My Top 50 Albums of the Year - Part Three

#30 - "Mirrorwriting", Jamie Woon
Fuck James Blake. This was the interesting post-dubstep solo album of early 2011.

#29 - "The Big Roar", The Joy Formidable
It was just a refreshing surprise to see that Wales actually has good acts. Name me another one. Go on.

#28 - "21", Adele
The statistics speak for themselves. A few dud tracks but at its best it was painfully and resonantly emotional.

#27 - "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds", Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
I know I worshipped the pants off of it in my review but an enduring love for the top 25 has put this in a surprisingly low position.

#26 - "Submarine OST", Alex Turner
The only soundtrack placing on my list, Submarine was a small but sweet collection of lovely songs culminating in the excellent Piledriver Waltz (which the full band sadly destroyed)

#25 - "Anna Calvi", Anna Calvi
It must have been quite frustrating for a breakthrough artist so noticeably similar to PJ Harvey to release an album this year, but Calvi brought a tonne of 50s Western influences for one of the coolest records of the year.

#24 - "On A Mission", Katy B
I slightly underrated this upon its release because of a little scepticism for the UK garage genre - and I still maintain that it's 90% shite - but Katy B has pretty much dominated my party playlists this year.

#23 - "EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\", Glasvegas
Another band that, prior to 2011, I loathed (mostly on account of lead James Allan's conduct in interviews and press appearances) but their second release was a deliciously dark and rich wall of emotion that was impossible to avoid.

#22 - "Wounded Rhymes", Lykke Li
The only non-Brit in this segment, Lykke's debut back in 2008 failed to impress - but the classic rock-n-roll songwriting here helped reign in her passionate energy into something much more intriguing and attention-grabbing.

#21 - "A Creature I Don't Know", Laura Marling
I'm beginning to think that Marling could record an album whilst sat on the toilet so long as her beautiful Joni Mitchellesque chords and vocals are present, and I'd love it.

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