The Sage's Albums of 2011 to date

Dear followers

During his Indian travels the Sage had scant opportunity to stay in touch with the latest album releases - bar the occasional Bollywood soundtrack - so having had the chance to catch up back in my South London abode, here's my thoughts on the best new CDs so far in 2011.

In no particular order...

The Vaccines - Well What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

Despite a ridiculous amount of hype for a band only formed last June, The Vaccines' debut album is impressively assured. There's nothing particularly original here, with most of the tracks falling somewhere between the terrace singalongs of the Fratellis and the widescreen bombastic miserabilism of Glasvegas, but those in search of an uncomplicated, tuneful indie-rock album to sing along to this spring should check this out without delay. However, they really do need to come up with a better title for their next record.


PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

It's almost 20 years since Ms Harvey's first album (1992's Dry) and it's a breath of fresh air to see an artist producing her best ever work at a stage of her career when many contemporaries have long since ran out of ideas. A sometimes challenging but never pretentious reflection on the impact of war, many of Let England Shake's songs focus on the brutal conflicts of World War I and Gallipoli in particular. The raw, jagged beats and riffs are appropriately stark yet naggingly infectious, with Harvey's supple, expressive voice providing a melodic foil throughout. A significant work that shows pop music can be both intelligent and accessible at the same time.


The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh

Fleet Foxes' stellar 2008 debut has made folk-rock hipper now than at any time since the early 70s heyday of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, and perhaps the best of the American bands to break through in their wake is Rhode Island's The Low Anthem. Fourth album Smart Flesh was recorded in an abandoned pasta factory, and the end result is a sparse, atmospheric sound that soars and echoes around the vast open spaces where it was recorded. Often slow and stately, the tracks here take time to grow on the listener but you're unlikely to hear a better record of this type this year - well until Fleet Foxes themselves return next week at least...


The Unthanks - Last

From American folk to British, and Northumbria's Unthank sisters continue their evolution from their north-east traditional song roots to something of altogether broader appeal. The centuries old murder ballads are still there, as are the haunting vocal harmonies, but lusher orchestration, more expansive arrangements and some innovative covers of rock artists (for example King Crimson and Tom Waits) elevate Last far beyond the work of your stereotypical folk troubadours. Often bleak, but very, very beautiful.


Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

Like the Vaccines, this diminutive Anglo-Italian was hotly tipped going into 2011, and her debut album shows that most of the fuss was justified. Blessed with both a powerful voice and fabulous guitar playing ability, Ms Calvi effectively uses both qualities in a darkly atmospheric collection of songs that drip with passion. Often abandoning conventional song structures and incorporating elements of classical and famenco as well as rock, this is a dense, sometimes confrontational record that signals the arrival of a major new talent.

For my full review of Anna Calvi on BBC Music, please click here.


Here's some links to performances/recordings of tracks from all the albums I've mentioned above:

The Vaccines

PJ Harvey

The Low Anthem

The Unthanks

Anna Calvi


And finally - one for you all to avoid. I hate emo...

Twin Atlantic - Free



Regards

The Sage