Top 10 Los Angeles Albums of 2011
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6. Shlohmo
Bad Vibes
Bad Vibes sounds like Mount Kimbie snapping D'Angelo out of a potato chip coma and forcing him to teach them his secrets. 21-year old local wunderkind Henry Laufer had one frozen San Francisco summer and alchemized it into the beat scene's best album of 2011. But the emotion in Bad Vibes is universal. This could have been made anywhere blood feels tainted and brains feel feverish and hazy. It's electronic R&B out of the ashes of ruined love, made for those whose heads are ready to pop. -Jeff Weiss
5. Lucinda Williams
Blessed
Blessed is a survivor's tale, with Lucinda Williams having found the joy that had been taken from her. She expresses her hard-won happiness on songs like "Sweet Love" and "Kiss Like Your Kiss." However, Williams still delves into dark corners, on the Vic Chesnutt-inspired "Seeing Black" and the grim "Soldier's Tale." While not a career-maker like Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Blessed ranks up with World Without Tears as a powerful work from a mature artist looking life squarely in the eyes. -Michael Berick
4. Thundercat
The Golden Age Of Apocalypse
Known for his involvement in both thrash metal band Suicidal Tendencies and Flying Lotus' celestial jazz collective, bass guitar prodigy Thundercat's solo debut The Golden Age Of Apocalypse is as diverse as his resume. Ranging from Brainfeeder-inspired electro dissonance to '80s-tinged groove tracks, the work isn't so much a single statement as a sprawling showcase of bass virtuosity. With its intermittently sensitive and subtle jazz inflections counterbalanced with thunderous, expansive riffs, Golden Age demonstrates why Thundercat is one of the most prolific and sought-after musicians in Los Angeles right now. -Chris Walker
For more see: Thundercat Emerges With His Debut, Co-produced by Flying Lotus
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