The Bay Area absolutely smashed it in 2011, with some of our favorite artists releasing amazing albums, EPs and cassettes that we’ve been listening to endlessly this year. It was incredibly difficult to cull the past 12 months to our favorite 15 releases, but we did it anyway. Check them out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

15 The Sandwitches // Mrs. Jones’ Cookie

mp3:
The Sandwitches // “Lightfoot”

14 Bare Wires // Cheap Perfume

mp3:
Bare Wires // “Cheap Perfume”

13 King Lollipop // Woodland Whoopee Songs

mp3:
King Lollipop // “Cheeseburger and Fries”

12 Pamela // Pamela is Hungover

mp3:
Pamela // “Lie Down (Eye Contact)”

11 Weekend // Red

mp3:
Weekend // “Hazel”

10 Wet Illustrated // Wet Illustrated

mp3:
Wet Illustrated // “Gypsy Town”

09 Ty Segall // Goodbye Bread

mp3:
Ty Segall // “Goodbye Bread”

08 Swiftumz // Swiftumz

Hunx collaborator Christopher McVicker managed to release one of the most understated albums of the year under the moniker Swiftumz. “Don’t Trip” is an immersive collection of hazy, moving jams that transcends the limits of bedroom pop.

mp3:
Swiftumz // “4EVA”

07 Rank Xerox // Rank Xerox

Rank/Xerox // “Sterile Regions”


Rank/Xerox // “Nausea”

06 Blasted Canyons // Blasted Canyons

Never before has an ode to weed and ice cream sounded so raw, explosive and all-together effortless.

mp3:
Blasted Canyons // “Ice Cream Man”

05 White Fence // Is Growing Faith

mp3:
White Fence // “And By Always”

04 Ty Segall // Singles 2007-2010

mp3:
Ty Segall // “Bullet Proof Nothing”

03 Wax Idols // No Future

The debut LP by Wax Idols features singer/songwriter Hether Fortune elevating the charming pop sensibilities found on her earlier work to a complete full-length, with lyrics veering from the lovesick to the macabre.

mp3:
Wax Idols // “Gold Sneakers”

02 Mikal Cronin // Mikal Cronin

This scuzzed-out compilation of pop songs marked a solid debut album from Moonhearts/Ty Segall collaborator Mikal Cronin. Unexpectedly wistful and incredibly catchy, this is a record we’ve been spinning endlessly.

mp3:
Mikal Cronin // “Get Along”

01 Thee Oh Sees // Carrion Crawler/The Dream

Thee Oh Sees scorched through 2011, releasing two mind-blowing full-length albums and a singles only double-LP all while maintaining a frenetic touring schedule that recently concluded (with Total Control). Carrion Crawler/The Dream was announced only a few weeks after Castlemania, and proved to be the “pummeling” record John Dwyer promised it to be. An instant classic and our unequivocal favorite record of 2011.

mp3:
Thee Oh Sees // “The Dream”

Thee Oh Sees // “Carrion Crawler”

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[directed by Ryan Browne / via GvB]

[Davilla 666 by Steve Cross]

Tuesday
The Mummies, Hondettes // The Knockout, 10pm $SOLD OUT
Grass Widow, The Mantles, Sand City // El Rio, 7pm $7

Wednesday
Jim Jones Revue, The Sandwitches // The Independent, 8pm $13/$15
Glitter Wizard, Strangers Family Band, Outlaw, Lotus Moons // The Uptown (Oakland), 9pm $FREE

Thursday
Born Gold, Part Time, Religious Girls // The Knockout, 9pm $6
Davila 666, Cheap Time, Wax Idols, Touch-Me-Nots // Bottom of the Hill, 9pm $10/$12
Peter Daltrey, Kelley Stoltz, Bart Davenport, Asterold #4 // Cafe Du Nord, 8pm $12/$15
Uzi Rash, Cyclops, Whoosie What’s It’s // White Horse Inn (6551 Telegraph Ave., Oakland), 9pm $5

Friday
Lilac, Lenz, The Golden Ghosts, California Sunshine // The Knockout, 9pm $7
The Gems, Tambo Rays, Mick Leonardi, Alleged Masterminds // Kimo’s, 9pm

Saturday
P.S. I Love You, Balkans, Bad Bibles // Hemlock Tavern, 9:30pm $10
Cocktails, Huffstuff Magazine, Younger Lovers, Dirty Cupcakes // The Knockout, 9pm $7
Spindrift, Sam Flax & Higher Color, Actually, The She’s, Skystone, Carletta Sue Kay // McLaren Park, 11:30am-8pm $FREE

Sunday
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Ferocious Few, Tiny Television // Bottom of the Hill, 9pm $12

Anything else?

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[via]

The Glad Birth of Love, out via Empty Cellar Records (regular release August 23rd), features oboe and flute performances by Amber Lamprecht (Honey Dew) and John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees) and contributions from other local artists including The Sandwitches and Citay. Play a clip of “Daylight Moon” below. Cohen recently told Michelle Broder Van Dyke from SFGate, ”I’m hoping to tour with ‘Magic Trick’ later in the year, but my touring schedule with the Fresh & Onlys is getting crazy - so fingers crossed.”

mp3
Magic Trick // “Daylight Moon” (Fade Out)

Tuesday
Religious Girls, Zorch, Primary Colors // Hemlock, 9pm $6

Wednesday
Dimples, Grandma’s Boyfriend // El Rio, 9pm $1
Moonbell, Magic Christian, Antenna // Elbo Room, 9pm $6
Maus Haus, Swahili Blonde, Gangi // Rickshaw Stop, 8pm $10
Darwin Deez, Dirty Gold, The Younger Lovers // Bottom of the Hill, 9pm $12
Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick, Shalants, Tippy Canoe // Make Out Room, 8pm $8
Hot Toddies, Luke Rathborne, White Cloud // Milk Bar, 8pm $FREE (w/ RSVP)

Thursday
The Blank Tapes, Collin Ludlow-Mattson and the Folks, The Beehavers // Amnesia, 9pm $7/$10

Friday
Limp Wrist, Drapetomania, Brilliant Colors // El Rio, 9pm $7
DJ Primo, Heidi Alexander and Grace Cooper, Shannon Shaw // Verdi Club, 8pm $12/$15

Saturday
Washed Out, Class Actress, Chain Gang of 1974 // Great American Music Hall, 9pm $16

Sunday
Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils, Bare Wires, Lotus Moons // Bottom of the Hill, 9pm $12

Anything else?

Times New Viking @ Brooklyn Bowl

Monday
Sourpatch, Hissyfit, Neonates // Sub-Mission Gallery, 7pm $6

Tuesday
Times New Viking, King Tuff // Rickshaw Stop, 8pm $12/$14
Michael Yonkers, The Sandwitches, Bronze // Amnesia, 9pm $10 (Woops!)

Wednesday
X, Devil’s Brigade // Great American Music Hall, 8pm $31
Blasted Canyons, Boom Bang, Fine Steps // Hemlock Tavern, 9pm $6
Crystal Antlers, Audacity, Tijuana Panthers, Devon Williams // Thee Parkside, 8pm $10

Thursday
Uzi Rash, Fine Steps, Eat Skulls, Blasted Canyons // Eli’s Mile High Club (Oakland), 6pm

Friday
French Cassettes // Make-Out Room, 8pm $8
Maus Haus, Exray’s, The Sandwitches, Fiveng // Milk Bar, 8pm $10
Meat Puppets, Flamingo, Bad Weather California // The Independent, 9pm $20
BellRays, Damon & The Heathens, Jonny Manak & The Depressives // Uptown (Oakland), 9pm $10

Saturday
Blackbird Blackbird, Phantom Kicks, Old Arc, Yalls // El Rio, 4pm $8
Bill Callahan, Michael Chapman // The Independent, 9pm $20
Puro Instinct, John Maus, Geneva Jacuzzi // Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 8pm $7
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Ringo Deathstarr, Follow that Bird // Slim*s, 9pm $18/$20
Royal Baths, Cosmonauts, Burnt Ones // 986 Mission, 7pm $2-5

Sunday
Hunx and his Punx, Shannon and the Clams, Uzi Rash // The New Parish, 9:30pm $8/$10

Ty Segall‘s new LP, Goodbye Bread, has scored some favorable endorsements so far. Not that it matters. Listen to a track off the new record below, in 3D.

Asian Man Records turns 15. They are celebrating by throwing some shows around the city.

Anything else?

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Sic Alps @ Death By Audio

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Monday
Foster the People // Amoeba SF, 6pm $FREE

Tuesday
Social Studies, Royal Baths, Carletta Sue Kay, Art Museums, The Sandwitches* // The Independent, 8pm $15/$50 (VIP)
Dirty Cupcakes, Paper Bags, Basements // The Knockout, 8:30pm $5

Wednesday
Friendly Fires, Wise Blood // The Independent, 8pm $SOLD OUT
Friendly Fires (DJ Set) // Public Works, 10pm $7/10
Sister Crayon, Excuses for Skipping, White Arrows // Milk Bar, 8pm $FREE (w RSVP)/$5
My First Earthquake, Le Vice // Cafe Du Nord, 9:30pm $10/$12

Thursday
Sic Alps, Bare Wires, The Younger Lovers** // Cafe Du Nord, 8pm? $FREE (w RSVP)
Death Cab For Cutie, Lonely Forest // Fillmore, 9pm $35
Grouplove, Death Cab For Cute (DJ Set) // Rickshaw Stop, 9pm $10/$12

Friday
Buzzcocks, Images // Slim*s, 9pm $35
Shabazz Palaces Plus Special Guest // Brick & Mortar Music Hall, 9:30pm $12/$15

Saturday
Black Lips, Cerebral Ballzy, Personal & the Pizzas // Great American Music Hall, 9pm $16
Shannon and the Clams, Rank/Xerox, Outdoorsmen // The Knockout, 9pm $8

Sunday
The Black Ryder // Public Works, 7pm $10
Black Lips, Cerebral Ballzy, Personal & the Pizzas // Great American Music Hall, 9pm $16 CANCELLED

*This is a benefit show for Kelly Mallone, co-founder of DIY space Workshop SF and hostess of The Indie Mart. From Indie Mart: “This past April, Kelly was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer that had spread to non-localized areas as a result of previous battles. This latest diagnosis requires a treatment path that will far exceed her financial abilities and lack of insurance, and most likely require her to take a hiatus from her businesses.” There are VIP tickets for $50 that come with food from some of my favorite restaurants along the Divis corridor, Little Star and Bar Crudo.

**VICELAND Party curated by the Thermals. RSVP required, 21+.

//Christopher Owens talks to FADER about Twitter essays and Emma Forrest.

//Royal Baths make Night Fog Reader a mix. Digging the Zombies track. Check it out here.

//”When the reckoning comes, there will be few musicians who will compare as commentators on social strife, racism and the lot of American ghetto dwellers.” R.I.P. Gil-Scott Heron.

Neon Indian @ No Years Brisbane Powerhouse

Tuesday
Rival Schools, Johah Matranga, Suedehead // Slim’s, 8pm $14/$16

Wednesday
Jenny & Johnny, Nick Freitas, Whispertown // The New Parish (Oakland), 9pm $20
The Black Ryder, Blackbird Blackbird (co-headliner), White Arrows, Wolf Feet // Rickshaw Stop, 8pm $12

Thursday
Nodzzz, Milk Music, Doors US // Hemlock Tavern, 9pm $7
Dominant Legs, Aberdeen, Motifs, Sweater Girls // Cafe Du Nord, 8pm $12
White Denim, Fake Your Own Death, Angel Island // Bottom of the Hill, 9pm $13

Friday
The Undertones, The Mantles, The Smittens, Melted Toys // Rickshaw Stop, 8pm $15/$17**

Saturday
Flexx Bronco, Soft White Sixties, MF Ruckus, Thee Heartbeats // Thee Parkside, 9pm $8
14 Iced Bears, Phil Wilson, Neverever, The Art Museums, Brilliant Colors, Terry Malts, Sea Lions // Rickshaw Stop, 5pm $15/$17
Rock n Roll Adventure Kids, The Rantouls, Night Howels // Hemlock Tavern, 9:30pm $7

Sunday
Neon Indian, Asobi Seksu // The New Parish (Oakland), 9pm $15/$20
Eternal Summers, The Beets, Catwalk, Seapony // Hemlock Tavern, 8pm $12
Let’s Whisper, Mark Monnone (Lucksmiths), The Motifs, The Panduhs, Potion // Dolores Park, 2pm $FREE

**Allo’ Darlin (UK) had to cancel the first half of their tour due to visa problems. Melted Toys will be replacing them at the Popfest show Friday.

//SF Popfest starts this Thursday, with Dominant Legs playing at Cafe Du Nord.

//City Limits, a new label started by local bloggers Ears of the Beholder and See the Leaves, are releasing the first installment of a series designed to capsulize the sounds of a city featuring only artists from that given locale. Their first “time capsule” is the City by the Bay, with a track-list that includes The Sandwitches, Young Prisms, and Magic Bullets. City Limits Presents: San Francisco is out digitally May 31 with a vinyl following up mid-June. Pre-order here. [via GVB]

//The Tambo Rays debut coverage on The Bay Bridged today — watch the video for “Draggin Our Bones” on Vimeo, recorded by Katelin Hull-Nye, here.

In addition to the saveKUSF/Eagle Tavern night tonight and the tUnE-YarDs tour kickoff show at Great American Music Hall, Cambodian psych-rock outfit Dengue Fever — who fittingly played the Fillmore on National Weed Day last week — is playing a set at the seminal record store at 6PM today. Which I realize is in 90 minutes. Which is just about as long as anyone in this city needs to dig their Chucks out of their closet and ride the 71 over to the Haight in time. If you’re in the area, you should definitely stop by and check them out.

The Bay Bridged:

Two SF institutions under attack converge for the latest Save KUSF benefit show, Tuesday, April 26th, at the Eagle Tavern (8pm, $tba). The show is topped by Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall, two acts that are consistently awesome live like few others. Get there early for Carletta Sue Kay and The Sandwitches.

A former DJ for the radio station-in-exile, Ty has been a very passionate champion on the saveKUSF front. Together with Thee Oh Sees and The Sandwitches, this is the second benefit show the trio has played this year.

8pm tomorrow, price not yet announced.