Top 10 (Part II)

Yeah, I know I'm copying Ian's December 26th post, and a fine Top 10 list it is too. But here we are in 2011 now, so we may as well get these 'Best of' lists out of the way and officially put last year in the past where it belongs. Below are my personal Top 10 albums of 2010 (apparently I like psychedelic stuff):

1. Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit
Jaga Jazzist are an experimental jazz ensemble from Norway. And they're brilliant. The melodies on every song act as the adhesive which holds it all together and prevents the many instrumental arrangements from swelling into an energetic mess of eclectic styles and seemingly erratic structure. My favorite track is "Music! Dance! Drama!", but here's a live version of the title track.


2. Dirty Projectors/Bjork - Mount Wittenberg Orca EP
What an appropriate collaboration of experimental musicians! Although I could probably listen to the inventive background vocals alone and still fall in love, the songs themselves are more than worthy to stand aside those of last year's similarly titled DP LP. My only complaint with this EP is that it is too perfect to be so short. Also there's the fact that Amber Coffman STILL has not replied to my marriage proposal. Here's a live performance (sans Bjork).


3. Quasi - American Gong
This album is just really fucking fun. And loud. If you're a guitar lover, I highly recommend it. Also, this particular song has a bittersweetness to it that makes me want to get drunk and sway back and forth.


4. MGMT - Congratulations
Mercifully, MGMT have eschewed the radio-friendly monotony of songs like "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" for this album. Here we find them embracing the bizarre and unconventional. As with Oracular Spectacular, the influence of dozens of artists is apparent, from Broadcast and Simian to early Pink Floyd and Brian Eno (who gets his own theme song). And I can't get enough of "Siberian Breaks", the 10-minute song within a song within a song. Despite its mixed reception and anticlimax (the closing title track leaves a lot to be desired), MGMT and co. have put together an infectious piece of headphone candy psychedelia.


5. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
I have never been an avid Deerhunter fan, but God Damn this album is delightful. Every single track (with the possible exception of "Sailing") brilliantly mixes pop sensibilities of the 60's and 70's with unique, expirimental noise and shoegaze arrangements. The result is an album that sounds simultaneously familiar and so very new. It is bright and addictive. This album is alive.


6. Mini Mansions (self-titled)
Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman put together this nice little surprise. In short, it sounds like an edgy, modern Beatles album. The melodies and song structure are often unpredictable, but these songs are like duct tape to the brain. And they pull the harmonies off very nicely. Also, this is a badass video.


7. Syd Matters - Brotherocean
If you're like me and have a soft spot for songwriters who like minor chords (Patrick Watson, DM Stith, Andrew Bird even), please go find this album! It is melancholic and beautiful. He's French and I don't believe this album has been released in the US yet, but I suspect you have your ways. I could not find much in the way of videos; here's a live acoustic version of "Lost" with his band.



8. Menomena - Mines
I think this is Menomena's least interesting work. That said, it's still good enough to be in my Top 10. The spastic, unpredictable quality that made "Friend and Foe" so much fun has been tamed a bit. Almost all of the songs are a little too long, predictable and certainly--dare I say it again--radio-friendly, but I suppose that's alright. They're still fun, and they do still unquestionably bear the mark of a group of musicians who enjoy getting together and being creative in their approach. And why shouldn't a talented band want their music to be a little more accessible to the human population? But, oh to be a machine..... Perhaps the next time.



9. Zeus - Say Us
Simply put: Beatles and Kinks (etc.) fans, emulating their heroes. And I absolutely love it. I'm not sure I've heard a band do it so well before. Dr. Dog, perhaps, though their influences might be a bit more diverse.


10. Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
This definitely feels like a Beck album. A damn good one. There are reminiscences of tracks from Sea Change, The Information, Modern Guilt. His production and arrangements very effectively compliment Charlotte's fragile, breathy vocals. Definitely the sexiest album of the year.



Honorable mention:
One Hundred Flowers - Mechanical Bride / Owen Pallett - Heartland / The Magnetic Fields - Realism / Shugo Tokumaru - Port Entropy / Field Music - Measure / Medications - Completely Removed / Local Natives - Gorilla Manor / Elf Power (self-titled) / Of Montreal - False Priest / Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me / Stereolab - Not Music / Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love / Clogs - The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton / Villagers - Becoming a Jackal / Clinic - Bubblegum / Admiral Radley - I Heart California / Erland & the Carnival - (self-titled) / Autolux - Transit Transit / Midlake - The Courage of Others / Gorillaz - Plastic Beach & The Fall / Jason Lytle - Music Meant to Accompany the Art of Ron Cameron / Efterklang - Magic Chairs / Arcade Fire - The Suburbs


-justin