Best of 2011, So Far: In Brief

Panda Bear – Tomboy (Paw Tracks)

Psychedelic sampler hymns for the secular.

Rating: 8 out of 10 nights at the jetty
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Radiohead – The King of Limbs (tbd)

Thom & Co.’s continued quest to obliterate expectations once again proves rewarding.

Rating: 9 out of 10 obsolete mediums
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Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)

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Rating: 9 out of 10 velvet and gold ensembles
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Trap Them – Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic)

Bloody faced, brutal and infectious as hell.

Rating: 8 out of 10 GDSOBs
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tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l (4AD)

Merrill Garbus upgrades to mid-fi, hires two sax players and creates feisty, skewed pop workout.

Rating: 9 out of 10 inhabitable chicken shacks
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Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)

The Wild, the Innocent and the Illadelph shuffle.

Rating: 9 out of 10 cases of Jesus fever
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The Weeknd – House of Balloons (self-released)

Self-indulgent enigma soulfully croons his way into 2011’s most sultry release.

Rating: 8 out of 10 morning after pills
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Wild Beasts – Smother (Domino)

Where the subliminally seductive and sinister things are.

Rating: 9 out of 10 playthings
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Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)

Refreshingly earnest rock, with just a dash of MBV sheen.

Rating: 8 out of 10 on the reverb dial
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Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)

Just like the grunge hits you played to death in the ’90s, only British,

Rating: 8 out of 10 flannel shirts