The Best Indie Songs of 2010 (so far); 10-6

The Best Indie Songs of 2010 (so far)

I’m a little late to the draw on this one, but here are the best Indie songs of the first half of 2010:

Note: The definition of Indie Rock is particularly broad nowadays – it’s more of a state of mind than a musical genre. I consider Hot Chip and LCD Soundsytem to be Indie bands, even though they do not make rock music (in the strictest sense). Gorillaz is even harder to define, as it has many elements of Hip-Hop, but is the brainchild of one of Alternative rock’s icons (Blur’s Damon Albarn). For these purposes, I consider Indie Rock to be anything that is widely covered by the alternative music press, spearheaded by Pitchfork and Stereogum (and other blogs of that nature). So, M.I.A. and Robyn would fit that broad category of Indie Music, along with disparate acts such as The National and The Hold Steady or Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird.

Honorable Mentions:
“Tell ‘Em” – Sleigh Bells
“Wild Winds” – Free Energy (“Dream City” would have easily cracked the top five, but I first heard it in Early 2009)
“Fast Jabroni” – Surfer Blood (“Swim” was a similar case to “Dream City,” as it might have topped this list, but it was released in late ’09)
“Friendly Ghost” – Harlem
“All I Want” – LCD Soundsystem
“King of Spain” – The Tallest Man on Earth (really, this is a stand-in for all of his songs on The Wild Hunt, which are equally excellent and almost indistinguishable from each other)

The List:

10. “Rhinestone Eyes” – Gorillaz



I should say here that I could probably substitute this song with three or four songs (“Some Kind of Nature,” “Superfast Jellyfish,” “Sweepstakes,” “On Melancholy Hill”) from Plastic Beach and I would be just as satisfied. I had to choose “Rhinestone Eyes,” however, because it best creates the type of danceable apocalyptic dread that Gorillaz does so well. Though lyrics don’t really make much sense when you see them on paper, they paint some vivid images when you’re listening to the song (“your rhinestone eyes are like factories far away”) and overall reflect the album’s main theme of industry corrupting nature. There are all kind of weird, twinkly electronics that echo throughout the song, turning what would be a pedestrian, yet haunting, song into a symphony of synth. The synth breakdown that acts as a chorus is particularly effective, framing Damon Albarn’s verses and giving them a significance that they wouldn’t otherwise have. “Rhinestone Eyes” is the centerpiece of one of the year’s best albums and manages to combine all the best elements of the band’s sound into three minutes.

9. “A More Perfect Union” – Titus Andronicus (click for full song)



If I were to break down the sound of Titus Andronicus, it would look something like this: the booze-stained Celtic Punk of the Pogues mixed with the epic Jersey rock of Springsteen, the anthemic pop-punk of the Thermals and the hardcore sound and story-telling sense of Husker Du. These are all bands that I love, and Titus Andronicus manages to fuse their sounds into an ambitious form of prog-punk-bar band hybrid that’s exhilarating to listen to. “A More Perfect Union” is the opening track of their latest album, The Monitor, and it is as good an entry point as any to the world of the band. It contains all the hallmarks: the snarling vocals, furiously strummed power chords, a great “oh oh oh oh” part, and lyrics stuffed with references to history, literature and rock music (Sample lyrics: “I don’t wanna change the world/I’m just looking for a new New Jersey/Because tramps like us/baby we were born to DIE!” and “Glory, glory Hallelujah, his truth is marching on!”). The song kicks into gear about halfway through, when an Irish guitar lick gives way to an entirely new melody for a few minutes, and then returns to its main riff at the very end. It’s always good to hear a straight-up rock song that still manages to surprise you, but Titus Andronicus seem to do it every time out.

8. “Norway” – Beach House



The first line of “Norway,” represents the trajectory of Beach House as a whole before the release of Teen Dream earlier this year: “We were sleeping until you came along.” On "Norway", instead of merely sleeping (as, honestly, I was before the end of their last album, Devotion), Beach House are dreaming, lending all of their songs an otherworldly and magical feel. I’m not sure what instrument they’re using at the beginning of “Norway,” but it’s entrancing and when meshed with the ethereal female backing vocals, it’s transcendent. Despite the multi-layered track and the large number of instruments used in the song, “Norway” still feels wonderfully delicate and understated.

7. “Bloodbuzz, Ohio” – The National



The key to listening to “Bloodbuzz, Ohio,” the most straightforwardly anthemic song on High Violet, The National’s latest, is to pay attention to the performance of the drummer, Bryan Devendorf. Notice how much more active he is than the rest of the band. It’s a great performance that adds a sense of urgency to singer Matt Berninger’s contemplative monotone, as well as kicking what could have been a standard rock song into high gear. When the rest of the song finally catches up to the drums in the final minute, it’s a revelation. While it seems as if some of the virtuosity has left rock music, it’s great to hear a showcase like this, especially from a band as normally laid-back as the National.

6. “Excuses” – The Morning Benders



“Excuses” starts off in a fairly similar manner to Beach House’s “Norway,” but instead of building on the slow intro, the Morning Benders change gears entirely, morphing “Excuses” into what a 50’s-style ballad would sound like if performed by The Walkmen (this is a big compliment). “Excuses” is essentially a doo-wop ballad, but mastered with a George Martin-esque studio sheen, even mixing in a “dum-da-da-dum” vocal section in the middle eight, mixed with 60’s strings and a modern Indie sensibility. If all of that seems like a jumble of musical references, it’s because I can’t exactly find the right one to describe “Excuses,” a song that I heard for the first time in April, but feel like I’ve known my entire life. It’s one of those songs that draws so deeply and successfully from music’s past that it sounds achingly familiar even at the first listen.