Building previous records around Left Bank leanings, Balkan folk, and a mélange of Euro-centric sounds, Beirut mastermind Zach Condon typically finds inspiration an ocean away and a century back. With excellent third album, The Rip Tide, he marches out of the Parisian café, looking inward and embracing Western pop without losing his affinity for multi-tiered composition. As the title suggests, inertia (in general) and movement (specifically) dominate both the thematic and musical landscapes. Overtly, "Vagabond" is about wandering and its jaunty keys and harpsichord augment that. On the other hand, "Santa Fe" ― Condon's birthplace ― contemplates home, tellingly using driving synths and horns. Similarly, marching drums on "A Candle's Fire" and the lyrical repetition of "Payne's Bay" keep the affair peripatetic. On "East Harlem," Condon coos, "Sound is the colour I know," and that notion permeates the entire LP. Every track slyly plays with form and function, carefully blending each constituent part. Highlights, "The Rip Tide" and "Goshen," are ostensibly simple, but their complexity comes through on each subsequent listen. The former, full of sparse brass, is lonely yet dense. Conversely, the latter seems like a straightforward piano ballad, though its sweeping horn and choral harmonies would disagree. A deeply considerate composer, Condon's unique balance of influences has always dominated the Beirut ethos. However, on The Rip Tide he re-focuses his curiosity, taking time for reflection and creating an entirely beautiful and insightful record in the process.
Scott Tavener
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Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-02 15:45:15I love that Dog Day made this list, Deformer is one awesome album!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-02 19:29:26Good to see Destroyer's masterpiece Kaputt so high on the list!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-03 03:07:48But where are Other Lives???????????
http://youtu.be/ngNpXyaZD... Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-03 14:16:03Too soon this year for year end lists! BLACK KEYS new one is gonna rate right up there.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 00:41:34Where is Katy Perry? She4's cool isnt she?
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 11:10:39Good list, I'd argue with many, but I think that's part of the fun. And, I agree, Black Keys will likely be close to the top. I just finished my first listen, it's sick. I'd also add Ottawa's The Golden Seals on there. And Gillian Welch, her new one is fantastic.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 11:57:29No Bjork = bullshit.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 12:00:32The Bjork was boring and way too safe. Good to leave that one off.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 16:02:02Dudes, Kurt Vile shoulda been at the top of this shit! And no love for Josh T Pearson and David Lynch? Jeeeeeez
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 16:57:48Gillian Welch is here, on the Folk and Country list:
http://exclaim.ca/Feature... Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 11:36:53no fleet foxes ... what a joke !
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 14:36:59Um, Bon Iver but no Fleet Foxes? You've lost all cred. Ridiculous.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 15:36:56That Fleet Foxes record SUCKED
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 19:27:31i love jimmy so very much. good one
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-07 10:13:01WTF is this dog shit? where are the ROCK bands on this list? no doubt this was put together by some asshole with a beard, for assholes with beards. i thought rock albums were supposed to you know, ROCK. this is all stuff i'd want to put on at night to help me fall asleep.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-09 21:45:40Wow, I'm actually extremely surprised Chad Vangaalen didn't make the cut...
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-12 10:36:43Yuck? Yes.
Austra? Terrible choice... for anything... to do with listening to things.
Toronto's scene needs to let go of their ego on that one.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-13 12:38:10I agree with the dude above me; Austra sucks. And where's Tomboy?
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-15 13:37:571 Colin StetsonNew History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
2 Oneohtrix Point NeverReplica
3 GirlsFather, Son, Holy Ghost
4 James BlakeJames Blake
5 M83Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
6 Shabazz PalacesBlack Up
7 Fucked UpDavid Comes To Life
8 The FieldLooping State Of Mind
9 Tune-YardsW H O K I L L
10 PJ HarveyLet England Shake
11 Bon IverBon Iver, Bon Iver
12 Panda BearTomboy
13 DestroyerKaputt
14 St. VincentStrange Mercy
15 RadioheadThe King Of Limbs
16 Cass McCombsWIT'S END
17 Atlas SoundParallax
18 Tim HeckerRavedeath, 1972
19 Sandro PerriImpossible Spaces
20 BraidsNative Speaker
21 Gang Gang DanceEye Contact
22 The CaretakerAn Empty Bliss Beyond This World
23 EMAPast Life Martyred Saints
24 Peaking Lights936
25 Bill CallahanApocalypse
26 Ford & LopatinChannel Pressure
27 Mikal CroninMikal Cronin
28 Dirty BeachesBadlands
29 Real EstateDays
30 Smith WesternsDye It Blonde
31 The WeekndHouse of Balloons
32 WU LYFGo Tell Fire To The Mountain
33 Youth LagoonThe Year of Hibernation
34 GrouperA I A
35 The Pains Of Being Pure...Belong
36 PonytailDo Whatever You Want All The Time
37 Fleet FoxesHelplessness Blues
38 Cass McCombsHumor Risk
39 John MausWe Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
40 ThundercatThe Golden Age of Apocalypse
41 The Rural Alberta AdvantageDeparting
42 Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XXWe're New Here
43 BattlesGloss Drop
44 ByetoneSymeta
45 Jürgen MüllerScience Of The Sea
46 FeistMetals
47 Dum Dum GirlsOnly in Dreams
48 DrakeTake Care
49 Kurt VileSmoke Ring for My Halo
50 Nicolas JaarSpace Is Only Noise
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-15 13:38:41Now THAT'S a list worth sharing.
Posted by chedderpinks On 2011-12-16 20:08:49Where the f$%k are Demons Claws & Tandoori Knights?
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-19 18:39:05bon iver is boring
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-19 19:52:42I like reading through peoples comments with this guide.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/...-20-unhappiest-people-you-meet-in-the-comments-sections-of-year-end-lists?sc=tw&cc=share
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-20 14:22:47Bon Iver is over rated garbage
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-24 06:23:46See NPR link two posts back. A must read after reading this list (or any list) comment thread
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-27 14:51:33No way the Golden Seals record was going to make that list. Exclaim didn't even bother to review it.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-27 20:22:01My (humble) best of 2011:
ludditestereo.net Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-03 09:39:34It's blasphemy that Young Galaxy's Shapeshifting is not on this list.
Posted by tmakworld On 2012-01-03 16:33:33Here is a top 10 albums of 2011 list for the classic rock type of music crowd. Thoughts?
www.tmakworld.com Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-04 05:37:30Most of that list represents everything that is WRONG with music lately. SAFE + PREDICTABLE = BOREING.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-12 03:04:14too much of this list is populated by that ethereal indie pop crap that sounds like it's a 3 minute intro with 30 seconds of an actual song. The bands that got that sound and do it right are few and far in between. I've heard the majority of these bands and I couldn't sit through more than 3 or 4 of their songs before my mind drifts off and I totally disregard the music. Not that the music is in the background and my mind drifts, just that my ears stop paying attention because it's so minimalistic and just plain boring.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-13 08:51:04Its TRUE - popular indie rock is mind numbingly mellow. The only people kicking up the rock on this list are the gals like Wild Flag and PJ Harvey. Lets pray that women save us from boredom in 2012
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-13 13:28:36lets hope 2012 is gonna be a much better year in music
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-13 21:01:56How is Cold War Kids, Mine is Yours not on this list!? ...such a great album
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-16 12:04:14Strike Hard, Young Diamond by WILDLIFE should be here!!! Amazing record, I can't believe it's not on every list everywhere. Better than most of the stuff here really...
METAL: Beneath the Massacre - Incongruous
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