Much of what I could say here, you’ve probably heard me say before, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. Next week, on Thursday Febuary 2nd, The $5 Rap Show puts on their first show of 2012 celebrating the release of not one but two brand new music videos. The first is “Heatwave” (above) which features my good friends the Backburner crew: Timbuktu, Chokeules, Wordburglar, Jesse Dangerously, Thesis, and Jay Bizzy. The video was shot for the lead single off the compilation album of the same name, released in late 2011. It’s a freaking awesome album and something you need to hear — do it on their bandcamp.

The second video is one even more near and dear to me — Wordburglar’s brand new music video for “Rhyme O’Clock.” I love this one not just because a large portion of it was shot at Rancho Relaxo — home of The $5 Rap Show — but also because over the years of SJ playing shows for me under the TWM name, and him and More or Les launching The $5 Rap Show at the venue I book, we’ve become pretty tight. It’s been ages since Wordburglar has released a new album to the masses, and this video is the precursor. However, to see this one you are going to have to actually drag your ass out to the show: http://www.facebook.com/events/115866101867243/. It will be debuting for the first time anywhere that night, Thurs Feb 2nd, at The $5 Rap Show.

I caught Papier Tigre (who hail from Nantes, France) playing a festival set at Rancho Relaxo a few years back, and ever since I’ve been a big fan of their album The Beginning And End Of Now. That record came out in 2008, and aside from a split in 2010, they haven’t been releasing a ton of new music. Needless to say, I was excited to see a new track off their upcoming LP Recreation pop up on Facebook yesterday.

The new song — “Home Truth” — sounds a bit heavier than anything we’ve heard from Papier Tigre in the past, but their mathy precision and technical drumming show up here in full force. These guys are seriously bad-ass, so check out the stream above and go grab The Beginning And End Of Now as well. Recreation comes out March 1st, 2012 via Africantape & Murailles Music.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t do a very good job of staying in touch with the wider world of music last year. I paid attention to the best in local music here in Toronto, and there were a couple of 2011 releases that I really liked — most notably from Dum Dum Girls and Wild Flags, both of whom I saw play live. But as this month’s onslaught of best-of lists makes clear, I missed the boat on a lot of other stuff. Here a list of 10 albums from this year that I haven’t yet heard — mistakes I’ll be correcting in the new year.

(Side note: If you’re curious how my list compares to top-20 lists overall, these infographics from Information is Beautiful are great.)

1. PJ Harvey — Let England Shake

PJ Harvey is such a powerful female performer; I’m sad that I haven’t kept up with her output in recent years. This one won the Mercury Prize, however, and that alone is reason enough to give it a spin.

2. tUnE-yArDs — whokill

I loved the tracks I heard off tUnE-yArDs’ debut album, and she got accolades from friends who attended her live shows in Toronto this year. This is one of those albums that I meant to pick up, over and over, and just did not get to. I haven’t forgotten about it, though.

3. Real Estate — Days

We saw Real Estate open for Girls at The Bowery Ballroom in 2009 — and that might make me sound cool, but please know that I missed out on a lot of their set because I was busy gawking at the hipster riche style in the room. Who can afford a giant leather Kate Spade tote?! Over the following months I kept hearing about Real Estate from various friends and started to suspect I may have missed out. Sitting down with Days would be a good way to rectify that.

4. Bon Iver — Bon Iver

I would like to give Justin Vernon a hug, all alone in his cabin in Wisconsin. (Well, maybe Kathleen Edwards is keeping him company now, I don’t know.) I could listen to “Blood Bank” over and over and over, and I loved his debut album; I’m a sucker for a sad boy with a guitar and some reverb. I’m just going to assume that this album is a perfect one for the upcoming winter chill.

5. Fucked Up — David Comes to Life

I saw Fucked Up live once. They are very, very loud. Bring earplugs. (I didn’t.) But for a band that loud and occasionally shouty, I enjoyed their set a lot more than I expected to. There was some serious melody hidden in there. I think some people might write off Fucked Up too quickly — they’re loud, their lead singer looks mean, etc. But Damien isn’t mean at all, and knows his stuff musically; the rest of the band has chops too. They’ve gotten some legit attention this year, including the cover of Spin, and it’s time I gave these local heroes their proper due myself.

6. Beyonce — 4

Yeah, that’s right. She’s fierce; how sexy is that album cover? Have that baby already, Bey!

7. Drake — Take Care

I’m a fan of Aubrey Graham and have been for a while. He seems like a nice young man. His owl logo — perhaps cribbed from the City of Toronto, fine — is adorable. Speaking of Toronto, he reps our fine city often and gives back to the community from whence he came. And his lyrics aren’t full of misogynistic, violent, faux-gangster bullshit. But even considering all that about Aubrey, I’ve been kind of meh about Drake for a while now. Now I can’t get the title track of this album out of my head, though, so I may have to give him another chance.

8. The Weeknd — House of Balloons

I can’t remember the last time I heard so much about a Canadian artist without having listened to his or her music. The Weeknd emerged as a surprise Polaris contender earlier this year, and seems to have taken the world by storm since, with props from the aforementioned Drake and love from Pitchfork — yes, Pitchfork still matters. I’m not as convinced as The Guardian that he’ll be able to transfer his online success and hype into cash dollars, but I’m excited to see him try.

9. Feist — Metals

Ultimately, I can never resist Feist. “Mushaboom” was everywhere and that could have gotten annoying, but Let It Die was such a fantastic album that it never did. Then “1 2 3 4″ went crazy and Apple got on bored; loved that album too, though. I haven’t yet heard Metals, which is crazy, because I’m sure there’ll be a space in my heart for this one too.

10. Destroyer — Kaputt

I have to admit something: I have never been able to get into Destroyer. I love Dan Bejar’s work with New Pornographers, but his solo output has always left me feeling noncommittal. The praise for Kaputt was off the charts, though, so I’ll have to give im one more chance.

Photo by D. B. Gaston, via Creative Commons

If you read my year-end list that went up before the Christmas break, you probably noticed that I put Tycho‘s album Dive on there. I loved that album a lot, and now I’ve just stumbled upon a Toronto artist that reminds me quite a bit of Tycho: Toronto’s own Decommunication.

He’s got a free record called Midnight Orion that contains ten tracks of electronic music ranging from ambient sound-waves to beat-based trip-hop stuff. The second track in particular (“Ryukyu”) reminds me a ton of Tycho — so much in fact I wish it lasted a full two or three minutes longer. The rest of the album is pretty solid though too, so check out the stream of Midnight Orion above and grab the free download through Bandcamp if you’re enjoying what you hear.

Some people play music just as a hobby. Some people play it to make a career out of it. Some do it because they feel they have to, that life isn’t complete without it. Others just do it because they want to. Hell, some people do it because they feel a pressure to do it. As a music promoter, I come across all sorts of different people playing music for different reasons. There’s the bar band that is completely content to play the Rancho every few months to a decent crowd and doesn’t need to play for a while after that. Or there’s the band playing more than 100 gigs a year and would prefer to be playing 200 or more and everything that exists in between. Sometimes I am very wrong about where a band falls in this spectrum, but more often than not I am right. But let me tell you a story about a band I was very wrong about, Different Skeletons.

When I first met Daniel Houghton and Jamie Arnott, they were playing in The Cheap Speakers, who were quite a different band than the one you may know today. The band was still fronted by Brennan Gault and Natalia Manzocco but they didn’t have a defined direction, bouncing between bubbly indie pop, Creedence-style classic rock, and straight-up rock. Perhaps part of the problem was that Daniel and Jamie had started writing themselves and were drifting in a different direction. Shortly after that, Daniel and Jamie left the Speaks. Not that long after that they started a project with ex-Cheap Speakers drummer Eric, called Fat City.

Fat City were a fun act to see live. They played loud, they had all sorts of fun, and their songs were catchy dirty garage punk. There was definitely multiple songwriters and some songs sounded like they were for one band and others a totally different band, but I dug it and so did a lot of people who would come out to the shows. But for me, Fat City was a bar band — an act who were great to see around Toronto at various venues but not an act that was going to go out and tour or hit the studio hard to produce a really solid EP/LP. Maybe I was wrong, maybe I was right.  We never really had a chance to find out as Eric suffered an ear injury and was not able to actively practice and play live at the volume Fat City played anymore. Combine that with Jamie getting a job in Aruba for a year, and it seemed that this musical project was going to be over before it got started.

Cue chapter 2 — Jamie returns from Aruba and reunites with Daniel, and the two form a band by the name of Different Skeletons. I was stoked to hear the guys were playing again but admittedly expected it be to be Fat City version 2.0 — fun garage punk without a defined sound/genre behind it. All it took on my end was one MySpace demo to blow up that misconception. Somehow, after barely playing together for over a year and with a brand new drummer, Different Skeletons had defined a sound — a fucking exciting sound at that — and stepped their game up exponentially.  Different Skeletons were now a Detroit-style dirty garage punk band with attitude and the songs to back it up. The live show was never really a problem, but even that was better than ever.

But now they’ve taken that even a step further with their debut album, which you can stream on their Bandcamp. I’ve been streaming the hell out of it in anticipation for their show next Saturday night with High Noon Knife Fight, Evil Eyes, and Humanzees. We live in a city where a small handful of bands within each genre are picked and decided to be “cool.” Those are the bands all the bloggers writer about, the bands all the hipsters go see, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Take one listen to a track like “Nerves” or “Look Like Hell” or the combo songs “Secret Jeers Part 1 and Part 2″ and you’ll see what I mean.

Somewhere along the way, people in Toronto who love garage punk got to thinking that if you weren’t going to find the guy doing something in the washroom before or after their set, they weren’t garage or punk. That’s some fucked up logic right there. So do yourself a favour, check out the awesome recordings done by Chris Evans and come see some of Toronto’s finest under-the-radar garage punk next Saturday night. You won’t find these guys in the washroom stall, but I’ll buy you a beer if you can chug a 50 faster than Daniel Houghton can.

In the last few years I’ve been more of a fan of Tim Kasher‘s solo and The Good Life output than I have of the more recent Cursive records. In my opinion the last truly great album they released was The Ugly Organ — though that’s not to say Happy Hollow and Mama, I’m Swollen didn’t have some great tunes.

So, I’ve had high hopes for the new Cursive record I Am Gemini — since it is Kasher’s return to the concept-record format he has worked so well within in the past. Their new song “The Sun And Moon” hasn’t completely sold me on the new album, but it’s an interesting turn for the band nonetheless. Stream it below! I Am Gemini will be released on February 21, 2012.

I’ve mentioned before — when reviewing artists on the punk side of the indie spectrum — that there seems to be a new generation of bands who aren’t content playing just punk or indie music. Bands like Joyce Manor and By Surprise have taken all their influences, from indie to math-rock, post-punk and beyond, and thrown them in the melting pot. This is exactly what Summer Vacation‘s latest album Condition does, and it’s working better than ever.

Fresh off a split with Joyce Manor and a pretty solid EP called Angry At The World, Summer Vacation‘s Condition is — in my opinion — their most consistent work yet. Listening to the opening fuzzed-vocal explosion of  ”I Know What You Want” is exhilarating, but they take quite the turn on “Post-You”. The song starts with a plucky riff that over time gets tinged with delay and distortion. The vocals are a far cry from the gang-chants you heard on the opening two songs, but the jump works. I wouldn’t go as far to say the track is a slow-burn, but it takes time to build and recede until the climax.

“The Flower That Drank The Moon” is also a huge stand-out for me, sounding exactly like three or four different bands I would have listened to in High School squeezed into a scant minute fifty-five running time. I guess that’s my point here, these guys are simultaneously playing the kind of music I used to dig as a kid, and the kind of music I grew to like during my College years. They’ve hit that sweet spot, and Summer Vacation‘s Condition should please any punk or indie-rock fan looking for a tight, noisy, catchy record right now. It’s out on Recess Records & Razorcake (LP), Lauren Records (CD), and Keep It Together (Tape). Stream the album — or purchase it — through their bandcamp page.

Dan Gorman

The view from the stage at my #1 show of 2011 at Rancho

There is no exact way for me to figure out how many bands I booked in 2011.  Basically, here’s how my job as a talent booker at the Rancho works: Every single event or show that happens at Rancho is booked through me, but not every one of those shows is a TWM event; sometimes other people come in and use the room. Factoring those shows out, I figure I put on around 235 shows last year at Rancho — seriously, that’s a lot of shows and a lot of bands.  Factoring in the festivals, I would say that is about 800 sets of music curated by TWM at Rancho this year. From those approximately 800 sets, I’ve picked 10 that stuck with me for being the most memorable sets of 2011 at Rancho.

They may have been memorable for the occasion, the performance, being monumental, or various other reasons. I explain my choices below.  But man, what a year it was at the Ranch — when you see some of the omissions you’ll understand that statement for yourself.

#10: The Natural Shocks: Friday June 10th Complete with Comfortable Lighting album launch with Gay and Vista Vision 

This was a really special set and show. Our head bartender, Greg LeGros, remarked to me during the show, “It’s like a Rancho family reunion up in here.”  He was right — The Shocks feature my good friend Jeff Geady, a man I met at Rancho and who I am proud to call one of my best friends. On that night, everyone who knew Jeff over the years came out to support his band’s debut release. The Natural Shocks did not disappoint, rising to the occasion and the energy and playing a mammoth rockin’ indie set. The place was dancing, bouncing, hanging on every note, and laughing at every bit of hilarious banter.  For that moment, the Natural Shocks were Toronto’s indie buzz band to watch.  And we and the band will always have that moment, no matter what happens from here on out.

#9: Deadhorse: Weds May 11th

This set making the list is proof that to play an unbelievably awesome set you don’t even need to have a crowd full of people there to see it.  Fuck, you barely need anybody there at all. Calgary’s Deadhorse brought their brand of swamp rock to the Ranch and I was beyond stoked. They are seriously one of the best bands in Canada right now and have a sound unlike anybody else. Only problem? Toronto was typically way too cool — some band with cute boys and disco drum fills were probably playing a buzz show at the ‘Shoe or something.  Nobody came — I mean like, nobody. Maybe 20 people were through the door all night? I would not have blamed the band at all if they cashed it in and played a disappointing set, but they did not. Instead they rocked the snot out of the 20 people who were there and charmed the pants right off of them. In the end, they sold something like a dozen vinyl. Could you imagine your band got that type of conversion with merch sales normally? The music community might actually be profitable. Next time Deadhorse comes to town, stop worrying about being a hipster and get to the damn venue.

#8: Wild Domestic: Weds November 16th with Glory Glory and Youth Season

While I chose the Wild Domestic set, it should be noted that this was an amazing show, with all the bands playing sweet sets and an insanely inspiring atmosphere in the room all night, but Wild Domestic‘s set took the cake. Wild Domestic are a London-based band on Out Sound Records who have a neat setup featuring double drumming and very little in the ways of vocals. The insanely drum heavy setup reminds me of Pick a Piper or Caribou, but the band itself actually reminded me at times of a 2011 re-envisioning of Broken Social Scene, if that makes any sense at all. The floor was so packed with people trying to get as close as possible to what they were witnessing, it was insane. Wild Domestic was breaking that night and I’m not sure even they were aware of it. People have been talking about it ever since — that friends, is a set. They return to Rancho on January 28th. Save the date.

#7: Amos the Transparent return home: April 9th with The Cheap Speakers, Persian Rugs, and Oceans:

Before they were on Much Music, before they won the Big Money Shot, before Cool Planet had even met them, Amos the Transparent were an awesome Ottawa band looking for a shot in a city other than Ottawa. TWM gave them that shot and it was a match made in heaven. For a few years there, when Amos came to Toronto it was to play a TWM show; before long those shows were packed to the gills, people were singing along the words, and it was apparent that Amos was becoming a big deal in these parts. When that happened, it became harder to do shows with Amos, but the band never forgot and it was Jon Chandler himself who wanted to make a point of debuting the entire new album live for the first time anywhere at Rancho in April. And they did! They played the entire album and then did a bunch of older tracks in a set that pushed an hour and a half.  Seeing a band like Amos in a room like Rancho is a special experience and people were aware of that, knowing how rare of an occurrence what we were actually witnessing was. A special night, one I won’t soon forget.

#6: Black Hat Brigade Reunion Set: December 3rd with Lordy Lordy, Buffalo, the Unquiet Dead, and Dave Whitty 

That this set ends up taking #6 on this list is a sign of how many truly great sets we’ve had at the Ranch this year. I, more than almost anybody else, had continued to hope for a Black Hat Brigade reunion over the last few years, but even my hope was pretty much tapped when this show came to fruition. Yet there they were, original lineup together again playing through the choice cuts on what was a really underrated Toronto indie music career. The place was packed, the booze was flowing, it was December but the place felt like a July night it was so sweaty, and Black Hat Brigade rocked us right up and through last call. Was it the last time?  Remains to be seen, but if it was, what a way to go out!

#5: Honheehonhee makes their Toronto debut: May 28th w/ the Spoofs and OPOPO 

Honheehonhee played my 30th birthday AND an insanely great NXNE after party put on by myself and Buying Shots this year, so why this show? Because it was their first ever Toronto show!  Everything else that has happened and will happen with this band begun when they took the stage at Rancho Relaxo on Sat May 28th. The venue was pretty packed, and a good chunk of you took my word on how awesome this band was going to be and came out. I’m not sure any of us expected it to be as great as it was, though.  The show that led me to proclaim Honheehonhee as the next big thing out of Montreal. Don’t take that claim lightly. The last time I used it was for a little band getting their Toronto start at Rancho, by the name of Parlovr.

#4: Papermaps for my 30th birthday: Oct 29th with the Love Machine, Honheehonhee and Santa with Muscles

I gave serious consideration to putting this in my #1 spot — all of the next four slots, actually. Papermaps were fresh off playing CMJ, Halifax Pop Explosion, and a bunch of sets in between, and they returned to Toronto and a stage they know well at the Rancho. They did so dressed in awesome Devo Halloween costumes and they rocked the living fuck out of it! The thing aboutPapermaps is they are an indie-pop band who have kinda got fed up with always playing poppy music. That night they absolutely shredded it on stage. It was a triumphant return from their biggest tour as a band so far, an amazing memory for my 30th birthday, and a snapshot of a band setting up for big things in 2012.

Alcoholic Faith Mission at CMW 2011

#3: Alcoholic Faith Mission on Weds March 9th as part of CMW 

When I looked through the list of acts playing CMW and listening to them all, one band stood out: Alcoholic Faith Mission. I wanted that band, I needed that band! I just needed to convince Zach and Cam over at CMW that they were destined to play that Rancho stage. Thankfully, they obliged. That week AFM played several sets at “better” venues. But to a man, everyone agreed it was the set at Rancho that was truly magical. From Copenhagen, Alcoholic Faith Mission played massive and complicated beautiful indie-pop. They had the Rancho crowd hanging on every note, breaking into thunderous ovations and screaming our praise after every song. The band almost didn’t know how to deal with it.  Clearly they had expected a smaller or less tuned-in Weds night crowd, but they relished each and every second of it. This was Day 1 of 5 at the festival, but most of us who were there that night knew we’d see nothing better during the rest of the week. I, for one, did not.

#2: The What Cheer? Brigade: August 9th w/ Math the Band and Pants & Tie 

When a 19-piece brass punk band gets in touch with you, you listen and you listen good. Immediately I wanted this show and I wanted it at Rancho. It took some prodding and even some fighting off other venues. Then it took a minor miracle at the border, but the band made it across. A few members were on the stage, and the rest of the band dispersed around the Rancho floor. The crowd was frantic, they’d gotten a taste earlier when the What Cheer? Brigade had marched right into Rancho playing and they had waited a few hours for more. Now they were getting it! I’m not sure the Ranch had ever been hotter, the floor almost buckled for fuck sakes! But on it went. If you left to get a drink it was nearly impossible to get back into the fray. That’s how jammed the place was and how close people wanted to be to something they may never see again. In the end, the What Cheer? Brigade marched down the stairs and out into the rain and played a two-song encore. I’m sure the neighbours loved it!  But who cares? This was rock and roll, as pure as it gets.

#1: Krupke‘s farewell show: February 25th w/ the Ruby Spirit, Carlo Meriano and Tofu Meat 

I’m not sure there will ever be another Krupke for me, a band so talented, so awesome, and so creative that they turned me (their manager) into a more creative person just by working with them. But like most great bands eventually do, they decided to break up. Their last show, at the Horseshoe Tavern, was one I couldn’t even be at. It gutted me. Then the band had an idea: One final show, their terms, their lineup and back where it all began, the Rancho. I exclaimed! And that’s how Friday February 25th came to be. The band came super early and transformed the Rancho stage to a heavenly looking set with clouds. They had death scenes cued up to project all throughout their set. And the stage was set for Krupke‘s imminent death. As last sets go, yeah it was painful knowing most likely I’d never see this again, but it was also a celebration. The band played a remarkable set with their original drummer Sep and the crowd rammed with people, to whom this band meant a lot, were dancing, singing along, and overcome with emotions. The Princess Bride death scene came on and the band (always with the theatrics) broke into a Krupkified musical rendition of the death scene. It was brilliant, it was exactly the type of thing that gave the band such massive potential and why the show itself was such a mixed bag of emotions for me. When it was done, there was an after party, but that set was enough for me. The Krupke I always wanted died that night, but they did it in a way I was okay with. We’ll always have Friday February 25th, my favourite set of the year.

Honorable Mentions: Just had to mention these sets, as they were so close!

Adverteyes on Jan 14th

The Skirt Chasers epic CMW set on March 12th

Archie Powell & the Exports at NXNE on June 17th

We Were Lovers on Oct 11th

Bulletproof Tiger are a ferocious beast of insanely tight instrumental post-rock. Their passion brought them from Windsor to Toronto to continue to chase their musical goals. Bulletproof Tiger isn’t (yet) a household name here in the Toronto music scene, but I’m not sure they ever gave a fuck about that.

They’ve broke into the underground scene in a big way and have been hard at work on their new release, You Wanna Kiss About It? With instrumental music, more than any other genre I can think of, the recorded album is still your best and most effective way to move your band along. In that way, you could argue, instrumental rock and various other instrumental underground genres are the most honest form of recorded musical expression going right now. You know, a type of music that where people still listen to a release in its entirety? That they still buy at shows, they still pay to download, and don’t just know a song or two and tolerate the rest? But I digress, back to the matter at hand.

Bulletproof Tiger first played for me a few years back and a couple times after that. The result was generally the same, mediocre turnouts (if we were lucky) and about a dozen jaws firmly on the floor. Mindless head banging from some, complete and utter confusion from others. Make no doubt about it, Bulletproof Tiger challenges you with their music. If you like very consistent song structure, timing, choruses etc. Then you should probably go grab a Lana Del Ray track but for the musically brave Bulletproof Tiger is an animal but a rewarding beast nonetheless.

Now, You Wanna Kiss About It? — the first thing you should know is that this isn’t like a quick pecking session. Neither is it one passionate French that lasts a couple minutes. If you really want to experience this album, you need to set aside just under 40 minutes for a serious make-out session. These tracks haven’t been cobbled together; they play into each other very meticulously and everything is done with such precision that listening to it any other way won’t give you the same satisfaction.

What I love most about these recordings is the restraint. Every part of this well-oiled machine can be heard very clearly — when they want you to hear it. The dizzying guitar is always there, but it isn’t cranked so high above everything else that it gets exhausting. To be able to paint a vivid picture or tell a complicated story without the use of words is a skill that very few have, but Bulletproof Tiger has it in spades. Not to mention, they also have some pretty incredible songs names like “An Awkward Moment With a Grilled Cheese Sandwich,” “Paper, socks, raper” or “Christopher ‘Walken’ Reeve.”

It’s hard to get just the right breaks for a band like this, but I have seen first hand what has happened for acts like Arms & Sleepers and Giraffes? Giraffes! when they go out on tours. I can’t imagine Bulletproof Tiger are far away from starting to get those types of opportunities and from there, well, there really is no limit how far they can go. Use the provided stream but really, just pay the $5 because you are going to want to listen to this about 5000 more times. Touch the tiger, pet the tiger, kiss the tiger.

Here we go again! As usual, this year I started with an obscenely long list of albums and then whittled it down to twenty. Things got pretty cut-throat when it came to dropping bands off the list — it seriously hurt to cut Canadian artists like Fucked Up, Tasseomancy, Miracle Fortress, Timber Timbre, and Dream Jefferson off my list. The reason they all got dropped was due to a change in how I made my list: this time around I went to my Last.FM charts and used that as a guide. Once I had twenty of my most listened artists, I did a few small re-calculations and ended up with what you see below. Anyway, enough of all this babbling and on with the list:

Telekinesis – 12 Desperate Straight Lines

When this album saw a release early on in 2011, it had been one of my more anticipated albums this year. Coming out so early on, I feel like 12 Desperate Straight Lines is in danger of being Zodiac’d — over looked on year-end lists in the same way Fincher’s movie got robbed at the Academy Awards. The bottom-line though. is that it’s a near perfect record of guitar-pop done right. I’ll always have room in my record collection for that.

Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine

I can understand why a lot of people went into this album expecting another straight-up chillwave album and came out disappointed. I also feel bad for them, because once you alter your expectations — think 70s psychedelic pop instead — it reveals itself to be an immensely enjoyable album. It’s still “chill”, but just in a different way. Songs like “New Beat” and “Elise” strike a perfect balance of jams and hooks, making it easy to keep coming back for more.

Sleeping Bag – Sleeping Bag

Sleeping Bag‘s single “Slime” was probably one of my favourite songs of 2011. I’m sure a lot of people will listen to it and think it’s nothing new, but it just came out at the right time for me. And then I heard the album, which was every bit as great as “Slime”. If you were a fan of the ’90s sound that got so much play this year but didn’t hear Sleeping Bag, you’re missing out.

Joyce Manor – Joyce Manor

Similarly, if you’re a fan of punk music and you haven’t heard Joyce Manor‘s debut LP, you need to be getting on that right about now. A crazily enjoyable blast of punk rock that encompasses everything I loved about the genre growing up. It’s fast and hooky, with just the right amount of emo-influence to grab fans of that genre — but not alienate those who shy away from it. It’s a must listen, if you ask me.

Lil B – I’m Gay (I’m Happy)

While Tyler The Creator — and the Odd Future crew — were gaining accolades and critical praises for their juvenile hate-filled record Goblin, the based god Lil B released an album that ran laps around their trash. Here’s an artist who is known for being prolific (he basically records and releases every idea he gets), and yet I’m Gay (I’m Happy) is a focused, artistic statement full of mostly positive messages. Forget that Lil B turned around and continued to release shit like this, I’m Gay (I’m Happy) is a shockingly surprising success.

Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See

Much like their last album Humbug, I wasn’t too impressed with Suck It And See upon its immediate release. For a minute there I thought I was really falling out of like with the Monkeys, until something just clicked. Not only did I begin to really dig on Suck It And See, it actually garnered me a new-found appreciation for Humbug. Josh Homme‘s desert-rock influence can still be heard here, but they’ve paired it with some of their most well-written songs in years.

Tearjerker – Rare

A co-worker of mine recently bemoaned the absence of good shoegaze music these days: “I remember when shoegaze bands used guitars”, he said of the hazy electronic fad that is so popular. Well, he wouldn’t have to look any further than his own doorstep to find shoegaze alive and well in Toronto. Tearjerker might not sound like Slowdive, but their music is decidedly shoegaze — albiet filtered through a gamut of various indie-rock styles. It’s refreshing to hear a band firing on all creative cylinders like Tearjerker are. For my money, they’re one of the most exciting musical acts we’ve got here in Toronto.

Wye Oak – Civilian

Just call 2011 the year of grower albums, because Wye Oak‘s Civilian was another subtle and effective album that crept up on me. A staple in my listening rotation straight through the year, Civilian kept me warm when the weather was turning cold, and the spacious atmosphere was a breath of cool, fresh air when placed beside some of the noisier bands this year. And don’t forget their fantastic contributions to the AVClub Undercover video series. Actually, maybe we should just call 2011 the year of Wye Oak and be done with it.

Swearin’ – What A Dump EP

I’ve been a fan of P.S. Eliot for a while now, so when I found out they were breaking up I was pretty bummed. The good news is that Allison Crutchfield — sister of P.S. Eliot‘s singer Katie — has a new band and they dropped an EP onto bandcamp as Swearin’. Just like that I found a new obsession, and found myself listening to their stuff non-stop. Maybe you see a theme forming here, but I love a good hook-based punk-influenced indie-rock song, and Swearin’ has six of them that any top-tier indie band should be jealous of.

Black Lips – Arabia Mountain

I may never be able to disassociate the Black Lips‘ Arabia Mountain from Montreal. I took a trip there this summer, and even though we didn’t listen to the album all that much, the choruses from these songs continually spouted from our mouths. Some may criticize the Lips for going pop after the pysch-sludge of 200 Million Thousand, but to me it was another winning chapter in their chameleon-like career.

Screeching Weasel – First World Manifesto

From the opening notes of “Follow Your Leaders”, Screeching Weasel’s latest makes it a clear pick for their best album since 1999′s Emo (that’s right, I’m saying it’s better than the overrated Teen Punks In Heat). There’s even a brief-but-awesome cameo from The Mr. T Experience‘s Dr. Frank! Unfortunately the album was shrouded in controversy after Ben Weasel lashed out at a female audience member earlier this year. I think it’s a real shame, because if not for Ben’s incredibly stupid decision this album probably would have garnered a lot more attention than it did. Removed from the controversy, the album still stands as one of the best pop-punk albums of 2011.

Cloud Nothings – Cloud Nothings

I have talked a lot about Cloud Nothings in year-end lists gone by, so it should be no surprise that their latest indie-pop-punk blender of a record showed up here. What’s to say? Great hooks, great guitar lines, and short concise tracks all reign supreme on their self-titled and slightly cleaner follow-up to last years Turning On.

Dog Day – Deformer

The act of Dog Day pairing down to a duo had me worried for a second — not because I don’t like duos, but because I loved their last two albums and hoped their knack for hook-packed indie-rock wouldn’t waver. I was worried for nothing though, because Deformer turned out to be that and so much more. Initially ambivalent about the album, I discovered it was bursting with introspective lyrics and lo-fi atmosphere. Deformer lives up to the Dog Day‘s past and then some.

David Bazan – Strange Negotiations

I’ve always been a big fan of David Bazan’s work in Pedro The Lion and his side-project The Headphones. His solo debut Curse Your Branches made my year-end list in 2009 as well, so I was happy to hear this year’s Strange Negotiations splitting the difference between the indie-rock of Pedro The Lion and the folk sound of Curse Your Branches. Seeing David live at Lee’s Palace this year also helped, but regardless Strange Negotiations is filled with what David does best — great songwriting performed with a killer voice.

Real Estate – Days

Surfy, beach ready pop is one of those new genres that quickly became over-stuffed and under-baked. Every band popping up seemed to be based around simplistic guitar lines caked in reverb. For me though, no one can touch Real Estate in terms of pure songwriting skills. That’s right, not even the decent-but-over-hyped Beach Fossils. Days is Real Estate in top form, and there isn’t all that much else to say. Get it!

Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

Nicolas Jaar‘s debut album Space Is Only Noise was pieced together out of several years worth of recording sessions — or so the story goes — so the fact that it is one of the most thematically engaging ambient techno records of the year is just insane. The kid must be some kind of genius. Here’s an album that manages to grab you by the ears instantly, but in an oddly passive way. There’s something about it that had me quickly addicted and wanting to hear more. It may be one of the more brilliant albums I heard all year, by any standards.

Fair Ohs – Everything Is Dancing

Fair Ohs have hit the summer nail squarely on its head. Fair Ohs have described themselves as “Like Paul Simon, but punk” in the past. Fair Ohs used to be even more punk than they are here — though it crops up on tracks like “Katasraj”. Fair Ohs might get compared to Vampire Weekend a bit too often for my taste (their influence can be heard on the title track), but they’ve crafted a helluva pop record with Everything Is Dancing.

The Antlers – Burst Apart

I’ll admit it: I really couldn’t get into The Antlers‘ last album Hospice. I know, get your tomatoes ready, but I just didn’t like it all that much. So when The Antlers released Burst Apart, I wasn’t so quick to run out and hear it. I’m glad I finally did though, because there was something about Burst Apart that clicked for me. Maybe someday I’ll be able to put my finger on it — it’s definitely not the fact that it’s a bit more immediate, because I love me some ambient pop — but for now I’ll just listen and enjoy.

Cut Copy – Zonoscope

Zonoscope was another ridiculously hyped record that came out early in the year to critical praise that is in danger of being overlooked — in my opinion. I don’t know if there was a better dance-pop album this year, and after taking a long break from Zonoscope, revisiting it was a blast. Sure there might be less guitar than there was on In Ghost Colours, but another step towards the dance-foor served Cut Copy well.

Tycho – Dive

Last — but not least — we have Tycho‘s Dive. It comes as no surprise to hear Dive was created by a graphic designer / artist. It all sounds so painstakingly designed; perfectly paced and pieced together with the ease and confidence that only an artist could posses. From ambient synths to organic sounding trip-hop, Tycho‘s Dive was my go-to record when I wanted to relax, but also when I needed a soundtrack for getting some work done. This comes highly recommended for any fan of electronic music in general.

Dan Gorman