Happy New Year everybody! It’s hard to believe 2011 is already over. I could use another six months to fully digest all the music the year had to offer. I’ll try my best to post my favorite albums and tracks much sooner than that – hopefully by late January. In the meantime, I’ve decided to kick off my year-end coverage with a list that has nothing to do with music released in 2011.
Back in 2006, I decided to post an article about my favorite musical discoveries from the past year regardless of whether the artist had released a new album that year. I called it the “New to Me” list. It gave me a chance to write about those artists that would’ve otherwise been neglected, most likely due to my habitual laziness. I’ve decided to resurrect the “New to Me” list this year to make up for only posting one Artist Spotlight in 2011. Enjoy!
CHAD VANGAALEN
After browsing a fair number of year-end lists, I’m convinced Chad VanGaalen is one of the most underrated musicians today. I discovered him back in May when he released Diaper Island, his fourth studio album. It didn’t take long for his nasally warble and off-kilter melodies to hook me. Yet for some reason Diaper Island has graced very few “Best of” lists this year.
VanGaalen is pretty reclusive so perhaps he doesn’t mind. I, on the other hand, do. After falling in love with Diaper Island, I started exploring some of his older material. With each new album VanGaalen continues to evolve and grow. Soft Airplane, his third album, contains some of his catchiest songs. “Molten Light,” which tells the tale of two brothers haunted by a vengeful woman they tried to murder, is disturbingly infectious. Make sure you’re alone before belting out the song’s refrain (“I’ll find you and I’ll kill you“) or you might frighten those around you.
The two tracks below are pulled from the previously-mentioned albums. “Sara” is from Diaper Island while “Willow Tree” is the opener from Soft Airplane. Each offers a brief glimpse into VanGaalen’s strange little world. If you like what you hear, I recommend starting with Diaper Island and working backwards.
LAURA GIBSON
Technically I discovered Laura Gibson a few years ago. However, it wasn’t until 2011 that I finally came to fully appreciate her music. Let me explain.
One of my favorite things in life is listening to music as I fall asleep. It helps distract my mind from replaying all the embarrassing things I did earlier in the day. I started using music as a sleep aid sometime during high school, but only recently did I realize certain genres are more effective at inducing sleep than others. For example, you probably shouldn’t listen to Girl Talk if you want to fall asleep quickly, or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon if you want to avoid nightmares.
To help keep track of my favorite nighttime albums, I recently started a playlist in iTunes called “Sleepy.” It’s got Sharon Van Etten, Beach House, South San Gabriel, Sun Kil Moon, and Jason Molina, to name a few. But my all-time favorite has to be Laura Gibson: I put her music on and I’m asleep 10 minutes later.
I realize this might not sound like much of a compliment, but it’s reality. Prior to this year, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate her music because I slept through most of it. Not because it’s boring but because it’s unbelievably soothing. At the center is Laura Gibson’s effortless, beguiling voice. I struggle to find the right words to describe it, you should probably just experience it yourself.
I’ve posted two songs below for your listening pleasure. The first track, appropriately titled “Sleeper,” is from Beasts of Seasons, currently my favorite album and a great place to jump in if you like what you hear. The second song is the title track from her upcoming album La Grande, out on January 24. It’s one of her most upbeat tracks to date and could mark an exciting new direction for an incredibly talented musician.
