My Top Ten Albums of 2010... Sorta...

It's that time of year when media blogs and entertainment magazines put out their retrospective top ten lists for the year in various categories.  Admittedly, I have not listened to every album released this year, so picking a best album of 2010 would have about as much credibility as me voting in the presidential election in another country.  Instead, I am going to list my ten favorite albums I heard for the first time this year.  There will undoubtedly be 2010 albums, but there could also be 1974 albums.  Also, they aren't ranked because ranking things is bullshit.

1. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

They're folk. They're heavy on the vocals and the strings. They're British. These are the facts, but they're not what you come away with after hearing this album. You come away from some of the more dramatic tracks feeling a little hollow, like only half a story's been told because the other half might be too grim to tell. But then there are tracks that leave you feeling kind of alright about things; maybe your shit's not as bad as you thought. And then you're pretty sure the rest of the tracks are about someone you know. It's a winning balance between overwhelming universality (who can't relate to the profane hook in "Little Lion Man"?) and intriguingly alienating specificity (I'd wager less than 1% of people listening to this album actually experienced the Dust Bowl).

2. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog

Sam Beam is my new favorite songwriter. Every single song on this album has at least two lyrical morsels I chew on every now and then because they are so very delicious. Plus, there's something very home-boy about this guy. Like me, he was born and raised in South Carolina, so when he mentions the "upstate" or the "state house," I get this haughty feeling that I know what he's saying better than most people. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I was about a three-minute walk from about five farms, so all that agricultural imagery in "Pagan Angel" and "Resurrection Fern" is not lost on me at all. Quite the contrary.

3. Florence + the Machine - Lungs

Well, this one came out of nowhere. I listened to it for the first time about three days ago, and I knew pretty much instantly that it was gold. Florence Welch is an incredible vocalist; hearing her belt it out on "Girl With One Eye" is just one of many reasons I have been playing this album on repeat for hours on end.

4. Muse - Resistance

It's Muse. Did you think I wouldn't put it on this list? To be fair, this album is no Black Holes and Revelations. Actually, it may be too similar to BHaR to really stand out as the exemplar of Muse's talent, but among the albums I heard in 2010, it shines.

 5. Civil Twilight - Civil Twilight

These three guys from South Africa are the closest a band has come to sounding like Starsailor since Starsailor. Don't get me wrong, they have their own sound, but the similarities are there, to be sure. I saw them perform live and met them, and they're a class act. Pound for pound, this album has more emotion on it than anything else on this list, and probably on anything on any of the lists to come.
 
6. The Black Keys - Attack and Release

Played Grand Theft Auto IV some months ago. Heard the song "Strange Times" on an in-game radio station. Listened to the rest of the album. Found out I'm more okay with blues-rock than I thought.

7. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul

I don't know why this album is as good as it is. It could be the variety of artists that perform on it, or it could be the thematic consistency of the lyrics, or both. It's like 75% indie rock, 20% alternative, and 5% David Lynch, but somehow, the parts make a really strong whole.

8. Phil Selway - Familial

This album is not what one would expect from the drummer of a band like Radiohead. I have been told that you can't really expect anything specific from the drummer of a band like Radiohead, but I am certain the last thing you would expect is Familial. Call me crazy, but I just did not expect the drummer of a band like Radiohead to go minimal on instruments and introspective on lyrics and whispery on vocals to make a borderline folk album. In case the album title isn't a dead giveaway, Phil likes to sing about family matters, and he likes to do so in as haunting a way as possible. It is so many galaxies away from Radiohead, but ultimately, that's not as detrimental as it sounds. Not detrimental at all really. I hope he keeps doing solo stuff.

9. Fran Healy - Wreckorder

What is Fran Healy without Travis? That is the question I asked when I found out this album was a thing. Upon listening, however, the question became "What is Travis without Fran Healy?" He must be like 90% of that band because if I had heard it not knowing it was a solo album, I would have assumed it was the whole group. Paul McCartney plays on it, but you can't tell, which may be a good thing. Neko Case sings on it, and you can tell, which is definitely a good thing. Overall, the best word to describe Fran's solo debut is "Travis-y."

10. Radiohead - In Rainbows (second disc of special edition)

I really didn't want to do this. Radiohead doesn't need more accolades or places on people's top whatever lists. But, in the spirit of fairness and honesty, the eight bonus tracks on In Rainbows are fucking good, better than anything on the underwhelming single-disc edition. They should have been their own release, either after or instead of In Rainbows (note: all this hating on In Rainbows is purely relative. I actually like that album, but it pales in comparison to what somehow did not make it onto the album.).  There are just so many speeds here: tearjerking, danceable, sleepy. It's all over the place in the best way possible. Plus, there's a Doctor Who reference which kind of suckered me.

Honorable mentions because I'm too indecisive to leave some things off this list:
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Science fiction indie rock. Need I say more?)
Tired Pony - The Place We Ran From (Gary Lightbody makes this sound like Snow Patrol, but everyone else involved makes it sound like alt-country. Either way, it's a winner.)
Broken Bells - Broken Bells (Because this list needed more Danger Mouse.)
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig (Bluegrass covers of "Hit 'em Up Style" and "Trampled Rose" will get your attention, and the rest of the album will hold it.)
Loreena McKennitt - The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Not her best, but still Loreena.)