Top Albums of 2011: #11 thru #25

January 20, 2012

The Countdown can now begin with my 15 albums that make up #11 through #25. There’s really no logic governing which albums I chose to do a write up for here. I didn’t want to write something about all of them, but felt like a few deserved a little blurb.

#25) Cut Copy – Zonoscope

The first half of Zonoscope is as good as anything released in 2011. That’s not to say the second half is bad, it just can’t quite keep up with the lush synth-pop scattered throughout the first 5 or 6 tracks. Cut Copy’s previous album was a critical darling, and as a follow up some think Zonoscope falls short, but it’s still full of hooks and for me confirms the great songwriting ability from this Australian dance-rock band.   Opening track “Need You Now” is one of the best songs of the year and the kind of song most artists spend their whole career trying to create. For Cut Copy, it’s second nature.

[“Need You Now” – Zonoscope]

#24) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong

#23) Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde

#22) EMA – Past Lives Martyred Saints

#21) The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck

#20) TV On The Radio – Nine Types of Light

#19) Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness

#18) The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient

While Kurt Vile may have released a more critically acclaimed album in 2011, what his former band did with Slave Ambient should not be ignored. Slave Ambient is the 2nd album from these guys, and first without Vile (who wasn’t that integral in the band’s sound anyway). It’s an atmospheric album, but one that’s also subtly infectious with song after song of  memorable melodies channeling Americana heroes such as Petty, Dylan, and Springsteen.

[“Baby Missiles” – Slave Ambient]

#17) The Field – Looping State of Mind

#16) Destroyer – Kaputt

I’ve always been quite intrigued by Dan Bejar. As a member of indie-pop super group The New Pornographers, he’s always struck me as the odd man out. To me, that group has been more of an avenue for Carl Newman to flex his power-pop muscles, while Bejar merely sprinkles in his style of avant-garde indie-rock. He seems to save his creativity for his Destroyer project, and Kaputt does nothing to disprove that. You really never know what you’re going to get from a Destroyer album, and a 80’s style soft rock record certainly fits the bill. It’s still a Destroyer record through and through, and with talk that he may be retiring the moniker, it’s a hell of a way to go out.

[“Kaputt” – Kaputt]

#15) Akron/Family – S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT

This is an album I expected to get a lot more love when the end of the year lists came out, but for some reason it quietly went into the night and after it’s February release was seemingly forgotten. It’s for that reason that I consider the 5th album from these experimental psych-folk rockers the most underrated album of the year. Akron/Family has never been short on ambition and with this, their second “self-titled” album, they’re showing that they’re always ready to reinvent themselves, yet remain accessible.

[“Another Sky” – S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT]

#14) Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo

#13) Yuck – Yuck

Oftentimes when wearing your influences on your sleeve you can get buried by them. Not so for these young Brits, as they’ve packed their debut album full of 90’s era grunge and indie rock, but managed to create something of their own as well. And as much as everyone loves to analyze everything about an album, sometimes it’s refreshing to find a record like this that’s  just so damn fun to listen to and conveys such exuberance from the artist that it’s impossible to not sit back and enjoy it for what it is. It can be nostalgic if you want it to be, but Yuck mixes enough modern indie-rock with the old that it’s not a prerequisite for enjoyment.

[“Georgia” – Yuck]

#12) Drake – Take Care

I think what fascinates me the most about hip-hop is that in most genres, self-indulgence is often criticized the most as to what holds an album back from greatness (see Ceremonials from Florence + The Machine), but in hip-hop it’s a characteristic that is to be lauded and what usually allows an album to excel. Take Kanye’s masterful album last year, which will go down as maybe the most over-indulgent album I’ve ever listened to, but it had enough self-deprecation that it was obvious Kanye knew what he was doing by pointing out his own narcissism. Drake’s album Take Care, is the finest hip-hop release of the year, and succeeds largely on it’s own indulgence, but whereas Kanye’s album had an almost satirical self-assuredness, Drake’s is just immensely personal. Self-absorbed, sure. But in the hip-hop world, that’s what drives success.

[“Headlines” – Take Care]

#11) Wye Oak – Civilian

This is one of my biggest surprises of the year. It’s not that I was down on Wye Oak or anything, I just didn’t expect to love this album as much as I did. I specifically remember driving around one day with this album playing on my ipod and thinking to myself “OK, this is really good album.” It was possibly my most listened to album of 2011, thanks in large part to songs that engage with their beautiful yet tension filled melodies. It’s amazing how rich of a sound this Baltimore duo can get out of their scaled-down tunes, while still keeping the intimacy that makes them so pleasing. There’s a depth and darkness to each song on Civilian that took Wye Oak to a new level that most likely surprised everybody but themselves.

[“Holy Holy” – Civilian]

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Top Albums of 2011: Honorable Mentions

January 19, 2012

Honorable Mentions:

Let’s get things started with my Honorable Mentions for 2011. These are not necessarily the next highest ranked albums after my Top 25, but rather just some albums that I wanted to give extra attention to for one reason or another.

———-

Feist – Metals

In 2007, Feist broke out in grand fashion with her fantastic album The Reminder (with a little assist from Apple), and while Metals isn’t quite as immediate as its predecessor, it may actually be a more cohesive and complete album. You won’t find a “1234” on this release, but what you will find is a gorgeous set of songs, beautifully produced, that on repeated listens could very well be more fulfilling than anything in the Leslie Feist catalog.

[“The Bad In Each Other” – Metals]

———-

My Morning Jacket – Circuital

This  is the kind of album My Morning Jacket needed to make after the disaster that was Evil Urges. (Now, let’s never speak of it again.) Jim James and crew got whatever the hell that was out of their system and returned to what they do best. It still doesn’t reach the heights of their best work, most notably 2005’s Z, but I really don’t expect them to ever get to that level again. Instead, we have an album full expansive southern rock tunes with just a hint of their psychedelic tendencies…just like we want them.

[“Victory Dance” – Circuital]

———-

James Blake – James Blake

Quite possibly the year’s hipster darling, James Blake released his debut album in 2011 to a great deal of buzz thanks to his very well received EP’s of 2010. A full album of Blake’s dubstep tunes is quite a lot to take in, but if you’re willing to take an hour with some headphones in, it’s easy to see the ability of this 23 year old Brit. The best description I’ve heard of Blake’s style, and one I like to pass on, is that of a Dubstep version of Bon Iver. He creates some incredibly sparse tunes, that somehow have so much depth beneath the surface. His version of bedroom pop is a divisive one among music lovers, but it’s hard to deny his inventiveness as you listen to his tunes, including a pretty excellent Feist cover.

[“Limit To Your Love” – James Blake]

———-

Wilco – The Whole Love

Much like the My Morning Jacket release, what I’m really praising here is a return to form. It’s not that I’ve hated Wilco’s last few albums, they’ve just been quite boring and pretty great examples of a band mailing it in. However, The Whole Love is Wilco’s finest release since 2005’s A Ghost Is Born, which is not something I was expecting…at all. They seem to be rejuvenated a bit here, offering more of the experimentation that made their early albums so intriguing. A more adventurous Wilco is a more interesting Wilco, and we are all the better for it.

[“Art of Almost” – The Whole Love]

———-

The Felice Brothers – Celebration, Florida

I have to give a shout out to some of my personal favorites, The Felice Brothers, by mentioning just how impressed I was with the direction the group went with their latest album Celebration, Florida. These guys were poised to benefit from the recent success of The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons, which I was quite ready for since I believe The Felice Brothers have been creating much more interesting folk music than their peers (especially Mumford), so it was quite a shock to see them depart from their folk roots and experiment with a more electronic dancehall sound. It doesn’t always work, as their ambitions do get the best of them at times, but I’ll be damned if I don’t respect the hell out the effort.

[“Ponzi” – Celebration, Florida]

Dishonorable Mentions

In the last few years, I haven’t really had a need for this category, and this year is no different really, but it’s a tradition so I’ll put something here anyway. Calling these Dishonorable Mentions is pretty harsh as they’re really not that bad. However, I don’t envision it to be quite as controversial as last year.

The Strokes – Angles

This certainly isn’t a bad album. It’s just one that was completely unnecessary. The Strokes released an amazing album in 2001 that ushered in an era of garage band Rock ‘n Roll, then followed it up with basically a carbon copy, and fizzled out with an uninspired third album. For some reason, they thought we really needed them to reunite. I suppose Angles is a bit better than it’s predecessor, but who really cares? It’s evident they don’t. Just call it a day, guys.

[“Under The Cover of Darkness” – Angles]

———-

Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside

I present these guys as a great example of the hype machine getting a little bit out of control (see also, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). When Tapes ‘n Tapes released their debut album in 2005 it was for some reason a critical success. I liked it alright, but found it a bit overrated. Their follow up album in 2008 pretty much vindicated my concerns by getting slammed critically and being labeled as a sophomore slump. (Personally, I thought it was on the same level of their debut…but whatever.) Well, with Outside, they’ve done nothing to really disprove that they were a mediocre band all along that for some reason found undeserving success on the internet blogosphere.

[“Freak Out” – Outside]

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Top Albums of 2011: Eligible Albums

January 18, 2012

Yes, I’m fully aware that the last post on this blog was my 2010 Mixtape, meaning it’s been an entire year since I’ve made an update. Hopefully in 2012 I’ll find more time to post, but 2011 was full of traveling for work (Atlanta, Wilmington) and for fun (Europe), as well as buying a house, among other life stuff…so yeah, my time was limited. However, I did still listen to a lot of music, and far be it from me to keep my Top Albums rankings from my multitude dozens of fans. I can only imagine the backlash. So over the next few days I’ll be unveiling my rankings, although I’ll probably keep my writeups a bit shorter than usual and won’t stretch out these posts over a week and a half like I’ve done in the past. I’m only expecting to make about 5 or 6 posts for this years recap. And as usual, I’ll kick it off with a list of the albums I got in 2011, and thus, the albums that are eligible.

This past year I purchased, in some form, 74 albums…70 of which are eligible. I do not include EPs, Soundtracks, Live Albums, Holiday Albums, or B-Side/Rarity type releases as albums eligible for my list. The 70 albums in 2011 is the smallest amount of albums I’ve had eligible in quite some time, although it’s still probably more than I need, but I’m a music junkie and just can’t help myself. Of course, there’s plenty of albums that I never got around to procuring, so yes, there’s going to be very worthy albums that don’t make my list. Get over it. After the jump, you can see the list of all albums I purchased, in order of release date. Also, over to the right, you can see the schedule over the next few days as I continue the countdown. Enjoy, and thanks for indulging my, uhh, indulgence.

Continue Reading >>

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#1 Album of 2010

January 20, 2011

Titus Andronicus – The Monitor [XL; released 3/9/2010]

“The enemy is everywhere.”

“Titus Andronicus Forever”

Using the American Civil War as a metaphor for personal internal strife is really nothing new. In fact, it’s actually a pretty tired cliche. Generally, if a band tries to pull off something of that caliber, it’s seen as an incredibly overblown attempt at self-importance and quite pretentious. So how then is Titus Andronicus able to pull off a concept album loosely based on events of the Civil War to the point where it seems not only genuine, but also original? Answer: I don’t know exactly. But, with The Monitor, they sure as hell do. And in doing so, they’ve created the best album of 2010.

One thing that certainly doesn’t hurt is the fact that the album absolutely rocks. There is no shortage of riffs one bit, and it contains an abundance of hooks that many rock bands would spend an entire career searching for. Every song is a go-by for sing along anthems, complete with massive choruses that just urge you to belt from the top of your lungs “It’s still us against them!” over and over again as lead singer Patrick Stickles does to close out album centerpiece “Four Score and Seven”.  There’s some Irish jig type sounds in the music, but it’s the Springsteen influence (and the Civil War motif, obviously) that make this a truly great American rock album. For an album that is so intelligent and clearly was labored on in fine detail, it’s amazing how natural and fun the entire thing sounds. The emotion and angst heard in Stickles vocals is that of legends and really is what keeps the album grounded as a personal experience but nothing that ever really comes across as too self-indulgent.

The 10 tracks of The Monitor clock in at 65 minutes thanks to half the tracks passing the 7 minute mark. A release of that length can usually come across as exhausting, but for The Monitor, there really is no better word to describe it other than epic. We hear that term thrown around quite often (hell, I’ve probably used it numerous times during this very countdown), but no offense to any other so called “epic” releases this year, you’ve got nothing on The Monitor; nor does any album released in the past 3 or 4 years. The raw and gritty nature of this album is something you can truly sense throughout its 10 tracks. The tears and sweat put into it are truly palpable, as is the blood spilled on the battlefield. With all that said, it still comes back to the music. In any album I name as my album of the year, there’s often a moment that just gets to me and offers a moment of pure joy that pretty much nails it down as my album of the year. Well, there’s numerous moments of joy on The Monitor, but the one that gets me the most comes about an hour into the disc, during the 14 minute closer “The Battle of Hampton Roads”. After a buildup featuring some incredible lyrics, awesome little guitar solos, and a final breakdown consisting of the simple refrain “Please don’t ever leave,” we reach the climax: an instrumental outro when none other than bagpipes show up to perform a solo. Bagpipes! What an amazingly poignant way to close out not just any album, but this album. It gives me chills every time. The bagpipes eventually come to an end and we’re left with yet another set of guitar riffs that an entire album could be made out of. So when all is said and done, the reasons a band like Titus Andronicus could pull off such an ambitious project like this is actually pretty clear: just put your heart into it and have a blast. It really isn’t all that new of a concept, and if the listener puts in the same effort, he or she will get just as much out of it as Titus Andronicus did.

[“The Battle of Hampton Roads” – The Monitor]

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#2 Album of 2010

January 19, 2011

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs [Merge; released 8/3/2010]

“These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose. But late at night the feelings swim to the surface.”

“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”

I once heard Matthew Weiner state that when he was searching for a house to use as the Draper household on the set of his show Mad Men, one of the characteristics the house had to have was a red door. For some reason that comment stuck with me, because it just seemed like an example of the small details that make that show so incredible and one of the best shows on television the last few years. He never explained his reasoning, but I like to think having a red door on an otherwise perfect “American Dream” looking house symbolizes the tension within its walls. When I first popped in The Suburbs, and the title track opened the album, all I could think about was how simple a song it was, but how much tension lied beneath its straightforward exterior. That Weiner comment came to mind, because The Suburbs is the house of Mad Men and its red door all wrapped into one magnificent album.

Arcade Fire’s first album,  Funeral, was immensely personal and displayed the youthful exuberance, but veteran musicianship that instantly made the Canadian group a fan favorite. (And a perfect fit for their role in the movie Where the Wild Things Are.) Their follow up album, Neon Bible, wasn’t nearly as introspective, focusing its attention much more outward, attacking the usual worldly piñatas of religion and politics among other things. While it was still a great album, it was a much more exhausting listen, and became bogged down by it’s overblown themes. The Suburbs falls more in line with Funeral, actually returning to many of the ideas that made Funeral so stunning, only this time those ideas are from the perspective of people just a little bit older. No longer are they digging tunnels from one house to another; this time they’re choosing sides as part of their “Suburban War”. As a child, you want to get away from it all, but inevitably you return and become what you always hated. It’s a vicious cycle, and one that creates a hell of an album.

It’s hard to say if The Suburbs will have that standout track of anthemic proportions such as “Wake Up” or “No Cars Go” that have become sing-along staples at Arcade Fire shows. Perhaps, in time, “Ready to Start” will rise to that kind of level, or maybe “Rococo”, but it’s hard to imagine an arena full of hipsters singing their hearts out to a song that is criticizing their very lifestyle. The U2 and Coldplay-esque “We Used To Wait” is a candidate, but if there is any decency in this world, the song that will stand above all others on this album is the enchanting “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”, my song of the year. As important as they are to the core of Arcade Fire’s sound, Régine Chassangne vocals have never really done it for me. However, “Sprawl II” is easily her best performance and a moment that showcases her vulnerable yet sweetly confident talent. Hearing her defiantly state “They’re screaming at us ‘We don’t need your kind!'” just gets me every time…as does the chorus…and the key change. It’s just so glorious, all the while being infused with a driving pop music rhythm. It’s the most danceable song the band has ever created, and thus, easily one of their most fun. Every Arcade Fire album has been a masterpiece up to this point, and all for different reasons. The Suburbs stands on its own as an incredible work of art; ambitious yet accessible, but finely tuned with so many details that unpacking all it’s layers is nothing that can be done overnight. This is an album not only to enjoy in the moment but also to come back later on for further exploration, an impressive accomplishment indeed. Matthew Weiner would be proud.

[“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” – The Suburbs]

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Top Albums of 2010: #3 and #4

January 18, 2011

#3) The National – High Violet [4AD; released 5/10/2010]

“I still owe money, to the money, to the money I owe”

“Bloodbuzz Ohio”

Growing up churched as I have, I’ve heard plenty of sermons that have had an impact on me, however, one of my favorites is a sermon I heard a couple times in college entitled “Ministry of the Mundane”. Without getting too preachy here, the sermon speaks to God’s presence in the smallest details in our lives and not just the huge events. (This sermon was used as a way to counter the huge Christian Revival events that pop up all over the place, especially the Bible Belt…but I digress.) What I loved about it is that it showed the significance of day to day events and the ability to get as much out of that as some huge “Look at me!” undertaking. Considering how much that speaks to me, it’s no wonder that The National have become one of my favorite bands, due to their “Music of the Mundane” as I shall forever now call it. The National sing about things that effect all of us, cause they have all been there too. Lead singer Matt Berninger used to work in a typical office job and those experiences have lead to his “blue collar” outlook on many of his tunes. It’s amazing what happens when you can relate to a band and what they’re singing about, and of course it doesn’t hurt that the music they write is damn good too. High Violet is the follow up to Boxer, my album of the year in 2007, and prior to Boxer The National had a tendency to release albums known as growers, meaning, you needed to put in the time in order for it to burrow under your skin. Boxer came along and was their most immediate release, but High Violet falls more into the “grower” category, and doesn’t suffer a single bit for it. There’s still the immediate pop songs such as “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and the Sufjan Stevens assisted “Afraid of Anyone”. However, also present are songs like “Sorrow” and “Little Faith” that are no less beautiful despite their lack of an obvious hook. What they do have though, is incredible and driving percussion, which is once again a great strength for the Brooklyn 5-piece. High Violet is the most mature release yet from this group, who as they age, have continually been able to find the influences to write their brooding anthems, something that must be easier said than done, because while writing about the mundane in our lives is not a groundbreaking idea, no one can seem to do it like The National.

[“Bloodbuzz Ohio” – High Violet]

#4) Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me [ Drag City; released 2/23/2010]

“Be at peace, baby, and be gone.”

“Baby Birch”

Listening to Joanna Newsom’s epic 2006 release Ys, you could sense what an accomplishment it was and that it certainly deserved to be considered one of the best releases that year, however it wasn’t an album that was easy to come back to. Consisting of only 5 tracks, Ys still clocked in at just under an hour thanks to its swirling songs that hovered around 10 minutes long. It truly was an album that worked best as one piece of art, basically a symphony expressed in 5 movements. There really was no where to jump in, and as brilliant as it was, it was an exhausting and overwhelming listen that took some effort. This is why when news broke that Newsom’s follow up album would actually be a triple album with over 2 hours of music, expectations were understandably reserved. However, with Have One On Me, Newsom took everything that made Ys an ambitious success and broke it into little pieces spread throughout 18 songs that the listener can drop in and listen for a while and not feel like he or she is missing any context. There are still plenty of lengthy tracks that harken back to Ys, such as the title track and “Kingfisher”, but for everyone of those, there’s a track like “Baby Birch” that, while sitting at almost 10 minutes long, goes by like a pop song thanks to it’s dearth of great moments spread throughout. Newsom’s patented harp playing and squeaky voice are still the prevalent feature of Have One On Me, as they should be, but also on display is her inspired piano playing, most notably on “Good Intentions Paving Co” and “Soft as Chalk” which give another glimpse into the many talents Newsom encompasses. Thanks to a renewed focus on song-structure, Have One On Me is a much more accessible release for Newsom, but one that doesn’t sacrifice the scope of her compositions. It almost comes across as what her greatest hits collection would sound like, accentuating all the unique preciousness, confidence, and lyrical ability that sets her apart from all other singer-songwriters.

[“Soft as Chalk” – Have One On Me]

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Top Albums of 2010: #5 and #6

January 17, 2011

#5) Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz [Asthmatic Kitty; released 10/12/2010]


“For at least I deserve the respect of a kiss goodbye.”

“I Walked”

If you were lucky enough to see Sufjan Stevens in concert during his tour for The Age of Adz, you may have noticed a very subtle, but meaningful moment at the beginning of his show. Now, I can’t speak for all his concerts, but at The Tabernacle in November, Sufjan emerged on stage wearing his patented butterfly wings and proceeded to open the show with the beautifully aged, and fan favorite, “Seven Swans”. Immediately after the song, Sufjan shed his wings before going into “Age of Adz” and continuing down the path of playing his new material for the majority of the event. If there’s ever been a more symbolic gesture to start a concert, I haven’t seen it. The Age of Adz starts in similar fashion with the finger-picking “Futile Devices” before changing gears into the electronic mish-mash that is “Too Much”. This isn’t the Sufjan you’ve grown up with, this version is over the top absurdity, but certainly not lacking the same ambition that brought us the down defunct “50 States Project.”  In the 5 years since Illinois, Sufjan was in jeopardy of becoming a cult hero; staying relatively reclusive and only releasing his work in odd forms whether that be a Christmas album, or a musical dedicated to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. He hinted as possibly never making another album, and also fought a serious viral infection that affected his nervous system. The influences and experiences were aplenty for Sufjan to create an album of the scale of The Age of Adz and he tied it all together by focusing much of his attention for this album on schizophrenic artist Royal Robertson, whose paranoid sci-fi tendencies are seen in not only the album artwork, but also throughout the tunes. If there was ever a time for Sufjan to get back to the electronic experimentation that characterized his early work such as Enjoy Your Rabbit, this was it.  It may have taken an unexpected journey and influences for Stevens to craft this masterpiece, but I’m convinced that this is the album Sufjan always wanted to make, he just finally figured out the best way how.

[“I Walked” – The Age of Adz]

#6) Beach House – Teen Dream [Sub Pop; released 1/26/2010]


“I’ll take care of you, that’s true”

“Take Care”

Last year, Beach House’s lead-woman, Victoria Legrand made a guest appearance on Veckatimest, the wonderful album from Grizzly Bear and my #1 album of 2009. What made that album a monumental step forward for Grizzly Bear was its focus toward melodies and accessibility, something their previous albums were missing. Whether intentional or not, those songwriting techniques clearly rubbed off on Legrand, because with Teen Dream, Beach House has unveiled their masterpiece due in large part to the same nuances that led to Veckatimest’s success. Baltimore’s Beach House has always been a creator of lush dream-pop, but up to this point their albums were plagued by a little too much shoegazing and not enough memorable melodies. Legrand and bandmate Alex Scally could always write a beautiful song, usually one per album, but always seemingly casts among a deluge of forgettable tracks. However, with proper use of Legrand’s hypnotizing voice and a less meandering sonic haze in the music, the potential could be seen for a truly transcendent album , which is why their previous work was so frustrating. Teen Dream sees the realization of that potential with its 10 tracks chock-full of mesmerizing melodies, and much less of the boring ambiance that bogged down previous work. This is an album that resonates with the listener and start to finish it is easily the most consistent Beach House release, and one of the most consistent releases of the year. Beach House always had a devoted fan base who were drawn to their brand of fuzz-pop, however, with Teen Dream there should be an influx of new fans, me included, who have been waiting for the duo to release an album just like this.

[“Walk in the Park” – Teen Dream]

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Top Albums of 2010: #7 and #8

January 16, 2011

#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]

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Top Albums of 2010: #9 and #10

January 15, 2011

#9) Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest [4AD; released 9/27/2010]


“When you were young, you never knew which way you’d go. What once was grace, now undertows.”

“Desire Lines”

Hidden beneath the noise-rock textures of Deerhunter’s previous albums has always been hints at the type of great pop Bradford Cox and company could put out if they wanted. With Halcyon Digest, the Atlanta, Georgia quartet has rewarded listeners with such an album, and the results are striking. The ambient-punk tendencies that band likes to characterize themselves with still reamain, but songs like first single “Revival”, centerpiece “Desire Lines”, and the stunningly heartbreaking “Helicopter” show just how well this group can write straightforward songs while still maintaining their psych-pop familiarity that fans will certainly recognize from albums past. Those three songs are spread throughout the disc separated by 8 other haunting masterpieces including the fantastic opener “Earthquake” identified by an odd clacking and electronic loops overlaying an acoustic guitar and eerie vocals to the 7 minute epic closer “He Would Have Laughed”, a tribute to the late Jay Reatard. Halcyon Digest is an album about life and death and the memories made along the way and what you do with them. Sonically encapsulating that nostalgia in these 11 tracks is something that clearly was no afterthought, and thanks to the fine intimate production, Deerhunter has created their tour de force album at this point in their career.

[“Desire Lines” – Halcyon Digest]

#10) The Walkmen – Lisbon [Fat Possum; 9/14/2010]


“You took the high road, I couldn’t find you up there.”

“Angela Surf City”

This is the 2nd straight release from The Walkmen to find its way to #10 on my year end list, the previous being 2008’s You & Me, and considering Lisbon is just an extension of everything the band did so well on You & Me, it should come as no surprise to see it ranked so high. At this point in their careers, we all know what The Walkmen are selling: gritty, emotional garage rock anthems full of the wailing Dylan-like vocals of lead singer Hamilton Leithauser. These track are no different, featuring the jangly instrumentation leading to powerful climactic moments all the while encompassing the sorrowful notions that maybe only fellow New Yorkers, The National, can even come close to matching. From opening track “Juveniles”, Lisbon is instantly recognizable as a Walkmen release and the confidence always seen in these guy’s songs carries on from there. Lisbon will not to do anything to further The Walkmen’s musical journey, as it doesn’t really break any new ground for the group, but it’s clear these guys still have a lot to get off their chest and if continuing to write these mournful but rockin’ anthems is still where they need to be, I’m not complaining.

[“Angela Surf City” – Lisbon]

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Top Albums of 2010: #11 thru #25

January 14, 2011

So now the countdown can begin with the 15 albums that make up #11 through #25. The only albums you’ll see a little blurb for here are the albums that fall in this range that I’ve  yet to do a write up for on the blog. For the rest of the albums, you can click on the band name to link to the post where they were mentioned.

#25) Wolf Parade – Expo 86

The third release (and possibly last) from the Montreal group still doesn’t quite reach the heights of their wonderful 2005 debut, but Expo 86 does get back to what made that album so good, while ridding themselves of the over-ambition and 2008’s decent, but disappointing At Mount Zoomer. Spencer Krug is one of my favorite indie rock artists, and I always liked his stuff more than co-founder Dan Boeckner, however, on this album Boeckner is the star, although the album’s best moment does come from Krug in “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)”.

[“What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” – Expo 86]

#24) The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

It’s pretty much impossible to listen to The Tallest Man on Earth (aka, Kristian Matsson) and not get a Dylan-esque vibe. It’s a comparison that has followed Matsson to this point in his career, and certainly won’t stop if he continues down the path of The Wild Hunt, the 2nd full-length album from the Swedish singer-songwriter. Mattson’s folk is masterfully done and incredibly soulful and heartfelt in not only the music, but especially the lyrics.

[“The Wild Hunt” – The Wild Hunt]

#23) The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night

Montreal’s The Besnard Lakes follow up their breakout 2007 release, The Besnard Lakes are The Dark Horse, by picking up right where they left off with another set of eerie post-rock tracks that do nothing but validate the brilliance of this quartet. The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is more of the atmospheric physchadelic rock that made Dark Horse so intriguing, and while many bands try to accomplish this sound, few are able to with such majesty. It’s a beautiful album, creating numerous soundscapes, while not sacrificing melody.

[“Albatross” – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night]

#22) Vampire Weekend – Contra

Released all the way back in January, it’s easy to overlook Contra, Vampire Weekend’s 2nd full-length album, as one of the bigger releases of the year. Following up their very successful and highly hyped debut album was no easy task, and while I don’t think Contra pops quite as well as their debut, it does accentuate all the tendencies that made their debut a “love it, or hate it” release.  And I respect the hell out of that. Contra is Vampire Weekend putting their feet to the gas pedal and emphasizing all their eccentricities to the max, and not taking the time to look back at what people are saying…because they just don’t care.

[“Giving up the Gun” – Contra]

#21) Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

#20) Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 release, The Midnight Organ Fight, was so immensely emotional that trying to follow it up would be no easy task. The Winter of Mixed Drinks only comes up slightly short of Organ Fight‘s granduer due to a more arena rock and polished sound rather than the raw folksiness that added to Organ Fight‘s charm. That’s not to say this album isn’t still packed with emotionally devastating ballads, because it most certainly is, thanks in large part to the vulnerability found in the Scottish vocals. As long as those vocals continue to find their way to the forefront, and these guys continue to write some impressive personal tunes, I don’t see there ever being too big of a drop off from album to album.

[“Swim Until You Can’t See Land” – The Winter of Mixed Drinks]

#19) The Morning Benders – Big Echo

#18) Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo

Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg is the latest prodigy Sub Pop records is hoping to strike gold with. Well, if the 19 year old’s self-titled debut album as Avi Buffalo is any indication, they may have done just that. Based in Long Beach, Avi Buffalo combines the west coast sound with the northwest indie rock sound seen in many of his current and former labelmates. Lyrically, Avi writes about what you expect every 19 year old to write about: sex. So there’s still some growing up to do there, but the earnestness and confidence in his lyrics can not be denied. There is a sweetness to this music that makes it very likable, but the songwriting techniques for a group of teenagers is the most impressive thing.

[“What’s It In For?” – Avi Buffalo]

#17) Suckers – Wild Smile

#16) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

#15) Fang Island – Fang Island

#14) Menomena – Mines

#13) Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m not a rap/hip-hop guy. At all. However, in the last couple years I have given into opening my mind a bit to the genre. So, the fact that I have a rap album this high, should show you just how much I think of it. Everyone knows about Kanye. We all know how self-absorbed and narcissistic he is, as well as pretty much any other synonym for self-indulgent you can come up with. But honestly, it’s something he’s embraced and it’s become part of his songwriting, to the point of being self-deprecating. That feeling is captured perfectly on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in some of the most deeply personal artwork you’re going to find as all of the experiences he’s gone through in the last couple years come forward in cathartic effect. Oh, and the album consists of some very fine hip-hop songs as well.

[“Dark Fantasy” – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy]

#12) Jónsi – Go

The debut album from Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi starts off with a series of bleeps and bloops on song “Go Do” before fading into the more majestic soundscape and vocals you’d come to expect from the Icelandic artist. It’s barely one minute in and your ears have already been given a treat unlike anything else you will hear this year. The Nico Muhly arrangements only add to the gigantic scope of Jónsi’s music, while Jónsi’s naivety and sweetness make this an exhilarating listen.  At times Go is as vibrant and emotionally stirring as the best work of Sigur Rós and makes their “indefinite hiatus” a little bit easier to deal with.

[“Go Do” – Go]

#11) Owen Pallett – Heartland

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