SORRY.

Radar Eyes - Miracle b/w Me & My Dogs

HoZac Records (2011)

This is Radar Eyes second HoZac 7” (their first was part of the second round of the HoZac 7” singles club, probably the best in that set), preceding their debut LP coming early this year (also on HoZac). Actually surprised that these guys aren’t more hyped right now, they’ve got all the right moves, better songs, and are holding their own amongst their contemporaries who are also working in this similar as-yet-unnamed emerging genre that HoZac is doing a great job stitching together and making cohesive with bands like Woven Bones, Wax Idols, X Ray Eyeballs and probably even Jacuzzi Boys. “Miracle” on this 7” is really nice, super laid back and hooky, worth seeking out.

Apache Dropout - Radiation 7”

Mexican Summer (2011)

Hold my nose and grip another “must have” “limited” single on Mexican Summer, the label I hate the most. How do they keep landing all the good bands, and why do bands continue to work with these guys? Why can’t I stop myself from buying records with their imprint? I had a brief love affair with the Apache Dropout LP that came out early 2011, but for whatever reason I haven’t listened to it since, something rubbing me the wrong way. The two songs on this 7” are fine, but also slightly rubbing me the wrong way. All things considered, I would pass on this one.

Apache Dropout - Shot Down b/w Sister Burnout

Trouble in Mind (2011)

On the other hand, here is Apache Dropout on Trouble in Mind, one of the best small labels going right now, who are everything Mexican Summer wishes they were. Also, here is Apache Dropout with two songs that reminded me of why I liked them in the first place. Whereas the Mexican Summer 7” screamed “half assed”, this 7” comes alive with two great songs that sound fully realized. I think the key to future success for Apache Dropout is abandoning the Velvets and exploring their Bowie side the way they do on “Shot Down.” Absolutely killer.

Von Zippers - Nothing Can Bring Me Down b/w I’m Blue

Lemon Session (2011)

Yes, yes, yes! I was really excited to see a new 7” from The Von Zippers, who are the answer to the question “who do you want to be when you grow up.” Calgary has had a lot of great bands come and go, but the continued presence (and influence) of The Von Zippers is something of a miracle. They just get it, they have always had it, and I hope they will always have it. The two songs on this 7” are as raw and vital as anything they’ve released, and this record is essential, well worth your time and money.

Unnatural Helpers - Blackmarks 7”

Lemon Session (2011)

Lemon Session really knocked it out of the park with this new batch, maybe just in terms of bands that I already love, but all the same. Unnatural Helpers are all over the place on this new 7”, from straight up rockers in the vein of The Intelligence - “Blackmarks” and “Nuclear Boots” to other-wordly GBV-esq experiments like “Crying Jug”. All in all, another band like The Von Zippers with grey haired members who are proving that rock and roll is not necessarily a “young mans game.” If more young men had bands this good, the world would be a better place.

The Throwaways - Friday Date 7” EP

Self-Released (2012)

Remember that Sled Island when Yo La Tengo, Broken Social Scene, Mogwai and Wire bored you to tears in a mosquito-infested park? I don’t ‘cause I was at Tubby Dog watching the uber-charming debut of The Throwaways. I really do love this band a great deal - I recorded their first 7” (split 7” with Spastic Panthers) and once skipped out on visiting my dad, who was recovering from heart surgery, so I wouldn’t miss a Throwaways set at Broken City. The five songs on their new self-released single are everything that is good on this earth, and when it hits Calgary late February, it is essential that you go find a copy. I mean it.

Long Weekends - Don’t Reach Out b/w Show Your Face

Noyes Records (2012)

So I joined the Noyes Singles Club sometime last summer, and I really had no idea what I was getting into at the time, other than I would sporadically get a 7” by some Halifax bands who I knew nothing about… and that’s about it. I’ve been 100% on board with everything so far, and the Long Weekends continue the winning streak! Jangly garage pop mixed with a heavy dose of “East Coast” sound. You know the one. In the 90’s, all my Alberta pals were obsessed with all those East Coast bands, to an extent, many of us still are because sometimes it seems like EVERY SINGLE BAND IN HALIFAX IS GOOD.

The Ballantynes - The Message b/w The Railtown Abbey

La Ti Da Records (2012)

In my imagination (and maybe there only), Vancouver bands like Chains of Love and The Ballantynes come are coming as a direct counterpoint harsh, nihilistic Emergency Room scene (that I still enjoy, for the most part). I am sure that this is a gross oversimplification, but this new wave of bands seems so far removed that it can’t just be pure chance. To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. This debut 7” from the highly stylish The Ballantynes (check out that sleeve!) contains two note perfect Motown styled rave-ups that are full of energy, soul and sunshine. You just cannot help but get pulled into the gravitational pull of good vibrations that this record emits. Already a contender for 7” of the year one month into 2012!

Guided By Voices - We Won’t Apologize for the Human Race b/w The Unsinkable Fats Domino 7”

Matador Records (2011)

I own more Robert Pollard-related albums than any other musician. I think the total for my Pollard vinyl has to be around 100, a crazy number for sure. Though you’ve heard that the new LP “Let’s Eat the Factory” from Guided By Voices is a “return to form” and Pollard’s “best in years”, that isn’t exactly true. See, the highly prolific Robert Pollard is really smart, in that he doles out a few “classics” on every album and fills the rest with filler, and the new GBV is no exception. In fact, is new 7” has two of the best songs from the new LP, an advanced teaser to get the fanboys (i.e. me) salivating. Too bad the rest of the LP wasn’t this good, really.     

Looking at this list I’d say it’s been an unusually good year for new music, with the great bands of this era continuing to blow-out genre and combine sounds in innovative and endlessly exciting ways. I really had to resist putting records that I put out myself on my own label this year - Mammoth Cave Recording Co, releases that have been completely absent from this column, so I will leave it up to you to check out the 7”s  we released by Krang, Topless Mongos, The Gooeys, Korean Gut,  Needles//Pins, Lantern, B.A. Johnston and The Mandates (not to mention Bloodstains Across British Columbia and Bloodstains Across Ontario).

1. Apollo Ghosts – Money Has No Heart 7” EP
Geographing Records (2011)

I called it in July: 7” of the year! Apollo Ghosts “Money Has No Heart” 7” EP still gets repeat listens six months on. I’d go as far as calling Adrian Teacher’s homage to his local/regional inspirations a “mini-album,” a complete package, and everything you’ve come to expect from the Apollo Ghosts. Success in modern music requires talented people to pull inspiration from multiple sources, and this record just does that so well. Apollo Ghosts probably slip under a lot of radars because people have such a hard time classifying the music, this at the same time exactly what is so great about them.  Completely essential.

2. Dirty Beaches – No Fun b/w Nowhere Fast
Italian Beach Babes Records (2011)

If you’ve been following this column in 2011, you will have seen a great deal of Dirty Beaches coverage, mostly because he’s put out so many damn 7”s this year and I love/want them all. The “No Fun” 7” gets #2 spot because I’ve also been on a Stooges kick this year, and I love the way that Dirty Beaches boils the Stooges “No Fun” down to its bare essence, really adding layers of creep to the song. The B-Side “Nowhere Fast” is a churning, evil-sounding hellride that is up there with the hits on Badlands. I expect Dirty Beaches to show up on a huge number of year-end lists, what a run, and I can’t wait to see where he goes in 2012 after re-locating back to Montreal. 

3. Boomgates – Layman’s Terms / Nothing
Smartguy Records (2011)

While 2010 was the year that Eddy Current Suppression Ring broke with Rush To Relax, 2011 was really dominated by two ECSR side-projects – guitarist Mikey Young’s Total Control and vocalist Brendan Suppression’s Boomgates. Total Control’s Henge Beat was my favourite LP of 2011 – a rare, perfect album that is actually better than anything ECSR has released to this point. That said, Boomgates, who released two killer 7”s this year, are somehow just as good. It has everyone on the planet who follows this type of music scratching their collective heads at the level of talent that this small group of people have. I can’t wait for the Boomgates full length, and I’m dying to see what happens with ECSR next .

4. Needles//Pins - Drop it b/w Kalifornia Korner 7”
Scumbuzz Records (2011)

Three Vancouver bands in my top 5, and the sounds couldn’t be any further apart. Far from the weirdness of Dirty Beaches or the quirky-intellect of Apollo Ghosts, Needles//Pins play it straight on their debut 7”, dropping all pretenses and just writing good songs. Take “Drop It,” a four-on-the-floor, hook filled song that evokes early Teenage Head and is content with its simplicity. In a perfect world, this would be a chart-topper, impossible not to like. I was lucky to go on tour with Needles//Pins in August, and though my usual rule is “watch the band you are touring with every other night”, I was happy to watch every set. Their full-length will be out in 2012, gonna be a banger for sure. Get this if you haven’t yet.

5. The Shrapnelles - Asscabular 7” EP
HoZac Records (2011)

The Shrapnelles “Asscabular” 7” was released on the Alberta-friendly HoZac records, and got a lot of love on my turntable this summer in spite of the fact that it is titled “Asscabular,” a joke that I refuse to understand. Pay no mind, because the three songs on this single rule;“My Mom is Hot” and “H.I.V” are a lesson in garage-rock-done-right, with the reverb cranked to 10, the fuzz pedals cranked to 5 and the four-part vocal harmonies combining in an ear-pleasing way. “Dessert Furs” is the standout here, a breathtaking torch song that how much depth The Shrapnelles have and how much potential is here. Expect great things.

6. Ultrathin - Glass City b/w Don’t Mess
Badmaster (2011)

Montreal’s Ultrathin have been around for a couple of years now, and this 7” proves that the time they spent developing their sound and writing songs was worthwhile.

As I said in my review earlier this year, this is the sleaziest 7”s to come around in a while, but since that review, I’ve actually seen Ultrathin in a live setting (sleazy basement club in Toronto), and bore witness to the sleaze-fest live. Guess what? I loved every second of it; Ultrathin is one of the best in the country right now, and it will only be a matter of time before everyone else finds this out as well.  Mean as hell.

7. Cousins – Secret Weapon b/w Speech 7”
Noyes Records (2011)

Modern rock music forgot how to move, Cousins is the band that attempts to set things straight again. Both “Secret Weapon” and “Speech” surge and pull back, they weave and twist and generally feel alive. Both songs are immediately likable mostly because they suck the listener into a world where dynamics are king, and in a world of solid-wave-form rock, this is welcome noise. This record hasn’t left the active listening pile since I got it in the Summer, I put it on at parties all the time, a lot of staying power. I’m on board, can’t wait to hear more.

8. Midnight Snaxx – A Guy Like That / Jackie

Total Punk (2011)

I have no intellectual reason for loving this 7” as much as I do. Honestly, these ladies had me at the hook in the verse of “A Guy Like That”, specifically the “oooh” part. It triggers something in my lizard brain that keeps me playing this god-damned song over and over again. I’ve listened to “A Guy Like That” so many god-damned times in a row that I’ve lost track of hours, standing alone over the turntable and absentmindedly re-setting the needle; in writing this review, I just listened to it ten times. I don’t even care about the B-Side, “Jackie,” which is still pretty good. I’ll even admit that I’ve re-started the song after they stop doing the verses just to hear the “ooh” part again sooner. 

FAVOURITE LONG PLAYERS OF 2011

1. Total Control - Henge Beat

2. Steve Adamyk Band  - Forever Won’t Wait

3. Video - Leather Leather

4. Dirty Beaches - Badlands

5. Moon Duo - Mazes

6. Destroyer - Kaput

7. Eric and the Happy Thoughts LP

8. Sex Church - Growing Over