Best of 2011: Austin Music
I cannot recall a single calendar year in which Austin was privy to a deep well of varied, talented musicians. If 2011 was not the best year for our local, independent music scene here in Austin, it came damn close.
What I came to appreciate the most about the independent music scene here in Austin is how supportive the bands are of each other. (I have played in enough bands to know how cutthroat local music scenes can be.) Even though most of the bands that appear on the list below do not necessarily sound all that similar to each other, most of them are friends and they often play on the same bills.
Now, about this list… So, to qualify for this list, the artist/band must be based in Austin and their album had to be released in 2011. From there, I chose the ten albums that I have enjoyed listening to the most. I intentionally use the word “favorite” rather than “best” because I really hate to pit albums against each other in that manner; that is also the reason I am opting for an alphabetical listing rather than a numerical ranking. It is also worth noting that this list features only four bands (The Lovely Sparrows, Ringo Deathstarr, The Sour Notes and The Wooden Birds) whom I had heard of prior to January 2011; the other six bands are brand spanking new to me.
If you have been following my weekly posts, you can probably close your eyes and guess who made this list. (Hint: I have featured most of them in previous posts.) If your eyes are still open, here is an alphabetical listing my ten favorite albums released by Austin-based artists in 2011.
Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears – Scandalous
Elaine Greer – Annotations
The Lovely Sparrows – Tall Cedars of Lebanon
Mother Falcon – Alhambra
Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip
The Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks
As if that is not enough, here are some other Austin bands whom I just could not get enough of in 2011: BOY, Cowboy and Indian, Dana Falconberry, The Distant Seconds, The Early Stages, The Eastern Sea, Luxuriator, One Hundred Flowers, Residual Kid + Grace London and Rickey Jean Francois.