AA's Top Ten of 2010

Let’s just get right into it. Here are my 10 favorite albums of 2010.

#10 Of Montreal – False Priest

The of Montreal gang is back and funkier than ever. They’ve infused their quirky sound with pure sex in a manner that only those arty rockers could do. I suppose hanging out with the Wondaland Arts Society and listening to a lot of Parliament was largely responsible for the new sound.



# 9 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest

While sticking to their experimental dreamy sound, Halcyon Digest is the clearest indication that Deerhunter has solidifed their own unique sound. Gone are the aimless clouds of noise that obscured some of their last album, and instead a coherent haze of noise has emerged. More aptly their unique style of coherent chaotic soundscapes has emerged, and it’s damn good.



#8 Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

I’m a bit shocked that this hasn’t been on more people’s lists this year. I’ve always been a tremendous fan of Broken Social Scene, so I suppose it comes as no surprise that their new album made my list. Their sound is always incredibly expansive, intricate, and elaborate, although that’s hardly surprising considering the bevy of talented musicians that are in the band. The album hangs together well, and their tendency to wander and compact a million different ideas into one song has been further refined as they string together a series of cohesive songs.



#7 Beach House – Teen Dream

While much more accessible than their previous albums, Teen Dream still has all the abstract and moody elements that made me fall in love with Beach House initially. The dark sensuous vocals, the dreamy organs, and the swirling guitars make for some pretty soothing yet melancholy music.



#6 The Pass – Burst

As I mentioned in a recent post, The Pass makes some of the most fun and danceable music that I’ve heard in a long time. Throwing this album on always makes a spontaneous dance party wherever you are.



#5 NYC UFO's – Newer Stations

Raw garage rock with a New York sound that sounds like The Strokes from a bunch of up and coming youngsters dropping their first album. ‘Nuff said.



#4 The Morning Benders - Big Echo

Their march to ever greater musical stardom continues on unimpeded. Who would have thought that the sleepy hills of Berkeley would produce such awesomely inspired music. Big Echo is an amazing follow up to their first album that establishes the Morning Benders’ own unique sound, shows their increasing maturity, and puts them on the path to ever greater heights.



#3 Shout Out Louds - Work

There’s just something about these Swedes that I love. They have this infectious sound that always puts a massive smile on my face. What better reason for liking an album a lot?



#2 The Black Keys – Brothers

Few good bands have that vintage pure rock and roll sound these days, but album after album The Black Keys have managed to keep their edge. In large part, it’s due to the fact that they understand that rock n’ roll evolved from the blues. So I suppose it’s no surprise that on Brothers, they take their explorations of the underpinnings of rock even further by delving into Mo-Town soul and doo wop to find an even more inspired sound.



#1 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

While Arcade Fire’s new album being at the top of lists is getting to become a cliché, the hype is deserved. This was the album that I most eagerly looked forward to all year, and the album actually lived up to their inflated reputation.

Thoughtful, mature, and hauntingly good, they continue to grapple with serious issues moving beyond youthful angst and rebellion to a quiet understanding of their new lives. Moreover, their anthemic rock is absurdly catchy and always emotionally raw. The crack in Win Butler’s voice is no longer as melancholy as it once was, but it’s still equally as powerful and earnest.

I mean seriously, it’s pretty damn hard not to like such a genuinely nice band.

New Of Montreal Video – “Famine Affair”

Of Montreal has just released the second video off False Priest, “Famine Affair.” This puzzlingly amazing video is directed by Jason Miller, who also did the video for Coquet Coquette, and Nina Barnes, Kevin Barnes’ wife.

This is a bizarre, depraved, and sexually charged new video of epic feminine proportions. The viewer is just as bewildered as the solitary man in the clip among the gaggle of nymph like ladies. What begins as a decadent X chromosome only party leads to the revelation of a twisted and sinister world of distant sexual pleasures. It’s entirely engrossing, visually stunning, and immaculately styled with the unique aesthetics of Of Montreal.

In an interview with Spin, Kevin Barnes described the video as "the story of a man living in a feminine empire. As a male, he is considered lower class. He is expected to abstain from any social interaction with members of the ruling class, and provide sperm for breeding rituals. Each household is provided by the State with one male, the housemale is not permitted to leave the grounds. The housemale must live in the estate he is assigned to until death or sexual impotence."

If you’re so inclined, Of Montreal is holding a remix contest for “Famine Affair.” Submit your own remix and if it’s selected you could win $500 bucks and the entire Of Montreal digital discography. For more details and all you need to get mixing click here.

Watch “Famine Affair” courtesy of Spin.

Kevin Barnes Traces Musical Evolution

Folks, if you haven’t already seen this hop over now to take a look. Kevin Barnes, of Of Montreal, recently did a fantastic interview with Pitchfork, where he broke down his musical evolution by picking one song that characterized that epoch in his life. Starting at the age of 5 up until 35, he explores his progression and his inspiration for the latest of Montreal sound.

Naturally this has got me thinking of the evolution of my own musical tastes, so I think I’ll have to follow suit and produce something similar shortly. Although, much to my sister’s disappointment I will not be including any TLC songs on the list, which I apparently loved in my early childhood. She will never let me forget the mixtape that I made for her when I was 8 that had all of TLC’s Crazy Sexy Cool on it.

Kevin Barnes on New Roman GianArthur Track

Kevin Barnes is everywhere and of Montreal hasn’t even dropped their new album yet!

Here he is on Roman GianArthur’s new track, “Depraved Velvet,” lending some sensual Delfonics-esque vocals. I had no idea that Kevin Barnes could sound so soulful, but then again I should know by now to never be surprised by anything that he does.

In case you were wondering who Roman GianArthur is, I have no idea either. But he does get major cool points for his association to Kevin Barnes and other Wondaland Arts Society act Janelle Monae. After picking Janelle Monae as the next biggest thing, we should be advised when Kevin Barnes declares in Stereogum that, “Roman GianArthur is gonna be the story of 2011, he is a musical genius, a brilliant arranger, writer, performer … he’s probably a good cook as well. Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait — when his album drops, people are gonna drop their groceries!”

Check out the track and Roman GianArthur.

Roman GianArthur - Depraved Valet (Feat. Kevin Barnes) by Anonymous Aesthetes

The New Twilight Soundtrack WTF? + of Montreal announces tour with Janelle Monae

I suppose I’m a little late on this one, but surprisingly I don’t keep up with the latest developments in Twilight Universe. I recently received an email from the Metric newsletter detailing their new release "Eclipse (All Yours).” Excited, I listened to the song, not knowing that it was written expressly for the new Twilight movie. Needless to say I was shocked by the terrible lyrics and the shoddiness of…well everything.

I love Emily Haines, but it sounded like it was written by some emo suburban teenager writing poetry in her diary. “Tear me down they can't take you out of my thoughts/Under every scar there’s a battle I’ve lost/Will they stop when they see us again?” Come on! Really?!

A little perturbed, I decided to further investigate this. To my surprise, the folks behind Twilight managed to get some serious talent on board for the soundtrack. The list of quality bands that contributed new material is pretty astounding:

Beck
Metric
Cee-Lo
The Black Keys
The Dead Weather
Florence and the Machine
Vampire Weekend
Band of Horses

I suppose my biggest problem with this is that these bands have suddenly opened the floodgates to pre-pubescent Justin Bieber crazed teens. Call me a snob, but I don’t really want to see any Justin Bieber tweens at a Metric concert or a Dead Weather concert. Again, not to be snobby, but I will be, I’m not sure how much the average Twilight fan actually appreciates the magnitude of creative abilities that went into this soundtrack.

Well, I suppose I have to be honest now. All of this venting is really just to hide the fact that I think this soundtrack has the potential to kick some serious ass and I’ve already ordered my copy, watched all the videos online, and am in the process of purchasing the previous two soundtracks.

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of Montreal Announces Tour with Janelle Monae

On to more exciting and less embarrassing news, of Montreal has just announced their joint tour with rising songstress Janelle Monae. At first the combination sounded a bit odd, but it’s actually quite logical. Of Montreal has always had a flair for the visual, and she is essentially the female version of Andre 3000. Just check out how stylish the concept is for her music video for, Tightrope.

What excites me more is how excited Kevin Barnes is. According to the good folks over at Pitchfork, Kevin Barnes wants to “marry the two shows together, in a way. It doesn't feel like you go see a band, and there's a pause, and there's another pause, and then it's over. We want to control the environment from right when the doors open, and have performance art and video performances and so many different levels of artistic stimulation that would go on throughout the whole night, so there's never a moment where there's house music or boring lighting. We want to transform the venues each night, so it becomes this exceptional experience for everyone."

How they plan to “marry” their two very different styles together is beyond me, but I am dying to find out.

Perhaps a combination of

and

 

Although, this might violate Kevin Barnes' golden rule of not wearing pants on stage.