BEST OF 2011
BEST OF 2011 From cutting edge albums and inspiring visual art to unforgettable tales of stage and screen, 2011 was a year to remember. We bring you the highlights
44 THE LIST 15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012
ALBUMS EXHIBITIONS
1 GIL SCOTT-HERON AND JAMIE XX We’re New Here (XL) The xx’s producer took the first album that Gil Scott-Heron had released in well over a decade, I’m New Here, and added a massively enjoyable dubby bounce to this remix of all 13 tracks. Piano house and minimal bleepery complement Scott-Heron’s raspy vocal to stunning and striking effect. The fact that it turned out to be a career-restarter in the year the ‘godfather of rap’ died, aged 62, made it especially bittersweet.
2 REMEMBER REMEMBER The Quickening (Rock Action) MOJO called it ‘eight delightful lattices of wordless, pan-global mood music’, and when we reviewed this album from the Glasgow prog-rock orchestra back in September, we called it ‘a shimmering and optimistic tour de force’. Fronted by sonic experimenter turned melody maker, Graeme Ronald, and featuring guest guitarist RM Hubbert, we liked it from the first listen. The anti-grower?
3 JOSH T PEARSON Last of the Country Gentleman (Mute) A phenomenally stark and moving record from the enigmatic, deeply talented Texan with a foot-long beard. The fact that some tracks come in at almost 12 minutes long may have been off-putting to some, but the rewards are huge to those who persevere with its unrelenting melancholy, open-wound candour and ink-black humour.
4 COM TRUISE
Galactic Melt (Ghostly International) Summing up this year’s trend for retro- futurism, and a tendency to galaxy cruise, while trawling the 80s and 90s for inspiration, Seth Haley’s slow-mo dancefloor beats got massive love this year from The List. (Special mention also goes to HTRK’s debut Work (work, work) who like it slow and sleazy, and Washed Out’s Within and Without, making it blurry and beautiful.)
5 METRONOMY The English Riviera (Because Music) There was a heavy coastal theme to 2011’s soundtrack, no? Everywhere from the surf-pop of The Drums, Best Coast, Beach Fossils to Summer Camp, Wavves and the Japanese War Effort, the Speedos were on and there was sand in our sandwiches. Our favourite though, was the made in Torbay pop of Metronomy, solidifying their sound on their most upbeat, and commercially popular record to date.
1 BRITISH ART SHOW 7: IN THE DAYS OF THE COMET A major cultural highlight of 2011, this touring exhibition of works by some of the biggest names in the contemporary art world arrived in Glasgow for the first time in over 20 years. Showing across three venues over several months, the show featured contributions from long- established artists such as Alasdair Gray and Sarah Lucas as well as hot young talents Karla Black, Luke Fowler and Charles Avery. CCA, GoMA and Tramway, Glasgow, May.
2 AUGUST SANDER: PEOPLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY The pioneering German photographer’s multi-faceted portrait of the society he lived in was the basis for this exceptional exhibition at the Dean. Sander’s images of people from across the social strata of Weimar society, included workmen, artists, industrialists, Nazis and even the dead. Modern Art Gallery II, Edinburgh, Mar.
3 DAVID MACH: PRECIOUS LIGHT The Fife-born artist’s epic tribute to the King James Bible (which turns 400 this year) stood out at this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival, largely thanks to a trio of immense wire sculptures depicting the crucifixion. The three-storey exhibition also featured numerous large-scale collages and Mach’s studio. City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Aug.
4 NARCISSUS REFLECTED The David Lomas-curated exhibition brought together painters, sculptors, filmmakers and photographers in a muscular exploration of the myth about the youth who fell in love with his own reflection. Among the works on display were Salvador Dalì’s ‘Metamorphosis of Narcissus’ and Jean Cocteau’s Orphee as well as works by Cecil Beaton, Claude Cahun and Willard Maas. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, May.
5 JEREMY MILLAR: RESEMBLANCES, SYMPATHIES AND OTHER ACTS Many artists use their own bodies as the basis for their work, but few have done it so literally as Jeremy Millar. A life-sized silicon cast of the artist, entitled ‘Self Portrait as a Drowned Man (The Willows)’ formed the centrepiece of this collection of sculptures, film works and objects inspired by his fascination with history. CCA, Glasgow, Mar.