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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Mid-2010 Music Awards

July 14, 2010

We’re halfway through what has been a fantastic year for music, so it’s time for me to summarize 2010 in my usual Mid-year fashion.  Despite the lack of posts here on the blog, I’ve still been keeping up with new releases just as much as I usually do (although it’s been harder to find the time to listen to them as intently as I want).  With that said, this post is a very preliminary look on the music of 2010 and is all subject to change by the time I get to my end of the year list.  But this is my initial jab at what the year has looked like for me at its mid-point.

Joanna Newsom

Top 10 albums (plus one) of 2010 (in order of release date):

Beach House – Teen Dream

It’s going to be hard for this one to not end up in my top 10 at the end of the year.  As I said in my 1Q Review, I’ve never been a huge Beach House fan, but along comes Teen Dream which is easily my favorite Beach House release and the first one I truly love from start to finish.  It was 2010’s first great release, and for me one of the year’s biggest surprises.

[“Norway” – Teen Dream]

———-

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

Probably the year’s finest debut album comes from this Los Angeles quintet.  It’s got a bit of Grizzly Bear, a dash of Fleet Foxes, some Vampire Weekend, and even a little of fellow Californians The Dodos, but they’re not blatantly ripping off their influences, which is refreshing.  Granted, I’m not as big into this album as others, but it is an impressive release and the group does what they do very well.  Their future is bright.

[“Sun Hands” – Gorilla Manor]

———-

Fang Island – Fang Island

I really can’t get over how much I love this album.  Maybe it’s because it’s only half an hour long and is just incredibly fun to listen to with no pretensions.  As busy as life can be, sometimes an album with no smoke or mirrors that gets straight to the point and just plain rocks is exactly what is needed.  Fang Island’s debut could not have come out at a more perfect time.

[“Daisy” – Fang Island]

———-

Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me

And then on the flip side of the Fang Island album, you have Joanna Newsom’s epic triple LP which clocks in at over 2 hours.  But the beauty of Have One on Me is that even with the time and effort required to give it a listen, it is quite accessible and is much easier to navigate than the albums predecessor, Ys.  The multi-instrumentalist is on top of her game on this one and may have put out the best album of 2010.

[“Good Intentions Paving Co.” – Have One on Me]

———-

Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

Speaking of epic albums…nothing in 2010 can quite match on the “epic scale” what Titus Andronicus does on The Monitor.  The album flows together as one glorious masterpiece that is extremely ambitious, and just so freaking huge.  The blood, sweat, and tears put into the album from this young group is almost palpable throughout the listen.  No easy task.

[“Four Score and Seven” – The Monitor]

———-

The Morning Benders – Big Echo

While Big Echo isn’t The Morning Benders debut album, it might as well be, because the improvement on this sophomore release from their previous work almost makes them indistinguishable from where they were.  Much of that is thanks to the help from Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor who stepped up to produce this album, and man, you can hear the impact he had right from the start.  They went from writing dinky little three minute generic pop songs to full-fledged sophisticated songwriters in a snap.  Just watch this, and you’ll be an instant fan…guaranteed.

[“Excuses” – Big Echo]

———–

The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme

For fans of The Radio Dept., this album was anticipated for a long time.  And I mean a long time.  While their last release was only four years ago, the release date for this album just seemed to keep getting pushed back.  And for a band that has been around in some form for 15 years to be sitting on only two full length album releases, patience had to be running thin for Radio Dept. diehards.  Well, the Swedish pop group finally released Clinging to a Scheme and while it may have underwhelmed some fans expecting a bit more than 10 songs at 35 minutes, and disappointed those hoping for more of the lo-fi shoegaze tracks of their previous work, I think it’s an immensely enjoyable collection of finely tuned pop songs.

[“Heaven’s on Fire” – Clinging to a Scheme]

———-

Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

Another great release from the Canadian super-group, borrowing from their usual foray of indie-rockers all over the landscape, however this time it seems a little more of a condensed group as many Broken Social Scene mainstays only show up as guests.  I think it works very well, as this is one of their most focused releases and for me can stand up against any of the band’s albums.  While I do expect more of the Broken Social Scene Presents: albums to be done in the future, I really hope we don’t have to wait another 5 years for the next BSS release.

[“World Sick” – Forgiveness Rock Record]

———-

The National – High Violet

I mean honestly, they have released three straight masterpieces.  High Violet may not be as immediate as Boxer, but it doesn’t take a backseat to that album in song-writing prowess by any means.  They can do no wrong at this point and are easily one of the best American bands going today.  It has a legit chance to make The National my first two-time winner of album of the year.  My review covers it pretty well.

[“Afraid of Anyone” – High Violet]

———-

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening

If this is indeed the final album under the LCD Soundsystem moniker for James Murphy, he’s sending it out in very fine fashion…although that shouldn’t really be a surprise.  This is Happening is another excellent collection of Murphy’s dance-rock tunes with an opening twosome of “Dance Yrself Clean” and “Drunk Girls” which is possibly the finest openers of any album this year, with the former currently out in front for my favorite track of 2010.

[“Dance Yrself Clean” – This is Happening]

———-

The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

The Gaslight Anthem took the Bruce Springsteen comparisons up a notch on their latest release, American Slang.  The New Jersey quartet’s last album, The ’59 Sound, was quietly one of the best in 2008 and was such an homage to Springsteen that the Boss himself took some time out to perform on stage with the group.  Well, with American Slang, The Gaslight Anthem have put together another set of pure American rock that expands on those influences especially in the vocals.  This one doesn’t quite have the nostalgia and rock/garage-punk fusion that made The ’59 Sound such a brilliant release, but it’s still 10 fantastic rock songs full of hooks and the blue-collar charm that makes them so appealing in the first place.

[“American Slang” – American Slang]

Biggest Surprise:

Owen Pallett – Heartland

In all honesty, Teen Dream probably goes here, but I wanted to give it to something other than what mentioned above, so Heartland from Final Fantasy Owen Pallett gets this award.  This may not have been a big surprise to others, but as I said in my 1Q Summary, I was never a big fan of Pallett’s previous work, so I didn’t expect to get into this album as much as I have.

[“Lewis Takes Action” – Heartland]

Biggest Disappointment:

Blitzen Trapper – Destroyer of the Void

Unfortunately, there were a few releases I could’ve put here, but I’ll go with the latest album from Blitzen Trapper.  Their last album was soooo good and featured one of the best songs in the last few years in “Furr”, but this album is just blah, running short on memorable melodies and extremely boring.  I was hoping for much more, but I think Furr may have been a high water mark for these guys because none of their other stuff even comes close to matching it.

[“Evening Star” – Destroyer of the Void]

Most Underrated:

Suckers – Wild Smile

It may be hard to call this one underrated considering at this point it hasn’t really even been, uhh, rated at all.  Now, clearly there have been reviews, but as of this point there is no page on Metacritic.  The reviews I’ve seen haven’t been bad, it’s just I would have expected more attention considering how well their debut EP was received last year.  With an internet sensation in “It Gets Your Body Movin'”, which even managed to find its way on my 2009 Mixtape, I expected Wild Smile to be one of the more highly anticipated releases of the year, but upon its release there hasn’t really been much talk.  And that’s a shame because it really is an impressive debut album and expands on the sound of their EP in ways I wasn’t really expecting.

[“Black Sheep” – Wild Smile]

Most Overrated:

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today

Isn’t it interesting how as soon as this whole glo-fi/chillwave craze is all the rage, the critics are all of the sudden all about Ariel Pink, who has been making this kind of music for years?  Granted, Before Today is his best produced album and features his best work, but I guess I just don’t quite get the genre.  It’s enjoyable, but deserving of album of the year talk?…No. (However, “Round and Round” is pretty fantastic.)

[“Round and Round” – Before Today]

Need to Give More Listens:

Sleigh Bells – Treats

I almost put this as my most overrated, but I decided to hold off on that and give it a few more listens because I really don’t think I’ve given it enough of a shot.  Pretty much everyone has this as one of the top albums of 2010 and I’ve seen it called the “future of music”, so I should give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a few more tries.  However, it’s not out of the question that when all is said and done, I’ll indeed consider it overrated.  I will say this…it is freakin’ LOUD.

[“Tell ‘Em” – Treats]

Others of note: Jonsi – Go; Tame Impalla – InnerSpeaker; Delorean – Subiza; Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts

Notable Albums I Still Need To Get:

Wolf Parade – Expo 86

Caribou – Swim

Avi Buffalo –Avi Buffalo

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2010 First Quarter Review

April 19, 2010

Here we are in April, so it’s time to recap the first quarter of 2010 and pick out some of the albums that highlighted the first three months.  I reviewed a couple albums here and here, so I’ll leave those out for this recap and just focus on a few standout albums that I have yet to mention on the blog. (There’s a lot of them…I’ve been lazy)  So lets get to it…in order of release date.

Laura Veirs – July Flame

January was a very busy month for album releases and one of the more under the radar records that unfortunately didn’t quite get the hype of some others was July Flame, the seventh release from the Portland based folk singer-songwriter Laura Veirs.  Granted, it’s a bit hard for a singer-songwriter to break free of the pack, much less a soft spoken folk singer from Portland, but on July Flame, Veirs does her best to set herself apart with her songwriting, and she does it quite well.  She has to be one of the more under-appreciated artists in her genre, but with a release like this, maybe she’ll start to get a bit more love.

[“July Flame” – July Flame]

———-

Owen Pallett – Heartland

Previously known as Final Fantasy, Heartland is Pallett’s first album under his own name and I found myself enjoying this album much more than I expected.  I was never much of a Final Fantasy fan, mainly because when the last FF release came out 4 years ago, experimental music wasn’t something I was quite ready to…uhh…experiment with.  Since then, I’ve opened my mind up a bit and after hearing great things upon Heartland‘s release, I decided to give it a shot.  It is such a well crafted album and listening to Heartland, you just get a sense of Pallett’s songwriting ability and musicianship in his compositions.  It’s not something that will immediately grab you, but if you’re will to put in the effort, it’s quite easy to appreciate.

[“Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” – Heartland]

———-

Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

After garnering loads of praise from their single “Swim” released in 2009, Astro Coast was one of the more highly anticipated debut albums in the first part of 2010, and the record displays plenty of the 90s era alternative/indie rock that made “Swim” so intriguing.  Surfer Blood is a five-piece from Florida and their brand of high energy rock-pop has been compared to early Weezer and other 90s indie groups, and a few of the tracks on Astro Coast even have a bit of Vampire Weekend feel as well.  It’s an immensely fun listen of straightforward rock complete with some awesome melodies…an impressive batch of tightly written pop songs indeed.  (And fyi, I had a hell of a time choosing which song to feature here…”Floating Vibes” or “Swim”.  The tiebreaker is always handclaps, so “Floating Vibes” it is.)

[“Floating Vibes” – Astro Coast]

———-

Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring

I debated leaving this one off this post because I feel like I’m always talking about these guys, but then I realized I actually don’t have one post on here about my beloved Los Campesinos! It has been so much fun watching this group of youngsters from Wales grow up through their first three albums, and while I don’t think I can say Romance is Boring is their best album, it is their most mature and shows how they’ve grown as songwriters.  It’s still packs the energy of their early releases when they burst onto the scene back in 2007 with the internet sensation “You! Me! Dancing!” (absolutely one of my favorite songs of the decade), but displays a little more depth in the songwriting, and the lyrics…oh my lord, the lyrics.  Gareth Campesinos! was never one to hold back and he sure as hell doesn’t on this release.  The confidence of this group is mind blowing.

[“There are Listed Buildings” – Romance is Boring]

———-

Beach House – Teen Dream

Many people’s clubhouse leader for album of the year comes from Baltimore’s dream-poppers Beach House and their third album Teen Dream, their first on Sub Pop Records.  I’ve always thought Beach House was a bit overrated, and a bit boring.  They always seem to have that one song that sticks out on their releases that gets a huge amount of hype from indie-pop lovers everywhere, and then the rest of the album is just kinda, there.  So while Teen Dream was certainly on my radar, I didn’t have huge hopes for it.  But man, from start to finish it is easily their strongest and most consistent release yet, and when thinking of the best albums from the first quarter of 2010, Teen Dream is always one of the first that comes to mind.  Is it my clubhouse leader for album of the year?…I’ll never tell.

[“Zebra” – Teen Dream]

———-

Phantogram – Eyelid Movies

The debut album from New York’s Phantogram is a bit hit or miss, but it has enough hits to make it one of the most beautiful records of the year, thanks in part to it’s very fine production.  The duo makes a brand of electro-pop that borrows hip hop beats but manages to create a very atmospheric listen.  It’s a fusion of multiple genres and Eyelid Movies manages to pull it off almost seamlessly.  As I said, it is a debut album so there’s still room to grow and improve but it’s a fine introduction to where Phantogram is headed and very well could set them up for much greater success in the future.

[“When I’m Small” – Eyelid Movies]

———-

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

I remember hearing a Local Natives track back in December (I think it was “Sun Hands”) on another blog and came away impressed, but then completely forgot about them despite the hype leading up to the release of their debut album Gorilla Manor.  The Los Angeles five-piece has drawn comparisons to Fleet Foxes mainly due to the three part harmonies, but that’s really where the comparison ends as Local Natives is much more of a rock band and has none of the folksiness that characterizes Fleet Foxes.  They actually remind me of an little known defunct emo band in the early 2000s named Lewis that I always thought was immensely underrated.  So for me Local Natives is a bit of a nostalgic trip and gives me an idea of what Lewis would sound like today if they were still around. Gorilla Manor is a very impressive debut, and the excitement leading up to this album (thanks in part to it’s successful UK release in ’09) doesn’t hurt it’s appeal one bit as it’s a release that shows they are worthy of the hype.

[“Wide Eyes” – Gorilla Manor]

———-

Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me

Coming into 2010, a new Joanna Newsom release wasn’t really on my radar as there hadn’t much talk of a new album, but then just a few weeks prior to the release of Have One On Me, Newsom and her label started to drop hints of…well…a new album.  Then news came that it was a triple LP, and my excitement grew even more.  Have One On Me is the follow up to the brilliant Ys (my #5 album in 2006), and features 18 songs broken into three separate albums for grand total of 2 hours of her harp playing freak-folksiness.  While Ys was a masterpiece, it was much more of an entire composition broken into 5 movements, so it was hard to really jump into and immediately grasp.  Have One On Me is much more accessible and you can actually listen to a song here or there without feeling like you’re missing something.  For Have One On Me, Newsom also branches out from just her harp playing to employ the various other instruments in her arsenal.  We already knew Newsom was one of the best songwriters in the business, and Have One On Me does nothing to dispel that fact.

[“Good Intentions Paving Co.” – Have One On Me]

———-

Fang Island – Fang Island

It’s pretty hard to resist any band that describes their sound as “everyone high-fiving everyone”, and after listening to the self-titled debut full-length from Fang Island, I’d say that’s a pretty legit descriptor.  The Brooklyn by way of Rhode Island five piece plays highly energetic and infectious indie-pop with a flare for prog-rock and the tunes are guitar hooks galore.  The songs are short on vocals as the guitars absolutely dominate the album, but when vocals do come in they bring the same great excitement and instant joyfulness as the rest of the music.  It’s only 10 tracks long and just over half and hour, but with the amount of energy these guys put into this release, I don’t know if would have been possible to make it any longer without them passing out during the recording process.  It’s as exhilarating of a listen that you’re going to find in 2010.

[“Daisy” – Fang Island]

———-

These New Puritans – Hidden

The second album from the British art rockers is a complex and bold, but overall stunning achievement of some of the most densely packed compositions you’re going to find.  Listening to Hidden is nothing to be taken lightly as it transports you into it’s dark, eerie universe and leaves you contemplating what you’ve just heard even after it’s 45 minutes are up.  It’s like going to a movie that you’re not exactly sure what’s going on as your watching it, but afterwards you can’t get it off your mind and eventually realize what you’ve just experienced is a pretty extraordinary work of art.  I don’t know if I can find another way to describe Hidden, other than saying it’s unique and demanding and goes without saying that it’s not for everyone.

[“Orion” – Hidden]

———-

Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

The most epic release so far in 2010 comes from New Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus and their second album The Monitor.  It’s so refreshing to hear a straight up rock record with this much intelligence, a la The Hold Steady, and at 65 minutes you’d think it would be an exhausting listen, but it’s not…at least not for me.  The Monitor is a loose concept album based on the Civil War, hence some of the song titles, and those themes really carry the album from being just another energetic and rocking release to a stunning effort of 10 heartfelt and smart tracks that Springsteen himself would appreciate.  The hooks are killer, and the songs pack some amazing sing along choruses and recurring themes.  It’s an ambitious and remarkable achievement that at its heart is evidence of the power of true rock ‘n’ roll.

[“A More Perfect Union” – The Monitor]

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