The Best Albums We Missed in 2010 (So Far…)

It’s been nearly six months since our humble site took off into the webisphere (more on that tomorrow). In that time, we’ve amassed several reviews. But, with as many as a dozen major releases every week, it’s basically impossible for a staff of a few unpaid part-time writers to cover everything. And sometimes, in sorting through what we do and do not think is important to share with the masses, we miss something that we discover later would have been absolutely worth listening to.

This list shares with you just a few of the best discoveries we’ve made this year that we didn’t have a chance to review, or didn’t find out about it in time before it was too far past the statute of limitations for our readers. Check back tomorrow for our rundown of the best albums we’ve reviewed thus far with an ultra-brief look back at how we’ve grown since we started. Also, feel free to leave us a comment letting us know about anything else we missed that we should check out before year’s end!

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The Best Albums We Missed in 2010 (So Far…)

By: The AudioSuede Staff

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Christian Hagen’s Picks:

Local Natives, Gorilla Manor

For some indie rock geeks, 2008 and 2009 were the years of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, respectively. The former’s naturalistic folk settings and the latter’s space-age sonic vortex met in a beautiful cacophony of vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars, and grand choruses.

For those same indie rock geeks, 2010 may well be the year of Local Natives. The LA-based band combines the vocal aesthetics and drum textures of both Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, but adds the slightest dash of raw street rock to give it the edge that makes it so unique from other young bands that have debuted this year.

They haven’t gotten the hype machine to kick into gear behind them just yet, but honestly, that might just work in their favor. For all the praise that we or Pitchfork or whomever might heap onto this young group, they, like all young bands, still have room to grow. But they’ve gotten off to a wonderful start, which means that, so long as they are not saddled with endless hyperbole and the hopes of the people to live up to, they could well be one of the best bands of this new decade.

First, however, the bassist needs to lose that upturned hat. Seriously, this isn’t 1992.

Janelle Monae, The Archandroid

I am fully embarrassed to have not heard anything about this young woman before Chris Polley included her debut album in his most recent Indie Trends installment, as she is one of the most tremendous talents I’ve seen come along in years. What sold me on this album, before I even heard it, were the following points: A soulful funk/hip-hop futuristic concept album debut about a female android bent on freeing her kind from an opressive patriarchal society. Before I’d even heard a note, that perked my ears up. Young singers don’t often start their careers with a concept album. Furthermore, the hip-hop/R&B market has been seriously devoid of good concept albums. I was intrigued.

My intrigue paid off with dividends. Not only is The Archandroid one of my favorite albums of the year so far, I have no doubt it’ll remain in my radar by the time 2010 is over, and beyond. After acquiring it on a Tuesday, I had listened to it roughly thirty times in the following seven days, no small feat considering its 70-minute run time.

Janelle Monae is a fiery performer, energetic and honest, leaving everything in her body on the floor when she sings. Genre-hopping throughout from straight-up hip-hop to funk to jazz to futura-folk, she bends and twists her voice into unusual shapes and sizes in a way that is extraordinary to hear. The production dazzles; even the most low-key tracks on the album (which, as Polley pointed out, are all pretty damn big) show finesse in the mix, highlighting the best of Monae’s performance, including the occasional idiosyncrasies that make her voice so brilliantly its own.

Monae is electric, eclectic, and more than a little eccentric. She is, all at once, the hip-hop generation’s David Bowie, the female Cee-Lo Green, and the reincarnation of Michael Jackson, all of which sound like exactly what I want to listen to, all the time.

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Chris Polley’s Picks:

Fang Island, Fang Island

The Rhode Island-based band that likes to describe their music as “the sound of everyone high-fiving everyone” is pretty hard not to like even just a little bit. If there’s one thing we as humans all have in common, unless you’re inherently evil, is that we all like to high five. And Fang Island recognize this. Four-fifths of the band come from the now defunct hardcore band Daughters, and as someone with a low tolerance for noise, I’m glad they moved on to form this celebratory band chock full of classic rock riffs, beasty drum fills, and choral vocal arrangements. The best thing about the debut album from the guys who like to rock out in Kindergarten classrooms, however, is that their forward-thinking song structures and instrumentation bring their silliness to the level of genius, proving once and for all that fun and mindless rumpus can indeed be balanced with thoughtful musicianship and evocative melodies. In fact, the album’s so rewarding to listen from beginning to end, one might wonder if Fang Island can deliver again with a sophomore effort, but that’s the best part about high fives: you can give/receive as many as you want and you’ll always want more.

The Seven Fields of Aphelion. Periphery

Don’t skip to the next entry just because I’m about to use the phrase “ambient music.” Good, you’re still there. I know; ambient music is boring. I know; ambient music just sounds like pleasant background sounds. But sometimes it can be more than that, and I say this with as much conviction as I do honesty, as I am biased, being a lover of many things ambient. But there’s a reason Brian Eno’s experimentation with sculpting music for airports in the 70s still inspires many musicians today, including keyboardist Maux Boyle, more well known for making the ugly beats sound pretty in Black Moth Super Rainbow. Her ability to use just synths and piano to create an entire album’s worth of engaging instrumental music is phenomenally impressive and deserves to be heard not just by the people who already are going to listen to it anyway (points to self). Listen to it loud enough and with limited outside brain activity and your heart will be moved. She bends, contorts, and sustains just the right combination of notes throughout the record’s twelve tracks that it becomes more than just a soundscape: it’s an escape and a journey that resembles the feeling your lungs experience when they take in the freshest air they’ve enjoyed in months. Do yourself a favor and close the curtains, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and press play. You will swear there’s more here than just a lovely lady and her keys, both plastic and ivory.

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Daniel Wipert’s Picks:

Beach House Teen Dream
Beach House’s self-titled debut, which came out in 2006, did not do anything for me. Devotion, their second album, definitely teased me with morose dirges like “Gila” and “Holy Dances.” The only reason I gave their second album a chance was their wonderful performance on the Pitchfork.tv show Juan’s Basement. The sound that Victoria and Alex created in that unforgiving live setting was gorgeously tragic, and I became transfixed by their music. In a short interview that was part of the same Pitchfork segment, both Alex and Victoria came across as relaxed and humble, as if making music was just something they liked to do. They didn’t seem particularly interested in what other people thought of their music nor did they appear to have any desire to be well-known or famous. Hidden within that beautiful performance and silly interview was an underlying sense of determination that feels like a rare trait within the indie music scene these days. I think it is clear that Beach House makes music because of some deep desire that borders on necessity.

Teen Dream, Beach House’s third album, is a document of two confident artists going for it and hitting the mark with surprising ease. The richness and passion simmering in their first two albums swells and blooms on this third record. The songs are no longer floating off into the distance. The songs are now focused and framed so the mix of Victoria’s voice and Alex’s guitar is powerful and clear rather than wide-open and distant. The first single “Norway” is more confident than probably any song on the first two albums, and it established not so much a new sound or direction for Beach House, but rather a new sense of purpose behind their music. “Walk in the Park” has become my favorite Beach House song, because the outro moves me more than almost any other music I have heard this year. This moment on the album is a perfect example of how Beach House has worked tirelessly to mold their sound into a potent form of self-expression.
Teen Dream is a remarkably even album despite several moments of pure release and euphoria. Tracks like “Sliver Soul” and “Lover of Mine” may not reach for the stars but they certainly are luscious songs that add to the dreamy aura of the album so that the highs go higher and the mood never sours. Teen Dream has a feracity that harkens back to the mid-late 70’s right before the Superstars radio format and major label groupthink gutted rock music. Beach House has crafted a truly beautiful and moving piece of music, the likes of which are few and far between nowadays.


Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles (II)

It was pretty much impossible to listen to the Crystal Castles’ first album due to the enormous amounts of hype surrounding it. I tried to listen a few times, but I just kept on thinking it sounded “horrible” and “pretentious.” I tend to be hyper judgmental and stand-offish with most art, and I can be a obdurate jerk when it comes to music. I didn’t give Crystal Castles a chance because I loath hipsters and artsters, which is what I thought they were. So the album sat in a dusty corner of my hard drive until year-end lists of 2008 came out. After going through so many lists, I noticed that the more intelligent and refined list-makers had Crystal Castles in their top ten of the year. So I dove back into the record, and ended up not just liking it, but adoring it.

Crystal Castles is punk music. It has that same attitude, fearlessness, and anarchy flowing through it as the pinnacle of punk in the mid-70s. I have not come across any other band that really captures the horror and isolation of modern life like you hear on “Courtship Dating” and “Air War.” I feel the best punk bands take a part of our collectively unconscious and shove it right in our faces so we have to taste what disgusts and defines us. In the case of Crystal Castles, I think they are revealing the inherent violence and narcissism that lies within the heart, or lack thereof, of our so-called society. Unfortunately, much like The Sex Pistols and The Clash, no one ends up giving a shit about what they are saying and just makes the band into a fashion accessory that will make them look cool and edgy so they can get laid. Based on their second album, I think is clear that Crystal Castles is not at all content with being a hyped blog band. They are obviously reaching towards something greater and more significant than being used as an aphrodisiac.

Crystal Castles (II) is very much an extension of their first album. The sound is the same: raw beats, sometimes airy vocals, sometimes a violent scream. Ethan Kath and Alice Glass create loose narratives around a near cacophony of different sounds. Their records are less songs and more moods. Some of their strongest work is on this new album: “Celestia,” “Empathy,” “Vietnam,”  “Not in Love.” I could go on and on. The bottom line is that instead of losing the power and passion displayed on their first album, like most bands do, Crystal Castles concentrated their vigor into a intoxicating venom that is one part regret and two parts violence. It’s a wonderful soundtrack for living in a collapsing empire, and there’s nothing fake about that.

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Cooper Foyt’s Picks:

American Ghetto by Portugal. The Man

Portugal’s last album starts off with a false start before kicking off into the smoldering “The Dead Dog” and it’s the last time you’ll hear anything that isn’t pure smoothness. American Ghetto has Portugal. The Man at their most Santana-inspired, putting out an album filled with bluesy southern-tinged burners. It’s a different feel than the religious Revivalist feeling of past albums like Church Mouth, however. These songs seem to be most appropriately played at night and in cramped streets given the more sinister feel that hasn’t been in their sound beforehand. John Baldwin Gourley’s falsetto is as satisfying as ever having found a comfortable niche in Portgual’s sound over the last several years. I’ve always thought of his voice as if Cedric Bixler-Zavala calmed the fuck down and wrote some shorter, more traditional songs. And for me, that is a great thing. What’s new here is the addition of backing female vocals which adds a great counter to the lower end of the sound on songs such as “All My People” and “1000 Years”. The album finds nice ways to keep the songs feeling fresh while mining the same bluesy vein, such as the pianos on “Fantastic Pace,” or the rolling bass and chorus on “Do What We Do.” American Ghetto is a revitalizing album in the Portugal catalogue after a few less-than-excellent releases.

The Monitor by Titus Andronicus

The Monitor is a big big big quasi-concept album centered on the American Civil War. Their Shakespearian name is more an indication of their lyrical storytelling than their sound, which is no frills rock and roll on this album. It’s easy to imagine these songs being sung in smoldering venues by large groups of sweaty concert goers with pumping fists. This makes sense considering they are from New Jersey and probably grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen, and this album takes a lot of cues from The Boss. Outside of the stadium-filling sound of many of the songs, the album has half a foot in the Americana blue collar worker rising up sound that Springsteen perfected. Titus Andronicus go so far as to literally mirror Springsteen on album opener “A More Perfect Union” where the band collectively shouts, “Because tramps like us/baby, we were born to die.” What they do that their New Jersey forefather doesn’t, to the best of my knowledge, do is craft an album of nine-ish minute songs of unbridled ambition. To give you an idea of how wide-ranging these songs are, the opening track starts with dramatic reading of an Abraham Lincoln speech, a build-up state of the union of New Jersey life, the above-mentioned Springsteen reference, a vintage Weezer solo, a sing-a-long of “Ohh Ohh”s a la Arcade Fire, a Journey inspired solo, a line spoken by the Joker from The Dark Knight backed by Dinosaur Jr. thick guitars, more solos and another quote before the song bleeds over into the next track. It is awesome and is like this for the entire album.

Together by The New Pornographers

A few busy years later for all involved with the Pornos later and Canada’s all-star team gets back together (ha). A.C. Newman is back at the helm of the organization that gives us some of the best power pop we could hope for. Neko Case and Dan Bejar both join up with the usuals and this time around put out an album that I would say falls somewhere between Twin Cinema and Challengers in terms of sound. There are still the guitar heavy rompers of Twin Cinema in the songs “Your Hands (Together)” and “A Bite Out of My Bed”, the latter featuring The Dap Kings adding some swagger to the tail end of the album. Most of the album, however, seems to lean towards the softer sound of Challengers which I find to be a great thing. The reserved nature of the songs allows each of the very talented singers to shine in a way that they wouldn’t if buried under ten tracks of electric guitar and another five of acoustics. This really shines on the awesomely titled “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” which has given me the chills on every listen. The toned down sound also gives a chance for a whistle melody on Neko Case’s “Crash Years” which is something that no one could ever complain about. Dan Bejar has a few tracks on here, and while they aren’t my favorites in the Pornos library, they are still Bejar doing his Bowie thing. The album feels light and keeps an airy pace from song to song. This is definitely an album that shouldn’t be missed this year.