2010 Sucked! And Here's Why... (A "Best-Of's" Mix) [2010]

2010 has come and gone quickly, but in that seemingly small amount of time a large amount of good music has been put out. So now is the time when we celebrate. Here's 23 of my favorite songs this year. It's 22 completely different artists with only 1 group having more than one song (I'm sorry, I just loved Settler's album so much). So hopefully you'll give it a listen, find some new music, and discover why 2010 was really that good. Some albums I've reviewed, some I haven't (shame on me) so some will have links to the full album set up. Hopefully 2011 will be half as good as 2010.

Tracklisting:
1. Gypsyblood - Take Your Picture (From the EP GYSPYBLOOD)
2. Circa Survive - Get Out (From the album Blue Sky Noise)
3. Portugal. The Man - 1000 Years (From the album American Ghetto)
4. Tides Of Man - Home (From the album Dreamhouse)
5. Zach Hill - Face Tat (From the album Face Tat)
6. Motion City Soundtrack - Disappear (From the album My Dinosaur Life)
7. What's Left Of The Trees - Wake Me! You're Not Waking Me! (From the EP Where There's Water, There Must Be Shore)
8. Foxy Shazam - Wanna-Be Angel (From the album Foxy Shazam)
9. The Black Keys - Sinister Kid (From the album Brothers)
10. Native - Ponyboy (From the album Wrestling Moves)
11. Maps And Atlases - Solid Ground (From the album Perch Patchwork)
12. The Xcerts - Slackerpop (From the album Scatterbrain)
13. Look Mexico - They Offered Me A Deal (I Said No, Naturally) (From the album To Bed To Battle)
14. Fang Island - Sideswiper (From the album Fang Island)
15. Lost Apparitions - Hey Zeus (From the album Old Friends On New Planets)
16. Tera Melos - Frozen Zoo (From the album Patagonian Rats)
17. Settler - * (From the album War Wolves)
18. Minus The Bear - The Thief (From the album OMNI)
19. Settler - War Wolves (From the album War Wolves)
20. Options - Static (From the album Some Light)
21. Snowing - Mark Z. Danielewski (From the album I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted)
22. The Dear Hunter -B. Linus (From the EP The Branches EP)
23. Tubelord - Night Of The Pencils (From the album One For The Grandparents)


- A

Fang Island - Fang Island [2010]

Fang Island have been on my radar for about a year and half now when I first heard their early EPs, but when I found out they were releasing their first full-length on Sargent House I got super excited. My favorite label meets with an awesome band? Good things are bound to happen. And they did. Their self titled record is a anthemic rock album that sounds like, as the band describes it "everyone high-fiving everyone." The semi-instrumental songs are epic in scope yet have a really fun feel to them, making you want to dance sing along. The album starts off with Dreams Of Dreams which is builds into the head-rocking Careful Crossers and sets the tone for the record. The rest of Fang Island is a roller coaster of excitement, never giving the listener time to cool down until the closer Dorian. Fang Island has created one of the most fun records I've heard in a while and is definitely one of the best of 2010.

Genre: Funrock
For Fans Of: Settler, Tera Melos, Andrew W.K.
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Dreams Of Dreams
2. Careful Crossers
3. Daisy
4. Life Coach
5. Sideswiper
6. The Illinois
7. Treeton
8. Davy Crockett
9. Welcome Wagon
10. Dorian



- A

Rx Bandits - The Resignation [2003]

I don't know why I originally looked up Rx Bandits (probably because of The Sound of Animals Fighting) but when I did, the first song I heard by them was Prophetic off of 2003's The Resignation. For anyone who's heard this song, they know it's a great jumping-off point from a great album. The record in general is another step away from the 3rd wave ska that the band started. It's more experimental, more intricate guitar work, and more powerful than what they'd released before. The use of horns was slowly being phased out, eventually having ...And The Battle Begun be the least record using them but on The Resignation they accent the music beautifully. The songs flow excellently from one to the other, using instrumental transitions and ambient sounds, the whole album feels connected rather than just a collection of tracks. This album is another reason 2003 was an amazing year in music and is one of my personal favorites of all time.

Genre: Experimental, Progressive ska
For Fans Of: The Sound Of Animals Fighting, The Mars Volta,
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Sell You Beautiful
2. Prophetic
3. Newstand Rock (Exposition)
4. Overcome (The Recapitulation)
5. Never Slept So Soundly
6. Taking Chase As The Serpent Slithers
7. Republic
8. Mastering The List
9. Falling Down The Mountain
10. Dinna-Dawg (And The Inevitable Onset Of Lunacy)
11. Pal-Treaux
12. Decrescendo



- A

Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit [2009]

The only reason I regret not being a teenager in the 80's/90's (I would have preferred early 2000's, honestly) is that I missed out on emo bands. Not the My Chemical Romance emo, mind you, but the Cap'n Jazz and Joan Of Arc style emo, which is exponentially better (no offense, scenesters, just not a fan). Fortunately, I've been blessed to discover what seems to be a resurgence of emo out on the East coast. Snowing, while not on the forefront, is one of those great bands coming from it. The band has somewhat technical guitar work over-lying generally upbeat songs with raw vocals on top. One of my favorite parts of Snowing is the singing which would better be characterized under "yelling" because it's harsher than singing but not really screaming, think Bear vs Shark. Another awesome part of the record is the production. Rough around the edges, the EP sounds like it was recorded with the cheapest equipment the band could find, and it very well could have been, but that's one of the reasons it's so great. I don't think the sound would work very well being recorded in a big studio with fancy equipment, it works much better when it's unpolished and direct. Basically, everything from this band works because of how raw and untouched the sound is. Awesome album for driving or just sitting around listening to, you can't go wrong either way.

Genre: Emo
For Fans Of: Algernon Cadwallader, Cap'n Jazz, Street Smart Cyclist
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Sam Rudich
2. Important Things (Specter Magic)
3. Pump Fake
4. Kirk Cameron Crowe
4. Methuselah Rookie Card



- A

Circa Survive - The Appendage EP

The boys of Circa Survive work fast. Their last album, Blue Sky Noise, was released in April and only 7 months later they put out the Appendage EP. The EP is a short 5 songs long which include 4 new tunes and full band remake of Everyway (the song was originally released on the deluxe edition of Blue Sky Noise as an acoustic bonus track). Overall, this release feels a little lighter for the band. The songs feel a bit less organized than on other albums, they seem to float by and don't have much direction. One of the highlights is the explosive ending of Lazarus. Though I don't like it as much as the band's previous record, it still is a great EP and adds to Circa's already impressive discography.

Genre: Melodic Post-Hardcore
For Fans Of: Tides Of Man, Coheed And Cambria, In:Aviate
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Sleep Underground (Demo)
2. Stare Like You'll Stay
3. Everyway
4. Backmask
5. Lazarus


- A