Here are some things I enjoyed in 2010:
Best Album
Sun City Girls, “Funeral Mariachi” (Abduction)
Part of the Sun City Girls’ appeal for me was always their unpredictability, their total refusal to play by anyone’s rules but their own. So it was fitting then, not only as a tribute to the late Charles Gocher, that the final statement from this one-of-a-kind trio was the most beautiful and emotionally direct work in their long and influential career.
Honorable Mention:
Ulaan Khol, “III” (Soft Abuse)
Woods, “At Echo Lake” (Woodsist)
Phantom Payn Days, “Phantom Payn Daze” (De Stijl)
Best Song
“Razend Zand” from Razen, “Razen/Sheldon Siegel” split (Kraak)
An absolute cooker of a track from this Belgian duo that brings together a very unique Eastern European/Ethiopiques ethnic psych pulse with a sort of noir crime jazz feel to it. I found myself playing this song quite often and adding it to mixes with tracklists that looked roughly like this:
“Treading Water” from Naked on the Vague, “Heaps of Nothing” (Siltbreeze)
“Waterfall” from The Fresh & Onlys, “Play It Strange” (In The Red)
“Paradox Box” from Phantom Payn Days, “Phantom Payn Daze” (De Stijl)
“Mom’s House” from Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month, “Your Wicked Man” (Soft Abuse)
“Ears” from Julian Lynch, “Mare” (Olde English Spelling Bee)
“Collapsing Stars” from Richard Youngs, “Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits” (Jagjaguwar)
“Everything” from Lil B, “Rain in England” (Weird Forest)
“Trees” from Gate, “A Republic of Sadness” (Ba Da Bing)
“C.G. Mask” from Rene Hell, “Porcelain Opera” (Type)
“Dear Heartbeat” from Darkstar, “North” (Hyperdub)
“Honey” from Altar Eagle, “Mechanical Gardens” (Type)
“The Stakeout” from Sun Araw, “On Patrol” (Not Not Fun)
“Li Raja Behawakom” from Omar Souleyman, “Jazeera Nights” (Sublime Frequencies)
[Insert Razen track here]
Best Debut
Forest Swords, “Daggar Paths” (Olde English Spelling Bee)
I was a bit surprised when I initially heard this album as it definitely cut against the “Olde English Spelling Bee sound” that I had wrongfully pigeonholed. Forest Swords deal in dark, atmospheric dubstep productions with very minimal, post-punkish elements that make for a rather cool, nod-yourself-into-a-trance listening experience.
Honorable Mention:
Dire Wolves, “Jams and the Giant Peace” (Stunned)
Shahs, “Dry Heat/Valley Low” (The Riley Bushman Recordings & Archives)
Best Reissue
Mark McGuire, “Tidings/Amethyst Waves” (Weird Forest)
Heavy duty double vinyl, heavy duty gatefold jacket, and heavy duty guitar explorations from this member of Emeralds, which fortunately didn’t disappear into limited cassette run oblivion thanks to Weird Forest.
Honorable Mention:
Rob Jo Star Band, “Rob Jo Star Band” (Pomme)
The Fuckin’ Flyin’ A-Heads, “Swiss Cheese Back” 7″ (De Stijl)
Ron House, “Blind Boy in the Backseat” (Columbus Discount)
Best Various Artists Compilation
“Compilation #1″ (La Station Radar)
An hour-plus rush of damaged pop and general outsider sounds from this kickass French label whose scope and vision reaches far and wide, making the distance between France and Iowa City seem fairly minuscule.
Honorable Mention:
“Regolith Vol. 1” (Moon Glyph)
“The BYG Deal” (Finders Keepers)
Best Anthology
“Foundation Stones: The Stunned Box” (Stunned)
“Foundation Stones” is a modest, yet abundant, milestone release from this consistently brilliant label, bringing together twelve of their key out-of-print titles that highlight just how diverse the label truly is.
Honorable Mention:
Alphabets “Alphabox” (Digitalis)
Richard Youngs & Simon Wickham-Smith “20 Years” (VHF)
Best Cover Art
Bored Fortress 7” Club – Year Four (Not Not Fun)
Despite having different artists do each of the sleeve designs, I really liked the overall look of this series, including the individualized stickers that adorned each of the six releases and the larger rendering of those images on the florescent poster that came tucked inside the last batch. I must say, though, that I am a bit partial to the Carlos Gonzalez colored pencil drawings on the High Wolf/Taterbug sleeve.
Honorable Mention:
Any/all releases that Stunned puts out.
Best Vinyl Only
Wet Hair / Naked on the Vague split 12″ (Night People)
Probably the strongest and most concise song-based material I’ve heard yet from either of these groups, which came pressed on lovely clear vinyl and was accompanied by Shawn Reed’s always eye-catching graphic design work.
Honorable Mention:
Century Plants/Locrian, “Dissolvers” (Tape Drift)
Sparkling Wide Pressure, “Fields and String” (Digitalis)
Best CD-R Only
Lee Noble, “Creeping Death Fever” (La Station Radar)
Lee Noble is THE SHIT. Not only is he one of the more interesting soundscape artists out there, but he goes and drops this perfect little collection of scruffy rock and electro-pop tunes on us, going all Thin White Duke in the process.
Honorable Mention:
Black Eagle Child, “Poland” (Sturmundrugs)
Pumice, “Worldwide Gullet” (Nyali Recordings)
Best Cassette Only
Warm Climate, “Camouflage on the River Wretched” (Stunned)
“Camouflage on the River Wretched” was the one release that truly blew me away this year and in many respects was my favorite album. 2010 may have been the year of “hypnagogic pop” or “chillwave,” but for me it was WARM CLIMATE: a genre unto themselves.
Honorable Mention:
Donato Epiro, “Supercontinent” (Stunned)
Konntinent, “Arev Benn” (Sweat Lodge Guru)
Lee Noble, “Our Star, The Sun” (Moon Glyph)
Best Live Show
Legendary Stardust Cowboy & The Fleshtones @ The Red Sky Lounge, Mankato
A college/community radio sponsored event that provided one of the most surreal live music experiences of my life. The Ledge is a bit of a legend around these parts, and he tore it up (and off) with his band that included former Dead Kennedy member Klaus Flouride. I still chuckle at the thought of the random passerby who may have encountered the ol’ Cowboy on the streets of ‘Kato in his Dark Knights and cowboy boots. Yr darn tootin’ it was a memorable evening.
Honorable Mention:
Low @ Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis
Biggest Surprise
I was driving around in the late summer with the windows down blasting Altar Eagle’s “Mechanical Gardens” and singing along like a little school girl to a J. Beibz tune. I’m not quite sure if B. Rose is as strategically groomed, but I am certain that the captains of the good ship Digitalis provided one of the year’s biggest surprises for me.
Biggest Disappointment
I’m writing this here list one day after I heard the news of Captain Beefheart’s passing. This isn’t necessarily the biggest disappointment for me, but I know that I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this at all were it not for the music he created.
Most Overrated
I was excited by the Rangers making the World Series, but I was a bit nonplussed by the “Suburban Tours” album they made. A .275 team batting average may be good enough for post-season play, but frankly isn’t enough hits on record, especially with no home runs. Is Ariel Pink up for free agency?
