Top Baltimore Albums of 2011

2011 has come and almost gone, and with it came another hearty selection of music releases from Baltimore. While we lost some historic bands this year (Double Dagger, Ponytail, Thank You), 2011 continued Baltimore's outpour of quality records.

Narrowing this down to a list was difficult - taking into account vinyl wear and tear, digital play counts, love, and the release's meaning to a continually thriving scene.

There is one release from a Swedish band. This gets a pass because the record features a lineup with lead vocals from Daniel Higgs. It also gets a pass because it's amazing. Also, there are a handful of records on here that I helped release via Friends Records.

Here are my top 25 music albums from Baltimore, Maryland in 2011.

25. Daytime - Daytime's Serendipity
24. Each Others - Lately Now
23. Roomrunner - Roomrunner
22. Holy Ghost Party - Holy Ghost Party
21. Vlonde - The Grief of O
20. Romantic States - Still Petals
19. Inflatable Mattress - Pumped Up
18. Arbouretum - The Gathering
17. Dog Leather - Greezy Man and Stinky Man Meets Smutty Ranks On Tarantula Hill
16. Ken Seeno - Invisible Surfer On An Invisible Wave
15. Witch Hat - Brown in a Dog
14. Adventure - Lesser Known
13. Skull Defekts - Peer Amid
12. Moss of Aura - Wading
11. Run DMT - Dreaming


10. Zomes - Earth Grid


9. Thank You - Golden Worry


8. White Life - White Life


7. Co La - Dial Tone Earth


6. Ponytail - Do Whatever You Want All The Time


5. Microkingdom - Three Compositions of No Jazz


4. Dope Body - Nupping


3. Wye Oak - Civilian


2. Future Islands - On The Water


1. Celebration - Electric Tarot: Hello Paradise

Show: Dope Body, Roomrunner, Hume, Secret Mountains

Photos: Witch Hat, Dope Body, Creepoid

Dope Body continue their "bro-rock" onslaught to support Nupping, and last month they were joined by Baltimore's Witch Hat and Philadelphia's Creepoid at the Golden West.





Valerie Paulsgrove was there to capture the action, never missing a chance to catch Andrew Laumann contort his face in ways we never thought were possible. Keep your ears peeled for Witch Hat. Chris, Connor, and Noel just finished up a new LP and it looks to be available sooner rather than later, more details to come.

Holy Ghost Party - Holy Ghost Party

David Jacober and Zachary Utz make a lot of music, and a wide variety at that. Their main project is Dope Body, a Baltimore staple that got some Pitchfork love yesterday.

However their other outlet, a less loud and abrasive entity, is set to release it's debut. Holy Ghost Party are only an EP deep at this point, but are now ready with their first full length. It's a self-titled affair, and is out this weekend on cassette via Friends Records.




Holy Ghost Party is over 35 minutes of some of the weirder pop music you'll hear. While combining elements of countless genres, somewhere it all comes together into some form of prog-pop. In Dope Body, guitar is used to create alien-like noise that's meant to puncture your head-space. But in Holy Ghost Party, similar styles are used to add unique percussion and a rich layer of strange that's fit for a more cosmic experience.

The album will first be made available at Worlds in Collusion tomorrow, where Holy Ghost Party opens up the event starting at noon. Check out the new tape here.

Clusterfuck: Scapescape, Dope Body, Autograph Playhouse, Death Set, more

With the recent closure of the Hexagon, and the close call at Sonar, Baltimore should revel in any announcement of a new space for art to inhabit. The Showtime Theatre on 25th street is re-opening as the Autograph Playhouse this weekend.

The same B.R.O.S. that presented us with Grundlehammer are back with two new rock operas scheduled for the next three weekends, titled Amphion and The Terrible Secret of Lunastus. More details are here, and tickets are here.



Dope Body celebrates the release of Nupping Friday night at Floristree with a Baltimore heavy sound dream team that includes Double Dagger, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, and an all-too-rare appearance by Butt Stomach (Dan Deacon and Kevin O'Meara's noise outfit).




The big event this weekend is Scapescape, a festival that goes down all day Sunday at the G Spot and Ruintown. Festival organizer Dave Underhill was originally asked to have his band play the G Spot for what could be a final farewell to the space, but he ended up booking over 20 other bands to play as well. The result is a wide offering of some of Baltimore's best sounds with Dan Deacon, Celebration, Arbouretum, and Microkingdom all headlining the affair. RSVP and get more details right here.


And if all that weren't already enough, Approximate Infinite Daydream begins this Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art. This show includes Comeback Ranch, Jared Paolini, and Vlond. The event is free and takes places during regular hours at the museum.


Lastly, the Death Set is back in town for the first time since dropping their new record. They play the Windup Space on Saturday night with Win Win and Future People.

Video: Dope Body - "100 Mile"

The first video from Dope Body's fantastic new Nupping LP has surfaced, and comes in the form of a short for "100 Mile" directed by Theo Anthony. Take a gander above.

The video entails an old man's birthday that takes an interesting twist after he's presented with the cake. The party quickly turns into a wilderness adventure complete with pyrotechnics, blood, and some sort of creepy rabbit/wolf creatures. The style of the film reminds us of watching music videos on MTV after school in 1995, much like some of the sounds that emanate from the rest of Dope Body's new record out now on Hoss.

Theo's last video was also Baltimore-based, a short for Future Islands' "The Ink Well".

Dope Body - "Bangers and Yos"

A version of this post can also be found over at our new section on Impose Magazine.

Above is a picture Dope Body's forthcoming Nupping LP. Yes, that's Frank - the infamous landlord of the Copycat building. Hey there, Frank. Andrew, Dave, and Zach of Dope Body all reside in the Copycat's Penthouse Gallery, and have formed a special bond with Frank.

So much of a kinship as they have decided to put him on the cover of their new record, out next month on Hoss. This fits, as Frank could be considered the Copycat's mascot - representing a giant mess of creatively-inhabited concrete, metal, and hardwood.

The Copycat provides a Baltimore breeding ground for the sort of sounds that push eardrums and boundaries. Dope Body's particular sounds are of the thrash wave variety, an infectious force of manipulated bass, pounding drums, and raucous vocals.



"Bangers and Yos" is the first single off their forthcoming LP called Nupping. While moments recall heavier grunge anthems of the early 90s, there are times this beast is of a much more twisted nature. Guitar sounds are morphed and altered to create skewed beats laced with alien-like noise, but are presented so clean and crisp that it still just makes you want to thrash around wildly.

Dope Body's Nupping hits turntables next month via Hoss. Tour dates after the jump.

Clusterfuck: Future Islands, Wye Oak, Weekends, Run DMT, Lands and Peoples, Dope Body, Adventure, Ed Schrader, more

Today I present you with the first Clusterfuck post in awhile, as Saturday boasts an insane amount of quality music events in Baltimore. Here's what you should do tomorrow.



Tomorrow at Hopkins' Spring Fair, the Levering Quad offers a lineup lifted straight from our Soundcloud playlist as Future Islands, Dope Body, Weekends, Lands and Peoples, Adventure, and Raindeer all take the stage outside. Word is that the stage is covered, so this is probably rain or shine. Also, it's definitely free. The schedule is right here.



Immediately after the Spring Fair you'll need to coast down St. Paul to the 2640 Space where Wye Oak hosts a release party with their touring friends Callers. Get tickets for that here, and take a gander at their new video for "Fish" here. Also, it's Jenn's birthday.




After you leave the 2640 Space you'll need to head downtown to Floristree where you'll find and all-star cast of Weekends, Winks, White Fang, Run DMT, and Rapdragons.

And if that wasn't enough, the Talking Head has the Fan Death Records showcase with Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Locrian, Pleasure Leftists, Broken Water, and Heroin Sucks.

Photos: Dog Leather, Dope Body at STR8 CAVIN

Last weekend STR8 CAVIN hosted the release party for Dog Leather's new LP via Ehse Records called Greezy Man and Stinky Man Meets Smutty Ranks On Tarantula Hill.



Dope Body performed, whose sound is built for the confines of spaces like STR8 CAVIN.


This thrash wave trio continues to get better with each jaw-crushing performance, as they increasingly hone in on each other's noisy onslaught to become tighter.



Dope Body has a new LP due out on Hoss Records in May. Get the Dog Leather LP here.

Show: Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, more

If you've been outside today, you are aware that spring time is here. To celebrate this year, Hopkins' Spring Fair has teamed up with the "Baltimore Curators" for an event.



On Saturday, April 16 both are proud to present an outdoor bill on the Levering Quad that's free to the public. The lineup reads like a week of post titles on this here blog, so naturally we're stoked. Bands include Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, Lands and Peoples, and Raindeer. Did we mention that this was free? Because it is.

The show runs from 4:45 until 10 PM, and the full schedule is below. RSVP right here.

4:45 - RAINDEER
5:30 - LANDS & PEOPLES
6:15 - WEEKENDS
7:00 - DOPE BODY
8:00 - ADVENTURE
9:00 - FUTURE ISLANDS

Tonight: Lower Dens, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Dope Body

Two rad shows tonight more than worth mentioning, as Lower Dens, Dope Body, and Ed Schrader's Music Beat all play shows this evening. Lower Dens headlines the Ottobar with Magik Markers, and Dope Body and Ed Schrader's Music Beat host some touring bands at the Bell Foundry. Ottobar is $8 and starts at nine, Bell Foundry is $5 and starts at ten.

Tonight: Dope Body, We Are Hex, Hume, Buildings

Giveaway: Spank Rock, Death Set, Dope Body

The BBC's annual Christmas party goes down at Sonar this Thursday night, and this year sports live performances by Spank Rock, The Death Set, Devlin and Darko, Popo, and Dope Body... plus an entire arsenal of DJs including Scottie B, Dances With White Girls, Jubilee, Hoff, Prince Klassen, Them O's, Cullen Stalin, and Adam Gonzo.







Sonar gave us two spots on the list to give away, who wants 'em? Tell us why in an email to bmoremusicallyinformed@gmail.com with "SPANK DEATH BODY" as the subject.

Clusterfuck: Dope Body, Shark Tank, Blue Walls, Double Dagger, The Super Vacations, Ed Schrader, more

It seems like the first couple weeks of December are always jam-packed with shows, with folks trying to fit as much in as possible before all that holiday cheer and snow.

Tonight you've got a couple options, starting with the show I mentioned yesterday at the Annex in 3E. Ed Schrader, Shark Tank (featuring Height, Mickey Free, Lord Grunge, & Brendan Richmond), Blue Walls (Jenn Wasner), and Showbeast will all provide for a good time, guaranteed. This one gets going around 9 PM and will be cheap.



If you feel like dancing a whole lot, Deep In The Game takes over the Hippo. Peep Mark Brown's video flyer above, and tonight includes a live performance by Sewn Leather.



Tomorrow night sports a trio of options, starting with a show at the Golden West that's likely to blast the antlers right off of that giant moose head. Dope Body is celebrating the release of their split with Orphan, the band's first release on wax. I have yet to hear the full split, but Michael Byrne had some kind things to say in this week's Citypaper. This show will be a round robin, and will include our other favorite local bass/drum/vocal trio, Double Dagger. This one doesn't start until after 11 PM, and costs five dollars.



Also Saturday night, The Parting Gifts (Oblivians, Reigning Sound) plays one of only three East Coast shows at the Windup Space. They'll be joined by locals Hollywood and The Slow Jerks, who always prove to be a good time. You also might end up back at the Annex on Saturday, where you'll find The Super Vacations, Juiceboxxx, 400 Cloaks, DDP, along with Schwarz and Cullen Stalin DJing. Both of these options start at 9 PM.

Photos: Japanther, Dope Body, Blood Baby

Valerie went out and attended the mayhem that was the Japanther, Dope Body, Blood Baby show at the Penthouse last Thursday night. This was rumored to be Blood Baby's second to last show, and was fresh off Citypaper crowning Dope Body the best new band in Baltimore. Oh and hey, this here blog was voted the second best local blog in the 2010 Readers Poll, thanks folks!

More of Valerie's shots from last week's affair below and after the jump.

Tonight: Japanther, Blood Baby, Dope Body

Tonight you can get classy at the Penthouse with a triple header that's sure to make your ears spin in that good way. The bill sports Japanther, Blood Baby, and Dope Body.



If all goes well at the Copycat tonight, we hopefully all won't be ending abruptly while singing along "1,2,3,4 fuck the cops" like in "Radical Businessman". Tonight is also rumored to be the second to last Blood Baby show, and if you've seen this rare breed of antics and adrenaline before, you'll know this ain't to be missed.



Dope Body are fresh off being named "Best New Band" by the Citypaper, and I'd advise coming to get rowdy with them to celebrate. I've been hearing some really exciting things about recordings in the works for these dudes, so expect rad new things.

Photos: Future Islands, Microkingdom,Dope Body, and Weekends @ The Cherch

I attended a couple of really great shows this weekend, one of which was in DC at The Cherch. Future Islands, Weekends, Microkingdom, and Dope Body all played the large living room space on Saturday night. Our new friend Jimmy Morris from Head|Underwater came out and took some rad photos of the show, and let us share.


Weekends got the BBQ-stuffed crowd ready, as these dudes were amidst another busy week where they played four separate shows in NYC, Baltimore, and DC.


Dope Body brought the goods down to DC, hurling a force of neo-sludge with the usual intensity. Zach shredded heavy, Dave wailed, and Andrew spat bricks of mortar.


Microkingdom is an entity not often brought down to the depths of our beltway neighbors. Saturday they played as the core two-piece of Marc Miller and Dr. Will Redman. They showcased a stellar rendition of "Aire Metal", and played an homage to the hometown of Dischord... all on the floor in front of the fireplace.


Future Islands held the room captive at yet another performance. They played two new songs straight from the start, including "The Ink Well". The rest of the set was heavy in In Evening Air, and Sam felt strong enough vibes to bellow vocals while crowd surfing.

More shots from Jimmy Morris after the jump.

Shows: Benefit for DJ Rice @ Floristree, and alsoFuture Islands, Microkingdom, Dope Body @ The Cherch

On August 21, DJ Rice was attacked and beaten while walking home at night in Baltimore. He spent eight days in ICU, and is still at Johns Hopkins. Some friends of his are having a benefit this Sunday at Floristree in order to raise money for DJ's medical expenses. Performing will be Future Islands, Weekends, Holy Ghost Party, Butt Stomach (Dan Deacon and Kevin O'Meara), and INEVERYROOM.



DJ is nothing short of an all around amazing dude, and on top of that has an incredibly rad music project called Teenage Souls. Above is "Ice Floe", a new track that will be on his forthcoming WTRCLR cassette. Our heart goes out to DJ and his family.


Also this weekend - on Saturday, September 4th head down to DC with a bunch of other Baltimore friends. The Cherch is hosting a show with all Bmore bands. Future Islands, Microkingdom, Dope Body, and Weekends will all be performing. Music starts at 7 PM, BBQ get's going at 5 PM. Also, BYOB. Above is the mix I made of all the bands playing this for our friend Jimmy at Head|Underwater.

Dope Body: "Forcefield" premiere / "Enemy Outta Me" video

Andrew from Dope Body hit me up with a Gchat link last night, containing their new music video directed by Matt Porterfield. The video is for a song off of their forthcoming LP dubbed "Enemy Outta Me", of which I had the pleasure of premiering recently.

This is easily one of my favorite local videos of the year so far, chopping and splicing your insides with Porterfield's killer 16mm and Super 8 footage. The video was shot in the basement of the new Current Gallery space, and will blast you back to MTV circa 1993... when MTV after school was a more wholesome viewing experience than whatever the kids watch on that channel today.



In lieu of this rad new video, I asked Dope Body to let me premiere another new song off their upcoming LP. Above is "Forcefield, which will be found on the forthcoming album called Nupping. Clocking in at almost 7 minutes, this track is a journey into why this isn't your ordinary brute-force rock band. The track showcases the band's range in sound and structure, and is another example of the freakish guitar chops that the band uses to infiltrate your ears with loads of industrial sludge.

Details on Nupping are still in the works, but we'll surely keep you posted.

Photos: Weekends, Dope Body, Rapdragons

Last Saturday night the Natural History Museum hosted a killer sweat-fest that featured Weekends, Dope Body, Rapdragons, Teenage Souls, and Peer Pressure. Valerie was there to shoot most of the action, and you can look out for new things from most of these bands very soon.

Weekends' Strange Cultures hits vinyl in about a month, and a video is in the works that is a collaboration between the band, the Copycat Theatre, and Guy Werner. Dope Body passed along some new tracks last week that are off their next release, one of which you can listen to here. And last but certainly not least, Rapdragons just dropped Featuring Baltimore yesterday.

Weekends


Dope Body


Rapdragons


Teenage Souls


You can peep all of Valerie's shots from the night after the jump.


Photos by Valerie