Excuse the lengthy hiatus between posts. Would you believe that I have been agonizing over putting this list together so much that the madness consumed me wholly, leaving you (my intrepid reader) entertainmentless?
No?
Well, in truth, it is a crazy time of year, and between finishing up assignments and exams for school, and getting some last-minute Christmas shopping in, my brain wasn't really feeling up to writing extracurricularly for a while. But I'm past all that now, and I have the post that you've all been waiting for: a thorough list of my favourite records from the past year.
I joked earlier, but in a way, I have been paralyzed by this list. I began my process by ranking all of the albums I listened to this year (that were from 2010) in order from favourite to least favourite. Each new entry in the list was placed relative to other entries, and so the list grew. Instead of presenting those findings in their entirety, I narrowed the list down to a Top 50 (since all the cool kids are doing Top 50 lists anyway, right?). All of this was fairly easy to do, but placing the top ten entries (and even more so, the top five) has proven to be quite a challenge for me. Even now as I write this, I have a list whose top ten is still in flux… Only I will know its arrangement for sure when I hit the "Publish Post" button later this evening.
The year was an interesting one for the type of music I enjoy. There was a strange shift that occurred wherein most of the relevant output of bands became either surf-rock, or low-fi projects made by one person on a laptop. Of course, this wasn't completely the case, and I think my list highlights some of the most exceptional records that came out this year thanks to the freshness they brought in the sea of conformity that indie rock fans experienced in 2010.
The records I chose for the list aren't necessarily what I think is the best music that came out this year in ranked order; the top ten entries, for example, are all equally great albums. The rankings came down to my own personal preference. You're reading my blog, so hopefully you have some interest in my own opinions on things-- this list will be no different. As such, a fair portion of the albums that made the list came out of my summer listening. There are exceptions, but summer for me was a really exciting time this year where I had few cares in the world except discovering new music. If it skews that way, I apologize.
But what great summer music there was. Driving around to some of these albums was extremely memorable, and I don't think I'll be able to listen to them ever again without the images of that season being conjured up instinctively. Sure, there was the surf-rock mentioned before like Wavves' King of the Beach or Best Coast's Crazy for You, but discs like The Black Keys' Brothers or The Gaslight Anthem's American Slang equally lent themselves to cruising around with the windows down, or lying out back and getting some sun. Again, it was a very memorable year for music.
Well, let's not put the list off any longer. I've got a list of 50 records here, the top ten of which I will write briefly about to help you understand why I love them so much. Really though, all of these are great albums, and I wholeheartedly recommend checking them out. You can get in on some of the music that accompanied me throughout my year.
Here we go then, my favourite records of 2010:
50. Fields - Junip
49. So Runs the World Away - Josh Ritter
48. Surfing the Void - Klaxons
47. Gorilla Manor - Local Natives
46. Mines - Menomena
45. Public Strain - Women
44. No Singles - Japandroids
43. The Brutalist Bricks - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
42. The Dark Leaves - matt pond PA
41. Good Morning, Magpie - Murder by Death
40. OMNI - Minus the Bear
39. The Monitor - Titus Andronicus
38. Perch Patchwork - Maps & Atlases
37. New Inheritors - Wintersleep
36. Take A Vacation! - The Young Veins
35. Crazy for You - Best Coast
34. The Suburbs - The Arcade Fire
33. Young at Love and Life - Dominant Legs
32. All's Well That Ends EP - Los Campesinos!
31. I'm New Here - Gil Scott-Heron
30. Recovery - Eminem
29. Write About Love - Belle and Sebastian
28. Denim on Denim - Library Voices
27. How I Got Over - The Roots
26. Together - The New Pornographers
25. Innerspeaker - Tame Impala
24. Say Us - Zeus
23. The Five Ghosts - Stars
22. Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP - Dom
21. The Winter of Mixed Drinks - Frightened Rabbit
20. King of the Beach - Wavves
19. Learning - Perfume Genius
18. The Age of Adz - Sufjan Stevens
17. The Orchard - Ra Ra Riot
16. The Brutal Wave - Frank (just Frank)
15. All Delighted People EP - Sufjan Stevens
14. Let It Sway - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
13. Clinging to a Scheme - The Radio Dept.
12. Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP - The Tallest Man on Earth
11. Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
My iTunes lists the genre of this record as "Trash." Well, I can tell you, this disc hardly belongs in the garbage. This is garage rock at its finest, with stripped down instrumentation and catchy hooks doing all the work. Our band is covering one of the best tracks off the record ("Gay Human Bones"), and despite listening to it dozens of times to get the parts down, it still hasn't grown old (and I still can't tell you what that song is about). You can't help but smile at this stuff.
9. Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
Band of Horses' third record is a departure from their earlier discs, and while it was critically panned, not only do I think it is their best effort yet, it ranks as one of my favourite albums of the year, period. Ben Bridwell's lyrics are as tight as ever, and the laissez-faire sound the band creates makes for some great background listening. It is indie rock infused with a country twang, but not so much that it gets offensive.
8. Forget - Twin Shadow
This was a late contender for my list, as I only discovered it a little over a month ago. Since that time though, I've been addicted to it, and it has largely dominated my winter listening so far. A one-man project of George Lewis Jr., Twin Shadow's debut record mixes '80s new wave sound with indie rock sensibilities. His lyrics are great as well, and I feel my relation grows with every listen. Frank (just Frank)-- number 16 on my list-- delivers a similarly '80s-fueled romp, but takes it even further into synthesizer territory. Some people just don't like the "cheesy" sounds of '80s music, but if you want to take a chance to hear how it is properly modernized, you can't go wrong with Forget.
7. Brothers - The Black Keys
The Black Keys have put out a lot of music in their time, none of which really ever did it for me. That was, until Brothers. Like the wet bluesy/funky drumbeat present on so many of the songs, this record struck a certain chord with me, and I couldn't get it out of my mind. The band experiments with more instruments on this disc than they have on their previous efforts, and I say it is all the better for it. And despite the tight production, it sounds like a record that easily could have came out of the 1970s. For infectious (and I mean infectious) hooks, you cannot find much better this year.
6. The Courage of Others - Midlake
If you would have asked me in September what my favourite record of the year was, I would have said, hands down, The Courage of Others. There was a period there for about a month that I was absolutely obsessed with this disc, to the point that it was the only thing I was listening to. Midlake continues here the folk rock stylings that they already mastered on their previous LP, The Trials of Van Occupanther. Acoustic guitars are accompanied by flutes, which give way to electric guitar breakdowns that-- along with the high-fantasy themes of the songs-- are reminiscent of 1970s rock. This was another record that was critically panned this year, which I couldn't disagree with more. Midlake are doing something special here, and people need to hear it.
5. Destroyer of the Void - Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper is a hard band to put a label to. I was trying to explain it to someone a few months back, and the best I could describe them as was (and I actually think this is pretty good) Queen, if they were a folk band. I guess you could say they are experimental folk rock. Destroyer of the Void presents some truly varied and impressive instrumentation and second-to-none production. It's a record that stands head and shoulders above what other bands are doing currently. The tunes are memorable as hell, and you feel like you're being taken for a ride as you listen to them. And there are guitar solos! Bands don't do that anymore! Detractors say it's not Blitzen Trapper's best record, but I disagree. It's hard to put into words what makes Destroyer of the Void so unique and interesting, but needless to say, it's recommended.
One man and an acoustic guitar. If I didn't tell you that straight-up, you probably wouldn't have noticed that fact since Kristian Matsson crafts such rich tunes. My friend Stefan tells me he mixes three unique picking styles in his playing, and while I haven't confirmed that fact myself, I'm sure he's not pulling my leg. The result in an ever-listenable acoustic warmth that perfectly balances Matsson's interesting vocal style. Like all good folk music, the stories he tells and the choice of lyrics is extremely thoughtful, and there are layers of meaning waiting to be discovered by the listener. This was one of my most-listened-to records of the year, and between this and Matsson's other spectacular release this year (an EP called Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird, #12 on my list), it has easily solidified The Tallest Man as one of my favourite musicians of all time.
3. American Slang - The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem continues the New Jersey rock-n-roll sound that Bruce Springsteen popularized with a record that pleases on all fronts. Vocals by Brian Fallon scream tales of American nightlife, unfulfilled dreams, and loss over a band that can be described in a word as "punchy." These are American boys who in many ways speak for a generation that-- like the one Bruce Springsteen sung about-- is going through a hard time. It's rock music with a dignified punk edge, it's Gaslight's best record to date, and it's one that any fan of high-energy music should give a listen to.
2. High Violet - The National
My favourite band of all time comes off of quite possibly my favourite record of all time (2007's Boxer) with a magnificent return to form. The boys from The National have grown up, but in doing so, have managed to retain what makes the band so special. High Violet is still punctuated with songs about romances gone wrong, but vocalist/lyricist Matt Berninger delves further than he ever has before in the melancholy associated with them. Instead of retaining an air of hopefulness, Berninger now paints pictures of protagonists who have accepted their middling fates; themes of loss are punctuated by reflection on the past. Instrumentally, the band has grown and polished themselves as well. Expertly crafted drumlines by Bryan Devendorf continue to hold the songs together, while the use of orchestral strings flesh out the sound. One of the can't-miss records of the year.
1. Champ - Tokyo Police Club
I spent the better part of the year talking to people about Champ. I would be at parties. I would be on the fill-in radio show I was doing in the summer. I would be at jam sessions. And I'd tell them-- anyone that would listen-- that they had to hear this record, Champ. "Tokyo Police Club," I'd say. And they would say "who?" Yes, they are a little band out of Newmarket, not a couple of hours from where I live in Southern Ontario. But after all the debate I had in my mind about what record to give the number one spot on my list, all it took was to hear those distorted synthesizer notes that preface the record again to know that it had to go to Tokyo Police Club's masterpiece, Champ.
What can I say about Champ? I talked about it to everyone I know, and yet I am striving for words right now, perhaps when it counts most. Call Tokyo Police Club indie rock. Call them garage, or post-punk. Regardless of the labels, what the band has managed to record on the breezy 36 minutes of Champ is a generation-defining pop-rock ode to youth. The band relates tales of vigour ("Super fun / at the movies, drunk and young / double knots that came undone") that can do nothing but hit home with listeners of this generation who have been forced to grow up fast and are faced with jobless prospects after graduation. The album encapsulates high-energy fun, and reminds us all to take things a little less seriously. Champ is the catchiest record I've heard all year, and while you may not think about it as you enjoy the poppy hit parade, it will stick with you afterward for more reasons than just because it is an expertly-crafted listening experience. For all the people whom I harangued over the months, I'll say it only once more here: Go and listen to Tokyo Police Club's Champ; it does not disappoint.
So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourite records from the year. It was a challenge, but I certainly enjoyed writing the list. How does it compare to your own? To incite some fury (?), here are a few records that I think are extremely overrated from this year: Wolf Parade's Expo 86, LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening, Beach House's Teen Dream, Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest, Crystal Castles II, and finally, Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
More posts to come into and through 2011, folks!
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