Curren$y – Pilot Talk
While Kanye West expanded the definition of hip hop with bloated nine minute tracks and unlikely collaborations, and West Coast artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator brought lewd, ultra-violent, transgressive rap into the second decade of the 21st century. Hip hop purists found solace in Pilot Talk — a collection of tracks that deal with some of the genre’s timeless subjects (eg. boasting, toasting to the good life, and roasting a ton of spliffs). Curren$y is by no means a newcomer to the scene, but it did take him an inordinate amount of time to finally release his major label debut. Considering the eight years it took for Curren$y to settle on a label — one that actually gave a shit about his music — it’s a surprise that he isn’t burnt out at this point. In fact, the complete opposite appears to be true, as 2010 saw the rapper release two highly lauded albums (Pilot Talk II being the second) and plans have been announced for two more in 2011. Talk about a new lease on life. – SM
Das Racist – Sit Down, Man
Das Racist’s second mixtape Sit Down, Man follows the hype this trio fostered with their debut mix Shut Up, Dude. Take two stands out for the vast number of collaborations tagged onto the end of each track, including work with their Brooklyn buddy Lakutis, the experimental pop group Keepaway, and renowned DJ/Producer Diplo. – NL
El Guincho – Pop Negro
Similar to Javelin, but much more nostalgic, El Guincho’s Pop Negro is a sampling of major radio hits from Spain’s golden era of pop. The superior production value sounds even sweeter when considering Pablo Diaz-Reixa funded the project himself. Sun-drenched Tropicala stylings and highlife synths blow up the choruses on tracks like “Bombay” and enrich mid-tempo numbers such as “Novias.” Stunning percussions and decade- spanning influences match the cultural hybridity of El Guincho’s home in the Canary Islands. Pop Negro is easily one of the most engaging underground albums of the past year. – NL
Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
Cosmogramma stands as one of the strongest albums of the year. FlyLo combines the genres of hip hop, electronic, and jazz (re: nu-jazz) effortlessly in the two strongest tracks on the album, “Do the Astral Plane” and “Satelllliiiiiiiteee.” The chaotic lawlessness that takes place in this track is absolutely intoxicating. It’s the quick transitions and melding of diverse genres that makes this song truly memorable. – NL
Beach House – Teen Dream
Teen Dream was the most universally acclaimed album of the year, appearing in the upper percentile of just about every relevant ‘zine’s or blog’s top albums of the year, and as with any band that receives such praise, there were detractors. But what separates Beach House from many other fanatically fawned-over acts in 2010 is the particularly disparaging nature of the insults hurled at the duo. Their venom, however is misdirected and here’s why: the band’s majestic, gossamer soundscapes and the plaintive guitar and vocal melodies which accompany them are completely unpretentious. The crescendos are epic without being overblown and the melodies are beautiful in their simplicity. In other words, there is plenty to love about Teen Dream — every minute of which is intensely rewarding and expertly crafted — but not a lot to dislike. Oh well, haters gonna hate, right? – SM
Vampire Weekend – Contra
Skeptics can surely agree that the polo-wearing “hip-bros” Vampire Weekend have a new tool in their arsenal: Ezra Koenig’s voice. Ezra’s pipes go from buoyant to psychobilly on “Diplomat’s Son,” switch to uber-falsetto on “White Sky,” and drop down to brutal solemnity on “Taxi Cab.” The production value changes dial throughout as well, making for a more complex and satisfying effort after their comparatively simplistic debut. Though, if I’m being perfectly honest, it was between Contra and the soundtrack for Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love. – NL
Zeus – Say Us
If you’ve ever listened to a lot of 70s blues-infused guitar rock, then you’ve probably heard this album before — or, at least, the different parts which make up the whole. So while there isn’t a lot of originality in the music Zeus writes — CanRock heroes Sloan also come to mind when tracing the origins of the music found on Say Us — there is something to be said for the style and the skill with which the Toronto four-piece rehash classic rock riffs and melodies to prove that rock n’ roll, now in, arguably, its eighth decade of existence, can still sound fresh and also be a hell of a lot of fun without tinkering with the formula that has been ubiquitous within the genre over the past seventy or so years. – SM
Javelin – No Mas
These thrifty bros hang around old thrift stores and sift through hundreds of old 80s and 90s cassettes until they find something cool to sample. Javelin is George Langford and Tom van Buskirk, highly gifted artists that organically mesh together and found sounds to produce the most memorable collection of songs. Langford describes it perfectly: “The minute I start working in one style, I get distracted and want to work on another one. We kinda gave up on finding our ‘sound’ years ago.” Their track “Lindsay Brohan,” from 2008’s Jamz n Jemz, stood out to me as one of the strongest examples of their inability to loyally stand by one genre. – NL
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
Surfer Blood played at Sneaky Dee’s in March 2010, only a few months after they released their debut Astro Coast. Despite the packed venue and the crowd’s obvious excitement once the first few chugging chords of “Floating Vibes” emerged from the amp, the band interacted with those in attendance as if they (the band) were some unknown opening act on tour for the first time. They could just be humbled by their seemingly immediate success, or they might not even realize the extent of it yet. Maybe they didn’t see the long line of people outside looking to buy tickets at the door, who had to be turned away because Sneaky’s was at capacity? Whatever the case may be, it’s probably for the best. If their success goes to the collective band consciousness now, they may be in real danger of succumbing to the immense pressure they’ll inevitably face when attempting to write another record as perfect as Astro Coast. Not since Weezer’s 1994 debut has a power pop band sounded so competent and confident on their first album; surely a more confident live show is to follow soon enough. – SM
Sun Araw – On Patrol
It’s more than just the token “out there” release on this list. On Patrol, created by the one-man act Sun Araw, is an album that you can really get lost in. Clocking in at over 80 minutes, On Patrol is incredibly dense, psychedelic, trance-inducing music, with some songs taking nearly ten minutes to shift in texture. Basically, don’t listen to this album expecting some great crescendo, Do Make Say Think-style wall of sound. When Sun Araw builds to something, it takes a very long time and this is exactly what makes it such an intoxicating listen. You can turn it on while reading or studying. The music is not intrusive. However, the album is also rewarding simply as a surreal listening experience. It’s music you fall into and emerge twenty minutes later, unsure of what you just heard, but accompanied by a keen desire to hear more — dissecting and detecting the wonderful subtleties that make the album seem infinite in its scope. – SM
Check out Sean and Navi’s blog, Singled Out, for their weekly music picks
