Part IV: The Albums
I've been incredibly lax about getting this final portion up and I do feel awful about it. I meant to have it up before the calendar flipped to 2011, but you know what they say about good intentions. Not a great way to start a whole new year of posts, but now I'm here and ready to finish the look back. Here's the 50 albums that I was nuts over in 2010.
50. Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song (Mercury Nashville)
49. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be (Sub Pop)
48. The-Dream - Love King (Def Jam)
47. Against Me! - White Crosses (Sire/WEA)
46. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)
45. Foals - Total Life Forever (Sub Pop)
44. E-40 - Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift/Night Shift (Heavy On Grind)
43. Wild Nothing - Gemini (Captured Tracks)
42. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack (Kemado)
41. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)
40. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Virgin)
39. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (DFA/Virgin)
38. John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up (Columbia)
37. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
36. Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)
35. The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
34. The Roots - How I Got Over (Def Jam)
33. Endless Boogie - Full House Head (No Quarter)
32. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast (Kemado)
31. Grinderman - Grinderman 2 (Anti)
30. My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Reprise)
29. Best Coast - Crazy For You (Mexican Summer)
28. Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy (Dead Oceans)
27. Superchunk - Majesty Shredding (Merge)
26. Citay - Dream Get Together (Dead Oceans)
25. Gayngs - Relayted (Jagjaguwar)
24. Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker (101 Distribution)
23. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh (Motown)
22. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Merge)
21. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here (Editions Mego)
20. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (Young God)
Definitely a candidate for comeback of the year. After 14 years since their last full-length, Michael Gira and his band of miscreants returned stronger than ever. Blending multiple genres into a swirling mass of intense hysteria, the band unleashes ones of the most haunting and unforgettable albums of the year.
19. Holy Fuck - Latin (XL)
One of the year's most pleasant new discoveries, considering I almost skipped it entirely due to the band's name. Not that I was offended, but it seems like bands that need an attention-grabbing name like this are rarely able to back it up with great music. Not the case with Toronto's Holy Fuck - they've got more than enough to back up such an exclamation. I picked this up in an Ann Arbor record store solely based on the store's sleeve description. I don't remember what it said exactly, but I was sold when I saw "krautrock", "fuzzy", "beats", "proggy", and "keyboards" in the description. Holy fuck, indeed.
18. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (XL)
Not only did New Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus avoid the dreaded sophomore slump with this, their second record, they blasted away any and all expectations by dramatically improving on their already promising debut. More surprising? They did it with a pseudo concept record that ties together The Civil War, Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock, and their native Jersey. Anthemic, engaging, and cathartic - this is what great rock music sounds like.
17. High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine (Koch)
Although the crisp production and inspired mixing (I thought bringing Des Kensel's drums up to the front was a great idea) threw some fans for a loop, this record almost immediately became my favorite thing the bad has put out to date. Not to knock the other HoF albums, none of them have been less than fantastic so far, but this worked as a tight consolidation of the band at its best. Even setting aside the crazy ass concept that encapsulates fringe theories from the Illuminati to lizard people, tracks like "Bastard Samurai" and "Frost Hammer" will make any metal fan throw the horns.
16. Vampire Weekend - Contra (XL)
I'll admit that I was one of those initially concerned about the sophomore record from these guys. Their debut was such a unexpected treat, one of those tightly focused pop records that bravely twist disparate influences into something wholly original, that I worried about them choking on expectations and winding up just another band on the trash-heap of blog buzz history. Fortunately that promising debut was just the tip of the iceberg as evidenced by these ten tracks that expand the band's sonic palette without losing touch of the quirks that made them so special in the first place.
15. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam)
Let's get this out of the way first - no, this isn't some amazing, outstanding redefinition of what hip-hop is or can be. The hype got really out of control really fast on this, which is really just another in a string of fantastic Kanye albums. Which is fine, even if it isn't the genre defining classic people want it to be. I mean, any album that contains Nicki Minaj's verse on "Monster", a brilliant King Crimson sample, a hook like the one on "All of the Lights", John Legend, and spoken word from Gil-Scott Heron is going to be good; but Kanye locking himself inside his chaotic brain is what elevated it to great. Unfortunately this same excess is what keeps it from being perfect (Chris Rock, "Runaway" being twice as long as it needs to be). Still, I can't help but wish more hip-hop in 2010 was this frenzied and careless.
14. Caribou - Swim (Merge)
Dan Snaith has been a long time favorite here at via//chicago, well, at least since his 2004 record under the moniker Manitoba, Up In Flames, blew me away. Each and every record since has taken a new approach, yet each has been just as engaging and rewarding as the last. With his latest, Snaith sets aside the more pastoral and kraut-inspired grooves of his last few albums to take on something meant for the dancefloor. But, as you might expect from him by now, it isn't really that simple. As reliant on rhythm as this thing is, the melodies and beats display a fluidity of motion that, while not as immediate as some of his best pieces, mark the talents of a true master craftsman.
13. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)
Even with the amazing run of leaked tracks that led up to the long-delayed release of this Big Boi solo record, few were prepared with just how great this thing was going to be. We shouldn't have been surprised, of course, given the guy's track record and just how jaw-droppingly awesome Speakerboxx was, but I think the rumors and speculation surrounding the Outkast camp led to lowered expectations. Whatever the reason, I'm glad something lit a fire under Big Boi's ass, because this is a front to back excellent. Bringing in sharp young talent (Janelle Monae, Yelawolf) didn't hurt anything, but the best and brightest moment all belong to the man himself. Don't think of this as a holdover til the next Outkast album, otherwise you will risk sorely underestimating a near classic in its own right.
12. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
I'm amazed that this band continues to get better and better with each consecutive release. Ever since I started regularly following them with 2003's Below The Lights, I've watched them grow stronger and stronger with each successive release. Not that I would ever with it on any band, but I kind of expected this to be the one to find them stumbling a little or, at the very least, hitting some sort of creative plateau. But before I was even three tracks in I realized these Norwegians knocked it out of the park yet again. If you haven't been following these guys and appreciate the more progressive end of extreme metal, you owe it to yourselves to check this one out.
11. Spoon - Transference (Merge)
Speaking of bands that continue to improve, these indie rock veterans also dropped their best record to date in 2010. No, it may not have the immediate hooks of some of their bigger hits, but the consistent level of quality on this record still amazes me nearly a full year after its initial release. How did they manage this feat? By excising anything superfluous on these songs and trimming them down to the marrow. There isn't an extraneous note on this entire thing, but when your songs are this strong, you don't need to dress them up. It isn't obvious at first blush, but the most important weapon in Spoon's arsenal at this point is the recording studio. Master craftsmen at work here.
10. Kylesa - Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
I've loved hearing this band evolve over time, using their two drummer and two vocalist attack to become one of the more dependable Southern sludge bands around (not to mention an absolutely killer live presence). I was even more excited about their evolution with this album, as it sounds like they've spent some quality time curled up with their '80s SST and '90s Touch & Go records - to tremendous effect. The sludgy ferocity is still there, but heightened by a melodic and experimental streak unafraid to chase down narrow alleys and blind corners. I can't wait to hear where they go next.
9. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)
Steven Ellison is another artist that continues to evolve from release to release, but for every hesitant step forward taken by others - Ellison is taking leaps and bounds into the future. This time around he pushes his exciting mixture of jazz, electronic music, hip-hop to soaring new heights and obliterates any boundaries between the genres. While the IDM touchstones and the label on the sleeve, Warp, point to this being fodder for the headphone-strapped beat crowd, this is the kind of gorgeous music that should appeal to anyone that appreciates forward-thinking music.
8. Bottomless Pit - Blood Under the Bridge (Comedy Minus One)
A big part of me was just excited to see that Bottomless Pit was truly going to be an ongoing project. Considering how much their last album felt like a much-deserved cathartic release and fitting tribute to their years as Silkworm, I worried that there might not be much more music coming our way from Andy Cohen and Tim Midgett. But not only did this release prove they were sticking around, it also proved that they are still capable of cranking out some of the best music of their careers. Of course long-time Silkworm fans are going to love this, but anyone with a taste for dense, dynamic, intelligent, guitar-laden rock music would be wise to give this a spin.
7. The Drums - The Drums (Downtown)
When I first encountered this band, via their cheeky summertime ode "Let's Go Surfing", I wrote them off fairly quickly as another band of pretty boys with trendy haircuts jumping on whatever "beach wave" was being called that particular week. But as soon as I heard "Me and the Moon", I knew this was a band that just might be more up my alley than I wanted to admit. The majority of this album takes the obvious 60s pop of "Let's Go Surfing", but filters it through dour 80s indie rock like that of Echo and the Bunnymen. It may not seem like a winning combination on paper, but this band's talent is undeniable.
6. Rangda - False Flag (Drag City)
I can honestly say I've only sporadically checked in on Ben Chasny's Six Organs of Admittance (but liked pretty much everything I have heard) and have never really followed Sir Richard Bishop's Sun City Girls at all, so I wasn't heading into this record expecting to be floored. But, boy, was I ever. Split pretty evenly between noisier improvisational pieces and more structured songs, this album is a treat for anyone that leans towards the more psychedelic end of guitar meandering. While both Chasny and Bishop lace these songs with their expert playing, the big surprise for me was the super thrilling playing of drummer Chris Corsano. I hope this is just the start of a long collaboration between these three talents.
5. Warpaint - The Fool (Rough Trade)
This Los Angeles quartet was one of my favorite discoveries of 2010. I first became aware of them via the icy cool "Undertow" and made an effort to track down their debut EP in advance of this album's stateside appearance. Its difficult to pin down this band's sound, as they don't easily slot into any recent trend or genre. These girls have traced a defiant, effortless line of cool through five decades of pop music and are excited to add their own spin. The fact that much of this sounds unpolished only adds to the detached, bitter feel backed up by a majority of the lyrics. While other bands try so hard to fit into this week's current blog buzz sound, the women of Warpaint seem content to ignore it all and plow ahead on their own. Thank god for that.
4. Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)
After this veteran Chicago metal band blasted away all expectation with the first installment of their "Black Meddle" project, many fans were wondering just what to expect when the second half dropped. More delving into the Pink Floyd progressive rock streak? A retreat to the band's darker black metal days? Instead we were greeted with yet another left turn and, yet again, it suits the band unbelievably well. This time their original blend of U.S. black metal gets doused with a fiery streak of industrial fuzz and stomp, at least as it would sound filtered through Killing Joke and dragged through the darkened depths of black metal hell. The end result gives us something even more sinister and despairing than anything the band has done before, even while it gives the tr00 metal cultists something to bitch about.
3. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
I kind of wish I could say that I've been following these guys for years and was able to predict just how awesome this album was going to be but, the truth is, this was the first album I've ever heard from Agalloch. Now I'm kicking myself for ignoring them for so long. Marrow of the Spirit is, quite simply, one of the most engrossing and gorgeous sounding albums I've ever heard. As the band embraces everything from folk to black metal, they seamlessly weave it into a bleak, yet oddly inviting, landscape not dissimilar to the image that graces the album cover.
2. Deerhunter - Halycon Digest (4AD)
This album may just be the next best thing to an actual Bradford Cox "greatest hits" type compilation, because the wide-reaching variety of the tunes on display does a pretty damn good job of showing off what his work up to now has been all about. Shuffling indie pop, gauzy sheets of guitar, krautrock grooves - they are all here. But what may be the most surprising thing about this album, is the consistent level of quality throughout. This record ended up being one of the ones I listened to the most throughout 2010 and every listen revealed a new favorite. For those ready to proclaim indie rock dead, let's work out a way to keep Deerhunter around - we need 'em.
1. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Atlantic)
It has long been a tradition among critics to complain about how unjustly a particular artist or musician is being treated, moaning the lack of attention their work is getting from the public or to berate other critics for missing the boat. So, knowing I won't be the first nor the last, allow me to indulge in this tactic myself to berate the world at large for not welcoming Janelle Monae with open arms. This girl should at least be at Taylor Swift/Beyonce levels of stardom by now, because she really is the total package. Not only can she dance and sing with the best of them, but she is one of the hardest working showpeople around (not for nothing do the James Brown comparisons crop up) with a creative streak ten miles wide. The record in question here, The ArchAndroid, is the kind of winning magnum opus that a talent like this deserves. Jumping from contemporary R&B to funk to hip-hop to torch ballads to classic jazz and back again, Monae has an eye for detail and ear for hooks that allows her to get away with twists and turns few others would. Who'd expect a sci-fi concept record about robots and outlawing dancing in a dystopian future to be this damn lovable? Truly an exciting debut from a thrilling new talent and a fun record that I'm just physically unable to keep away from. Let's hope the coming years give Janelle the audience she deserves (and, yes, she is absolutely killer live - so don't miss her next time she swings through town).
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