Adam Green – Minor Love : ho-hum
Balmorhea – Constellations : interesting and highly cinematic textures
Beach House – Teen Dream : fantastically realized dream-pop, not cloying/annoying, sensual and engaging
Besnard Lakes, the – The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night : fine, buzzing, ethereal indie-rock
Black Box Revelation – Silver Threats : crunching+swinging garage rock
Broadcast 2000 – Broadcast 2000 : glitchy bedroom pop
Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM : delightful electro-indie-folk outage
Clem Snide – The Meat Of Life : humor and wry wit in an angular pop package
Eels – End Times : at times interesting; thank god i’m not in this ‘mood’ much
Elvis Costello – Live At Hollywood High : nice documentation of early-days EC genius
Fallulah – The Black Cat Neighbourhood : interesting Scandinavian indie-pop/rock
Fang Island – Fang Island : joyously buoyant guitar-based art rock
Feral Children – Brand New Blood : interesting; moody and spacious indie rock
Fictionist – Lasting Echo : bleck. bore-tastic emo/post rock
Four Tet – There Is Love In You : well done, not interesting
Hollerado – Record In A Bag : very fun pre-party rockers
Hot Rats, the – Turn Ons : fun covers album by Supergrass
Idyllists, the – The Idyllists : simple, breezy, Squeeze-esque Britpop
Locksley – Be in Love : delightfully fun Beatle-esque pop/rock
Magnetic Fields – Realism : that great MF classic pop sound, typically bent
Massive Attack – Heligoland : does not compute
Mondo Drag – New Rituals : dirge-y, slurge-y blues-rock explorations
Morning Benders, the – Big Echo : surf-inspired indie-pop/rock; mmmeh
Musee Mecanique – Hold This Ghost : haunting, sparse, mostly acoustic psych-pop/folk; dreamily light touch
Ninca Leece – There Is No One Else When I Lay Down And Dream : bleeping electro-pop; middling at best
OK Go – Of the Blue Colour Of the Sky : fun indie rock here, some with a cool ‘Prince’ angle; auto-tune tracks are beyond horrible
Owen Pallett – Heartland : Dense, rich, and well constructed. Also, boring.
Rocky Votolato – True Devotion : Such promise – is this boring-on-purpose??
Rogue Wave – Permalight : huge promise of Tr1 fades quickly to ho-hum
Shout Out Louds – Work : sweetly Swedish indie-pop
Silent League, the – But You’ve Always Been the Caretaker : sophisticated, elegant, symphonic pop
Soft Pack, the – The Soft Pack : very fun garage/indie guitar rock
Sunshine Underground – Nobody’s Coming To Save You : bumbling club-rock
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks : stand-iss Ted Leo punk-pop
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor : interesting, but way overwrought
Twin Tigers – Gray Waves : fun guitar-heavy indie rock
Yeasayer – Odd Blood : (perhaps) interesting as 80’s pop, terrible as ‘rock’
Yukon Blonde – Yukon Blonde : great power-pop hooks, with a groovy 70’s haze
Air Formation – Nothing To Wish For (Nothing To Lose) : tepid post-rock ambling
Apples In Stereo – Travellers In Space And Time : at times brilliant E6 pop; vocal processing way too much at times
Archie Bronson Outfit – Coconut : chaotic blues-electro blend; occasionally brilliant
Awesome Color – Massa Hypnos : groovy psych-rock; a bit tepid overall
Beck – Oar : fun reinterpretation of a great (and weird) album
Bibi Tanga and The Selenites – Dunya : interesting party disc; re-interpreted world/funk/hip-hop/melange
Bird and the Bee, the – Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1, A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates : despite making me throw up in my mouth a little, this has some shockingly fun moments.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo : a mostly-fun, hazy garage-y rock-n-roll trip; at times plodding…
Bonobo – Black Sands : excellent, jazzy downbeat tunes; Ninja Tune delivers yet again
Broken Bells – Broken Bells : fun, atmospheric pop. Genius at times. (also, overly same-y at times)
Broken Water – Whet : 90’s punk/grunge, heavy on reverb and general slurge
Butterfly Explosion – Lost Trails : bombastic cross between shoegaze and post-rock; mmeh
Candle Thieves, the – Sunshine And Other Misfortunes : pop-pop-pop; not always terribly interesting, but always poppy
Caribou – Swim : sucked dry of any humanity (or fun); bah
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love : curiously interesting disco-concept album
Delorean – Subiza : mildly interesting dance-pop; occasionally quite good
Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis : crazed metal complexity; no way…
Dr. Dog – Shame Shame : party rock (mit boogie); at times quite fun
Drink Up Buttercup – Born And Thrown On A Hook : crazy stylistic pastiche – Beatles, jangle, 60’s psych pop; shouldn’t work but does
Drive-By Truckers – The Big To-Do : a rocking good time
Eagle Seagull – The Year of the How-To Book : ick
Freaky Age – Living In Particular Ways : interesting, straightforward, rockers via Belgium
Free Energy – Stuck On Nothing : fun throwback power-pop
Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks : excellent material, sublimely paced; aiming for arena-indie? (eg. AF)
Futureheads, the – The Chaos : high-energy power-pop/punk; tiring to listen to
General Fiasco – Buildings : mildly interesting; generally numbing
Golden Triangle – Double Jointer : very fun, simple, girl-group 60’s-style garage rock
Gonjasufi – A Sufi and a Killer : extremely compelling “middle-east-inspired” lo-fi hip-hop
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach : bloated, overdone hip/trip-hop; maybe i don’t “get it”
Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday : fractured-pop songs; the album I sorta with AIS had come out with
Harlem – Hippies : awesomely hazy lo-fi party anthems
Jason Collett – Rat a Tat Tat : interesting, if a tad droll, indie-pop-folk anthems
jj – no3 : fun, sunny, hazy pop
Johnny Cash – American VI – Ain’t No Grave : oh Johnny… RIP
Josh Rouse – El Turista : casual, light, intercontinental summer-pop
Lightspeed Champion – Life is Sweet Nice to Meet You : bits of this-and-that crazily tossed about, but what lands is often delightful
Living Sisters, the – Love To Live : mild, unassuming pop; too much sweet
Los Campesinos – Romance Is Boring : ebullient indie-pop; not terribly compelling
Los Punsetes – LP2 : excellent Spanish pop
Love is All – Two Thousand And Ten Injuries : fun, arty, Scandinavian garage-punk
Lula – Sufre como Yo : excellent guitar power-pop
Maga – A la Hora del Sol : blah
Marching Band – Pop Cycle : very fun and easy!; “intricate melodies and complex arrangements with an effortless, undeniable pop-feeling”
Matt Pond PA – The Dark Leaves : pop treacle; interesting for what it is
MGMT – Congratulations : fun and hip, but falls flat without an uber-pop hit (eg. “Kids”)
Miles Kurosky – The Desert of Shallow Effects : very fun indie-pop/rock; rough as it should be…
Nada Surf – If I Had a Hi-Fi : creative covers collection
Spoon – Transference : sublimely Spoon
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today : fantastic pop-tunes reaching toward the 80s for inspiration but remaining quintessentially modern/hip
Black Prairie – Feast Of The Hunters’ Moon : intriguing and engaging mostly-instrumental soundscapes full of vivid bluegrass/folk/country/rock motifs
Blitzen Trapper – Destroyer of the Void : sprawling, engaging, memorable folk-americana-rock; very, very fun with a late-60s hippy vibe
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Records : lots of great spots, but overall a bit drab
Challenger – Ümelsion : fun, fun, fun punk rock from Spain; at 26mins it’s well timed
Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles : stupid; perhaps i don’t do the right drugs to appreciate this nonsense.
Damien Jurado – Saint Bartlett : nice orchestral indie-pop/rock; standard DJ fare – fun but unenlightening
Dead Kids – Dark Party : skittish electro-rock; a bit like TV on the Radio
Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle : insanity. the (few) moments that work are awesome
Gotan Project – Tango 3.0
Hold Steady, the – Heaven is Whenever : fun party rock, not smashing but fun
Hole – Nobody’s Daughter : pffffffttttttttth
Holy Fuck – Latin : dynamic, propulsive electro-rock (with instrumentation); still mostly ‘samey’
Japanther – Rock ‘N’ Roll Ice Cream : largely blah/bleh electro-pop-rock jams
Marianne Dissard- Paris One Takes : multi-cultural moods and instrumentation; flowing, easy and sexy
Minus The Bear – OMNI : straightforward pop at the core, bolstered by lots of production
National, the – Hight Violet : overwrought, high-minded, lowest-common-denominator, heartland rock
New Pornographers, the – Together : well crafted and diverse power-pop
Pill Wonder – Jungle Surf : kooky, tribal, lo-fi pop; mucho AmCo
Portugal, The Man – American Ghetto : interesting – experimental – uneven; standard fare for P,tM
Power Animal – People Songs : at times fun, quirky, and catchy pop tunes – hard to get my head around…
Radio Dept, the – Clinging to a Scheme : pleasantly samey; ultimately forgettable
Rafter – Animal Feelings : fun broken pop songs
Ruby Suns, the – Fight Softly : fucking horrible
School, the – Loveless Unbeliever : sticky-sweet indie-pop
Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings – I Learned The Hard Way : great real-deal soul
Shooter Jennings and Hierophant – Black Ribbons : ‘mostly crap’ morphs to ‘totally crap’ when the vignettes are factored.
Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor – Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor : great psychedelic rock! (from Detroit, natch)
Sleep In – Blackwidow : beat-heavy, trip-hop influenced moodiness; ho-hum
Splinters, the – Kick : super-fun, super-light ‘girlie’ pop-rock; short and sweet
Strange Boys, the – Be Brave : fun 60s garage rock; uneven as hell with some awesome high-spots
Supersubmarina – Electroviral : upbeat, fun, guitar-pop from Spain
Sweet Apple – Love & Desperation : “70’s rock by way of ’91”; fun bar-rockers – listen loud!
Untied States – Instant Everything Constant Nothing : weirdly post-prog (!?!)
Vampire Weekend – Contra : pleasant enough I suppose, but certainly not *good*
What Laura Says – Bloom Cheek : retro/folk pop-rock; experimental and meandering, also fairly boring
Whigs, the – In The Dark : solid, straightforward rockers.
White Fence – White Fence : righteous psych-rock
White Mystery – White Mystery : gritty garage-rock; shouty, blistering, and grimy
White Stripes, the – Under Great White Northern Lights
Wolf People – Tidings : interesting brit-folk+electric-blues
Woods – At Echo Lake : gloriously textured, country-tinged rock, with the Woodsist lo-fi aesthetic intact
Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo : awesomely executed folkie-teen-serious_tunez
Beach Fossils – Beach Fossils : nothing earthshaking, just simple, fuzzed-out pop melodies
Beautiful Girls – Spooks : reggae-spiced pop; smoothly stoned out
Black Keys, the – Brothers : modernized electric blues tour-de-force
Brother Dege – Folk Songs Of The American Longhair : Delta blues – dark, swampy, slide-guitar style
Caddywhompus – Remainder : noisy
Club 8 – The People’s Record : awesomely fun summer party music; African-influenced Swedish pop
Dead Weather, the – Sea of Cowards : in-your-face ultra-urban blues punk; not an easy listen
Detroit Social Club – Existence : paint-by-numbers Brit rock
Divine Comedy, the – Bang Goes The Knighthood : insanely catchy and witty pop
Dosh – Tommy : wacky beats, every which way; anticon, nuffsaid
FileTones, the – Just Being Around : fun, funky and soulful blue-eyed R&B
Hannah Georgas – This Is Good : amusing, if tepid, pop tunes.
Hot Hot Heat – Future Breeds : quirky, jerky, indie-rock; probably a decent opener
Jahzoviy – Mentality Instrumentals : sometimes wacky, sometimes just lame
Javelin – No Mas : cooky electro-pop-hop(?), reminiscent of a more-chill Go Team
John Hiatt – The Open Road : classic blues-based americana
Johnossi – Mavericks : rollicking fun rockers
Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks : sexy, sultry and murderous; awesome production
Las Robertas – Cry Out Loud : fun, surf-y lo-fi grrrrl punk rock
Leela James – My Soul : fun modern soul with a nod to the past; equal parts funky and silky
Librarians – Present Passed : it may not be ‘bad’, but it sure is boring
Library Is On Fire – Magic Windows Magic Nights : mildly interesting rockers
Lodger, the – Flashbacks : jaunty, jangly, twee indie pop
Menomena – Mines : complex, challenging and occasionally totally brilliant!
Micah P. Hinson – Micah P. Hinson And The Pioneer Saboteurs : string-driven s/s americana; also, boring
Midnight Juggernauts – The Crystal Axis : percussive synth-based indie-dance; occasionally quite intriguing
Mouse Fire – Big Emotion : very bland pop (is this dance music?)
Parades – Foreign Tapes : loose rambling art-rock/pop; very interesting…
Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation : fun, bold, adventurous rockers
Pipettes, the – Earth vs The Pipettes : mostly throwaway synth-pop
Ryan Adams – Orion : way better than expected; still mostly carappy
She & Him – Volume 2 : I love it; so sue me
Sleigh Bells – Treats : thrilling, over-driven, noisy hip-hop assault with a serious pop spin over the top
Steve Mason – Boys Outside : very enjoyable; trance-inducing like the best of BB
Stone Temple Pilots – Stone Temple Pilots : that classic STP sound – 60’s pop structure, 90’s grunge sound
Taxi – Aqui Y Ahora : wholly ho-hum
Teenage Fanclub – Shadows : gentle, lite-rock power-pop; very well executed, natch
Television Personalities – A Memory Is Better Than Nothing : simply does not work for me…
Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime : semi-crazed psych-rock-Nuggets-punk…
Tobacco – Maniac Meat : damaged lo-fi beat assaults; moments of absolute genius
Ty Segall – Melted : occasionally brilliant broken-down lo-fi post-punk-psych
Unbunny – Moon Food : open-heart whimsy in a folk-rock package; obligatory Neil Young reference…
Vertigo Swirl, the – A New Swirled Record
Wave Pictures, the – Susan Rode the Cyclone : fun, smart, guitar-based indie-folk/rock
We Are Scientists – Barbara : occasionally interesting, mostly just junk
Wolf Parade – Expo 86 : a lot qualifies as “not my thing”, but some is quite great
Woven Bones – In And Out And Back Again : punked-up JAMC jams; damn fun
!!! – Strange Weather, Isn’t It : hearty, meaty and funky dance beats with a great ‘punk’ edge
1973 – Bye Bye Cellphone : simple summer cali-pop, from France
22-20s – Shake/Shiver/Moan : slick bluesy tunes, quite fun if uneventful
Acorn, the – No Ghost : very ho-hum
Admiral Radley – I Heart California : tolerably adequate
Alejandro Escovedo – Street Songs Of Love : bar-room-rocker love songs
Au Revoir Simone – Night Light
Before You Die… – Spastic Dance : rootsy banjo-driven rock from SWE
Best Coast – Crazy For You : fantastic love-powered summer pop, just enough fuzz to burn my heart up
Betty And The Werewolves – Tea Time Favourites : raucous indie-pop
BKO – Dirtmusic : laconic drone desert rock
Blackmarket – St. Vincent Decor : standard-fare indie rock
Blue Giant – Blue Giant : Super.
Boat People, the – Dear Darkly : nothing to see, move along
Bombay Bicycle Club – Flaws : boring-as-hell acoustic folk
Bongo Experience, the – The Bongo Experience : sprawling Spanish rock experience; also, no Bongo
Books, the – The Way Out : awesomely inventive and moody; skips a few beats
Calexico – Live in Nuremberg 2009
Cloud Cult – Light Chasers : autotune = fuck that
Coral, the – Butterfly House : straightforward jangle-folk-oldster brit rock
Deer Tick – The Black Dirt Sessions : somewhat same-y alt-country – the high points are absolutely blistering
Delta Spirit – History From Below : rolicking, anthemic, indie-rock/folk with a nice country-soul splash
Devo – Something For Everybody : totally ridiculous, totally enjoyable
Dodos, the – Live From Akropolis, Prague : very fun, surprising amount of clarity in songs and execution
Drums, the – The Drums : interesting but uneventful; “Let’s Go Surfing” is a HIT
Elephant Stone – The Seven Seas : nice cool summer pop; half sitar, half stone roses
Feeder – Renegades : fully grunge, mostly enjoyable
Gaslight Anthem, the – American Slang : self-consciously blue collar rock
Gemma Ray – It’s A Shame About Gemma Ray : ho-hum is a pretty big compliment here
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – Grace Potter & the Nocturnals : classic-rock guitar, soulful vocals, and pop hooks
Gun Outfit – Possession Sound : interesting mumble-rock
Heavytones – Freaks of Nature : german tv show big band
Howe Gelb And A Band of Gypsies – Alegrias : beautiful flamenco-ish jams with the signature Gelb feel
Ivan Ferreiro – Picnic Extraterrestre : Spanish pop; uneventful to these ears
Jackie Greene – Till The Light Comes : rootsy, hook-filled country-blues jams
Jaill – That’s How We Burn : extremely fun guitar-heavy jangle-pop with a bit of psych-rock on top
Kathryn Calder – Are You My Mother : nice, interesting pop
Liz Phair – Funstyle : fun little glimpse of a former stars’ musical mind
Magic Numbers, the – The Runaway : sunshine-y, easy, AM rock; mainlining the zzzzzz’s
Mates of State – Crushes : meticulously beige
MIA – MAYA : arty, modern, crazy-experimental, etc. – is it any good? (some=yes)
Morcheeba – Blood Like Lemonade : drab
Mystery Jets – Serotonin : solid indie pop
Phenomenal Cat – Metropolis : rock’n’soul from Madrid
Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno – Dog With A Rope : groovy dub-reggae with a chill Latin vibe
RJD2 – Inversions Of The Colossus : infinitely better as instrumentals
RJD2 – The Colossus : vast piles of pure shit
Robert Randolph and the Family Band – We Walk This Road : steel-guitar laced blues/gospel
Rumours, the – From The Corner Into Your Ear : ala The Strokes
Sadies, the – Darker Circles : solid Sadies; moments of awesomeness
Sage Francis – Li(f)e : not bad, but definitely not fun
Scissor Sisters – Night Work : solidly uninspiring
Silver Seas, the – Chateau Revenge : overall solid as hell, occasionally brilliant; 70’s AM soft rock-ish
Smoosh – Withershins : just normal bedroom pop; the bloom is off?
Tender Trap – Dansette Dansette : fun girl-group harmonies
Tokyo Police Club – Champ : very enjoyable rock; wasted youth are fun!!
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Mojo : fun blues-rockers; tousled and tossed-off
Toro y Moi – Causers Of This : fun ‘chillwave’, already sounds dated…
Trampled By Turtles – Palomino : punk+bluegrass
Vaselines, the – Sex with an X : very nice retro rockers; nice!
Wavves – King Of The Beach : a “running start kick to the balls” summer fun album, goddamn that’s catchy
Year Long Disaster – Black Magic : ho-hum rockers, some real snoozers
Young Veins, the – Take A Vacation : throwback 60’s tribute-style
Apache – Radical Sabbatical : righteous punk/power-pop
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs : these guys might be onto something, eh?
Boston Tea Party – Little Trouble Kids : trying-hard noise-pop
Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin : “lovely, weird, subtly psychedelic symphonic lounge music”
Budos Band, the – The Budos Band III : solid good-time funk; delivers teh partay!
Cherry Ghost – Beneath this Burning Shoreline : if you like brooding romanticism…
Crusaders of Love – Never Grow Up : great noisy power-pop
Dan Sartain – Dan Sartain Lives : cool roots/retro rockers; fun rockabilly vibe abounds
Dax Riggs – Say Goodnight To The World : dark, swampy, and spooky glam-rockers; love the baritone
Dead Confederate – Sugar : 90s grunge redux
Ed Kowalczyk – Alive : sappiest lyrics ever? not bad if you don’t listen to the words
Grass Widow – Past Time : quick, slick, melodious, surf-punk; chicks!
Here We Go Magic – Pigeons : not. my. thing.
I Am Kloot – Sky At Night : intimate, melancholy adult-indie-pop; Brits!
Interpol – Interpol : at the heart of “unfun” is Interpol
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Hawk : more of that lovely light/dark folkiness
LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening : tight disco-pop, compelling but not something I would ever listen to
Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin : loosely contained mania
Los Summers – Vuelven Los Summers : jangly, guitar-heavy, Spanish power-pop
Magic Kids – Memphis : crazily ebullient sugar-coated pop; occasionally brilliant
Martina Topley Bird – Some Place Simple : lovely, simple, re-imaginations
Masshysteri – Masshysteri : fun SWE punkers
Movie Star Junkies – A Poison Tree : crazy, dark, psycho-blues-garage-voodoo rock
Of Montreal – False Priest : fun and funky but horribly uneven
Postelles, the – The Postelles : jangly Strokes-esque garage-pop; damn fun
Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard : quirky indie-pop
Robert Pollard – Moses on a Snail : oh-so tantalizing raw slabs of rock
RPA & The United Nations of Sound – RPA & The United Nations of Sound : impressive in its complete suckitude
Sheryl Crow – 100 Miles From Memphis : if “numbingly bland” was the goal, this is a huge success
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Let It Sway : well structured, clean sounding power-pop; a bit sterile
Tamaryn – The Waves : gauze-y, lush, atmospheric shoegaze
Tony da Gatorra vs. Gruff Rhys – The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness : crazily arty and headache-inducing, but at times pure brilliance
Walkmen, the – Lisbon : the same song, done well, 12 times in a row
William Fitzsimmons – Derivatives : solidly ‘whatevs’
Abe Vigoda – Crush : a craptastic attempt to follow ‘popular’ into a dark alley
American Bang – American Bang : fun southern-rock muzik
Animal Collective – ODDSAC : nothing
Bare Wires – Seeking Love : pogoing bubblegum punk
Black Angels, the – Phosphene Dream : ‘cool’-sounding and retro psych rockers
Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart : the 70’s-love is a bit silly, but overall a fun album
Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle : spooky synth-driven atmospheric sounds; minimal guitars is a bummer
Chemical Brothers – Further : tight and interesting, nothing grabs for keeps
Children Collide – Theory Of Everything : solid, straightforward rock
Cotton Jones – Tall Hours in the Glowstream : breezy, oldie-sounding, country/folk
Coyote Clean Up – Downhill Exxxpress : chilled-out downtempo bubblers
Eels – Tomorrow Morning : good ol’ eels, of the mellower variety
Film School – Fission : “pop-tinged shoegaze” is very apt; uneven
Gamble House – Gamble House : mild psych-folk, inevitable GB compare
Jamie Lidell – Compass : uninspiring blue-eyed r&b
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Year One
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream : fabulously pop-tastic!
Leonard Cohen – Songs from the Road : a genius at work
Lissie – Catching a Tiger : nice, 70s-AM-radio-style Cali-rock
Los Lobos – Tin Can Trust : Q: why was Kiko so great? A: it wasn’t all ‘noodle-y’
Manic Street Preachers – Postcards From A Young Man : zzzzz, uh huh mmeh, zzzz
No Age – Everything In Between : sometimes a simple punk rock record gives me hope for the future of mankind
Pack a.d., the – We Kill Computers : gritty two-(wo)man blues punk
Petethepiratesquid_ Grave, Shovel …Lets Go – split LP : punkrockmusic
Puggy – Something You Might Like : fun, inventive indie-pop
Rachel and the Soul Criminals – Plain and Simple : old-school, real-instruments R&B/Soul
Ray LaMontagne – God Willin’ and The Creek Don’t Rise : the best Joni Mitchell album of 2010
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses – Junky Star : dusky, moody alt.country, starring a booze soaked voice
Solex vs. Christina Martinez & Jon Spencer – Amsterdam Throwdown, King Street Showdown : genre-bending blues/punk + electro; some very dead spots
Stone Foxes, the – Bears & Bulls : kick-ass gritty blues-rock
Suckers – Wild Smile : interesting, well-constructed art-rock
Sword, the – Warp Riders : a bit ridiculous really, but some fun metal nonetheless
Tame Impala – Innerspeaker : awesome throwback sound; psych rock + prog(?)
Tracey Thorn – Love & Its Opposite : nice adult-contempo
Weed Diamond – Carry On + Sweaters : great lo-fi stoner rock with a super-melody pop heart
+/- – Pulled Punches : 95%=mmmmeh, 5%=hmmmm
The 1900s – Return Of The Century : clever manufactured-pop/folk, sterile as a post-op
The 88 – The 88 : by-the-numbers power-pop
A Sunny Day in Glasgow – Autumn, Again : light synth dream pop
Alps – Le Voyage : cinematic, instrumental, conversation music
Antony and the Johnsons – Swanlights : This is music as art.
Avey Tare – Down There
Bad Books – Bad Books : well it certainly ‘seems’ serious. and dull
Beat! Beat! Beat! – Lightmares
Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love : solid B&S pop-tastic outing
Ben Folds and Nick Hornby – Lonely Avenue : cute idea
Bill Frisell – Beautiful Dreamers
Black Bombaim – Saturdays and Space Travels
Black Francis – The Golem ‘Rock Album’
Black Lab – Two Strangers
Blank Dogs – Land And Fixed
Boston Spaceships – Our Cubehouse Still Rocks : how he keeps cranking out this great shit i’ll never know – nor will i ever keep up
Bran Van 3000 – The Garden : crap
Brian Eno – Small Craft on a Milk Sea
Brian Ferry – Olympia
Carl Barat – Carl Barat
Crocodiles – Sleep Forever : fuzz-pop+psych+shoegaze
Cum Stain – Cum Stain
Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest : gauzey, layered, dream-pop with rock-solid melodies and changes; more solid with each release
DePedro – Nubes De Papel
The Ding-Dongs – The Ding-Dongs : throwback 50’s style do-wop rock; feat: Mark Sultan
Duke And The King – Long live The Duke And The King
Dungen – Skit I Allt
El Guincho – Pop Negro : mmmeh, also a bit ‘one-note’
Electric Six – Zodiac : is this some sort of inside joke that I’m not hip to?
Elf Power – Elf Power : a band still seemingly in flux; semi-aimless indie pop
Elvis Costello – National Ransom
The Extra Lens – Undercard
Fast Food – Party of Three : fun Spanish Ramones-esque punk
Giant Sand – Blurry Blue Mountain : DrB loves Howe – he really, really does
Haunted George – American Crow : rawwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrr
Helmet – Seeing Eye Dog
Holy Sons – Survivalist Tales!
The Hundred In The Hands – The Hundred In The Hands : interesting dance-pop
Inca Babies – Death Message Blues : pretty snazzy ‘twang blues’
Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star : fun funk workouts
Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid : holy fuck, this is so damn awesome
Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown : more radio and less interesting, good run while it lasted – now for the cash
KT Tunstall – Tiger Suit : the tracks that are not radio-pop-concoctions are pretty decent
Laetitia Sadier – The Trip : fairly ho-hum adult pop
Lovers – Dark Light
Mice Parade – What It Means To Be Left-Handed
Milky Wimpshake – My Funny Social Crime : fun Brit indie-twee-pop-folk
Mississippi Bones – Mississippi Bones : hard stoner rawk
Moonhearts – Moonhearts : gritty, noisy garage rockers
Neil Young – Le Noise
Nellie McKay – Home Sweet Mobile Home : without a ‘gimmick’ it’s basically just a simple pop album
The Octopus Project – Hexadecagon
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – History of Modern
The Orchids – The Lost Star : nice, stylistically varied pop
Paul Heaton – Acid Country
Pete Yorn – Pete Yorn : decent pop-rockers
Piano Magic – Home Recordings
Robert Plant – Band of Joy : fun, simple folk-blues-rock, some well-chosen and well-executed covers
Sahara Surfers – Spacetrip On A Paper Plane : heavy stoner desert rock; sweet fem vox
Satchel – Heartache and Honey : fun new Shawn Smith output
The Shake – Try to Get Ready : Jefferson Airplane-esqe 60’s psych-rock-pop
Shawn Mullins – Light You Up
Sisters – Ghost Fits : rockin’ fun guitar-based noise pop
Stay – Passport to Freedom
Stereolab – Not Music : stereolab pastiche: funky, synthy, and cool pop
Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz : survey says – ‘ponderous’
Sungrazer – Sungrazer
Superchunk – Majesty Shredding
Surf City – Kudos
The High Violets – Cinéma : jangly dream-gaze-pop; nice!
The Thermals – Personal Life
Thunder Buffalo – Thunder Buffalo : gloomy/doomy sounding lo-fi rawkers
Trembling Blue Stars – Fast Trains And Telegraph Wires
Twin Shadow – Forget : icy-cool synth-pop; ‘chillwave’ I suppose…
Vistalegre – Vistalegre
The Weepies – Be My Thrill
White Denim – Last Day Of Summer : super-fun collection of tracks
Women – Public Strain : in the great tradition of “noise pop” – also wholly unique
You – You
Zach Hill – Face Tat : something just puked in my ears
Bubblegum Lemonade – Sophomore Release : Laz!!!
Tyvek – Nothing Fits : fun 3-chord punk blasts
-live-
Spoon – Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW 01-20
Britt Daniel – Sound Fix Records, Brooklyn NY 01-23
Britt Daniel – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 01-23
Beach House – Daytrotter session 02-01
No Age – Daytrotter session 02-08
Spoon – Camden Electric Ballroom, London 02-16
Ganglians – Daytrotter session 02-24
North Mississippo All-Stars – Highline Ballroom, NYC 02-26
Surfer Blood – Market Hotel Brooklyn – 02-27 Matrix
Pavement – Town Hall, Auckland NZ 03-01
Bob Mould – World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA 03-03
Surfer Blood – HearYa Session 03-10
Drive-By Truckers – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA 03-12
Drive-By Truckers – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA 03-13
Mumford and Sons – Toad Session 03-16
Broken Bells – Stubb’s BBQ, Austin TX 03-17 SXSW
Spoon – Stubb’s BBQ, Austin TX 03-17 SXSW
Frightened Rabbit – KEXP Day Stage, Austin TX 03-18 SXSW
XX, the – Live in Session on MBE – KCRW FM 03-19 SXSW
Black Lips – Brooklyn Bowl, NYC 03-23
Long Winters – The Bell House, Brooklyn NY 03-26
Casper & the Cookies – Caledonia Lounge, Atlanta GA 04-03
Deerhunter – Live on BBC 6Music with Marc Riley 04-05
Matt Hudgins & His Shit-Hot Country Band – Caledonia Lounge, Athens GA 04-15
Mercury Rev – Truck America Festival, Big Indian NY 05-01
Woods – Abrons Arts Center, NY NY 05-13
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – Brown’s Island, Richmond VA 05-14
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – Port City Music Hall, Portland ME 05-27
Those Darlins – Ribfest, Chicago IL 06-12
Blitzen Trapper – Southgate House, Newport KY 06-20
Elf Power – Caledonia, Atlanta GA 07-16
Deer Tick – Maxwell’s, Hoboken NJ 07-19
Black Keys – Terminal 5, NYC 07-28
Spoon – MSG, NYC 08-04
Real Estate – Pier 54 NYC, 08-12
Apples In Stereo – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 08-13
Motel Motel – Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY 08-24
Deerhunter – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA 10-01
She Keeps Bees – Rock Shop Brooklyn 10-08
Blitzen Trapper – La Zona Rosa, Austin TX 10-13
-re-release/comps/mixes-
King Khan – The King Stays the King [1997-2009]
VA – Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
VA – Juan MacLean – DJ-KiCKS : repetitive yuck
Pavement – Quarantine The Past
Black Tambourine – Complete Recordings
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry [Reissue]
VA – Putumayo Presents South Africa : the non-vuvuzuela sound of the world cup
VA – Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine
VA – Soul Unsigned, The 2010 (Summer) Session
VA – The Matinee Grand Prix
AkronFamily – Totem – Improv Series 1
Black Crowes – Croweology : very good blues-boogie career retrospective
Govt Mule – Mulennium
Superchunk – No Pocky For Kitty (remaster)
Superchunk – On The Mouth (remaster)
VA – Beach Burnt
Bonnie Prince Billy – Unfinal Call
James Brown – Time for Payback (remaster)
Clap, the – Hepatitis B-sides
Galaxie 500 – This Is Our Music (remaster)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Controversial Negro (reissue}
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll: The First Ten Years
Neon Indian – Mind Ctrl/Psychic Chasms Possessed
VA – Cool Tributes_ The 80s Session
VA – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World OST
Ash – A-Z Volume One
Ash – A-Z Volume Two
The Beatles – 1962-1966 (The Red Album)
The Beatles – 1967-1970 (The Blue Album)
VA – Kidz Bop 18
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (remaster)
Emiliana Torrini – Rarities
Iggy Pop & James Williamson – Kill City (remix)
Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg – Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg (reissue)
VA – Kidz Bop 17
Stevie Wonder – Talking Book (remaster)
Supertramp – Breakfast In America (deluxe reissue)
VA – 80 From The 80s (3cd)
VA – Adult Swim Singles Project
VA – Between The Mountains and The Sea Vol. 1
VA – DJ-Kicks Mixed By Apparat
VA – Now Christmas 2010
VA – Workin’ For A Living
Flaming Lips – Zaireeka (soniclovenoize 2010 stereo) VBR
Spoon – Bonus Tracks 2008-2009
The Kleptones – Shits & Giggles
-singles/EPs-
Biggles Flys Again – Songs for the Lonely Hearts EP
The Fieros – The Fieros EP
Kenedy – EP 2010
Motions and Miles – Grace EP : yuck
Portrait Painters – Before the Beginning EP
Spaghetti Anywhere – Spaghetti Anywhere EP : perky C86-ish Scottish indie-pop
Spencey Dude & the Doodles – Flirting 7” : fun pop-punk outings
Spill Canvas, the – Abnormalities EP
Sweetheart Surgery – Easy Play EP : sweet, twee-ish indie-poppers
Seven Saturdays – Seven Saturdays EP : if you got REALLY high right before bed, this sound is how you’d feel when you woke up
We Show Up On RadaR – A Loaf Of Bread A Container Of Milk And A Stick Of Butter EP : cutesie acoustic bedroom pop
Big Pink, the – Velvet 12”
Hari And Aino – All That Remains EP : bubbly and bouyant pop
Phoenix and the Turtle – Swallow The Moon EP : non-gloomy post-rock; at times brilliant
We Were Promised Jetpacks – The Last Place You’ll Look EP : re-imagined and restrained (relative to their full-bore full-length)
Weed Diamond – Snowmelt 7” : fuzzy, buzzy lo-fi summer pop
Beach House – Zebra EP
Cola Jet Set – Suena el Tel‚fono EP
Detroit Social Club – Kiss The Sun CDS
Drums, the – Best Friend EP
Lightspeed Champion – Madame Van Damme EP : perfect amount of LC
Los Alimentos – Concursos Amañados EP : great Spanish power-pop
Ponys, the – Deathbed Plus 4 EP : kick-ass droning psych-rock
Richard Hawley – False Lights From The Land EP : holy-shit-wow gorgeous
Surfer Blood – Swim 7”
My Rockets Up – Gai-Do EP
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs 12”
BLK JKS – ZOL! EP
Bomb the Music Industry! – Adults!!!… Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!!!! EP : fun punk+ska
Brothertiger – Vision Tunnels EP : woozy, reverb-flooded jams
Divine Comedy, the – At the Indie Disco EP
El Guincho – Piratas de Sudamerica EP
Heavy Medical – Threats EP
Magic Kids & Smith Westerns – Split 7” : two pop-tastic immediacy bombs
Magic Numbers, the – The Pulse EP
Minks – Funeral Song 7” : fun single, very Joy Division-y
Top Surprise – Everything Must Go EP : fun dirty garage-y rockers from Brazil
Lou Barlow – Sentridoh III EP
Amanda Palmer – …Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele EP
Antony and the Johnsons – Thank You for Your Love EP
From Oceans To Autumn – Equanimity EP : interesting post-rock/metal
Giant Drag – Swan Song EP
Hurts – Wonderful Life EP : crappy Depeche Mode imitators
Kevin Devine – She Stayed As Steam EP
Kurt Vile – Square Shells EP
Menomena – Double Seven Inch 2×7”
Mind Spiders – Mind Spiders 7” : fuzzed-out garage rockers
Southside Stranglers – Strangle You 7”
Teeth – A Is For Asshole 7”
Summer Twins – The Good Things EP : fun, breezy indie-pop
Needles//Pins – First World Problems EP : raw garage rockers
Twin Sister – Color Your Life EP : fun, airy, Stereolab-esque rock
Boo Jays, the – Happy Halloween 7”
Clientele, the – Minotaur EP : farking boring-as-hell
Crooked Fingers – Reservoir Songs II EP
Deerhunter – Revival 7”
Geographer – Animal Shapes EP
Mint Chicks, the – Bad Buzz EP
My Gold Mask – A Thousand Voices EP
Neon Canyon – Bricoleur EP
Seasick Steve – Songs For Elisabeth EP
Sufjan Stevens – All Delighted People EP
Touche Amore/La Dispute – Searching For A Pulse/The Worth Of The World split EP
65daysofstatic – Heavy Sky EP
Airplane Noise – Getting Down EP : funsimplepopsongs
Best Coast – Far Away b.w Everbody’s Gone 7”
Brilliant Colors – Never Mine 7”
British Sea Power – Zeus EP
Cults – Go Outside 7”
The Dirtbombs – Kick Me 7”
Gauntlet Hair – I Was Thinking 7”
The Growlers – Hot Tropics EP
The Jameses – The Haunted Rider & Rat People 7”
Jeff the Brotherhood/Ty Segall – split 7”
Solex – The Beginning Of The End _ White_Indian EP
Team Ghost – Celebrate What You Can’t See EP
UNKLE – The Answer EP
Wild Honey – Diamond Mountain EP
Wild Nothing – Golden Haze EP
Wise Blood – ‘+’ EP
Swimsuit – Life Like Demo
Black Heart Procession – Blood Bunny/Black Rabbit : shockingly compelling
The Black Keys – iTunes Session : midas touch, those boys…
War On Drugs – Future Weather EP : fun, sprawling, and sometimes brilliant rock songs
Gospel Music – Duettes
Born Ruffians – Plinky Plonk EP
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