I’m not one for convention so I’m just going to go down the list of albums I really loved this past year and tell you why I loved them. Are they in order? No. Does that annoy you? Go get your own blog and make one in order. Any idiot can do it (see: this blog.) Don’t like how I have a top 12 instead of 10? I’m a rebel, suck it!
Kylesa – Spiral Shadow
Both male and female vocals, proggy riff rock, and 2 drummers. Two drummers. Seriously. That’s what makes this album for me. Two fucking drummers. They both play tight, rocking drums but slightly different styles. It’s not distracting and its a textural ass kick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLMQrJ-Vik
Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty
End to end burner is the ole slang for an album that you can listen front to back over and over and every song is enjoyable. Thats how I feel about this album. Big Boi is a great lyricist with a fun energetic flow and his beat selection is always interesting and eclectic. Add to that some completely new guests and this album is one of the best hip hop albums in years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UryzYsFPWu4&NR=1
Deftones – Diamond Eyes
This is what I’m talking about Deftones! A return to their earlier form. Great album start to stop. Heavy and beautiful which is what I want from the Deftones. Amazingly riffariffic and such great layers in the songs. Abe Cunningham kills the drums. I especially love the drums on “Youve Seen The Butcher”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woAcXSMyCEw
Reef The Lost Cauze – Fight Music
Entirely produced by the duo Guns N Butter (Stu Bangas & J-Scrilla) this is Philly rapper Reef at his best. Just spitting bars. I love this shit. Great guest appearances from RA The Rugged Man, Kool G Rap, Slaine, Vinnie Paz and up and comer Burke The Jurke all kill this record. Guns N Butter kill each beat with a snap-your-neck headnod factor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJ6RXxPh3Y
Rosetta – A Determinism of Morality
Space Metal is how the band describes their music. Long expansive songs made up of spaced out ethereal metal. Or at least that was how they used to play. This album sees a few changes. Most noticeably is the lack of 10+ minute epic songs (save the last song, the one that the album is named after.) Not only are the songs shorter but the song-writing is more restrained and direct leaving the listener needing less patience to enjoy their amazingly layered music. Also, of much note to so many people, there is the short but beautiful clean vocals sung by bassist Dave Grossman. Now that ISIS have left sailing the post-metal seas to other bands Rosetta is poised to drift further into new territory for the genre, and I for one, am excited.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk8fzWQLgfU
Mogwai/Mono live discs
I am putting both these up together because they are very similar albums that play a cross section of songs from artists I was, previously to picking these up, fairly unfamiliar with. I was missing out. Mono is extremely formulaic in their slow build to a crushing coalesce of cacophonous intensity but hey…what’s broke shan’t be fixed. Also, there is an orchestra. Even Metallica’s shitty songs sound better with an orchestra backing them up.
Mogwai are also of the post-rock vain if a bit less formulaic and more scattered in their song-writing. Some songs build up to intense, repetitive waves of noise and others merely meander through but they are layered so well and beautifully they’re hard to ignore. Either way they craft aurally awesome songs (and I mean awesome in the literal sense.) Both albums were live and made for DVD so you can watch them play but this one was put together far more artistically while the Mono one stayed focused on the band/orchestra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2vXzY9jQJw
John Legend & The Roots – Wake Up!
An album made up almost entirely of political based covers played entirely with the Roots, how could this be bad? John Legends love him or hate him voice hasn’t changed so if he’s not your bag then this won’t win you over. I think another reason I love this album so much is because it is the direct opposite of the let down that the new Roots album was. I’ve at least liked every Roots album as far back as they go (save Organix which I’ve never heard) but this new one has ONE good song on it…and that song features JOHN LEGEND! Oh well, John’s album is also perfect to be released when I feel such an overwhelmingly disturbed political climate all around. Thanks for tickling my soul while playing songs that hold such a strong place in my heart at this time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOgkRniSNTs
Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives
Nas is the shit. Damian Marley is the shit. Need I say more? OK, add to that the most consistent hip hop/reggae mashup album ever to be released, in my opinion, and this album is destined to be a classic. Hopefully we get another GOOD album out of this collaboration before Damian bangs Nas’ ex-wife or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhcPPfJKs8I
Minus The Bear – Omni
I think this album might have turned off quite a few of their fans. They appear to have moved further away from their uber-quirky twisting guitar stylings and closer to more concise radio friendly rock radio territory. I’m OK with that as long as they continue to write songs about snorting coke in club bathrooms with cheap sleazy chicks. What can I say…I can relate to this stuff. It’s not as if their songs are exactly ModRock boring rubbish, it’s still quirky and technically amazing, just more refined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN_sB6uNkwE
East Of The Wall – Ressentiment
Label-mates of Rosetta EOTW are the offspring of a fairly unheard of, but well respected, prog-metal band from the early 2000s The Postman Syndrome. They’ve had more than their fair share of ups-and-downs and membership changes and added to that by separating into different variations of the line-up (one all instrumental, one vocal, only one could tour, the other was studio only) to shake up their following. But those of us that followed the band were ecstatic to find out that they had simplified the outfit, basically resurrected most of The Postman Syndrome’s lineup and focused on writing one album. Finally able to focus and write an album for one band they brought for a fantastic proggy-metal-core album that’s not only good for now but really excites all of us fans for the future. Can they continue this focus and climb higher?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NzmJyZZpzE
Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis
I love this band. This album came out early in the year and I still listen to it regularly. Therefore it is awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSvFVQkcxtk
Notes:
I really liked the single from the new Sade album (Soldier Of Love) but other than that the album didn’t do a lot for me. I hope it grows on me and I’m writing about how I was wrong not to have it on my yearly list next year.
Two of my favorite reggae songs of the year were Gyptians “Hold Yuh” and Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor’s “Cyaa Friend Again.” I give an edge to “Cyaa Friend Again” because it didn’t have that no-talent worthless twat Nicki Minaj on it. Also, it was a song I could relate to…the guy that introduced me to the artist/song and I had a huge falling and we “cyaa friend again.” Too bad no one heard it at all. It’s a great chune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khInsxCyZLs
Finally I already pirated the new Stateless album. I first looked up the band because singer was on the last DJ Shadow album. He’s kinda got a dirty Thom Yorke thing going on that I really dig. Their first album had some great songs on it and a few mediocre whatevers. This album follows suit and delivers some decent songs and filler tracks….and a few amazing songs. ”Assassinations” is MY SHIT! Also check out the first single “Ariel” (cool video too.) The album drops on Ninja Tune early in 2011 so I’m sure it won’t make anyones best of’s for next year so I’m trying to include it in some way this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NaQnAkO2wU
