EJP's Very Late Favorite Albums of 2010

Well, better late than never, I guess. At least I'm doing this before the end of January.

Was 2010 a great year for music? Probably not. But I did fall in love with a few albums, and there were certainly some that I liked a lot. They weren't always the most critically acclaimed--Arcade Fire's album was pretty amazing, but ultimately I didn't listen to it all that much. Apparently Kanye West's album was pretty amazing, but I haven't heard more than a track of it.

So these are the 10 albums that I listened to the most, which is generally a pretty good indication that I like them. I'm not putting them in any particular order--I'll be a little more low key this year since this list is going up so late.

First, the albums I've already written about...

•  Sharon Van Etten: Epic (see this post, or just scroll down)

•  LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening (see this post) 

•  Fang Island: Fang Island (see this post)

Not only did I thoroughly enjoy this album, but they made one of my favorite videos of all time. The video below, for the song "Daisy," looks pretty crudely made at first, but if you think about how it was clearly done all in one go, shot by one of the dancers with no cuts, it's pretty amazing. Plus it just makes me incredibly happy when I watch it.

• Cornershop: Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast 

• The Black Keys: Brothers 

• Tuung: ... And Then We Saw Land

• Vampire Weekend: Contra (this album and previous 3 albums conveniently described all at once in this post)

And now some new stuff...

• Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid

There are a number of reasons this album shouldn't work for me. It's a concept album. It mixes every genre of music under the sun. It's loaded with guest artists. It's produced and produced and produced.

And yet it does work for me. Any one of the above attributes can usually put me off an album, but I guess when they're combined, something magic happens. Which is not to detract from Monáe's voice, which is incredible. Her voice ties the whole beautiful mess together. I can't remember what compelled me to pick this album up originally, but I'm so glad I did.

• Sonny & the Sunsets: Tomorrow Is Alright 

There seemed to be kind of a retro thing going on this year, with a lot of new or newish bands exploring old sounds. By old, I'm talking 50s and 60s-style rock. Gimmicky or not, I ate it up. Despite the fact that I'm constantly checking out new music, I grew up listening almost exclusively to oldies stations on the radio. That's where my heart is, and Sonny & the Sunsets--right down to their very name--tapped into my oldies-lovin' heart with this album.  Here we have a band that sounds like they're right out of the Happy Days era, only with lyrics that would have made the Fonz blush. It's simple, fun, and exactly what I wanted to listen to many times over the last several months. Check out the song that got me hooked, "Too Young to Burn":

• The Goodnight Loving: The Goodnight Loving Supper Club

Like Sonny & the Sunsets, there is an appealing timelessness to The Goodnight Loving's music. I probably listened to this album more than any other this past year. I consistently grabbed for it when I was feeling indecisive. The songs can be...weird. One of my favorites, "The Pan", is sung from the point of view of a fish that ends up in a pan. You can think of it as a metaphor I suppose, but you certainly don't have to.

I'm struggling here...I want people to listen to this album because I honestly think it's really, really good. The songs are incredibly catchy (there's even a track appropriately called "Earworm"). If you can imagine The Beach Boys as a garage band, that might be what The Goodnight Loving sound like. In some ways, this album is the antithesis of Arcade Fire's The Suburbs. Not in terms of quality--both are great. But I think the main reason I couldn't listen to The Suburbs all that much is that it was just a little too much. It was so dense that I felt a little exhausted after listening to it. Whereas Supper Club woke me up. It's a much simpler album, and yes, more fun.

And that's my top 10! But it wouldn't be me if I didn't at least a decent list of honorable mentions. Here are some other stand-out albums to check out:

• Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: I Learned the Hard Way
• Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More
• Bouncing Souls: Ghosts on the Boardwalk
• Drive By Truckers: The Big To-Do
• She & Him: Volume Two
• Freelance Whales: Weathervanes
• Ted Leo & the Pharmacists: Brutalist Bricks
• Let's Wrestle: In the Court of the Wrestling Let's

Best Music of the First Half of 2010: Pt. II

OK, the next category does not count as "Best Music", because these are some...

Albums That Failed to Meet My Expectations

Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can: I enjoyed Marling's 2008 debut, Alas I Cannot Swim, immensely. Her follow-up is OK, but not great by any means.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand: An underwhelming effort from a usually fun band.

The Magnetic Fields - Realism: Normally I worship at the alter of Stephen Merritt, but this latest effort didn't do much for me. "We Are Having a Hootenanny" is sort of a fun novelty song, but for the most part I expect better from this usually peerless group of musicians.

Spoon - Transference: I heard the the phrase "best Spoon album ever" tossed around by a number of critics, but I was less than impressed. I'll probably listen to Girls Can Tell or Kill the Moonlight 10 times each before I listen to this again.

Didn't Know Enough to Have Expectations

These are albums I've really been enjoying by either new bands or bands I'd never really listened to before. Broken Bells would have been on this list if I hadn't given them their own post yesterday...

Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks: This band's been around for a few years, but this was my introduction to them. As I explained when I wrote about We Were Promised Jet Packs last year, I guess I just like Scottish guys singing rock anthems.


Black Prairie - Feast of the Hunter's Moon: Comprised of 3/5 of The Decemberists (Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, and, um, the bassist), and a few other Portland musicians, I expected some high quality musicianship, but I didn't really know what form it would take. If you have ever watched the defunct HBO series Deadwood and enjoyed the background music, that's pretty much Black Prairie's music to a note. It defies genre to some extent, but it's kinda old-timey and very much American.

Freelance Whales - Weathervanes: This band has been getting plenty of support from the blogosphere, and as far as I'm concerned, they're just about worthy of the hype. I've been listening to this album a lot.



Let's Wrestle - In the Court of the Wrestling Let's: I can't even remember why I bought this album, other than that it was released by Merge, who I generally trust to release great albums. I can't even really explain why I've been listening to it so much. There are plenty of dirty garage rock bands out there that are borderline ridiculous. I think that maybe since Let's Wrestle saunters across that border and revels in their own ridiculousness, I have embraced them. I'm also a sucker for choruses that fall back on "ba ba ba ba ba....":


Drive-By Truckers - Big To-Do: These guys have been around for nigh on a decade, but this is the first album of theirs I've ever heard. I can't remember exactly why I picked it up, but I'm glad I did.

Fang Island - Fang Island: This bizarre band will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally think this is a helluva fun album. If you're at all familiar with Ponytail, this is sort of a toned down version of them. There's less screaming, but you're still not listening to Fang Island for insightful lyrics (if a song has lyrics at all). There's just a joyfulness to the music that one doesn't hear much these days. Sadly, it's kind of rare to listen to a group and think "Hey, they sound like they're having a really good time." This band, on the other hand, is having a blast.

Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM: I initially picked this up because I knew Beck was involved, and I've honestly enjoyed it more than any of Beck's own recent albums. The trippy video below is for my favorite song off IRM, "Heaven Can Wait", but there are plenty of other excellent tracks that make this whole album worth a listen.