AND HERE FINALLY COME OUR FAVORITE 9 RECORDS OF 2010… MANY OF WHICH ARE NICELY ORCHESTRATED, SOME PURELY INSTRUMENTAL AND A FEW OTHERS WITH NOTABLE VOICES; SOME GREAT ALBUMS TO FALL ASLEEP TO AND A FEW MORE ENERGIZING ONES TO FUEL OUR MORNINGS… HOPEFULLY YOU’LL LIKE THEM AS MUCH AS WE DO; HOPEFULLY WE WON’T REGRET ALL THE RECORDS WHICH WE HAD TO OMIT, OR FORGOT, OR HADN’T HAD THE CHANCE TO LISTEN TO IN TIME… HOPEFULLY 2011 WILL BE FILLED WITH JUST AS MUCH INSPIRING MUSIC. IN THE MEANTIME, DON’T HESITATE TO SHARE (here or there) WHAT YOU HAVE LISTENED TO OVER AND OVER IN 2010.
9) SAM AMIDON – “I See The Sign” (Bedroom Community)
Sam marries ageless folk songs to the avant-garde arrangements of label mate Nico Muhly, unveiling unexpected beauty.
8) SUFJAN STEVENS – “All Delighted People EP” (Asthmatic Kitty)
2010 has delighted fans of Sufjan with no less than 2 great new records: the rambling The Age of Adz, and a so-called hour-long “EP”, slightly more focused, but just as grand and luxurious.
7) SCOUT NIBLETT – “The Calcination of Scout Niblett” (Drag City)
Raw rock-and-roll songs to burn your heart down.
Listen to title-track “The Calcination Of Scout Niblett“:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Read our review of The Calcination of Scout Niblett.
6) BALMORHEA – “Constellations” (Western Vinyl)
Balmorhea’s compositions got more subtle, welcoming doses of pleasurable silence, and we’ve enjoyed this gentle evolution a lot.
Listen to “Bowsprit“, from “Constellations“:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
5) GREG HAINES – “Until the Point of Hushed Support” (Sonic Pieces)
Strings, church organ, piano, percussions and electronics turn into black magic in the hands of the young and gifted English composer.
Marc’s Descent by Greg Haines
Listen to Until The Point Of Hushed Support on Spotify.
4) PVT – “Church With No Magic” (Warp)
Although the addition of vocals to the Australian trio’s formula may have puzzled a few early fans, it has instilled a touch of immediacy to their music which more than made up for the lost vowels in the band’s name. “Pivot – vowels + vocals = PVT” may have been a winning equation indeed.
PVT – “Window“, directed by Clemens Habicht
Listen to Church With No Magic on Spotify.
3) JAMES BLACKSHAW – “All is Falling” (Young God Records)
Inspired with his new 12-string electric guitar, James Blackshaw has built a more orchestrated suite, which spins and spins, and speaks and sticks to our inner self.
Listen to “Part 7 (edit)“, from “All Is Falling“:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to All Is Falling on Spotify.
Bare landscapes; quiet and haunting.
Retold by Nest
Listen to Retold on Spotify.
Read our review here.
1) JOANNA NEWSOM – “Have One on Me” (Drag City)
With her fingers running across magic strings (and keys, occasionally), and her voice flying high over lengthy compositions, Joanna keeps seducing crowds (and stuffed animals) with a triple LP, which for many towered high above 2010.
Joanna’s magic shall be experienced through analogical means only (i.e. sorry, no official song or video available online).
Read and listen to our top #30 to #19, and top #18 to #10.
[0]
Facebook
Last.fm
Soundcloud
Spotify
Twitter
YouTube