For The Record(s): Best Solo Albums of 2011

By Alif Omar Mahfix  •  in Music
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KATY B
ON A MISSION
While not quite living up to what was expected of her after ‘Katy on a Mission’ made its rounds all over the clubs and radio stations, On a Mission is still a worthwhile release that marks Katy as an important voice in UK’s urban music.

JAMES BLAKE
SELF-TITLED
James Blake is what would happen if the singer-songwriter archetype discovered dubstep. His self-titled debut is historical, not because it is that good (it isn’t), but because it will one day be used as an example of the turning point in pop music where pop evolved into something different due to genre miscegenation. James’ music is frequently sparse and spacey with vocals that sound almost stuck in his throat, revealing subtle vulnerability.

KURT VILE
SMOKE RING FOR MY HALO
Kurt Vile’s fourth album is a showcase of his ability to put stories and strings together into cohesive songs without making the two too jarring. Reminiscent of Bob Seger and Tom Petty, Vile’s music may not be for everyone. But for those who are already a fan, Smoke Ring for My Halo could possibly be the best album he’s released so far.

PJ HARVEY
LET ENGLAND SHAKE
With her vainglory reined in, Let England Shake is a learned protest record that holds back on personal voice and focuses on studied intellectualism of the subject matters covered. Lo-fi indignation hasn’t sounded this good on record in a very long while.

TUNE-YARDS
W H O K I L L
Forgive the impossibly hard to remember random capitalisations of tUnE-YarDs, Merrill Garbus is true blue crazy chick whose weirdness isn’t that of fantasised Manic Pixie Chick archetypes. Garbus is really ‘a new kinda woman’ as declared on closing track of w h o k i l l ‘Killa’. This is not just some brainy singer with a unique voice, leave that to reality shows, tUnE-YarDs is the seismic point of the music underground.