02 January, 2011

January 2011

Happy new year! As promised, this month we’ll start with a list of my 25 favorite records from 2010. Not necessarily the best, most creative, or most inspiring, but rather a collection of the records I’ve listened to a lot this year and will likely bear much future listening. Followed by that list I have also included my top 10 EPs of 2010, some great tracks in that pile that just wouldn’t fit into a top records list.

Top 25 of 2010:
1) Endless Boogie – Full Head House
2) Deerhunter – Hacylon Digest
3) Mount Carmel – Mount Carmel
4) Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
5) Swans – My Father Will Guide Me on a Rope up to the Sky
6) Christian Mistress – Agony and Opium
7) Bardo Pond – Bardo Pond
8) Emeralds – Does It Look Like I'm Here
9) Super Wild Horses – Fifteen
10) Purling Hiss – Hissteria
11) Mi Ami – Steal Your Face
12) White Hills – ST
13) The Alps – Le Voyage
14) Tamaryn – The Waves
15) Balacalvas – Roman Holiday
16) The Young – Voyagers of Legend
17) Caribou – Swim
18) Allo Darlin’ – Allo Darlin’
19) Reading Rainbow – Prism Eyes
20) Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Rush to Relax
21) Circle Pit – Bruise Constellation
22) Sun City Girls – Funeral Mariachi
23) U.S. Girls – Go Grey
24) Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal
25) Stereolab – Not Music

Top 10 EPs fo 2010:
1) Zola Jesus – Stridulum/Valusia 12”s
2) Home Blitz – Perpetual Night 7”
3) Native Cats – Cats Paw 7”
4) Puerto Rico Flowers – 4 12"
5) Clockcleaner - Auf Wiedersehen 12”
6) Pissed Jeans – Sam Kinison Woman 7"
7) Kurt Vile – In My Time 7”
8) Leather – Anchorite 7”
9) Population – Demo CS
10) Potential Johns – Can I Really Not Go with You 7"

This month’s mix is culled specifically from these lists. Not every record in this list is represented, some have made it onto the past two mixes and others are being saved for future ideas.


January 2011 Mix

  1. White Hills – Dead (White Hills, 2010)
    I listen to a lot of Hawkwind. I listen to a lot of bands that sound like Hawkwind. To me, White Hills are the 2010 version of Hawkwind, hitting all of the right spots where so many other imitators fail. They also put out a collaboration LP this year with a band called Gnod, which is definitely worth your time as well.

  2. Bardo Pond – Don’t Know About You (Bardo Pond, 2010)
    Bardo Pond managed to slip a new record in about three weeks prior to the end of the year. Which didn’t give me a lot of time to listen to it, but in the few listens I snuck in I think I can safely say this is their best record in about 10 years. Likely to be my favorite band from Philadelphia, I’m glad to see they can still churn out interesting music after almost 20 years.

  3. Mount Carmel – Livin’ Like I Wanna (Mount Carmel, 2010)
    Lard has a song called 70’s Rock Must Die. I assume that when they penned that track that they were referring to bands like the Bee Gees as opposed to the faction of 70’s rock that Mount Carmel draws inspiration from. Note: from Ohio, produced by the (somewhat) legendary Mike Rep. I’m ready for a follow-up LP already!

  4. Purling Hiss – Space Roots/Limerence (Hissteria, 2010)
    Purling Hiss is Mike from Birds of Maya. He put out two records this year alone, however Hissteria is a much more blown-out, fuzzed-out affair as opposed to the quieter Public Service Announcement. I’ll take this side of Purling Hiss any day of the week, while PSA is a more of a special occasion, snow day when you don’t want to get out of bed LP.

  5. Swans – Eden Prison (My Father Will Guide Me Up Rope to the Sky, 2010)
    Like everyone else, I too was skeptical of this Swans reunion. Would M. Gira fall right on his face on stage? Would I listen to this record and just wish it were an Angels of Light record instead? Well, neither of those happened. This record is actually pretty good and seems almost like a linear follow-up from the end of Swans recording career. The live show was not too bad either, although seeing them on the first night of the tour meant we got to watch them work out some kinks (and watch M. Gira scream at the drummer at least twice). Nobody screams at Thor though.

  6. Balaclavas – Roman Holiday (Roman Holiday, 2010)
    On initial listen, I wasn’t really into Balaclavas earlier EPs. As soon as I put Roman Holiday on and heard this, the title and opening track, I was hooked. Pay close attention to the bassline in this track, it sinks into me in a way that makes me think of the first Killing Joke LP. Balaclavas are just as dark and brooding as Killing Joke, attributes that make me like want to listen to this track over and over.

  7. Mi Ami – Secrets (Steal Your Face, 2010)
    I felt really bad for Mi Ami when Touch and Go closed their doors. Mi Ami had just released their first LP, Watersports, on TnG’s Quarterstick imprint, and the closure meant that Watersports would not get the press or promotion it deserved. Thankfully that didn’t stop Mi Ami from releasing three singles and this full length in the next year, a continual barrage that meant they would not be quickly forgotten. I think this record sounds like absolutely nothing else out there, and it’s worth nothing that Daniel’s solo project, Sex Worker, just put out an LP called Waving Goodbye within the last few weeks, and that is a whole different kind of trip.

  8. Emeralds – Now You See Me (Does It Look Like I'm Here, 2010)
    The label Mego from Austria had a run of interesting electronic and noise records from about 1995-2005. In 2006, Peter Rehberg restarted the label himself under the Editions Mego moniker, and by 2010 he cannot stop releasing fantastic records. This Emeralds LP is the best of the lot, however also noteworthy are records released by Mark McGuire, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Fenn O’berg, along with a slew of great reissues to boot. This record has pushed Emeralds to the top of the recent synth/kosmiche revival, and this track is a good indication of why.

  9. The Alps – St. Laurent (Le Voyage, 2010)
    When I put on this, The Alps fourth LP, I really just want to find a meadow and take a nap. This record is the 2010 definition of pastoral. It’s also worth noting that member Jefre Cantu-Ledesma released a solo record this year (Love is a Stream on Type Records) which is highly recommend, as is most of the output on his label, Root Strata.

  10. U.S. Girls – Red Ford Radio (Go Grey, 2010)
    U.S. Girls really earned the Lo-Fi genre tag. Using ideas developed on tapes in her bedroom, Meg Remy has created a murky world where melody is buried so deep that it might never see the light of day, but on top of it she’s there to guide you through and tell you it’s ok. Or something.

  11. The Young – Sunburst (Voyagers of Legend, 2010)
    I’ve been trying to write something about The Young’s debut LP all day, but the words are just not coming. I don’t want to say that it’s an indescribable LP, because it’s not, it’s just that the descriptions, well they don’t really seem to fit. Maybe there are too many tempo changes, or too many mood changes, or maybe it’s the kind of record that totally avoids being pigeonholed. I think that’s a good thing, and you’ll have to come to your own conclusion (I highly recommend you do!).

  12. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – I Can be a Jerk (Rush to Relax, 2010)
    I think both of ECSR’s former LPs made my top lists for those respective years. I then couldn’t keep Rush to Relax off of this year’s list. It was a tough choice deciding whether to include this track or a track called Gentleman. This problem best sums up the band: at times, they can be a jerk, but they will always be friendly to your bird and your cat.

  13. Circle Pit – Another Trick (Bruise Constellation, 2010)
    A back to back Aussie lineup here, with ECSR leading into the debut record from Circle Pit. A very Royal Trux-ish vibe haunts me throughout this LP. A very endearing live band as well, the kind that always seems on the verge of falling apart, managing to pull the song together at the last possible minute and sneak the hook right under your nose.

  14. Deerhunter – Memory Boy (Halcyon Digest, 2010)
    I know this record shows up on just about every publication’s top records list, but this is one of the few that has really earned its position. The progression of this band over the last few years from a bunch of weirdos playing bars to 50 people, to darlings of the blogosphere has been interesting to watch, and while this record is filled with hooks and pop-leanings, there’s still enough of that weirdness present to keep my attention.

  15. Reading Rainbow – I See Light (Prism Eyes, 2010)
    The first time I saw Reading Rainbow, they were opening for Woven Bones. I immediately bought their first LP after that set, and have anxiously awaited the follow up. I was not let down as this shows a more fully realized representation of the sound that was hinted at on Mystical Participation.

  16. Stereolab – Two Finger Symphony (Not Music, 2010)
    Stereolab went on an indefinite hiatus in 2009. That didn’t stop them from releasing a brand new album in 2010. These tracks were all recorded during their sessions for Chemical Chords, and somehow they managed to put a bunch of leftover tracks and two remixes together to form a cohesive album. Supposedly there is still a good amount of tracks from those sessions in hiding somewhere, which are destined to make it onto my top list of 2012.

  17. Caribou – Jamelia (Swim, 2010)
    This record was definitely a grower throughout the year for me. I was first put off, I think, because I was really hoping for Andorra 2, which this is definitely not. Instead, Swim ends up sounding like a collaboration record between Caribou and the late, great Arthur Russell (RIP). Once that connection sunk in, I finally began to appreciate this record on its own terms.

  18. Zola Jesus - Lightstick (Valusia, 2010)
    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I cannot listen to enough Zola Jesus. A fitting end track from her second EP from 2010, look for a new full length in 2011 that is already a contender for next years top 25!

As always, hope you enjoy the mix and I’ll see you next month!

1 comment:

Marta said...

Upon first listen this was my least favorite mix but upon third listen it is now my most favorite. Interesting.