Top 50 South Florida Songs of 2011
With a great year of South Florida music coming to a close, thanks to stellar output by music makers in Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach, we decided to put together a list of our favorite 50 songs released for the first time in 2011. The list dwarfs last year’s 15-song compilation, which says more about the burgeoning tri-county music scene than it does about our curatorial ambition. We’ll be posting 10 songs at a time on this page until we hit numero uno later this month. Until then, hit play. — William Alton, editor of the Miami Music Guide
Honorable Mention: Nevermind Miami
As we celebrate the year in South Florida music, we have to shout out Nevermind Miami, a compilation of covers by South Florida musicians to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark album. While many of the Nevermind Miami covers are worthy of a numeric spot on this list — not least of all Guy Harvey’s rendition of “Something In The Way”, which you can hear below — we chose to leave them out of the official mix because the compilation was a Beached Miami project and we didn’t want to play favorites. To stream Nevermind Miami in its entirety, visit www.beachedmiami.com/nevermind-miami.
20. “Marginal Land” by Dear Darling
Miami Beach’s Dear Darling flew under the radar this year, delivering the impressive bilingual prog pop 6-track EP, Clouded Room of Happiness. “Marginal Land”, an edgy prog track with moodily concise interludes, is highlighted by Daniella Bertoldi’s confidently girlish voice, which often sounds like a cross between Tracy Bonham and Kim Deal. The track features the sophisticated musicianship and chemistry of a band with many more releases under their belt, compliments of bassist Damaris Vicke, guitarist Javier Güell, Bertoldi on synth and keys, and guest drummer Nico Saavedra.
19. “Graft” by Capsule
Capsule’s 2011 LP, No Ghost (released on Torche’s Robotic Empire label), alternates between drawn-out melodic hardcore and spitfire single-minute thrashers. “Graft”, 79 seconds of blazing musicality courtesy of guitarist Ryan Haft, singer and bassist Eric Hernandez, and singer and guitarist Colin Smith, falls into the latter category. It’s easy to overlook how good Capsule is since, in true hardcore spirit, they sacrifice individual noodling to the greater good of the combined crushing blow.
18. “Na Na Na” by Rachel Goodrich
A track off her February 2011 self-titled LP, “Na Na Na” is classic Rachel Goodrich, whose buttery voice weaves through Spanish Harlem guitars and a cute ghetto-blaster chorus like a sewing needle on this bit of unbridled shake-a-billy. Goodrich is the second contributor to our 2011 Nirvana tribute album, Nevermind Miami, to make this list.
17. “Carrie Fisher” by Holly Hunt
In my stilted imagination, the thunderous duo of Beatriz Monteavaro and Gavin Perry live on the corner of Ear Bleed Street and Drone Ave. With three singles to their name, each its own entity, the drum-and-guitar pairing released “Carrie Fisher” on a cassette split with Viking Funeral on the Augurari label. Like its progenitor, Lou Reed’s 1975 Metal Machine Music, this 10-minute ocean of expressionistic noise is littered with rhythmic underpinnings and strategic feedback placement.
16. “Vesuvius” by Shroud Eater
The Miami trio released, hands down, one of the year’s greatest albums in ThunderNoise, an 11-track classic sludge metal assault. With Jeannie Saiz on guitar, Jannette Valentine on bass, and Felipe Torres on drums and vocals, “Vesuvius” oozes with death metal rhythm and Sabbath-like muscle. Valentine’s bass injects a literal feel with pulsing vibrations, while Torres’ transitional power drumming compels your head to do spastic things, all while Saiz gives life to the angry beast with unassuming rhythmic melodies.
15. “Predator 4” by Weird Wives
The West Palm experimental doom pop foursome led by Nick Klein released their cassette, Some Motherfuckers Gonna Be Walking ‘Round With a Size 9 Diehard Up Their Ass, Cause Apparently They Ain’t Never Seen a Short AC Man Get Bad Ass On Methadone, on West Palm Beotch Records. “Predator 4” lures the listener into a false sense of security with a melodic prelude that gives way to a psychotic bass-driven descent around the 50-second mark. The rhythmic overthrow is merely a trigger for the song’s intensifiers: Klein’s distorted, haunting vocals, blood-curdling feedback, and wall-bouncing echoes. Weird Wives is rounded out by Surfer Blood guitarist Thomas Fekete and former SB members Brian Black on bass and Marcos Marchesani on percussion.
14. “Find Fine Light” by Sam Friend
Inveterate melody maker Sam Friend did it again with this single off his upcoming album, Spirit Mirror, off of which we premiered four songs back in September. “Find Fine Light” is a progression goldmine, transitioning seamlessly and satisfyingly no less than four times within the first minute, and culminating with a very Okkervil River-like yelp-sung crescendo at the 1:00 minute mark. Gotta love the Ghost Poet’s wordplay: “How do ya’ll, do yeah, do ya’ll let loose?” Friend is the third contributor to our 2011 Nirvana tribute album, Nevermind Miami, to make this list.
13. “P.S.L.W.” by Arrange and Ricky Eat Acid
A multi-tracked, digital collaboration between Ft. Lauderdale’s Malcolm Lacy, aka Arrange, and Baltimore’s Sam Ray, aka Ricky Eat Acid, “P.S.L.W.” is a chilled-out four minutes of top-notch, blue-eyed R&B and beat culture that highlights both artists’ ambient strengths. While Lacey’s smoky vocals bear a strong resemblance to Justin Vernon’s, Lacey said the track is inspired by ambient and R&B music, “especially Ne-Yo”. That’s where Ray’s production strengths kick in, adding air-tight beats and tiny harmonic swells without taking away from the track’s tranquility.
12. “Pair of Lives” by Lil Daggers
Lil Daggers’ self-titled debut LP was one of the finest South Florida releases this year. Driven by a funereal temperament and Reuben Molinares’ organ grinding, the Daggers’ sound has matured well past the “garage rock” label with which they get lazily tagged. Half a dozen rollicking songs from the album could’ve placed in this spot, but “Pair of Lives” stands out for its foreboding spaciousness. Johnny Saraiva’s singing is a shoegaze success while the far-off guitars and ambient found-sounds conjure a scene in a movie Jim Jarmusch should make. Lil Daggers are the fourth contributor to our 2011 Nirvana tribute album, Nevermind Miami, to make this list.
11. “Dispute in the Barnfarm” by Dino Felipe
With 50 albums to his name, Dino Felipe is a human playlist and Miami’s answer to lo-fi marvel R. Stevie Moore, whose output is as notable for its quantity (400+ releases) as it is for its seemingly impossible consistency. One of his six 2011 releases, Covers Album finds Felipe interpreting songs by Moore himself, Fang, Tom Waits, Sonic Youth, John Maus, and others. While it seems quasi-criminal to include a cover here, considering Felipe’s wealth of original material, his take on Harry Merry’s “Dispute in the Barnfarm” is an absolute gem.
