via//chicago

np: "Shadows Fed to Tyrants" - Landmine Marathon

Apologies for the lapse in posts, but the last several weeks have been packed with family trips and taking the next to last exam for my ARE, not to mention the continued job search. I promise to return to the 200 of the 2000s countdown quickly, with tomorrow quite possibly finding a brand new entry. For now I wanted to acknowledge the completion of the first quarter of 2010 and toss out a quick list of my 20 favorite albums of the year thus far. Just alphabetical order at this point, not ready to rank any of these just yet. But if the year were already over, these would be my 20 favorites.

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (Motown)
Field Music - Measure (Memphis Industries)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (Elektra)
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Virgin)
High On Fire - Snakes For the Divine (Koch)
Ihsahn - After (Candlelight)
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (Frenchkiss)
Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring (Arts & Crafts)
Ludicra - Tenant (Profound Lore)
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)
Robert Pollard - We All Got Out of the Army (Guided by Voices)
Shooter Jennings & Hierophant - Black Ribbons (Rocket Science)
The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack (Kemado)
Spoon - Transference (Merge)
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast (Kanine)
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (Matador)
These New Puritans - Hidden (Domino)
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (XL)
Vampire Weekend - Contra (XL)

Honorable mentions to Landmine Marathon, Beach House, Liars, Four Tet and Free Energy.