F***ed Up - David Comes To Life [Matador]

8.8

Most of the time when hardcore punk comes to mind, I think of relatively short, loud tracks that hit hard and fast, F’ed Up have completely warped my image of modern, very ambitious hardcore punk. With David Comes to Life, F’ed Up have pushed boundaries that only a select other ambitious punk records form the past have done. An 80 minute rock opera with a complex narrative may be pushing the envelope for the Canadian hardcore punk group, but this ambitious, superlative record exceeds all rock operas in recent memory.

First off: David Comes to Life isn’t for the faint of heart, similarly to Titus Andronicus’s epic The Monitor from last year with its heavily ambitious concept. Lead vocalist Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham never changes, his nail-biting, brittle scream is difficult to be turned on to, even after multiple listens. Abraham’s vocals are what they are, nothing incredibly unique, but easy to pick out. Abraham goes hard 110% of the time on David with no limitation to his ability to scream, there really isn’t a moment where Abraham isn’t screaming, the only rest we get from his vocals is the occasional female vocal insertion.

David Comes to Life’s story is bizarre and emotionally driven from true dedication from the members of F’ed Up. Honestly, it’s pretty much impossible to translate the lyrics from simply listening to the music, if you want to follow along with the lyrics; the most convenient way is to check out davidcomestolife.com. Following along with the lyrics, it reveals beautiful, vivid imagery that corresponds with a story that is far too complex to be understood simply through a read-through. It needs to be experienced, the way F’ed Up wanted it to be, they way they experienced it through recording and planning out this entire David project that has actually been stated to be in the back of their heads for years now.

Instrumentally, David is purely satisfying that is fulfilled in every climatic build up on every song. Beginning the album like a factory with its lights just warming up with heavy reverb on the guitars just warming up and that is immediately brought into the epic opening hard-hitter “Queen of Hearts” with the beginning lines of “Sun rises above the factory but the rays don’t make it to the street,” bringing in the consistent theme and symbolism of light and darkness in David Comes to Life. Literally chills are brought to my back whenever I reach the climax of ”Queen of Hearts” though all of F’ed Up’s awesome elements being played to effectively which can only be described through one word: epic.

Truly, the story of the album really isn’t necessary to enjoying David Comes to Life, it simply enhances it. Being a rock-opera of sorts, David in some ways runs on its story like The Who’s Tommy or Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but both of those albums can be enjoyed for just the elements of the music being produced rather than the story, the same applies for F’ed Up’s work, except David is harder since it isn’t an “easy” listening album like Pink Floyd or The Who. Asking someone to read the lyrics along while listening to the music is asking a lot, but if you have 80 minutes to spare, do it, it’s rewarding to your listening pleasure.

Any fan of music cannot miss David Comes to Life, its monumental ability to create such a masterful punk-rock opera that is fulfilled through its excellent instrumentation and in-your-face blasts of musical energy that runs the entire album like a lithium battery. Though Abraham’s vocals are tough as nails to listen to, growing room must be allowed for F’ed Up’s hardcore punk appeal.

Destroyer - Kaputt [Merge]

8.7

Dan Bejar has been making music since the mid-'90s under various acts like The New Pornographers, Swan Lake, and Hello, Blue Roses, but he is probably the most home with his main band Destroyer. The ninth disc entitled Kaputt by Destroyer creates one of their most beautiful, yet frightening albums to date. Led by songs like synthesizer soaring "Savage Night At the Opera" and the spacey ambient "Bay of Pigs", Kaputt is a unique, adventurous musical achievement in the early season of 2011.

Bejar has always been known for his cryptic lyricism and distinct voice throughout any of his musical acts, but Destroyer has always been his strong suit. The best musical genre to classify Kaputt is a sort of jazzy indie pop that flourishes with new wave bass lines, delicate resonant trumpet reverberations, and of course the sensual saxophone solos. All of these elements come at you with such force and a mock-mellowness. Bejar's voice stays the same throughout the entire record; he never gets worked up or rises to different pitches.

As mentioned before, Kaputt has so many different elements throughout it. The smooth acoustic staccatos in the intro of "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker" don't at all prepare listeners for the disco-esque beat and chilling flute solos. The nostalgia from the '80s is so strong throughout Kaputt with hints of new wave, disco, nu-jazz, and other elements famous and infamous from '80s pop music. Indie music has been experimenting in '80s for some time now, with Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's Before Today last year was teeming with '80s elements and now Destroyer has been inspired by this musical fad and create a beautiful, unique record that is bursting with the sense of nostalgia that I really can't relate to (being born in 1994).

The epic finish to Kaputt, "Bay of Pigs", starts off with a spacey ambient intro that builds into a epic storytelling grandeur from Bejar, "I was born in the North, but my father is from the South/Love is a political beast with jaws for a mouth, I don't care!" laments Bejar. One thing that sticks out on Kaputt is how none of the songs really reach a climax; instead they build up and then slowly move back to normal, that unusually song writing creates a tense listening pattern that will keep you listening and listening and stay excited and relaxed.

Kaputt is an excellent nostalgic record that pays homage to various '80s musical elements. Looking back at other Destroyer works; Your Blues, Streethawk: A Seduction, and others are well crafted but don't stick out as much as the unique renditions of indie music through Kaputt. Dan Bejar's talents are again showcased through is tenacious, unique approach of music.

Sample:

Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde [Fat Possum]

8.3

Growth in musical artist is always so intriguing. Weather it be artistic growth, maturity, or experience. Smith Westerns falls under the category of maturity. Only in high school when these garage rockers put out their self-titled debut. Now two years later, Smith Westerns have switched directions from their heavily distorted garage rock feel on their debut and they come across with hints of glam rock, lo-fi vocals, and huge walls of George Harrison-inspired guitar lines.

Coming off influences like T. Rex, '60s garage rock compilations, and David Bowie, you can see all three of those in Dye It Blonde. T. Rex; through the high-strung guitar lines and glam rock aspect. '60s garage rock; through the messy walls of sound and vocals sounding like they were recorded through a laptop. You get the idea, Smith Westerns is an interesting group. Everything goes fantastic for the Smith Westerns, except their immediate downfall of repetition and vocals.

The vocals go down as some of the worse. Hiding behind the production make it inclined that lead singer Cullen Omori doesn't want to be heard, he sounds whiny and immature. His vocals just don't fit in with the glorious guitar anthems, walls of guitar sounds and dissonant acoustic strums. Thankfully, the rest of Smith Westerns pick up for the slack on Omori. Excellent, heavily distorted guitar work that is reminiscence of The Beatles' George Harrison.

Highlights of Dye It Blonde are the opener "Weekend" and the ballad/anthem "All Die Young". "Weekend" starts out with a playful guitar line that foreshadows the rest of the album. "All Die Young" starts out as a prom-like glam rock dance tune and then descends into a frantic anthem of Omori's yells of "All die young!". The great hooks that Smith Westerns create are never ending throughout Dye It Blonde as well. The jangly guitar line on "Still New" keep me coming back for more and more.

Dye It Blonde unfortunately wears old towards the latter part of album starting with "Fallen In Love". There's a sense of repetitive natures on the second half of the album with the glorious guitar solos and messy vocals all starting to sound the same. The album picks back up with the fast paced fun-loving "Dance Away" and the outro of the most guitar-heavy track "Dye the World".

Dye It Blonde is a decently done album that really flies by you with the hooks of guitars singing in your ears. From the jangly "Still New" to the guitar mow-down "Dye the World", Smith Westerns pull through. The growth from their debut is very apparent and will easily be noticed by anyone who has taken a listen to their debut and they will not be disappointed.

Sample:

Wire - Red Barked Tree [Pink Flag]

5.4

I don't want to call the post-punk masters "washed out", but I just might have to. It's a sad thing. It always is. It has been about three decades since Wire's masterful punk debut Pink Flag. Wire's intensity, simplicity, and pure sense of what they were doing has never been matched since. Now on Wire's twelfth studio album Wire goes for exasperated melodies, weak vocals, even weaker lyricism, and an overall bore of an album.

Simplicity is ironically a hard art in music to use effectively. Only a couple of artists have mastered this art. Wire is one of them, but as they processed in their career they moved to more of an art-pop sound that has been a hit and miss. On Red Barked Tree the melodies that Wire attempts to put out are overly simple and don't create the earthy resonance of Pink Flag, instead they create dull, uninspiring lines that fail.

The effects that go into the vocals create an echo and double layering effect that just is not right. The most enjoyable track on the LP, "Two Minutes", has that furious tenacity that Wire is known for with no cheesy vocal effects. If lead man Colin Newman stayed on the path of the snarling, menacing classic vocals of "Two Minutes", then Red Barked Tree could have definitely been something.

Now you have Red Barked Tree's absolutely atrocious lyricism. Colin Newman sings rhymes just to rhyme. "The overcrowded nature of things," Newman sings on "Bad Worn Things" probably one of the worst Wire songs of all time. The over all lyricism just sounds so awkward and unnatural. Usually I'm not that big on lyrics, but Red Barked Tree's are so bad that it increasingly aggravated me and made me dislike the album more and more. Again, "Two Minutes" has the most interesting lyricism on the whole album with cryptic lines like "Possibly signaling the end of Western civilization" and "Offering the age of fragmentation", it's those cryptic and symbolic lyrics that Newman offered on their debut and following successful albums that made Wire such a post-punk powerhouse.

Red Barked Tree is not the Wire anyone is looking for. Instead it is a boring, messy, uninspiring LP that does no justice to the great memories of the fantastic Pink Flag or Chairs Missing. New listeners of Wire might or might not enjoy this one, I really can't tell since I'm a huge Wire fan. I hate saying it, but Wire is most definitely washed out.

Sample:

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will [Sub Pop]

7.4

On the post-rock grandfathers of Mogwai's seventh studio album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, Mogwai creates some of the most conventional, rock-oriented instrumental tracks of their career. Occasionally they will dabble in vocals ("Mexican Grand Prix"), but for the most part, Hardcore is a pure instrumental, guitar-power house anthem that might be showing how the heavily adored rock genre of post-rock is slowly, but surely dying.

What do I mean by post-rock dying? The evidence is very strong; on Sigur Rós's latest work Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust; they moved more and more away from the minimalistic and atmospheric approach to their previous work and move towards a more "folk" oriented style that has more conventional guitar lines and acoustic instrumentation. What other evidence do you need? Arguably the world's most popular post-rock band is moving away from post-rock elements. But of course, you can't take one band's disentanglement from post-rock a downfall of the genre; you still have post-rock giants like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Explosions in the Sky. But post-rock has reached this point of "where will it go now?” It seems to be under the rinse and repeat spell.

Mogwai sound as conventional as ever. It's immediate; the subtle use of dynamics is erased as the hook-filled intro "White Noise" buzzes across. Though the use of their dynamics changes their approach to their music, their sounds haven’t changed. The heavy use of guitars, heavy distortion, deep throbbing bass, and simple progressive drum lines remain. This sound has captivated audiences for a decade and its dramatic and enticing texture wraps around you. But, some tracks don't have the dramatic, heart-pounding sound. The very bizarre "Mexican Grand Prix" uses bells and keyboards plus the very unnecessary use of vocals that are barely audible make it a very mediocre track that really sucks Hardcore down. Fortunately, the mediocrity is immediately picked back up by the hard-hitting "Rano Pano".

Only two tracks really suck Hardcore down and they are "Mexican Grand Prix" and "Too Raging to Cheers", both create inadequate mixtures of instruments that don't work in the context that Mogwai intends to cross. Probably the strongest track "How To Be a Werewolf" takes the most conventional post-rock route. Another highlight, "Letters To the Metro" creates a very moody atmosphere that is the most relaxing and ironic tracks on Hardcore.

In a nutshell, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is just a pretty simple post-rock guitar anthem-fest. Only clocking in at 53 minutes (short for a post-rock album), Hardcore is a good start for someone looking into the genre and there are plenty of enjoyable hooks encased within Hardcore.

(c) Mike Lavin, Friday January 7, 2011

2011 Watchlist

Ah, a new year. Always a breathe of fresh air, in my honest opinion. You get a brand new start and establish a "New Years Resolution" and all that good mumbo jumbo. My favorite part of a new year is a fresh start to the music year and the anticipation of great record releases. I started my blog around March of last year (I really can't remember), so I never got around to doing one of these, but here it is. Here's a fairly short list of records I'm looking forward to this 2011 year. All of these are North American releases.

January 11

Wire - Red Barked Tree [Pink Flag]

January 18

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead [Capitol]
Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde [Fat Possum]
White Lies - Ritual [Geffen]

January 25

Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings [Carpark]
Deerhoof - Deerhoof Vs. Evil [Polyvinyl]
Gang of Four - Content [Yep Roc]
Iron & Wine - We Kiss Each Other Clean [Warner Bros./4AD]
Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbow [Talibra]

February 1

The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts [Memphis Industrials]

February 8

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Death - Tao of the Dead [Richter Scale Recordings]
James Blake - James Blake [Atlas/A&M]

February 15

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will [Sub Pop]
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake [Vagrant]
Yuck - Yuck [Fat Possum]

February 22

Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine [Carpark]

March 8

R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now [Warner Bros.]

Some time in March

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong [Slumberland]

April 5

Surfer Blood - I'm Not Ready EP [Kanine]

Sometime in 2011

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 & 2 [Capitol]
Coldplay - TBA [Capitol]
Dr. Dre - Detox [Interscope]
Fleet Foxes - TBA [Sub Pop]
Foo Fighters - TBA [RCA]
Radiohead - TBA [?]
The Strokes - TBA [RCA]
U2 - Songs of Ascent [Mercury/Island/Interscope]
Wilco - TBA [Nonesuch]

So there ya have it, make sure you go out and support your favorite artists and buy there records through a store, weather it be iTunes, Walmart, your local record shop, etc.

Good listening!

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.

2010 Albums Top 20-11

20. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs [Merge/Mercury]



Arcade Fire are probably the definition of indie rock. Since their tremendous debut, Funeral, Arcade Fire has been pushing the limits of indie rock in ways that weren't ever thought of. Their boundaries were pushed even farther on their third effort The Suburbs in more diverse sections of punk anthems ("Month of May"), chamber pop ("Rococo"), and of course traditional Arcade Fire drastic anthems ("The Suburbs"). It's all there.

Key Tracks: "The Suburbs", "Ready To Start", "City With No Children"

19. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? [Editions Mego]



The electronica trio of Emeralds produces one of the most delicate-while-abrasive electronic albums of 2010. Textures of abrasive electronic loops with delicate acoustic instruments layered perfectly underneath all the chaos of the electronic noises. It is one of those albums you sit around in a pitch black room with a view of the stars and just think about life.

Key Tracks: "Candy Shoppe", "The Cycle of Abuse", "Now You See Me"

18. Wavves - King of the Beach [Fat Possum]



On the San Diego boys third LP, Wavves favors a more clean production as opposed to their past efforts. Though the lyricism isn't anything brilliant, the story telling is pure gold that is just hilarious and brings a smile to your face. "Post Acid" is obviously a reminisince of an acid trip and "Green Eyes" is about a girl lead singer Nathan Williams would run away with and desert his bros. It's a quick and easy listen and it will bring you to memories of the summer.

Key Tracks: "Green Eyes", "King of the Beach", "Post Acid"

17. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts [Sub Pop]



This debut from noise rockers Male Bonding doesn't bull at any point in the LP. It's straight to the point-noise-rock. The immediate guitar jangles from "Year's Not Long" to the hazy "Franklin" its a fast paced album. Male Bonding get the job done in under 30 minutes with tremendous energy that is one of those albums you listen to while very angry and wanting to get things off your mind.

Key Tracks: "Year's Not Long", "Franklin", "Your Contact"

16. Menomena - Mines [Barsuk/City Slang]



Menomena create a very simple yet effect fourth effort that doesn't exactly pop out on the first spin, but will truly grow on you with more listens. You can tell that Menomena has their heart set into their music with the moans of "go home" on "Dirty Cartoons". One thing that Menomena does very effectively is build up into something interesting and keep your attention towards long enough to really appreciate what is going on.

Key Tracks: "Dirty Cartoons", "Tithe", "TAOS"

15. Foals - Total Life Forever [Transgression]



Total Life Forever is a surprisingly groovy LP that really flows very nicely. It is definitely a step up from their debut Antidotes, with a more centralized sound that has a heavy dancey feel with very exceptional instrumentation.

Key Tracks: "Total Life Forever", "Black Gold", "Miami"

14. Interpol - Interpol [Matador/Soft Limit]



Though not as engaging as Turn On the Bright Lights, Interpol's self-titled delivers a very emotional and dramatic approach to their sound. The sound is definite from the chorus of "I have succeeded" on the album opener to the mystic synths on "Safe Without". Though no track is as emotionally engaging as "Lights", with the build up of guitar into an explosion of sound.

Key Tracks: "Lights", "Barricade", "Safe Without"

13. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt [Dead Oceans]



The Wild Hunt is purely a man and a guitar. The Tallest Man On Earth or Kristian Matsson creates a heart-filled, rustic pure folk album. You can't go through listening to this album without straightly thinking of Bob Dylan, but Kristian is different, he puts himself completely out there. The Wild Hunt is a great album to listen to while your just driving near the countryside hence the album cover which transcends the perfect mood of what Matsson creates in his music.

Key Tracks: "King of Spain", "The Wild Hunt", "Kids On the Run"

12. Spoon - Transference [Merge]



Spoon has always been about being simple. On their latest seventh effort, Transference, Spoon expands their sound into the reaches of more diverse instruments. It is a very easy and solid listen that will get just about anyone into their simplistic music.

Key Tracks: "Mystery Zone", "Got Nuffin'", "Before Destruction"

11. Matthew Dear - Black City [Ghostly International]



Matthew Dear creates one of the most dark and yet irresistibly dancey albums of the year on Black City. The "black city" that Dear creates through his transgression of lyrics and dripping beats is just a sleek one that reminds you of the film Dark City. "Gem" is full of soul and "You Put a Smell On Me" just reeks of insomnia and tension that is being flooded out into this "black city". Definitely one of the hardest and complicated albums of 2010.

Key Tracks: "Gem", "You Put a Smell On Me", "Slowdance"