40. V/A Stardumb 50
39. Allo' Darlin - S/T
38. Brian Wilson - Reimagines Gershwin
37. Jaill - That's How We Burn
36. Vampire Weekend - Contra
35. The Books - This Way Out
34. Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises
33. J Roddy Walston & The Business - S/T
32. The Sword - Warp Riders
31. Morning Benders - Big Echo
30. Electronic Anthology Project - S/T
29. Egghead. - Would Like A Few Words With You
28. Be My Doppleganger - No Composure
27. Tender Trap - Dansette, Dansette
26. Magic Kids - Memphis
25. Nick Curran & The Lowlifes - Reform School Girl
24. New Pornographers - Together
23. Hamid Drake & Bindu - Reggaeology
22. The Challenged - Loaded Language
21. Harlem - Hippies
20. The Dopamines - Expect The Worst - Midwest punk that's more than a few steps above the typical beer blasting basement punk. Basically "FML" in musical form, but with fun and catchy melodies!
19. Candle Thieves - Sunshine And Other Misfortunes - Solid collection of tunes that remind me of the Eels. A few gems hit me right away, and some of the other wavers between growing on me and pushing my patience.
18. Moondoggies - Tidelands - As I mentioned before, it's a bit of a re-write of the previous album, but I'm ok with that.
17. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker - Despite a semi-low ranking, this is the kind of album that I wish was topping mag lists instead of Arcade Fire. IMO it's incredibly more creative and accessible. Has psychedelic pop/rock ever made a comeback?
16. Librarians - Present Passed - Another mysteriously underrated album. I thought for sure this would be the year a 2nd wave of Animal Collective bands would take over, but it wasn't so. Really like the flow of this one.
15. Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You - I like my female vocals either really really cutesy, or really really strong. If it's somewhere in the middle, then it's just white noise to me. Kate Nash has a good portion of both extremes. This probably should be higher.
14. Chumbawamba - abcdefg - Not as immediately wonderful as the previous two albums, but they "stay the course" and continue to be one of my all-time favs. This should probably be lower, though.
13. Teenage Fanclub - Shadows - I've already resigned to the fact they won't bring the 90s TF back. That being said, I think this is much better than
Man-Made, and love this album like a great college reunion with old friends.
12. Full of Fancy - Liquid Nature - Not only strong female vocals, but two of them! A great mix of Olympia grrl punk, Magnapop/Tuscadero alt-rock, and some Pixies-era Kim Deal. Best bang-for-your-buck release too, since the cd comes with 10 additional tracks of all their previous 7" singles.
11. Stars - The Five Ghosts - I've always loved the sound of Stars, but this is the best songwriting they've done since
Nightsongs. I can listen to this over and over again.
10. Black Wine - S/T - My supergroup pick of the year. Featuring Miranda of Full of Fancy (see above), Jeff from the Ergs! (# 2 album in '04) and J Nixon of Hunchback (# 2 album of '07). All three contribute songs so it's not easily summed up. I guess imagine all those late-80s SST and Sub Pop bands, but with songs that Bort would enjoy listening to.
09. Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame - Bread, Band, Byrds, Beach Boys, Beatles, whatever. I love this fucking stuff.
08. Mixtapes - Maps - Superb band from Ohio. Kind of like if you took the late-90s emo/rock scene and gave it happy pills. Perhaps a difficult band to google, here's the convenient links, as the band has this stuff up for free.
http://www.deathtofalsehoperecords.com/ ... .php?id=32 and
http://d01.megashares.com/?d01=36988b0 07. Jonsi - Go - It's wonderful. Talk to Dalen.
06. Clem Snide - The Meat of Life - Another band I've always liked, and I was very pleased to hear it's better than the previous two. You know what to expect from Eef these days, but it doesn't make the music any less enjoyable or the lyrics any less clever.
05. Dinosaur Feathers - Fantasy Memorial - Played this a ton in the spring and summer. Another surprisingly overlooked album, (see # 16). Poppy, layered harmonies, and fresh sounding. Kind of like Animal Collective, but here we have ideas that are actually constructed into songs, instead of just letting the notion float through the speakers.
04. The 20 Belows - For Better Days - As soon as I heard it, I knew it would be my favorite pop punk album of the year. And then after 1000 more listens, I was like "fuck, this is better than most 2010 releases." Easiest way to describe it is
Dookie-era Green Day, except from the Netherlands.
03. Darren Hanlon - I Will Love You At All - Ex-Lucksmiths dude. There's something really easy and familiar about the melodies here. Not obvious enough to put your finger on, but just enough to make you have that great nostalgic feeling. Pleasant Australian vocals, and the kind of variety that more singer/songwriter albums should aspire to.
02. Dead Mechanical - Addict Rhythms - One of those bands that I dub a "product of geography" since they are from Baltimore and sound like a mix of NJ punk pop, DC's Dischord output, and Chapel Hill, NC's 90s indie rock scene. The quick RIYL is Superchunk and Jawbreaker, but to be honest I like these guys more.
01. Unwelcome Guests - Don't Go Swimming - I've already said my piece about these guys. Americana pop punk I guess? The best albums always make for the worst reviews. I don't want to talk about it, I want to listen to it and want you to listen to it too! It's the best!
