| BEST 2011 ALBUMS #5-1: ARCTIC MONKEYS, LIGHTS, CULTS, THRICE, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE. |
| Written by Shahlin Graves & Sarah Mudgway | |||||
| Friday, 30 December 2011 17:35 | |||||
 #5. ARCTIC MONKEYS - 'Suck It And See' MUST-LISTEN: 'She's Thunderstorms', 'Love Is A Laserquest', 'Black Treacle', 'Reckless Serenade', 'Piledriver Waltz', 'Suck It And See'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Miles Kane, A B & The Sea, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Kooks... and Alex Turner's 'Submarine' EP. FACT: JOSH HOMME sings backing-vocals on track seven, 'All My Own Stunts', and MILES KANE shares co-writing credits on 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala' with Turner. MUST-WATCH: Frontman ALEX TURNER performing an acoustic version of 'Love Is A Laserquest' live...  #4. LIGHTS - 'Siberia' MUST-LISTEN: 'Timing Is Everything', 'Fourth Dimension', 'Siberia', 'Banner'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Holy Fuck, Ellie Goulding, Breanne Düren, Owl City, Dia Frampton... and bottle rockets. FACT: HOLY FUCK co-produced and feature on two songs, 'Toes' and 'Everybody Breaks A Glass'. MUST-READ: Click HERE to read our exclusive 2011 interview with Lights. MUST-WATCH: Lights performing an acoustic version of 'Banner'...  #3. CULTS - 'Cults' MUST-LISTEN: 'Oh My God', 'Bumper', 'You Know What I Mean', 'Never Saw The Point', 'Most Wanted', 'Go Outside'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: The Shangri-Las, Metric, Sleigh Bells, Lykke Li, The Ronettes, The Bird And The Bee, Seapony... and dreaming about running away. FACT: Cults will be coming to New Zealand for the first time next month to play LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2012! Click HERE for the full line-up. MUST-READ: Click HERE to read our latest interview with Cults' BRIAN OBLIVION. MUST-WATCH: Cults performing 'Bumper' live on a rooftop...  #2. THRICE - 'Major/Minor' MUST-LISTEN: 'Call It In The Air', 'Yellow Belly', 'Cataracts', 'Blinded', ‘Words In The Water’. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Brand New, Dustin Kensrue, Circa Survive, Thursday... and metaphorical poetry. FACT: After their ‘stripped down’ album 'Beggars' was released in 2009, Thrice took influence from bands such as Botch to make 'Major/Minor' "bigger and in your face". 'Major/Minor' is to be the band’s final album for an indefinite period of time, due to Thrice announcing that they will be "taking a break" from being a full-time band after their 2012 Spring U.S. tour. <cries> MUST-WATCH: Thrice performing ‘Words In The Water’ live...  #1. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - 'Ceremonials' MUST-LISTEN: 'Breaking Down', 'All This And Heaven Too', 'Never Let Me Go', 'Only If For A Night', 'Shake Me Out' + [deluxe edition bonus tracks] 'Landscape' & 'Strangeness And Charm'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Bat For Lashes, Lykke Li, A Fine Frenzy, The Kills, Marina & The Diamonds... and the writings of Virginia Woolf and a psychedelically-possessed version of 'The Great Gatsby'. FACT: Editor-in-chief of American 'Vogue' magazine ANNA WINTOUR, was one of the first people that Florence [personally] sent a finished copy of the album to. MUST-READ: Click HERE to read our 2011 interview with Florence + The Machine frontwoman FLORENCE WELCH. MUST-WATCH: Florence + The Machine performing an acoustic version of 'Never Let Me Go' live on a rooftop... |
