[BEST OF 2010] 15 great albums (albums 26-40)

blog 2010/12/13 - [BEST OF 2010] 15 great albums

Now things are really heating up!

Last post we gave you 10 honourable mentions, albums 41 through 50 in the best of the best.
This time we are at 26 through 40, given in a respectable alphabetical order.  Can you taste the delicious organization of it all?


15 GREAT ALBUMS (BEST OF 2010 #26-40)

Beach House - Teen Dream
Das Racist - Sit Down, Man
Ellie Goulding - Lights
Eraldo Bernocchi & Blackfilm - Along The Corridors
Fang Island - Fang Island
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Guido - Anidea
Jónsi - Go
Laurie Anderson - Homeland
Mimicking Birds - Mimicking Birds
School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz
Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
Tokyo Police Club - Champ
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Rivers



Beach House - Teen Dream

A musical anti-depressant that comes with all of the side effects!  Being lethargic and unproductive has never felt so welcoming, but the sleepy shuffle rock of Beach House is the perfect soundtrack for just padding around in pajamas with feet.   The singing sounds almost as fuzzed out as the guitars, and the whole thing makes me feel like I took a bit too much medication so best not to get up to anything ambitious today.  It's like indie rock John Denver for the hipster age, and I'm OK with that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wfb25WmV4

Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

It's totally goofy fun, but if you don't need your hiphop laugh-free, it's one of the most refreshingly new things in hiphop for a while.  Taking on issues of race and pop culture from a new angle and building an unyieldingly amusing album in the process.  They've got an army of different producers contributing, appearances by Very Best, El-P, Despot and others, and will charm your pants off if you can just get the hell over yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP322FWfJWQ  (no videos from album available)

Ellie Goulding - Lights

Last year I got to talk about La Roux as that year's Robyn (referring to the re-release of the eponymous album of awesome).  Well this year I am happy to say that is Ellie Goulding who is filling that La Roux shaped hole in my heart.  (note:  there will also be a good fit if you have a Florence and the Machine hole in your heart, too)  The production is super slick, so much that when I first heard the singles, I immediately thought they had already been remixed.  Can you blame me with the killer way that Under The Sheets opens???   If you like great pop music with beautiful vocals and slick beats, this album is a must.  And if you don't like that, do you hate puppies and kitties too?  You horrible monster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Navl4fYI-Zk

Eraldo Bernocchi & Blackfilm - Along The Corridors

In the 90s I a young basshead and drone junky and was exposed to Eraldo Bernocchi in his pairings with my then-deity Mick Harris.  (for the record, I am now an OLDER basshead and drone junky, and still make occasional offerings to lord Harris.)  Blackfilm won my heart in 2008 with their stormy self titled album.  When I saw their names on the same CD, my heart skipped a beat.  I was setting myself up for crushing disappointment!  How could this ever live up to the promise that those 2 names offered?  I took a leap of faith, put the CD in, and was rewarded blissfully for my loyalty to the bass.  Bass crafting is a fine art where the subtleties earned with experience are easily detected.  (For example, see the amateur hour synthesis of most dubstep and jungle basslines)  Just do yourself a favour and listen to this on a big system.  Well, you should listen to all of the albums on this list on a big system, but this one especially is not about the catchy hooks and hand claps, it is made to be felt and submitted to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxXgiCBHVM

Fang Island - Fang Island

Clocking in at around 31 minutes, this album is shorter than some EPs I recently posted about, but luckily their tight playing and precision-point pop crams a huge amount of flavour in to the relatively small temporal space.  The songs have lots of sing-a-long catch phrases and gibberish, but it's all about the pep rally arena rock glee that never leaves you for the duration.   There are equal dabs of stadium guitar-god and math rock nerdiness at work here, and even though it's over before you know it, you can't help but describe it as 'epic'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIurAP4yHtQ

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

Like the new Antony and the Johnsons record, the main problem here is that it is not their last record.  No, it's not as perfect as "The 59 Sound" was.  But if that record hadn't existed, people would be crazy for this one.  Unlike Antony however, this isn't an emotional deviation from the prior album.  Here they continue the Springsteen infused pop rock goodness that nestled them in to the part of our hearts that is ever 17 years-old.  It is an echo of greatness, sure, but still greater than most everyone else doing anything similar.  They even manage to finish things off with what I assume to be a perfect homage to Archers Of Loaf's most epic moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZKq6ZnWH-E

Guido - Anidea

Probably one of the smoothest beat records of the year, the synths on here are just fabulous and the pacing is perfect.  Guido takes the best aspects of the Hyperdub blip and reworks them with a love towards post-dubstep and downtempo.  The bass all has a great sense of funk that would pair oh so well with the likes of Jamie Lidell.  The vocal tracks are fabulous surprises as well, making this whole record not only super slick, but incredibly enjoyable.  Ultimate dinner party music for the ex-ravers of the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhnQHEZAwT0

Jónsi - Go

Dear Internet:  There is not enough fan faction about Jónsi getting it on with Owen Pallett.  This needs to be rectified.  Now.  Jónsi is a magical musical fairy who creates shiny worlds of ecstatic glory that I can really boogy down to.  OK, now kiss each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBgPmw3JCN4

Laurie Anderson - Homeland

Oh I *heart* Laurie Anderson oh so much.  Her work with audio and video is a huge part of growth as an adolescent.  And now thanks to youtube, you can find so many fabulous snippets of hers from when video art was still a young and vibrant genre.   And so yeah, she stayed awesome, married Lou Reed, and now returns with one of her greatest albums ever.  Except for the clever and dancey Only An Expert, the album is mostly dark and acts as a meditation on the decay of America The World Leader.  The soundscapes are gorgeous, with occasional vocals from Antony Hegarty buried in the mix, sax from John Zorn, violin from Eyvind Kang, and even her hubby gets on board at times.  This won't be an album to dance around with while making cookies, but I trust you do find the perfect moment to experience this:  "What are days for?  To wake us up.  To put between the endless nights..." does a good job of summing up the disillusioned wit.  But even more poignantly... "And you know the reason I really love the stars?  It's that we cannot hunt them.  We can't burn them or melt them or make them overflow.  We can't flood them or blow them up or turn them out.  But we are reaching for them."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xBUXTVVDDw

Mimicking Birds - Mimicking Birds

There is something so dreamy and early morning sweepy about this folk music.  In the 90s there was a band called Orange Cake Mix and every song had a feel of their LP title, Fluffy Pillow.  And the Mimicking Birds have a similar sort of aesthetic blanket, meaning that while this album isn't full of big bold surprises, it is absolutely heartwarming, comforting and reliably consistent.  It's like an evening on the couch under a blanket with a cup of tea.   The use of occasional samples suggests they are fans of The Books, but the song writing hovers more around Iron & Wine and Damien Rice than anything else.  Either way, it's perfect to snuggle up to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKuPyaYRhRc

School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire

Remember when you were a young romantic, addicted to the syrupy vocals of that old Sterolab mixtape your friend had made you?  I can return to that magic with this album.  The beautiful layered vocals are ecstasy, especially over the shiny-happy-people beats that purposely never reference melancholy, like on a children's TV show.  This is top-level electro pop from a band at the height of their game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWtXttiKBzs

Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz

Simultaneously a shocking album and also pretty much exactly what we were expecting.  After Michigan and Illinois, a bunch of toss-offs, and then a contemporary classical tribute to an expressway, Sufjan kinda sorta finds himself again.  Long gone is the innocent folkster documenting the history of the land, now he's like a mecha cyborg version of himself, doing wonderous things but also trashing buildings by accident on occassion.  Shades of the folkster peek out in in glorious pop songs, but classical musings of Angelo Badalamenti and Stravinsky still weigh heavy, and his affection for his laser-guided flute trills is still obvious.  There's something for everyone here, and there's enough to potentially alienate anyone, and Sufjan wouldn't have it any other way.  He's emerged through a tumultuous time as a 21st century song-writer who is now firmly constructing uncompromising music that bleeds genius, love and carnage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq9uuiC92Xk

Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky

No historical context here.  I didn't really listen to The Swans before this, so I won't expound upon the lineup, back catalouge, and all that shiznit.  But what we do have here is a devilishly good album of post-industrial freak folk that has all of the impact of baroque horror.  Underpinned with blues riffs and distortions, the dark vocals rail against all of the spirits of the earth in a voice akin to Nick Cave's.  This is bad feelings music that should appeal to all of the corpgoths and angsty witchhousers alike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULSSghSFuH8

Tokyo Police Club - Champ

There's something to be said about straight-up infectious pop rock.   This is like a cross between all of the best that Canadian rock does well.  From the unique vocal stylings that seemingly drip out in a way that would appeal to Weakerthans fans, to ridiculously catchy riffs that rival Metric or the poppier Arcade Fire.  If they have a fraction of the energy live as they do on the CD, I am extremely hyped to see them tour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smqNtBXN5Mc

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Rivers

When you think FOLK DUO, you think…  what?  Dueling banjos?  Voice and guitar?  Voice and ukulele?  Piano and voice?  Banjo and washboard?    How about just voice and percussion?  No, of course not, that'd be silly.  And that is why Wildbirds & Peacedrums kinda sorta melt all expectations you might have for a folk duo 1 minute in to their first song on their new album.  It's seriously all just percussion and voice.  This album has two movements, as it collects 2 EPs that took different angles at the arrangement, but the whole comes off as a complete work in two acts.  You might need a few listens to understand what they are doing, but the vocals will suck you in.  I haven't been swayed by such understated-yet-emotional singing since Elizabeth Anka Vajagic.  In the 2nd half the steel drums offer a taste of melodic accompaniment that will refresh after the darker rewards of the start.  A stunning album of gothic moods and command performances that makes it a truly iconoclastic release.  No one else is doing anything close.  Stay with it, there are some many ecstasies hidden within.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSI0Jf7sg60



TRACKS IN THIS UPDATE

Beach House - Silver Soul
Beach House - Used To Be
Das Racist - All Tan Everything
Das Racist - People Are Strange
Das Racist - Rooftop ft Despot
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
Ellie Goulding - This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)
Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets
Eraldo Bernocchi & Blackfilm - Bethnal Green
Eraldo Bernocchi & Blackfilm - Mistakes Pt. 2
Eraldo Bernocchi & Blackfilm - Where We Stand
Fang Island - Daisy
Fang Island - Davey Crockett
Guido - Beautiful Complication
Guido - Woke Up Early
Jónsi - Around Us
Jónsi - Boy Lilikoi
Jónsi - Sinking Friendships
Laurie Anderson - Another Day In America
Laurie Anderson - Thinking Of You
Mimicking Birds - Burning Stars
Mimicking Birds - The Loop
School Of Seven Bells - ILU
School Of Seven Bells - Windstorm
Sufjan Stevens - I Walked
Sufjan Stevens - Too Much
Swans - Jim
Swans - No Words, No Thoughts
The Gaslight Anthem - Bring It On
The Gaslight Anthem - We Did It When We Were Young
Tokyo Police Club - Bambi
Tokyo Police Club - Big Difference
Tokyo Police Club - Favourite Food
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Fight For Me
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Course
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Wave


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