Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Best Albums of 2010

[I included some rules for compiling "best of the year" lists with my 2008 and 2009 favorites. Most of them still apply, so I'm repeating them with minor modifications...]

For any dj, compiling a year end best of list is tricky business. Obviously, the primary goal is picking the best albums of the year, but it isn't the only one. In addition, you want to show that you're aware of the prevailing trends without being a slave to them. So, typically, an indie dj's top ten list features the following ingredients:

  • A couple of easily identifiable, but critically respected albums (the kind of music that is frequently lauded by mainstream-but-arty sources such as NPR.) But which ones? They should be popular, but not too popular. And, deciding what not to include is important too....Can I afford not to put the universally acclaimed Arcade Fire album on my list?
  • At least one completely contrary choice. E.g., everyone else hates the new Miley Cyrus album, but you know better. Alternatively, you can diss a critical favorite: "The Tallest Man on Earth comes up short."
  • An extremely obscure choice not found on anyone else's list. This shows that you can keep up with the hip kids at Pitchfork Media, and says, "I'm not a lemming."
  • Some cultural and geographic diversity that says, "I'm no cretin, either."

Obviously (or, at least I hope it's obvious) this is all a bit tongue-in-cheek, and yet I suspect its true for many year-end roundups. I'll leave you to decide how well it tracks with my top ten...

10. Best Coast: Crazy For You

Bethany Cosentino isn't the first artist to draw inspiration from the Beach Boys, but she is the best in this year's crop of surf rock revivalists. While her lyrics rarely stray from the ups ("When I'm With You") and downs ("Our Deal") of her love life, the songs don't loose their appeal. Here's hoping that her much-touted relationship with Wavves leader Nathan Williams doesn't take away her edge.

9. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening

"You wanted a hit? Well, maybe we don't do hits," sings LCD's James Murphy. It sound like a statement of intent. Still, Murphy's insistent beats, quirky quips and inescapable hooks are perfect for the dancefloor. Eat it Michael Musto!

8. The New Pornographers: Together

I find it funny when people refer to the New Pornographers as a "supergroup." While it's true that Carl Newman and Dan Bejar have their bands, and Neko Case is an indie star in her own right, the NP's hardly fit the bloated, rest on your laurels image commonly associated with the term (Asia, anyone?). 2007's "Challengers" was a bit too contentedly introspective for my taste, but "Together" is a barn burner and a true return to form.

7. Tame Impala: Inner Speaker

By "impala" they must be referring to the '60s muscle car rather than the antelope. The hooks are big--Cream-ily colossal or even Hendrix-ly huge--in this 2010 take on '60s psychedelia. Bracing stuff.

6. Sam Phillips: Long Play

You almost need a new category to define Sam Phillips' "Long Play," as "album" doesn't quite do it justice. At the beginning of the year, Sam offered subscribers an entree into an evolving art and music project. Over the course of 2010, she has produced 5 EPs filled to brimming with new songs, outtakes, covers (Tom Waits! The Monkees!) and even holiday music, plus artwork, lyric sheets and other goodies. The sheer quantity is matched by its high quality. The last piece of the puzzle, the "Long Play" album, isn't out yet. Consider this a vote of confidence that it will match the excellence of what came before.

5. Seu Jorge: Seu Jorge and Almaz

Seu Jorge is best known, at least in the U.S., as the guy performing bossa-inflected Bowie Songs in Wes Anderson's "Life Aquatic." Cover versions play a prominent role here too with lovely and surprising interpretations of Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" and even Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." Jorge pulls all of the disparate strands with the power of his supremely seductive voice.


4. Sophie Hunger: 1983

"Huge in Switzerland" means about as much to the American music consumer as "big in Japan." Sophie Hunger's music has made quite a splash in Europe but caused barely a ripple on this side of the Atlantic. And it's just a shame because her new album is amazing. Dispensing with most of the overt Dylanisms of 2008's "Monday's Ghost," "1983" works on a couple levels. The gentle piano ballads suggest Regina Spektor minus the case of the cutes. But it's the dramatic uptempo numbers--"Your Personal Religion" and "City Lights Forever"--that make the biggest impact. The production is spare, leaving lots of room for her fantastic voice.

3. Surfer Blood: Astro Coast

The buzz has been appropriately deafening for this young Florida band. "Astro Coast" gives you more of what you listen to indie rock for--big verses, choruses and hooks that stick with you long after you've turned the iPod off. Surfer Blood gets my vote for rookie of the year.

2. Lower Dens: Twin Hand Movement

Baltimore may be on the verge of edging out Brooklyn as the indie capitol of the world. They already had Wye Oak (2009's "The Knot" was one of the highlights of last year). And, Baltimore is home to my two favorite artists of 2010. Led by folk artist Jana Hunter, Lower Dens' "Twin-Hand Movement" is a psychedelic gem with long moody, luminous instrumental jams perfect for late night listening.

1. Beach House: Teen Dream

Beach House is another Baltimore band. You'll likely never get through a review of their work without someone dropping the name Mazzy Star, so consider it dropped. And it's not a crazy comparison, given the ethereal quality of the music and Victoria Legrand's sensual vocals. (Legrand's two-pack-a-day voice and her Pre-Raphaelite sense of style also remind me of late-period Stevie Nicks.) The swirling and slightly skewed (at times sounding like a warped record, but in a good way!) "Norway" is my favorite song of 2010.

Okay, that's my take. What did I miss?

Listen to all of the best music of 2010 on Radio Sweetheart.

[Special thanks to all the music blogs that have turned me on to so many good tunes this year, especially: Stereogum, MBV, the All Music Guide, Gorilla vs. Bear, Everybody Taste, i guess i'm floating, and You Ain't No Picasso.]

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive