Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 #40-31
By: Rachel Bolland, Jen Long, Stan Morgan, Liane Escorza, Jamie Russell , Fred Mikardo-Greaves, Matt Tomiak
40) The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter
Indie bands often make proud declarations about how their defiantly non-airbrushed, rough-around-the-edges authenticity would guarantee immediate failure at the first round of auditions on The X Factor, but the Prestwich veterans' 28th album (!) would be sure to have Walsh, Minogue, Cole et al trembling behind the judges’ sofa. Band mainstay Mark E. Smith turned fifty a couple of years ago but shows no signs of mellowing, most memorably on this occasion via the rasping nuts-and-bolts garage punk of ‘Bury Pts 1+3’, an ode to provincial towns based around Smith’s sneering references to ‘municipal buildings’ and the largely impenetrable, reverb-soaked galloping surf rocker ‘Cowboy George’. It's very probably a scathing satire on American neo-imperialism, but Smith's growled references to ‘unseen footage and unseen facts’ lend it an enigmatic mystique. (Matt Tomiak)
LISTEN: The Fall – Bury (Parts 2 & 4)
39) Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin
When Root For Ruin looked forward, and combined their early punk sound with their more melodic recent output, we got some of the best stuff the band has ever produced. ‘Sleepless in Silverlake’ is a gem, with pulsating disco drums and yet another in a long line of great Fav riffs – while Harrington tends to receive all the plaudits, the beating heart of the group is surely the Seth Jabour and his endlessly inventive guitar work. ‘Dear Crutches’ has another go at the ‘serious/heartfelt/lovesick rock song’ thing they failed at on Let’s Stay Friends in ‘Comes and Goes’, and results are noticeably much better, a staccato guitar line and trademark Fav chugging bass combining to excellent effect. And closer ‘Clear Spirits’ hints at what could be a very interesting future direction for the group – more beat-based than a lot of the stuff they’ve done previously, the rhythm section are given a chance to shine while Harrington and Jabour still whip out an excellent chorus. You would be forgiven for wondering if, by now, the group had perhaps started to focus its attention elsewhere – on family life, on other work, on a future beyond the Fav. From that very first track, your questions are answered – Root for Ruin may not be a perfect record, but it still shows that, without doubt, the band have still got their appetite. (Fred Mikardo-Greaves)
LISTEN: Les Savy Fav – Sleepless In Silverlake
38) Best Coast – Crazy For You
It's easy to picture Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast) and Nathan Williams (Wavves) hand in hand as they take a running jump off some sundrenched California pier, overseen by that ginger cat - the seemingly ever-present moggy that features on the cover of both new albums. In 'Goodbye', Bethany sings "I wish my cat could talk" - and you have to wonder what he would say if he could. Perhaps he would tell you how he masterminded their respective journeys from lo to mid-fi, like some sort of hairy and charming record executive. How he had this whole summer planned out. And so there he sits on the pier, contentedly purring as the pair splash about below in the deep clarity and melody of the August surf… Felines aside, Crazy For You is a wholehearted immersion into the teeming adolescence of beach bound garage-pop (complete with unapologetically abrupt song openings, vintage oversexed twee and great unwashed reams of crunching guitar). It's on the record's more intoxicating, nostalgic tangents that Best Coast succeed most greatly - the vintage guitar rhythms of 'Summer Mood', the side-to-side sway of Cosentino's delivery in 'Our Deal' - although Crazy For You's thrashier moments are quite clearly the main headliners. (Jamie Russell)
LISTEN: Best Coast – Boyfriend
37) Holy Fuck – Latin
I could name a few bands trying to emulate the Holy Fuck sound, but these guys are so unpredictable that they remain a force entirely unto themselves. If their debut album was welcomed with praise and mild astonishment, this one will blow your mind. Latin has nothing to do with Holy Fuck, yet it holds their stamp like a trophy. Still comprising chaos and euphoria, this album brings noise and melody much closer together, and their energy is uncovered through entrancing optimism and positivity. A gripping dancy pop theme has been added (tunes such as ‘Red Lights’ a la Jacko, the Battles-infused ‘Stilettos’ or the rhythmically natural ‘P.I.G.S’) which collides with the trail of white noise that formed and stills forms their core foundation (the ambient, introspective and introductory ‘1 MD’ or the freaky and mysteriously oscillating ‘SHT MTN’). Latin is an ode to refinement and skill – Holy Fucking Amazing. (Liane Escorza)
LISTEN: Holy Fuck – SHT MTN
36) Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
The Monitor really is pretty nuts - for starters, it’s an album loosely based around the American Civil War (to the extent that any record containing a track entitled 'Theme From "Cheers"’ can faithfully chronicle the end of the Confederacy.) The Monitor is a vast, sprawling thing, peppered with spoken word extracts penned by some of 19th century America's major players which over the course of more than an hour barely pauses for breath, counting anguished teenage poetry, raucous Poguesian broadsides and screeching guitar solos amongst its constituent components. Even the midpoint interlude 'A Pot In Which To Piss' eventually emerges from a reverb-soaked drone-rock opening to blossom into a nine-minute 'Jungleland' style opus. You might not emerge from The Monitor any clearer about the origins of the Union, but its still one hell of a ride. (Matt Tomiak)
LISTEN: Titus Andronicus – A More Perfect Union
35) Pantha Du Prince – Black Noise
Pantha Du Prince’s Black Noise continues a long tradition of outstanding and innovative German electronica, and delivers what can best be described as a mammoth of an album. Featuring guest appearances from Panda Bear and Tyler Pope of LCD Soundsystem and !!! fame, the album begins with a series of minimal techno masterpieces (‘Lay In A Shimmer’), before evolving into beautiful shoegaze-referencing electronica (‘Im Bann’). The fact that single ‘Stick to my Side’ is possibly the weakest track here is testament to the overall quality of the album, an LP which truly stands out amidst the sea of alternative electronica released in 2010. (Stan Morgan)
LISTEN: Pantha Du Prince – Bohemian Forest
34) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Broken Social Scene’s first proper album in five years saw them doing what they do best, creating a sprawling rock epic that drew variously on the skills of their forever growing posse of members. The frenetic heights of the likes of ‘Art House Director’ and ‘Chase Scene’ are offset by delicate tracks such as ‘All to All’ and ‘Sweetest Kill’, creating a whole that is far more satisfying than their previous album Broken Social Scene. While we wait patiently for the millions of members to converge once again, we are left to savour this proof that too many cooks don’t, infact, spoil the broth. (Stan Morgan)
LISTEN: Broken Social Scene – Forced To Love
33) Born Ruffians – Say It
Say It, the second record from the Ontario trio Born Ruffians, is a delicately illustrated page of gloriously painted joy. To be blunt, this record is f**king great. From the opening slang of guitars on ‘Oh Man’ to the pounding drums that follow, the album carries itself along a twist of delicately crafted hooks and sweetly slurred words. It’s a challenging and charming listen, and there’s just so much to like here it’s hard to single anything out. On a first listen it might sound simple, but the more times I keep hitting that triangle button the more I discover under a mesh of bass and flood of toms, under a lick of riff and rush of throaty howl. (Jen Long)
LISTEN: Born Ruffians – What To Say
(Jen Long)
32) Mount Kimbie – Crooks & Lovers
Although Mount Kimbie started life on dubstep label Hotflush, their debut sat more comfortably alongside the likes of Four Tet and Caribou than the dubstep fraternity. Instead of annihilating your eardrums with bass and having titanic drops every other second, the duo turned to the kind of delicate subtlety that is usually frowned upon in those circles, and not a wobbly bassline in sight. The album never loses focus, and the impressive ‘Before I Move Off’ and ‘Ruby’ show the kind of diversity the group are capable of. Despite its shaky roots, Crooks & Lovers is one of the most intimate dance records of the year. (Stan Morgan)
LISTEN: Mount Kimbie - Carbonated
31) Warpaint – The Fool
To become an NME “coverstar” without already having sold out huge venues and without being part of a ‘New Music’ feature is an incredibly rare thing these days. However, Warpaint, one if this year’s most talked about new bands, managed it further adding to their already substantial hype. Thankfully, their debut album The Fool lived up to the expectation, proving that there was a place in the music world for female artists that weren’t just solo singers with pretty voices. Throughout the album there’s an undeniable feeling of power and the strength that’s behind some of the songs is just incredible. ‘Bees’ and lead single ‘Undertow’ show have achieved a fantastic contrast between the heavy instrumental sound and the lighter female vocals. Meanwhile ‘Baby’ reveals a much softer, and an incredibly beautiful, side to the LA quartet. ‘The Fool’ is an album laden with variety and truly shows Warpaint as one of 2010’s most exciting new artists. (Rachel Bolland)
LISTEN: Warpaint – Undertow
Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 – #50-41
Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 – #40-31
Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 – #30-21
Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 – #20-11
Rockfeedback Records of the Year 2010 – #10-01
Artists in this article: Warpaint, Mount Kimbie, Born Ruffians, Broken Social Scene, Pantha Du Prince, Titus Andronicus, Holy F##k, Best Coast, Les Savy Fav, The Fall