Albums Of The Year 2011

As far as I'm concerned, this year has been a fantastic one for music, and particularly for the kind of music that I love. There have been tremendous sadnesses - the breakups of Thursday and Thrice were perhaps inevitable but nevertheless really crushing for people who got into underground music when I did - but looking across my selections for Albums Of The Year there are a lot of reasons for joy too. To mention but a few: the rebirth of genuinely inventive and progressive hardcore (pioneered by bands like Touche Amore and La Dispute), a resurgence of quality pop-punk (courtesy of The Wonder Years, The Swellers and The Dangerous Summer), some new bands taking steps up with their most recent albums (Polar Bear Club and Twin Atlantic), some veteran acts raising their games in response (Thursday, Thrice and Face To Face) and a wave of hugely inventive and really exciting hip-hop (with Astronautalis and the phenomenal Doomtree collective leading the way). It has also been a year of diverse musical releases, with experimental instrumental music taking its place alongside gauzy pop and relatively unstructured rock.

There has been something else to 2011, though - while I have found the music itself exciting and moving, I have also been genuinely inspired by the way in which bands have gone about defining their identities, releasing their music, and expressing what they stand for. This isn't about capital-p Politics: I don't think any of the albums of my lists, with the possible exception of the Against Me!!! EP, have directly addressed the tumultuous political events of the last year. Instead it's about ethos and approach: so many of the bands on these lists have chosen to advocate for or simply to embody integrity. You could see this in the group of hardcore bands who defined themselves as "The Great Wave" and built a following thanks to their thoughtful, personal lyrics and commitment to rebuilding a vibrant and community-minded scene. You could see it in the way that more bands chose to self-release their material, to really engage with their fans, and to use their platforms to address causes bigger than the traditional drink and drugs rock lifestyle.

And, for me, the best example of what I'm talking about can be found in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 'Doomtree' rap collective, first and foremost, make great music. Three of my top five rap albums of the year relate to that collective (the Doomtree, Dessa and Sims records) and the no. 1 rap album by my reckoning (the astonishing "This Is Our Science" by Astronautalis) features a number of collaborations with and production work by Doomtree members. They are all great records that would stand out even if you didn't know anything about the people involved or their approach to creation and business. But, for me, there is more to admire there. Doomtree have worked hard to build a fanbase and a business the independent way; they stress fellowship and collectivism both within their group and beyond it in the musical scenes that they inhabit; and they recognise they combine the strengths of a number of people to create art that is greater than the sum of its parts. And their mantra embodies all of this. They chose to call their album "No Kings", to make it clear that they believe that there's no real separation between artist and fan, that the modern world needs fewer hierarchies rather than more of them, and that we need to begin thinking of new ways to lower the barriers between people.

In that spirit, while I have ranked the albums of the year as I always have, it should be noted they are all great works of art, and many of them are created by people who are genuinely seeking to do things the right way. No Kings.

Top 20 Rock Records:

1. No Devolucion by Thursday (Epitaph)

2. Clash, Battle, Guilt, Pride by Polar Bear Club (Bridge 9)

3. !Hey, Hey Pioneers! by Farewell Continental (Paper and Plastick)

4. Elsie by The Horrible Crowes (SideOneDummy)

5. Major/Minor by Thrice (Vagrant)

6. Suburbia, I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing by The Wonder Years (Hopeless)

7. Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me by Touche Amore (Deathwish Inc.)

8. Avalanche United by I Am The Avalanche (I Surrender)

9. War Paint by The Dangerous Summer (Hopeless)

10. People and Things by Jack's Mannequin (Sire)

11. Laugh Now, Laugh Later by Face To Face (Antagonist)

12. Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions In The Sky (Temporary Residence Inc.)

13. Holy Fuck by Living With Lions (Adeline)

14. Free by Twin Atlantic (Red Bull)

15. Ironiclast by The Damned Things (Mercury)

16. Pedals by Rival Schools (Photo Finish)

17. Hurricane Season by Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room (Asian Man)

18. Good For Me by The Swellers (Fuelled By Ramen)

19. Taking Back Sunday by Taking Back Sunday (Warner Bros)

20. Fake History by Letlive. (Epitaph)

Top 3 EPs:

1. Russian Spies / Occult Enemies by Against Me!!! (Sabot Productions)

2. Crosses EP by Crosses (self-released)

3. The Fire, The Steel, The Tread by Hot Water Music (Rise Records)

Top 5 Rap Records:

1. This Is Our Science by Astronautalis (Fake Four)

2. No Kings by Doomtree (Doomtree)

3. Take Care by Drake (Cash Money)

4. Castor, The Twin by Dessa (Doomtree)

5. Bad Time Zoo by Sims (Doomtree)

Top Live Shows:

- Groezrock 2011 at Meerhout, Belgium (inc. Circa Survive, Twin Atlantic, Millencolin, Every Time I Die, Thursday and NOFX)

- Jimmy Eat World (Clarity and Bleed American show) at the Kentish Town Forum

- La Dispute and Touche Amore at the Camden Underworld

- Face To Face and The Flatliners at the Kingston Peel

- Against Me!!! at the Kingston Peel