Best of 2010

Brian's picks (2010)

Brian Shultz

Brian is the reviews editor at Punknews.org - ed.

Impose Your Musical Tastes Upon This Immense Landscape

I made one giant leap forward and one small step backwards this year. You see, I was supposed to earn a bachelor's degree last week after toiling in various colleges for the last seven years or so, but one professor decided to give me a 'D' instead of the 'C' I needed–which means I'm back at my old community college, locked in for one more semester. Maybe I'll end up in wacky sitcom situations, at least. But for you, dear readers, it also means another solid five months of my obsessive-compulsive editorial regard.

Other than that, 2010 was the same old story: fueling my music obsession with shows and records and trying to keep my head above the proverbial water.

There's one Punknews thing in 2011 I'm most excited for. In June 2009 I conceived of a big feature that would take a ton of work and cracking the whip. We were hoping to unveil it in 2010, but it all stalled in the summer when certain contributors became tardy participants and the fall semester took over my life. With a little less school responsibility over my head, we should finally be able to post it next year. I see it as something that can be used as both a cool resource and an interesting read for years to come, so look forward to that.

Other than that, thanks for reading. We wouldn't do what we do if it wasn't for you, after all. You guys get a bad rap, but you've got heart, kid.

You Can Even Pick the Records You Like (Honorable Mentions)

The Dillinger Escape Plan: Option Paralysis (Party Smasher / Season of Mist); Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson: Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson (How Is Annie / Friend of Mine); The Menzingers: Chamberlain Waits (Red Scare); Veil Veil Vanish: Change in the Neon Light (Metropolis); Tim Kasher: The Game of Monogamy (Saddle Creek); Alpha & Omega: Life Swallower (6131); The Dopamines: Expect the Worst (Paper + Plastick); Coliseum: House with a Curse (Temporary Residence); Grown Ups: More Songs (Big Scary Monsters; reissued by Topshelf); Smoke or Fire: The Speakeasy (Fat Wreck Chords)

Top 20 Full-lengths

20
Iron Chic: Not Like This
October 5 on Dead Broke Rekerds / 86'd Records
Forceful melodic punk that tries to make the best of the sad-sack adult grumpiness we all start to encounter when the mid-20s come and begin wearing down.

19
Transit: Keep This to Yourself
September 7 on Run for Cover Records
While this isn't the direction I wanted Transit to go after their amazing 2009 EP, Stay Home, I can't deny how well the band infuse their brand of pop-punk with subtle flourishes of carefully technical guitars, diverse three-part vocal harmonies and '90s emo.

18
Envy: Recitation
October 12 on Temporary Residence Limited
One of Envy's greatest recorded accomplishments to date is a refinement of their intense, simultaneously craggy and beautiful post-rock. It's got some of their most surprisingly accessible moments and economical songs, but the band haven't at all lost the unique contrast they've been concocting for so long.

17
Everyone Everywhere: Everyone Everywhere
May 4 on Tiny Engines
The title of Everyone Everywhere's A Lot of Weird People Standing Around 7" could have been–and probably was–self-referential. It was a couple of songs that were rather dorky and a little bit silly, but had an earnestness and candor blessed by a wonderful sense of melody. It was like the nerd-rock Promise Ring. There are a greater variety of indie-punk influences present on the band's debut full-length (Piebald, the Weakerthans, American Football), but the point here is that the band are aurally maturing into something far greater than geeky power-pop toss-offs. Not that they were ever producing such, nor will, but there's a monolithic sense of melody and some big dynamics here restrained by modest, homegrown production tones and utter sincerity that are hopefully just the building block for a record in the future that could really be something to write home about.

16
No Age: Everything in Between
September 28 on Sub Pop Records
No Age have always been influenced by the caustic melody of the late '80s and early '90s, brought to you by Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and Hüsker Dü. But on the band's second proper LP, Everything in Between, it's brought to the forefront. Sure, there's still plenty of the pure racket and noise the band's punctured listeners with since their early singles and EPs, but there's more of a "songs" focus on Everything in Between that's best represented by the wild swing of the aggressive "Fever Dreaming" or the muffled, surfy power-pop of "Valley Hump Crash." Still, it's there: There's an uncomfortably piercing line of feedback that laces itself through "Glitter" that will simply put you on edge, but it's something you tolerate because of how basically infectious the melody is. And that's the single.

15
Best Coast: Crazy for You
July 27 on Mexican Summer
I forgive Bethany Cosentino for her curt lyrical prowess because of how addicting and alluring Best Coast's songs are at their core. Simple, reverb-y, mid-fi indie pop songs with relentless hooks and hazy yearning.

14
The Republic of Wolves: Varuna
self-released November 30
The hype on the Republic of Wolves was mostly restricted to alternative and "emo" webzines, never reaching the radar of the hipster blogs that are seemingly responsible for the modern zeitgeist of cultural construct and critique. That's fine; they don't deserve the band, or Varuna for that matter. The Long Island act started out as a studio project, and that's rather apparent in how meticulously produced and nuanced their first full-length is. It's an hour-plus of slow-roasted alternative/indie rock burners and folk-tinged jawns, from an independent-minded band appreciative of help but knowing precisely what they're doing on their own.

13
Make Do and Mend: End Measured Mile
October 26 on Paper + Plastick / Panic Records
It took Hot Water Music five albums to write Caution. It took Make Do and Mend one. In all seriousness, Make Do and Mend's unlikely to ever shake the comparison, but honestly, they did find a stronger, more unique identity on their first full-length. The band writes some bombastic, bellowed choruses amid their strained energy and aggression, with just the right amount of distortion, reverb and delay ringing out at all the right moments. And yet there's a sense here that they could take this so much further than basements and even ballroms while retaining the inherent sincerity that makes their songs so alluring in the first place.

12
The Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
June 15 on SideOneDummy Records
Even the initially questionable reverb on Brian Fallon's voice couldn't mask the emotion resonant at the center of the Gaslight Anthem's 2008 breakthrough, The '59 Sound. So it's ironic that the band abandoned it for American Slang but scaled back the heartbreak anyway (save their most resolutely yearning song to date, closer "We Did It When We Were Young"). Still, this is an insistently strong collection of songs that softens the nostalgic tilt and punk influence, mostly trading them in for stripped-down, Americana rock songs with an air of sincerity lost on their radio peers.

11
Rosetta: A Determinism of Morality
May 25 on Translation Loss Records
From the earth-shaking stomp and beastly howl that comes six seconds into opener "Ayil," it becomes clear that Rosetta's third full-length should be an instant post-metal favorite. A Determinism of Morality is inherently straightforward compared to the band's prior releases, but the compelling plow the band command this album with makes it possibly their best effort yet. This is most certainly their Panopticon.

10
Warpaint: The Fool
October 25 on Rough Trade Records
Warpaint are well aware of the premier alternative acts of the '80s and '90s, but they're by no means cribbing notes without forming their own thesis. The band's long-gestating debut full-length is a ghostly, desolate blend of the life-threatening dark of '80s post-punk and the boiling murmur of '90s alternative, a dreary nine-song effort that leaves no room for filler or failure…even if it sounds like Warpaint is slipping into emotional oblivion.

9
Foals: Total Life Forever
June 15 on Sub Pop Records
As Foals move further into the realm of "alternative dance" and less the math rock landscape they once seemed apparent to conquer, the band's actually been able to wield a wider variety of moods and textures. It can range from powerful post-rock experiments like "Spanish Sahara" to more accessible ventures like the hook-filled "Miami" and "This Orient."

8
Circa Survive: Blue Sky Noise
April 27 on Atlantic Records
There's a little more gloss and sparkle on Circa Survive's major label debut, but this is still by and large the same band that provided the androgynous-vocals-over-top-wintry-soundscapes on 2005's Juturna–only better. You can still hear Anthony Green's fragile ache in songs like "I Felt Free" and "Imaginary Enemy"–they're just a little bigger and more anthemic these days.

7
Balance and Composure / Tigers Jaw: Split
May 11 on No Sleep Records / Run for Cover Records
Possibly the best split full-length in punk rock since BYO was cranking them out. But we use "punk rock" here in looser, broader terms: Balance and Composure's four songs are a masterful quartet of depressive odes that wed the demonic prowl of later Brand New with the bleak, pedal-laden brood of The River Bed-era Small Brown Bike. They're dynamic, tragic and 100% infectious through and through. To get this split on the list, all Tigers Jaw really had to do was show up–but their side's not half-bad either. The band offers a new pair of humming cuts while picking up two older tracks from their sketchy 2006 full-length, Belongs to the Dead, running them through the far cleaner focus of their present-day procedure of fuzzy, Promise Ring/Saves the Day-style emo and '90s indie rock crunch.

6
Jónsi: Go
April 5 on XL Recordings / Parlophone Records
There are times on Go, the proper solo debut from the Sigur Rós frontman, when it indeed sounds like that band's emotional epics are merely being condensed into equally effective, gut-tickling ballads. At nine tracks, that would have been just fine, but Jónsi shows to be far more versatile. More Debussy than Do Make Say Think, Go chirps and slams with naturelike and percussively wild, artful indie pop, bustling with chilling melodies in both major- and minor-key. The buzz in Jónsi's ears certainly isn't leading him to play endlessly–it's more effortlessly.

5
Hostage Calm: Hostage Calm
September 21 on Run for Cover Records
Another entry in this list that proves my soft side for progressive melodic hardcore acts. On their sophomore full-length, Hostage Calm fits this bill steadfastly. The band is pushing forward but they aren't afraid to look back–plenty of nods to the Smiths and the Clash infect this album, but there's a playful angularity and melodic manipulation respectively reminiscent of modern cult faves like Gatsbys American Dream and Crime in Stereo. It's all tied together with some of the most articulate, socially and politically aware subject matter this subgenre's seen in a long time.

4
Vampire Weekend: Contra
January 12 on XL Recordings
As Aubin says: Yeah, they're still trying to write Graceland. You can't listen to "White Sky" and not hear Paul Simon's soft, wistful, 44-year-old voice in a 25-year-old Ezra Koenig despite the song's spry electronics and guitar taps. But Contra is as just as fun and enjoyable as its self-titled predecessor too, from the ska-lite of "Holiday" and the fussy, surprisingly tasteful Auto-Tune pop of "California English" to the precise hyperdrive of "Cousins" and confident swagger of "Giving Up the Gun." And the whole prep school thing? Sometimes a gimmick just works.

3
Beach House: Teen Dream
January 26 on Sub Pop Records
On Beach House's engrossing third full-length, the band forces artificialities to feel real. Seasick synths never sounded so warm as they do on the magnificent "Norway" and "Silver Soul," while the pulsing metronome of the drum machine in "Walk in the Park" and "Lover of Mine" pumps the proverbial blood through Teen Dream's veins. It's all harnessed by Victoria Legrand's decidedly real and musky voice, directing the band's dreamy indie pop through pastel soundscapes. I'm well removed from my teenage years, but I'll fall comatose in Neverland if it means being forever lost in Teen Dream's atmospheric breadth.