I wanted to include Lady Gaga somewhere in this countdown because I thought it would make me cool in an ironic sort of way, like how Pitchfork always rates crappy pseudo-hip-hop way higher than deserved. But I couldn't make it all the way through Born This Way. Don't get me wrong. I like The Fame and The Fame Monster. But by the time I got to "Hair" I realized I wasn't enjoying this anymore. Maybe the album just wasn't dark enough. Maybe everything was too poppy. Maybe I'm old enough to remember when Madonna sang these songs twenty years ago.
That being said, "Judas" is freaking awesome and one of my favorite songs of the year.
On with the countdown!
That being said, "Judas" is freaking awesome and one of my favorite songs of the year.
On with the countdown!
25: Gravity The Seducer by Ladytron
Do you know how fun it is to wait three years for a new album? Not that fun. But with Ladytron the payoff is always fantastic. Not as explosive or dynamic as Witching Hour or Velocifero, the songs of Gravity are instead more in tune with the atmospheric concept of the album. What do I mean by this? I mean you get a good steady vibe. I mean you get sweet consistency. I mean the music takes you by the hand and guides you places instead of shooting you over the moon. Under "genres" Wikipedia has labeled this album synthpop, dream pop, chillwave, baroque pop, and new wave. All apply equally.
24: Lives and Treasure by Acrylics
It is always somewhat interesting when a guy/girl duo split time at lead vocals. What you sometimes end up with is two different albums mingled into one. In Lives and Treasure the chick tracks are groovy and positive, while the dude tracks are more grounded and folksy. In fact, dude does his best to channel his inner Conor Oberst, and when I was first giving this a spin I thought I had stumbled across another Conor side-project. Anyway, despite the variation between the songs you can still hear and feel Acrylics' overarching sound. It is a very good sound.
"Nightwatch"
"Tortoise Shell Shades"
23: Street Of The Love Of Days by Amor de Días
Another awesome guy/girl turn-taking band. This one is a supergroup of sorts (as super as two people can get) featuring Alasdair MacLean from The Clientele and Lupe Núñez-Fernández from Pipas. The music is gentle, slight, a little bit dreamy, and meanders along with a faint Iberian vibe. Lupe's voice is hushed and perfect and occasionally comes at you en Español. With MacLean at the vocal helm some songs do sound like Clientele tracks that never came to be, but that's not even close to being a bad thing. Street of the Love of Days pairs well with a cool quiet evening, a back patio, and a bottle of wine.
"Bunhill Fields"
22: The World Is Just A Shape To Fill The Night by Case Studies
Case Studies is Jesse Lortz, and maybe some other people, but sometimes not. A lot of these songs were recorded in a cabin in Washington state and there is a good rustic vibe that permeates these songs. The lyrics are honest, a little bit clever, and delivered like a resurrected and nearly-sober Townes Van Zandt. These are the kind of songs you should learn and sing around a dying campfire, even if there is nobody else around.
"The Eagle or the Serpent"
21: Wild One by North Highlands
Wild One is an album full of contradictions. Brenda Malvini's vocals are brittle and ethereal, but they hold everything together. The music itself is lazy but not boring. Several songs are uptempo, but none of them feel very fast. And the album as a whole is unassuming yet will still hold your attention. File under 'late-night driving.' The song "Benefits" alone is worth the price of admission.
"Steady Steady"
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