2011 has been a pretty good year for music all around, though a few months have stood out in particular. The second half of May and the first half of June have seen some pretty stunning releases. Here are a few must-haves of Spring 2011.
Singer Katie Stelmanis brings an interesting pedigree to this Toronto-based electronica group. She's a classically trained vocalist who veered away from a potential career in opera to participate in the underground music scene where she has lent her warbly pipes to modern punks and indie darlings. Fronting Austra, Stelmanis brings a vocal style to mature, layered synth that is challenging at first then remarkably affecting. Feel It Break sports a wide range of aesthetics, from the dancefloor-ready siren song of "Lose It" to gothy broods like "Beat and Pulse" and successful sonic experiments like "The Noise". The album deepens upon repeat listens after an initial stretch of synthetic darkness.
Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin started as a high-pressure indie duo and recently added a couple new members to their deceptively complex band Cults. After making waves with the single "Go Outside" the band released their self-titled debut this month and it delivers much more than that single promised. Cults is an album with slightly retro seeds, from doo-wop to 60's bubblegum, but the full blossom is in a much more modern place. The whole record is submerged in a pleasant murkiness that doesn't stop it from being playful. The jittery push of the opening track "Abducted" begs for the repeat button, though there's also plenty to love about the ballroom aesthetics of "Most Wanted" and "Bumper".
Hooray for Earth's EP Momo had a couple standout tracks but was less accessible in its formless middle. The bands latest full-length album True Loves has no such problem. The listening experience is tonally reminiscent of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Though those two albums don't have a lot in common in sound, they both have the unmistakable mark of a band achieving something great and beautiful in the studio. "Last Minute" starts with a slow burn that eventually soars, "No Love" recalls Age of Adz at its best moments and "Black Trees", a beautiful chant-along that emerges from a less serene place in its first few seconds, is a great way to close the album. True Loves is one of the year's best and certainly a high point for HfE.
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