You’ve had the chance to tell us your favourite local albums of the year in our sixth annual Readers Poll. Now, it’s our critics’ turn to weigh in. Here’s the first installment (50-21) of our selections for Album of the Year 2011. Tomorrow, it’s the Top 20.

50. Nick Huggins

Five Lights
(Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control)

Key notes: First solo album in four years for the Melbourne-based producer (Otouto, Kid Sam) and Two Bright Lakes Records co-founder. Follows 2007’s Shipwreck

What we said: “In its weaker moments Five Lights can be just as ephemeral as its real-life inspirations, but for the most part it’s a lingering portrait of experience acutely examined.”

More reading: Interview – Nick Huggins

Nick Huggins - Iceberg by 00remotecontrol

49. Mick Harvey

Sketches From the Book of the Dead
(Mute/EMI)

Key notes: First “fully self-penned album” for the iconic former member of the Bad Seeds and the Birthday Party/Boys Next Door. Recorded and mixed with David McCluney at Atlantis Sound in Port Melbourne with additional recording at Harvey's own Grace Lane music room.

What we said: “As with every song on this very fine album, the craftsman’s treatment – all light piano flourishes and smooth, calm phrasing – works perfectly.”

More reading: Interview – Mick Harvey

Mick Harvey - The Ballad of Jay Givens by Mute UK

48. The Singing Skies

Routine and War
(Preservation)

Key notes: Debut album from Kell Derrig-Hall, who’s played with the likes of Jack Ladder, Rand and Holland and Seaworthy. Features backing vocals from partner and Moonmilk bandmate Lia Tsamoglou (aka Melodie Nelson). Recorded by Simon Grounds in Melbourne.

What we said: “Routine and War is an album difficult to take lightly; one that invites the contemplation of life's bigger questions. Scaled back and not needing any fanfare, these songs are strong enough to simply exist.”

More reading: Track By Track

The Singing Skies - Acting Fine by Mess+Noise

47.Kimbra

Vows
(Warner)

Key notes: Debut album for New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based solo artist Kimbra Johnson. Co-produced with Franc Tetaz and M-Phazes. Features ‘Cameo Lover’, which came in at #16 in our Track of the Year for 2011.

More reading: Interview – Kimbra

Cameo Lover by Kimbra

46. The Paradise Motel

I Still Hear Your Voice At Night
Inertia

Key notes: Fifth studio album for the Melbourne-based seven-piece. Recorded before last year’s Australian Ghost Story, but put on hold following the death of drummer Damien Hill. Recorded at Sound Park studios in Melbourne in January 2008.

What we said: “If Ghost Story exposes the bare bones, its predecessor is the meat. Its lush arrangements are more obviously the product of time spent in the studio.”

More reading: Interview – The Paradise Motel

45. The Vasco Era

The Vasco Era
Inertia

Key notes: Self-titled third album for the Apollo Bay-born trio. Recorded at Sound Park Studios in Melbourne with Steven Schram (The Devastations, Little Red). Follows 2009’s Lucille.

What we said: “Swinging from the depths of depression to the careless highs of ignorance, the album is The Vasco Era at their most revealing.”

More reading: Interview – The Vasco Era

Child Bearing Hips by thevascoera

44. Golden Staph

Golden Staph
R.I.P Society

Key notes: Debut album for Perth five-piece fronted by Amber Gempton.

What we said: “This is the sound of being young, punk, smart, poor, lazy and talented. The sound of a band at the early stages of the typical new act cycle: make songs, record them, release them, go on tour, repeat until burnout.”

Golden Staph - Last Caesar by R.I.P SOCIETY RECORDS

43. Kitchen's Floor

Look Forward To Nothing
(Bedroom Suck)

Key notes: Second full-length from the Brisbane outfit fronted by Matthw Kennedy. Follows 2009’s Loneliness is a Dirty Mattress.

What we said: “Matt Kennedy has been holed up and writing more brilliant tales of woe.”

KITCHEN'S FLOOR - 116 by bedroomsuck

42. Panel Of Judges

Moods On The Move
(Mistletone)

Key notes: Fourth album by Melbourne outfit featuring dual vocalists Alison Bolger and Dion Nania, drummer Paul Williams and guitarist Martin Frawley (Twerps). Follows 2008’s Bad Vibrations.

What we said: “If Bad Vibrations was Melbourne’s Panel of Judges most ‘fully realised’, then this fourth album is the nebulous indie four-piece at its zenith.”

Panel of Judges - Coconut Trees by Mistletone

41. No Anchor

Real Pain Supernova
(Independent)

Key notes: Third studio album for the Brisbane-based trio: bass players/singers Donovan Miller and Ian Rogers and drummer Alex Gillies. Follows 2009 LP Steam and last year’s live album Press Start And Wait For Drone....

What we said: “It starts as it means to finish. Full-on, heavy, a miasma of distorted guitars and thudding dreams and strangled vocals.”

Dead Pony by No Anchor

40. Mr. Maps

Wire Empire
(Lofly Recordings)

Key notes: Debut full-length by Brisbane-based instrumental ensemble. Follows last year’s EP Nice Fights.

What we said: “Wire Empire is an immersive listen. These are complex arrangements that demand full attention – lest you miss the finer points – but it works just as well in the background, as the subconscious mind happily rides out the peaks.”

Mr. Maps - Nice Fights by lofly recordings

39. Divorced

Separation Anxiety
(Untapped Resources)

Key notes: First album by Melbourne “supergroup” comprising members of Scott and Charlene’s Wedding, Beaches, ZOND and The Spazzys. Produced by Jack Farley.

What we said: “The Melbourne five-piece have encapsulated all that makes for a fun summer – hanging out with friends, listening to The Stooges, partying and doing stupid shit.”

Divorced by Mess+Noise

38. Jonti

Twirligig
(Mistletone)

Key notes: Debut solo album for South African-born producer and Odd Future collaborator Jonti Danilewitz aka the artist formerly known as Danimals/Djanimals. First Australian signing to Stones Throw Records. Features ‘Firework Spraying Moon’, which came in at #15 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “With Twirligig, Jonti Danilewitz has a delivered an album with nary a dull moment … He also establishes, without a shadow of a doubt, that he is the best hip-hop producer to have come out of Australia in recent memory.”

More reading: Interview – Jonti

Jonti - Hornet's Nest by stonesthrow

37. The Middle East

I Want That You Are Always Happy
(Spunk!)

Key notes: Second debut album for now defunct Townsville outfit, following “promising” 2009 EP The Recordings of The Middle East.

What we said: “It’s frustrating but also somehow admirable. Instead of simply writing a record of first-listen love affairs like ‘Blood’, the band is making us work. Making us actually listen hard, take our time, and scan the back pages for whatever meaning we may find.”

More reading: Interview – The Middle East

The Middle East - 'Black Death 1349' by SpunkRecords

36. YIS

Kingdom of Fuzz
(Independent)

Key notes: Debut album for Melbourne three-piece. Recorded/mixed by Paul Maybury (Rocket Science) at A Secret Location in Fairfield, Victoria, in September 2010.

What we said: “Most of the songs on Kingdom of Fuzz … sound better when they're played loud and soaked in beer.”

YIS - Message by Mess+Noise

35. The Grates

Secret Rituals
(Dew Process)

Key notes: Third album for the Brisbane-born, New York-based duo of singer Patience Hodgson and guitarist John Patterson (drummer Alana Skyring left the band last year to embark on a career in the culinary arts). Follows 2008’s Teeth Lost, Hearts Won. Features ‘Turn Me On’, which came in at #10 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “The Grates have changed – the sooner you accept that the sooner you can relax and enjoy this very impressive record.”

More reading: Interview – The Grates

The Grates - Turn Me On by Goltzman*

34. Ben Salter

The Cat
(MGM Distribution)

Key notes: Debut solo album, more than a decade in the writing, from Gin Club frontman. Recorded with Gareth Liddiard and Robert F Cranny in Haviliah, Victoria.

What we said: “The Cat is fantastic in its own right, but more tellingly it allows Salter to place a peg in the ground on which to build his own legacy.”

More reading: Track By Track

04 - Ben Salter - The Mailbox Song by bluebeard

33. The UV Race

Homo
(Aarght!)

Key notes: Second album for the Warragul/Melbourne punk collective. Follows 2009’s self-titled debut full-length. Recorded and mixed by Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Total Control).

What we said: “Homo proves that the UV Race have few equals when it comes to mixing punk with just the right amount of hooks, controlled chaos and sense of fun.”

UV RACE - HOMO by tonyclifton III

32. Mike Noga

The Balladeer Hunter
(Other Tongues)

Key notes: Second album for Noga, best known as sticksman for The Drones. Follow-up to 2006 debut Folk Songs. Recorded in an old warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne over two nights, with each song captured in the first or second takes.

What we said: “It’s more varied than its predecessor, exploring different moods and ways to arrange its straightforward acoustic instrumentation.”

More reading: Interview – Mike Noga

M'Belle by Mike Noga

31. Dereb The Ambassador

Dereb The Ambassador
(Other Tongues)

Key notes: Debut album for Ethiopian-born singer Dereb Desalegn. Backed by a seven-piece band featuring members of The Strides and Deep Sea Arcade and recorded by producer Tony Buchen using only pre-1970s equipment.

What we said: “What results could be pegged as a beginners-guide to ethio-jazz for uninitiated listeners. It's more than that though, because Desalegn's voice – capable of straddling a myriad fervently felt emotions at once – is breathtaking.”

Dereb The Ambassador- Etu Gela by Other Tongues

30. Pets With Pets

Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid
(Sensory Projects)

Key notes: Debut album for Melbourne duo comprising Zayd Thring (guitars, vocals, keyboards, samples) and Jonathan Edmonds (drums, percussion). Recorded March 2009 to May 2010 by Shags Chamberlain (Lost Animal, Pikelet). Features ‘Pixie Child’, which came in at #18 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid is an album in every sense of the term: its force is communicated by the way each climax, each invigorating pop pulse, emerges from the sea of noise that cultivates it.”

Pets With Pets - Pixie Child by sensoryprojects10

29. Jane Badler With Sir

Tears Again
(Intertia Distribution)

Key notes: Second collaborative album from Melbourne-based American actor Jane Badler (V, Neighbours, Fantasy Island) with SIR (aka Jesse Shepherd). Follows 2008’s The Devil Has My Double. Produced and arranged by internationally-acclaimed composer Paul Grabowsky.

What we said: *“Fun, sexy, intelligent and incredibly well-constructed by all players, Tears Again is a rare work of pop culture genius.”

More reading: Track By Track

Jane Badler with Sir - Men Who Lie by 00remotecontrol

28. Oh Mercy

Great Barrier Grief
(Casadeldisco/EMI)

Key notes: Second album for the Melbourne-based four-piece, following 2009’s Privileged Woes. Recorded in Los Angeles with Mitchell Froom (Crowded House). Features ‘Stay Please Stay’, which came in at #20 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “Great Barrier Grief is a deceptively simple pop record; a deliberate exercise in restraint.”

27. Gotye

Making Mirrors
(Eleven/Universal)

Key notes: Third album for the Melbourne-based solo artist. Follow-up to the platinum-selling Like Drawing Blood (2006). Features top 40 hit ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, which came in at #17 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “Making Mirrors nevertheless carries its weaker moments like other albums can’t, and proves superior to Like Drawing Blood at least in its logic as a complete piece of work.”

More reading: Interview – Gotye

State Of The Art by Gotye

26. Abbe May

Design Desire
(Source/MGM)

Key notes: Third album in four years for the WA-born singer. Follows 2009’s Hoodoo You Do.

What we said: “An artist not so interested in establishing an identity but in transcending it entirely.”

Taurus Chorus - Abbe May by sgcmedia

25. The Panics

Rain On The Humming Wire
(Dew Process)

Key notes: Fourth album for the Perth-born, Melbourne-based outfit. Follows the ARIA-winning Cruel Guards (2007). Recorded in Woodstock, New York, with producer John O’Mahony (Metric, Alberta Cross, Coldplay). Features ‘Majesty’, which came in at #12 in our Tracks of the Year.

What we said: “In paying penance to nostalgia, The Panics exist in a vacuum of creative allusion. They’ve been unafraid to cite their references and celebrate the naively hopeful influences of a past when rock and folk music was more than a genre, but a movement and a way of life.”

More reading: Interview – The Panics

The Panics - Majesty by thepanics

24. Richard In Your Mind

SUN
(Rice Is Nice)

Key notes: Third album for Sydney five-piece Richard In Your Mind. Follows last year’s Australian Music Prize-nominated My Volcano.

What we said: “A chill, cohesive set that’s about consolidating ideas rather than exploding them.”

More reading: Interview – Richard In Your Mind

Richard In Your Mind - Vision by FBi Radio

23. Ron Peno and The Superstitions

Future Universe
(Fuse Music)

Key notes: Solo debut for the legendary Died Pretty frontman in collaboration with guitarist and composer Cam Butler (Silver Ray).

What we said: “It is not an attempt to recapture the epicness that was the hallmark of Died Pretty, but rather a refinement of approach, driven by a forward-looking attitude.”

More reading: Icons – Ron Peno

22. Architecture in Helsinki

Moment Bends
(Modular)

Key notes: Fourth studio album for the Melbourne-based collective, following 2007’s Places Like This. Recorded over a two-year period in the band's studio space with the help of Francois Tetaz (Sally Seltmann, Gotye). Features ‘Contact High’, which came in at #3 in our Tracks of the Year

What we said: “Moment Bends is neither a tribute nor a parody: it's bold, unashamedly sincere, celebratory and thoughtful, nuanced and heartfelt.”

W.O.W by Architecture In Helsinki

21. Melodie Nelson

Mediations On The Sun
(Other Tongues)

Key notes: Solo project of Lia Tsamoglou, one half of now defunct Sydney experimental drone duo Moonmilk and ex-bassist for alt-folk group Rand and Holland. Recorded with Tony Dupe (Holly Throsby, Jack Ladder).

What we said: “Beneath the sweet, ’60s girl-group veneer are tracks of immense power and significance wrapped in layers of charm and simplicity.”

More reading: Track By Track

Melodie Nelson - My Johnny by othertongues

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TOMORROW: Our critics’ top 20 albums of the year.

Compiled by Lawson Fletcher, Jen Peterson-Ward, Tim Scott, Steph Kretowicz, Patrick Emery, Shaun Prescott, Hannah Brooks, Nick Argyriou, Max Easton, Sam Fell, Jon Tjhia, Caitlin Welsh, Andrew McMillen, Kate Hennessy, Matt Shea, A.H Cayley, Rene Schaefer, Edward Sharp-Paul, Darren Levin and Doug Wallen.