I have a "love/hate" relationship with top ten lists. See, I love lists. But I hate the fact that "Year End Lists" are not only expected but also, for the most part, just a simple regurgitation of the same albums, blog after blog. And, what can I say? I'm kind of a snot. When something's expected, my first inclination is to rebel against it. Of course, were RFC to not toss up a single "Best Of" list, it wouldn't seem as though we were rebels, but rather that we were lazy. And my staff and I are no slouches! So, this year, instead of getting a single top ten list, you're going to be getting everyone's favorite discs of the year, from Abby Holmes' top ten of twenty-ten to Shani's favorite tracks of the year and we're kicking the whole thing off with my top... Oh, was I supposed to do ten? I sort of picked fifteen. My mistake! What can I say? Cutting my original top thirty two down to ten proved impossible and it's my belief that all of the following albums deserve your attention.
1 - Frontier Ruckus - Deadmalls & Nightfalls
I've been living with Frontier Ruckus' Deadmalls & Nightfalls for the greater part of six months now. There are few albums that have orchestrated as much of my year as this one and that's because I just keep going back to it. I know part of the reason for that is that Frontier Ruckus not only formed very close to where I grew up in Michigan but also that Deadmalls & Nightfalls (Reviewed on RFC earlier this year here) is very much a soundtrack to time spent in the area surrounding suburban Detroit. From references to specific places and landmarks ("The billboard dentist from White Lake to East Lansing") to an overtone of the melancholy I felt while doing time in the same state that Matt Milia calls home, Frontier Ruckus' third full length is the album equivalent of Salinger's "To Esme; With Love and Squalor": Equal parts love letter from Milia to Michigan and it's residents and a man reminiscing about the sadness that he can't just shake while he's in his homestate. Musically, the album is in the same lineage as Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy which is more than okay by me. Read more about my intense newfound love for Fruckus at Indie College and, y'know, you probably ought to pick up this (so far) criminally overlooked masterpiece of an album. Criminally overlooked masterpiece? That's a bold statement but Deadmalls & Nightfalls not only lives up to that moniker, but surpasses enough expectations to blow most other releases of the past twelve months out of the indie rock water.
2 - Pearly Gate Music - Pearly Gate Music
It'd be quite a shame if Pearly Gate Music, the project of Zach Tillman (Younger brother of Fleet Foxes' J. Tillman), flies under the radar too much longer. I first heard of Pearly Gate Music when they were plucked from proverbial obscurity and placed on the prestigious bill for Daytrotter's Barnstormer tour earlier this year, alongside such wonderful acts as Ra Ra Riot and Delta Spirit. In my opinion, however, Tillman's talent far outpaces the driving forces behind most of this year's Barnstormer alums. That isn't to say that Ra Ra Riot or Delta Spirit are lacking anything in the awesome department. They're not. Rather, what I'm saying is that Pearly Gate Music is phenomenal. What, on the surface, appears to be a fairly straight forward folk album reveals more and more intricate layers to you upon repeated listens. To quote my review of Pearly Gate Music for sister site Mezzic, "'Golden Funeral' (kicks off the album) with nothing but Tillman’s voice. With only the very sparsest of sparse background noises, Tillman is left with nowhere to hide. It’s a bold move to start a debut out in such a way and it works in Tillman’s favor. Not only does it showcase his strengths as a vocalist and his songwriting ability, but it also makes the catchy, sing along second track all that more of a pleasant shock. The juxtaposition of 'sparse' and 'catchy' is what Pearly Gate Music is all about and it’s a great formula. For every “Navy Blues”, there’s a “Daddy Wrote You Letters” to counter the former’s subdued pace with a fetching alt-country melody that’s hard to shake."
Pearly Gate Music - Bad Nostalgia
3 - The National - High Violet
Shockingly, despite being nearly universally beloved here at RFC, The National's stunning fifth LP did not get a review here. Why? Well, don't blame me! It came out before I was back on the RFC boat and by the time I'd settled in as editor in chief, I figured another review of High Violet would be pretty much white noise. Yes, I know I just said in my intro that I hate "regurgitating the same albums, blog after blog" and I do realize that everyone is going to have The National perched high atop their "Best of the Year" list but guess what? I don't care. At least, not in the case of High Violet. Simply put, this album is just that good. And the best part about it is that the more you listen to it, the better it gets. Sure, part of that is where I'm at in my life and the fact that The National makes an eerily accurate soundtrack to both my romantic foibles and my "too hard on myself" mentality but so far as lyrics go, you'll be hard pressed to find a song more honest and sad than "Sorrow" ("Sorrow found me when I was young; Sorrow waited, sorrow won... But I don't want to get over you"). Even so, no matter how lyrically down The National get, there's always an incredibly catchy hook and some searing drums behind frontman Matt Berninger's crooning (as made perfectly evident by album stand out "Anyone's Ghost"). With High Violet, The National aren't doing anything revelatory or groundbreaking with their music but the fact of the matter is they don't need to. The National have a formula. And it's perfect.
4 - Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
It's a damn shame that most people will remember Justin Townes Earle's year for his troubles with the law (Cliff notes: He was pickin' fights at Indianapolis's Radio Radio, went to prison, then checked into rehab. Read a more in depth version here, from Sara Jacobsen.) because Earle released a damn good album in September. Midnight At The Movies, Earle's incredibly accessible 2009 release, is a hard act to follow but Earle rises to the occasion and does not disappoint. Despite the fact that I didn't get cozy with Earle's music until this summer, when he hit the Daytrotter Barn On The 4th Of July show with fellow best-of-2010 act The Walkmen, I feel as if Earle's music has become a staple in my life. Read a full review of Harlem River Blues on Mezzic here. Recalling country music pioneers such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Woody Guthrie, Earle's well on his way to having quite the prolific career, having released four albums over the past three years. Here's hoping that trend continues into 2011.
Justin Townes Earle - Ain't Waitin'
5 - The Woodlands - The Woodlands
For me, the debut release from Portland, Oregon's The Woodlands was a late-in-the-year game changer. By the time December rolled around, I'd had my top albums of the year list completed for about a month and a half, making few alterations between when I initially mapped it out and now. (It pays to write your favorite albums of the year down starting in January, kids!) The Woodlands, quite simply, could not be overlooked however. Abby said it best in her review of the duo's disc, "The precious husband-and-wife duo that call themselves The Woodlands not only make love look like a cakewalk, but they have translated this perfect pairing into a delicate arrangement of homemade folk-pop treasures. It’s safe to say I’m monumentally enamored with their sound." As for me? I waxed poetic on the disc over at - You guessed it! - Mezzic, echoing Abbey's sentiments and going so far as to liken my love of The Woodlands to older men lusting after young Lolitas. I swear, it makes sense in the context! But seriously: If you're not a member of Camp Woodlands yet, pack your overnight bags and pony up seven bucks for their album. It's worth every penny.
6 - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
It took more than a little while for The Suburbs to grow on me. In fact, I was so decidedly underwhelmed with the LP upon first listen that I shelved it for months. Luckily, however, my friends didn't feel the same way as me. Tracks from The Suburbs would orchestrate car rides and soundtrack the coffee shop where friend and fellow RFC contributor Matt Roney works and before long, I found myself tearing up at the epic "Suburban War", singing along with "We Used To Wait". In fact, those two tracks are so damn great that it doesn't matter what the rest of the album sounds like - Those songs are enough to make Arcade Fire's third full length a force to be reckoned with. Grandiose, multifaceted rock numbers are what Win Butler and his band of avant garde Canadians do best and while few songs on The Suburbs are as far reaching as the signature sound that marred Neon Bible and the band's debut, Funeral, this album, like the vast majority on this list, is a definite grower. No matter how unimpressed you are upon first listen, Butler's mournful vocals, backed by elaborate instrumentation, will worm their way into your head and stay there until Arcade Fire's melodies have become familiar in all of their intricacies and earnestness.
7 - Hiss Golden Messenger - Bad Debt
I initially almost felt strangely guilty including Hiss Golden Messenger's Bad Debt on my favorite records of the year, especially placing it so high on the list. You see, by the time we collectively ring in 2011, Bad Debt will be a mere month and a half old. What if, as the months wear on, Hiss Golden Messenger stops being spun so often at Casa De Amber? What if, by next spring, the dark charms of Bad Debt have worn thin and I regret placing the band (Whom I was only just introduced to two months ago by RFC guest blogger Michael Roeder) above such tried and true Amber favorites as Jeremy Messersmith and Ferraby Lionheart? Those worries, however, were dissuaded the more and more I listened to the latest disc by Hiss Golden Messenger. The music is dark, hauntingly timeless, and seems to have the same ragged blues influences as the band that took the top spot for me last year, Timber Timbre. I've said before that if I had to choose one genre of music to listen to for the rest of my life, it'd be folk noir and Hiss Golden Messenger's Bad Debt is by far the best dark, sparse album of 2010.
Hiss Golden Messenger - Jesus Shot Me In The Head
8 - The Walkmen - Lisbon
What was that I was just saying about 2010's trend of albums that grow on you? I adjusted to the fact that The Walkmen have a tendency to release albums with a sparse number of immediately accessible songs years ago because, album after album, Hamilton Leithasuer and his New York pals have released consistently solid albums that stick with you. The fact of the matter is that Lisbon didn't impress me upon first listen, much like The Suburbs and High Violet, but (much like those two albums) as the year wore on, I found myself drawn back into The Walkmen's alternately melancholy and joyful web. To quote Matt Roney's review of Lisbon, "In 2010, the Walkmen’s fetish for—and masterful use of—vintage sound gives Lisbon a timeless quality, entirely modern but undeniably old. I see Charles Bukowski’s Henry Chinaski slumped over a bottle, mumbling the lyrics to a song from his younger days. There’s no bombast on Lisbon. Each track is controlled and deliberate, moving along at a deceptively lazy pace." The rock of Walkmen classics like "The Rat" and "Little House of Savages" are mere shadows here but to discount the record because of that would be a great oversight as Leithauser and company know what they're doing and they do it well.
9 - Sad Brad Smith - Love Is Not What You Need
It was late in the game that I discovered Sad Brad Smith, a story I documented recently in an RFC Thinks You Should Know on the local musician. On the surface, Smith might seem like just another white dude with an acoustic guitar, facial hair, and a penchant for plaid (Not that there's anything wrong with that! In fact, if more guys fit that description, my dating puddle might actually be a full fledged, olympic size swimming pool!) but a few spins of his latest disc, Love Is Not What You Need, reveals he's more than meets the eye. Love Is Not What You Need is an album filled with subdued surprises, intricate melodies that make yo u wonder why, despite a song in the Clooney-Oscar vehicle Up In The Air, Smith's a relative unknown.
Sad Brad Smith - Everyone Knows I'm Still in Love With You
10 - Archie Powell & The Exports - Skip Work
Anyone who's read RFC is probably at least slightly familiar with Chicago's own Archie Powell & the Exports. This summer was nothing less than a Powell love-fest, with RFC debuting the band's single, reviewing their record, and hitting their album release bash at the B eat Kitchen. The debut release from the quartet is an album I've been awaiting since the 2009 release of their Loose Change EP and I was more than a little pleased to find that the full length did not disappoint. Skip Work hits hard and fast, slowing down for almost nothing and featuring more than a few choice cuts. If you're not familiar with Powell and his superb backing band, now's the perfect time to let the Exports into your life. In a year heavy with kitschy indie and chillwave, Skip Work's straight up rock attitude, which takes cues from Costello and Westerberg with a bit of The Strokes tossed in, is a breath of fresh air.
Archie Powell & The Exports - The Darndest Things
11 - Jeremy Messersmith - The Reluctant Graveyard
The inclusion of this album will come as no surprise to anyone who's read RFC on more than a few occasions. I've taken quite the shine to Minnesota's Messersmith, a bespectacled troubadour who's eqular parts heart-on-his-sleeve earnestness and kitsch nerd appeal. To sum things up, I think you have to "imagine a Jon Brion produced disc of Paul Simon singing the Elliott Smith songbook and you've got a pretty good handle on" what Messersmith's going for with his third disc, The Reluctant Graveyard. Those are lofty comparisons, obviously, but in my opinion, they're totally apt. Following Messersmith's career over his past discs, you can see a wonderful arc of growth, a man who is evolving consistently with enough technical talent about music and sound to result in songs that are equal parts morbid and endearing, rife with pop appeal and filled with throwback sensibilities. Check out this summer's review of The Reluctant Graveyard for more on Messersmith.
Jeremy Messersmith - Deathbed Salesman
12 - Ferraby Lionheart - Jack of Hearts
I'll be the first to admit that when I heard Ferraby Lionheart's sophomore release, I wasn't all that impressed. Save a few stand out tracks, Jack of Hearts didn't have anything that blew me away. After a few weeks, however, I found bits of the album popping into my head and that, naturally, transitioned into me giving the disc another shot. It wasn't long before I'd taken quite the shine to Jack of Hearts. It's like I said in my Indie College review, "With it’s twangy guitar and Lionheart’s signature romantic croon, (Jack of Hearts) is the type of (album) to have your last first kiss to. What can I say? Lionheart makes music for lovers and for people who want to fall in love." While I fall in the latter category, I can only imagine that if I ever do get married, at least one Lionheart track will make it's way onto my wedding playlist.
Ferraby Lionheart - Harry and Bess
13 - Karen Elson - The Ghost Who Walks
Karen Elson should, in theory, be easy to hate. The woman basically has it all. As a world renowned model, Elson rose to fame in the pages of Vogue, W, Nylon and more, as well as landing campaigns for such prestigious brands as Louis Vuitton and YSL. One look at Elson shows you this is well deserved. Simply put, she's gorgeous. She's also married to Jack White. Like I said, Elson has it all. It should, in theory, be easy to dismiss Elson's burgeoning music career as a vanity project but one listen to her debut, The Ghost Who Walks, will prove you wrong. Elson has more in common with French multitasker Charlotte Gainsbourg than she does Tyra Banks (Remember wh en that travesty of a model attempted a career in music), only Elson surpasses Gainsbourg in the talent department, so far as I'm concerned. She's been playing the guitar for years and she pens her own tunes masterfully. The result is one of the year's best debuts, part modern, dreamy indie that's in step with Azure Ray and part vintage country like Patsy Cline. Plus, her LP was peach scented. Like I said, in theory, I should hate Karen Elson. In actuality, however, I can't decide if I want to be her or be with her.
Karen Elson - The Ghost Who Walks
14 - Young Man - Boy EP
It's been quite the year for Colin Caulfield and company, a.k.a. Young Man. At the beginning of last year, the moniker was a non-entity in my life, just another phrase fo r dudes. July 4th, however, I saw the band kick off Daytrotter's Barn On The Fourth Of July festivities and I liked what I heard. At the time, I surmised that Young Man "specializes in earthy lo-fi, heavily influenced fittingly enough by early Walkmen albums with a small dash of Vampire Weekend. They play songs that are evocative of a lazy summer day and despite the fact that the vast majority of Young Man’s songs are about youth and growing up, something about Young Man’s music made me want to sit on my porch with a group of great friends and cold beer." In between now and then, Young Man's gotten a record deal, toured with countless high profile indie acts, and most recently, I saw their poster up at Starbucks in between Kings of Revlon and Bob Dylan. If this is the attention they deservedly garner with a seven song EP, I can't wait to see how the local boys d o good with a forthcoming full length.
15 - Agent Ribbons - Chateau Crone
Admittedly, I wasn't crazy about Chateau Crone, the second release from San-Francisco-Gals-Turned-Austinites Agent Ribbons. You see, I'd taken such a shine to the duo's 2006 debut that when the ladies returned to me with a new album and a new band member, my expectations were so high that they were just about impossible to live up to. After a few months, however, Chateau Crone grew on me and while it's no On Time Travel and Romance, it's still a damn good record full of Rilo-Kiley-Meets-The-Shirel les melodies with a bit of the macabre darkness of Rasputina tossed in. Lead singer Natalie Gordon's charm is never lost, no matter how melancholy she gets on tracks like "I Was Born To Sing Sad Songs", and that is one of Agent Ribbons biggest assets: The ability to charm the pants off dang near anyone.
Agent Ribbons - I'll Let You Be My Baby
One For The Road - Gayngs - Relayted
Honestly, I'm shocked that 2010's best of, for me, did not include Gayngs in the top spot. Relayted was an album that took hold of me early on in the year, becoming a fast favorite, and I'm sure it'll continue to, uh, affect the more intimate moments of my life for years to come. There's really nothing to say about the debut release from Midwestern supergroup Gayngs that I didn't say in my steamy editoral "Audio Orgasm: One Girl's Sexual Relationship With Gayngs" earlier this year: "Something magical happened when Gayngs was conceived and it’s impossible to discern exactly how it all came about. Even if Olson himself attempted to recount the story to me, I’d probably hush him because part of the allure of Gayngs is the mystery of how it is that such explicitly lustful bedroom music came to be. Listening to Relayted is like having your first sexual experience resulting in an orgasm. Sure, you’d been turned on before, but never before have you felt anything like this. 'The Gaudy Side Of Town' seduces you gently before dissipating into 'The Walker', a song which ups the ante with a kicky hook that doesn’t just permeate your eardrums, but permeates areas which, well, music just doesn’t usually permeate. Before you know it, Gayngs has changed something inside of you, going deeper into than you ever thought a record could and making you realize there’s a whole other level of physicality that most music can’t compare to."
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