Matt Ulman

As promised, I want to slightly amend my Best of 2011 list.  I’ve actually been meaning to do this for months, so please don’t judge me on the fact that it’s nearly 2013.

• Youth Lagoon – I seriously could not stop listening to this in January / February.  It’s a damned quirky record, but genuinely beautiful and when it rocks it gets the job done.  In an era when a lot of bands just push play in order to perform, the live show’s also surprisingly worth seeing given the few instruments involved.

• The Rural Alberta Advantage – I’ll admit to being initially upset that the new album wasn’t like Hometowns, but the fact is that I don’t think anything will ever capture the fun and excitement of experiencing this band for the first times.  Those drums and the vocals / lyrics were enough to always bring a smile to my face, but the new album just didn’t grab me the same way.  I forgot that it’s not important that it doesn’t have the same effect, ultimately it’s a good album with songs that stand on their own.

It’s too late to put them into any sort of order, so I won’t try.