This year, I was really hoping to just skip the pontificating and disclaimer-filled opening paragraph that always seems to accompany “Best Of” year-end lists, and dive right into it. Alas, it was not to be.
Because, to be honest, I found 2010 strange; about 90% of my favourite music bloggers called it the best year for music of the 2000s… but I just didn’t see it. There are plenty of bands that seemed to kill it in the music blogosphere that just didn’t tickle my fancy at all. Surfer Blood (seriously guys, can someone explain their appeal to me?), Broken Bells (yes, I get it, it’s the dude from The Shins and Danger Mouse… doesn’t mean I’m automatically going to dig it though), Warpaint (meh) and Sleigh Bells that appear on pretty much every other “Best Of” list that you’ll read this year, that don’t get a look in here.
Here’s the thing: 2010 had its shining moments in terms of singles and EPs (please, please check out Matthew and the Atlas if you haven’t yet), but the really good albums were few and far between.
That said, here’s a few of them.
12. Tokyo Police Club – Champ
It’s been near on three years since I first wrote about Tokyo Police Club on this blog, so it’s nice to see the boys come of age with their album, “Champ”. While it doesn’t quite have the same frenetic high points of Elephant Shell, “Champ” is a more mature, comfortable release then their previous two. This song was a perfect example of that; a tune that creeps insidiously into your head and makes itself at home, rather than jumping up and down demanding your attention.
Listen: Tokyo Police Club – Not Sick
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11. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
You either love “The Monitor”, or you hate it… I don’t think there’s any middle ground on this one. Because either you hear these songs as raw and cathartic, or you hear them as vulgar noise. But, as hard as it is to sometimes stick with this one, I’m glad that I did. Sounding like some sort of bastard love-child of the Hold Steady and Conor Oberst, this album pulls absolutely no punches… and could be one of the great punk albums of the last few years.
Here’s something for you to consider: if you’re a Hellblazer fan, this is exactly the type of album I’ve always imagined John listening to.
Listen: Titus Andronics – Richard II
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10. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
Back when I first wrote about Kristian Mattson in 2008, I said of his first album that “the production on “Shallow Graves” is exactly that sound that I love… scratchy and warm. It honestly feels as if Matsson is performing these songs live in your kitchen…”. This album loses that intimacy slightly, but is still an absolute cracker. As always, the combination of voice and guitar (interchangeably taking lead) is all Mattson needs to pull you in. I’d urge you to sit down somewhere outside and watch the leaves blow in the wind while listening to this album through top-notch headphones. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something here that reconnects you with the simple things in life.
Listen: The Tallest Man on Earth – The King of Spain
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9. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
My first reaction, back when I first reviewed Yeasayer, was that it was simply “too much”. I’m not sure whether I’ve changed or they’ve changed, or whether we both have, but this year’s release, “Odd Blood”, was – as Goldilocks said – “just right”. “Odd Blood” suffered a fair amount of backlash from music bloggers who – I think – were simply hoping for another “All Hours Cymbals”. Which is a shame, as I think it’s a cracker. Give it a go… I promise, synths will have never sounded as good.
Listen: Yeasayer – O.N.E
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8. Joe Pug – Messenger
You know, there’s nothing that I can say about Joe Pug that I haven’t said before, so I won’t bore you too much with this review (I’ll just let you click through those links and read them at your own leisure). Suffice to say, Joe is still one of my favourite artists of this decade, and seeing him live earlier this year only cemented that standing. This album, “Messenger” finds Joe backed by a full band, which is a radical departure from his debut EP… but it works.
Listen: Joe Pug – Messenger
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7. Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
What can I say? I just love this dude’s eccentricity. Apart from the lead single, “Fuck You”, and an absolutely gorgeous cover of the Band of Horses’ “No one’s Gonna Love You”, I’m not sure that this album will would rate as highly with too many casual listeners. But for someone who has, since the Goodie Mob days, watched with absolute fascination as Cee Lo constantly reinvents himself, it’s an intriguing release; and one that confirms, yet again, that Cee Lo is in a class of his own.
Listen: Cee Lo Green – No One’s Gonna Love You
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6. The Black Keys – Brothers
Probably my favourite Black Keys album. Stripped down to the bare minimum, the fuzzy riffs and Dan Auerbach’s oh-so-melting falsetto combine to an absolutely bliss-filled record. Dudes had fun making this, you can just tell… and that always leads to the best tunes.
The perfect album to spin on a seedy morning after, when the sun’s still a little bright to look at, but you’re glad to know it’s there, nonetheless.
Listen: The Black Keys – Everlasting Light
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5. Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Mavis Staples may be in her 70s, but I defy you to listen to that voice without falling in love with her… even just a little. This record, lovingly produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, is one I listened to a lot these last few months, when I needed a bit of cheering up. If nothing else, Mavis Staples demonstrates how the best of us endure. And damned if I’m not going to do the same thing.
Standouts include the Tweedy-penned title track, Randy Newman’s “Losing You”, and the below cover of Rev. Gary Davis’s “I Belong to the Band”.
Listen: Mavis Staples – I Belong to the Band
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4. Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Ok, let’s be upfront here… this is no “Midnight Organ Fight”. I’ll freely agree that Frightened Rabbit’s 2010 release is not quite there. First off, the band moved ever so slightly further away from their folkier tunes that made me fall in love with them, to a more full-bodied, grandiose sound. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that Midnight… was spurred on by a breakup, while “The Winter of Mixed Drinks” seems to be an album of acceptance. But all of the aforementioned points still couldn’t stop this album getting a spot in this list. Because it’s a cracker.
Listen: Frightened Rabbit – Not Miserable
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3. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
A really bleak, unsettling album… filled with bloody singalongs. Trust Arcade Fire to pull that one off. The more spins I gave this album, the more I liked it. Initial listens gave me a “eh, this is not bad” reaction, whereas I was hoping for a Furneralesque “Holy shit” reaction. But with each listen, I realised that this album was perhaps the album that speaks most to 2010… the desperation ever-present in the most mundane setting really resonated, and I have a feeling this album will continue to grow on me as my sense of nostalgia does.
Listen: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
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2. The National – High Violet
With two albums in my Best albums of the decade post, it shouldn’t be any surprise that The National cracked into this list.
Let’s be clear though, “High Violet” is a completely different beast to both Boxer and Alligator, but so it should be. Most of the guys are in their late thirties now, and that world weary optimism seems all the more authentic and accepting these days… and I feel like I’m growing up with them.
Listen: The National – Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
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1. The Roots – How I Got Over
Hells yeah. Such a great, great record. Jimmy Fallon’s house band prove that, if anything, the constant collaborations have revved their recording life back into high gear. This album just sounds… warm. It recalls the old-school hip hop feeling I got when Mos Def laid down some awesomeness in Brown Sugar, or De La Soul circa late-90s. And I’ve missed that for so, so long in the hip hop world.
With enough collaborations to keep the indie kids happy (Monsters of Folk, Joanna Newsom to name a few), I really think this album will stand the test of time.
And Black Thought still absolutely kills.
Listen: The Roots – How I Got Over
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