It is that time of year once again, to throw our hat in the collective ring 2.0 and weigh in on our top releases of the year. There were a ton of heavyweights joining the fray in 2010, so which releases were left standing after all was said and done?
I don’t know that anyone knew what to really expect from the collaboration of Shins frontman James Mercer and the heralded producer Danger Mouse, but what we got was an incredible mix and mash-up of styles, songs and beats that all magnificently worked together in one of the year’s best releases. Everything is kept pretty low tempo and chilled out for the most part, and some of the brightness of the Shins is tempered by some very skillful production from Danger Mouse. The songs are intertwined perfectly with little hooks and pop nuggets and stylish beats and rhythms. It is a perfect example of a collaboration of two expert musicians hitting on all cylinders and getting together and making everything work. A very impressive effort on this album and I can’t wait to see what more we hear from this dynamic duo. - (BVaz)
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Beach House continued to gain fans around the indie rock world with this terrific follow up to 2008′s solid Devotion. Chilled out, dreamy yet powerful in a lot of ways. They perfectly balance a sense of mood and weight with some real substance, and they put together some amazing songs. This was a superb effort from the Baltimore duo, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. - (BVaz)
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Surfer Blood flew in like a runaway train from Florida in the pre-SXSW hype period this year on the strength of this album, and while this very early year release has maybe been overshadowed or forgotten by some this late in the year, you can’t deny the catchiness or strong hooks of so many of these songs. They also perfectly balance that line between simplicity and complexity with some basic, loose song structures that also feature some superb licks and hooks to keep it interesting throughout. They also mix up their styles and tempo on a lot of the songs, but it all really works extremely well. The songs are not rocket science in the end, but they are incredibly good and these guys definitely had one of the best releases this year with this gem. - (BVaz)
“Swim” by Surfer Blood from Astro Coast
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Yeasayer’s last record still may remain a little more acclaimed than this release, but on Odd Blood they really took a step forward with some incredible variety in their songs and some very well put together rhythms and grooves. They managed to create an album that is instantly accessible but yet layered in a way that repeated listens often give up some additional insight. They are definitely one of the top bands out there nowadays and this release was just superbly put together. - (BVaz)
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Big Boi bookends Sir Lucious Left Foot with two great songs – “Daddy Fat Sax” and “Back Up Plan” – that would feel at home on any OutKast album. What is staggering, though, is everything that happens in-between. The most impressive element of Sir Lucious Left Foot is the sheer ease with which Big Boi excels over all types of beats. Be it the electro-funk of “Shutterbug”, the foreboding “You Ain’t No DJ”, the epic “General Patton”, or the soul-and-808 of “Shine Blockas”, Big Boi’s flow sounds perfect on every track. A mandatory purchase for any hip-hop fan. - (chuck p)
“Tangerine” by Big Boi from Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty
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When this album was released, it was a day many of us weren’t sure we would see, the return of Superchunk, but they did it triumphantly and managed to overshadow piney nostalgia by dropping one of the year’s best releases. It wasn’t the best record of the year and it wasn’t Superchunk’s best record ever, but it was incredibly good and it signaled a return to form for one of indie rock’s greatest acts. If you want some powerful, guitar driven indie rock, these guys still run with the best of them. Hats off to the return and a great album. - (BVaz)
“Digging For Something” by Superchunk from Majesty Shredding
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Let’s get this out of the way: none of these songs will make a party playlist. It’s better that way, as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is best consumed as an album. After a nursery-rhyme and harmony a capella lead, the RZA-influenced beat drops on “Dark Fantasy” and West reveals the album’s contradictory tone. It’s immaculately produced but gritty; collaborative and yet indulgent (in the best possible way); humorous (“Too many Urkels on your team / that’s why your wins low”) but dark; radically removed from our expectations of the guy who brought us “Gold Digger”, and yet in hindsight, proof of West’s growth as an artist. Highlights include the stomping “Power”, the 1-2 punch of “Monster” and “So Appalled” and its myriad guest verses (Jay-Z, Nicky Minaj, Pusha T), and the cacophonous “Hell of a Life.” - (chuck p)
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James Murphy has for a while now really had an uncanny ability to connect with the indie hipster while also making some incredible electronic tracks. LCD’s third album This Is Happening continues with the humor, irreverence and style that have made LCD a mainstay in the indie rock world for some time now. Incredible songs and incredible beats combine on one of the strongest efforts this year. Each song has its own power behind it, and they all work together in one incredibly strong package. Whether he is being self-referential or just trying to kick out a dance beat, Murphy and his LCD cronies still can deliver the goods as well or better than anyone else on the planet. - (BVaz)
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Expo ’86 starts rocking 20 seconds in, and somehow gains momentum throughout the album. Wolf Parade’s third album finds the band playing to its strengths perfectly, balancing excellent riffs and song-writing (“Pobody’s Nerfect”, “Yulia”) with great turns-of-phrase (“I’ve got a friend who’s a genius / nobody listens to him / I’ve got some friends who got famous / La la la-la la la la-la”.) The album also features two of Wolf Parade’s best songs: “Little Golden Age”, a Boeckner rocker that subtly ebbs and flows; and closer “Cave-o-sapien”, a propulsive Krug track with a synth-laden crescendo. The class of this year’s indie rock. - (chuck p)
“Cave-o-sapien” by Wolf Parade from Expo 86
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Maybe it is a little trite and obvious to pick The Suburbs as album of the year, but few albums have the hype that this one did and then subsequently actually deliver the goods. The album is sprawling, and has some great highs and great lows, and really show that the band can really take on an ambitious concept album like this and come through with flying colors. Aside from possibly Kanye, in the indie music world this was the biggest and most notable release of the year and it was also one of the best. You had the album hit #1 on the Billboard charts, sold out concerts and webcasts from Madison Square Garden, and the band continuing to deliver great music and great performances all the way. Arcade Fire definitely made 2010 their year and really hit the big time, and the strength of the album certainly didn’t hurt. - (BVaz)
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