Lost in the Shuffle

written by Moby

For the third consecutive January, I find myself smacking my forehead with a bit more frequency than usual over my obvious flaws as a monitor of the alt/indie music world.

That’s because for three consecutive years I’ve done “Best Of” shows right after the new year to commemorate my favorites from the previous year—and then, when I’m done with them and resume my never-ending, quotidian task of foraging for New Stuff, I discover how badly and how frequently I’ve missed the boat. That is, if I discover a great new album in December and it’s a few months old, no big deal. But when I do the same in January, it’s grating.

Once again, I’m kicking myself for several oversights that I’ve discovered in just the last couple of weeks. Specifically, as of this date, I’ve identified four albums that were released as early as last February, which evaded my radar and would be very strong candidates for the Favorite Albums of 2011 list that I compiled at year’s end.

They’re orphans—discovered too late for my 2011 list and barred from candidacy a year from now. And here they are:

The Golden Mean, by Kim Novak. This is not the 79-year-old retired actress, but a French (!) four-piece. They put out an album four years ago that’s been described as cold-wave a la Interpol. Then nothing until 2011. They released an EP back in February, which I’ve yet to check out, and then in October they came out with the 15-song “The Golden Mean.” I hear a little of an Interpol influence; but it’s much richer than that, drawing from a variety of influences (including soul) and extremely well-written. It’s also very subtle; it’s the kind of album that slowly eases its way into your mind and you realize you’re hearing something special.

Never Forever, by Singapore Sling. This Icelandic five-piece noice/shoegaze band has been around for nearly 10 years, produced several albums and I have somehow managed to ignore them despite the fact that I really liked the one track of theirs that I had in my library, “Overkiller,” which they gave away as a free mp3 on the 2004 South by Southwest site. I heard some kind of positive mention of the “new” Sling album, checked it out, discovered that it came out last May, played it…and played it and played it in recent days. They’re probably the five millionths “Jesus and Mary Chain”-influenced band, but they do it extremely well. Very dark, droning, pulsating.

Moment Bends, by Architecture in Helsinki. Another veteran band, this one from Australia, which I’ve somehow managed to ignore over the years. This album, which came out last May, is a lush, exuberantly upbeat slice of indie pop, heavy on the synths. It kinda made me think of what Magnetic Fields might sound like if they decided to do a dance record.

Get Sharp, by The Limousines. They’re a Bay Area electropop three-piece that released their first album in 2010. Sugary and infectious. The track, “Internet Killed the Video Star” kinda gives you the idea…