Top 20 Releases of 2011 – #4 & #3
on December 15th, 2011Our Top 20 Releases of 2011 countdown is in the home stretch now as we do our second last reveal and tell you who fills the #3 and #4 positions in the countdown. #4 belongs to the kings of pop punk, New Found Glory and their mighty ‘Radiosurgery‘ album released via Epitaph Records that left everyone else in the genre behind in their dust. Pulling up a stool at #3 are The Horrible Crowes, the project between Brian Fallon and Ian Perkins, their mood setting debut ‘Elsie’ via Side One Dummy lived up to every piece of hype it generated prior to it’s release. See below for more information on both releases and to catch up on the countdown if you’ve been behind. Come back at 2:00pm tomorrow when we’ll reveal #1 & #2.
#3 - The Horrible Crowes – Elsie - Side One Dummy / Shock
This one was probably my most anticipated album of 2011, and I was not left disappointed. Talked up to be a ‘night time’ band, this project between The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon and his mate Ian Perkins is the perfect one to kick back and chill out to. Grab a drink, make friends with your favourite chair, and just listen, you’ll feel it. Close your eyes, your mind will take you to a little underground, dark and smokey bar. The songs were always going to be compared to The Gaslight Anthem due to the vocals, but the only real thing they share is a talented as fuck songwriter, and damn good tunes. You can talk all day about the album, but in reality, it’s just best listened to, anyone who can appreciate a great song won’t find it hard to get into, and with each listen it just gets better and better. I’ll be keeping this one close by for a long time to come. If you haven’t checked it out, do yourself a favour and get onto it pronto!
[Buy it on CD or Vinyl online here]
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#4 - New Found Glory – Radiosurgery – Epitaph Records
If they didn’t own the kings of pop-punk crown before, they do after unleashing this beast. Loaded with some of the catchiest songs you are bound to hear, New Found Glory just keep on truckin’ forward and breathing life into a pretty stale at times genre. They don’t sway too far from their foundation but still manage to fill an album with solid material from start to finish. In my opinion this one is their best yet, and pretty much left everyone else in the genre a few miles behind them on the road this year. Always active and exciting live, they match that in the studio and are deserving of all the accolades they receive. If this album doesn’t bring a smile to your face and set off a good sing-a-long then you probably have issues that require attention!
[Buy it on CD or Vinyl online here]
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THE COUNTDOWN IN FULL
1. Come back at 2:00pm - December 16th
2. Come back at 2:00pm - December 16th
3. The Horrible Crowes – Elsie [More Info / Buy Online]
4. New Found Glory – Radiosurgery [More Info / Buy Online]
5. Frenzal Rhomb - Smoko At The Pet Food Factory [More Info / Buy Online]
6. Front End Loader – Ritardando [More Info / Buy Online]
7. Jen Buxton – Don’t Change Your Plans [More Info / Buy Online]
8. Social Distortion – Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes [More Info / Buy Online]
9. Former Cell Mates – Presented As A Work Of Fiction [More Info / Buy Online]
10. Tonight Alive – What Are You So Scared Of? [More Info / Buy Online]
11. Luca Brasi – Extended Family [More Info / Buy Online]
12. Jonesez – Gruffalo [More Info / Buy Online]
13. Yellowcard – When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes [More Info / Buy Online]
14. Driven Fear – Contender [More Info / Buy Online]
15. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones [More Info / Buy Online]
16. The Optionals – Bash It Out For Their Lonely Heads [More Info / Buy Online]
17. Stolen Youth – Dark Century [More Info / Buy Online]
18. Balance And Composure – Separation [More Info / Buy Online]
19. Mindset – Midnight Sky [More Info / Buy It Online]
20. I Exist – II: The Broken Passage [More Info / Buy It Online]
21. The Decline – Are You Gonna Eat That? [More Info / Buy It Online]
22. Nick 13 – Nick 13 [More Info / Buy It Online]
23. William Elliott Whitmore – Field Songs [More Info / Buy It Online]
24. The Wonder Years – Suburbia, I’ve Given You All, And Now I’m Nothing [More Info / Buy It Online]
25. I Am The Avalanche – Avalanche United [More Info / Buy It Online]
26. Topnovil – Same Old Story [More Info / Buy It Online]
27. The Bennies – Party! Party! Party! [More Info / Buy It Online]
28. Homeward Bound – Chorus Of Castouts [More Info / Buy It Online]
29. Samiam – Trips [More Info / Buy It Online]
30. Polar Bear Club – Clash Battle Guilt Pride [More Info / Buy It Online]
31. We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships [More Info / Buy It Online]
32. Mariachi El Bronx – II [More Info / Buy It Online]
33. The Living End – The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating [More Info / Buy It Online]
34. Aficionado – Aficionado [More Info / Buy It Online]
35. Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday [More Info / Buy It Online]
36. Dananananaykroyd – There Is A Way [More Info / Buy It Online]
37. Living With Lions – Holy Shit! [More Info / Buy It Online]
38. Lanie Lane – To The Horses [More Info / Buy It Online]
39. Dropkick Murphys – Going Out In Style [More Info / Buy It Online]
40. Cobra Skulls – Agitations [More Info / Buy It Online]
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