Top 10 albums of 2010

Though the year’s not over yet, we put together the 10 best albums of 2010. In no particular order, of course, because, really, how could we choose?

By Carlie Auclair [health bureau chief]

Arcade Fire
The Suburbs (Merge)
This Canadian indie group’s third album titled The Suburbs takes us into the unsettling world of revisited childhood memories. The haunting follow up to Neon Bible was lyrically inspired by band members Win and William Butler’s upbringing in the suburbs of Houston and described by the band members as a mix of Neil Young and Depeche Mode.  Although it contains some bitter lyrics that bleed resentment, the rest is saved by the emotional connections the melodies create. The songs manage to transcend the awkward borders of adolescence while taking us through an odyssey of warm summer evening barbeques and passionate teenage dry humping. By far one of the best albums this year has to offer.

The Black Keys
Brothers (Nonesuch)
The American blues-rock duo has stuck a piece of coal in the thin crevice that is the music machine and pumped out a bona-fide diamond that is Brothers.  With this album’s sultry but gritty melodies, I would have to categorize this as a true “baby-making album”. Brothers sold 73,000 copies in the first week released, making the band’s highest charting album to date, and rightfully so.  It’s hard not to forget the funked- up, whiskey-soaked vocals of “Tighten Up” or the undulating melody of “Only One”. With the amount of sex infused into this album I believe it is safe to say that this is not your grandparent’s music.

Vampire Weekend
Contra (XL)
Followed by controversy and a lawsuit, because of the picture of a fresh faced model the band used for the album cover, Contra has created massive amounts of buzz for the American indie band, Vampire Weekend. Basically the band was sued by Ann Kirsten Kennis (the girl in the photo) for $2 million for using the photo without her permission.  Putting aside the drama the songs are dripping with punchy rhythms and playful experimental lyrics. Because lead singer Ezra Koenig manages to once again inject his nonchalant east coast sex appeal into the very unique sound Vampire Weekend delivers, Contra stands out like a sore thumb in a sea of lemmings.

The National
High Violet (4AD)
Compared to past albums, High Violet’s serious tracks manage to cement The National as a legitimate rock band. This masterpiece channels the tragic honesty of the late musical genius, Ian Curtis and the melancholy insight of uber-poet, Leonard Cohen. Songs like “Sorrow” and “Afraid of Everyone” are loaded with the emotional leverage of drowning in a sea of lost hope. Although the tracks have a quiet sadness, it is a respectful sadness– one we can take seriously. It’s not the musings of a hormonal teenage drama case, more of the weathered traveler who has experienced more than his fill of heartache. The sadness has an unforgettable girth that invokes the need to press repeat.

Broken Bells
Broken Bells (Columbia)
Broken Bells is a new American rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Oregonian indie-rock band The Shins (another one of my favorites).This debut album is the leggy, sparkly eyed beauty that breezes into a party and forces everyone to turn around in slow motion and ask themselves “Who is that elegant creature?” The melodies have the precision of a solar eclipse and the sexual tension of a first crush staring that little bit longer into your eyes as you walk by them. Songs like “The High Road” and “The Ghost Inside” were made for really good movie soundtracks. Let’s just hope the movies that these songs make their way into are as good as the songs themselves.

She and Him
Volume 2 (Merge)
Judging from my recent concert review I wrote for the Runner, it is safe to say that I am a big fan of this band. Zooey Deschanel provides the charming and very retro lead vocals and her partner in crime, M. Ward delivers the goods as the guitar front man and provider of all melodies. Volume 2 is the sophomore album for She and Him that take you on a tandem bicycle ride for two through a sunny California afternoon.  Their appropriately titled summer single “In the Sun” reminds us of what it was like to be a kid again.

The New Pornographers
Together (Matador)
Even though this optimistic power-pop album is a bit Polyphonic Spree does Rock Band, it still manages to emerge as a very well rounded indie-pop album. Songs like “Move” paint a lyrical picture filled with Neko Case’s golden vocals and the juxtaposed sound of a string based orchestra. For this album the Pornographers must have made a few calls to their music compadres because the amount of collaboration on this album is epic. Just to name a few: DAP Kings, Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, and Beirut’s Zach Condon.

MGMT
Congratulations (Columbia)
Congratulations is the second studio album by American psychedelic rock band MGMT. As professed by the band, this album was a way to deal with all the craziness that had been going on since their last album took off (poor babies!). This is evident in tracks such as the manic quirky “Brian Eno” and the John Lennon-esque “I found a Whistle”.  I do have to admit that MGMT have come a long way from their last album and are clearly committed.

Janelle Monae
The ArchAndroid (Bad Boy)
Because of this album’s pure melodic originality I have chosen to include this in my list. I never considered this album until a young music enthusiast sitting beside me in the library caught a glimpse of the draft I was working on for this article and mentioned how I forgot to put this album on my list. Because I wouldn’t dream of disrespecting a fellow music lover I considered his suggestions. I am glad I did, because this album is just the injection of psychedelic soul-funk I needed.

LCD Soundsystem
This is Happening (Virgin)
This is Happening is LCD Soundsystem’s third and supposedly final album, if the rumor is true. They have discovered the perfect way for all of us to remember them. Go out with a bang and a wicked album that delivers the punchy dance hits fueled by a road trip like momentum.  The band’s self-deprecating indie style has propelled them into cult status with the soft shoed twenty-something hipsters and although at times they sound like a bunch of  garage band synth-Gen X’ers , it seems to work for them. And with songs like “Home” and “Somebody’s Calling Me” this will no doubt be an album to remember.