Reply With QuoteOutside of Noise By Numbers and the Thermals, I haven't really been blown away by anything this year. Scum Again has a 7" coming out in a few weeks. That will probably be my album of the year.
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I went on the biggest music kick of my life this year and think it was the best year in music we've had for a long time. My top 10:
The National - High Violet: Better than Boxer in my opinion. Better production, better songs, better album flow.
The Thermals - Personal Life: The first time I heard this it was like I knew all the songs.
Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away: Really powerful, beautiful folk album that is not a throwback to old times but completely contemporary in a kind of indie rock way.
Foals - Total Life Forever: I'll take some shit for saying so, but this is better than their first album. It's nuanced in arrangements, production and songwriting.
Wild Nothing - Gemini: Best "new" artist imo. Flawless album that certainly hearkens back to my teenage years.
Caribou - Swim: This album is pretty damn infectious.
Vampire Weekend - Contra: Maybe not as good as their debut, but I'm on the fence about that.
Twin Shadow - Forget: Elegant New Romance in the realm of Ultravox and Avalon era Roxy Music.
Sleigh Bells - Treat: Pretty much makes me smile the entire listen and bop my head along.
Tokyo Police Club - Champ: Another one that I think is better than their previous album; maybe not by much, but that's how I see it.
It's possible I've forgotten something I would have put in this list had I remembered, but I'm on limited time here.
Outside of Noise By Numbers and the Thermals, I haven't really been blown away by anything this year. Scum Again has a 7" coming out in a few weeks. That will probably be my album of the year.
Pontius is my Co-Pilate
The Body - All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood.
Album of the year.
Boo, Hiss.
neurobashing
Here are my picks:
Oxyd - Astral Border
It's not as good as their previous, Larva, but it's still better than most dark ambient releases. The fact that it's a side project (of Slovakian duo Disharmony) makes it all the more impressive, but I don't think their hearts were quite in this one. It's a great album nonetheless; it's hard to follow up a classic, as Larva is one of the best albums I've ever heard, period.
Ambiguous - Stone Cross
Also on the Slovakian Alien Productions label. I don't usually like ambient noise releases, as they tend to wander, but this amazing disc took me right back to the heyday of Cold Meat Industry. The atmosphere here is remarkable: desolate yet ornate. Great background for writing horror, btw.
Heimataerde - Unwesen
Still up to their same tricks - EBM crossed with traditional medieval instruments - but this time the mood is quieter and more contemplative, without losing intensity. After four albums using the same concept (the story of undead Templar knight Ash, who roams the land recruiting an army), you'd think this German project would lose steam, but this is not the case.
Geomatic - 64 Light Years Away
I'm a sucker for sci-fi based faux-soundtrack work (the album is named for the distance between Earth and the closest potentially habitable planet), and this release by the Dutch duo Geomatic is amazing. It captures everything from EBM to noise to dub to ambient, and does it cohesively. It might not do anything new, but it's the best example I've heard this year of genre work done right. The Middle Eastern influences of 2008's Blue Beam return, and work even better this time. If I had to choose just one favorite, this would be it.
Last edited by BioMechanic; 08 Dec 2010 at 02:40 PM.
Satoshi Kon: 1963-2010
Eh.
Eminem's Recovery.
Sell me a poke.
Justin Beiber--My World 2.0
Originally Posted by C.S. Lewis
No order:
The New Pornographers - Together
The Drums - The Drums
The Postelles - The Postelles
Surfer Blood - Astrocoast
Vampire Weekend - Contra
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The New Pornographers - Together
Sia - We Are Born
Best Coast - Crazy For You
Still have to hear the new Thermals and new Budos Band. (<3 Daptone)
That Sleigh Bells album isn't that great. There are a few good tracks, but it's mostly just obnoxious. Seeing them live was a pretty good time though. Glad they were just an opening act.
Oh man the Bouncing Souls put out an album this year too! And The Knife. Need to hear that. And the Smoking Popes?! And Gogol Bordello. And The Chemical Brothers.
Ted Leo's new "Brutalist Bricks" is pretty good.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' album is pretty good.
BSS's album is pretty good.
BBB's Blue Eyed Black Boy is on my top plays of the year.
Disappointment: Transference - Spoon
Romance is Boring - Los Campesinos!
Plastic Beach - Gorillaz
Merely OK: Realism - The Magnetic Fields
...etc, I'll add to this.
There's a lot I still need to listen to.
I don't know that there's anything in hip hop that really stunned me this year so I've been turning back the clock there.
Last edited by Cowutopia; 24 Dec 2010 at 09:48 PM.
I heard Robyn's new stuff is worthwhile.
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