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Thursday, December 23, 2010

2010 Albums Top 10-1

10. Beach House - Teen Dream [Sub Pop]




On the pure dream-poppers Beach House's third LP, a certain delicate balance is met. The balance of emotion and hazy dreaming. On Teen Dream you will be captured into their vast emotions and then put into this dreamy state that makes you feel like your floating on a cloud. The instrunmentation isn't super advanced, but the simplicity makes it a crowning achievement of artistic ability. Teen Dream isn't for everyone though, if you're looking for heart-stopping fast moving pump up music, steer clear.

Key Tracks: "Zebra", "Used To Be", "Lover Of Mine"

9. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz [Asthmatic Kitty]



Sufjan is done singing about states and locations with corny song materials, now Sufjan has matured into something very unique. Instead of the quirky orchestrations that Sufjan put together, The Age of Adz is a more chaotic, intense music adventure that really is Sufjan's most ambitious effort to date, especially the 25 minute epic finale entitled "Impossible Soul". The electronic drenched, glitchy feel that encircled The Age of Adz really puts the topping on the ice cream to the musical genius that is Sufjan Stevens.

Key Tracks: "Age of Adz", "Vesuvius", "Impossible Soul"

8. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam]



"Put your hands to the constellations/The way you look should be a sin you're my sensation," raps Kanye West on "Devil In a New Dress". "Devil In a New Dress" is one of the many strong songs that are layered on Kanye's latest effort My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The best moments that are within Dark Twisted Fantasy are when its just Kanye rapping, not all the random collaborations. That's with tracks like "POWER", "Gorgeous", and others are such powerful tracks because Kanye is a powerful artists with tremendous talent. The samples and beats are unique and deserve recognition as much as Kanye's versatile rapping.

Key Tracks: "POWER", "Gorgeous, "Devil In a New Dress"

7. The Morning Benders - Big Echo [Rough Trade]





The crackle of vinyl opens the intro of Big Echo on "Excuses" and immediately flows into a distorted, distant sounding guitar intro that sets the tone for the rest of the album to come. This force of creative studio work and intense layers that reminisces Grizzly Bear (in fact it was co-produced by Grizzly Bear's bassist Chris Taylor). But, not to compare The Morning Benders to closely with Grizzly Bear, The M-Benders have more of a hazy sound that turns corners in different directions with beautiful melodies. The fun jumpy "Cold War" sounds off, which makes it so good. That can apply to the whole album, it sounds so unique and out there with resonance that really makes for one of the most relaxing and yet exciting listens of the year.

Key Tracks: "Cold War", "Promises", "Pleasure Sighs"

6. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest [4AD]





Deerhunter is another one of those bands that is pure indie, like Arcade Fire, but Deerhunter have always delved into more dark regions. On their previous LP, Microcastles, Deerhunter really created dark canvases of stretched fallen glory and slapped onto your face, but Halcyon Digest is by far lighter. It's a lot more dream pop oriented with hazy guitar lines on "Helicopter" and "Earthquakes". There is also a more traditional side of things with "Revival" and "Desire Lines". That variety makes Halcyon Digest a very complicated yet rewarding listen for 2010.

Key Tracks: "Desire Lines", "Helicopter", "Revival"

5. Owen Pallett - Heartland [Domino]





"My body is a cage/This union is about a cage a cage," croons Owen Pallett softly on very dynamic "Keep the Dog Quiet". Heartland is all about Pallett breaking out of his musical shell. He even changed his solo project name from Final Fantasy to just simply making it released under his own name. Pallett's use of instruments are done fantastically and so cohesively that emotions are evoked through the subtle use of orchestrations. On the strongest track "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!", it's like one of those songs that builds up inside of you and explodes out into something very glorious and yet it really doesn't reach a climax that fulfills the listeners making you wanting more, a very unique experience.

Key Tracks: "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!", "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt", "Midnight Directives"

4. Titus Andronicus
- The Monitor [XL Recordings]





The U.S.S. Monitor was a first ironclad warship commissioned by the US Navy during the Civil War and it is known for the Battle of Hampton Roads. A very strange concept for an album to originated over, but it was done to near perfection with Titus Andronicus. The Monitor is a hard hitting punk anthem that shows true American patriotism. With the cries of "Rally around the flag!" on "A More Perfect Union", shows the energy and chaotic sense of rebellion that Titus Andronicus shows throughout The Monitor. On first listen, The Monitor is almost unlistenable, but when you really get into it and start listening to it intensely, it will really start to grow on you and you will fall in love with it.

Key Tracks: "Richard II", "A More Perfect Union", "To Old Friends and New"

3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening [DFA/Virgin]




This might be one of the saddest albums of 2010, not because of the music, no not at all, but because it is supposedly James Murphy's (genius of LCD Soundsystem) last album. Thankfully James Murphy gives us an excellent farewell present, This Is Happening. Using an assorted mixtures of instruments to make juicy and flavorful electronic dance music that really grooves. "I Can Change" might be one of the addictive songs of 2010 and "All I Want" is a glorious guitar anthem with superb lyricism, "And all I want is your pity/Oh all I want are your bitter tears". Sadly James Murphy probably isn't going to make anymore records, but we will have plenty to remember him by his superb dance-punk genre.

Key Tracks: "I Can Change", "All I Want", " Dance Yrself Clean"

2. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma [Warp]





Flying Lotus is an absolute genius, I'm not going to lie. On his latest LP Cosmogramma he combines video game noises, avant-garde jazz, and pure crazy electronic noises. If you pick up Cosmogramma be very prepared for an abrasive, confusing journey through Flying Lotus or Steven Ellison's mind. It plays like a avant-garde jazz LP, so it takes a lot of listens to really get through it and enjoy it, but once you get to that stage, it's such a rewarding experience. The songs on Cosmogramma drip into each other and create a cosmic landscape of bizarre shapes and sizes.

Key Tracks: "Mmmhmm (Ft. Thundercat)", "Arkestry", "Do the Astral Plane"

1. The National - High Violet [4AD]





The National create one of the most grim and glorious records of the decade. The song writing is top notch and creates livid characters like a economic troubled individual on "Bloodbuzz Ohio", a zombie-like husband "Conversation 16", and an emotion is a very intense character on "Sorrow". High Violet receive the award for album of the year from The Lavin Rant because of the improvement is made on me the more I listened to it. At first I was like "bleh it's all right", but countless more listens I fell in absolute love with the sound and grim emotion The National were intending to evoke. Matt Berninger's baritone moans create such an intense passion that just lights up every time he sings. If you were to pick up any of these albums, do yourself a favor and pick up High Violet.

Key Tracks: "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "England", "Little Faith"

2011 here I come.

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