Damon Albarn—former Blur frontman—put together one of the most entertaining albums of the year and definitely, the Gorillaz best effort to date. Albarn took care of most of the production himself—on the Gorillaz two previous releases, he enlisted the revered Dan the Automator and Danger Mouse. And the more than a dozen contributors—from Lou Reed and Paul Simon to Mos Def and De La Soul—ain't no gimmick; it all adds up to a tasty, focused and infectious genre-bender that easily gets under your skin.
I've always dug the San Francisco garage band for its authentic psychedelic sprinklings of yesteryear; but until now, their studio albums tend to become slightly abrasive after listening to a few songs.
Play it Strange is proof that the foursome is growing into its own jeans and landing on a grove that's more focused and rooted in late 60s Los Angeles pop music fused with a hearty dab of punk. Check out my
blog post from The Fresh & Onlys recent show in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
For a Swede,
Kristian Matsson aka
The Tallest Man on Earth, constructs prose in English better than most Americans. His gravely voice, raw fingerpicking and transcendent lyrics have yielded obvious comparisons to
Bob Dylan, but Matsson isn't trying to become the next Dylan with
The Wild Hunt. He's blossoming into one of our generation's most important singer-songwriters and continues to dazzle with poignant words: "And for so I lived a thousand years, a thousand turns of tides/ Just a thousand leaves in autumn and a thousand ways to try." I happened to catch Matsson's performance at the
Henry Miller Library in Big Sur.
The 7-minute plus, "He Would Have Laughed," was the track that drew me to this album like a fly to a garbage truck. The haunting song is an ode to 29-year-old Memphis punk rocker, Jay Reatard, who died of a drug overdose earlier in the year. After listening to the Halcyon Digest in its entirety, I was addicted—I really wasn't a fan of Deerhunter's 2007 breakout Cryptograms. But there's something more earnest about this record that recalls Neil Young's most intimate stuff.
6. MGMT: Congratulations (Columbia)
I was looking forward to the electronic, tongue-and-cheek duo's Congratulations, which they generously streamed for free in its entirety on their website. Overall, the album received less than favorable reviews, but it hits all the right notes, especially on the 12-minute epic, "Siberian Breaks." Like its debut, Oracular Spectacular, this 9-tracker is a sweet piece of pop candy and a gas to listen to. I don't give a shit what Pitchfork says.
In the tradition of Austin-psych rockers like 13th Floor Elevators, The Black Angels come at you armed with a dark creepiness that you never hear in San Francisco psych-rock. Though I dug the last couple Angels albums, this one extends beyond channeling 40-year-old acid trips, droney vocals and fuzzed-out guitar riffs. Each of the ten songs has its own unique flavor; and that's an important attribute that didn't exist on its previous records.
4. Bruce Springsteen: The Promise (Columbia)
Yes, I'm aware that this 2-CD collection may not officially qualify as a 2010 RELEASE, however, 2010 was the year
The Boss's buried gems were unearthed.
Springsteen wrote more than 30 tracks for his 1978 classic,
Darkness at the Edge of Town, and 21 tunes never saw the light of day. After 30 years and a legal battle with a former manager, the previously unreleased material from the
Darkness sessions was finally made available. It's about goddamn time cause the additional songs add some delectable frosting to an already incredibly introspective masterpiece. Check out
"Save My Love" and
"Spanish Eyes" and you'll feel me on this one.
3. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam/Roc-a-Fella)
Grandiose, complex, earth-shattering. These are just a few adjectives that come to mind about one of the most ambitious hip-hop records ever made. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first: I thought West was overly compensating and there was too much hype surrounding it. But Kanye came through with a work of art that knows no musical boundaries and is just as large as originally anticipated. It all works together like a finely seasoned steak: King Crimson samples, guest spots from Elton John, Rick Ross and Bon Iver, and personal, unapologetic lyrics. Bravo Kanye!
Kanye wasn't the only one who brought larger-than-life sounds to 2010. The Montreal outfit,
Arcade Fire, has steadily (and quickly) gone from playing theater venues to selling out stadiums. With its third LP,
The Suburbs, the band shoots for the moon with flawless aim resulting in a 16-track opus arranged with orchestral precision. With tunes like
"We Used to Wait" and
"Rococo," frontman
Win Butler's vocals evoke tangible feelings: from alienation to attempting to understand a rapidly changing world around him. I can't wait to hear what they do next. Check out my coverage of their intimate
Big Sur show.
There wasn't one album from 2010 that I listened to more than
Titus Andronicus' The Monitor. The record concept initially sounds crazy: A
Civil War-themed punk album intertwined with snippets of speeches from important figures like
Abraham Lincoln and
Thomas Jefferson. But lyrics about getting "fucked up" in your parents' basement on a Saturday night juxtaposed with
Lincoln's Lyceum Address—"We must live forever or die by suicide"—make for a beautiful and original marriage. Every time I listen to the album, I never skip a song. It's just one of those records. Even if you're not a fan of punk rock, you'll love
The Monitor. And you may even learn a little something about American history. Here's a
blog post from one of their recent San Francisco shows.
