Album of the Year so far?

One problem I often have is keeping track of what comes out in a year. This may seem a bit odd, but I listen to so much music, from so many different places that I often just lose track of where it's coming from. A multi-tasking woman I am not it would seem...

However, so far this year I've been might impressed by quite a few new albums. Funeral for a Friend released a quite unexpectedly good album a few weeks ago. The Yuck debut is a sweet little scuzz fest. Even the Foo Fighters (guilty pleasure alert to all you music purists out there) came good with 'Wasting Light'.

However the best so far has to be the latest (and possibly final?) Bright Eyes album.



'The People's Key' is not my favourite Bright Eyes album, but it's up there. Some people have called it a 'sci-fi' album, just as Cassadaga was an album all about 'mysticism'. Certainly the deranged old man providing a voice over to the start of the album would make you think that. Yet don't be fooled, Conor Oberst hasn't gone all Trock on us just yet, it’s still as human as anything else he’s done.

The music is much less acoustic than previous works. The electric guitar is used as much as the acoustic and the folk and country trappings of the '...Mystic Valley Band' albums is nowhere to be seen. Instead the whole thing is a bit more flashy. Electronics appear here and there, and even on 'Shell Games' which begins as most a piano ballad, the music sounds exciting and new. It's very hard to describe, I guess you could say that the whole album has a 'shine' to it.

It's hard to pick stand out tracks, I find it's just easier to listen to the whole album rather than a couple of songs, the whole thing flows together nicely. If pushed I'd say 'A Machine Spiritual', 'Haile Selasse' and 'Approximate Sight' are my own favourites right now, but it could easily be a different three tomorrow. The fact I can't make up my mind is probably a sign of how good an album it is.

Going on the year so far, if you only buy one album released in 2011 it should be this one. I could be wrong, and of course I have by no means listened to everything released this year. But from what I have heard, this stands out. Get it.