Playground magazine

It's August: a good time to take a breath - now that everything is slowing down (fewer announcements, fewer releases, all ready for the most important part of the year – September, October and November) - and take the opportunity to think about what 2011 has brought us so far. For example, if the year ended now, which albums would be the best ones? And which EPs? And what about the videos? The songs?

Without wanting to claim definitiveness, in the coming days we'll be giving you an overview of the best of this year so far. They will be lists in alphabetical or chronological order (there will be no number ones until December) that will allow for some order in the chaos of releases and ideas. It will be like stock market index: a clue as to what is working well, without the guarantee that those values will remain unchanged until the end of the year. A few of the records may burn up before that and other, better records will be released. Today we'll start with the albums PlayGround likes the most, in chronological order. As said, this is today's index; it might all be different four months from now.

Tennis: “Cape Dory” (Fat Possum)

18th January



Destroyer: “Kaputt” (Merge)

25th January



James Blake: “James Blake” (Atlas-A&M-Universal)

7th February



Ghostpoet: “Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam” (Brownswood)

7th February



PJ Harvey: “Let England Shake” (Island-Universal)

14th February



Nicolas Jaar: “Space Is Only Noise” (Circus Company)

14th February



Peaking Lights: “936” (Not Not Fun)

15th February



Tim Hecker: “Ravedeath 1972” (Kranky)

15th February



Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX: “We’re New Here” (XL Recordings)

21st February



Siriusmo: “Mosaik” (Monkeytown)

21st February



Julianna Barwick: “The Magic Place” (Asthmatic Kitty)

22st February



Toro y Moi: “Underneath The Pine” (Carpark Records)

22st February



Dustin O’Halloran: “Lumiere” (Fat Cat)

28th February



Lykke Li: “Wounded Rhymes” (LL Records-Atlantic)

1st March



Cyclo.: “id” (Raster-Noton)

7th March



Egyptrixx: “Bible Eyes” (Night Slugs)

8th March



FaltyDL: “You Stand Uncertain” (Planet Mu)

14th March



Hype Williams: “One Nation” (Hippos In Tanks)

15th March



The Weeknd: “House Of Balloons” (Self-Released)

21st March



Frank Ocean: “Nostalgia.Ultra” (Self-Released)

24th March



Dirty Beaches: “Badlands” (Zoo Music)

29th March



Britney Spears: “Femme Fatale” (Jive)

29th March



Metronomy: “The English Riviera” (Because Music)

11th April



Panda Bear: “Tomboy” (Paw Tracks)

11th April



Grouper: “A I A: Dream Loss / A I A: Alien Observer” (Yellow Electric)

11th April



Kode9 & The Spaceape: “Black Sun” (Hyperdub)

18th April



tUnE-yArDs: “w h o k i l l” (4AD)

18th April



Robag Wruhme: “Thora Vukk” (Pampa Recordings)

25th April



Hyetal: “Broadcast” (Black Acre)

2nd May



Fleet Foxes: “Helpnessless Blues” (Sub Pop)

3rd May



Gang Gang Dance: “Eye Contact” (4AD)

10th May



Mountains: “Air Museum” (Thrill Jockey)

10th May



Tyler, The Creator: “Goblin” (XL Recordings)

10th May



EMA: “Past Life Martyred Saints” (Souterrain Transmissions)

10th May



The Caretaker: “An Empty Bliss Beyond This World” (History Always Favours The Winners)

19th May



Dalglish: “Benacah Drann Dreachd” (Highpoint Lowlife)

23rd May



Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto: “Summvs” (Raster-Noton)

30th May



Kreng: “Grimoire” (Miasmah)

6th June



Fasenuova: “A La Quinta Hoguera” (Discos Humeantes)

6th June



Surgeon: “Breaking The Frame” (Dynamic Tension)

6th June



AraabMuzik: “Electronic Dream” (Duke Productions)

14th June



Bon Iver: “Bon Iver” (Jagjaguwar-4AD)

21st June



John Maus: “We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves”

23rd June



Motion Sickness Of Time Travel: “Luminaries & Synastry” (Digitalis)

27th June



Biosphere: “N-Plants” (Touch)

27th June



Lil B: “I’m Gay (I’m Happy)” (BasedWorld)

29th June



The Advisory Circle: “As The Crow Flies” (Ghost Box)

8th July



Washed Out: “Within & Without” (Weird World-Domino)

11th July



Prurient: “Bermuda Drain” (Hydra Head)

19th July



Machinedrum: “Room(s)” (Planet Mu)

25th July