(NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: to help you truly immerse yourself in how good all of these albums are, a link to purchase each album will be provided, and can be accessed by clicking the artist and album title. The "Key Track" of each album will also have a link provided to listen to that particular song, and (if applicable) watching the music video for that song. Enjoy!)
The Story: After independently releasing their debut full-length The Kids Can't Lose and the infectious Motown Covers album, A Loss for Words have found a home at new indie-label powerhouse Rise Records, and are taking full advantage. More of a straight-up rock record than their previous pop-punk leanings, No Sanctuary expands immensely from The Kids Can't Lose in that it truly allows the band to show its talents, including front man Matty Arsenault's exceptional vocal range.
Key Track: "The Hammer's Fall"
Key Track: "The Hammer's Fall"
The Story: After the lukewarm reception to Pretty. Odd. and the departure of two members, Panic! at the Disco decided to get back to the basic in a few ways; fans were happy to see the exclamation point return to the band's name, and more importantly, the band have returned to form with their carefully crafted dance-pop/emo, and Vices & Virtues may very well be their best album yet. With "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" and "Hurricane" bringing fans back to the days of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and creative gems like "The Calendar" and "Sarah Smiles" expanding on the (few) highlights of Pretty.Odd., Brendan Urie has truly come into his own as a songwriter, and Vices & Virtues will come to serve as Panic!'s testament that the band are going to be around for a while.
The Story: If you had to sum up 2011 in just three words (nearly impossible, I know), those three words just might be "Yellowcard is back." Sure, the band announced their reunion in 2010, but 2011 marked the official re-emergence of Yellowcard as one of the pillars of pop-punk. As if releasing the stellar When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes wasn't enough, the band also recorded a full acoustic rendition of the album (which only makes songs like "Be the Young" and "Hang You Up" even more powerful), served as direct support for All Time Low, and went on a mostly sold-out US headlining tour in the fall. As if 2011 couldn't get any better for the band, it appears as though they'll be releasing another full-length in 2012. With songs like "For You, and Your Denial," "With You Around," and "Sing for Me" on the powerhouse When You're through Thinking, Say Yes, the band will certainly have big expectations. Here's hoping they'll deliver an even bigger 2012 (spoiler alert: they probably will).
Key Track: "Life of Leaving Home"
The Story: When Manchester Orchestra released Mean Everything to Nothing in 2009, the world got a glimpse of a band that could have very well been the next Brand New. With such lofty comparisons, the band had a great deal of pressure and expectations for their follow-up. After a huge 2011 that included three VMA nominees and a headlining tour with Cage the Elephant, I think it's safe to say Simple Math not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it. The band made the bold statement that this was "the exact album" they wanted to make after completing it, and with the powerful "Virgin" and "Simple Math" blended in with the surprisingly catchy "Pensacola," the crushing "Pale Black Eye," and the drudging "Deer," Manchester Orchestra continue to prove they can flawlessly play any style or pace, and sound better than your favorite band in the process.
Key Track: "Pensacola"
The Story: This is by far the hardest album to discuss in 2011, because it is the last album we're likely to ever see from on of the most important bands ever to grace the emo/screamo/post-hardcore scene. Thankfully, Thursday ensured that their immaculate career would go out with a bang as No Devolucion is the musical epic Thursday were destined to write, and the dark, brooding journey through the mind of Geoff Rickley pays off as it has so many times before. From blistering opener "Fast to the End" to the slowly-developing ender "Stay True," Thursday cap a wondrous decade-plus long career that's changed lives across the globe. In a year that saw the end of the careers of Thrice, Alexisonfire, Valencia, The Graduate, and many others, Thursday capped off a year of careers cut short, and will be sorely missed.
Key Track: "Fast to the End"
The Story: The best albums of 2011 will be looked back upon as a big-time revival for the pop-punk genre (you'll get a pretty good idea about that later on). So it would only be fitting that pop-punk's greatest protectors release an album this year. But no one expected it to be this good. Except New Found Glory. Hailing the album as "some of the best songs they've written in a decade," New Found Glory put themselves out on a limb long before the release of Radiosurgery, and they sure do deliver. The guitar riffs formulated by Steve Klein and Chad Gilbert are some of the best in NFG's career, and gives the album a much-needed kick in the ass. New Found Glory have been around long enough to be the parents of some of the bands out there today, but show me any starry-eyed young band out there, and New Found Glory can probably kick their ass onstage any day.
Key Track: "I'm not the One"
The Story: Comebacks were another big "theme" of 2011, and there was no comeback more talked about than Taking Back Sunday's. After the disastrous Ew Again (an album I still refuse to call by its real name), the band reconciled their once-crippling differences, and John Nolan and Shaun Cooper returned to the band, re-establishing the lineup that released the scene classic Tell All Your Friends. The results weren't exactly TAYF pt. II, but there's still some vintage TBS in there for everyone to enjoy and fall in love with all over again. From the open-hearted "Faith (When I Let You Down)" and the anthemic "This is All Now," Taking Back Sunday have now completely developed into a great modern-rock band, and with the re-additions of Nolan and Cooper, they have the talent to pull it off.
Key Track: "El Paso"
The Story: After the groundbreaking Reach for the Sun, The Dangerous Summer found themselves with the daunting task of following up an album they performed front to back on a full US tour. Thankfully, TDS appear to be a band with no signs of slowing, as War Paint answers any questions listeners may have had about the band's versatility. While Reach for the Sun had been accused of being a little too same-sounding, War Paint finds the band hitting a creative stride and experimenting with more aggressiveness and even bigger choruses. "No One's Gonna Need You More" is a monster single waiting to happen, while "Work In Progress" is in the running for the most emotional song of 2011. Now with two sterling albums in their holster, The Dangerous Summer are becoming a more and more obvious selection of a band who are destined for bigger, better things.
Key Track: "No One's Gonna Need You More"
The Story: Once again, Rise Against have released an album that is both a driven, intelligent punk record, but a portrait of American society. After Appeal to Reason was ill-received by some fans, Endgame brings back many great qualities to add to the band's growing political statements in their music, while expanding the band's sound and fan base altogether. While opening singles "Help is on the Way" and "Architects" are calls to action in their own right, the true gem of the album, and my "Song of the Year," is "Make It Stop (September's Children)." In addition to its gripping music video, the song is as likely to send chills down your spine as it is to open your mind about whatever side of the fence you're on with gay rights. And when a song practically forces you to look at the world differently, its hard to not think of the song, or Endgame as a whole, as a complete success.
Key Track: "Make it Stop (September's Children)"
The Story: After releasing the renowned Zombie EP in 2010, The Devil Wears Prada split recording time in Kansas and Chicago, naming a songs after each city, and producing their most ambitious work yet, Dead Throne. Mike Hranica's lyrical matter has now shifted from meditations of faith to his opinions on the idea of false idols, thus producing his darkest work yet. The band has also gone a bit darker, with the guitars more and more punishing than before, and Andy Trick's bass lines and Daniel Williams's drumming being highlighted on nearly every track. Jeremy DePoyster's vocals continue to diminish as well, as tracks like "Dead Throne" and "R.i.t." feature Hranica's continually developing growl. In the meantime, the band take a huge creative leap forward on the jam-worthy instrumental "Kansas," while "Vengeance" becomes what can loosely be described as having a "poppy" hook as well. While With Roots Above and Branches Below began to separate TDWP from the pack in metal core, it will be Dead Throne that fans look back on as the album that The Devil Wears Prada became a groundbreaking force in metal.
Key Track: "Kansas"
The Story: With no member over the age of 23, Balance & Composure turn in the debut of the year with Separation. With crushing guitars and Jon Simmons's nearly monotoned delivery, B&C leave listeners little to be happy about, as the album is doused in negativity and remorse. However, the band find enough room for creativity to provide an album that will bring back memories of The Devil and God-era Brand New (yeah, I mean that), and make enough waves to keep listeners begging me for more. With tracks like "Void" and "Echo" giving barren, desolate landscapes and "Quake" resembling some kind of single, Balance & Composure keep themselves on a broad enough spectrum to keep fans of any music intrigued for what one would hope to be a promising career for the group of youngsters from Doylestown, PA.
Key Track: "I Tore You Apart in My Head"
The Story: Finally free of their obligations to Victory Records, Bayside have made their long-overdue plunge into the pool of a major label, and the Long Island punks' Wind-Up Records debut is one of their finest works to date. Monster singles "Already Gone" and "Sick, Sick, Sick" set the backbone for one of the year's strongest front-to-back releases, as Jack O' Shea's already excellent guitar work shreds even harder, firmly cementing him as one of the scene's "Guitar Heroes." Anthony Raneri's relate-able, stinging lyrics have never been darker, as seen on "The Wrong Way," while the choruses on "Its Not a Bad Little War" and "On Love, On Life" add even more arena-ready songs to Bayside's already illustrious career. Killing Time is yet another assertion that in today's "What have you done for me lately?" approach to music, Bayside is just about as close as you can get to a sure thing.
Key Track: "Mona Lisa"
The Story: Fireworks broke ground in the pop-punk community with All I have Left to Offer is My Own Confusion, the fast-paced, New Found Glory-esque debut from the Detroit five-piece. However, after the 2010 EP Bonfires, the band hinted that they were bound for bigger things, and that hint came to fruition in the best possible way on Gospel. Featuring slowed-down tracks like "Teeth" and "I Locked My Time Capsule," while staying true to the band's blistering pop-punk pacing on "I was Born in the Dark" and "The Wild Bunch," Fireworks' maturation between full-lengths is not only the biggest in 2011, but possibly in the last five years. What makes Gospel so rare is that listeners of any kind of music will be able to find something to like about it, which is a rarity for any genre, and that makes Fireworks a band to watch in the pop-punk scene in the coming years.
Key Track: "Arrows"
The Story: Pigeons, rejoice: The Wonder Years have done it again. After releasing the instant classic The Upsides, TWY wasted little time in attempting to back up their renowned sophomore full-length, and instead of crumbling under the pressure of their mounting success, the Pennsylvania pop-punkers did the unthinkable: Suburbia is a step above The Upsides in almost every regard. From Mike Kennedy's continually under-appreciated drumming to the atmosphere Nick Steinborn sets with his carefully placed keyboards, to the always perfectly-placed background vocals provided by Matt Brasch, Josh Wilson, and at times the entire band. Dan "Soupy" Campbell has never shyed from exposing his inner thoughts on his lyrics, and Suburbia offers his most personal and relatable lyrics to date, and The Wonder Years's seemingly meteoric rise seems to have no signs of stopping. The Upsides gave us the signature line "I'm not sad anymore," but Suburbia gives fans countless moments waited to be belted out in your car, with friends, or at one of TWY's sweaty, emotionally-charged shows.
Key Track: "Local Man Ruins Everything"
The Story: From out of nowhere, Transit have grown into the next great emo band. After their pop-punk leanings gained them a modest but dedicated following on releases such as Stay Home and Keep this to Yourself, but when the acoustic release Something Left Behind featured the band's new slowed-down sytle in the forms of "Indoor Voices" and "1978" (which ended up on Listen & Forgive), and Listen & Forgive showcases that though the band toned down their pace a bit, their earnest, nostalgic style of songwriting was still fully intact. Based on the emotion the crowd the band assembled in their video for "Long Lost Friends" (link below!), fans have responded well. Meanwhile, the band strike every possible chord with listeners, with songs like "Listen & Forgive" and "Skipping Stone" telling the tales of growing older, while "The Answer Comes in Time" providing one final emotional trip down memory lane. After one listen through Listen & Forgive, it will be abundantly clear to you that no other album released in 2011 comes close to connecting to listeners the same, and there is now no limit to the amount of lives Transit will be able to reach if they keep releasing music at this quality.
Key Track: I have a tradition of saying that the key track of my #1 album of the year is every song on the album, so this year is no different. That being said, here's the link to "Long Lost Friends" that I mentioned earlier.
If you couldn't tell, there were so many great albums released in 2011, making this one of the most difficult year-end lists I've ever had to make. Nevertheless, it was a labor of love, and there are a ton of other albums that just missed the cut. What made your lists? Leave them in the comments, and let's discover some new music together.
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