—Another Tunguska
TOP 46 ALBUMS OF 2011
And so, we’ve reached the end of the year, and it’s time for the annual roundup of the year’s albums. This year’s total number came out to 46, for some reason. We’ll be counting down the albums to number one this whole month.
44. Replica - Oneohtrix Point Never
Daniel Lopatin is such a bizarre musician that he probably shouldn’t be classified as an musician, but instead an artist. Maybe that’s a rather large statement to make, but his latest effort Replica isn’t something you’d listen to while driving around or while walking your dog. It’s something you either listen to while you’re taking a nap, or while you’re on drugs. And whether Lopatin knows that or not, well, that’s beside the point - but Replica isn’t background music, which much other synth heavy music is. And even more surprising than Replica itself is that Lopatin is one half of Ford & Lopatin, formally Games, and that music is both insanely catchy and insanely well put together. It’s not that Oneohtrix Point Never isn’t catchy or well put together, put it’s on a completely different plane than Channel Pressure, Ford & Lopatin’s debut album that also came out this year.
There’s eighties roots in both groups, but Never takes a more Blade Runner-esque approach to the eighties, a dark and misty path of loneliness that’s guarded heavy by lack of light. Replica sounds almost like a Star Slinger remix of those pioneering eighties films, or even closer to Angelo Badalamenti’s soundtrack for Twin Peaks - it even reminds you a bit of the heavy-discussed Drive soundtrack. Several comparisons to film scores aren’t off base, when the visuals that go along with Replica tend to be this futuristic dystopia - the cities of years from now, that seem embroidered in this album. You can even see it from the beautiful cover art - it’s all very well put together to give off this effect. And probably the main difference between this album and Lopatin’s previous Returnal, is that this one hones closer to the stylistic choice to be a bit dark. “Power of Persuasion” is a direct line, while “Sleep Dealer” tends to ride much closer to the butchering we’re used to in modern electronic. The title track “Replica” plays the fine line between beauty and aimlessness, and it’s one of the albums stronger points, as is the opening “Andro,” which forays into the album’s in-workings. Songs like “Up” and “Child Soldier” feel a little out of place, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - it’s just that they’re not droning and take you out of the mysticism that we’re used to in the album.
Replica would no doubt be higher on this list if it wasn’t so damn hard to unpack, and Lopatin is most likely aware of that. His music doesn’t give you anything to work with, and any work you do have to do is done in a long arduous process until you can understand what he’s actually doing here. Part of that comes from the realization and juxtaposition of Channel Pressure, and another part of it comes from simply wanting to listen to something that you know has to be awesome. And in the end, Lopatin is pushing the scene forward more than most artists - instead of being stuck in a remix-purgatory, he shoots for the sky with this chemically imbalanced sound storms, and almost never misses.
43. Lenses Alien - Cymbals Eat Guitars
Cymbals Eat Guitars has changed pretty drastically throughout their career, without really changing at all. The first immediate thing you realize on their latest albumLenses Alien is the cleaned up sound, which probably serves the band well. Instead of being stuck in the growing grimy rock scene, this draw closer to an appreciation of what instruments can do, and that’s a plus immediately. Lenses Alien, unlike their debut album Why There Are Mountains, doesn’t feel nearly as long and terrifying, which could be scene as either a good or bad thing. Despite how beautiful that album was, it was one that could find itself weighed down by its length (which was standard, but still felt long), and it’s lack of diversity amongst tracks. Lenses Alien falls into the latter problem a bit, but it’s much more ambitious as well as catchy which was probably a good move for the band. And so, while retaining that same style and poise, Lenses Alien rides the fine line into a progressive direction that Cymbals Eat Guitars probably needed.
The opening track, “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)”, is a bit of a strange one that runs for eight and a half minutes, and all of it is a good sign from the album. It’s a bit upsetting that it can’t seem to find a real place to sit for a while, but that’s okay because it’s a testament to how much this band wants to find that awesome place in music. When trying for a lengthy track like this, one wishes they fell a little closer to the opening to Titus Andronicus’ album The Monitor, but it’s a ambitious track that for the most part leaves us satisfied. The real standout on the album, however, is “Another Tunguska,” which should sound familiar: it was put out on a single back in 2009 with “…And The Hazy Sea,” and I would consider that original version to be the band’s best song. This new version, thought probably not as good, is one that when paired with the original is heavy influential - the use of piano here, the sped up tone and clean cut action is appealing. “Another Tunguska,” when compared with the original “Tunguska,” shows how far this band has come, and instead of transitioning into something new, they transitioned into something better. Lenses Alien is really just a stepping stone, but it’s one that feels right where we want it to be.
It’s hard to pick out other songs on the album, however, and that’s probably why it isn’t as good as it could be. When given ten Cymbals Eat Guitars songs, it’s difficult to discern a real difference between them, and that’s probably why the band isn’t as good as it could be. When giving simply “Tunguska,” the listener can appreciate them for what they are, as opposed to some opus that all blends together into one yell. That’s a criticism of them, but more of a challenge to create something like other bands who found this similar problem. The real next step for a band like this is creating something that works together while being singular, and if that can be a accomplished, then they’re on the right track. Still, Lenses Alien is a powerful effort, and one can only hope that the next step for a band like this is a bigger and braver one.
