Showing posts with label The Soft Pack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Soft Pack. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

2010: The 20 Best Albums I Heard

As I alluded to yesterday, I hesitate to create a list that is lacking what I hope to be one of my favorite albums, Ryan Adams' III/IV.  But of the 70+ albums I bought, these are the best albums I heard that were released in 2010.

Honorable Mentions:
Mountain Man - Made the Harbor
MGMT - Congratulations
The Walkmen - Lisbon
Warpaint - The Fool
The Acorn - No Ghost

The Top 20:

20.  Suckers - Wild Smile

This one took me a while, but if you can take the weirdness and the occasional falsetto, it's well worth your time.


19.  Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Everyone else's #1, I thought there were a number of great songs, some good ones, and one that ended with 3-4 minutes of Chris Rock standup. 


18.  Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

I'm still torn on whether I love or just want to be friends with this album.  I kind of liked sweet, quiet Sufjan more than neon-electro Sufjan.


17.  The Love Language - Libraries

My favorite NC band of the moment, I have a feeling these guys will be a lot bigger when album #3 is released.


16.  The Black Keys - Brothers

One of the most consistently great bands delivers another consistently great LP.


15.  Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I'm still partial to Funeral, but years from now I wonder how this LP will compare.


14.  Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love

Six years of waiting for this LP was pretty much worth it - not as eclectic as The Life Pursuit, but still a great record.


13.  Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

Broken Social Scene probably delivers fewer hooks than any band, but the more I listen to this LP, the more I like it...even with a song titled "Texico Bitches."


12.  Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now

After Johnny's work on Jenny's Acid Tongue, I had a feeling this record would be good.  These two just sound great together.


11.  Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

Obviously one perfect single, and the album was as good a "concept album" as I've heard in a while.


The top 10 after the jump...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Song of the Day: The Soft Pack - More or Less

I bought tickets to see Kurt Vile, not knowing that the headliner of the show was actually going to be The Soft Pack.  I listened to their eponymous album a few times, and seeing them live made me realize they sound a lot like The Feelies (which is a very good thing).  Now that I've listened to the LP quite a few more times, I'm having trouble picking a song - it's a consistently good album with no filler.  But "More or Less" is my favorite today, so let's hear it.