Late reviews of 2011 #1: Music

January has gone by in a blur.

But 2011 was a decent year for music and here are my three highlights.

1) The Suburban Legends - we saw them supporting Bowling for Soup and bought their album Getting Down to Business. Classy brassy ska-punk all the way from Orange County. Great up-tempo music to make chores less boring or the walk to work a tiny bit faster. Seriously, buy their album and be enriched.

2) Noah and the Whale: Last Night on Earth. I love this album. Several singalong songs, deceptively clever lyrics, muscially accomplished. It carries a sense of yearning for the brighter lights just over the hill and, in that sense, is genuinely inspirational.

3) Last but not least, Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine. I understand that Flo and co are divisive - you either love her (like me) or aren't particularly fussed (like Cathy) - but I think this is one of the albums that will be considered a classic in 20 or 30 years time. From the pealing church bells on the opening song to the haunting threat to leave this world and move up to a higher plane, I found the album deeply spiritually resonant. 'Heartlines' in particular has made me want to cry with the bold audacity of its chorus.

So there you go - three records of the year that already seems so long ago.