Now that we’ve turned our back on 2010 (besides a Philly best of list coming later this week), it’s time to turn our heads to the Big One One. [Also: see our Best of 2010]
There’s a lot of albums to be excited about in 2011, including some we’ve inevitably forgot, and some not announced yet.
| Rank | Artist | Album | Release Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Radiohead | TBA | How sure is a Radiohead album in 2011? Not very. How long will the mere possibility of a Radiohead album be the most anticipated release of any given year? Very long. | |
| 02 | Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues | 5/3/2011 | Hard to believe that their self-titled came out in 2008. Every second has held up. |
| 03 | Panda Bear | Tomboy | I’m not entirely sure of the new more dubby direction, but where Noah goes, I’ll follow. | |
| 04 | Jens Lekman | TBA | Very few albums have steadily gained as much headspace as 2007′s Night Falls Over Kortedala. No matter what day Jens’ album is released, it’s a good bet that I’ll be listening it to on repeat all day. Sincerely, David G. | |
| 05 | Kanye West & Jay-Z | Watch the Throne | This album won’t live up to the hype. That said, Kanye now indicates it’ll come out next week, so at least we don’t have long to wait. | |
| 06 | The Strokes | TBA | Oh lord. Is it possible to pretend that they can ever rediscover the magic of Is This It? Is it possible to pretend that I’m not hoping they do? | |
| 07 | Cut Copy | Zonoscope | 2/8/2011 | I’ll listen to this while running. A lot. |
| 08 | The Avalanches | TBA | File under: I’ll believe it when I see it. | |
| 09 | Beck | TBA | Scientologists predict that this will be another excellent, unheralded album. | |
| 10 | Kurt Vile | Smoke Rings for My Halo | 3/8/2011 | Which Philly album is more hotly desired, Kurt Vile’s or Man Man’s? With Kurt’s new single “In My Time” demonstrating a more approachable sound, it has to be his. Until we hear music from Man Man’s at least. |
| 11 | Man Man | TBA | I can’t wait for the circus. | |
| 12 | The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart | Belong | March 2011 | With advance singles pointing to a slight evolution of their sound, this truly could be one of the better albums of 2011. |
| 13 | Aphex Twin | TBA | File this under “believe it when I see it.” | |
| 14 | Little Dragon | TBA | May/June | Still in ever-deepening awe of the 2009 release. – Material Lives |
| 15 | Bon Iver | TBA | I never had the love affair that many did with their debut. But the magic on Kanye’s album? My attention is there. | |
| 16 | White Fence | 1/18/2011 | 2010′s White Fence… Is Growing Faith was one of the year’s most overlooked albums. 1960s psychpop at its most exciting. | |
| 17 | Iron & Wine | Kiss Each Other Clean | 1/25/2011 | Iron and Wine has stolen Low’s spot. While Low stumbled when they moved away from slowcore, Iron and Wine’s more expansive sound (See “Walking Far From Home”) is a well-fitting glove. |
| 18 | Low | C’mon | Very few albums haunt me like Low’s first five albums. Since then…. not so much. I’m ready to be haunted. | |
| 19 | Peter, Bjorn And John | Gimme Some | 3/29/2011 | Let’s all forget Living Thing |
| 20 | Hercules & Love Affair | Blue Songs | 1/31/2011 | I’ll also listen to this at the gym. |
| 21 | PJ Harvey | Let England Shake | 2/15/2011 | Hard to imagine that a PJ Harvey album wouldn’t make the top ten, but after the last two albums of… what were they again? |
| 22 | Britney Spears | TBA | Lady Who? | |
| 23 | Jay Electronica | Act II | Hard to believe that our first post, almost a year ago, was about Jay. Where is this album? | |
| 24 | The Rural Alberta Advantage | Departing | 3/1/2011 | Creator of my 9th favorite album of the year… But that advance single does nothing for me. |
| 25 | Lupe Fiasco | Lasers | 3/8/2011 | Advance single was great. |
| 26 | Andre 3000 | TBA | Is this really going to happen? | |
| 27 | Destroyer | Kaputt | 1/25/2011 | This album will have four good songs. |
| 28 | Santigold | TBA | Does anybody survive two years of Bud Light Lime? | |
| 29 | Favourtite Sons | The Great Deal Of Love | The title track is amazing. | |
| 30 | Beastie Boys | Hot Sauce Committee, Vol. 2 | I guess. | |
| 31 | Islands | TBA | ||
| 32 | Fujiya & Miyagi | Ventriloquizzing | 1/25/2011 | This album will have three good songs. |
| 33 | The Streets | Computers and Blues | Were any of The Streets albums nearly as good as we thought they were? | |
| 34 | John Vanderslice | White Wilderness | He had one of 2009′s more notable releases. A reliable hand. | |
| 35 | The Decemberists | The King Is Dead | 1/18/2011 | People seem to love this band with a passion that continues to baffle me. Will 2011 reverse my bafflement? |
| 9999 | Dr. Dre | Detox | Forget about Dre. |
And a sampling of what’s to be excited about:
Fleet Foxes, “Blue Spotted Tail”
Panda Bear, “Tomboy”
Jens Lekman, “The End of the World Is Bigger than Love”
Cut Copy, “Where I’m Going”
I guess I should have stuck my FB comment here: “You can stream the entire Decembrists album here: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/03/132436422/first-listen-the-decemberists-the-king-is-dead
No, it will not reverse your bafflement.”
Ha. I listened to the four four minutes or so yesterday. Those NPR streams have such crappy quality, that I try not to judge based on them, but let’s just say my head wasn’t turned. That said, Colin Meloy’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” is one of my favorite versions of the song.
Cool preview, despite the pathetic, gratuitous shot at BORN THIS WAY, which is sure to be one of the Noise Narcs Top Ten albums of 2011. You also neglect Akon and the Cold War Kids, but that’s less galling.
Fleet Foxes have totally held up, and will continue to hold up, as will Bon Iver. And I didn’t know you’ve been pining for The Strokes, circa 2001, for a full decade. You’re a 30-year old man now, David. (Yes I loved that album too).
I’m not familiar with this “BORN THIS WAY.” Is it some sort of Aerosmith/Bruce Springsteen mashup?
I did not neglect Akon or Cold War Kids.
As per the Strokes, I see some (delusional) reasons for hope: although Julian Casablancas solo album mostly sucked, there were several very good songs. And his song on Dark Night of the Soul was killer. And drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s involvement with Little Joy was pure goodness. But…
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