You’ll note that there are no real surprises among the releases that I’ve selected for this years Best of Australian list. That makes sense though doesn’t it? If I really dig an album I obviously would have mentioned it earlier in the year once or twice (or eleven times in Valar’s case), though Royal Headache are the exception to the rule as if I’d posted just one of their songs your asthma would have flared up again and I’d be accountable for both your declining health and your medical bills, and I don’t need that on my conscience or my bank statement coming into the new year. There’s a few releases that were on the cusp of this list but in keeping it snappy I obviously had to leave out some pretty fantastic music. Oliver Tank’s Dreams EP is one that I really wish I could’ve fit into the five but it’s just a factual fact that six doesn’t fit into five. Also Dick Diver were hard done by not to have New Start Again in the list, which will no doubt see them gutted when word gets back to them this week. In my first year working for the man I’ve missed a whole swathe of Australian releases so no doubt there’ll be some word on what should have been in this list. TELL ME WHY I’M WRONG.

1. The Middle East
I Want That You Are Always Happy

Unearthed | Myspace | Facebook | Website

‘Months’

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If you’ll recall (you probably won’t as we’re not friends) I made the early claim that The Middle East’s second full length I Want That You Are Always Happy was the best record of the year. I made that claim having heard just the one track from the album and retrospectively I realise that I’ve made a mistake. It wasn’t the best album of the year, it was the single greatest album of all time (Disclaimer: this is hyperbole). Despite being stylistically all over the shop, every single track on the record was dynamite. This would be no mean feat were it simply a ten track record but this thing is fourteen tracks deep and not once did they drop the ball. Whether it’s the funeral dirge that is ‘Black Death 1349′, the hook laden ‘Hunger Song’ or the nine minute acoustic ballad ‘Deep Water’, one can hear a strength in songwriting that transcends genre or mood. This is beginning to sound to much like an album review though, so to redirect things to myself once more, I’ll make clear that this would have been the album of the year above all internationals if I hadn’t separated these lists so exclusively.

2. Oscar + Martin
For You

Myspace | Facebook

‘Lion’s Heart’

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Coming in at number two on the domestic charts (though like The middle East it would have cracked into the international top ten) is Oscar + Martin’s For You. The album is a mixture of hip-hop influenced beats, very simple harmonies and a little glitch. While these ingredients may not constitute a club thumper, the end result is a danceable brew. The two piece don’t demonstrate their smarts through brilliant word play (it can be a little trite lyrically) but show a conceptual ingenuity rarely seen in our domestic scene. These songs are structurally bizarre and unexpected noises clip in and out at just the right moments. It’s a melodic, beat driven, gentle, straight-down-the-line genius record. Buy this. The live show has more low end (which apparently means bass or something) and showcases more of their hip-hop roots though this is tactically counterweighted by falsetto.

3. Valar
The Belly Of The Whale EP

Bandcamp| Unearthed | Myspace | Facebook

‘Uptight’

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If this EP was even half as strong as the band’s live show we’d have an all-time classic on our hands, yet here it sits in number three. That could mean any number of things. I might not have an elementary understanding of the numeric system or perhaps I’ve misunderstood the idea behind ‘the best of 2011′. NAY! I jest. All I’m trying to say is that the new Valar, featuring the delightful Pete on bass (Of Peter Comes From Neverland) is a sight to behold and behear onstage. I don’t think the EP fully conveys what they’re about at this current moment in their career but it does give us a glimpse of what they’re capable of. There’s a strong cohesiveness between the tracks but there’s also a fantastic variety to the five. Bree of the Middle East features on ‘Dragon of Doubt’ and ‘Hocus Pocus’, both of which are melancholic to the point of despair, though the latter concludes with group vocals that seem to emanate hope. There are hints of the jazz explosion that has since entered their performances in tracks like Uptight and East of Here but despite all it’s charm, this won’t be the album that sees Valar break. Keep your eyes peeled for the next release, they’ll probably be looking at the incomparable prestige that comes with a Sound Doctrine #1. Fingers crossed for a full-length.

4. Royal Headache
Royal Headache

Myspace | Facebook

‘Down The Way’

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This album was the source of so much contention in 2011. Despite it being no more than a three sentence review, the Pitchfork writeup that they received in 2009 has somehow become the most discussed feature of Royal Headache’s musical journey so far. It received a fairly negative review on Mess+Noise, which in turn prompted this fairly hilarious deconstruction of the review before topping the M+N reader polls. On top of this, the band shirked the usual Triple J Unearthed route which has found them very, very rarely played on Triple J, despite individual presenters championing the album online. The ten tracks barely total a half hour, each being punchy, short, sharp and extremely lo-fi. You’ll find yourself humming the tunes long after hearing the record because in spite of all it’s grit and fuzz, the album is inescapably catchy. I walked into JB Warringah Mall to purchase this record (in my defence, it wasn’t in stock at any independent retailers) and some rock and roll officianado saw me pick up the one copy of the CD in stock, and remarked “It’s way better on vinyl”. Thanks guy.

5. Tim Fitz
Beforetime EP

Bandcamp| Unearthed | Facebook

‘Doubtface’

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Tim Fitz oozes more ideas than his tracks are capable of containing. On the back of his Infinite Space EP (also released this year) came the Beforetime EP, bursting with technical experimentation, abberant beats and lucious piano lines. It was genuinely hard to pick a song that represented this body of music as a whole because the entire package is just so mixed and quaint. There’s ‘The Line’, wherein Fitz fuses elements of Two Door Cinema Club, early 80s funk and the Proppelerheads into one bizarre and fantastic three minute stretch. ‘Hold Back a Second’ is perfectly natural lounge groove and the rest I won’t hazard an attempt to classify. Atop these tracks are signature Fitz piano lines, whilst all other instruments are played by Dr Fitz, who recently completed his pHd in being a top bloke. And you know, the free download didn’t hurt either.

To spare you from another Christmas of Mariah Carey’s ear brutalising tunes, here is the Sound Doctrine Christmas mix, tailor made for your tastes. The most of them are very specifically Christmas tunes (including multiple renditions of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’) but the lone stretch is ‘Winter Song’ by The Head and the Heart which, despite my every attempt to omit it, still found itself in the mix. This is partly an apology for the small part I’ve played in Michael Buble’s Christmas record going quadruple platinum here in under a month and partly my piece in the Yuletide celebration . Merry Christmas.

Track Listings:

1. Sufjan Stevens – Joy To The World
2. Sleepyhands – Noel
3. Ryan Adams – Hey Parker, It’s Christmas
4. Ohbijou - Last Christmas
5. Josh T. Pearson – O Holy Night
6. Chris Martin – Have yourself A Merry Little Christmas
7. My Morning Jacket – When The Bells Start Ringing
8. Ron Sexsmith – Maybe This Christmas
9. Rolan K Smith & The Sinners - This Could Be The End (Merry Christmas)
10. Woods - Christmas Time Is Here
11. She & Him - Sleigh Ride
12. Bob Dylan – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
13. Chris Garneau – It’s Almost Christmas
14. Teitur – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
15. Otis Redding - White christmas
16. Erica Froman and Danny Brackamn (Of Anathallo) - First Noel
17. Andrew Belle – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
18. The Head & The Heart – Winter Song
19. Coconut Records – It’s Christmas
20. Simon & Garfunkel – 7 O’clock News/Silent night

Youth Lagoon dropped this one yesterday in a session for Sirius XM (whatever the hell that is) and in some ways it’s true to form (sparse, emotional) and yet it does touch upon something different in that there’s no vocal reverb here. Do yourself a favour and listen to the original too, while you’re at it.

Youth Lagoon – ‘Goodbye Again’ (John Denver Cover)

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[DOWNLOAD]

It’s been a pretty dischordant run these past few weeks with some soul, folk, 80s electro and surf rock in there but there’s been nothing that spoke to those who want to hear catchy, easy pop. He’s not someone I’d normally think palatable for the SD readership but the combination of groove, superb self-production, pretty (though, warning, EXTREMELY poppy) vocals and free downloads was enough to think this worth sharing with you. He is Jhameel.

The same guy that has a degree in Arabic and a history with the US Army is now making Princesque pop (not to be confused with princess pop) and turning heads with his Hype Machine topping, toe tapping, head nodding, radio friendly, adjective inspiring tunes. And before you say it, I know those weren’t adjectives, but it sounded good right? Of course it did.

Without further introduction, here are a few of tracks from Jhameel, all available as free downloads. There’s plenty more to be had (also uncharged) from his Soundcloud.
Get on it. Seriously though, he’s a weird looking dude. Watch as this polarises my limited audience.

Jhameel – ‘Waves’ [FREE MP3]

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Jhameel – ‘Collision’ [FREE MP3]

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Jhameel – ‘Wicked’ [FREE MP3]

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At the tail end of 2011 we’re beginning to look back upon the highs and lows of the year that was. I won’t into the details here (we’ll save that for the impending 2011 wrap-up post) but I can decidedly say that one of the coolest things to come out of 2011 was The Alabama Shakes. They were the talk of the town for the most of the mid year and after being the most discussed unsigned artist of the 2011′s first half they’ll be heading into 2012 with a Rough Trade deal under their belt.
The Alabama Shakes – ‘On Your Way’

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There’s southern blues guitar out the eyelids and a real original soul feel that most bands can only dream of capturing. The titanic vocals of  Brittany Howard are the centrepiece on most tracks, rising, falling, swelling and peaking, constantly laden with believable emotion. I was going to polarise The Alabama Shakes with Jinja Safari but really, it’s time I laid off Jinja Safari, they’ve had their fill of my snarky comments. I don’t know, who else is a visuals band? You know the kind I mean, all about craziness, costumes, themes and catchphrases. There are bands like The Flaming Lips that have spent the last thirty years demonstrating that you can do both, but I’m thinking about that real vapid, taste of the present type of thing with the headdresses, the bedouin fashion sense etc. I don’t know where I’ve gone with this, what i’m really trying to say is that this is what The Alabama shakes aren’t.

You just have to watch the below clip of The Alabama Shakes playing in a little record store to realise that there’s very little affectation to what you’re hearing. Hear and purchase the rest of their EP on their bandcamp.