Year’s Best…

The year is coming to an end and I think it’s only fitting for me to share my ‘Best of 2010′ list. A year is a very long time in the world of music. A lot of great releases have come out this year, but here’s my top five (in no particular order):

NOTE: Not all of these are from NE Ohio. There were some great releases that I just couldn’t leave out…

 

 

Emeralds – Does It Look Like I’m Here?

Emeralds sure didn’t invent swirling synth landscapes but sometimes I can convince myself that they did. With their signature full-bodied sound, this band envelops me with such careless ease. This album draws you down the rabbit hole.

And look at this cover with me please! I love the empty room that really doesn’t look like anyone is there with the glaring TV which makes me suspect, “Does it look like I’m here?” Such a brilliant depiction.

As a sidenote on the art, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of the lp. The double-disc sleeve opens to reveal a dim and musky room with nothing but the band’s equipment seeming lonely and devoid. The whole tone of this album just has me taken.

 

 

Bee Mask – From a Will-Less Gigolo of a Divinity to the Gore-Spattered Lion on His Own Hearth, Odysseus Becomes “Odysseus”

I know I told you guys about this tape before but it absolutely blew my mind. This one holds strong on my list.

Not only was this tape beautiful, it was amazingly well-produced. It played out as a story, each song blending seamlessly with the next. As I said before, the sounds transported me through space and time. This tape is a true classic that I could listen to over and over and over.

 

Pocahaunted – Make It Real

This album, to me, was like a transition away from the traditional wailing siren songs that made the name Pocahaunted seem all too fitting. The tribal beats and chants broke to low-fi rock and roll, groovy bass lines and almost doo-wopesque vocals.

The album art perfectly depicts the mad, exhilarating commercial society that we live in by making everything seem almost demented and video graphic.

Pocahaunted was originally Amanda Brown and Bethany Cosentino. Bethany has since left to form Best Coast, while this album features Amanda, her husband Britt Brown of Robedoor, Diva Dompe of Blackblack and several other contributors.

 

Gowns – Broken Bones

This album is so awesome but it will always break my heart to know that it’s the last I will ever see from Gowns. This has been one of my favorite bands since I started dating Brandon. We vowed to see them together as we listened to our favorite album, Red State. Little did we know that we would never get the chance. Since this is the end, I will enjoy this album and put anything that Ezra Buchla or Erika Anderson decide to do to the top of my Most Anticipated of 2011 list!!!

Broken Bones starts with a rearranged version of “White Like Heaven,” a track from Red State, featuring what sound like bag pipes, enveloping synth and guitar and constantly fluctuating tempos. The stand out track for me, though, would have to be ‘Marked.’ I can never seem to get this song out of my head! Even when I haven’t listened to the album for a while, I always seem to be singing, “I wish that every time you touched me left a mark…”

Robedoor – Burners

Burners is a much darker, distorted album than any other on this list. Although rather light and melodic for Robedoor, this album is definitely still my go-to doom drone album for the year.

Heavy organ and grinding guitar roll out of my turntable. The album art demonstrates the dance going on in my psyche. I can totally picture these red and white figures blurring around my subconscious as the music churns away. The track title ‘I Thought You Were The Devil’ is so fitting on an album like this, it’s almost comical.

 

 

 

 

 

Enough from me, what’s making your top list this year?

As mentioned, I put anything that the members of Gowns pursue right to the top of my Most Anticipated of 2011 list. What’s going to be on yours?