NMM Top Ten Albums of 2010

I could probably list 20 albums pretty easily that were standout albums, but I thought ranking an additional ten albums, slotting them in “just so”, would be way more effort than it was worth (I can’t imagine putting together the 50 best albums of the year like some other blogs and media outlets are doing), so I’m limiting my list to the top ten albums only. Let’s get started.

10. Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

Gaslight Anthem is a punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. American Slang, the band’s third full-length album, was released June 15, 2010. Major influences include Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, and the Ramones.

9. Broken Bells – Self-Titled

Broken Bells is a duo comprised of Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse), and James Mercer, frontman for indie band The Shins. Released March 9, their debut self-titled effort reached #7 on the US charts, and #16 in Canada.

Broken Bells was one of the very first posts I ever made (July 5^th) on the New Music Michael blog, as I referred to their sound as “a little electric (with) well-placed guitars and a good drum track, along with catchy lyrics and an excellent vocalist”. Two of the tracks off the album, “The High Road” and “The Ghost Inside”, received considerable airplay on many alternative radio stations.

8. The National – High Violet

Now based in Brooklyn but originally founded in Cincinnati (1999), The National received a lot of critical acclaim and serious buzz among serious music lovers throughout much of the year. “High Violet” is the band’s fifth full-length album, and was released on May 10 2010. It peaked at #3 on the US charts, and #2 in Canada.

7. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Arcade Fire is our first Canadian band in the countdown, with fans stretching across this country, and no less so in Edmonton and the prairies. They have a significant number of fanatics in our local music club, and probably had one of the biggest turnout of club members to any concert this year, despite the fact it was in Calgary.

The Suburbs was released August 3 on Merge Records. The album debuted at #1 in the United States and Canada. My favorite track is still “Month of May”, although “Roccoco” is a close second. It has been appearing in most major media’s lists of top albums of the year.

6. Hot Panda – How Come I’m Dead

Hot Panda’s “How Come I’m Dead” was released October 12^th, and I posted a review to the Edmonton band’s debut album a couple of weeks later. This is without a doubt a stellar album, on one of my favorite labels (Vancouver’s Mint). I’m especially fond of the transitions interlaced throughout the album, and even within songs. I really wanted to rank this album higher, but there’s just too damned many good albums this year – in other years it might have ranked as high as #3, but such is the albums of 2010. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you definitely should – in particular “Poor Little Ambulance”, “The Ghost”, and/or “Evil Nature”.

For those of you that are counting, that’s two Canadian bands – Arcade Fire and Hot Panda – in my top ten list for the year.

5. Vampire Weekend – Contra

Another album appearing throughout many top album lists is Vampire Weekend’s Contra. Many people forget that Contra was released in 2010 by this New York City band, as it dropped January 11. It peaked in the #1 spot in the United States and Canada, and deservedly so. It’s full of wicked tunes, in particular “Horchata”, “Holiday”, “Cousins”, and “Giving Up The Gun”.

4. Sleigh Bells – Treats

Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells dropped their debut full-length album “Treats” on May 11. It slowly became a favorite of mine and started inching up my top ten list, finishing at #4 for the year. Another duo, the band is comprised of Derek E. Miller (writer, guitars, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocals). After performing at CMJ in October 2009, they signed to MIA’s NEET Recordings and Mom+Pop Recordings, and played Coachella, Primavera, and Pitchfork in 2010. The album peaked at #39, but received almost unanimous critical acclaim. I’ve been spinning four of the songs almost non-stop on my iPad since it dropped – “Riot Rhythm”, “Infinity Guitars”, “Rill Rill”, and “Kids”.

3. Best Coast – Crazy For You

All of our top three albums are from west coast artists. Best Coast’s debut album is the “best of the best of the best” of the lo-fi surf rock genre. I love this album so much. Currently signed to Mexican Summer (if you’re ever in the mood to just check out some new artists, go listen to the bands on their roster, they rarely sign a dud), “Crazy for You” dropped in July, and debuted at #36 on the US charts.

It was part of the first prize pack the New Music Michael blog ever gave out, and it’s sprinkled with phenomenal tracks, such as “Boyfriend”, “Crazy for You”, and the bonus track “When I’m With You”.

2. Film School – Fission

Our #2 album is the fourth full-length from San Francisco’s Film School. The band was formed in the late 1990’s by frontman Greg Bertens, and the original lineup as of the band’s debut album “Brilliant Career” (2001) included Bertens working with members of Fuck and Pavement. The next full-length album wasn’t until a self-titled effort in 2006, followed by “Hideout” in 2007. “Fission” was released on August 31 of this year.

This is an incredible album – another one that kept moving slowly up my list throughout the year, and beat out Best Coast’s “Crazy For You” by a hair to land at #2. The primary reason? It’s a bit more consistent, and a bit more diverse. The songs were available for preview on iTunes before the album even dropped, and even when I declared it my “New Release of the Week”, I stated “I’m expecting this to be logged into my top ten albums of the year in short order”.

1. Admiral Radley – I Heart California

My first post on Admiral Radley was on August 8 of this year, after I heard four of their songs on the SIRIUS/XM Aquarium Drunkard show one Friday morning. At the time I declared the album “a collection of music that moves seamlessly between relaxed and energetic, but is always melodious and just plain enjoyable to listen to … this album has a depth of music like very few albums I’ve seen this year”.

It received mixed reviews by most other media and bloggers that paid attention to it, and I kept wondering if maybe I shouldn’t enjoy it as much as I should, maybe I’ll get mocked for including it in my list, but every time I’d hear a track or the album, BANG, I’d just fall in love with it all over again. So, no apologies, it’s my #1 for the year, and that’s all there is to it. I certainly encourage you to take a listen to a few tracks yourself (my favorite tracks include “Chingas in the West”, “I Heart California”, “The Thread”, and “Red Curbs”) and see what you think. In the meantime, now that my list is finalized and I’ve posted it, I’m going to go listen to the album again.

Feel free to comment, add your pick, or flame away. Stay awesome!