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"