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Favorites of 2011 : Adriana Mundy

Two thousand and eleven has been an odd year for me, and I think for music as well. Between acclimating to a completely different environment and being fully immersed in the music world, I foresaw a serious evolution and transformation of my music tastes prior to compiling my “Best of” lists. After the completion of said lists, it seems that not much has actually changed – not only in the last year, but the last five, when observing which names were included.

To be honest, it was quite difficult to decide on 10 full albums I really enjoyed listening to from start to finish. This could be the fault of BBC6 radio, and it’s persistent nature of turning an “OK” song into a real banger after playing it enough. It could also be the fault of so many let downs and gimmicks. Never in a single year have I looked forward to so many albums that panned out to be so disappointingly average. In a market so over saturated by bands trying to “out-cool” one another and being more conscious of what they wear than how well they play, it’s no wonder that some of names keep recurring year after year or that the best single tracks list was so much more enjoyable to assemble.

But this is it, I’ve done it. I’ve decided what 10 albums and 20 tracks have been the most enjoyable, the least pretentious and will hopefully be a memorable depiction of 2011 – five, ten and fifty years from now.

As for ranking, I must digress to the one brutal truth of end of year lists that my good friend Wes pointed out recently. Ranking is, in fact, arbitrary and simply a tool for building suspense in pinning down one’s judgement on any particular topic. So to avoid that (as you may not know who I am nor care about/for my taste in music), I’ve decided to post my lists chronologically. My hope is for you to have a listen to anything you’re not familiar with and ideally find something to enjoy. That’s why you’re here, right?

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

MP3: Let England Shake

Secret Cities – Strange Hearts

MP3 – Always Friends

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

MP3 – The Shrine / An Argument

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Fanfarlo on the move

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Over the last few months, via the musical grapevine, the band Fanfarlo has kept reappearing on my radar. But it wasn’t until visiting the UK in October that I actually heard them for the first time. I was able to catch them at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, where I was initially only there to catch opening act First Aid Kit. After settling on the fact that I could walk away completely satisfied after their set, Fanfarlo took the stage. While on record they sound a bit harnessed and calculated, their live show illuminates their talent enthusiastically. Created by ex-Swede Simon Balthazar, the six-piece band is based out of London and has been actively touring Europe and the US on their debut record Reservoir throughout 2009. They also just played CMJ and have again been added to the SXSW 2010 roster.

Balthazar sings with a sweet and bold voice (similar to that of Beirut’s Zach Condon) and is backed by an amazing group who each play multiple instruments to form a big full sound, reminding me of the Arcade Fire. Have a listen, but more importantly, check out some live footage.

Fanfarlo has recently been recording a number of “Laptop Sessions” where they perform covers. You can find those here, as well as some music videos.