This is the music which made me sit up and take notice. I chose seven because I couldn't come up with ten nor could I cut it down to five. I'll concede that this is a very subjective judgement, mitigated by my tastes, hence the over-representation of indie.
School of Seven Bells Disconnect from Desire
The title says it all. Unplug passion and let the crisp cool detachment in. This band out Stereolab Steroelab and that's not the only comparison we have to make. Then again, why bother. By 2010, music has been through the rinse so many times, yet School of Seven Bells have come out sounding charming. Unlike other shoegaze / post-shoegaze bands they have a bit more tension in the sound. It's not just washes of noise, but voices breaking on beats. There's even a euro-disco sound in there that works, which is where they depart from Steroelab. The lab became just too ironic. SSoB are happy to be sweet for sweetness sake. Admittedly, “ILU” comes disastrously close to sounding like Everything but the Girl, but the rest of the album is a dreamscape. Stand out tracks have to be the breathless “Dial” and “Babelonia” which has to be one of the best songs of the year.
Warpaint The Fool
My interest was first roused by their single “Undertow”, which is another contender for one of the best songs of the year. However, I was a little disappointed by the album as a whole on the first listen. A bit too dense. Too much sound. On subsequent listens it came to me, the way they maintain
an intensity through the time changes and style switches. The songs lurch darkly along,. Hard to believe this comes from sunny LA. This band have an ambitious sound and with Emily Kokal's and Theresa Wayman's voices they could pull it off.
Gil Scott Heron I'm New Here
If Warpaint present a new voice, Gil Scott-Heron is part of the old guard. Whatever he's got to to get here, you can hear it in his voice. It is as lined as his face. Initially, the title seems ironic, a dig at an industry which is quick to discard its originators. At the same time, the album has something new or, simply, not current. Few, if any vocalists, are so in control of their delivery as Scott-Heron is on I'm New Here. The voice is not just a conduit. It's his whole personality, one which is also refreshingly unironic. I can't think of a recent lyricist who can get away with writing about Cheron and sound like he may have an idea what the ferryman of the River Styx looks like. Though a meagre 30 minutes long, this album packs enough insight and intensity to feel much grander. His spkiy sinister cover of Robert Johnson's “Me and the Devil” has deservedly gained a lot of attention. For me, the album is best enjoyed as a whole, as Scott-Heron shifts from spoken reflections to trip hop to bluesy pieces and in so doing gives us a picture of a man with all his strengths and faults.
Girls Broken Dream Club
I'll admit I got into the Girls late. They had been so hyped by all the local places that I was scepticval. Then I heard “Hellhole Ratrace” and I was in love. This album might not have anything as strong as that track, but “Heartbeaker” and the title track come close. Perhaps, including the album here is in part to make up for my tardiness, this EP also shows that, far from riding on singer Christopher Owen's back story, this band are capable of exquisite timeless pop music.
St. Claire Everyone Lives Here
Emily Forsythe probably tires of the Chan Marshall comparison, which is who I thought I was listening to when I walked into the bookstore. Where Forsythe departs from Mitchell is that she is not afraid to emote, and the rest of the band are willing to give her the musical support for her voice. Nowadays, bands brandishing acoustic instruments in the name of authenticity are cluttering clubs and coffee shops like its the late sixties. What works for me is how bold and mature the group sound. Forsythe's voice and the the groups sound come so well together, especially on “The Simple Things” and “Georgia”. Her voice is equally compelling on the stripped and delicate “I'll Steal Back My Horses”. This album is not easy to come by, but you can stream it here.
Aidan Moffat Ten Short Songs for Modern Lovers
Even shorter than Scott-Heron's and Girls; releases, this whole album fits on a 7 inch. It would seem like nothing more than a gimmick if it weren't for Moffat's inventiveness and gift as a lyricist. He manages to do in these ten very short songs what most writers struggle to do on a conventional album. Few people have distilled the essence of romance and its disappointment like Moffat then wedded them again in song. He simultaneously yearns and resigns himself to yearning in the space of seconds. Take for example the brief closer, Whisper It” on side one:
Whisper it, bellow it
take a breath and sing it out,
Be it just a look or a heavy book,
Just be sure that here's no doubt.
Far from a novelty, this album is an example of perfect craftsmanship.
The Smoke Fairies Through Low Light ad Trees
I've already raved about this release in an earlier article, but it is the strongest release I've come across this year. All the elements come together, the vocals, the guitars and the lyrics, to make a work that is from start to finish haunting and powerful. Voices both rich and delicate, guitar playing both skilled and emotional, and lyrics bith smart and humane has made this my album of the year.
