Showing posts with label beach house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach house. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Top 10 Albums of 2010

I've said it a million times, and i'll say it once more, 2010 was an impressive year for music. But as much as enjoyed all the good music, trying to narrow down my favorite albums of the year to only 10 was quite the task. I went back and forth on some of these, but I eventually came to a decision and i'll stand by these picks. So without further ado, i'm very pleased to present my top 10 albums of 2010. Enjoy!

10. Yann Tiersen - Dust Lane


Grief channeled brilliance from one of the all-around most talented musicians out there.


Purchase Dust Lane via Amazon or iTunes.

9. Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring


Noise-pop at its best!


Purchase Romance is Boring via Amazon or iTunes.

8. Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer


Contemporary, confident conception of soul music, with one of the best cover songs of the last 10 years (if not more).


Purchase The Lady Killer via Amazon or iTunes.

7. Freelance Whales - Weathervanes


Odd collection of instruments + bandmates found on Craigslist + a quality rarely found on debut albums = one damn good record!


Purchase Weathervanes via Amazon or iTunes.

6. Beach House - Teen Dream


Dream pop gem from a duo that should be a household name among music fans.


Purchase Teen Dream via Amazon or iTunes.

5. Sonos - December Songs


Talent wise, this a cappella sextet is number one. It's absolutely amazing what they do with nothing but their voices. More at sonosings.com.


Purchase December Songs via Amazon or iTunes.

4. Jónsi - Go


Sigur Rós frontman proves once again that his vocals and production quality are one-of-a-kind.


Purchase Go via Amazon or iTunes.

3. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Synth-pop, new wave, punk-funk at it's best!


Purchase This is Happening via Amazon or iTunes.

2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs


Best live show I went to this year...and maybe ever. Not a bad song on this ambitious, and pretty much perfect, album.


Purchase The Suburbs via Amazon or iTunes.

1. Sleigh Bells - Treats
I've been in love with these noise rock newcomers since the first time I heard the demo for Crown on the Ground. Treats is the perfect combination of synth-rock, lo-fi, power chords, and visceral pop.


Purchase Treats via Amazon or iTunes.

The rest of my 2010 favorites (11 — 100, but in alphabetical order):
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
Baths - Cerulean
Belle And Sebastian - Write About Love
Best Coast - Crazy For You
Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Blackbird Blackbird - Summer Heart
The Black Keys - Brothers
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Caribou - Swim
Carla Morrison - Mientras Tu Dormias
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Chiddy Bang - The Preview
Childish Gambino - I Am Not A Rapper (1 & 2)
Chromeo - Business Casual
Clint Mansell - Black Swan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
CocoRosie - Grey Oceans
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)
Daft Punk - TRON: Legacy
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Delorean - Subiza
The Drums - The Drums
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
The Fall - Your Future, Our Clutter
Field Music - Measure
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Foals - Total Life Forever
Four Tet - There Is Love In You
Frankie Rose and the Outs - Frankie Rose & the Outs
Future Islands - In Evening Air
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Games - That We Can Play
Girls - Broken Dreams Club
Girl Talk - All Day
Glasser - Ring
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Grinderman - Grinderman 2
Hans Zimmer - Inception (Music from the Motion Picture)
Hoodie Allen - Pep Rally
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Hurts - Happiness
Janelle Monae - Archandroid
Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Kate Nash - My Best Friend is You
Kele - Boxer
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon Part 2
Klaxons - Surfing The Void
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
Liars - Sisterworld
Local Natives - Gorilla Manner
Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man
Marina & the Diamonds - The Family Jewels
Matt & Kim - Sidewalks
Magic Kids - Memphis
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon
MGMT - Congratulations
Miami Horror - Illumination
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
The Mynabirds - What We Lose In the Fire We Gain In the Flood
Mystery Jets - Serotonin
The National - High Violet
The New Pornographers - Together
New Young Pony Club - The Optimist
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore
Ratatat - Lp4
Rjd2 - The Colossus
Robyn - Body Talk Pt 1
Royksopp - Senior
She & Him - Volume Two
Snow & Voices - Anything That Moves
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
Teen Daze - Four More Years
Theophilus London - I Want You
These New Puritans - Hidden
Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Underworld - Barking
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Warpaint - The Fool
Wavves - King of the Beach
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
You Say Party - XXXX
at 12:15 PM 0 comments
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Monday, December 6, 2010

(31) Days of Good: Day 6

Today i'm pleased to bring you two favorites of mine that both happen to be from Baltimore, MD. First, the synthpop/post-wave band, Future Islands.

Future Islands have been hard at work since 2006, but 2010 saw the release of their debut full-length, In Evening Air. Known for their rapturous live shows, lead singer Sam Herring's burly voice, their stripped-down sound, and with definite influences from the likes of Devo and New Order, Future Islands are a force to reckoned with.



In Evening Air (to me at least) is an album that grows on you the more and more you listen and should really be played as a whole. But if you only have time for one track, here's my personal favorite, Tin Man.


Purchase In Evening Air via Amazon or iTunes

More Future Islands @ Future-Islands.com


This next pick is courtesy of the dream pop duo Beach House. The duo had a huge 2010. After releasing two critically acclaimed albums, they signed with Sub Pop records and released their latest, Teen Dream.


Teen Dream is a dynamic and intense album and definitely a top 10 favorite of the year. My favorite track from the album is Walk in the Park—a track with slow, atmospheric rhythms and haunting lyrics, coupled with an explosive chorus. If you like what you hear below, I highly recommend checking out the rest of Teen Dream, as well as the band's earlier releases (Beach House and Devotion)


Purchase Teen Dream via Amazon or iTunes

More Beach House @ Myspace Music

More (31) Days of Good @ 35mmBeats


at 12:00 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Indie Hop

I'm not really sure who started the recent indie/hip hop fad, or if it's even that new, but I know one thing...I enjoy it immensely.

Not that I dislike the genre, but I'm much more picky when it comes to the hip hop I like, and let's be honest, mainstream hip hop is nothing to brag about these days. But as of late, there is an influx of hip hop artists embracing their indie music love. I've included a few of my favorite artists and tracks below, plus links to their websites. Definitely check out the websites, all of these artists have their mixtapes/albums/experiments available for free download.

Childish Gambino is the hip hop alter ego of Community's, Donald Glover. Mr. Gambino has released three albums, one being a pair of mixtapes, from which the track below hails from. The I Am Just A Rapper mixtapes consist of popular indie tracks by Sleigh Bells, Animal Collective, The Knife, and more, with Gambino's flow and lyrical skills slapped right on top...simple, yet effective. These mixtapes, and more, are available for free download here.


Hoodie Allen is a NY based rapper and songwriter, who's been gathering quite a buzz on the blogosphere as of late. Hoodie's most recent work samples a diverse array of artists from UK pop singers (Marina & the Diamonds) and indie rock staples (Death Cab for Cutie). The new mixtape, Pep Rally, is available for free download here.


I did post of Rapdragons not too long ago (here), but in case you missed it, Rapdragons is the hip hop duo of Nick Often and Greg Ward. Hailing from Baltimore, MD, the duo recently dropped the mixtape, Featuring Baltimore, which is a collection of hip hop tracks each sampling a different band from Baltimore, including Beach House and Future Islands. Featuring Baltimore is available for free download here.


Want more indie hop? Check out Chiddy Bang and The White Panda
at 11:15 AM 0 comments
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Monday, August 23, 2010

got RAPDRAGONS?

While I shuffling through hype machine for the latest blogosphere offerings last week, I stumbled upon this hip hop duo.



Rapdragons is Nick Often and Greg Ward. Hailing from Baltimore, the duo released their debut record, Ten Stories High, in 2009 to local, regional, and bloggable acclaim. The duo just followed up that release with the much-anticipated mixtape album, Featuring Baltimore — a collection of hip hop tracks each sampling a different band from baltimore, including Beach House and Future Islands.

Jump on over to their site, RAPDRAGONS, where you can download all three records (the third is a Ten Stories High remix album). If you'd rather taste test before taking the jump, check out the track below.

at 1:12 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

UPDATE: new beach house tomorrow

UDATE: beach house - norway is ksmp's song of the day, get the track here.

"teen dream", the 3rd full-length from baltimore dream-pop duo beach house is due out tomorrow. the duo (very) recently performed "zebra" live on late night with jimmy fallon (check out the video below).


beach house @ itunes
beach house @ last.fm
beach house @ sub pop!
beach house @ hypem
at 9:40 AM 0 comments
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