Too much stock is placed in "ranking" albums/songs of the year and represents distilling music into the lowest common denominator: a lazy formula requiring no work to get the maximum enjoyment. Thus is the American way but when ranking opinions is ultimately useless.
As such, the following albums were the records I formed the deepest personal connections with and simply could not stop playing for the duration of the year. If you haven't heard any of these by now I implore spending some time with them, and if you have, remember how perfect they all were to soundtrack another year. The truth is, at some point each one of these records were the album of the year. Without further ado:
 |
| peep the list after the jump |
Vampire Weekend - Contra
One of the first albums I bought in 2010 still stands as one of its finest. Vampire Weekend continue to prove their intelligence, through the continued clever lyricism of Ezra Koenig matched with the pop sensibilities to disguise their album of experimentation in other sounds as a collection of razor-sharp hooks and sing-alongs. Overall the experience still feels distinctly familiar, and the result is an album of widely accessible favorites that sound equally amazing lounging on a beach or trudging through the snow. No small feat indeed.
Essential lyrics: the entirety of "White Sky": the juxtaposition of Ezra's word-smithy story and the catchiest wordless chorus of the year epitomize the appeal of this album.
Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
The more I see this album left off of year-end lists, the more I cringe. Los Campesinos! are certainly my favorite punk band, if you can box them into that genre, but what their music succeeds at vastly exceeds that single description. While detractors may poke at the negative vibes of the album, it is this beauty in tragedy that makes this album so memorable and genuine. Gareth and company weave their darkest tales to date, certainly, but it is this dichotomy of love and anguish that enables such a deep connection we can all share. Their trademark hooks, strings, tempo changes, and shouting outbursts along with their most prolific display of lyricism captures a band that continues to improve with each release.
Essential lyrics: "Your feelings are buried in scriptures and fictions/It's all in the words, but I'm here for the pictures" - "We've Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)"
Beach House - Teen Dream
The award for most appalling, ethereal beauty of the year goes to the music found on Beach House's Teen Dream. From the instant the guitar slides and the harmonies echo on opening (and best) track "Zebra", the listener is rendered helpless to the emotional soundscapes being crafted. Appalling ethereal beauty becomes the only way to describe what takes place throughout the course of this album, with a melancholy . Victoria Legrand's smoky voice lulls into submission with each passing verse. The densely layered songs offer a warm, soothing beauty that manages to retain a mystical, wistful quality throughout. The album title fits as perhaps the perfect quantifiable description of this collection, and overall Beach House prove they are indie stars with this evolved and conceptually brilliant effort.
Essential lyrics: "Don't I know you/Better than the rest/All deception, all deception from you" - "Zebra"
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
The sophomore effort from Yeasayer sees their world music palette expanding in an unforseen direction: to the dance floor. The album is front-loaded with its best songs all in succession; the stretch of "Ambling Alp" to "Madder Red"to "I Remember" to "O.N.E." is as impressive as any album released this year. Throughout the album, Yeasayer shift from tropical to psychedelic and back, peppering in uplifting spiritual jams with achingly beautiful love songs for a product whose cohesive diversity is its strength.
I was decidedly late to the party on this album but by the time I experienced their live performace at Lolla 10, it was clear that this promising band is here to stay.
Essential lyrics: "I remember making out on an airplane/Still afraid of flying, but with you I'd die today"- "I Remember"
Delorean - Subiza
In the previously established "appalling ethereal beauty" award, Delorean's first full length album Subiza would come in a close second to Beach House. They broke into the blogosphere in 2009 with their excellent Ayrton Senna EP on the strength of the bouncy jam "Deli" and backed off the dance vibes slightly for a more dreamy sound on Subiza. The sunny Barcelona influence is prevalent throughout the album, which employs dance beats with reverb drenched guitars and soaring samples to create a delightful hybrid of indie and Balearic dance music. A can't miss album for dance music fans. (Or maybe you just love songs about love.)
Essential lyrics: "Will we ever meet again?/Will we ever?" - "Real Love"
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2010 was the year that Arcade Fire transcended their indie band roots. "Wake Up" was featured in the Super Bowl, they sold out Madison Square Garden, and they began their run as headliners at American festivals (starting with Lollapalooza.) The themes of The Suburbs are not at all hidden in the lyrics, with the band citing wasted youth, nostalgia for hope, social pressures, conformity, and a fight for spiritual freedom from all of these evils. The difference from their past catalogue is that this album focuses more on reflection than speculation, and per usual they specialize in melancholy. The somber mood set initially by "The Suburbs" and "We Used to Wait" is counteracted by the final stunning track "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" where the band shows they too can write an incredibly catchy synth pop song. The Arcade Fire stamp is placed in the message they leave with, and similarly to Funeral, they end upbeat; willing to fight to overcome the sprawl that faces all who grow up in suburbia.
Essential lyrics: "They heard me singing and they told me to stop/Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock" - "Sprawl II"
Wavves - King of the Beach
In a year where surf rock made a triumphant return to attention, no one personified the movement better than Wavves' Nathan Williams. Becoming an actual band by adding the late Jay Reatard's rhythm section and recording in an actual studio instead of his bedroom changed only the clarity in Wavves' blistering punk-pop attack. Still in tact from his previous work are the insanely catchy riffs in these blink-182 inspired quick-hitters. Along with his general slacker mantra they come together to make this the ultimate sunny record of 2010 and to make Williams the unquestioned champion of his stoned Cali lifestyle. The opening track says it all: "You're never gonna stop me!/King of the Beach"
Essential lyrics "In my time of need, won't you understand?/That I'm just havin' fun/With you" - "Post Acid"
Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Saul recommended this album back in the onset of the school year, and up to that point I had no clue of the existence of Two Door Cinema Club. Finding a hidden gem like this album was a treat, taking me back to days when bands weren't being fervently monitored from the formation of their myspace/bandcamp/twitter accounts. Thus is the joy of naive discovery. This young Scottish trio is quickly proving to be the hottest new dance rock band out of Europe, evoking memories of Bloc Party or Franz Ferdinand but with a Death Cab for Cutie feel in terms of the vocals. Their pop sensibilities shine throughout, with every song feeling like single material. In the end, it is the perfect companion for a night out or a bedroom dance party, simply reminding everyone how fun music can be.
Essential lyrics: "And she spoke words that would melt in your hands/And she spoke words of wisdom/To the basement people, to the basement/Many surprises await you"- "Undercover Martyn"
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
I am admittedly a novice at best when it comes to hip-hop, often finding today's popular offerings to be too dispassionate, repetitive and generic to really delve into the genre. However I have been an OutKast fan since I've been a conscious music fan, falling in love with their signature one-two punch delivery and outlandish production choices. Since Big Boi's first solo album was the closest I would get to another OutKast record for the time being, I would have supported the record regardless, but I was more than pleasantly surprised with what I found. The fact remains that Big Boi is still one of the best MCs around, and on his solo debut he calls in some friends (T.I., Janelle Monae, B.o.B., and frequent OutKast collaborator Sleepy Brown amongst others) and does what he does best: spits absolute flames track after track. Standout tracks include the single "Shutterbug"which showcases the album's particularly funky production.
Essential lyrics: All of Big Boi's. It's Big Boi. Also, Andre 3000's guest flames on the scrapped b-side "Lookin at Ya"
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
I have not stopped playing this album all year. Starting in the heart of last winter and continuing to this day, in the onset of another frigid winter, it remains in my most played songs. This is a testament to the immediately accessible style presented on this Floridian quintet's debut album, including their breakout anthem "Swim." Their songs are driven by some of the best riffs of the year with reverb heavy vocals, and a hint of tropical/African percussion/guitar styles for good measure. In live shows lead singer John Paul Pitts sounds like a baby Morrissey without the reverb, in the best way possible, which hints at the different vibes the band is capable of when compared to other standard fuzzy rock. While the heavy riffs may drag in listeners initially, it is the slower ballads like "Anchorage" that showcase the band's softer side and give a glimpse to their potential, which may very well be the greatest of the surf class of 2k10.
Essential lyrics: "Swim to reach the end" - "Swim"
Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing
On the strength of the best riffs and hooks of the year, this feel-good rock record is one that will endure for years after. The sound is never claiming to be original but feels more like a fresh take on the classic rock sound thanks to the bright production from DFA records chief (and LCD Soundsystem mastermind) James Murphy. His production touch is subtle but felt throughout: the soaring guitar melodies and Paul Spranger's lovable dude-next-door vocals mesh perfectly to create a record you can't help but find yourself turning up and singing along. The pure pop-rock magic in these songs also can be attributed to the positive vibes these songs convey lyrically, and when called upon Sprangers plays the perfect Pied Piper to lead a new generation ready to let loose and live freely. Opening track "Free Energy" is the perfect anthem for the band, the perfect introduction, the perfect clue as to where this is all headed: "We're breaking out this time/Making out with the wind/And I'm so disconnected/I'm never gonna check in." The sign it will all endure: Free Energy makes you believe every word.
Essential lyrics: "The battle city on a Friday night, all right/The lonely people don't know they're alive/Well, the city swears that it never lies/So come on, come on hopeful romantics" - "Bad Stuff"
Twin Shadow - Forget
The Rookie of the Year honors for 2k10 go to George Lewis, aka Twin Shadow, whose Brooklyn-meets-New Wave revival became one of the finest debut albums of the year. Lewis, (and his ever-impressive hairstyle changes) broke through with his music video for "Slow" and followed it up with the full release of Forget, an album whose style never feels rehashed but simply acts as a vessel for his sharply-written confessional lyrics. The ethereal quality to his 80's dance funk can be partially attributed to Terrible Records head/producer Chris Taylor (of Grizzly Bear fame). The production choices for the synths, drum machines, and bass all manage to place Twin Shadow's sound as a new entity of its own. It's safe to say we'll all be watching what he does next.
Essential lyrics: "I don't wanna be, believe/In love" - "Slow"
MGMT - Congratulations
In what was (except for maybe M.I.A.) the most criticized album release of the year, MGMT released their much awaited sophomore album, Congratulations. My question to all its detractors would simply be: "Have you heard the rest of Oracular Spectacular?"
MGMT are much more intelligent than they're given credit for, and this album solidified that fact. They wrote "Kids" while still college students at Wesleyan University, and at the time they never really intended on becoming a huge band. They just wanted to have a good time playing their music. Once the three major Oracular Spectacular hits made their way to the general public, they were treated as any pop song is these days: exhaustingly. However, those songs were never really the MGMT that MGMT believed in, and their true fans still loved the entire record. It was full of catchy psych-pop that never had any interest in the pop world.
Enter Congratulations. Now major label artists, MGMT were thrust into more publicity than any indie band in recent memory, save for Vampire Weekend. They chose to make the album without taking the easy way out and cranking out 10 more cookie-cutter electro-pop tunes. The result is a record that works much better conceptually than Oracular Spectacular (besides "Lady Dada's Nightmare"), citing alienation, melancholy, and the general strangeness of their new lives as recurring themes. The pop hooks are still there, just hidden over a more dense production and a darker feel. By staying true to themselves, they retain a chance to outlast their buzzband equivalents such as Passion Pit (no offense) and infiltrate pop music in the only way they know; as bizarrely as possible. Album highlights include the tongue-in-cheek vampire jam "Brian Eno" and the morose but brilliant closer "Congratulations" where they remind everyone that they saw all of this coming. For that I can only say Congratulations is indeed in order.
Essential lyrics: "When I was stuck he'd make me memorize elaborate curses/tinctures and formulas to ditch the chori and flip the verses/My whole foundation came unglued/When i tried to humanize by ambient light/Dipping swords in metaphors yeah but what does he know?/ We're always one step behind him, he's Brian Eno" - "Brian Eno"
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
America loves a comeback. In 2k10, there was no greater musical comeback than the one Kanye West accomplished. Following the T-Swift encounter, Kanye was somehow exiled even faster than when he claimed George Bush hates black people. Deciding to retreat to Japan and Milan, Kanye was off the radar longer than we had ever remembered. Upon opening his Twitter account, he came back into the consciousness of music fans and settled into a mansion in Hawaii. From that point on, the Kanye we had grown to love, the artist, began his G.O.O.D. Friday series of free weekly mp3s, setting the stage for his comeback album. Some of these tracks made it onto My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and after his stunning performances on the VMA's and SNL, it was clear this new focus Kanye possessed meant he would return stronger than he ever had been. Gathering the finest producers, guest rappers, vocalists, and even Elton John, he made his most musically ambitious record and gave an incredible glimpse into the madness that his life has entailed since that incident. On "POWER" he shows that his immense ego is still his greatest weapon and biggest flaw, but knows "damn well y'all feelin' this shit." "All of the Lights" is the victory lap of the album with Kanye and friends in their full glory, but "Runaway" is the most revealing: Kanye laments over a failed relationship, kicks himself for always messing things up, but in the end can only raise a toast to himself. Never has narcissism been more fascinating (or sounded this damn good on every track).
Essential lyrics: The ensemble destruction wreaked on "Monster", particularly Nicki Minaj validating the existence of her career.
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
This album has been profiled here previously, and deserves to be talked about for many years to come. The vision put forth in Cosmogramma is one never really seen before, and stands as the most unclassifiable work from Flying Lotus to date. Combining his trademark glitchy beats that range from electro to drum and bass with talented live musicians such as Thundercat on bass and cousin Ravi Coltrane on saxophone, the line between computer generated sounds and live instruments gets blurred throughout the record. The combination of lush strings with the unpredictable programmed drum beats makes Cosmogramma into an interstellar journey. At all times Ellison is in full control, phasing instruments and beats in and out without warning. He manages to sneak in one Thom Yorke seamlessly on "... And the World Laughs With You" and makes a game of ping pong sound more rhythmic than it ever should alongside Laura Darlington's otherworldly vocals in "Table Tennis." As an ode to his great aunt Alice Coltrane, the album peacefully ends with "Galaxy in Janaki," a fitting closing piece that again highlights his vision to combine orchestral with artificial. Overall, it stands as an astounding work of art more than a collection of songs, and represents the brightest new work in electronic music in 2k10. (I see you, James Blake.)
Essential lyrics: "I need to know you're out there somewhere..."- "...And the World Laughs With You (ft. Thom Yorke)"
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
It is hard to quantify what is so endlessly appealing about this band and this record. While it was not necessarily love at first sight, the beauty of Gorilla Manor is that it improves with each listen, to the point where I wonder how it wasn't. The nuances of the recordings, the lyrics, and the glorious harmonies on each track come together to make an album that is equally memorable track by track as it is as one conceptual listen. The versatility is particularly impressive, with vocal duties shared in perfect doses by Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, and Ryan Hahn. Seeing them live was joyous to experience, as the songs gained even more energy, and the joy they expressed performing them was equally refreshing.
One aspect that sets them apart musically from similar bands is their use of percussion. This tribal feel gives the music a fascinating juxtaposition to the beauty of the guitar and vocal melodies, and makes the heavier breakdowns even more emotionally powerful. "Sun Hands" is the prime example of a Local Natives song, but truly their promise as a band and their current achievement with Gorilla Manor cannot begin to be appreciated without experiencing the record in its entirety. They cemented themselves as one of my favorite artists for life by creating a record that at all times is so encompassing lyrically and emotionally. It tackles so much of life while never losing its mystical, uplifting vibes. Overall, it is a record to be shared with friends, for in the presence of many it engenders the innate connection that any artist wishes to create.
Essential lyrics: "We're running through the aisles/Of the churches still in style/Does a city have a curfew?/Don't you know it's good to see you too" - "Camera Talk"
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The best has been saved for last. Before I get attacked with torches and pitchforks (review scores), take the time to consider the accomplishments of this album. James Murphy, the hippest person to ever lament his uncool self, creates his magnum opus record at the ripe age of 40. Murphy's mid-life crisis is to our greatest benefit, as this collection of nine songs adds up to so much more than that. Artistically the album is a fascinating fusion of old and new, picking up where David Bowie and the Talking Heads left off to forge a new standard for bands who want people to dance. The sound is meticulously engineered and sounds enormous. The percussion is so simple we all wonder why we didn't write it. The lyrics are simple on some songs, wordy on others, but as such provide the balance, the all-knowing emotions that makes records more than just songs but glimpses of life collected. Building from the simplest beat, bass line, or synth, and snaking its way throughout the song, Murphy makes us all look at ourselves as he fearlessly exposes himself time and time again. The melancholy throughout fluctuates simply based on the listener's own mood, with each song becoming as happy or as miserable as they wish depending on the day. Each track has it's merits as to why they are individually worthy of praise, but none sum up the feel of the record better than "Dance Yrself Clean" and "Home", the companion bookend songs liable to rip your heart out at any given moment. That is, if you aren't too busy dancing.
Essential lyrics: "Love is a murderer, love is a murderer/But if she calls you tonight/Everything is alright" - "I Can Change"
Honorable Mentions
The Drums - The Drums
Sleigh Bells - Treats
The Walkmen - Lisbon
Toro y Moi - Causers of This
The Morning Benders - Big Echo
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
Tennis - Baltimore
James Blake - CMYK/Klavierwerke
Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
Grum - Heartbeats
Warpaint - The Fool
Wild Nothing - Gemini
Tokyo Police Club - Champ
