15. St. Vincent - Actor
This woman knows how to write a pop song. Her voice is heavenly and those beats can't be beat. (hurr hurr) "Marrow" and "Actor Out Of Work" are rock-hard jams that make you wanna get up and dance, and "The Strangers" and "Save Me From What I Want" offer a more introspective pop experience.
14. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Now here's an album that took me a while to get into. I was initially hoping for another beat-driven noisefest like their earlier effort, Street Horrrsing, but I was pleasantly surprised at the symphonic electro style for which Fuck Buttons have taken a turn. "Olympians" and "The Lisbon Maru" are grandiose chord-driven constructions of electronics, and the opener "Surf Solar" is something that should be played in every club to get people sweatin'.
13. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Now this is a Circulatory System I can get along with. This is far more immediate stuff than their self-titled debut, and it was worth the wait. It was a little annoying to retag all of the songs from it ("The Spinning Continuous" was totally a better name than "Round Again") but overall it doesn't detract from the experience. Elephant 6 will always hold a special place in my heart for their gorgeous psych-folk, and this album is no exception.
12. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I've been a fan of The Knife for a few years now. Ever since their last album Silent Shout came out, I've been waiting for a worthy followup. Karin Dreijer Andersson has a voice unlike anything I've ever heard on this planet previously, and her songwriting is air-tight. This album creeps. It's like a creaky staircase. You're afraid to go further but you can't bear to imagine missing what's at the end.
11. Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Tyondai Braxton is the vocalist for the recently-formed math rock supergroup known as Battles, and some of that style shows through here, but it becomes ever more obvious as this album goes along that Braxton is responsible for the grand scale of Battles' compositions. Some of this stuff could've been written by a classical composer or made for the coolest Disney movie of all time. There are bassoons, whistles, oboes, clarinets, and general orchestral tinkering galore. The centerpiece "Platinum Rows" is on a scale that few artists would dare to touch, and the more Battles-like "J. City" rocks your socks off.
10. Black Dice - Repo
Black Dice lives up to their reputation for making people scratch their heads yet again with REPO. The amount of random incomprehensible samples and noises are a Black Dice staple, but what makes this album different is its accessibility. Some of these songs are flat-out bangers, like opener "Nite Creme" and "La Cucaracha." Heavy beats galore, but in more of an actual song structure, which is new for Black Dice. I'm excited to see where they go next.
9. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Here's an artist I'd heard much about, but I'd never taken the time to get into them. Thanks to Bitte Orca, this is no longer an issue. From the opening notes of "Cannibal Resource" onward, I was hooked. Every song is rock-solid, thanks to writer Dave Longstreth and the glorious vocal interplay of Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman. "Stillness Is The Move" got a bunch of attention as the single, but I'd have to say my favorite tune on the album is "Remade Horizon." You can't beat that hocketing (the rhythmic chord-singing of Angel and Amber).
8. Volcano Choir - Unmap
Bon Iver never excited me much. The project has some pretty songwriting of course, but there isn't much diversity to be had. I underestimated Justin Vernon. He is far more versatile than I could have ever imagined. Unmap is worthy of a place in the top 10 of this year simply for how well it flows as a cohesive whole, if not just for the great songwriting. Songs range from the lilting "Island, IS" to the reimagining of Bon Iver's "Woods" known as "Still," which is one of the most beautiful moments on the album. The transition track "Cool Knowledge" was absolutely necessary as well. Ah-mmm ah-mmm ah-mmm...
7. No Age - Losing Feeling
Yes, an EP deserves a place in the top 10. Losing Feeling is a surprising change of pace for No Age. They seem to be delving more deeply into the soundscape-style shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine while at the same time staying true to their heritage of noise pop song structure that made them mainstays at The Smell. The slow build of the title track, and the return-to-form denouement "You're A Target" make the album begin and end on some of the highest notes of No Age's short career so far.
6. Wavves - Wavvves
RIP Nathan Williams, king of pop
5. Bygones - by-
Zach Hill never fails to deliver. This album, a collaboration with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos, brings together Hill's penchant for musical experimentation with the melodic guitar interplay for which Reinhart was known to bring to Tera Melos, and the result is face-melting math rock with an ideal balance of quirky time signatures and get-in-your-head hooks and melodies. Hill's drumming is frenetic and airtight as ever, of course. The man plays with the capacity of four men who have been drinking Red Bull for 6 hours straight. "nu cringe" and "fool evolved" are top picks for their toe-tapping repetition and nice vocal lines delivered by Hill, and "up the shakes" is classic math-pop goodness featuring Reinhart on vocals.
4. Health - Get Color
I had the privilege to see HEALTH live in September, and I must say I was absolutely blown away. It was by far the loudest set I've ever witnessed, and yet I heard every piece of it come together like a jigsaw puzzle. John's bass grinding and pedal noodling, BJ's rock-hard drumming, Jupiter's mood-swinging guitar work, and Jake's ghostly crooning and animalistic shrieking were all necessary components of the machine that is HEALTH. From the opening seconds of "In Heat," you know you're in for something loud. The volume never comes down until the very end with "In Violet." "Die Slow" is a contender for my top song of the year, with its rhythmic feedback loops and shredding power chords, and a perfect vocal delivery by Jake, but one song with which I was totally taken is "Death+." At first listen it seems like a strange loop experiment that doesn't go anywhere, but further listens become more and more rewarding and the tune gets into your head, dammit. Who needs melody all the way through to have a good time? Not me.
3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
What can I say? It's Animal Collective. I'm only sad that I didn't see them live sooner, but in May of this year, I had that chance, and I took it. One of the best decisions I've made. This album has gotten lots of deserved attention. It may be a change of pace from the more avant-garde stylings of Sung Tongs or Feels, but here Avey Tare and Panda Bear show that their pop song writing skills are just as well-honed as their tendency toward drawn-out experimental jams (which are still present here in the forms of "In The Flowers" and "Daily Routine"). The Panda Bear-delivered vocal strains of "My Girls" are the sound that has defined college radio waves for the past year, and for good reason. It's a straightforward pop song that has one of the most beautiful progressions I have heard from the band. And who could forget "Brother Sport" with its tribal beat and rhythmic hooting delivered by Avey Tare? This album will definitely have a staying place in the band's history as their turning point into pop, but this is definitely not as bad a thing as some purists may suggest. They couldn't have stayed with "Covered In Frogs" forever.
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
There seems to be a trend with my top artists this year. Yes, I've also witnessed Grizzly Bear live in the past months, and I've got the three-eyed cat shirt to prove it. This band has obviously done their homework in the past couple of years. Since Yellow House, a gorgeous album of folk melodies in its own right, the band has found themselves with a stronger driving force in the writing abilities of Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, each of whom have about equal time on Veckatimest to show off their chops. Rossen's work has come to the foreground (wink wink) even more now, largely due to the success of the single "While You Wait For The Others," which, like many of you, I heard for the first time on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. I had been looking forward to the studio version of this song for quite a while, and the band didn't fail to deliver. And then of course, there's "Two Weeks." Thank you for introducing me to this song, David Letterman. It'll always hold a special place in my soul. Other equally great moments on the album include "Dory" and "Ready, Able," but I have to give this album the song of the year: "Cheerleader." Never has Droste been in better form than with this song, and it's supported by glorious choral arrangements, backing vocals from Chris Taylor, and lead guitar from Rossen.
1. Dan Deacon - Bromst
Yes. I was one of the lucky few who got to see Dan Deacon perform with his ensemble, in one of the tiniest yet most well-known clubs in Minneapolis, the Triple Rock Social Club. How they all fit on that little stage was a mystery to me, but somehow it happened, and everyone had about 1.5 square feet of standing room amidst the jungle of wires. Dan himself had a sprained elbow from the night before in Kansas, so he brought his table o'electronics up onto the stage so as to escape the frenetic motion of the crowd. But man did he spend some time on this album. His previous effort, Spiderman of the Rings, made the top spot in my 2007 list, and for good reason, but I won't hesitate to say he's outdone himself since then. The man has classical compositional training, and it shows. This album plays like a symphony from start to finish. "Build Voice" does exactly that: it builds from a quiet whisper of vocal loops to a rollicking march, proceeding into this year's "The Crystal Cat," known as "Red F," a classic Deacon song if I've ever heard one. But the centerpiece of this album is no doubt the progression of "Snookered," "Of The Mountains," and "Surprise Stefani," three longform compositions, each of which are grandiose and beautiful for different reasons in their own respective rights. And thank the lord (Deacon) for "Woof Woof" and "Get Older," party-hard jams that will stay solid for years to come.
This woman knows how to write a pop song. Her voice is heavenly and those beats can't be beat. (hurr hurr) "Marrow" and "Actor Out Of Work" are rock-hard jams that make you wanna get up and dance, and "The Strangers" and "Save Me From What I Want" offer a more introspective pop experience.
14. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Now here's an album that took me a while to get into. I was initially hoping for another beat-driven noisefest like their earlier effort, Street Horrrsing, but I was pleasantly surprised at the symphonic electro style for which Fuck Buttons have taken a turn. "Olympians" and "The Lisbon Maru" are grandiose chord-driven constructions of electronics, and the opener "Surf Solar" is something that should be played in every club to get people sweatin'.
13. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Now this is a Circulatory System I can get along with. This is far more immediate stuff than their self-titled debut, and it was worth the wait. It was a little annoying to retag all of the songs from it ("The Spinning Continuous" was totally a better name than "Round Again") but overall it doesn't detract from the experience. Elephant 6 will always hold a special place in my heart for their gorgeous psych-folk, and this album is no exception.
12. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I've been a fan of The Knife for a few years now. Ever since their last album Silent Shout came out, I've been waiting for a worthy followup. Karin Dreijer Andersson has a voice unlike anything I've ever heard on this planet previously, and her songwriting is air-tight. This album creeps. It's like a creaky staircase. You're afraid to go further but you can't bear to imagine missing what's at the end.
11. Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Tyondai Braxton is the vocalist for the recently-formed math rock supergroup known as Battles, and some of that style shows through here, but it becomes ever more obvious as this album goes along that Braxton is responsible for the grand scale of Battles' compositions. Some of this stuff could've been written by a classical composer or made for the coolest Disney movie of all time. There are bassoons, whistles, oboes, clarinets, and general orchestral tinkering galore. The centerpiece "Platinum Rows" is on a scale that few artists would dare to touch, and the more Battles-like "J. City" rocks your socks off.
10. Black Dice - Repo
Black Dice lives up to their reputation for making people scratch their heads yet again with REPO. The amount of random incomprehensible samples and noises are a Black Dice staple, but what makes this album different is its accessibility. Some of these songs are flat-out bangers, like opener "Nite Creme" and "La Cucaracha." Heavy beats galore, but in more of an actual song structure, which is new for Black Dice. I'm excited to see where they go next.
9. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Here's an artist I'd heard much about, but I'd never taken the time to get into them. Thanks to Bitte Orca, this is no longer an issue. From the opening notes of "Cannibal Resource" onward, I was hooked. Every song is rock-solid, thanks to writer Dave Longstreth and the glorious vocal interplay of Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman. "Stillness Is The Move" got a bunch of attention as the single, but I'd have to say my favorite tune on the album is "Remade Horizon." You can't beat that hocketing (the rhythmic chord-singing of Angel and Amber).
8. Volcano Choir - Unmap
Bon Iver never excited me much. The project has some pretty songwriting of course, but there isn't much diversity to be had. I underestimated Justin Vernon. He is far more versatile than I could have ever imagined. Unmap is worthy of a place in the top 10 of this year simply for how well it flows as a cohesive whole, if not just for the great songwriting. Songs range from the lilting "Island, IS" to the reimagining of Bon Iver's "Woods" known as "Still," which is one of the most beautiful moments on the album. The transition track "Cool Knowledge" was absolutely necessary as well. Ah-mmm ah-mmm ah-mmm...
7. No Age - Losing Feeling
Yes, an EP deserves a place in the top 10. Losing Feeling is a surprising change of pace for No Age. They seem to be delving more deeply into the soundscape-style shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine while at the same time staying true to their heritage of noise pop song structure that made them mainstays at The Smell. The slow build of the title track, and the return-to-form denouement "You're A Target" make the album begin and end on some of the highest notes of No Age's short career so far.
6. Wavves - Wavvves
RIP Nathan Williams, king of pop
5. Bygones - by-
Zach Hill never fails to deliver. This album, a collaboration with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos, brings together Hill's penchant for musical experimentation with the melodic guitar interplay for which Reinhart was known to bring to Tera Melos, and the result is face-melting math rock with an ideal balance of quirky time signatures and get-in-your-head hooks and melodies. Hill's drumming is frenetic and airtight as ever, of course. The man plays with the capacity of four men who have been drinking Red Bull for 6 hours straight. "nu cringe" and "fool evolved" are top picks for their toe-tapping repetition and nice vocal lines delivered by Hill, and "up the shakes" is classic math-pop goodness featuring Reinhart on vocals.
4. Health - Get Color
I had the privilege to see HEALTH live in September, and I must say I was absolutely blown away. It was by far the loudest set I've ever witnessed, and yet I heard every piece of it come together like a jigsaw puzzle. John's bass grinding and pedal noodling, BJ's rock-hard drumming, Jupiter's mood-swinging guitar work, and Jake's ghostly crooning and animalistic shrieking were all necessary components of the machine that is HEALTH. From the opening seconds of "In Heat," you know you're in for something loud. The volume never comes down until the very end with "In Violet." "Die Slow" is a contender for my top song of the year, with its rhythmic feedback loops and shredding power chords, and a perfect vocal delivery by Jake, but one song with which I was totally taken is "Death+." At first listen it seems like a strange loop experiment that doesn't go anywhere, but further listens become more and more rewarding and the tune gets into your head, dammit. Who needs melody all the way through to have a good time? Not me.
3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
What can I say? It's Animal Collective. I'm only sad that I didn't see them live sooner, but in May of this year, I had that chance, and I took it. One of the best decisions I've made. This album has gotten lots of deserved attention. It may be a change of pace from the more avant-garde stylings of Sung Tongs or Feels, but here Avey Tare and Panda Bear show that their pop song writing skills are just as well-honed as their tendency toward drawn-out experimental jams (which are still present here in the forms of "In The Flowers" and "Daily Routine"). The Panda Bear-delivered vocal strains of "My Girls" are the sound that has defined college radio waves for the past year, and for good reason. It's a straightforward pop song that has one of the most beautiful progressions I have heard from the band. And who could forget "Brother Sport" with its tribal beat and rhythmic hooting delivered by Avey Tare? This album will definitely have a staying place in the band's history as their turning point into pop, but this is definitely not as bad a thing as some purists may suggest. They couldn't have stayed with "Covered In Frogs" forever.
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
There seems to be a trend with my top artists this year. Yes, I've also witnessed Grizzly Bear live in the past months, and I've got the three-eyed cat shirt to prove it. This band has obviously done their homework in the past couple of years. Since Yellow House, a gorgeous album of folk melodies in its own right, the band has found themselves with a stronger driving force in the writing abilities of Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, each of whom have about equal time on Veckatimest to show off their chops. Rossen's work has come to the foreground (wink wink) even more now, largely due to the success of the single "While You Wait For The Others," which, like many of you, I heard for the first time on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. I had been looking forward to the studio version of this song for quite a while, and the band didn't fail to deliver. And then of course, there's "Two Weeks." Thank you for introducing me to this song, David Letterman. It'll always hold a special place in my soul. Other equally great moments on the album include "Dory" and "Ready, Able," but I have to give this album the song of the year: "Cheerleader." Never has Droste been in better form than with this song, and it's supported by glorious choral arrangements, backing vocals from Chris Taylor, and lead guitar from Rossen.
1. Dan Deacon - Bromst
Yes. I was one of the lucky few who got to see Dan Deacon perform with his ensemble, in one of the tiniest yet most well-known clubs in Minneapolis, the Triple Rock Social Club. How they all fit on that little stage was a mystery to me, but somehow it happened, and everyone had about 1.5 square feet of standing room amidst the jungle of wires. Dan himself had a sprained elbow from the night before in Kansas, so he brought his table o'electronics up onto the stage so as to escape the frenetic motion of the crowd. But man did he spend some time on this album. His previous effort, Spiderman of the Rings, made the top spot in my 2007 list, and for good reason, but I won't hesitate to say he's outdone himself since then. The man has classical compositional training, and it shows. This album plays like a symphony from start to finish. "Build Voice" does exactly that: it builds from a quiet whisper of vocal loops to a rollicking march, proceeding into this year's "The Crystal Cat," known as "Red F," a classic Deacon song if I've ever heard one. But the centerpiece of this album is no doubt the progression of "Snookered," "Of The Mountains," and "Surprise Stefani," three longform compositions, each of which are grandiose and beautiful for different reasons in their own respective rights. And thank the lord (Deacon) for "Woof Woof" and "Get Older," party-hard jams that will stay solid for years to come.
