Top Albums of 2011 - No. 1

1.  David Comes To Life – Fucked Up

Let me preface this with the following statement:  I had never heard of this band until a month and a half ago.  I received an email one day informing me of a sideshow that the band was playing at Melbourne’s East Brunswick Club (they were here supporting Foo Fighters).  Intrigued by the name I did some research, found out who they were and upon hearing their music, immediately fell in love.  Needless to say, I purchased a ticket to the aforementioned gig and was treated to one of the best shows I have ever been to.  Not only this, but their latest album, David Comes To Life, has become my musical highlight of 2011.  A concept album set in the not-too-distant future, the story revolves around David Eliade, a young man working in a light bulb factory.  He is shaken out of his daily routine when he is handed a pamphlet on his way to work by activist, Veronica Boisson.  The two instantly fall in love and she drags David into her anti-government activities. Together, they build a bomb designed to blow up a government building. This bomb fails to destroy the targeted building but does kill Veronica in the process.  From here, David’s grieving process is explored as well as his possible guilt in killing his lover.  The album does an incredible job of exploring and making the listener feel the youthful exuberance of young love and the danger of living on the run as the couple try to topple the totalitarian regime they live under and moves seamlessly into David’s internal struggle after Veronica’s death.  This is no simple feat given that many bands have attempted something similar in the past and failed.  The band seems to have an unfailing ability to tap into the universal experiences of love, loss, fear and death and express these experiences clearly and viscerally, almost forcing the listener to be drawn into the narrative and David’s plight.  Put simply though, Fucked Up have delivered an album with more focus, passion and heart than any other artist this year and this is why David Comes To Life is my favourite album from 2011.  I know it’s a huge call, but this album deserves to take a place next to The Who’s Quadrophenia and Pink Floyd’s The Wall as one of the greatest rock operas of all time.

Honourable Mentions for 2011

Kiss Each Other Clean – Iron & Wine

Little Hell – City & Colour

The King of Limbs – Radiohead

The Harrow & The Harvest – Gillian Welch

Circuital – My Morning Jacket

Angles – The Strokes

Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins – Jim Ward

One – TesseracT

Mission Bell – Amos Lee
Bad As Me - Tom Wait
Revelator - Tedeschi Trucks Band