SEAL ON PSYCHEDELICS

30 // Kurt Vile // Smoke Ring For My Halo

 As the end of the year approaches, Kurt Vile stands as the unlikely hero of 2011. Started as a largely unknown songwriter and finishes it being crowned as the new prince of American singer songwriter scene. Every summer desires its own bard, someone to remind you of the warmth when the winter comes. Smoke Ring For My Halo does 2011 proud.

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29 // Still Corners // Creatures Of An Hour

 Sometimes a certain sound is done to death for so long that it becomes a parody of itself. Still Corners are the ones that took the blissed out chillwavy twee and poured their hearts all over it. The result? Creatures Of An Hour which sounds like Beach House if they were rich teenagers from central London. Somehow, this parody makes a lot of sense.

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28 // Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX // We’re New Here

 Collaboration of the year? A musical monument to one of the all time greats? The best remix album in fucking aeons? We’re New Here manages to be all of them and while it’s a great tribute to the late Scott-Heron, it also feels like passing of the torch to the next great, Jamie XX, who has shown his beat making skills with The XX but establishes himself as one of the best remixers on the planet with this fragile LP.

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27 // Wu Lyf // Go Tell Fire To The Mountain

 Wu Lyf are mostly known for being unknown. I have absolutely no idea who they are. Never mind all the hype though. Go Tell Fire To The Mountain is one of the best records released by a British band this year. The density of it, the pipes and organs, the lyrics that are impossible to make out, it all adds up to the charm of this polarising band that might just have a future past one album.

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26 // Arctic Monkeys // Suck It And See

 I don’t even know who likes Arctic Monkeys anymore. Half of people diss them for changing. The other half will just dislike everything they do because of their debut and their early crowd. Fuck all that, Arctic Monkeys keep evolving with every record and while Suck It And See doesn’t outshine Humbug, it stands along with it as some of the best mainstream rock records that Britain has produced in quite a while and that is something to love them for.

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25 // The Field // Looping State Of Mind

 Some albums are mysterious but The Field’s new LP Looping State Of Mind gives away it’s game plan in it’s title. Looping is all that happens in this album. Just like sampling before Kanye proved everyone otherwise, people might think that looping is lazy. Don’t fear because The Field makes it into a credible art form, combining sounds and adding little details until a small snowball turns into an avalanche of pure electronic pleasure.

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24 // Jay-Z & Kanye West // Watch The Throne

 Speaking about Kanye West, the chap doesn’t know the word “break” does he? Not the one to rest on his laurels he follows up last year’s opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with a minor side effort that just happens to feature the motherfucking Hov. Everyone from La Roux to Frank Ocean turn up on this collaborative effort that feels more like a view to the insane parties of the rich guns of hip hop. Don’t think about the party, just enjoy the fuck out of it.

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23 // The Go! Team // Rolling Blackouts

 The Go! Team were always about retro. Surprisingly enough their new LP Rolling Blackouts feels as fresh as anything released this year. It’s kinda like Yuck without being absolutely shit. The fun is still here, there’s shitloads of amazing guest appearances and best of all? No silly filler, just tune after tune after tune. They’ve been hinting about quitting and if they do, Rolling Blackouts is one hell of a farewell party.

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22 // Radiohead // The King Of Limbs

 The King Of Limbs is has great songs, end of argument. It’s nowhere near as bad as everyone makes it out to be. We got all these new tracks scattered around live performances, hints at new recording sessions and then, out of nowhere we were promised that a new record is coming out in a weeks time. You could get upset over just 8 of them but you could also shut up and appreciate songs like Lotus Flower and Codex being among band’s best.

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21 // Danny Brown // XXX

 Initially I wasn’t feeling to sure about Brown’s new mixtape XXX, it seemed almost begging for attention, but in the long run it turned out the be the best thing about it. Where a lot of hip hop this year was going back to the roots or becoming more and more psychedelic, XXX went in a completely opposite direction. It was easily the most daring rap mixtape of the year. Brown doesn’t rap as much as he barks and yelps all over the place, his rhymes are nastybut always real. XXX made Brown 2011’s IT guy, it also justified the hype.