Our Year end list-making comes to a close today our list of the year’s best albums. Be sure to add your thoughts in the comments and have a Merry Christmas!
15. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Over the course of three albums, Arcade Fire have become titans not just of the indie scene, but of music in general. Their third record finds the band exploring new territories musically, with solid results. Taking on the theme of urban sprawl, The Suburbs is a powerful album full that finds the band getting loud (“Empty Room”), getting quiet (“Wasted Hours”) and offering their trademark churning, building, rock songs (“Ready to Start”), creating a winning combination. (M)
14. Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern
Marnie Stern decided to choose a simpler name for her 2010 release than her second album (This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That) but that is just about the only thing that is simpler. On songs like “For Ash” and “Nothing Left,” Stern improbably bridges the gap between metal, jittery post-punk, and Animal Collective spazziness. And yet all of it is in service of a record that deftly depicts mental turmoil and depression in an engaging and exciting new way. (J)
13. The National – High Violet
After the triumph of Boxer, the National returned with another record that gets better and better with every listen. As the band has gotten older and wiser, so has their music, with lead singer Matt Berninger offering ruminations on married life and being a father as the Dessner Twins combine on the bubbling melodies below. If there was any question that the band would loose steam, High Violet more than dispelled that notion. (M)
12. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
When Sufjan released All Delighted People EP, it was a bit of misdirection, pointing at what seemed to be a continuation and slight expansion on his trademark sound, which only made The Age of Adz all the more surprising. Loaded with apocalyptic imagery and electronic instrumentation, Adz is a world away from the gentle orchestral music that Sufjan is known for. The record is dense and difficult, but immensely rewarding for the listener willing to invest some time. (J)
11. Robyn – Body Talk
It’s hard to believe that in the late 90’s, Robyn was being promoted in the States as a version of Brittney Spears and the other pop princesses of the time. It’s now clear however that Robyn was going to take that crown, just a little later. The three body talk mini albums are pop perfection, full of dancable, catchy, fun songs that become ingrained in you head, not just for days, but weeks at time. Hopefully Robyn won’t take another five years to give us a follow up, and we get more great songs like “Dancing on My Own” or “Hang With Me” soon. (M)
10. Best Coast – Crazy For You
There weren’t many records this year that were more straightforward than Crazy For You – a celebration of cats, beaches, weed, and boys. But its beauty is in its highly listenable simplicity, as Bethany Cosentino and company presented just enough variations on those themes to keep Crazy for You catchy and interesting. From “Boyfriend” to “When I’m With You,” Crazy for You was the obvious choice for soundtrack of the summer. (J)
9. Wolf Parade – Expo 86
On their first two records, Wolf Parade has had songs by Spencer Krug and songs by Dan Boeckner, but Expo 86 finds the two frontmen joining forces and crafting their most complete album yet. Expo 86 is the band’s best record to date, one that is relentless and incredibly fun to listen to. The band announced it was going on an indefinite hiatus to focus on their side projects, so until they return, but it’s a good thing we got an album this good first. (M)
8. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
After a troubled history and numerous delays, Big Boi finally unleashed Sir Lucious Left Foot on the world and it was glorious. From the bass-rattling of “Daddy Fat Sax” and “Shutterbugg” to conspicuous consumption of “Shine Blockas” to the melancholy “Be Still,” Sir Lucious Left Foot was worth the wait. (J)
7. Superchunk – Majesty Shredding
Majesty Shredding comes after a nine year studio hiatus from Superchunk, but it sounds like they’ve hardly missed a beat. The record is full of energy and insanely catchy songs, and ranks among the band’s best. Songs like “Digging for Something” showcase Superchunk at their rockiest, while other tracks like “Fractures in Plaster” and “Rosemarie” show a maturity they gained in their years off. Listening to Majesty Shredding makes us awfully happy to have Superchunk back. (M)
6. The Walkmen – Lisbon
The Walkmen are quickly getting into the musical Twilight Zone where every record they put out is so good that it is kind of boring to talk about how great The Walkmen are. Nonetheless, Lisbon may be among their best, from the light jangle of “Juveniles” to the forlorn funeral march of “Stranded” to the blister of “Angela Surf City.” The Walkmen are a more focused band right now who are currently going through their prime, churning out great release after great release, and Lisbon follows perfectly in that series. (J)
5. Beach House – Teen Dream
Teen Dream is a record that finds Beach House growing as songwriters, adding a lush arrangements to their dreamy (no pun intended) sound. The songs on Teen Dream are far more expansive than on their last record, Devotion, with standout tracks “Walk in the Park,” “Norway,” and “Used to Be” offering a great amount of depth and variation in the band’s signature sound. Victoria Legrand’s voice floats above Alex Scally’s surprisingly bright guitar work on a record that is the sound of late, lonely nights. (M)
4. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
It takes a mix of confidence and foolishness to attempt an hour-plus punk rock concept album about the Civil War, but it takes true genius to pull it off. With The Monitor, Titus Andronicus somehow made a record that feels both sprawling and tight, sweeping and intimate, by filtering the Civil War through modern college turmoil (or perhaps vice versa). From “A More Perfect Union” to “The Battle for Hampton Roads,” The Monitor is a record of soaring, triumphant, fist-pumping rock, concept be damned. (J)
3. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
On record number three, Bradford Cox and company seamlessly integrated the ambient rock of Cryptograms and the sprawling rock songs of Microcastle. The combination finds the band at their best, with a record that ebbs and flows, finding the right places to offer homage to the sounds that influenced them and the places to showcase their own. Both Cox and Lockett Pundt have crafted their best album to date with Halcyon Digest, a record that will undoubtedly prove to be influential for years to come. (M)
2. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West, the genius behind the famous Twitter account @kanyewest, decided to branch out into music this year too! All kidding aside, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is an explosive pop record that manages to be sophistacted and complex but catchy and accessible. Certainly there are the singles – the straight-up nasty “Monster,” the soaring “Power,” and TUiW’s song of the year “Runaway” – but the album never slows down or stops to catch its breath. Many athletes famously use personal slights – real or imagined – to fuel their competitive fire. In 2010, it seems like Kanye worked the same way, molding all his turmoil and drama into one incredible record. (J)
1. LCD Soundsytem – This is Happening
With This is Happening, James Murphy and his band became the undisputed champions of their genre. As Kanye examined his self destructive tendencies, Murphy continued to examine his own status as an aging hipster, but not without giving up his goofy side, a struggle he characterizes in “Pow Pow” as having “advantages to both.” The album plays out as such, with tracks full of sincerity like “I Can Change” and “Home,” but also songs like “Drunk Girls,” where the title speaks for itself. Either way, This is Happening is a top notch record musically, with so many catchy hooks its practically impossible not to want to listen to over and over. (M)
MOVIES
After spending the last two years invested in side projects Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, Swan Lake, and Moonface, the members of Wolf Parade have gotten back together and recorded their third LP, Expo 86, which will come out in either June or July on Sub Pop. Dan Boeckner described the possible double album to P4k thusly:
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