For us, 2011 was another year of taking in as much as we could and sharing the best with you. Next year, however, will be a homecoming of sorts, a return to rock-'n'-roll roots. We'll soon be able to share the projects that we have in store — across multiple mediums — but for now, dig into this rock-focused list of must-own albums.

And for more, revisit (or simply visit) our lists from 2010 and 2009:

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010
50 Unheralded Albums from 2009

Steven Drozd: The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score) (Twinkle Cash Co., 1/18/11)

Steven Drozd: "Born"

A multi-instrumentalist and the third-most-tenured member of The Flaming Lips, Steven Drozd marked his first official solo release early this year with the nearly instrumental accompaniment to the documentary The Heart is a Drum Machine.

The music shares a lot of characteristics with the Flaming Lips of the past dozen years – synthesized grooves, big rock beats, fuzz bass, airy keyboards, and different instrumental flourishes weaving in and out. But listeners are unlikely to confuse the two, and the score succeeds as a standalone album as well as a film accompaniment.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale Records / Superball Music, 2/8/11)

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Weight of the Sun"

There has been no shortage of grand themes and allegories in the canon of Austin post-punk quintet …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The band’s newest album, however, better matches its ambitious themes with its music, presenting an epic pair of pieces for Tao of the Dead.

The album recalls progressive albums of yore, from the likes of Rush and King Crimson, but channels them into easily digested movements. Stretches of heavy distortion and drum thrashing will appeal to the more metal-minded Trail of Dead fans, but there’s also plenty of hook-laden, radio-ready alternative rock.

Wires Under Tension: Light Science (Western Vinyl, 2/8/11)

Wires Under Tension: "Electricity Turns Them On"

Light Science is the exciting debut from Wires Under Tension, a duo comprised of violinist/multi-instrumentalist Christopher Tignor and drummer Theo Metz. With help from a few friends, including Jared Bell of Lymbyc Systym, the two combine live performance with electronic manipulation, sounding something like a progressive Dirty Three with horns, hip-hop beats, and post-rock guitar swells.

This seven-track release is a dense, fluid collection that retains consistency thanks to Metz’s steady rhythms. Electro-mechanical piano, clavinet, and synthesizers mesh with loops and samples to round out an impressive first release.

Pitom: Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes (Tzadik, 2/22/11)

Pitom: "Head in the Ground"

Combining heavy, fuzzy rock jams with Jewish melodies, Pitom is one of many projects from guitarist, bassist, and composer Yoshie Fruchter. Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the quartet's second release on Tzadik, follows the same path as its predecessor, but it does so with a bit more cohesion and restraint.

Built from the ground up with distorted bass and violin, the band's music carries similarities to that of Skeletonbreath and Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses. Whether driving a song with an infectious melody, commingling with the violin in the high end, or simply taking over a track with raw ability, Fruchter knows when to go full throttle (the punk power of "An Epic Encounter") or pull back (the dark slow jam of "A Resentful Repentance").

The Psychic Paramount: II (No Quarter, 2/22/11)

The Psychic Paramount: "RW"

Though relatively silent for the past six years, New York noise-rock trio The Psychic Paramount returned in February to release its first full-length since 2005. Effected guitar loops, devastating low-end grooves, and bashing rhythms again form the core of the band's sound, but II is a direct yet dynamic rock explosion.

Between the guitar, the cymbals, and the effects, the mid-range gets a constant workout. Those who are turned off by this kind of music may find it to be an exercise in patience, but the lengthier durations are a testament to the trio's skills at climax and denouement.

DeVotchKa: 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11)

DeVotchKa: "100 Other Lovers"

Following the fame from its Oscar-winning soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, Denver multi-instrumental quartet DeVotchKa has playfully tinkered with its sweeping, emotive sound. Though it already tossed together elements of folk, rock, Mexican, and Gypsy music, it remained united by the sullen croons and songwriting of frontman Nick Urata.

That unifying factor remains, but its newest album, 100 Lovers – its second post-Sunshine full-length – continues to expand the band’s scope. The material adds new and often subtle flavors to DeVotchKa’s repertoire. Uninitiated listeners might hear more of the same, but 100 Lovers is perfect for content fans – moving in new directions without a radical departure.

Stateless: Matilda (Ninja Tune, 3/1/11)

Stateless: "Ariel"

Matilda, Stateless' second full-length, showcases the British electro-rock group's continued maturity. Lead singer Chris James hits an impressive range of notes, from reverb-cloaked backing croons to soulful leads, atop an amalgamated mix of styles, sounds, and beats.

With contributions from The Balanescu Quartet, DJ Shadow, and Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), Matilda is stylistically inventive, with familiar worldly touchstones reworked into new contexts.

Grails: Deep Politics (Temporary Residence, 3/8/11)

Grails: "I Led Three Lives"

With cinematic soundscapes, Westernized Indian melodies, film-noir mystique, 1960s psychedelia, and crushing heaviness, Grails is an instrumental rarity. The Portland band's newest offering, Deep Politics, is an engaging and epic mix of acoustic intonations, indigenous sounds and melodies, spaghetti-western motifs, somber piano balladry, and more doom-filled, Eastern-infused stylistic transcendence.

And thanks in part to arrangements by Timba Harris, the mighty violinist from unparalleled genre annihilators Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3, Deep Politics vies to be Grails’ best album yet.

Parts & Labor: Constant Future (Jagjaguwar, 3/8/11)

Parts & Labor: "Constant Future"

After establishing itself early last decade as an interesting new name in noise rock, Parts & Labor delivered a flurry of releases over the span of just a few years. Since then, the band has scaled back to a trio built around the fuzzed guitar, bass, keyboard hooks, and tight rock rhythms.

Featuring some of the band's sturdiest songs yet, Constant Future is direct, potent, and catchy. Behind Dan Friel and BJ Warshaw's echoing, harmonized vocals are dirty, thick grooves that power the overlaid electronic freak-outs.

Adebisi Shank: This is the Second Album from a Band Called Adebisi Shank (Sargent House, 3/15/11)

Adebisi Shank: "Micro Machines"

Released to European acclaim in 2010, the aptly titled second album from Irish electro/math rockers Adebisi Shank achieved North American release this year thanks to the peerless Sargent House.

The management company / record label describes the trio as a blend of Fang Island’s shredding riffs with Battles’ electronic quirkiness and rhythmic playfulness. That description isn’t off the mark, but readers won’t get a sense of the band’s real abilities until they hear its hyper-melodic, polyrhythmic, and — most importantly — jubilant songs in full.

Second Album delivers a maelstrom of zany electronics, unusual distortions, and triumphant, rapidly ascending scales mixed with vintage synths, marimba, horns, and other accoutrements. This is all packaged between and around gloriously catchy and powerful rock riffs, resulting in a manic and buoyant sophomore effort.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy: "There is No God"

This much is obvious: folk singer/songwriter Will Oldham (you might know him as Bonnie "Prince" Billy or any of his former Palace offshoots) is consistent. He's released one or two albums per year for close to 20 years, collaborating with a staggering number of musicians, including Johnny Cash, Mark Lanegan, Nico Muhly, and Rob Mazurek.

Now, with the release of the new two-track 10-inch, There is No God, he can add philanthropy to his growing list of accomplishments. Proceeds from record sales will benefit two aquatic charities: Save Our Gulf and The Turtle Hospital. Oldham took a trip down a murky bayou for the "There is No God" video (watch here) — a quintessentially American landscape for his classically Americana tune. The release is rounded out by a track called "God is Love" and a free ringtone download of the title track.

Maggie Björklund: "The Anchor Song"

Coming Home, the debut solo album from Danish songwriter/guitarist Maggie Björklund, is a warm and inviting record of richly textured compositions highlighting her masterful pedal-steel guitar. Recorded in and evocative of the Southwest United States' particularly melancholic brand of folk, the album also features turns by Calexico, Mark Lanegan, Rachel Flotard, and Jon Auer, and already is one of ALARM’s favorite albums of the week.

As Björklund prepared to fly back to Europe after spending some time in the US, we caught up about the new album and the benefits of opening up musically.

What have you been up to while in the States?

Oh, I’ve done a lot of things on this trip. We made two fantastic videos. We recorded my songs played live with most of the guys from the album (Mark Lanegan, Jon Auer, and Rachel Flotard). That was really great and fun to do. We just got back from SXSW; I played a bunch of shows, including my official showcase. It went really well.

Was that your first time at SXSW?

Well, this was the first time with my own music. I’ve played there before. I know the turmoil of the 6th Street nightlife. But I had good responses at SXSW; people really stop and listen. It was very positive.

How did you become involved in music originally?

Well, I have always played music, since I was really little. It’s not something that I chose in that way; it’s just been a part of my life always. But as for becoming professional in music, I formed my band The Darleens in Denmark (after being a session guitarist in Hollywood). We were signed to Sony Music almost immediately, and that was my entrance.

When did you start playing the pedal-steel guitar? Why?

That was only 8 or 9 years ago, I think. I completely fell in love with it as soon as I started. It’s been with me every day since. The story with the pedal steel is that I had bought it several years earlier, because I love instruments and I always want to try and see what everything is like to play. So I bought the pedal steel from a friend and tried to play, but I just could not get anything good out of that instrument. I put it in a cupboard for a couple years; I was really annoyed with both the instrument and myself. But then a few years later I took it out again, and for some reason I had matured musically or whatever and I got some good sounds out of it. I was so thrilled.

How did you arrive at the southwestern folk sound you have now? Was this always your style?

Yes, more or less. My music has always leaned towards that genre. It’s hard to tell why you fall in love with certain music. It speaks to me in a way. I grew up in the countryside, where there wasn’t any music, really. My parents listened to classical music, so I’ve listened to a lot of classical in my life, but I’m very broad in what I like — jazz and rock — as long as it’s good!

Your first solo album, Coming Home, is being released in the USA and Europe this month. What was the songwriting/recording process like?

Some of the songs I had been working on before recording, but only as little ideas or half songs. When I knew the album was going to happen, I sat down and wrote for months because I really wanted to be picky about which songs were on the album and what they sounded like. We went to Tuscon, Arizona and recorded and had a fantastic week down there. I did some overdubs in Copenhagen and Seattle, and we recorded Mark Lanegan down in LA. [We visited] a lot of different places, but it was a great process and very inspiring.

How did making this album compare to your previous work with The Darleens or any of the other records you’ve been on?

I have matured a lot both as a composer and musician from what I have done earlier. I feel that what I have done on this album is much more true to me. For music to be interesting, it has to have something at stake for the person who makes it, and I feel this has that. I opened up musically on this album.

What was it like having artists contribute to your album, rather than the other way around?

I’m amazed at how easy the process was because I’m not used to working that closely with other artists. It was fantastic. Rachel Flotard wrote her lyrics, as did Jon Auer. I gave them the music and the title of songs, and I feel that they totally nailed the mood of the songs and in a way enhanced the feelings I had about the songs through those lyrics. I was really happy about that. Playing music like this, when you ask people to join you and collaborate with you, it’s all about opening up and saying “yes” to their ideas, and I was very happy to do so. It was a wonderful project to do, like being in heaven.

Lastly, what is one instrument that you don’t yet play but want to learn?

(Laughs) There are two instruments. I’ve threatened to play the Theramin; it’s so intriguing. That’s on the dashboard for me. Also, there’s an Irish harp, like the old-fashioned kind. That could be a challenge. I’m working hard on playing my viola at the moment. I played that when I was younger. It’s been really fun to get back into it; it’s almost as hard as the pedal steel.

[Have you pre-ordered yet? Don't forget to visit the Kickstarter page for Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music, our next book that profiles independent musicians and artists who explore color in unorthodox ways.]

Maggie Björklund: Coming Home (Bloodshot)

Maggie Björklund: "The Anchor Song"

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Danish guitarist Maggie Björklund got her chops playing around Europe in country bands and pop groups.  But it wasn’t until she discovered the radiant sounds of the pedal-steel guitar that she packed her bags to learn under a Nashville veteran. Following that tutelage, Björklund relocated to Seattle and subsequently appeared on a number of albums as a pedal-steel player.

Now that her pedal-steel gestation is complete, Björklund has released her debut solo album, Coming Home, on Bloodshot Records. It’s a charming collection of Southwestern folk tunes, and many of her established US relationships help make it so — including guest spots by Calexico, Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), Rachel Flotard (Visqueen), and Jon Auer (The Posies). And though she employs her guests to magnificent effect, Björklund’s talents shine through. Coming Home proves itself to be a beautiful debut, from the crooning vocals, western guitar licks, and cello strikes of “Summer Romance” to the dark guitar lines and ghostly, high-octave contrasts of “Insekt.”

Pharoahe Monch: WAR (We Are Renegades) (Duck Down)

Pharoahe Monch: "Black-Hand Side"

New York rapper Pharoahe Monch is a rap-world anomaly: equally beloved among mainstream and independent circles and extremely popular despite a relative dearth of his own releases.

Though he has contributed scores of high-profile and/or high-quality guest spots over the past dozen years, Monch has only released two solo albums over that period, with an eight-year gap coming between the first and second.  But his third and long-awaited album, We Are Renegades, is finally here, and it delivers in spades.

Offering, in his words, a "throwback to 1993, '94 hip hop," WAR is full of hard beats, melodic samples, and sociopolitical content, but it also holds many of the soulful elements of his 2007 album, Desire.

Following a sci-fi transmission from a future where technology presumably has allowed world powers to keep an iron grip over populations, the first full song takes shots at totalitarianism while Monch raps over a whirring synth line and a background faux-string version of the Ernest Gold theme to the 1960 film Exodus.

The next track mixes together more elements: social consciousness, a sax solo, and humorous interjections ("Pardon if it sounds a little wheezy / not Wayne, motherfuckers / I got asthma; it's not easy").  The title tune is an epic opus, another politically charged number stating that "the machine is corrupted, down the core" and featuring wailing guitar work by Vernon Reid.

The rest of WAR has dozens of other guest spots, including Jean Grae, Jill Scott, DJ Boogie Blind of The X-Ecutioners, and a host of others, such as the Layne Staley-esque chorus by Citizen Cope on "The Grand Illusions (Circa 1973)."  It never feels cluttered, however, and outside of an unfortunate and misogynistic verse by Royce da 5'9", the guests help to make this a potent return from Monch.

V/A: Sucker Punch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (WaterTower Music)

Emily Browning: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

Out this Friday, Sucker Punch is the latest project by fantasy filmmaker Zack Snyder, who directed the box-office smashes 300, Watchmen, and the remade Dawn of the Dead.  Along the way, he's had film-scoring assistance from Tyler Bates, who scored all three of the aforementioned films.

Despite the Titus controversy surrounding 300, Bates has composed some noteworthy accompaniments, and for Sucker Punch, he and big-name UK producer Marius de Vries put a cinematic spin on a selection of famous rock tunes, choosing selections from The Eurythmics, Björk, Jefferson Airplane, The Stooges, The Beatles, Pixies, and more.

One of the more interesting aspects to the soundtrack is that a few of the film's stars, including lead actress Emily Browning, sing over a number of the new arrangements. Two cover credits go to English alt-rockers Skunk Anansie, including one extended rock remix of Björk's famous "Army of Me," and guest vocals also appear from Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini and Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather and The Kills.

Browning's tracks are the most appealing, however, at least partially due to the direct tie-in.  But her gentle vocals carry an unexpected appeal, especially over the darker moments of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the squealing rock moments of "Where is My Mind?"

Honorable Mentions

Baby Dee: Regifted Light (Drag City)

James Blake: s/t (Universal Republic)

Born of Osiris: The Discovery (Sumerian)

David Solid Gould & Bill Laswell: Dub of the Passover (Tzadik)

Marika Hughes: Afterlife Music Radio: 11 Pieces for Solo Cello (DD)

Soundgarden: Live on I5 (A&M / Universal)

Woods of Ypres: Woods IV: The Green Album (Relapse)

Zion I & The Grouch: Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (Z&G Music)

Add to that list front man for long-time punk rock politicos Avail, Tim Barry, and his latest unplugged foray, Manchester, his second for Denver's Suburban Home Records. Songs like the anti-authoritarian album opener "Texas Cops" clearly display the old piss, fists, and vinegar of Avail, despite their acoustic chug-a-lug rhythms. The album even includes a retooled version of Avail's "This November," which sneaks into the lineup comfortably.

Beer pounding, fist pumping, politically-charged drinking anthems are in no short supply, but are thankfully well-balanced with slower, heart-on-the-sleeve ballads, and some solid Americana.

Certain songs tread thematically threadbare ground, such as "South Hill," about a soldier in the ongoing (and going) Iraq war. But the missteps are balanced with some truly excellent songs.

"C.R.F. (Retired)" is an expertly crafted everyman's tale, and "Sagacity Gone," is chock full of the kind of rousing, old fashioned stomp & circumstance that effortlessly rousts out the little person in side all of us that says, "Fuck it. Let's get drunk."  

But where Barry finds his greatest strength is in the songs furthest removed from the thrash-and-burn of Avail. His honest and direct bruised-knuckles and broken heart songwriting is most striking in slower, sadder songs.

"Ronnie Song" would feel perfectly at home on Bruce Springsteen's Greetings from Asbury Park, and "Tacoma" is perhaps one of the best break-up songs written this year. "Watch the clouds roll in, watch the clouds roll in/don't give me that shit about friends/ I've been there for you all along, but I'll never be there for you again."

While track to track Manchester is a mixed bag, the hits here far outweigh the misses, resulting in a worthy entry to the country-by-way-of-punk canon, and further shortening that mean ol' road between Black Flag and the Man in Black.  

- Pete Klockau

Tim Barry: www.timbarryrva.com
Suburban Home: www.suburbanhomerecords.com

After working together on Lanegan's solo outings and Dulli's Twilight Singers, Lanegan says that, "People in the press started asking if we were going to collaborate. And I told them that we were, and that it would be called the Gutter Twins, thinking it would never come to anything. The name just came off the top of my head, although it was kind of appropriate at the time."

Dulli only got wind of the concept through his own interviews with the press, after which he called up his longtime friend, and the two began planning a record. But because both men had their hands in many projects, initially the Gutter Twins had to be developed at a snail's pace. Lanegan recalls, "The first couple of sessions were about a year apart. We wrote four or five songs, and came up with the bulk of the record last spring."

Despite the lengthy breaks between songwriting sessions, their focus never wavered. Lanegan says that the music developed easily. "We never really talked about what it was going to be like. It came together and naturally took shape. We just knew we didn't want it to sound like anything we've done before." With songs ranging from bluesy folk ballads to electronic pop, to straight up guitar rock, they can be sure they've accomplished this feat.

But although the music is varied, there is a common thread in the lyrical content of Saturnalia, which incorporates themes of a spiritual nature that are characteristically dark and mysterious. Lanegan says, "We just sort of followed where it took us, and that's where it went. We came into it without having any songs at all. We wrote specifically for this." Although neither was stranger to the art of collaboration, notably through Lanegan's efforts with Kurt Cobain, Isobel Campbell, and PJ Harvey, and Dulli's with Lucinda Williams and the revolving cast of the Twilight Singers, writing for The Gutter Twins was unique because the two wrote the lyrics for many of the songs together.

Produced with Mathias Schneeberger, Saturnalia is sprinkled with guest appearances including Eleven's Natashia Schneider and Alain Johannes, Quintron, QOTSA's Troy Van Leeuwen, and a haunting lead guitar on "Bete Noire" by iconic stoner rock axeman Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson). Bringing in other musicians made the recording process even more enjoyable. "As we came up with songs, we thought ‘That person would be great,' or 'Wouldn't it be cool to have this person play here?'"

Some might wonder if The Gutter Twins could be merely a onetime deal, but Lanegan is confident that the future will hold a second Gutter Twins record. "I'm sure of it, yeah. We enjoy each others company, and enjoy traveling together. So I don't see any reason why we wouldn't do another one."