2010 Best Albums (10-1) – Tonje.

December 18, 2010, 1 comments

Photography: Tonje Thilesen

2010 has been a good year for us music lovers, and 2011 already looks very bright with upcoming records from both unknown and known names such as M83, Neon Indian, Cut Copy, Panda Bear, Einar Stray and Pandit; which means I am officially ‘forced’ to make a pick of my top 30 favorite albums of 2010, continued from the 30-11 list. It’s a task of which I find nearly impossible to complete, and as I told Henning at least ten times when I went to visit him in Berlin last week: I hate lists, and I hate ranking the albums even more. Oh well, here goes.

#10. Four Tet – There Is Love In You
I can’t help comparing the newest Four Tet record to Caribou’s Swim. Not only are the covers very much a like, but also could Sing on Four Tet’s 7th album There Is Love In You, basically have been a work of Caribou. That said, the rest of the tracks on the album are as little ‘Caribou’ as they can get. As you might know already, the album is far more focused and tailored than the earlier works of Kieran Hebden, which is for me probably also why I like it so much. If you still haven’t found the path leading to the dreamy, electronic world of There Is Love In You, it’s about time you do. In here, everything can happen.

#9. Memoryhouse – The Years EP
I spent most of my summer listening to this little four-track EP by the Ontario-based dream pop duo Memoryhouse, which means I often get waves of lovely memory flashbacks from the summer holidays rolling underneath my eyelids when I put it on. Memoryhouse’s music does that to you in a way, I guess, all though they weren’t the only dream pop or “chillwave” duo that has been on repeat on my iPod this summer, but without doubt one of the best ones best around.

#8. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
I’d (almost) never been looking so much forward to an album as I was when Crystal Castles’ second release was announced, and it did indeed live up to its expectations — or to be honest: beyond. As we all know, the sound on Crystal Castles II has quite less of that Nintendo punk and riot girl feel as on their 2008 debut, but there is no doubt that they have grown a lot since the last time Alice Glass was screaming into our speakers — still without losing the ‘core’ of Crystal Castles’ unique sound. To be honest, there isn’t a single track on the album that I don’t like, and I sure hope they will continue evolving in music on future releases.

#7. The Morning Benders – Big Echo
All though Big Echo received mixed criticism when it was released last spring, I do, for once, agree with mr. Fitzmaurice in the Pitchfork panel for giving it the Best New Music award (I guess you could basically call it an award, huh). It’s a splendid piece of an album, but compared to other releases this year, their sound isn’t exactly the most surprising or groundbreaking one. On another note, does it really have to be? The Morning Benders make poppy indie rock of which I personally loved more than the newest Arcade Fire release, filled to the brim with catchy, Grizzly Bear-influences and an general longing for 60′s, 90′s, and everything in between. Let’s just put it simple: Big Echo is one hell of a catchy record. Period.

#6. How To Dress Well – Love Remains
I guess How To Dress Well has to be on everyone’s list this year, but to be honest, how can it not be? Love Remains is so beautiful that it almost hurts, featuring Tom Krell’s distorted, layered-up vocals and ghostly music, slowly forming dark landscapes of soundwaves varying from the at times doom-like harmonies to the more mysterious,blown-out tunes. Love Remains rises up from the earth below and hits you in the heart, unexpected and almost painful in a way, but one cannot argue that this record is one of the greatest pieces of art this year.

#5. Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson – Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
Out of my 30 picks from the best albums of 2010, this is the only post-rock record that I truly think deserves its praise. Hailing from Trondheim and my own hometown Oslo, Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson (YPOFH for short) not only has one of the tightest live performances around, but they’ve also found the perfect recipe of making extraordinary, melancholic post-rock, at times almost crossing the border to the post-indie. It’s hard to find the right words for my feelings towards this atmospheric record. I also know that I’m not the first one to mention that their nostalgic sound somehow reminds me of my own youth; of rainy summer days we spent looking out the window at our cabin, of exploring the forests and lakes and my never-ending fascination of insects and animals (of which still exist by this day), last year’s stupid crushes and late-night conversations about the earth and everything in between. It’s by all means a soulful and perfectly balanced record by one of the most talented bands Norway has to offer.

Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson – I Think E.T Is Involved In My Family

#4. Coma Cinema – Stoned Alone
I’ve said it before and I gladly say it again: Mat Cothran hailing from Greenville in South Carolina is nothing but a bedroom pop genius. Indeed, Stoned Alone is a bedroom-recorded record of top-notch, composed by a musician who deserves a lot more attention than he already has. The sound is rather simple, in a way, with his vocals only accompanied by an acoustic/electric guitar, a drum kit and sometimes strings or backing vocals. You can clearly hear the waves of sound bounce around in his bedroom too, creating what you might call pretty ‘harsh’ acoustics — but what I would say is what gives this album that particular honest charm that couldn’t have been done in the studio.

With a tracklist of 14 songs varying from a mere 1.5 minutes to 3 minutes at most, Stoned Alone spins for only half an hour on my iTunes, and is therefore the shortest lasting album on this list. However, this is also what I like so much about Cothran’s music. All though I could listen to Coma Cinema non-stop for hours, there is also something clever about his 2 minute-long atmospheric pop songs, as if they were tiny soundtracks describing different feelings or moving pictures — visualized several times already by the videographer and director genius Tyler T Williams. Stoned Alone is a masterpiece of a record; rough-sounding but still tailored with such eternal love for music it’s no wonder it’s a favourite by many music bloggers this year.

Coma Cinema – Black Birthday Cake

#3. Caribou – Swim
I once went to see Caribou playing at a tiny venue in Oslo only in company with a sober self and an empty wallet, but after looking back at the over a hundred gigs I’ve attended so far, this was probably one of the best ones I’d ever been to. Caribou’s cold, psychedelic electronic music is just as clever and perfectly constructed as an equation, and every tiny sound or beat (like the Cabasa detail in the pacy Leave House) is just as important as anything else. The genres are melting into one another; long lasting jazz-like compositions melted together with the catchy, danceable electronic beats strongly influenced by 90-s psychedelia or 70-s funk. This is however needless to say as I assume most of you have already listened to this IDM masterpiece, which is basically a psychedelia trip in itself — and I see myself walking around in the city at night while every dim or flash of lights moves three times as fast as me. Swim is an overwhelming piece of artwork, and neither does it surprise me that Dan Snaith (hiding behind his high-pitched vocals and distorted tunes), has a doctor grade in mathematics.

#2. Moddi – Floriography
There is something about Moddi‘s particular sound that draws me back to memories of my childhood. No wonder, considering the fact that I’ve also spent many summers as a child in the northern Norwegian landscape as well, where this sweet, curly-haired boy also is hailing from. There is no doubt that his music can be classified as melancholic, and at times almost on the border to the more depressive kind — but at the same time the beauty of his Björk-like vocals and carefully picked lyrics  shines through the surface, and grows to become something so beautiful it’s hard to find the right words for it.

As I’ve already mentioned in the past; Moddi is not easy to fall in love with at first listen. Just as the rivers dug through the mountains of this rocky landscape thousands of years ago, so does the music of Moddi; with songs that often spins for over 8 minutes. It was indeed an individual choice from Pål Moddi’s point of view, and to be honest, it couldn’t have been done in any different way. This is my music and this is exactly how I want it to sound, may sound a bit naive at first, but after listening through the album in it’s whole, I’ve grown to understand that this is probably why I respect Moddi (and his notably talented band) so much.

Moddi – Magpie Eggs

#1. Beach House – Teen Dream
Teen Dream is a difficult album to write about. Throughout its 49.1 minutes,  you could say that it’s an album speaking for itself; containing so many different feelings of both beauty and sadness that I honestly think everyone can relate to it somehow. Beach House has indeed the ability to create flawless magic, and if you have ever been so lucky to see them live, you will definitely know what I’m saying. It does indeed provoke those eternal memories of youth to be forgotten, while Victoria’s hazy vocals accompanied with slow-motion beats and nostalgic synths also somehow reminds me of the beauty of travelling, both in the company of others and by yourself — which may make you feel how important it is to know yourself and what goals to set in life rather than anything else.

By Tonje