2011 Review: 25 Great "Rock" Releases (The Honorable Mention)

This year had so many great albums that a singular top 10 was just not quite enough; too many other albums deserved at least a mention. There was the Top 10 hiphop/R&B list posted earlier this week and this here is essentially an extended honorable mention for the other rock albums this year. An overall top 10 is coming later this month with proper write ups and in an effort to preserve the suspense, none of those albums will be included. In the meantime, enjoy this list and give a listen to some of these excellent albums if you haven't already.

Artist Profile: The Shivers

After hearing their song "SoHo Party" at a Halloween Party this weekend, I've been listening to The Shivers non-stop. This band's catalog of songs is incredibly diverse with songs ranging from alt-country fair that brings Deer Tick to mind, yearning Grizzly Bear-esque ballads and the more straight forward indie-rock to name a few.

"SoHo Party" typifies this diversity as the song goes from a voicemail message from the lead singer's mom, extreme silliness with lyrics like "and who told you to put your finger in my asshole, asshole!" to a brilliant interpolation of Cat Stevens' the wind. Keith Zarriello's songwriting is quirky and leaves the listener wondering what's next. The band released their new album More on May 10th of this year and you can listen to a song and buy it over at Silence Breaks. I would also highly recommend their 2004 album Charades which features the previously mentioned "SoHo Party"; listen below!