Last week, I posted a mix of singles I loved in 2010. I gotta say, in putting together a “Best Of” list of LPs this year, I had to consider that I actually didn’t buy very many albums in 2010. Well… not by comparison with years past. I did get heaps of digital downloads passed on to me from friends (thanks!), which was particularly welcomed as my purse strings were so damn tight this year. (Like, strangulation, “help, I can barely breathe!” tight.) There were a handful of albums, bits and pieces of LPs, random free downloads, a single here and there, but these are the jams that I rocked most often in 2010. In no particular order.
Best Albums of 2010
1. Mean Jeans – Are You Serious? LP (Dirtnap) Available here. OK, so it came out in 2009 – so sue me. I picked this album up in early 2010 and listened to it, hands down, more times than any other LP this year. Why? Because it’s undeniably fun! Download link to "Steve Don't Party No More" via the Pitchfork website here.
1. Mean Jeans – Are You Serious? LP (Dirtnap) Available here. OK, so it came out in 2009 – so sue me. I picked this album up in early 2010 and listened to it, hands down, more times than any other LP this year. Why? Because it’s undeniably fun! Download link to "Steve Don't Party No More" via the Pitchfork website here.
2. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Rush To Relax LP (Goner) Available here. The eagerly anticipated third album from Eddy Current Suppression Ring blew me away. When I saw Ian MacKaye speak at the Brooks Museum as part of the Who Shot Rock and Roll exhibit last year, it was a pleasant surprise to hear him say that ECSR is the only band he's actually traveled to see in more than a decade. He clearly made the right choice. They'll rock your face off live. Download link to "Tuning Out" via the Rose Quartz blog here.
3. White Wires – WWII LP (Dirtnap) Available here. This LP from White Wires is a strong follow-up to their 2009 debut LP, which was “all killer, no filler.” This second album did not disappoint. They also put out some phenomenal 45s this year including a great 7-inch on Trouble In Mind. Download links to "Did You Forget My Name" and "Be True To Your School (Til You Get Kicked Out)" via the Glorious Noise website here.
4. Zola Jesus – Stridulum II LP (Souterrain Transmissions) Available here. Listing this LP as a fave seems like kind of an oddball fit for me. At first glance, it’s not my usual steez. It’s a sort of post-Goth/weird punk style hybrid presumably influenced by the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and early Cocteau Twins. Which, of course, made me love it all year long. Seeing them live left me pondering how such a teeny-tiny lady can belt out that strong, deep voice. Previously, I posted the video for "Sea Talk" here. Download link to "Sea Talk" via the RCRD LBL website here.
Zola Jesus - Night from Souterrain Transmissions on Vimeo.
5. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way LP (Daptone) Available here. This is a strong record all the way through and Miss Sharon and the boys did not disappoint when I saw them live in Memphis this year. If you’re in the mood for some right-on 60s-style soul goodness, this fits the bill and then some. Download link to "Better Things" (my favorite track on the LP) via the Rock Insider website here.
4. Zola Jesus – Stridulum II LP (Souterrain Transmissions) Available here. Listing this LP as a fave seems like kind of an oddball fit for me. At first glance, it’s not my usual steez. It’s a sort of post-Goth/weird punk style hybrid presumably influenced by the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and early Cocteau Twins. Which, of course, made me love it all year long. Seeing them live left me pondering how such a teeny-tiny lady can belt out that strong, deep voice. Previously, I posted the video for "Sea Talk" here. Download link to "Sea Talk" via the RCRD LBL website here.
Zola Jesus - Night from Souterrain Transmissions on Vimeo.
5. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way LP (Daptone) Available here. This is a strong record all the way through and Miss Sharon and the boys did not disappoint when I saw them live in Memphis this year. If you’re in the mood for some right-on 60s-style soul goodness, this fits the bill and then some. Download link to "Better Things" (my favorite track on the LP) via the Rock Insider website here.
6. Personal & The Pizzas – Raw Pie LP (1234 Go!) Available here. This record is so stupid that it’s absolutely genius. Lots of Ramones and Stooges style uber-catchy hooks blended with lyrics to hurtle you into a Rock ‘n’ Roll High School daydream. Personal & the Pizzas were phenomenal at Goner Fest 7 and they put out my favorite (earworm!) single of the year, “I Want You” on Trouble In Mind. Download link to "Brass Knuckles" via the Bay Bridged website here.
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| Personal & The Pizzas – Raw Pie |
7. Apache - Radical Sabbatical LP (Burger) Available here. These guys have really come into their own in the last couple years. This LP stayed on my stereo for a good long time this year.
8. Nobunny – First Blood LP (Goner) Available here.
This album compiles a number of singles and some newer tunes, so the continuity is a bit funky. It took me a few listens to get into the groove, but it grew on me like foot fungus and gave me lots of smiles this past summer. Link to "Motorhead With Me" via The Walrus blog here.
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| Nobunny - First Blood |
9. Crusaders of Love – Never Grow Up LP (Douchemaster) Available here. This is French garage pop at its finest. They also did a fine, fine King Louie cover on this record. I’d seen them in 2009, but this effort surprised me with less psych in their sound and more pure pop goodness than I’d expected. Yum! Link to "Better When I'm Gone" via the Requiem Pour Un Twister blog here.
10. Ty Segall - Melted LP (Goner) Available here. Speaking of melted… Ty melted my brain with his live performance at Goner Fest this year (and at the after party, at the Dairy House, where we all thought the floor might cave in from the weight of all the crazed, jumping fans packed into that tiny living room - it was like watching a show while on a trampoline - wheee!). I dare you to try to sit still through a listening of "Girlfriend." It’s one of my favorite songs of 2010, for sure. Song link to "Caesar" via The Fader website here.
11. Magic Kids - Memphis LP (True Panther) Available here. I've seen Magic Kids a dozen or so times and they just get better and better. Their debut LP sounds like a soundtrack to Brian Wilson's dreams. Link to "Summer" via the Stereogum website here. Video for "Superball" here.
11. Magic Kids - Memphis LP (True Panther) Available here. I've seen Magic Kids a dozen or so times and they just get better and better. Their debut LP sounds like a soundtrack to Brian Wilson's dreams. Link to "Summer" via the Stereogum website here. Video for "Superball" here.
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| Magic Kids - Memphis |
12. Super Wild Horses - Fifteen LP (Hozac) Available here. Another band who had a stand-out set at Goner Fest this year is dynamic duo Super Wild Horses. Great stuff. And it doesn't hurt any that these ladies are super foxy. Link to "Mess Around" via the Hozac website here. Video for "Golden Town" here.
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| Super Wild Horses - Fifteen |
13. Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now LP (Warner Bros) Available here. This LP is one of two major label albums I purchased this year. I love Jenny Lewis' voice despite never having been a big Rilo Kiley fan. This combo, including Lewis and her boyfriend Johnathan Rice, is quite lovely. Download link to "Big Wave" via the One Thirty BPM website here. A video for "Big Wave" is coming soon.
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| Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now |
14. Best Coast - Crazy For You LP (Mexican Summer) Available here. Sweet and hooky goodness with lots of oohs and ahhs made this one of my faves this year. Download link to "Crazy For You" via The New York Rockmarket website here. Video for "Boyfriend" here.
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| Best Coast - Crazy For You |
15. Hank IV - III LP (Siltbreeze) Available here. This one’s a late entry for 2010, but in my opinion is clearly Hank IV’s best effort to date. Download link for "Feeding Me Back" via the Bay Bridged website here. Video for "Garbage Star" here.
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| Hank IV - III |
16. Tyvek – Nothing Fits LP (In The Red) Available here. Detroit’s Tyvek brought it this year with this, their second dynamite LP. Blistering lo-fi fuzz punk. Download link to "4312" via the Pitchfork website here.
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| Tyvek – Nothing Fits |
Honorable Mention
Mind Spiders – Worlds Destroyed 7” (Dirtnap) Available here. OK. It's a single, not an LP, but these 4 tracks are all equally killer. Every time it comes up on my iPod I turn it up. I can’t wait to hear their full-length LP in early 2011. Download link to "Worlds Destroyed" via the Dallas Observer music blog here. Davila 666 - 12" EP (Rob's House) Available here. This 5-song EP from Puerto Rican rockers Davila 666 is a dance party unto itself. Saw these dudes several times in 2009 and at the Atlanta Mess Around in 2010. They put on a damn good show. It's sweet stuff. Most of the tunes here are a bit more pop than their previous releases, but this is sheer goodness through and through.
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| Davila 666 - 12" EP |
Also in my mix this year were melodies from Woven Bones, Bad Sports, Fergus & Geronimo, King Louie’s Missing Monuments, Guinea Worms, The Intelligence, Dum Dum Girls, Puffy Areolas, John Wesley Coleman, Vermillion Sands, Spider Bags, UV Race, Tyler Keith & The Apostles, Total Control, Unnatural Helpers, Shannon & The Clams, and Love Collector. All of these bands put forth some amazing efforts, live and/or on vinyl this year. Kudos!
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