Without further delays, I present to you my top favorite albums of 2010 with links. Enjoy them, hate them, misunderstand them. Download them, sleep with them, buy them, see them live, do what you want with them. Leave me alone.
10. Beach House - Teen Dream
A couple of years ago there was a contest where you had to explain why you deserve tickets to "The Clientele" - It was a monday, I was bored and surely not actually doing what I had to be doing. I entered the contest and won a pair of tickets to see The Clientele. Opening for them was Pipas and Beach House, which I was thoroughly impressed by. Their sound: Dreampop.
After three great albums, we get "Teen Dream" which at first I didn't know how I feel. It was in January 2010 that I first heard the album, it was right after I had completed my 2009 list, I was still in my tower made of elephant tusks. Hundreds of elephants were slaughtered for the sole purpose of collecting their tusks and building a tower from them.
I listened to it, and I loved it. It's similar to their old stuff, yes, it usually gets boring after a while, but not this one. No ma'am, this one was just as good as their previous albums (Beach House and Devotion).
Victoria's vocals are dreamy, and truly characterizes their music. While they might be described as dream/baroque pop, lo-fi, and even shoe gaze by some, you will perhaps find their album next to Belle and Sebastian, Best Coast, Wild Nothing, and maybe Washed Out.
Check out "Zebra"
and "10 Mile Stereo"
09. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Their debut self-titled album was all the rage with the youngsters. I hated it (I now enjoy it very much by the way).
Their sophomore album, Contra was highly anticipated, critically acclaimed, and on my top of the year list. Their sound is similar to what we've seen from them before, but instead of sticking to their African Colonialist themes (I made that one up myself), they moved to the Americas (south of the US Border anyway) and their music contains various influences and references to music from such places as Barbados, Colombia, Mexico, and various other caribbean islands. Okay I completely made all of that up. Go listen to their album.
Check out "White Sky" and "Taxi Cab" - Avoid "Horchata" . . . it's not a bad song, it irritates me for some reason. Unfortunately that was their first single for the album.
You're not a victim, and neither am I.
08. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
"I wish he was my boyfriend, I'd love him till the very end, but instead he is just a friend"
Best Coast is Surf Pop from the best state in the United States of the World (California in case you aren't cultured in modern world affairs). They are cute, have cute lyrics. Nothing too deep, but they are catchy. It's great music.
They are playing tonight in Barcelona. Will I see you there? Probably not 'cause I might not go, but I'll end up hating myself for not going in a couple months.
Check Out My Personal Favorite: "Bratty B"
"I want a daughter while I'm still young, I want to hold her hand, show her some beauty before this damage is done."
Arcade Fire holds the spot in my heart for the best live performance ever. Coachella 2007 was amazing. I think I cried a little. I was with Miss Rebecca Sun, we made our way as close as possible. There we met a couple who we joined forces with to keep people from pushing. It was great. I also saw them alongside LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl, and that show was great too. I wasn't too familiar with Neon Bible at the time.
The Suburbs is their 3rd Full-Length EP and it's great. I can go into detail, but you should just listen to this album and find out why it's great for yourself. I missed them in Barcelona in November (I don't mind this because it was 45euro). I will also like to give a lot of credit to Regine who is often not recognized as the musical genius behind Arcade Fire.
Check out "The Suburbs" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
"Because our lips won't last forever and that's exactly why I'd rather live in dreams…"
Wild Nothing is relatively unknown by mainstream standards, but in general so are most of these bands. I'm running out of things to say about these bands because I think their albums speak for themselves. Wild Nothing is dream pop, shoegaze, and perhaps Tweegaze? The album is powered by nostalgia and hipster blood. Still, it's a great album.
Check out "Chinatown" and "Live in Dreams"
The first two albums were rough, lo-fi, noise pop, beach punk. In King of the Beach we find a more polished Nathan Williams which at first were a kind of turn-off, but the album is fun, different and…
Check out: "King of the Beach" and "Baseball Cards"
What can one say about Deerhunter? They're fucking great, that's what. The album feels brittle and shimmery. Like something you'd see at the end of a movie where the protagonist dies or something. I don't really know.
Check out: "Earthquake"
A couple of years ago there was a contest where you had to explain why you deserve tickets to "The Clientele" - It was a monday, I was bored and surely not actually doing what I had to be doing. I entered the contest and won a pair of tickets to see The Clientele. Opening for them was Pipas and Beach House, which I was thoroughly impressed by. Their sound: Dreampop.
After three great albums, we get "Teen Dream" which at first I didn't know how I feel. It was in January 2010 that I first heard the album, it was right after I had completed my 2009 list, I was still in my tower made of elephant tusks. Hundreds of elephants were slaughtered for the sole purpose of collecting their tusks and building a tower from them.
I listened to it, and I loved it. It's similar to their old stuff, yes, it usually gets boring after a while, but not this one. No ma'am, this one was just as good as their previous albums (Beach House and Devotion).
Victoria's vocals are dreamy, and truly characterizes their music. While they might be described as dream/baroque pop, lo-fi, and even shoe gaze by some, you will perhaps find their album next to Belle and Sebastian, Best Coast, Wild Nothing, and maybe Washed Out.
Check out "Zebra"
and "10 Mile Stereo"
09. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Their debut self-titled album was all the rage with the youngsters. I hated it (I now enjoy it very much by the way).
Their sophomore album, Contra was highly anticipated, critically acclaimed, and on my top of the year list. Their sound is similar to what we've seen from them before, but instead of sticking to their African Colonialist themes (I made that one up myself), they moved to the Americas (south of the US Border anyway) and their music contains various influences and references to music from such places as Barbados, Colombia, Mexico, and various other caribbean islands. Okay I completely made all of that up. Go listen to their album.
Check out "White Sky" and "Taxi Cab" - Avoid "Horchata" . . . it's not a bad song, it irritates me for some reason. Unfortunately that was their first single for the album.
You're not a victim, and neither am I.
08. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Joanna Newsom has come a long way, but she still manages to create great music. Her stuff has gotten more and more polished from when we first heard her in Walnut Whales. Despite her vocal change, she still makes great music.
"Have One on Me" is a 3 disc LP with 5 songs each with more traditional song lengths. Her Ys Album as you might recall had 5 tracks with an average track length of 10-12 minutes (roughly). I hate to say she's an acquired taste which is partially true, but she mostly really makes music for the Intelligentsia (not the coffee shop…which I feel will be the topic of a future blogpost). Oh Zang, Diss!
Personal favorite: Baby Birch. You should check out "In California"
"Have One on Me" is a 3 disc LP with 5 songs each with more traditional song lengths. Her Ys Album as you might recall had 5 tracks with an average track length of 10-12 minutes (roughly). I hate to say she's an acquired taste which is partially true, but she mostly really makes music for the Intelligentsia (not the coffee shop…which I feel will be the topic of a future blogpost). Oh Zang, Diss!
Personal favorite: Baby Birch. You should check out "In California"
07. Best Coast - Crazy For You
"I wish he was my boyfriend, I'd love him till the very end, but instead he is just a friend"
Best Coast is Surf Pop from the best state in the United States of the World (California in case you aren't cultured in modern world affairs). They are cute, have cute lyrics. Nothing too deep, but they are catchy. It's great music.
They are playing tonight in Barcelona. Will I see you there? Probably not 'cause I might not go, but I'll end up hating myself for not going in a couple months.
Check Out My Personal Favorite: "Bratty B"
06. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
"I want a daughter while I'm still young, I want to hold her hand, show her some beauty before this damage is done."
Arcade Fire holds the spot in my heart for the best live performance ever. Coachella 2007 was amazing. I think I cried a little. I was with Miss Rebecca Sun, we made our way as close as possible. There we met a couple who we joined forces with to keep people from pushing. It was great. I also saw them alongside LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl, and that show was great too. I wasn't too familiar with Neon Bible at the time.
The Suburbs is their 3rd Full-Length EP and it's great. I can go into detail, but you should just listen to this album and find out why it's great for yourself. I missed them in Barcelona in November (I don't mind this because it was 45euro). I will also like to give a lot of credit to Regine who is often not recognized as the musical genius behind Arcade Fire.
Check out "The Suburbs" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
05. Wild Nothing - Gemini
"Because our lips won't last forever and that's exactly why I'd rather live in dreams…"
Wild Nothing is relatively unknown by mainstream standards, but in general so are most of these bands. I'm running out of things to say about these bands because I think their albums speak for themselves. Wild Nothing is dream pop, shoegaze, and perhaps Tweegaze? The album is powered by nostalgia and hipster blood. Still, it's a great album.
Check out "Chinatown" and "Live in Dreams"
04. Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz
"I have known you for just a little while, I feel I must be wearing my welcome, I must be moving on. For my intentions were good intentions, I could've loved you, I could've changed you I wouldn't be so, I wouldn't feel so consumed by selfish thoughts. I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing, consumed by selfish thoughts, it's only that I still love you deeply. It's all the love I've got."
How great is this album? That Sufjan isn't bad looking either. It's "different" from his previous 50-state project, but who cares? The songs are bold, the music is original, and every time you listen to it, you like it better.
Check Out: "I Want to be Well"
How great is this album? That Sufjan isn't bad looking either. It's "different" from his previous 50-state project, but who cares? The songs are bold, the music is original, and every time you listen to it, you like it better.
Check Out: "I Want to be Well"
03. Wavves - King of the Beach
The first two albums were rough, lo-fi, noise pop, beach punk. In King of the Beach we find a more polished Nathan Williams which at first were a kind of turn-off, but the album is fun, different and…
Check out: "King of the Beach" and "Baseball Cards"
02. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
What can one say about Deerhunter? They're fucking great, that's what. The album feels brittle and shimmery. Like something you'd see at the end of a movie where the protagonist dies or something. I don't really know.
Check out: "Earthquake"
01. Delorean - Subiza
Delorean comes from Basque Country/Barcelona. They're electronic and dance-y, they're fun, they make solid music. Catchy Songs, sound like a bunch of other bands you don't know. Their first EP Ayrton Senna was great. It took me a while to get into it, but Delorean has a great show, great music, and my favorite album of 2010.
Check Out - "Stay Close" and "Real Love"
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