Best of 2011: Locals Only

Alright, I'm going to start this list with the usual disclaimers about how art is subjective and ranking one piece of art above another is just silly. However, as a music nerd I love lists, which is why this is my favorite time of year. You can look forward to my albums of the year list next week along with Shivvy's. For now, I thought I'd shine a light on some Austin and/or Austin-area artists who had enjoyable music releases this year. Click the name of the artist to go to their homepage, click the name of the release to go to a purchase page. I'm sure there are lots that I will leave out, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy that band, it just means I didn't include it in this list. In other words, you can save your gripes for Oprah's return 'cause I ain't even interested grrrl! In the spirit of, "oh shit I forgot about that one" I present to you the Bloggy Top 11 Austin releases of 2011:

• 11: Equals - Equals EP

  
  
  





• 10: Frank Smith - Monsters

  
  
  Frank Smith's record, Before You Were Born actually comes out in January but he released Monsters and A Decline THIS year so, I'm including it.
  
  
  Frank Smith - Monsters video via YouTube




• 9: Pure X - Pleasure

  
  
  I'm also including Pure X's You're In It Now EP, as part of this entry. Although, the video below is from the LP, Pleasure.
  
  
  Pure X - Surface video via YouTube




• 8: The Calm Blue Sea - The Calm Blue Sea

  
  
  
  The Calm Blue Sea - Literal video via YouTube




• 7: The Strange Boys - Live Music

  
  
  The album title uses the short "i" sound, as in "living the music."
  
  
  The Strange Boys - Me and You video via YouTube




• 6: Sleep ∞ Over - Forever

  
  
  




• 5: Wild Child - Pillow Talk

  
  
  




• 4: Quiet Company - We Are All Where We Belong

  
  
  
  Quiet Company - Fear and Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree video via YouTube




• 3: The Wooden Birds - Two Matchsticks

  
  
  
  The Wooden Birds - Criminals Win video via YouTube




• 2: Ume - Phantoms




Ume - Captive video via YouTube



• 1: White Denim - D

  
  
  Just like I did with the Pure X entry, I'm including White Denim's Takes Place In Your Work Space EP because it's an extension of D and features one of my favorite White Denim songs to date, Handwriting.
  
  
  White Denim - Street Joy video via YouTube

You can find most of these artists if you're a Spotify user and want to hear more. Frank Smith has his previous releases on Spotify but, the songs I posted above are from an album due out in 2012 so you won't find them there. For the other 10, I've made a little playlist for you to enjoy. So, there you have Best of Austin 2011. Feel free to leave your thoughts, concerns, etc in the comments or tweet @AustinBloggy.