Top 15 albums of 2010 #10-#6...

Phew~ Hopefully better written than 15-11. As the albums get better, so do my reviews~ allegedly.

#10 Sisters- Ghost Fits

 Sisters’ album came and went in late September/early October with a short, dismissive review on PCHFRK and not much else. What was missed in that series of unfortunate events was one of the best straight up, no-frills indie rock records of the year. Coming from the same two man band territory as No Age and Japandroids (but better than both), Sisters turn up the energy and fuzz with big hooks and bigger noise. Just don’t try to google ‘em.

For Fans of: Pavement, Sonic Youth

 Listen to "Highway Scratch"

#9 Big Troubles- Worry

I love shoegaze, but man do I hate shoegaze. Swirling, miasmic guitars hit the right spot for me, but ‘gaze has always tended to be more about atmosphere and attitude than pop hooks. This translates into a better live experience, in general, as opposed to a song or even album-centric experience (Kevin Shields is automatically exempted from all such rules, as are Pia Fraus). What makes Worry such a great listen is, while it has all the distortion and grooviness of Ride, or Chapterhouse, it also breaks the songs up into bite sized bits of lo-fi goodness that never wears out its welcome, before it’s on to the next track.

For Fans of: MBV, GBV

Listen to "Bite Yr Tongue"

#8 Best Coast- Crazy For You

A lot of complaints leveled at BC tend to want to have it both ways. The band is too cool for school and too dumb to be taken seriously. Bethany Cosentino rhymes “lazy” and “crazy” close to a dozen times on the record and the band has received some incredulous sneers from those “in the know”  who spend their days listening to, say, The Suburbs, and practicing looking earnest. Crazy for You ropes you in with big slobbery hooks and sing-song choruses, and it does it without really trying that hard. And what’s so bad about that?

  

For Fans of: The Go-Gos, The Queers, The Ronettes, fun

Listen to "The End"

#7 LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

Not much left to say about James Murphy at this point, he’s more sophisticated than I am (not a tough thing to do, natch) and the only musician on the list who’s also older than me (amazing). He goes to better parties, hangs with cooler people, and does better drugs than you, and he’s 40! He’s also funnier and a better lyricist than anyone making dance music has any business being. While David Byrne’s commentaries on life in the late 70’s and early 80’s were always impressionistically detached, LCD Soundsystem’s musings on 24 hour party people evince a sense of admiration coupled with failure and regret. And ecstasy.  

For Fans of: The Name of This Band… era Talking Heads, The Rapture

 Listen to "I Can Change"

#6 Avi Buffalo- Avi Buffalo

While the teenagers in Avi Buffalo’s grandparents might not have been born when the age of Aquarius began dawning (God help us), the band puts a decidedly trippy spin on Shins-y indie pop to great success. The boy-girl vocals and intermittent handclaps on album opener “Truth Sets In” belie a wacky sort of maturity and breezy L.A. swing you might not expect from young people these days (or their companions).

 For Fans of: Woods, The Annuals, Jane’s Addiction (really!)

Listen to "Truth Sets In"

Top 15 Albums of 2010

So here it is. Starting where it makes sense, with my favorite 15 of 2010. Five at a time, anyway. 

#15 The Morning Benders- Big Echo

A decade later, the importance of The Soft Bulletin cannot be overstated. Along with Radiohead, The Flaming Lips 1999 left-field (even for them) opus has changed the way a lot of young band think about music, and that includes The Morning Benders. The band’s first album, Talking Through Tin Cans was more of an acoustic indie-pop endeavor, but Big Echo pulls out all the stops.

 For Fans of: Flaming Lips, Shins

Listen to "Promises"

#14 Small Black- New Chain

The overlooked group in the chillwave onslaught, is maybe also the best, as this album attests. It has all the associations “required” of the (non)genre, tape loops, corroded shoegaze vocals and a sense that it was recorded in 1986 and unearthed in 2010. Unlike Neon Indian and Memory Tapes, though, Small Black seems to come from more of an indie rock perspective, often putting the guitars to the front of the mix.

 For Fans of: Broadcast’s Tender Buttons, Classic lineup GbV, Washed Out

Listen to "Photojournalist"

#13 Dom- Sun Bronzed Greek Gods

I think the band would admit they just released their demo as an EP, but that’s completely fine, in this case. All the garbage about the band’s “mysterious” background (lead man Dom has declined to give his full name because he claims he has people looking for him) aside, what’s going on here is not particularly complicated. Dom uses fuzzed out guitar hooks and sparkling keys to along with some of the most intentionally dumb lyrics to create a hazy, beachy, atmosphere that’s at least as reminiscent of Van Halen’s more pop-oriented songs as it is of Best Coast.

For Fans of: I Was a King, Def Leppard

Listen to "I Wonder"

#12 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti- Before Today

While AP’s previous work was, in a lot of respects, classic bedroom pop and scuzz, Before Today cleans up the sound (just enough) to glam things up and develop a vibe that makes it obvious he was born 30 years too late, as he would have been completely at home in front of the same fans as The Spiders from Mars and T. Rex. Before today is Ariel Pink getting on his David jones.

For Fans of: Bowie, Mott the Hoople

Listen to "Butthouse Blondies"

#11 Tokyo Police Club- Champ

  

Now four years removed from blog buzz ascendency, TPC continue to grind out some of the best indie rock around. 2008’s Elephant Shell was politely applauded by the blogs, but the feeling was that their time had already come and gone. TPC are one of the bands that is not making end of the year lists and that’s a shame. With luck, the band will continue to carry the flag for a long time.

For Fans of: Death Cab, The Horror The Horror, Pomegranates

Listen to "Favourite Food" 

Here we go....

Up and running. Gonna be up full steam come Jan. 1.