Top 25 Songs of 2011: Halfway Report

Now I didn't do this in the first quarter but now that I've listened to much more albums and early release singles I feel like I can put together a fairly strong list on songs that are my favourites so far.

1. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers (Goblin)
This track is still really great, the lyrics are amazing so much so that usually recite some of them a few times a week. The beat is crude but cool and Hodgy's verse is legit, the whole song is at another level to the rest of the album and keeps me thinking Tyler could still be great.

2. Black Lips - Family Tree (Arabia Mountain)
This song is such a great opener to one of my favourite albums so far this year, the lo fi psychedelic rock song is really cool as well as the screamier moments on the song.

3. Yuck - Shook Down (Yuck)
While many who might like this album will be drooling over The Wall which is a great song. I've always been a huge fan of the track after this titled Shook Down with it being less of a slower song it still packs a punch lyrically which puts it over for me.

4. TV On The Radio - Will Do (Nine Types Of Light)
This is the sweetest song so far this year, after the death of bassist Gerard Smith the performance they produced of this song on The Jay Leno Show without a bassist was close to perfect for me.

5. The Strokes - Under The Cover Of Darkness (Angles)
Now I have been flaming The Strokes a fair amount on this blog, even as recently as yesterday but this song is still really cool, the drums are explosive and the song still reminds me of The Strokes of old, this song was definitely a grower.

6. Frank Turner - I Am Disappeared (England Keep My Bones)
I didn't really enjoy the album that much but this is another of those nice, sweet songs from this year, Frank shows again why I am a big fan of his with his real personal lyrics and a strong showing of emotion.

7. The Kills - DNA (Blood Pressures)
This song is one of my favourite songs from this band in general, the signature garage rock sound is there, the smooth but slightly punkish vocals are as great as ever from Alison Mosshart.

8. Raveonettes - Evil Seeds (Raven In The Grave)
On an album full of dream pop songs, it stands out in front of the rest, with its eerie atmosphere, the distortion of the guitar giving the song a greater sense than before, the vocals add to the horror scene I get visually from the song.

9. Manchester Orchestra - Virgin (Simple Math)
everything about this track is grim, the emotion of Andy Hull on vocals as well as the backing vocals of a choir allow for the dark matter in the song to be portrayed in such great detail.

10. Katy B - Witches Brew (On A Mission)
Its a surprise I even bothered listening to her album, my brother had been raving about her stuff before this released so checked it out. This track is great dancy UK house/grime/dub/dnb whatever its great though and her vocals layer this perfectly.

Now for the rest;

11. Cut Copy - Where I'm Going (Zonoscope)
12. Fleet Foxes - Sim Sala Bim (Helplessness Blues)
13. The Horrors - Still Life (Skying)
14. The Weeknd - Loft Music (House Of Balloons)
15. Fergus & Geronimo - Wanna Know What I Would  Do? (Unlearn)
16. TV Ghost - Cancor (Mass Dream)
17. Battles - Ice Cream (Gloss Drop)
18. Liturgy - Harmonia (Aesthethica)
19. Bon Iver - Minnesota, WI (Bon Iver)
20. The Antlers - Corsicana (Burst Apart)
21. Gang Gang Dance - Mindkilla (Eye Contact)
22. Toro Y Moi - Go With You (Underneath The Pine)
23. The Dodos - Going Under (No Color)
24. James Pants - Clouds Over The Pacific (James Pants)
25. Yacht - Tripped and Fell In Love (Shangri-La)