Best of 2010: Nikki Benson’s Top 10 Albums

Honorable Mentions:

Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz
Lights out Asia – In the Days of Jupiter
Shlohmo – Shlomoshun Delux
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band – Where the Messengers Meet
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Not my thing, but I have to honor the fact that it caused such a stir.)

10. Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me

Have One on Me, a triple LP, left listeners in shock and awe when news came out of its extravagant length. Since Joanna Newsom has never been one for rules or barriers as a musician or fashionista, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she wanted her spring collection of songs to include everything she saw fit. Something major happened with this record. Since Joanna Newsom had nodes on her vocal cords pre-production, she had to go two months without speaking. On the other side of this rejuvenation lied a new, subdued voice. The childlike shrill that defined Joanna Newsom is gone. Have One on Me introduced the new, angelic creature that we have come to know and love. Sing on, Joanna.

9. Foals – Total Life Forever

Total Life Forever is the second work of Oxford, England darlings, Foals. As a first with release an understanding of their listeners, according to frontman Yannis Philippakis, Total Life Forever presents itself as many personal stories wrapped in a love letter. Each song full of meaning, is easy to understand, and leaves a few treasures to be uncovered with deeper study. Foals had previously made their lyrics fit the music, at times being inconsequential. On this record, the musicality went back to the basics. The simple riffs allowed the lyrics to take the lead making Total Life Forever an enjoyable, thought provoking record. Foals, although being a relatively young band, have been trendsetters in the UK. If one where to ask twenty years from now “what was English rock music like in 2010,” Total Life Forever would be a quintessential album to point to.

8. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

For Many, The Suburbs didn’t sit well upon first listen. After the second or third time through, we understood what the Canadian indie-giants where up to. With some of the deepest lyrics to date, Win Butler sings about wanting the blessing of a daughter while he’s still young and makes parodies about modern men and modern kids. Each song leaves something for the listener to find on his or her own time. There are breathtaking moments, but this is not an album of extravagance. For that, it’s amazing.

7. Ratatat – LP4

If you’re ready to dance, pop in Ratatat’s LP4 for your non-stop pleasure. In this electro-dance-rock album, the East Coast duo crams in a variety of hand drums, synth textures, electric guitar, field recordings, and about a dozen exotic instruments for the listeners intrigue. Ratatat has been keeping their fans happy for nearly a decade, and this is their freshest work to date. Keep ‘em coming, Ratatat.

6. Dark Dark Dark – Wild Go

Wild Go was a stand out this year because it’s a paradox. The chamber-pop music creates a quaint space, but there is so much area and variety within the album one could listen to it for days. The basic story of Wild Go is a girl who has a simple life who dreams of getting away. Inside the girls dream, each listener settles into becoming that dreamer. The subtleties of the albums musicality in light drumming, hollow vocals, and an antique piano make the ambiance tangible. Wild Go is a hypnotic pleasure.

5. Jónsi – Go

Go is the debut album from Sigur Rós’ lead singer Jónsi. His vocals are like a swooping paintbrush; Go was an extravagant, beat heavy canvas. This album was a stand out because each song jumped out of realm of sound and created vivid fantasylands. As Jonsi creates layers upon layers of his own vocals, drums, piano, the space is created for each listener to create their own dreamscapes. Those who enjoy avant-garde electro-rock will not tire of this album any time soon.

4. Baths – Cerulean

As a first creation from Will Wiesenfeld, aka Baths, Cerulean came out of nowhere.  As a surprise to many, this was one of the leading albums of electro-pop in 2010. Starting out with celestial voices and thick beats, Cerulean takes the listener through many movements that build on each other and in-and-of-themselves are a demand for more. Besides having intellectual electronics, there is also grand piano, clean acoustic guitar, and many other surprises for the listener. We look forward to many more albums from Baths.

3. Ravenna Woods – Demons and Lakes

Ravenna Woods took Seattle by storm in 2010. With their debut album Demons and Lakes, frontman Chris Cunningham showed off his ability to tell stories that stagger accompanied with music that uplifts. The craftwork of the guitar created spin-off genre “hardcore acoustic,” and one will only understand what that means when they have laid ear to Demons and Lakes. With only an acoustic guitar (sometime exchanged for a mandolin), minimal percussion, xylophone, and vocals, Ravenna Woods set a new standard for doing a lot with a little–Chris Cunningham does with six strings what some harpists can’t do with 47. This album is a stand out for intellect, composition, and heart. Ravenna Woods forever.

2. Beach House – Teen Dream

Teen Dream stuck out this year because not only was it a well-crafted album, it as a whole took on the paradigm of modern-day youth. Be it describing love as a zebra, the “black and white horse marching among us,” or a victory song for the dorky kid who finally gets back at the pretty girls and stupid jocks, Beach House created the perfect nook for listeners to nestle in and fade away. Having a wide range of sounds and emotions, this will be an album that will never grow old.

1. The Ascent of Everest – ­From this Vantage

From This Vantage is one of the most dynamic post-rock albums of our time. Designed to be listened to in its entirety in one sitting, The Ascent of Everest delivered three linear movements broken up into eight segments in the span of 43 minutes. This album is marked by power, augmented by strings, gives each listener ethereal transcendence. With their previous works being more minimal in the vocal department, From This Vantage takes bold leaps into uncharted terrain where the instrumentation, composition, and vocals are three parts equal, making this album a stand out in post-rock, a niche community’s history.