The Best Albums of 2010
1. Odd Blood, Yeasayer - While the album as a whole is inconsistent, the high water mark set by the best of Odd Blood is within reach of few bands making music these days. The standout songs are the most emotionally evocative and resonant songs of the year. Even when gloriously enveloped in shiny barrages of synth, danceable backbeats, and intricately layered percussion, I never felt further than arms reach from Chris Keating and Anand Wilder’s whacked out pop sensibilities as they delivered some of the most haunting and/or brilliant vocal performances of recent memory. Giving away the scorching Live at Ancienne Belgique at the exact moment I decided to finally craft this list didn’t hurt either.
2. Cracked Maps and Blue Reports, Rotary Downs - It’s hard to find a single momentary misstep - let alone a low point - on Cracked Maps and Blue Reports, an album that evokes the early work of The Band (band) in the way it seems to exist in its own awesome vacuum, an environment unfettered by the passing fads momentarily sweeping through the musical universe. Rotary Downs eschew any de rigueur smoke and mirrors in favor of immaculate instrumental performance and good old fashioned songcraft. Calling Cracked Maps and Blue Reports “perfect” would be pretentious, so I will instead call it a remarkable collection of moody power pop and dazzling, spooky indie rock; a mind-blowing tour de force that makes you continuously wonder how “Rotary Downs” is not a household name.
3. The Brutalist Bricks, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The most common criticism I hear about Ted Leo and the Pharmacists seems to have something to do with the unprecedented consistency and overall quality of their catalog, spoken like an uninterrupted procession of albums replete with golden-throat vocals and shredding guitars is some sort of black mark against an artist or band. While I would certainly argue the merits of that general position, I will concede that Ted Leo has made few major tweaks to his approach to music making. It’s a good thing, then, that his approach to music making involves a preternatural knack for creating perfectly hook-y, high-energy, new wave punk. And his output has evolved, but subtle and considerate adaptation can be lost on a general public used to jarring and/or superfluous detours (see Congratulations, MGMT or Maya, M.I.A.). Ted Leo’s genius comes with a uncanny air of dependability, and after a listen to the laser-focused, stripped down powder keg that is The Brutalist Bricks, it should be clear that is far from a bad thing.
