Top 10 Albums of 2010
By Milkman 24 Comments
I know this is pretty late but for some reason, this year I felt compelled to write up something about my favorite albums of the year. It's not like it was a particularly stand-out year for music or anything but I never really attempted to write down my thoughts on music I like. So, I thought this could be an interesting experiment. Also, it's just kind of fun.
10. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Pretty much all Arcade Fire has done for the past decade is release great album after great album and The Suburbs, while maybe not their best work, is just another great all-around effort by the defining indie rock band. Yeah, sure, it's an Arcade Fire album through and through and this won't change your mind about the band if you weren't too keen to their other albums. They rarely extend out of their comfort zone and deliver pretty much the same indie rock style that they have for their entire careers. But that simply speaks to just how talented these guys are. They have a formula and they've stuck to it for three fantastic albums now with no signs of slowing down any time soon. They have no need to invent themselves with every new album because this band just know what they're doing.
9. Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids
2010 was not a good year for rap music. I can count the number of rap albums that I genuinely enjoyed this year on one hand. But Apollo Kids is the clear stand out in that small group. Kanye's album was great but it never quite reaches the level that Apollo Kids does. Ghostface has maintained pretty much the same style for his entire illustrious career and his newest effort is more of the same hard hitting, profanity laden rap that he's famous for. Accompanied by his always impressive supporting cast of former Wu-Tang members, Ghostface delivers an album that can stack up with the likes of any of the best younger rappers in the game. There's plenty of terrible hip hop released every year so it's nice when we can have one of the veterans come through and show everyone how it's done.
8. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
For my money, Deftones are the best metal act going right now. They may not be the "hardest" band in the world but they can still produce some of the best pulse pounding and head banging riffs as anyone. Coupled with the emotion filled vocals of lead singer Chino Moreno, Diamond Eyes is just another fantastic outing for the masters of their genre. The band has come a long way since White Pony and have refined their craft with every ensuing album, resulting in their finest effort yet. Diamond Eyes is the Deftones' heaviest offering by far but it never overpowers the emotional lyrics that separate them from the rest of the metal world. As a result, Diamond Eyes is the best of both worlds, giving you the blast-beat riffs and poetic lyrics that come together as one of the best metal albums in years.
7. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
James Murphy knows how to make funky ass dance music. I didn't think that LCD Soundsystem could ever top Sound of Silver but here we are. Murphy still knows how to make you get up and dance around your apartment like a fool while maintaining that groove for sometimes up to 10 minutes at a time. This Is Happening contains Soundsystem's best pure electronic music that Murphy's ever produced, which sometimes doesn't even need his vocal work to be entirely listenable. But that's not to say that Murphy's vocal work isn't as great as usual because it is just as frenzied and catchy as its ever been with him sometimes hitting notes that don't even seem possible. There's a real shortage of good music that is just fun to listen to. You can tell that Murphy was having fun making this album and you're sure to have fun listening to it.
6. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
There's not much you can say about just good rock music. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists is one of the last remaining great old fashioned rock 'n roll bands. There's nothing crazy or innovative going on with The Brutalist Bricks. It's just good music that literally anyone can appreciate. This might be the only album on this list that you can give to your dad and have him enjoy it just as much as you do. The Brutalist Bricks may be Ted Leo's catchiest work yet and that's saying a lot considering the catalog that these guys have accumulated. If you enjoy the sound of a guitar, you'll enjoy at least a few songs on this album. I guarantee it.
5. Stars - The Five Ghosts
For years, Stars has been an average indie pop band with a really boring name. I enjoyed their last album, In Our Bedroom After the War, well enough but it never really stuck out as anything but "pretty good" to me. But then The Five Ghosts came along. This album completely blew me away in every possible way. Female vocalist Amy Millan always seem to have a great voice but it was never really given a whole lot of room to shine in their previous albums. There were glimpses at the potential but it wasn't until The Five Ghosts that her voice seems to have really come into its own. Stars always has taken a more electronic approach with their instrumentals that works incredibly well. The real achievement of this album is that it makes so many swings from catchy, head bobbing indie pop to some of the most beautiful music that I've heard all year. The name is still really boring but this album is anything but.
4. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
Spencer Krug is the man. Seriously, this guy can do no wrong. Every band that he's ever been apart of has been nothing short of awesome. But it's his original project, Wolf Parade, that has always been his best. Expo 86 is just as deliciously weird as every Krug project before it. The whole album is such a mess of frenzied instruments that I just can't help but love. Wolf Parade has a real "throw everything at a wall and see what sticks" approach and most of the time, pretty much everything sticks. But even when it doesn't, you can't help but smile at just how crazy these guys dare to be. A big part of the band's craziness comes from Krug's absolutely nonsensical lyrics ("You'll never be born as a scorpion"?) that he belts out as his voice cracks and wavers in a way that's strangely beautiful. Expo 86 is the high energy insanity that you expect from Wolf Parade and I wouldn't have it any other way.
3. Girl Talk - All Day
The whole mashup thing was starting to feel a bit tired. It had been done with so many times with so many different styles of music that it felt like it had all been done. Then Girl Talk came around. DJ Greg Gillis meshes these wildly different forms of music in such crazy ways that you can't help but smile through out All Day's 70 minute run time. How much balls does it take to start your album with a mash up of Black Sabbath and Ludacris? And the point where Move Bitch kicks in over that War Pigs riff? Pure bliss. The real amazing part of All Day is how consistent the album is. You would think that after about an hour the trick would start to get old but there is never a dull moment and almost every mash up is a winner. Also, the album is free. How do you argue with that?
2. The National - High Violet
Now for something completely different. The National is back with their signature down trodden, sadness filled indie rock and it's just as impactful as ever. Boxer is one of my favorite albums of all-time and the fact that High Violet even came close to reaching the level of greatness that that album reached is one of the highest compliments I can give. The lyrics on High Violet may the most affecting that The National has ever been, even when they're talking about living in something called "Lemonworld". Lead singer Matt Beringer has the power to make any lyrics powerful and able to affect even the most stone skinned macho men. He's probably a bit of a downer to party with but there's no denying he makes some incredible music.
1. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
To be honest, this wasn't even a debate for me. The first time I listened to The Monitor I knew it was my album of the year. This is as close to a perfect album as I've heard in a long, long time. The Monitor is a perfect blend of rage fueled screams and amazingly poetic lyrics that demand that you get out of your seat and sing along. The album is ripe with instantly quotable lyrics that are can relate to anyone. The way the record transitions from track to track creates a seamless experience and it's extremely fitting that these guys take their name from Shakespeare. The album has a clear beginning, middle and end that culminates into a 14 minute epic ending of a song that perfectly sums up what Titus Andronicus is all about. Anyone who has ever been angry at anything can relate with what this album has to say. If you're ever fed up with everything and feel like you just need to break some shit, put on The Monitor and play it as loud as you possibly can.
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