Sing My Loves

Before the actual lists, some additional details on my ranks, grades and the year as a whole.In total I have listed 6 EPs and 20 albums, which, I emphasize, are albums I discovered this year and were also released this year. The albums I discovered that were released prior to 2011 are not included, and lucky for me, since there would've been two times more to rate & review. Then again, some of the albums from previous years that I heard were much better than what this year as a whole had to offer, at least for me. Maybe that's also because this year I've been checking a lot of stuff that's new to me in terms of style, and so I have yet to fully get into it.

The grading system I've used is zero to five stars, with halves, plusses and minuses included for deeper detail. Not a single album has gotten less than one stars and a plus, but neither has any album gotten the perfect score of five stars. The average is around ~2.9 for the EPs and 3.0 for the albums, while I still have yet to make some final judgments concerning the latter. Usually, a release that gets zero to two stars is pretty bad in my opinion, one that gets two to three is average, three to four is already a very good listen and four to five is near excellence.

Like I already implied, this year in music might have been great for a lot of people, but for me many releases from this year really weren't all that good. I consciously checked a few controversial releases for sure and not all my experiments with bands that are doing something quite unexplored for me were succesful. Since I got in a bit of a hurry with all of this, too, mostly due to my greed to review as many albums as possible after really diving into this concept, some albums might have been hastily reviewed. I have given all of them at least one full spin, two or more for most of them, but we all know that certain albums need time to sink in, especially if they're new to the listener stylistically. I can only apologise for that - from you, myself, and the bands.

Lastly, please keep in mind that these are not professional reviews and I'm only doing this to please myself. If you disagree with something or would like to share your view on an album, or the whole list even, feel free to do so with a comment. I must warn you though, if the input is not done in a tasteful manner, I will never approve it. [/communistic bastard]

Here we go! First and foremost, the EPs.

6. Stillwell - Surrounded By Liars *½

Significantly better than the album Dirtbag, but still not great. Includes more of a nu metal sound, but the core of it all remains the same, as well as the flaws. Plus, these song structures just don't fit - at least the album was more logical on that department. Then again, the energy and passion of the band can genuinely be sensed with some of the wildness on here. Still not worth more than a 1½. Killing Myself to Live and Trepidation are both standout tracks and worth a listen. (I'd also critique the value of production, but that would make me a hypocrite. Heh.)

5. Linkin Park - Linkin Park Underground 11 **

I had no expectations on this one, and only got it because I wanted to give it as a Christmas gift to someone. Okay, I'll admit, I was feeling a little nostalgic as well and wanted to see if the band had continued putting out demos on their fan club releases. Turns out they had, but frankly, the result is not exactly a success. Then again... The initial purpose of these annual LPU EPs is to offer something extra for fans of the band, and I haven't been one in a while now, so I guess I have myself to blame. I do think that Program is fairly interesting with its post-rock verses and riffage very typical for the band during the Meteora-era. Soundtrack is also oddly appealing with its upbeatness, post-rock influences once again appearing in the structure and the melody. The demos of In The End and A Place For My Head are close enough to their final versions for me to at least consider giving them a thumbs up, too, especially with the aforementioned nostalgia involved. As a whole, however, this is not something I'd likely revisit, apart from listening to the songs mentioned above individually. 

4. Celldweller - Wish Upon A Blackstar Chapter 4 [Deluxe Edition] ***

It's really awesome to hear the development of complex musical tracks and even more awesome that some artists out there are a) willing to let us hear it and b) take time to do a commentary on top of it. All the bonus material aside, however, the two songs on this chapter of the yet to be fully released album by Celldweller could've been a bit more eventful and interesting in my opinion. I Can't Wait is catchy for sure, but to me it's almost too catchy for its own good in the chorus, and the pitch corrections and vocal effects are just too obvious and off-putting. There are some great elements too - the lyrics, unfortunately for me, are easily relatable while not totally cliché, the drums are sick-sounding and the guitars haven't diminished at all, really, although Klayton is more and more into electronic music. Gift For You has a wonderful ambiance, but it's still missing something and ranks among the weaker Celldweller tracks I've heard. Hopefully the full album, which will be out next year, will have better gems than these. Which isn't to say that this chapter is dull. It's just that Eon from chapter two is responsible for keeping my expectations quite high.

3. Crosses - Crosses ***+

Let's get something straight. Any side project Chino Moreno takes part on can never be as mindblowing as the Deftones. While a great vocalist, lyricist and occasional guitarist, Chino on his own cannot create the special dynamic only the band as a whole unit are able to create. Having said this, Crosses is by no means a bad EP (or project, for that matter) - in many aspects it's Team Sleep-meets-recent-Deftones, as the instrumentals and singing both remind me of my favorite band's latest album with the positivity and production found in them. This EP works better as a whole than it does as individual cuts, and it has an odd, yet good pop vibe to it. It does also sound highly inorganic, and all in all isn't the kind of music I would be overly excited of. So, although this is fairly relaxing, the rating would most likely be significantly lower if it wasn't for Chino.

2. Riverside - Memories In My Head ***½

Once I really got into this one around my fourth listen, I found myself liking the whole a lot more than Anno Domini High Definition, the band's latest studio album. With Memories In My Head, Riverside seem to have found a balance between the sound of their older albums and the sound found on ADHD. In addition to this, there seems to be a newly crafted and quite fresh-sounding atmosphere in the first song Goodbye Sweet Innocence in particular. What does turn me off a bit is some of the play between the guitars and the keyboards, a thing that's always been there in Riverside's music with no exception this time around. Nothing wrong with the general idea of play between instruments of course, but when it gets really playful, missing the darkness I like to hear in most of my music, it distracts me slightly. Then again, if we look at the big picture, the aforementioned parts usually add a wonderful dynamic to Riverside's haunting melodies. Although the guitar solos aren't always my cup of tea either, the main impression this EP leaves on me is highly positive. If only the songs had gotten better towards the end instead of the opposite, with Forgotten Land sounding rather uninnovative and average already, this would have thrown a true challenge to the number one EP of 2011.

1. earthtone9 - For Cause & Consequence ****

It's awesomely ironic that I discovered this band almost simultaneously when the announcement was made for the making of this EP. For Cause & Consequence, their first studio release with new material in 9 years, is without a doubt a strong return. The energy here is insane and whereas the Omega EP in 2002 was hinting towards a melodic direction, this is mainly classic e9 with screams and roaring instrumental work. Harmony does show up, but it's merely there in a chorus or two to give us a reminder that these guys are able to deliver it. Whether it's just me or their composing pencil, this EP doesn't quite reach the heights of the jaw-dropping arc'tan'gent. Still, I'd say that it's one the best studio releases - and the best EP - of the entire year.