Top Ten Of 2011: Amber’s Picks

2011 was a weird year for me. It was odd in general but it was especially strange when it came to music. If you’d have asked me eleven months ago what I thought my favorite records of the year would be, I would answer you with the utmost confidence, rattling off a list of records in what I assumed would be the order I would eventually rate them. Out of those ten albums, however, only four made my final list. This year was full of surprises, both good (Hey, O’Death! Pleased to make your acquaintance!) and not so good (I really did expect that Okkervil River disc to be the best thing I’d ever heard…) and above all else, it was certainly not what I thought it’d be.

1. Chris Bathgate – Salt Year

The moment I heard Salt Year, the latest album by Michigan native Chris Bathgate, I knew it was my favorite album of the year. Granted, that isn’t a huge compliment because I said the same thing about three other records (all of which appear on this list!) but when it came down to the wire, Bathgate’s won the battle royale for the affections of Amber Valentine. Why? Because Salt Year is a masterpiece, from the opening distorted notes of “Eliza (Hue)” to the fiddle that marks the close of “Everything (Overture)”. Salt Year is harsh. It’s brutal and cathartic and it perfectly encapsulates the misery of lost love years later, but don’t think that the album’s a downer. Everything on Salt Year is deliberately crafted, from the gentle horns on the heartbreakingly perfect title track to the washboard backbone of “No Silver.” The best part? I’m not the only one who has deemed Salt Year a masterpiece! Everyone from NPR to Paste has been raving about Bathgate which means that one of the best kept secrets in folk music won’t stay that way for long.

Chris Bathgate – No Silver

2. Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On

The moment I found out that Timber Timbre, my favorite exports from the north, were releasing their fourth album this year, I was obsessed. From the instantly quotable refrain of first single “Black Water” (All I need is some sunshine too, you guys!) to the tongue-in-cheek humor of title track “Creep On Creepin’ On,” Timber Timbre’s latest is everything you’d expect from the creepy Canadians, and so much more. Without turning a cold shoulder on their minimalist macabre past, Creep On Creepin’ On plays out deftly and seductively. Think Leonard Cohen sings Sam Cooke songs on Halloween … Only better.

Timber Timbre – Bad Ritual

Abbytron’s Top 20 Albums of 2011

Chances are you’ve already seen tons of Best of 2011 lists already, but as a music blogger, I of course have to throw in my two cents. As usual, it’s been a phenomenal year for music lovers like myself, and I’ve spent all of 2011 digging into new releases like it’s going outta style. While I certainly didn’t hear it all, I heard enough to have a pretty good idea of what stands out ahead of the pack. So this is just a rundown of the 10 frontrunners (plus 10 more that vied hardily for those positions) that I believe should absolutely not go overlooked.

1. Noah Gundersen – Family
Okay, so technically this is an EP. But it’s seven songs long, which to me qualifies as full enough to make my list. I mean, as you can see, I’m ranking it No. 1, and if I had to acknowledge it as an EP, then I wouldn’t be able to include it on this list at all. And that, my friends, would be a monumental shame because Noah Gundersen’s music sounds like it was made by angels. So, I said screw it, this is my list and I’m leaving it on. The Seattle musician has a little masterpiece on his hands with Family — at times cleanly rootsy and others softly dulcet. He’s a young man, but his songwriting chops (not to mention his lyrics) are some of the most seasoned and professional I’ve ever witnessed.

Nashville – Noah Gundersen

2. Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On
I don’t know what I can say about this album that I didn’t already say in my review earlier this year. Basically, if you’ve heard Timber Timbre before (especially the trio’s 2009 self-titled album), then you can rest assured that Creep On Creepin’ On is more of what you already know and love. As you can tell, Timber Timbre continues to grow and change yet still hold onto its brooding exterior through all its subtle evolutions from one album to the next.

Too Old to Die Young – Timber Timbre

3. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing
I’d heard of the Rural Alberta Advantage before, but it was this year that I fell in love with them. A lot of people have seemed unimpressed with Departing, the folk-rock band’s sophomore album. But it’s brought me nothing but joy, despite the tragic tales set forth by the pained vocals of Nils Edenloff. The fact is, these singable melodies about the darker sides of life and love have been occupying my ears nearly all year, and I’ve found I still can’t get enough.

Coldest Days – The Rural Alberta Advantage

Okkervil River Presents (Another) ‘Golden Opportunity’

The cool thing about living in the digital age is that your favorite band can stealthily record a whole bunch of new material and you won’t even know until it’s released. That’s exactly what went down just a few short days ago when Okkervil River busted out with Golden Opportunities 2, a sequel of sorts to the covers record they gifted their fans for Christmas in 2009. The original Golden Opportunities Mix Tape featured amazing covers of songs by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, and an amazingly translated mash up of Serge Gainsbourg’s “I Came Here To Say I’m Going Away” and “96 Tears.” Oh, and lead singer Will Sheff totally English-ed the French tune up himself. Pretty legit, huh?

Okkervil River – I Came Here to Say I’m Going Away

This time around, the Texas quintet is only tackling five tunes, all of which I can honestly say I’ve never heard before, but if there’s one thing you can count on Sheff for, it’s to best you with his knowledge of not just music, but basically everything. Books? Will Sheff knows about books. Greek myths? Duh, Will Sheff writes songs about Greek myths. In fact, one of my very favorite things about Okkervil River is the fact that Sheff consistently bests me in the smarts department and I learn all sorts of new things from lyrics about the likes of Lethe’s banks. Despite this, I’m always still very anxious whenever the band releases a cover. Sure, theses songs will be missing Sheff’s trademark lit references and musical witticisms but they’ll introduce me to some new jams that I’d be blissfully ignorant to if it wasn’t for Sheff. Like Jim Sullivan’s “U.F.O.,” a song that has a really amazing story behind it. And it’s a story I would have probably never heard if it wasn’t for Sheff!

And the best part about Golden Opportunities 2? The EP is free on the band’s website — and available in lossless format! Thanks, Will Sheff. I love you, too.

The Search ‘For Real’ Love With Okkervil River

I knew from an early age that I was going to be alone. It was a weird, inexplicable feeling. When other girls played house and talked about boys, I read books. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been plenty boy crazy. I just have always craved solitude. It’s led to an odd life. Every few years, I find myself under the delusion that I’ve changed, that I can handle a real relationship as an adult now. I meet some boy and I give it my all until something changes — That something is usually me, the odd switch inside me that suddenly flips and turns me from every hipster male’s manic pixie dream girl into the damaged, distant heroine of an — yes, you guessed it — Okkervil River song.

Okkervil River has always been there for me. The life of a Midwestern music industry multi-tasker has lead to me making a lot of moves and having few constants in my life but no matter where I was or who I was with, I was always only an iPod away from Will Sheff and his fellow Texans.  Never was that statement more true than it was when I lived in Illinois. It was my first real attempt at living life as an adult. I had a cute little house from the fifties in rural Illinois and I’d met a boy. It was one of those situations that I described above. He was a young, tall, lean poet and I was a fresh-faced shop girl who worked at the local book store. I had the usual freak out that I always do — a sudden panic during which I realize I can’t do this, I can’t be normal. But for him, I fought it. And the next day, he broke up with me in an e-mail.

I didn’t cry. I was more resigned than anything. It was just another strike against ever finding someone in my book. I was extraordinarily sad though and I called my best friend, Rachel. She came over right away.

She parked on the lawn the way we did in the country and we got into my car, a silver Focus (may it rest in peace). We drove down twisted dirt roads, to tiny towns nestled in the Illinois valley that I never knew existed until that night. It was warm and the windows were down and I chain-smoked Marlboro Smooths and we didn’t talk much. Instead, we turned my shitty sound system all the way up and we blasted Okkervil River’ s Black Sheep Boy. In particular, we blasted “For Real.”

Okkervil River – For Real

She Told You She Was Trouble: Amber Valentine, Condensed Into Twelve Songs

I approached making this mix a number of different ways. At first I wanted a theme to make use of or a story to tell, one incarnation of which was a “Femme Fetale” mix which may yet see the light of day because let’s face it: Everyone loves a good femme fetale. I kept making mixes for days and then scrapping them, uncertain of what approach to take when suddenly I realized it: I should make a mix about me!

Narcissistic? Of course! But it makes sense, I swear! You see, most of my posts here are going to (in theory) be about me and the soundtrack to my life so it’s logical that my mix would be Amber-centric. And what exactly can we glean from this mix? Well, I’m just like Abby. I want to just get to the part where we bang. And I have some pretty sweet taste in tunes, too.

Oh, and the picture? I swear it was Abby’s idea.

She Told You She Was Trouble: Amber Valentine, Condensed Into Twelve Songs

Wildlife – Stand in the Water

I can be a good friend and I can be a good lover but I can’t do both.

The Walkmen – The Rat

When I used to go out, I would know everyone that I saw. Now I go out alone if I go out at all.

Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good

I told you I was trouble.