Underneath the Pine - Toro y Moi
Angles - The Strokes
Watch the Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Nine Types of Light - TV on the Radio
The Fall - Gorillaz
And now the moment I've been waiting for...
Pretty much every song on this album could be a pop single. Hooks this good would normally be a guilty pleasure, but the music packs such a punch that it doesn't even matter. Sonically, Belong is somewhere in between The Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. The wispy vocals and catchy synth lines are contrasted by pounding drums and driving guitar. It's indie rock without the irony...at least I think.
I used to think that all garage rock sounded the same, and well, I still do. But Ty Segall stands out from the pack because he has actual songwriting chops and he proves in on Goodbye Bread. The songs are much slower than on last year's Melted, but he uses the slower tempos to show off his melodies and arrangements that would normally be too loud and fast to notice.
I've never hated the Decemberists' sound, I just always felt like I was listening to an Anglo-Saxon fairy tale. Fortunately, the scaled back their flair for literature in The King is Dead. It's much more American roots rock than previous efforts, and has a distinct Neil Young influence in the harmonies and harmonicas. The songs range from bright and sunny ("Calamity Song") to dark and moody ("This is Why We Fight") and makes for one of the years most interesting records.
After seeing what Danger Mouse did with last year's "Tighten Up," I was excited to see what he could do with a whole album. The result is a punchier, sleazier album driven by dirty guitar riffs. It's a party album for sure, and it ends up sacrificing some of the quirkiness that made Brothers so interesting, but that's not a bad thing. The unique arrangements (surely thanks to Danger Mouse) help push the Black Keys into thrilling new directions.
What impresses me most about My Morning Jacket is their ability to pull off so many different styles while still being distinctly My Morning Jacket. "Outta My System" could have been a Beach Boys song, "Movin' Away" is a sensitive piano ballad, and "Holdin' On to Black Metal" feels like a parade with its brass band and female choir. They make sure to use a fair amount a restraint on this album, however. The songs are often epic, but they benefit by not rocking all out when they easily could. In doing so, they highlight the quirks that make MMJ one of the best bands around today.
I'll admit, I was skeptical that this album would be a let down. I was worried it might sound too much like Angels and Airwaves or that Travis might show off too much on the drums. But the result was even better than I could have imagined. Tom's melodies make the songs a little bit bigger, Travis' drums are virtuosic but never overwhelming, and Mark keeps the band in its punk roots. "Snake Charmer" and "This is Home" are some of the album's highlights and show that the band is tighter than ever. Blink is back.
Only Radiohead could release an album this eccentric. It's album that takes multiple listens just to figure out what you're listening to. But once you get inside it, you can feel all the little details and interweaving parts. And once you're inside it, you can't get it out of your head. It's a short album, but it's perfectly self-contained experience into a weird and majestic place.
This is probably the best album for tricking pop fans into listening to metal. Songs can instantly change from sweet and dreamy melodies to pounding double bass drum breakdowns. Ritzy Bryan's guitar work is always driving and unexpected, and I have no idea how she gets those sounds out of her guitar. The Joy Formidable create a ferocious wall of sound when they cut loose, as shown by the instrumental jams on "Whirring" and "The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie," but they also can create tightly constructed power pop songs such as "Cradle," and it's fresh and exciting every time I listen to it.
If Crack the Skye was Mastodon's Sgt. Pepper, than The Hunter is their White Album. After mastering the metal concept album, the band had no where to go but everywhere else. From psychedelic sludge ("Stargasm"), to quiet acoustic picking ("The Sparrow"), to full on heavy riffage ("Spectrelight"), The Hunter is the band's most diverse record yet. My favorite track, "Bedazzled Fingernails," even throws in rockabilly-style influences from Brent Hinds' side band, Fiend Without a Face. Mastodon proves that they can expand their style in multiple directions without sacrificing their brutal force.
This album had a lot of hype to live up to. For Emma, Forever Ago raised a lot of expectations, but Bon Iver exceeded all of them. Every track is outstanding, from the sweeping "Perth" to the best 80's song ever recorded, "Beth/Rest." Other highlights include "Holocene," "Towers," and "Calgary." Bon Iver is a work of art. It's intimate and epic. It's spontaneous yet carefully orchestrated. It's like nothing I've ever heard before, and that's why it gets my pick for best album this year.
I'd say that was a pretty good year in music. I'm excited to see what 2011 has in store. Unfortunately, I won't be doing a top movie list because I only saw like two new movies this year. But in case you were wondering, my favorite this year was X-Men: First Class. Betcha didn't see that coming.
Happy New Year!
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