Phantogram

So I haven't posted on here in quite some time, clearly. I got pretty busy with my current career and just couldn't find time. With 2013 being so ridiculous in musical gifts, I knew I had to figure out a way to create some time to get back to posting some of what this year has offered us.

First up, Phantogram's new EP includes this amazing track "Black Out Days". This may honestly be my favorite song of theirs and I tend to play When I'm Small over and over a few days a week. So here's to Phantogram's new EP and upcoming album. Hopefully they continue to make such amazing music.

Best Albums of 2011

As I said in the Best Songs of 2011 post, 2011 was a year to remember in music. Some of my most played songs on iTunes have come from 2011, which is a tall task for any new song going against older music with more chances to be played. The mass amount of highly addicting songs were great additions and will be played for many years to come.

Having said all of that, here are my Top 25 Albums of 2011, in no particular order.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Tyler the Creator - Goblin

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Cults - Cults

TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light

The Weeknd - House of Balloons

Foster The People - Torches

Sparkadia - The Great Impression

Givers - In Light

St. Vince - Strange Mercy

Feist - Metals

SUNBEARS! - You Will Live Forever

















Bon Iver - Bon Iver

The Roots - Undun

Childish Gambino - Camp

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

Eskimo Joe - Ghosts Of The Past

The Rapture - In The Grace Of Your Love

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean 

The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient

Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Adele - 21

Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, ULTRA

 

Best Songs of 2011

This year, 2011, has been an outstanding year for music. There have been more great albums this year than any other year that I can remember. Later this week, I should have my top albums up but for now here are the top songs of this year. These are in random order.

Seryn - We Will All Be Changed



Tyler The Creator - She



Frank Ocean - Novacane



Bon Iver - Towers



James Blake - I Never Learnt To Share



Starfucker - Bury Us Alive



Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Simple Girl



Grouplove - Tongue Tied



Lupe Fiasco - Words I Never Said



Childish Gambino - Not Going Back



M83 - Midnight City



Wye Oak - Civilian



Boy & Bear - Feeding Line



Eskimo Joe - Echo



Neon Indian - Polish Girl



Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math (arguably the best video of the year)



Cults - Abducted



TV On The Radio - Second Song



Mates of State - Palomino



The Rapture - Sail Away



WU LYF - Dirt



The Weeknd - High For This



Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me



Class Actress - Keep You



SUNBEARS! - Give Love A Try



Feist - How Come You Never Go There



Foster the People - Broken Jaw



St. Vincent - Cheerleader



Givers - Up Up Up



Fun. - We Are Young



The Canon Logic - Howl in the Night



Hhymn - These Hands



Friendly Fires - Blue Cassette



Tapes 'n Tapes - Freak Out



Iron & Wine - Tree By The River

Grouplove

Grouplove released their debut album, Never Trust A Happy Song, a couple of months ago and it is a fantastic album. It's so good that it's hard to understand how this is a debut album and not their third or so installment. The song below, "Tongue Tied", is one of the few songs where I hear the bass line and get stuck on remembering that. So check it out below and make sure to pick up Never Trust A Happy Song wherever you can. Also head over to their site http://www.grouplovemusic.com/ to keep up with recent news.

Since I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like to lately, I'm just going to put three videos in this post because I'm not sure if I'll have enough time this week.


We Are Augustines
 If you head over to their site, http://weareaugustines.com/, you can grab a free download. 
 




We Cut Corners
Over on  http://www.wecutcorners.net/, you can check out another track from their upcoming debut album, Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards, which comes out November 11th.





We Were Promised Jetpacks
On http://wewerepromisedjetpacks.com/, you can find more music and videos from their latest album, In The Pit Of The Stomach, and past albums.

Lanterns On The Lake

Lanterns On The Lake are kind of an ambient post-pop band. Even though it has an ambient vibe, they still manage to create an intense and epic sound. They recently released their debut album, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, which features the track from below "Lungs Quicken". This song really shows off what I was saying about their ambient yet epic sound.

Icebird

Icebird is a duo made up of hip-hop producer rjd2 and Philly soul vocalist Aaron Livingston, who has previously collaborated with the Roots. The result is this soulful, hip-hop rock. I know that combination can sound confusing on paper but once you hear the track below, "Charmed Life", you'll understand what I'm saying. They released their first album, The Abandoned Lullaby, a couple weeks ago.