50 albums of 2011 // 20 - 11

The fourth installment, and an incredible set of ten albums that have soundtracked our 2011. From SBTRKT's soulful dub step to Yuck's 90s leaning grunge pop, from Bon Iver's epic folk through to Timber Timbre's dramatic noir, it's testament to the top 10 we've picked that these records didn't quite make it in.

11. Bon Iver - 'Bon Iver'

Bon Iver // Holocene

12. SBTRKT - 'SBTRKT'



YT057 - SBTRKT - Living Like I Do by Young Turks

13. Toro Y Moi - 'Underneath The Pine'

Toro Y Moi // Still Sound

14. Yuck - 'Yuck'



15. Peaking Lights - '936'

Peaking Lights // All The Sun That Shines

16. Timber Timbre - 'Creep On Creepin' On'



17. Braids - 'Native Speaker'

Braids // Lemonade

18. Ghostpoet - 'Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam'



19. I Break Horses - 'Hearts'

I Break Horses // Winter Beats

20. The War On Drugs - 'Slave Ambient'



Follow @No_Action

Local favourites // Novella

A Google of 'Novella' may confuse the lazy among you into thinking that London's Novella is also in fact Finland's Novella, or perhaps Christian rock band from the early 90s. They're not.

This Novella has been knocking around London support slots for a while, but their recent superb trio of Sonic Youth / Teenage Fanclub influenced tracks is the best the band has produced yet, each descending into grinding jams swamped in fuzzy feedback with dreamily laissez faire vocals.

Alongside Warm Brains, Not Cool, Male Bonding, Gross Magic, Yuck, Colours, Weird Dreams, Sauna Youth among others, London isn't exactly wanting for lo-fi talent, however the tracks below suggest Novella is more than able of joining the party. Catch them at 1234 in a few weeks.

The Things You Do by Novella.
Oh Brian by Novella.
Beach Fatigue by Novella.

Follow @No_Action

Yuck // Daughter

Doesn't that look a cosy place to be? Nestled in the moist warmth of Yuck's armpits and matted hair. Smells like contentment, feels like happiness.

Much the same effect applies when listening to their free-to-download new single Daughter, enveloping you as it does in furry guitar reverb, aiming as high as Postal Service and nigh on getting there. The ambition of Yuck is admirable, riding the wave of their former members' fleeting yet deserved notoriety with Cajun Dance Party to nail support slots with Japandroids most recently and Modest Mouse and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart most imminently. More shoe-gazing epics like Daughter, echoed by surging garage like early single Georgia, suggest much to come from the London-based foursome.

Their new EP Weakend is out on August 2nd. In the meantime, get your ears around Daughter from their blog, or listen to Weakend below.

Yu(c)k - Weakend from Yuck on Vimeo.