Top 10 Songs of 2011: #3 The Joy Formidable - Whirring 

The last of our female fronted bands, this is the biggest rock song on the list. It's a big and brash song that sort of starts out like a loud pop song that could have been made for Katy Perry. Then it just blows up into this insane mess of guitars, drums, bass, and everything else good that should be in a rock song. It's so driving that you can't help but play the bass drum with your foot. You will, I guarantee it. There's a 2 minute coda to the song that is needlessly excessive, but by the time you get there, the band has earned it.

This is a song that wouldn't sound nearly as good with a male vocal. It's a song built on the dichotomy of this big male guitar and drum sounds next to a female voice. And it works incredibly well on the entirety of The Big Roar, which is The Joy Formidable's debut album.

Maybe seeing is believing …