I'm not really one for lists and furthermore I don't know how I can compare one creative work to another. I'm also not that great with time, so choosing what albums came out this year is just not going to work for me. I do like music. I like music a lot in fact, so I thought I would share what has caught my attention this year as the new year approaches.
Gayngs - Relayted I'm a big fan of Justin Vernon. Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my favorite album of all time. This doesn't sound like Bon Iver, so don't approach it expecting it to. I find it refreshing.
S. Carey - All We Grow Bon Iver meets Sigur Ros. Not surprising considering Sean Carey is the drummer of Bon Iver.
Justin Townes Earle I discovered Justin Townes Earle this year. I've thoroughly enjoyed his entire catalog.
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This This was my first experience with the Chill Wave genre. The soundtrack to my summer. I still enjoy it and it still goes through heavy rotation.
Pokey Lafarge - Riverboat Soul Bluegrass. Yeah, I like that stuff.
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon 2: Legend of Mr. Rager Not as playful as his debut, but what i feel to be a great creative step. I do worry that he may destroy himself at some point. A dark album.
Andrew Bird I knew about him before this year. I just got addicted this year.
M. Ward same as Mr. Bird
Noah and the Whale - "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." and "Wild Thing" The new album comes out in March, but these two new songs have got me real excited.
Miles Davis Again not a new discovery. I just started listening to him pretty heavily.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Let It Sway Broom remains my favorite album from them. The title track sees them blending the sounds of their last two releases. It seems they're no longer an indie darling band.
Starslinger Hip-hop beats meet Chill Wave. Good listening.
Jay Jay Pistolet Seems I'm late to this artist as he's no longer make music under this name and has moved on to being the frontman of the Vaccines. Probably the most underrated artist of the English Nu-folk scene.
Magic Man - Real Life Color They're not terribly well known. Another artist that I listened to heavily over the summer. They released their album for free. Give them a listen.
Soft Cat Another smaller band. Their music video for "It Won't Be Long" sold me.
Summertime Kids One of my best friends. The other half of And The Giraffe, my band. He has two tracks on his myspace. seriously go listen: http://www.myspace.com/summertimekids
You're So Cool Another friend of mine. Making great folk.
Flowmosapiens and Second Hand Scientist Another friend. when you're still in High School, you're not supposed to be this good.
Sophie Madeleine Real pretty, real good.
Big K.R.I.T. some refreshing and cool Hip Hop
Jonsi nuff said
The ACBs another smaller band with an engaging sound
Ted Greene an amazing guitarists with no recordings really. You'll have to youtube this guy.
Aloe Blacc what a cool guy
Luxury Pond Soft pop
Pinback - Blue Screen Life This album came out 10 years ago now, so maybe I'm a little slow (or a lot). I already new about Pinback and had this album a few years ago, but I'd never really listened to it. Every time I listen to it I enjoy it. The bass line in Penelope is one of the best I've ever heard.
Avi Buffalo They released their debut in April, but had probably been getting hyped almost a year before that. The unfortunate thing about hype these days is it tends to kill bands (maybe it always has). No, they haven't broke up already, but nobody seemed to pay attention to them following the release of their album.
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor This is probably the best group musically to come into the spotlight this year. With musical talent running rampant and harmonies galore they were bound to be the new indie darling band of the year.
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt and Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP I hate this guy. He's too good of a lyricist. Hailing from Sweden isn't even his first language. Oh, and if you're a fan of irony, he's actually kind of short from what I can tell.
Mayer Hawthorne This white boy can do soul pretty well.
Twin Sister This is some really really good psych stuff you're into it. I only have All Around and Away We Go and Lady Daydream, but I listen to them quite a bit.
Lost in the Trees This may be cheating because I'm still getting into this band (told you I'm slow to things). Their album did come out in 2010 though. Ari Picker, front man, is a film score major, so you know that would probably lead to something good. They did an awesome Take Away Show: http://www.blogotheque.net/Lost-In-The-Trees,5579
Levek Probably the next big thing to come out of Gainesville. I think they've relocated to Orlando now though. Imagine a mix of Devendra Banhart, Yeasayer, The Beatles and Vetiver.
Love Language This is the sixties happening today. He plays every instrument on the records he's released. Impressed yet?
XV is gonna get big this year. Witty and clever.
I tell you what my name is but that don’t really matter
All that really matters is that I’m one of the best rappers
And if you enjoy my chatter, then listen to these songs
And I'mma keep it short so ya'll can sing along
Freelance Whales I always feel a little girly listening to this because of his voice, but to be honest these guys are really good. They've been hailed as having made the best electronic pop album since the Postal Service.
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy This is not the best album to come out in 2010. I'm sorry, it's really not. I'm almost hesitant to include it in my list. Kanye is not the best rapper ever (despite what he thinks), in fact I might go as far as to say he's mediocre at best. So why did I include it? The beats. As far as beats go I think this album stands to change the game some.
Leon Redbone He's been around a long time. He was recommended to me by a friend. Maybe the best recommendation I got all year. Jazz and Blues covers that sound like your grand parents (maybe even great grandparents) would enjoy it.
Peter Wolf Crier Just watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTyY3BCp3pk You understand now?
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson Long long name, good good music. I guess I would describe him as a more low key Cursive. I don't know if that will adequately describe him though. Buriedfed is a my favorite song from him.
Millionyoung I think you could lump these guys in the chillwave genre if you really wanted to. I don't think that would quite work for them though.
Wait What This is the group that released the xx/Biggie mashup album. If you haven't heard it, you need to.
DJ Capell & Smitty - Bed Stuy Meets Blue Eyes Biggie meets Frank Sinatra in this mashup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN2VKL-4Pj4
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