/////////////////////////////////////YEAR END MIX////////////////////////////////////
There were honestly just so many amazing albums that were released this year, really, where do you start? Here are the records that lodged themselves firmly in my subconscious during 2010. By all means, feel free to share your favorites as well.
1. Oneohtrix Point Never . Returnal (song - Stress Waves) This album is definitely not as great as Rifts, but it shows Lopatin's desire to move ever forward, exploring the outer realms and distant reaches of his sonic universe, and his willingness to cross into other dimensions.
2. The Walkmen . Lisbon (song - Juveniles) It's usually really hard for me to nail down one single album that I liked the most throughout a year, but The Walkmen have made a near perfect record with Lisbon. They experiment with the traditional boundaries of songwriting and come up with genre crossing pop songs that are teetering on the edge. Incorporating so many styles of music and making them sound utterly their own, what you have here is a band that has finally found its true voice and the deftness to pull off a classy piece of work. This album is phenomenal.
3. Midlake . The Courage Of Others (song - Acts Of Man) Highly underrated, The Courage Of Others is a lament for a fading world. Presented in the tradition of early British psych-folk, an album that might initially sound cheesy has roots firmly rooted in naturalistic elements without being remotely hippy or jam band-esque. This is a great collection of sad, moving songs.
4. Beach House . Teen Dream (song - Used To Be) A collection of psychedelic fever dreams that are the perfect blend of pop and surrealism. Almost every song on Teen Dream is insanely catchy after a few listens. This is what pop music should strive for.
5. Gorillaz . Plastic Beach (song - Rhinestone Eyes)I'm not sure what to say about this album that you probably don't already know. I'm still surprised every time I listen to it.
To go from the Killer grooves of Stylo to the heartbreaking message of Empire Ants to the warm blanket of Melancholy Hill. To be joined by, among others, The National Orchestra for Arabic Music, Bobby Womack, De La Soul, Mark E. Smith and Lou Reed?! That the message of the album could so easily render the songs cheap and obnoxious, but manage to be eloquent and catchy. It's a thing of beauty spanning, twisting and mutating genres like nobody's freakin' business. A classic.
9. Emeralds . Does It Look Like I'm Here? (song - Double Helix)
This is definitely one of the most intense albums I heard this year. It's been amazing to watch these guys grow from an interesting abstract instrumental band to the drone/psych/ambient/prog/stuff/things/wtf powerhouse they are today. This music is the sound of the universe expanding and contracting.
This album didn't really grab me at first, for, like, months. But after awhile it's subtle textures and gentle melodies had me coming back for more. Really really really good.
I think if David Lynch were making Twin Peaks today and he
heard sleep∞over, he would tap them to replace the music of
Angelo Badalamenti and Julee Cruise. Or maybe they're just
the Black Lodge twin of Julee's outfit in the show. Whatever
they are, it's eerie and mystical with a sense of nostalgia
mixed with something fresh and new.
An album of creepy, atmospheric compositions utilizing strings, keyboards, found sounds, static, lost souls, decaying buildings,
nightmares, etc. Mr. Fjellström manages to create the captivating and unnerving pieces without once sound hokey,
and making some of the most ominous and frightening music I've ever heard. If you like the music in the films of the Bros. Quay, I think this will blow you away.
On Galaktika, Alexey Devyanin pays tribute to the great metaphysical outer space films of our time. Scenes from Solaris and 2001 will certainly be invoked in your mind, if not simply drifting in the cold, unknown reaches of space, with no one but your imagination for company.
15. Kemialliset Ystävät . Ullakkopalo (song - Mestari Ei Väsy)As always, these fiendish Finish pranksters tricked me into following them into the depths of their psychedelic sonic forest. And, as usual, it looks completely different than it did the last time. I get lost in their disorienting wonderland of hallucinatory
sound-visions and it's hard for me to find my way back out into the world of calm drones and sweet pop hooks. All of this is fine by me of course, because I don't usually want to leave anyway.
16. Connan Mockasin . Please Turn Me Into the Snat (song - Megumi the Milkyway Above) It's pretty hard to pin this album
down. Obviously it's pretty acid influenced psych, but I think
Connan has gone around the bend, at least as far as his
approach to song writing goes. The structures of traditional pop-
psych are there but he quickly warps the sounds and takes you
to some bizarro world of his own design, full of zombies and
strange creatures like Choad and this fellow who's trying to
become something called the Snat.
17. Omar Khorshid . Guitar El Chark (song - Raqset El Fada (Dance of Space) This is the most exciting reissue I heard all year. First, the sound quality is fantastic. Second, the music is just fucking amazing. Not only did Mr. Khorshid seamlessly merge the worlds of traditional Arabic music and and the psychedelic jazz of his day, he could shred on the guitar as well. This album seduces you with it's sultry, taunting opening and almost immediately pulls you in to it's turbulent dance. 
Is this the sound of the gods' returning to destroy the earth?
Listening to Black Pyramid, you can almost see the obsidian monoliths descending slowly from darkened skies. The most evocative doom-drone album I've heard since Black One.
released 3 albums (available for free down load on his bandcamp page), each of which explores vastly different ideas in his chosen mediums, and each of which is deliciously enticing. The quiet soundscapes of When Life Mirrors Itself demand headphones and deep listening, and slowly emerge from the depths of silence. The warm drones of Against A Backdrop are as comforting as they are diminishing.
One Life Stand was one of my guilty pleasures this year. The concept of a boy band, executed by people who actually have talent. Kind of ingenious. Not all of the lyrics are top notch, but you can usually at least dance to the songs, which are thoughtfully constructed. Plus, the two videos for this song are hilarious and awesome. Not so sure about that cover, though.
Blonde Redhead never cease to amaze me with the chances they're willing to take or the directions they'll head in. This album of sparse, claustrophobic songs of pining for forbidden
love may not strike you at first, but give it a few more listens and it's subtle textures and foreboding layers will suddenly pull you in.
Yes. Slowed down and treated Wagner! Syrupy, malevolent waves of these stretched out orchestrations will smother you in the true face of their nationalistic pride. Indignant Senility is a genius. This album is beautiful on both sonic and intellectual levels.
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