The Best Pop Album of 2011?

The other day I talked about the best dance album of 2011. Today I am here to discuss the best pop album of 2011. Now, it’s a bit of a mishmash of an album I have chosen because it’s not a definitive ‘pop’ album. It’s a bit electropop and dance.

Now you might be saying: “Skillet, you already chose a Best Dance Album. If this one has dance infused with it doesn’t that make it a dance album?”

No. It’s my opinion, GTFO.



The album comes from Sneaky Sound System, who I fell in love with during my time in Australia in 2007. During that time they had released their self-titled debut album and it was blowing up all over the country and songs were playing at nearly every club I went into. Scratch that, I heard at least one Sneaky song every night I went out. Their tunes are just that catchy and danceable.

They followed up with their sophomore effort “2” and while I wasn’t in Australia to experience it I made sure I got enough Sneaky Sound System here so that I could fill the void. It’s a great album with memorable tracks and is something I listen to from beginning to end frequently.

Here they are, minus one member, in 2011 with “From Here to Anywhere” and it’s my pick for pop album of the year. It starts out strong with ‘Friends’ and singer Connie Mitchell belting out an important question ‘Why can’t we be friends?’. From there the next five songs deliver and continue with an electropop vibe with danceable beats and some great hooks.

If there is a fault with the album it lies with three out of the last four songs. The closing track ‘Lovetown’ is cheesy and goofy but is different in tone flavour than the rest of the album. ‘I Need You So’ and ‘1984’ are fine but just not as strong as the beginning of the album. It’s with ‘I’m Not Leaving’ that my faith in the group is restored. It’s an awesome track with Connie at her best.

All in all, a nice follow-up album and I just hope that the 2nd half of the album isn’t the direction that the group is headed because their strength lies with Mitchell’s vocals and their synths and beats. ‘Lovetown’ is, in all honesty, a crappy song that really diminishes the value of the album and I essentially skip over it every single time but the best parts of the album help overshadow that one tiny snag and make it my pop album of 2011.

Other tracks of note: ‘We Love’, ‘Big’, ‘Really Want To See You Again’