Hey doggies! Honestly, I've been kind of dreading this end-of-year list season, partly because the whole process of ranking music always feels pretty unnatural to me, but I also thought it could be a struggle finding enough material that I felt truly excited about. I think for the most part I felt pretty jaded about a lot of music in 2010, but looking back and putting together this list made me realize there was still a whole bunch of stuff that is really exciting, forward-looking and fun. Like Richard, my list ended up being super Olde English Spelling Bee heavy, but what can ya do, "label of da year" and all! Enjoy:
10. Bathcrones - False TeethPsychorama out through No Pain In Pop //
myspace"Infusing those shimmering club-friendly beats with the mesmeric positivity of new age synth muzik never felt so right or so real; a track to be played at clubs with skyward waterfalls and inter-dimensional soundsystems".
Real potent jammer from these masters of the mystique, whose material feels indebted to weird mass internet culture and their subsequent hacking of it. Slowed down, codeine-fuelled drawl, decaying vocal jibberish and dank beats infused with Eastern bombast; this is dense listening for sure.8. Autre Ne Veut - OMGS/T out through Olde English Spelling Bee // myspace
"O.M.G."; who would've thought big kaleidoscopic blooms of synth-pop and super sensual off-kilter R n' B grooves would sound this great together?!
7. Gem Jones - Glows DimGem Jones / Part Time Cruiser split out through
CGIF //
myspace "Gem Jones imbues his reels with a strange 80s pop sheen which still manages to shimmer through all the murky tape dust, sounding like a lost
Ariel Pink demo with its star-strewn synths and perfect bassline bounce"
Seriously, after listening to this croony ballad on repeat for months and then seeing him swigging whiskey from a hipflask, pulling a comb from his top pocket and slicking his hair back "Live In Concert", I'm starting to think Alex Hungtai is a bona fide outsider Elvis and this is his "Blue Moon".4. Ducktails - Hamilton RoadHamilton Road 7" out through Olde English Spelling Bee // myspace Richard is right-on with "picket fence pop"; this is the coziest hit of 2010!
Totally evocative, sepia-tinged opener to one of my top LPs of '10. Moves at a real comfortable pace just like a Sunday night suburban family drive.
2. Greatest Hits - (You're Just An) Uptown Girl
Digital single out through Olde English Spelling Bee // myspace
Straight glam and maximal F.U.N. from these Bushwick popstars; "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" but these boys just wanna hang at the mall w/ babes and do drugs at dance parties.1. Outer Limits Recordings - $20 Dollar BillUnreleased; other 7"s out through Transparent & OESB // youtube channel
Easily my top-played jam of the year, and it's not surprising with a big goofy care-free hook like that, loose falsettos all over the place, held together by a classic pop structure and rendered real murky but still golden.As Max and I had the same #1, here's the video for my #2>
