Let’s start with what we can agree upon. They are mostly young adults and mostly urbanites. They pursue the ‘fresh’ in arts, fashion, and culture and discard the stale. In pursuit of the fresh, they dabble in avant garde, irony, and sentimentalism. Many are accused of being such but very few embrace the title.

Now let’s move on to points of disagreement. Many have pinpointed the hipster as that person whose pursuit of the fresh causes a sacrifice of genuinity. The criteria of culture-to-be-embraced is founded on image alone and, thus, is vain and disingenuous.

I would argue that this definition (perpetuated mostly by people who others would call hipsters themselves) is too cynical. I think that the pursuit of the fresh has many different motivations, many of which are not vain. It’s exciting and fun to be an urban 20-something searching for that next big thing. It’s not always about being ahead of others or looking a certain way. It can merely be about art and creativity and culture and having a good time. I would like to see the word recast as a wider term for an ever-changing but entirely legit urban culture, similar to the hip-hop culture of the 90s. That way, the term will reclaim some meaning beyond a trendy insult of that person who lives in Echo Park or Bushwick or the Mission District or the city of Portland (and so on and so forth).

The number 10. What's not to love?

Below you will find my TEN favorite albums of 2011. There is some electronica,  rock, pop, and avant-garde. Countries represented include America, Germany, England, and Canada. This list is the result of listening to about 100 albums over the course of the year… ones that were either well-reviewed or released by artists that I follow or piqued my interest in a unique way. I didn’t thoroughly enjoy as much new music this year as years past, but I absolutely loved each of these 10 albums.

10. Big Black Delta – BBDLP1: Jonathan Bates of Mellowdrone has been churning out electronic rock in the vein of M83 and Nine Inch Nails for just over a year now, but there’s about 0 ounces of amateur at work here. BBDLP1 is sonically effective, venturing between the atmospheric noise of “PB3″ and the blistering pop heights of “Huggin & Kissin,” which probably should have torn apart the Top 40 charts. LISTEN TO: Huggin & Kissin’

9. Bon Iver – Bon Iver: No intriguing (and tiresome) backstories here about cabins or isolation or caves or sensory deprivation. This is Justin Vernon showing the world that he can write big (and sometimes small), important, memorable pop-rock songs built to last. After listening to Bon Iver’s latest, it’s plain to see that he is in not going away anytime soon. LISTEN TO: Beth/Rest

8. Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong: Isn’t that, like, an emo band for high schoolers? That’s what I thought because of the slightly obnoxious name but I was full of wrong. Pains are noise pop / nu gaze who borrow heavily from the worst decade of music (the 90s) and the second worst decade of music (the 80s). Lucky for me, they tap into the better parts of those decades – most notably from My Bloody Valentine and The Cure. The result is sing-along fuzz-bliss that I listened to on repeat for most of the spring. LISTEN TO: Even in Dreams

7. David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time: The most aptly named album in recent history! It sounds like just that: crazy clown time. ‘Crazy’ because it’s Lynchian cinematic strangeness bottled and poured into a new medium. ‘Clown’ because most people think clowns are creepy (I don’t agree, but that’s for another blog post) and nearly all of these tracks have a creepy underbelly. ‘Time’ because it’s just plain long. What works best is not Lynch talking about transcendental meditation through a vocoder (!) but, rather, the visceral and unhurried element of cowboy horror that’s plastered all over the album. LISTEN TO: Crazy Clown Time

6. Future Islands – On the Water: Maybe I’ve been looking in all the wrong places but, so far, I am startled at the absence of On the Water on year-end lists. Baltimore synthpop with roots in the Wham City scene (Dan Deacon also subscribes), Future Islands have a self-assured, Bowie-esque sound. Samuel T. Herring growls the words in his distinctive voice with a layer of synthesizers and guitars supporting him. It will get under your skin and demand multiple listens. LISTEN TO: Before the Bridge

5. Apparat – Devil’s Walk: I love ambient music. The problem is that sometimes it just doesn’t go anywhere. Many ambient albums are filled with sounds, not songs, leaving the listener with nothing more than a new mood. Apparat is a German electronic musician who has crafted an ambient album filled with actual songs. They rise and fall, ebb and flow. He gives us a dynamic hike through the Sierra Nevada wilderness with valley floors and mountain peaks alike, rather than an insipid stroll through a dark forest. LISTEN TO: Sweet Unrest

Apparat: are you hard at work or being held hostage?

4. Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: This guy plays a mean bass sax. New History is an avant-who-knows concept album with sputters and wallops of thick saxophone. Stetson’s playing is moody – sometimes melodic, sometimes rhythmic, sometimes spastic – and was recorded in single takes live in studio. LISTEN TO: The righteous wrath

3. Destroyer – Kaputt: What to do with intentional schmaltz? It makes people uncomfortable and causes many to disregard the output as pretentious or overly concerned with irony. Destroyer gives us Canadian indie pop that dabbles in all things schmaltz. Similar to Bon Iver’s “Beth/Rest,” though, I have had no choice but to embrace it because it sounds so damn good. Sax solos and smooth ballads and sometimes-clunky lyrical play and a froggy-small voice that feels only half sung. All of this adds up to a delicious joy and how Bejar manages to pull that off is the very reason he’s #3 on my list. LISTEN TO: Kaputt

2. Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place: Haunting, atmospheric New Age from a girl raised up in church choirs of Louisiana. She now lives in Brooklyn (what was wrong with the scene in Louisiana, huh?) and crafts an enveloping sea of looped and layered voices. Its repetitive and trance-like and a wee bit off kilter. She is often compared to artists that live in different musical universes, like Enya and Bjork, but don’t let those comparisons scare you away. Let Barwick take you to the magic place. I had to say it. LISTEN TO: White Flag

And now for #1... DRUM ROLL, PLEASE

1. James Blake – James Blake: Blake entered the new year with a few things in his favor. He was riding a wave of media and internet hype, while his genre of choice, dubstep, was finally exploding in regions outside of London. The stage was set for an easy slide into breakout success with his debut full-length album. However, Blake is a musician’s musician – the Socrates of the electronic realm, who could be a glorified king but instead challenges his followers right out of the gate. Curious listeners expecting dubstep (as I was) were left scratching their heads upon encountering a slow-paced soul album with only a few hints of ‘electronica’ via simple, programmed beats, waves of synth, and some vocoder to boot. The only safe move here is covering a Feist song with low-end wobble infusing the mix. A stellar debut that has put Blake on the map as someone to take seriously and who demands a suspension of expectation. LISTEN TO: Unluck

James Blake... my #1 album of the year.

Oh, cool! CK knows how time works!

Even though it’s only been a year since year-end list time, it has still been a year. So, just to refresh your memories, here are today’s categories…

HONORABLE MENTION: Number 11 through 15 on my top ten list, in alphabetical order. These albums are given the same full review as the top ten (coming soon!). As usual, click on any song title to open it in YouTube or on Spotify and listen!
WORTH NOTICING: A list of albums worth checking out, reviewed in tweets. I posted them on our Twitter in rapid succession, and now they’re here!
REAL DISAPPOINTMENTS: There was a lot of great music this year. There was also a lot that should have been greater.
THE JURY IS STILL OUT: For whatever reason, I didn’t listen to these albums enough to rate them. I think they’re probably worth listening to, but I’m not sure how they’d it into the rest of my list.

But first…

SONG OF THE YEAR
Um, yeah. While TK is known to announce one, I never have. That’s because I’ve never had a track that I felt stood out above the crowd and made its presence known as a Song of the Year candidate. This year, though, that all changed.

In 2011, Beyonce put out 4, a record that TK called “the least pretentious album of all time.”  Stuffed inside that remarkably unpretentious record is “Countdown,” a banger that mixes as many genres as you can think of. If you want a high-energy song that has it all musically, here it is: Beyonce’s big voice, staccato horns, marching band drumbeats, Roberta Flack allusions, overarching R&B and hip-hop sensibilities, and a Boyz II Men sample. Oh, and having a kickin’ video doesn’t hurt.

Stuffed inside all of those musical canisters, Beyonce has written a song that lyrically extols the virtues of married life and passions of monogamous love. There are so many reasons you can point to Beyonce being different from the other diva-esque pop and R&B singers out there, but this must be the biggest.

Thanks, Beyonce.

HONORABLE MENTION

Beirut – The Rip Tide
A very good record, but not a great one. TK says this is Beirut’s first album that isn’t boring; I tend to believe a very different narrative. This is the first Beirut album that hasn’t been compelling to me. I definitely enjoy it, but when you talk about great albums in 2011, this album doesn’t quite enter the conversation for me. Maybe it’s too similar to the previous records, maybe the instrumentation is too simple, but The Rip Tide seems like a step back to me.
MUST HEAR: “Santa Fe,” “East Harlem”

Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Oh, Foo Fighters. How badly you wanted this to be a return to form. Recording the album on analog tape in the practice garage, letting Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic back into the fold, and promising more ROCK. While you did deliver on those counts, the heart of your best records (The Colour and the Shape and There is Nothing Left to Lose) didn’t seem to be present. Still a solid record, but much like The Rip Tide, it’s lacking that something special to push it over the top. Better luck next time.
MUST HEAR: “Rope,” “Bridge Burning,” “White Limo”

Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song
I can’t think of a band that had more fun in 2011 than Grouplove. This debut shows great promise from a band that is very aptly named. This is a group of people who seem to love their music, love each other, and love what they’re doing. Their Tiny Desk Concert on NPR Music showed us as much. But alongside the golden tracks on this record, they did drop some clunkers. Just a little more polish, and they’ll have a great future.
MUST HEAR: “Colours,” “Tongue Tied,” “Itchin’ On A Photograph”

Patrick Wolf – Lupercalia
Mr. Wolf’s career has been like that of an elevator button salesman: It has its ups and downs. After the very good “The Magic Position” in 2007, he put out the not very good “The Bachelor” in 2009. When a band/artist has a trajectory like Wolf’s, it is time to worry. Will the next record be more like the good one or the lousy one? Fortunately, the first three tracks on “Lupercalia” are better than anything on “The Bachelor.” Phew. The record trails off in the second half, but it still brings all of the bombast and crooner sensibilities of Wolf at his finest.
MUST HEAR: “The City,” “Bermondsey Street,” “Armistice”

You Won’t – Skeptic Goodbye
Sometimes, I listen to a record and feel transported away from my everyday life to some other existence. When listening to “You Won’t,” I feel like I’m no longer sitting in from of my iMac in a suburban apartment. Instead, I’m sitting on the porch at the old farmhouse, surrounded by friends and making up original campfire songs. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.
MUST HEAR: “Television,” “Who Knew”

WORTH NOTICING
Chris Thile and Michael Daves – Sleep with One Eye Open: Possibly my favorite bluegrass album of all time. I just don’t like bluegrass much.

Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi – Rome: Fun concept, a few good tracks, but the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves: Decent, weird, interesting. Worth a listen, but not repeated spins.

The Green Album (tribute to the Muppets): What a great year for the Muppets. This is a lot of fun, so is the official movie soundtrack.

Rave On Buddy Holly (tribute album): Hot tribute album, including Modest Mouse, Cee-Lo, Florence and the Machine, She & Him, Jenny O, and… Kid Rock?

She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas: This would be a top-10 record, but I feel weird putting Christmas albums on the list. So good.

Simple Plan – Get Your Heart On!: The best pop-punk album of the year. Yes, some people still make and listen to pop-punk.

Weird Al Yankovic – Alpocalypse: The parodies are better than the originals this time, but it’s still one of the most fun 2011 records.

ACTUAL DISAPPOINTMENTS
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
The Get Up Kids – There Are Rules
Hercules and Love Affair – Blue Songs
Mother Mother – Eureka
Panda Bear – Tomboy

THE JURY IS STILL OUT
Apparat – The Devil’s Walk
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Hysterical
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math
Rihanna – Talk That Talk
Teddybears – Devil’s Music

Yes, folks, I witnessed that holy crime of musical merriment and am here to offer my testimony. This is PART I of the testimony and it goes by the name of Tk’s Club of Curious Oddities, Outcasts, and Otters. To be precise, there are no otters here and only a few oddities. To be even more precise, you will find lists and analysis of the music that didn’t fit into my Top 10. This will include the following: Song of the Year, 10 Honorable Mention selections, Disappointments, and The Jury is Still Out.

I think that's an otter.

Ready?

Are you sure? You don’t look ready to me. I see 9 other tabs open on your computer and you’re about to click on the one to the immediate left of this one. THIS IS NOT TIME TO MULTI-TASK!

Okay, now you look ready.

Song of the Year

“Helplessness Blues” by Fleet Foxes: If you’re having trouble understanding why I connect with this song so much… well, it’s because… I was raised up believing I was somehow unique. Y’know, like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see… This is a jaw-dropping track with airtight harmonies showing Fleet Foxes at their most Simon & Garfunkel. The words seem to be written for every 20-something Millennial and are characterized by a total lack of pretense, such as: “If I had an orchard, I’d work ’til I’m sore.” Have a listen for yourself:

Honorable Mention

Ambrose Akinmusire – When the Heart Emerges Glistening: Real Oakland trumpet jazz. I don’t claim to know much about jazz, but upon first listen to Ambrose’s latest release, I could feel a creative, vibrant energy in the songs and an unrelenting warmth in his playing style.

Beirut – The Rip Tide: The Rip Tide is Beirut’s best album to date. He has always shown promise, but his previous releases made me feel like I was drowning in an overwhelming sludge of pleasant monotony. This album is short and sweet and wisely offers retreats from his mid-tempo, instrument-heavy tracks on “Santa Fe” and “Vagabond.”

Demdike Stare – Tryptyck: An overlong but invigorating journey — the ambient result of one DJ and one record collector combining their found sounds, rumbling beats, and chilling melodies. Tryptyck is a rewarding listen but not for everyone.

Egyptrixx – Bible Eyes: A mostly-dark, always-patient beast of bass music. Egyptrixx is David Psutka of Toronto, who finds an impressively mature and well-realized sound on this hypnotic debut outing.

He's not from Egypt but, God knows, he does have some trixx up his sleeves.

Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring: A more aggressive Nick Drake with a hint of Fleetwood Mac and a dash of some 1990s holed-up-in-a-room heaviness. Vile reaches spine-tingling peaks on “Baby’s Arms” and “Runners Up.” Alas, tracks 2 and 3 provide an unfortunate detour from his otherwise gripping and personal sound.

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake: Situated at the peculiar intersection of old English folk and slightly disturbed singer-songwriter, this album feels timely and important. It also feels alot like those pesky albums of years previous that stick around so persistently, pulling on my shirt and asking over and over, “Why didn’t I make your Top 10?” This time next year, I’ll probably have no good answer.

SBTRKT – self titled: ‘Subtract’ is an electronic producer from London who, rumor has it, dabbles in post-dubstep (or as I prefer to describe it, “pre-two-step”). He also dabbles in costuming, with native ceremonial masks in tow for his performances. The album sizzles its way through 12 heavy-handed tracks and features guest vocal aplenty. The glittery “Sanctuary” shows SBTRKT in top form.

SBTRKT.

Scroobius Pip – Distraction Pieces: In his first album without dan le sac, Dr. Pip has plenty to say and does so in a notably thick British accent. He’s a little bit irreverent, a little bit political, and a lot bit interesting. Drawing from both hip-hop and punk, some of it is rapped and some is simply spoken. He wins the prize for most effective lyrical delivery in “Soldier Boy” for the line that begins: “If we’re stopping terrorists…”

Tune Yards – W H O K I L L: Her Kid A moment. That’s right, I said it. Tune Yards’ latest will go down as her boldest and brightest achievement but, alas, I never seem to feel compelled to actually turn it on.

Wilco – The Whole Love: It never ceases to amaze me how Wilco can slap some fuzzy noise on one or two songs and then everyone decides that they have ‘gone experimental.’ It’d be like calling Justin Bieber ‘edgy’ if he got a tattoo. Wilco remains the best boring band making music. They never excite me but they always delight me, just like Cheerios.

Disappointments

Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World
Panda Bear – Tomboy
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key

The Jury is Still Out

Pinch & Shackleton – Pinch
Schlomo – Bad Vibes
Joseph Calleja – The Maltese Tenor
The Weeknd – House of Balloons
The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss
The Field – Looping State of Mind

The only question left is: WILL IT BLEND?

Favorites So Far:
Albums that stand a distinct chance of being on one of our Top 10 lists at year’s end
Akron/Family – The Cosmic Birth
The Decemberists – The King is Dead
Demdike Stare – Tryptyck
Destroyer – Kaputt
Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place
Matisyahu – Live at Stubb’s, Vol. II
Moddi – Floriography
Parts & Labor – Constant Future
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
The Strokes – Angle
TV On The Radio – Nine Types of Light

The Jury is Still Out:
Albums that we still need to spend time with before making a decision
About Group
Adele – 21
Bill Callahan – Apocalypse
Cake – Showroom of Compassion
Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2
Cults – s/t
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Danielson – Best of Gloucester County
The Dodos – No Color
Does it Offend You, Yeah? – Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You
Duran Duran – All You Need is Now
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
G Side – The One… Cohesive
The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts
Hunx and his Punx – Too Young to be in Love
Iron and Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
The Kills – Blood Pressures
Liz Janes – Say Goodbye
The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Mother Mother – Eureka
Panda Bear – Tomboy
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong
PANIC! at the Disco – Vices and Virtues
Peter, Bjorn, and John – Gimme Some
R.E.M. – Collapse into Now
Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde
Tennis – Cape Dory
The Weeknd – House of Balloons
Wire – Red Barked Tree

Early “House of Trophies” award-winners:
Albums that definitely will not be making either of our lists. Better luck next year!
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
Devotchka – 100 Lovers
Hercules and Love Affair – Blue Songs
Lupe Fiasco – Lasers
Nicholas Jaar – Space is Only Noise
The Psychic Paramount – II
Stryper – The Covering
Trio Mediaeval – A Worcester Ladymass
Wye Oak – Civilian
Yuck – s/t

Quarter 2 Release Excitement:
It’s coming! Hooray!
April: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
May: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues, The Antlers – Burst Apart, The Sea and Cake – The Moonlight Butterfly, The Lonely Island – Turtleneck & Chain, Rome soundtrack (Danger Mouse/Jack White collab), Lady Gaga – Born This Way, Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys, My Morning Jacket – Circuital, Patrick Wolf – Lupercalia
June: Ford & Lopatin – Channel Pressure, Teddybears – Devil’s Music, Bon Iver

2011 TBA:
We may hear it, we may not
Blaqk Audio – Bright Black Heaven
Dr. Dre – Detox
Gym Class Heroes – The Papercut Chronicles II
Kanye West/Jay-Z – Watch the Throne
Lindsey Pool – Acoustic album
Patrick Stump – Soulpunk
Rivers Cuomo – Alone III
Switchfoot – Vice Verses
Travie McCoy – Forgetting Katy Perry mixtape

2011 rumored:
Don’t count on it
Andre 3000, Arctic Monkeys, Battles, Beck, Blink 182, Burial, Coldplay, Fountains of Wayne, Islands, Jack’s Mannequin, Jens Lekman, The Killers, M83, Modest Mouse, Moonface, Muse, Outkast, Passion Pit, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Reel Big Fish, Santigold, The Shins, Taking Back Sunday, Tegan & Sara, Weezer, Weird Al Yankovic

See you next time, here at the Zuka Juice of music blogs

Friday’s release of the single “Born This Way,” along with the performance of the song at last night’s Grammy Awards, have signaled the next step in Lady Gaga’s inevitable evolution. She’s staken her claim as the biggest pop star in the game today, and she won’t be giving it up easily.

What interests me about Gaga is not that she dresses in crazy outfits or makes all-time great pop songs. While I do love her music and enjoy keeping track of her antics, what is fascinating to me is how her persona has changed through each of her records – and her music along with it.

Remember 2008? It was a simpler time for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Her debut album, The Fame, dropped on August 18 and rocketed to #1 in six countries (although it only peaked at #2 in the US). It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammys, losing to Taylor Swift’s Fearless.

Despite the near-instant success of The Fame, one secret hung over Lady Gaga: While it was a fun album to dance to, it wasn’t actually that good. I wouldn’t find myself sitting in my room, doing work, and listening to The Fame.

Get up, Gaga! There's work to be done!

Go, Gaga, go!

On May 3rd, they will drop album #2, and if this song is any indication, expect more rustic-robust beauty from this Seattle troop.

What do you think? A jaw-dropping track, in my opinion. The harmonies and vocal articulation patterns seem to closely resemble the sound of Simon & Garfunkel. Also, it’s nice to encounter lyrics with a total lack of pretense such as: “If I had an orchard, I’d work ’til I’m sore.”

Did anyone catch these guys at Coachella 2008?

Carter has been producing house records since 1996 and has grown very popular in Europe. He is now the 66th most Googled resident of Chicago, but is far from being a household name in these United States.

For those of you who reside in L.A, he will be playing at King King in Hollywood this Saturday, Jan. 22 – a show that’s bound to sell out. Get tickets here.

*It was the year that Americans finally learned how to party like the rest of the world. That’s right… trance/dance beats and riffs have taken over pop music charts and every self-respecting party animal and nightlife layperson is better off because of it. Hell, even Enrique Iglesias is giving it a shot. I like it!

Thank you, Pitbull.

*It was the year that auto-tune triumphantly broke out of its genre restrictions. In fact, both Sufjan Stevens and Vampire Weekend tried it on for size, proving that T-Pain does not have a monopoly on that particular technology.

*It was the year of the good. Not great. Good. Perhaps this is best exemplified by Arcade Fire’s entirely good, but entirely not great, release The Suburbs. It was the year of the solid. Not exciting. Solid. Perhaps this is best exemplified by Joanna Newsom’s entirely solid, but entirely not exciting, release Have One on Me.

A few notes about the Top 10 Albums below:

*4 of the albums are predominantly instrumental.

*2 of the artists are from England, 2 from Sweden, 1 from France, 1 from Chile, 1 from Canada, and 3 from the US.

—MY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010—

10. Javiera Mena – Mena

Make no mistake. This is corny-ass 80s dance music. To some, though, that is the highest of compliments. Chile’s own Javiera Mena should be huge by now and if you don’t believe me, then click here. If you do believe me, then why are we still talking about this?

Javiera Mena somehow makes sense in the 21st century.

9. These New Puritans: Hidden

Contrary to popular belief, there are working British art-rock bands whose names don’t rhyme with Shmadiohead (which, of course, rules out Vadiohead). Hidden is a choppy, orchestral, percussive assault in the vein of Liars’ Drums Not Dead. This album sounds like an all-or-nothing hail mary from a band questioning its own relevance.

8. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

I have officially been out-mustached. Local Natives, on the surface, come across as a too-cool-for-school indie rock band who simply serve as a point of convergence for recent trends of boyish tribalism and pastoral harmonies. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll see that this Los Angeles troop have a genuine commitment to churning out emotionally-gripping alt pop. Nothing they do feels new but everything they do feels real.

7. Caribou – Swim

Dan Snaith is a mathematician/recording artist who has reinvented himself fewer times than, say, Bowie but more times than, say, Band of Horses. Swim is a healthy electronic reinvention following the glittery pop of Andorra. It is an album permeated with aquatic sounds, textures, and movements and defined by a laid-back groove. He uses vocals only when necessary to enhance the song, rather than increase the fan base (as with most electronic artists). Check out this delicious number below.

6. Yann Tiersen – Dust Lane

Have you heard the Amelie soundtrack? It is definitely one of the better soundtracks of recent memory, but be warned, this sounds nothing like it. France’s pride and joy (I haven’t fact-checked that statement with France) takes a bold detour into stormy musical territory akin to Pink Floyd and without an ounce of twee. Okay, maybe an ounce or two of twee. There is a smattering of joy and terror here delivered via an eclectic army of instruments.

5. Jack Rose – Luck in the Valley

About 2 months ago I wrote about Valley and said: “One of the greatest living guitarists collaborates with talented friends on his 10th album chock full of old-timey, pre-war American music.” My present-day self couldn’t say it much better than my past self, especially considering that my present-day self is on vacation and kind of, uh, lazy. In all seriosity, though, this folksy instrumental album was a big ol’ healthy surprise for me this year.

4. Gold Panda – Lucky Shiner

The debut LP from London-based electronic producer Gold Panda is a compelling soundscape showing this artist to be more than just an ambitious young whippersnapper. It is as much inspired by Japan (where he studied) as it is England and opens with my pick for the catchiest song of the year, “You” – not quite the best song of 2010, though.

3. Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Rivers

With a name like Wildbirds & Peacedrums, I was shocked to hear that this group did not originate in Eugene, OR. Truth be told, they are Swedish (which is beginning to be some sort of indie music cliche). Rivers is more double-EP than LP, as it is the fusion of the recent recordings, Retina and Iris. The husband-wife duo worked with an Icelandic choir in a church and have captured a warm, live aesthetic reminiscent of Feist and The Knife.

2. Steve Reich – Double Sextet, 2×5

The Pullitzer Prize-winning minimalist genius, Steve Reich, has released another gem with Double Sextet, 2×5. It is comprised of 2 compositions split into 6 tracks.  The first composition entitled “Double Sextet” has a flute, clarinet, vibraphone, piano, violin, and cello each playing against a recording of themselves. The second composition has guitars, piano, bass, and drumset playing over the top of a pre-recorded tape. Rock instruments venturing into high-concept classical grounds. John Cage would be proud.

1. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

On December 25, 2008, I was flying with my family in a plane towards Hawaii with a feeling of closure. I had finished a few important projects during my Winter Break in Oregon, including my 3rd annual Top 10 List. I felt confident about my decisions right up until the point when I non-chalantly pushed play on Tallest Man on Earth’s Shallow Grave. I was quickly won over by Kristian Matsson’s gravelly voice and timeless folk songs, and he has since become my favorite composing artist in the non-classical world. On The Wild Hunt, he makes all the right sophomore moves. The mix is louder and brighter than Grave, and there is even some piano thrown in to accompany his traditional vocals/guitar approach. An album defined by an utter absense of filler with all 10 songs contributing to a resplendent whole.

Tk's #1 album of 2010: The Wild Hunt by Tallest Man on Earth