Not Many Experts

The title says almost everything that needs to be said really, so we’ll avoid a few minutes of pseudo-philosophising about the whole “end-of-year” obsession (bottom line – we love them), as these are simply my favourite songs from 2011, and therefore they are all right. But please feel free to argue in the comments, it wouldn’t be an end of year list without some of that. Fortunately, each song really does speak for itself, which is convenient because I don’t have a spare day to write about each one of these magnificent musical beasts, to be absolutely honest. So hit the play buttons, discover some new music, disagree with me, and let’s have a good, old-fashioned argument.

45. Dutch Uncles – X-O

44. Zulu Winter – Let’s Move Back To Front

43. TV On The Radio – Caffeinated Consciousness

42. Washed Out – Amor Fati

41. Crushed Beaks – Close Ups

Close-Ups by Crushed Beaks

40. The Antlers – I Don’t Want Love

39. Alt-j – Tessallate

38. Black Lips – Modern Art

37. Youth Lagoon – Cannons

36. Tune-yards – Powa

35. The Horrors – Still Life

34. Trophy Wife – The Quiet Earth

33. Pat Jordache – Salt On The Fields

Salt On The Fields

32. Outfit – Vehicles

31. Active Child – Hanging On

30. St. Vincent – Cheerleader

29. Loved Ones – Are You Hiding Out In Hell?

ARE YOU HIDING OUT IN HELL? (Album Version) by LovedOnes

28. Phantogram – Don’t Move

Phantogram – Don’t Move

27. Cults – Abducted

26. Theme Park – A Mountain We Love

25. Gil Scott Heron & Jamie xx – NY Is Killing Me

24. Jonquil – I Know I Don’t Know

23. Chad Valley – Now That I’m Real

Now That I’m Real (How Does It Feel) ft. Rose Dagul by chadvalley

22. Wye Oak – Dog’s Eyes

21. Niki & The Dove – The Drummer

20. Colourmusic – Tog

19. Shabazz Palaces – Are You, Can You, Were You (Felt)

18. Entrepreneurs – Fuck Tactics (ft. FOE & Ghostpoet)

17. Azealia Banks – 212

16. Real Estate – It’s Real

15. Slow Club – Two Cousins

14. Friends – I’m His Girl

Friends – I’m His Girl by LuckyNumberMusic

13. The War On Drugs – I Was There

12. Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle

11. Wild Beasts – Loop The Loop

10. Outfit – Two Islands

Two Islands by OUTFIT

9. Battles – Ice Cream (ft. Matias Aguayo)

Ice Cream (Featuring Matias Aguayo) by BATTLES

8. Radiohead – Codex

Radiohead – Codex by mariocon

7. SBTRKT – Pharaohs

6. Austra – Lose It

Austra – Lose It

5. Ghostpoet – Survive It

Ghostpoet – Survive It by ghostpoet

4. Theme Park – Wax

3. Bombay Bicycle Club – Lights Out, Words Gone

Bombay Bicycle Club – Lights Out, Words Gone

2. M83 – Midnight City

Midnight City by M83

1. The War On Drugs – Baby Missiles

The War On Drugs – Baby Missiles

Well there you have it… When we contacted The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel with news of his momentous victory he became so emotional that he lost the power of speech, which is why we don’t have a snappy acceptance line from the man himself. But, rest assured, he’s well pleased.

This is so underappreciated it is either going to make me question the state of the music media or my own sanity. However, I’m pretty sure I’m largely sane, and, more importantly, an objective enough a listener not to be drawn towards music simply for the virtue of having been made in a town relatively near to mine. So the conclusion is the same one that I’ve been drawing for a while; Loved Ones’ debut single “Are You Hiding Out In Hell?”s fragility and unrelenting, restrained emotion is absolutely brilliant. And now they’ve a hypnotic video to match the song’s subtle introspection, making the whole thing seem even more perfect. To put it more simply; this is an absolute tune and I’m loving it; you should buy it for less than the price of Sainsbury’s Basics Cooked Ham, and that tastes mostly of hormones. Trust me, go with the music.

ARE YOU HIDING OUT IN HELL? (Album Version) by LovedOnes

It’s December 6th which, as always, means its time for some heart-warmingly regressive Australian surf-pop just to get into the Christmas spirit. This year’s instalment comes from the emphatically titled Gung Ho who could only sound more Australian if they added a trio of didgeridoos and had a guest backing vocal from Shane Warne. That, of course, means that they sound completely infectious; the sort of beautifully energetic and simplistic pop music that should be played every day of the year.

Gung Ho – Twin Rays