Best Albums of 2010 (20-16)

20. Everything in Between - No Age

"I don't fear God. I don't fear anything at all. Cause I know that's where we've been" - Glitter

The latest release from L.A.'s preeminent post-hardcore duo arrived with considerably less fanfare and buzz than Nouns, their last album, but I'm really not sure why. Everything In Between, while ten minutes longer than Nouns, is a more cohesive record and showcases a band that has truly developed a unique sound. Guitarist Randy Randall (a first-ballot inductee to the Mitch Mitchell Hall of Fame for people who have the same first and last name) brings the noise, often veering off into nails-on-chalkboard diversions, and singer/drummer Dean Spunt brings the band back to reality, with his steady beats and deadpan delivery. The crown jewel of the record is "Glitter," in which No Age filters T.Rex through the world's dirtiest sieve, leaving behind only only snares and screeches. Though Everything In Between isn't a huge artistic leap forward for the duo, it's a pretty lofty status quo.
Standout Tracks: "Glitter," "Fever Dreaming," "Life Prowler"

19. Crush - Abe Vigoda

"Cruelty is what we share" - "Dream of My Love (Chasing After You)"

I never used to care for Abe Vigoda. Their "tropical-punk" seemed a lot better when I read about it than when I actually heard it. The band's older stuff is far too spare and tuneless for me and even their best songs sounded to me like they needed a couple more takes. Crush represents an effort by the band to expand their sound, taking cues from label-mates and L.A. contemporaries No Age, and the effort is mostly successful. The title track is easily the best track they've recorded to date, recalling Drums and Wires-era XTC and the Buzzcocks' later work, merging their signature stringy guitar riffs with a distortion pedal and more expressive drumming. "Pure Violence" takes a page out of the Echo & the Bunnymen playbook, and "Dream of My Love" features the band trading in their guitars for 8-bit midis. Hopefully, Abe Vigoda will continue to improve as they showcase Michael Vidal's expressive voice and expand their musical pallette.
Standout Tracks: "Crush," "November," "Pure Violence"

18. Gorilla Manor - Local Natives

"I'll endure the night for the promise of light" - "Sun Hands"

Aaaand the Los Angeles lovefest continues with the third straight band out of L.A. on my list. Though Abe Vigoda and No Age both spring from the modern L.A. punk scene, there's very little that's punk about Local Natives, who sound like a sun-fried Fleet Foxes. Like the Fleet Foxes, Local Natives rely on pretty harmonies and elaborate guitar and string arrangements to convey warmth, but the driving drum beats signify that the warmth comes from the sun, not from a fireplace. "Sun Hands" is a tribal freakout with freak-folk lyrics ("my hands are blessed, they touched the sun"). "Airplanes," reverses the perspective of "Leaving On a Jet Plane,"as they pine for a lover who has left for Japan. The band said that Gorilla Manor was inspired by Music From Big Pink, and Local Natives' three-part harmonies and pure American sound almost approaches its inspiration.
Standout Tracks: "Sun Hands," "Shape Shifter," "Wide Eyes," "World News"

17. Pilot Talk/Pilot Talk II - Curren$y

"I get highed up so I can autograph the skyyyyy...fool!" - "Michael Knight"

Ladies and gentlemen, please bow down to Ski Beatz. Once celebrated for making the "Dead Presidents" and "Feelin' It" beats for Jay-Z, Ski faded into semi-obscurity for a decade until he hooked up with New Orleans MC, Curren$y, known only as Lil Wayne's weed carrier. Ski specializes in airy, spaced-out and expansive beats that fill the whole track, leaving Curren$y to find the negative space and exploit it with his rhymes about smoking weed, pop culture (he apes Training Day and Rocky, among others), driving cars and living an amazing life. Though the beats are the story of the first Pilot Talk (see the fried "Seat Change," the percussive, steel-drum laden "Audio Dope II," and the rolling piano of "The Hangover"), Curren$y capitalizes on his relationship with Ski, riding the atypical synth-heavy "King Kong" to perfection and brings in Mos Def to interpolate The Karate Kid in "Breakfast." By Pilot Talk II, Ski and Spitta developed a shorthand, each artist understanding eachother's limits and rarely exceeding them. About half the tracks on Pilot Talk II barely reach the three-minute mark. Pilot Talk II also boasts the highlight of both albums: "Michael Knight," where Spitta repeatedly and hypnotically chants the name of David Hasselhoff's signature character and mimes the sound made by the Six Million Dollar Man ("scu-du-du-du-du-du-du").
Standout Tracks: "Michael Knight," "Seat Change (ft. Snoop Dogg)," "Hold On," "The Day (ft. Mos Def & Jay Electronica," "King Kong," "O.G. (The Jar)"

16. Transference - Spoon

"And now you're back is against the wall" - "Who Makes Your Money?"

Though Spoon's previous album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, was their most mainstream effort to date, Transference took the band in an opposite direction. Though they have always been praised for their minimalism, sparse instrumentation and simple song structure, Transference took Spoon's minimalism to the extreme. A few of these songs drone on with an unchanging beat, no chorus and only two chords. However, on some tracks, Spoon, usually tight and organized, seem downright raw. "Written in Reverse" features Eric Harvey attacking his upright piano and singer/songwriter Britt Daniel stretching his voice to its limits. "Out Go the Lights," one of the aforementioned two-chord songs, shows enough musical inventiveness and lyrical wit to make up for its monotony. The best track, by a long shot, is the closer "Nobody Gets Me But You." Britt Daniel obliquely references his perception in the music community ("no-one else remembers my name, just the parts that I play"), drummer Jim Eno provides one of his steadiest grooves and Harvey once again freaks out on the piano in between phrases. Through thirteen years and six albums, Spoon remains remarkably inscrutable and untouchable.
Standout tracks: "Nobody Gets Me But You," "Who Makes Your Money?" "Written in Reverse," "Out Go the Lights"