This was an extremely difficult year to pick a top ten, as so many artists produced excellent work. So I expanded the list this year to 25. Even then a handful of really deserving artists didn’t make the list. So here is the whole enchilada for you to chew on this weekend: Cirrone – Uplands…
Category Archives: Top Ten of 2011 Candidate
David Mead “Dudes”
This is the David Mead that I’ve been waiting for. After raising the funds through Kickstarter, David has released one of the most intricately crafted pop albums of the year. We meet a collection of Dudes through each musical narrative starting with “I Can’t Wait.” The warm melody bubbles with optimism; “I can’t wait to…
Robbers On High Street “Hey There Golden Hair”
Previous albums from Robbers On High Street made comparisons to Spoon, but four years later things have changed. With Hey There Golden Hair, they dive head first into Beatlesque power pop. The opener “Hollow Hill” is a perfect example of taking elements of Fab Four style and crafting something new and wonderful. There is not…
Skeleton Staff “Psychomorphism”
The debut album of this Sydney Australian band showed promise last year, and now it comes through in a big way. “I Told You I Was Poor” is a dizzying pop number, that starts with harpiscord a la Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” and adds jarring heavy rock riffs in main chorus. The Queen-like guitar touches and hooks are catchy…
Freebie Monday: Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms + Destroy This Place
Ryan Allen is singer and guitarist for the band, The Friendly Foes and he is a wonderfully bi-polar rocker. His power pop debut is “Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms” an excellent selection of terrific guitar pop. Opening with the melodic “Oh Yeah” it showcases his solid songwriting chops and excellent guitar work. Next the…