1. The Dears - Degeneration Street
While hardly without its moments of introspection and even heavy-handed worry and woe, the record is full of tunes that are brisk and compelling. Like in previous releases from these guys, this album is falling all over itself with examples of catchy tunes played with abandon: "Blood," "Thrones," "5 Chords" and "Yesteryear" all fit the bill. Similarly, the moments where things do get weepy ("Lamentation," "Galactic Tides") are gorgeous and never overstay their welcome. This—pound-for-pound—has to be the best bunch of tunes they’ve ever put together on an LP. It's Shit-hot musicianship; the band plays these tunes with euphoric vigour and an endless variety of feel.
2. TV on the Radio- Nine Types of Light
TV on The Radio prove once again to keep consistent with the quality of their fierce and focused playing and vocal delivery, within a distinctive soundscape that is uniquely their own. While tracks like "Caffeinated Consciousness," "No Future Shock" and "Repetition" are as a big and satisfyingly fat as they've ever been, the first mentioned track being an exhilarating romp replete with juicy horns and a wide swagger, overall the album embraces and explores the quieter side of the band, proudly populated mainly by heart swelling ballads and introspective moments. I think this is their consistently greatest work to date and will become a fan favourite for years to come.
3. The Horrors- Still Life
Haunted, emotive vocals over top of complex layers of sound textures that give you sensory stimulation overload, this is a stunning piece of work that spends a lot time moving toward the light instead of dwelling and even reveling in the darkness like equally brilliant previous effort Primary Colors mostly did. It's an uplifting experience, and sounds like it belongs in the golden archives of the post punk and new wave music movements (owing a lot of its sound to the Chameleons, Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds in particular), but while sounding like it's affected by and relevant to the present time we live in.
4. A.A. Bondy- Believers
Though it was his earliest work that touched most heavily on themes of religion and redemption, there are songs on this record that sound like they might properly soundtrack a literal rapture. He is a man preparing for the impending end on this record, and while it seems like heavy material, the songs are performed so smoothly and with such powerful subtlety it makes it easy to digest and it just sinks into your very soul, leaving you feeling haunted by the listening experience. Hypnotizing and beautiful.
5. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake
What's perhaps most remarkable about this deservedly award winning album is that this record is so inviting, given its subject matter. Both a post-mortem of England's involvement in world wars past and an examination of its present, the album is unflinching in its focus on the horrors of war, the casualties of imperialism, and the fading of a nation that Harvey loves. Even when discussing these subjects, she sings with the kind of consistently clear and open tones that made her so many new fans on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. She remains true to the obvious high standards Harvey keeps for herself, with convincing performances throughout.
6. Tom Waits- Bad as Me
While there were certainly gems in the wreckage of Orphans, you won't have to dig as deep on Bad as Me to uncover gold nugget after nugget of beautiful, emotionally sincere songwriting and masterful composition on what ranks as one of his finest albums to date. He scavenges through the junkyard of American music and salvages together exquisitely crafted songs that will move you and get you moving (with tracks like "Chicago," the title track and "Get Lost"). This could have been recorded around the time of Frank's Wild Years and Swordfishtrombones, a lost classic of his.
7. Hey Rosetta- Seeds
The arrangements are complex, yet extremely catchy. Hey Rosetta! tells beautiful stories through songs. The imagery in the lyrics along with the melodies catch your interest, surprise you with a variation to keep you entranced, build to a soaring climax and then return you softly to the chorus.If you're not already a fan of Hey Rosetta!, you definitely need to treat yourself to this album. Every time you listen to any of these songs, you will hear something you hadn’t noticed before, appreciate a subtle nuance, or find yourself anticipating the part where the strings are plucked or the horns make an exclamation point. This album is exquisitely produced.
8. Telekinesis- 12 Desperate Straight Lines
With a darker tone than his debut, Michael Benjamin Lerner's second release has a slick production, catchy hooks in every song that make them immediately memorable, soaring, building chord progressions (sometimes with a touch of post punk guitar wash), and emotional, melodic playing. It's a mix of driving and upbeat and dirty heavier tones, and an influence of both old and modern music (like the Cure meets the Shins) that he blends together perfectly. There is so much to love here not to mention the smart lyrics with some surprising depth and introspection.. There is just some magic formula to the way these songs are put together. This guy's really got it, right now.
10. Girls- Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Love summer pop candy? It's got that. Into majestic odes to being brokenhearted? Check. Need some of that lovely acoustic frailty that gets you all weak-kneed and misty-eyed? No worries. Dig on drugged-out guitar heroics? Hello....it's here, too. But most importantly, for a band so loved by critics (and title aside), it's all done with a serious lack of obnoxious posturing or irony. It's honestly written, beautifully paced and very well-played.
9. Say Hi- Um, Uh Oh
Dynamic multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Eric Elbogen has put together an album that's purely perfection through and through, charged with cool licks (including a 70's flavoured one that makes me think of Big Star), catchy tunes and sharp memorable lyrics, his best album to date though all his albums are well worth picking up. He's an unbelievably versatile talent, hard to guess upon listening to this album that it's one person behind all of this. It's a big leap forward for him musically, nowhere near as stripped down as his previous efforts, which were still awesome in their minimalism. Lots of tracks from this album were played to death by me this past year, like "Sister Needs A Settle," "Devils," "All the Pretty Ones," "My How it Comes" and "Take Ya Dancin'" and will no doubt continue to be staples of sets to come.
Very close contenders for the top 10: St. Vincent, Noah and the Whale, The Antlers, Gruff Rhys, Wye Oak, Viva Voce, the Vaccines, the Boxer Rebellion, Okkervil River, Bjork.
Honourable mentions: The Feelies, The Black Ghosts, Kurt Vile, Bright Eyes, S.C.U.M., Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Rifles, J Mascis, Thurston Moore, Mother Mother.
-Dox spins Saturdays from 7-9
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