#7) Local Natives – Gorilla Manor [Frenchkiss; released 2/16/2010]
“Oh, to see it with my own eyes.”
“Wide Eyes”
Hands down, the year’s best debut album comes via the West Coast thanks to the Los Angeles 5-piece Local Natives. In a sense, you can consider Gorilla Manor the West Coast version of recent indie successes Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, and Grizzly Bear. Local Natives takes a bit of each of those bands and makes it their own, also mimicking a bit of the percussion techniques from fellow Californian’s The Dodos. Oftentimes, leaning too heavily on your influences can spread a band too thin, but honestly there’s no way to tell if Local Natives have indeed developed their sound based on the nuances of others because everything they do seems to be a strength of their very own doing. The harmonies, percussion, and afro-pop tendencies are nothing new in this current indie rock climate, but Local Natives make it seem like they came up with it first. Maybe it is the West Coast, surf rock spin they put on their music that sets them apart, or maybe it’s just that these are 5 excellent musicians who write supremely confident songs well beyond their years. Right from opening track “Wide Eyes” Gorilla Manor is a barrage songs that each could be their own single. It remarkable consistency rarely seen in a debut album, and they do it with such youthful exuberance and assurance that it seems like they aren’t even trying.
[“Wide Eyes” – Gorilla Manor]
#8) LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening [Virgin; released 5/18/2010]
“Be honest with me, honestly, unless it hurts my feelings.”
“Drunk Girls”
James Murphy’s 3rd album as LCD Soundsystem starts off with a simple beat and synth rhythm while Murphy quietly sings along almost to the point where the listener feels the need to turn up the volume a bit. It’s an unassuming way to start a dance-rock album, but of course, around the 3 minute mark the song erupts into a full-fledged dance song and we’re knee deep into yet another LCD Soundsystem experience. You would think the first few minutes of This Is Happening would be an inauspicious start to the follow up to one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the last decade, but from one of the most atypical rock stars and producers in the business, this should come as no surprise. By the time it’s 9 minutes are up, “Dance Yrself Clean” is one of the finest tracks of the year, but it’s not until the follow up track, “Drunk Girls” that we given a glimpse into what makes This Is Happening such a rich and rewarding listen: Murphy’s brutal honesty. Over and over he sings “I believe in waking up together”, something so simple, but also something so personal. The track ends with Murphy begging “Be honest with me, honestly…unless it hurts my feelings”, heart wrenching stuff. Later on track “I Can Change”, Murphy pleads “I can change, I can change, I can change, if it helps you fall in love”, you just can fake earnestness like that. It’s the self-awareness of Murphy and the confidence in how he presents it that makes This Is Happening his most mature work yet. It doesn’t hurt that vocally, he is on top of his game and the music’s detail and production takes a backseat to none of LCDSS’s previous work. If this is indeed the final LCD Soundsystem album, as has been rumored, it will go down as Murphy’s most personal work. What a gift to receive.
[“I Can Change” – This Is Happening]
A Round of Sound 