My Top Five!

Well hello there. Remember me? Probably not. I took a hiatus from expressing my musical opinions via blog but it is the end of the year and you know what that means. It is time to release my top five albums of the year. Most people are releasing their top 10, the radio station I work for released a top 25, and hey pitchfork.com aka hipster paradise released a top 50. I however decided to practice the art of self-control and narrowed it down to five. Are you ready for this? I am getting nervous just thinking about only talking about five albums, so I am also going to add some honorable mentions. Maybe I don’t have as much self-control as I thought.

#5: Jukebox The Ghost Everything Under The Sun

            I discovered Jukebox The Ghost in August when their album was sent to the radio station. I wandered into the music office to find some CDs to review and the name sounded interesting. I was familiar, and enjoyed, the bands that were under the RIYL tag, and the album artwork was whimsical (which I always like) I decided to grab the CD and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The entire album is impossibly catchy, with songs that will get stuck in your head in the best way possible. I was immediately hooked, and promptly downloaded their previous album. I went to see them live at a small bar in Denver and was even more blown away. They are such talented young men (not to mention attractive) and really down to earth. They put all of their energy into these sunny pop songs and can command a crowd with allusions to bands like Queen and The Who. If you ever see their name on a lineup, go. You will not be disappointed.

Recommended tracks: “Summer Sun” “The Popular Thing” and “Mistletoe”

#4: Sleigh Bells Treats

            If you are an avid l.i.f.e.press reader you may remember my review of this album this past summer. I had said it was in my top 10 albums of 2010.5 (at the time) and I was correct when I predicted it would stand to be in the top 10 for the rest of the year. Look at that, it made it into the top 10, and it deserves its spot. I first heard Sleigh Bells in April when I saw them open in Denver for Yeasayer (whose album Odd Blood is an honorable mention. Do not worry) and they blew me away. Should we take a moment to talk about best concert moments of the year? This show is close to the top for sure. Sleigh Bells has such an incredible energy that cannot be matched. When you listen to their album, you wonder how that sound will translate to the stage, and it holds up for sure. When you watch them live you wonder how they could possibly translate that energy to a CD, and they do just that. This is also one of the most versatile albums of 2010. Each track has its own unique sound, so there is a song on the album for everyone. Listen to this album with the volume way up. And don’t be alarmed if your speakers sound like they are going to explode. That is how it should sound.

Recommended tracks: “Rill Rill” “A/B Machines” “Crown On The Ground”

#3: Two Door Cinema Club Tourist History

            This is one of the first albums I really fell in love with when I started DJing at my college radio station. I have always been a sucker for brit-pop. It will always hold a place in my heart. However Two Door Cinema Club adds the shimmery synth pop sound that sends the hipster in me jumping for joy. You can dance to every single one of their songs, and this is just one of those albums that can be listened too all the way through without feeling the need to skip a track. Plus, some brilliant soul out there in the interwebs decided to create a mashup with Two Door Cinema Club’s “What You Know” and Oasis’ “Wonderwall” it is seriously brilliant. Look it up right now. Seriously, two of my favourite things all in one mashup. But, putting that aside, this album is great.

Recommended Tracks: “Eat That Up, It’s Good For You”  “Something Good Can Work” “What You Know”

#2: Sun Airway Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier

            I am a self-proclaimed sucker for lyrics. Lyrics get to me. That is one of the reasons why I dislike country music. This fixation started with the band that released my number one album this year, but we have not gotten that far yet. The lyrics talk about so much, but they never seem to mean anything. And then there are bands that can say multitudes, in just a few words. Take Free Energy for example and then I will get back on track. They start off their song “All I Know” with the line ‘I know it’s the solitude, that’s filling me up with you. My love.’ That is gold right there. Sun Airway does the same thing. And to top it all off, they have a unique sound. Take the single “Put The Days Away” off the new album. The song starts with the line ‘trying not to die is so taxing.’ I mean, come on people! You’re killing me with words like that. Or my favorite song from the album, “Swallowed By The Night”

I wish we could be swallowed by the sky—

Just a couple of wings and wax that tried to fly too high.

I wish we could be swallowed by the moon—

just a couple of astronauts who won’t be coming home soon.

I’m just looking for a perfect sentence to keep us alive.

Do I need to say anything more about this band? No, I don’t. And If I did my efforts would be fruitless because you would be too busy listening to Sun Airway to even hear me.

Recommended tracks: “Swallowed By The Night”  “Put The Days Away”  “Oh Naoko”

#1: Tokyo Police Club Champ

            Here we are, number one. I was 15 when I first heard Tokyo Police Club. A boy put the song “Be Good” on a mix CD for me (it was a platonic mix CD, jut for the non-existent record). The seed had been planted and I was hooked. When they released their full-length album in 2008, I could not stop drooling over it. I listened to it on repeat, swimming in the depths of Dave Monks’ lyrics. The fact that he himself was adorable helped a lot as well. So here we are to the summer of 2010, and what do I find while doing my summer radio show? A shiny red cover that catches my eye. A shiny red cover for none other than a brand new Tokyo Police Club album Champ. No other album stood a chance after that; it was bound to be my favorite before I even heard it. But have no fear! It lived up to the standards my 15-year-old fantasies set up for it. I took this album to the beach with me and listened to it so many times, there were not enough grains of sand to compare. It also helped that I saw them live for the first time in August. That concert is on my top five concerts of all time, and when I saw Dave outside the venue in that shiny red members only jacket, and he smiled at me and said hello? Top five life moments of the all time. But anyway, moving on. With age, Monks upped the ante in the lyrics department. Just turn to songs like “Hands Reversed” for lines like ‘because the breakfast of the champions is a hedonistic health’ or ‘your only souvenir’s a suitcase full of sand. Oh when you feel like you’re a million and I feel like I’m your grand’

            I mean…come on…right?

Or the line in the perfectly dance-y song “Bambi” that so eloquently says ‘a tiny kingdom at the bottom of the trees, where I was always a winner and I was barely alone’

            Ok, enough with the quoting. But do you get my point? I may love Tokyo Police Club with a little too much enthusiasm, but this album holds up. From the first song to the last song, the melodies flow into each other gracefully, making it apparent that the album is meant to be listened to from start to finish to get the entire story. This was without a doubt; my most listened to album of the entire year. I have been playing it non-stop since its release, and I am still not sick of it. That last sentence was funny because “Not Sick” is a song on the album.

Recommended Tracks: “Bambi”  “End of a Spark”  “Not Sick”

Honourable Mentions:

Yeasayer Odd Blood

The Limousines Get Sharp

Surfer Blood Astro Coast

Small Black New Chain

Free Energy Free Energy

Of Montreal False Priest

 For more musical musings you can follow my personal tumblr at thegirlintheredsunglasses.tumblr.com

Written by: Erin Browne