophomore EP, The Nightmare Academy. While there aren’t any songs on the EP that grab me near as much as “Incandescent” did off of their first EP, it’s still an admirable effort.
They fill a sonic void in me that Boys Night Out left gaping when they disappeared/disbanded years ago. The music sounds very similar, just with a bit more instrumentation and electronic noise. At times, the noise is too much. The beginning of the first track on the EP sounds a bit more like a brain scrambling frequency rather than anything involving actual music. This theme recurs throughout the album as the electronic noise that begins each song takes on varying roles including “digital insect scraping across your eardrum” and “wow, that’s an obnoxious ringtone.” Once you get past the intros, you’ll be treated to a short, but sweet, taste of a band trying to sound unique in a scene of imitators.
Recommended Tracks: "Adam and Eve" and "The Nightmare Academy"
Recommended Tracks: "Adam and Eve" and "The Nightmare Academy"
04. Look Mexico - Real Americans Spear It
I love this band. Not only are they incredibly nice people who put on a hell of a show, but they keep getting better and better. After stepping their music up a notch with 2008’s Gasp Asp EP, the band has continued to evolve. Last year’s To Bed To Battle firmly cemented the band’s sound, which now transcends all of the early American Football and Minus The Bear comparisons. In anticipation of recording new material, the band was able to enlist the help of veteran producer J. Robbins, who has produced countless amazing albums, including every Jets To Brazil album, Braid’s band-defining album Frame & Canvas, as well as material by Jawbreaker, Against Me! and The Promise Ring.
The result is somehow exactly what you’d expect from Look Mexico and nothing at all what you’d expect. The melodies and harmonies still wash over you. The vocals and instrumentation are as impressive as ever. The tone is even the same but it’s the tempo that has changed. Rather than the slow moving, intertwining riffs of some of their older material, these songs really move along. From the moment they begin, they don’t stop chugging along, drilling another incredibly catchy tune into your skull.
The band has injected a nice blend of harmonious backing vocals and hey hey's into songs like "That's Funny, Cause It Goes Both Ways." They even threw in a short instrumental interlude in the form of the song "Where Were You, Vince?". The full length that is sure to follow will be wonderful.
Recommended Tracks: "You Hungry? Good. Cause You're Sayin' Grace." and "That's Funny, Cause It Goes Both Ways"
The result is somehow exactly what you’d expect from Look Mexico and nothing at all what you’d expect. The melodies and harmonies still wash over you. The vocals and instrumentation are as impressive as ever. The tone is even the same but it’s the tempo that has changed. Rather than the slow moving, intertwining riffs of some of their older material, these songs really move along. From the moment they begin, they don’t stop chugging along, drilling another incredibly catchy tune into your skull.
The band has injected a nice blend of harmonious backing vocals and hey hey's into songs like "That's Funny, Cause It Goes Both Ways." They even threw in a short instrumental interlude in the form of the song "Where Were You, Vince?". The full length that is sure to follow will be wonderful.
Recommended Tracks: "You Hungry? Good. Cause You're Sayin' Grace." and "That's Funny, Cause It Goes Both Ways"
03. Kevin Devine - Luxembourg 7" / Part Of The Whole 7"
When Kevin Devine first announced his plans for the release of his latest album, Between The Concrete & Clouds, we were treated to plenty of live sessions where he played new material. Two of the songs that were to see release prior to the full album were these two – each of which was to be released on its own 7” with a screen-printed b-side. The actual vinyl ended up being delayed by several months due to manufacturing issues, but pre-orders were given digital copies of the songs to tidy us over until the album came out.
Sadly, these two tracks didn’t end up making the actual album, which is a damn dirty shame because I like both of these songs more than several tracks on the album (notably “A Story, A Sneak”, but more on that in my Top Ten Albums of 2011 post). “Part Of The Whole” is an upbeat, infectious indie pop number that wouldn’t sound out of place in The Get Up Kids’ older discography. It builds into a charming closing refrain.
Sadly, these two tracks didn’t end up making the actual album, which is a damn dirty shame because I like both of these songs more than several tracks on the album (notably “A Story, A Sneak”, but more on that in my Top Ten Albums of 2011 post). “Part Of The Whole” is an upbeat, infectious indie pop number that wouldn’t sound out of place in The Get Up Kids’ older discography. It builds into a charming closing refrain.
The second track, “Luxembourg”, is a far more depressing song. In timbre and tone, it rings in your bones as Kevin seems to pick words and phrases specifically designed to tear your heartstrings to threads. His voice is so earnest that it can only be described as painfully sincere. When he sings lines like “I felt your belly blessed with a blooming baby boy / I dreamt he'd be mine once - like I really had the choice / Kids do stupid things, and I was, and I did / A long life ago, some other person lived”, it is absolutely gut-wrenching. Even if you can’t relate to the details of the lyrics, the feeling that is being conveyed is guaranteed to hit you like a ton of bricks.
Recommended Tracks: “Part Of The Whole” and “Luxembourg” (duh)
Recommended Tracks: “Part Of The Whole” and “Luxembourg” (duh)
02. Hot Water Music - The Fire, The Steel, The Tread / Up To Nothing
Hot Water Music, purveyors of fine punk rock hailing from Gainesville, FL, had not recorded music together in seven years. After the band originally parted ways, three of the four members continued to make music together. They decided not to continue under the HWM moniker and so they formed The Draft – a band that was as musically sound as HWM, just with a slightly different vibe. It was a little less brusque, due in large part to the absence of Chuck Ragan’s distinct, gravelly voice.
Chuck Ragan, of course, went on to a very rewarding career as a folk singer. He pioneered and brought to life the inspiring (and nearly impossible to re-create) Revival Tour, a collective gathering of like-minded DIY artists who perform with each other on every song of the evening. There are no set times, no beginnings and ends. It’s one giant collaboration of all of your favorite folk punk rockers. It was at the Revival Tour that I first experienced the joy of seeing Frank Turner. It was Chuck Ragan’s voice that commanded the most attention and he was most definitely the adhesive bonding the whole event together.
In late 2007, Hot Water Music first began to talk about reuniting for a tour. After playing a handful of random dates (including Bamboozle Left and Punk Rock Bowling) in the years that followed, it became a real possibility that we would get new tunes. This 7” is the first sampling of the new material, with a full length to follow on Rise Records.
Although I would probably get my ass kicked by longtime HWM music fans for saying it, these two new songs are among the best the band has ever put out. There is no denying that their earlier material has a certain brashness to it that is endearing but on songs where Ragan is just wailing and screaming, it tends to devolve into a loud mess of music. The new songs reflect the side projects of each member – they are more polished, much like the material The Draft released, and they are definitely folk-tinged, reflecting Ragan’s last couple of years on the road. For fans expecting something in the vein of Fuel For The Hate Game or No Division, this record has got to be a disappointment. But for fans that have followed the band, even as they went their separate ways, these songs will come as a pleasant surprise. For those of you who have not yet listened to Hot Water Music, I can think of no better introduction than this 7”.
Recommended Tracks: “The Fire, The Steel, The Tread” and “Up To Nothing” (again, duh!)
Chuck Ragan, of course, went on to a very rewarding career as a folk singer. He pioneered and brought to life the inspiring (and nearly impossible to re-create) Revival Tour, a collective gathering of like-minded DIY artists who perform with each other on every song of the evening. There are no set times, no beginnings and ends. It’s one giant collaboration of all of your favorite folk punk rockers. It was at the Revival Tour that I first experienced the joy of seeing Frank Turner. It was Chuck Ragan’s voice that commanded the most attention and he was most definitely the adhesive bonding the whole event together.
In late 2007, Hot Water Music first began to talk about reuniting for a tour. After playing a handful of random dates (including Bamboozle Left and Punk Rock Bowling) in the years that followed, it became a real possibility that we would get new tunes. This 7” is the first sampling of the new material, with a full length to follow on Rise Records.
Although I would probably get my ass kicked by longtime HWM music fans for saying it, these two new songs are among the best the band has ever put out. There is no denying that their earlier material has a certain brashness to it that is endearing but on songs where Ragan is just wailing and screaming, it tends to devolve into a loud mess of music. The new songs reflect the side projects of each member – they are more polished, much like the material The Draft released, and they are definitely folk-tinged, reflecting Ragan’s last couple of years on the road. For fans expecting something in the vein of Fuel For The Hate Game or No Division, this record has got to be a disappointment. But for fans that have followed the band, even as they went their separate ways, these songs will come as a pleasant surprise. For those of you who have not yet listened to Hot Water Music, I can think of no better introduction than this 7”.
Recommended Tracks: “The Fire, The Steel, The Tread” and “Up To Nothing” (again, duh!)
01. Braid - Closer To Closed
Hot Water Music wasn’t the only band to reunite this year and Look Mexico wasn’t the only band to recruit top-notch producer J. Robbins – Braid managed to do both. After spending over ten years apart, Braid has finally burst back onto the scene. They didn’t really go all that far – frontman Bob Nanna has been prolific with the bands Hey Mercedes and The City On Film, as well as being the spokes-singer for Threadless T-Shirts. Much like Hot Water Music, most of the band decided to follow Nanna when he formed Hey Mercedes, though without secondary vocalist and guitarist, Chris Broach, the music was not the same. It lacked the same jagged harmonies, the jerky rhythms and insanely awesome cadence. In his time apart from the band, Chris Broach formed Lucid Records and created The Firebird Band with his brother, Riley.
I don’t know what caused the guys to put their collective genius together once again but I am really glad that they did. Teaming up with master producer J. Robbins (who also produced their seminal album, Frame & Canvas) was an excellent choice – his brilliance as a producer runs throughout my entire music collection and his impact is not to be ignored. From the Chris Broach sung opener to the moment that Bob Nanna’s vocals hit your ears to the twinkling keys in the background, these songs sound like they were sonically plucked from the same musical zeitgeist that birthed 1998’s Frame & Canvas. It’s as if the band didn’t miss a beat at all. As Bob Nanna said, “We knew we wanted to record with J from the very beginning. Being in the studio with him felt like we were just picking up where Frame and Canvas ended."
And sure enough, they picked up right where that album ended and have produced a worthy successor. Four songs filled with all the aural cues that take you right back to the very first time you heard “A Dozen Roses”. The production is perfect as layers of sound interact and bounce off of each other, forming a warm blanket of comforting tones. Please, sir, may I have some more?
Recommended Tracks: “The Right Time” and “Do Over”
I don’t know what caused the guys to put their collective genius together once again but I am really glad that they did. Teaming up with master producer J. Robbins (who also produced their seminal album, Frame & Canvas) was an excellent choice – his brilliance as a producer runs throughout my entire music collection and his impact is not to be ignored. From the Chris Broach sung opener to the moment that Bob Nanna’s vocals hit your ears to the twinkling keys in the background, these songs sound like they were sonically plucked from the same musical zeitgeist that birthed 1998’s Frame & Canvas. It’s as if the band didn’t miss a beat at all. As Bob Nanna said, “We knew we wanted to record with J from the very beginning. Being in the studio with him felt like we were just picking up where Frame and Canvas ended."
And sure enough, they picked up right where that album ended and have produced a worthy successor. Four songs filled with all the aural cues that take you right back to the very first time you heard “A Dozen Roses”. The production is perfect as layers of sound interact and bounce off of each other, forming a warm blanket of comforting tones. Please, sir, may I have some more?
Recommended Tracks: “The Right Time” and “Do Over”
That'll do it for the Top Ten Singles and EP's of 2011. Coming Soon: the Top Ten Albums of 2011. Who made the list? Did Taking Back Sunday steal the prize? Or was their a surprise contender? Was The Dear Hunter's epic Color Spectrum worthy of a spot? Will it be another controversial decision? Stay tuned.
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