Picking up where I left off yesterday…
10. The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart: Live from the PNW, it’s The Head and the Heart! This was a late discovery for me (thanks to Heather Browne), and I am glad I held back on posting a top 20 until now. Their debut album is something spectacular. The PNW has a phenomenal recent history of producing great indie folk artists, and the Head and the Heart represent this year’s best new band (from anywhere). Their self-titled release is marked by warm harmonies and atypical folk compositions that change tempo at a moment’s notice, but honor the Americana tradition in which they are so deeply steeped. Highlights include: Sounds like Hallelujah, Ghosts, Down in the Valley, and Honey Come Home. [Buy it at Itunes]
–
09. Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me: Not satisfied to release one good disc, Newsom offered three and succeeded where many bands fail. There’s not a dull spot on these, and Newsom is closer to Joni Mitchell than ever before, albeit a freak folk Mitchell. As is her wont, she warbles through the album, but leaves behind the arcane medieval references that were present throughout her last album, Ys. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster and a challenge, but it’s one worth enduring. Highlights include: Good Intentions Paving Co., ’81, Does Not Suffice, Baby Birch, and Kingfisher. [Buy it at Amazon]
–
Menomena - Mines
08. Menomena – Mines: Mines is Menomena’s best effort to date. The album demonstrates a great deal of growth since their last release, Friend and Foe, in 2007. While Friend and Foe was lauded as an experimental breakthrough, Mines has a depth and presence that was sometimes missing from its predecessor. Highlights from Mines include TAOS, Five Little Rooms, INTIL, Killemall, and the spacious Sleeping Beauty. [Buy it at eMusic]
–
07. Laura Veirs – July Flame: Veirs’ good friend, Colin Meloy, set high expectations for July Flame, when he tweeted that once released it would be “his favorite album of 20??.” To explain, Veirs switched labels, which delayed the release of this recording. Interestingly, July Flame appeared in mid-January 2010 while Veirs was five months pregnant. She promoted the album a bit, took time off to have the baby, and then went out touring to support July Flame late in the fall. There’s a great balance of songs on Flame. Intimate songs like I Can See Your Tracks and When You Give Your Heart stand in stark contrast to the adventurous, Wide Eyed and Legless, or the full sound of Summer Is the Champion. This is Veirs’ most complete recording to date, which is saying a lot considering her past efforts, Year of the Meteors and Saltbreakers. [Buy it at eMusic]
–
06. Spoon – Transference: Say what you want, but Spoon gets it done like no other band since the late ’60′s/early 70′s Rolling Stones. They’ve learned how to make the tiniest deviations work to their advantage, but still play a style that is most akin to Rock-n-Roll from the late 60′s. It’s simple, straightforward, and damn good. Highlights include: the whole damn album (seriously). This was the first album that grabbed me this year, and I am a little shocked that I have it at #6 while I write this…ah, but the year was more than January, wasn’t it? A great album, that is a “must own” from 2010. [Buy it from Merge Records]
–
Cheers…
Pingback: Clif’s Top 20: #1 through #5 «