Ah yes, that time has come. Over the next week or so we’ll be unveiling our top 40 albums of 2010. We get the ball rolling with a beautiful local record which has tied with a more internationally known band, both squeezing in at number 40! As such, we’re technically giving you our top 41! Enjoy! And here’s to what has been a fantastic year of music in Australia and around the globe!
Young Heretics – We Are The Lost Loves
We Are The Lost Loves was the debut album by duo the Young Heretics. Compromising of Matthew Wright (of The Getaway Plan fame) and Kitty Hart the album consists of haunting harmonies and theatrical warped pop songs, guaranteed to create and capture interest.
Highlights include ‘Risk/Loss’ with its dark undertones and lyrics, ‘I Know I’m A Wolf’ which showcases Wrights vocals and piano skills and epic track ‘Bones Of A Rabbit.’ ‘Bones Of A Rabbit’ incorporates everything that the Young Heretics is about – original and clever lyrics, haunting and theatrical music and puts on display the amazing vocal ranges of both Wright and Hart.
The eclectic diversity of the music and lyrics combined with a full orchestral band and haunting duel harmonies have made We Are The Lost Loves one of the ‘must listen to’ albums of 2010. – Tahlia Pritchard
My Chemical Romance – Danger Days: The True Lives of Fabulous Killjoys
The progression the band has made from their last record made Danger Days well worth the wait. One particular aspect that stood out was the fact that you didn’t have to be a hardcore My Chemical Romance fan to enjoy this album – there is something for everyone on there. Haters are gonna hate, but if given the chance it’s a CD that demands multiple listens and easily one of the best records made in 2010. And that’s not over-excitement stating that – it’s just that good. – Tahlia Pritchard
The Holidays – Post Paradise
Back in 2008, Sydney’s The Holidays released two EPs of easy listening pop songs: The Holidays and When This Ship Goes Down. After a year of so of no word, they popped back up with their debut long-player, number 39 on our list for 2010, Post Paradise. It’s full of the catchy, yet simplistic hooks, that made them so lovable back then, but holds a brand new Jungle-esque feel, weaving in and out of their fun tunes. It’s an animated release, with a fresh feel and plenty of energy to keep the older fans happy. But with their slew of new captivating tunes, they’ll be attracting legions of new ones, too. – Alexandra Duguid.
PVT – A Church With No Magic
Suffering more identity crisis than Harvey Dent, PVT has emerged from the other side just as anthemic as ever, with Church With No Magic. Setting the scene from the opening minutes with the ominous and foreboding “Community”, PVT prepares you for a ride into the swelling and often menacing world they have created on this album. The judicious and welcome use of vocals throughout Church With No Magic does much to control and direct your attention, lending both weight and a sense of importance to the slow-burn utilised to build each song, and the album, as a whole. The standout moment is a mid-album hat-trick of post-rock perfection: the synth-driven title track, followed by personal favourite “Crimson Swan”, and rounded out by lead single, and the most accessible track, “Window”.
Halfway through “Crimson Swan”, I felt like I was drowning in the middle of a The Knife album at its most nihilistic (and best). Within the next few minutes, I was stunned to find myself singing along to the inspirational refrain of ‘I won’t slip, I won’t fall, I won’t change’ on “Window”. It gives a sense of the fascinating mosaic into which PVT have now evolved.
PVT: Get Sued. Change Name. Live Forever. – Ashton Jones
Hungry Kids Of Hungary – Escapades
This album is full of a wide variety of treats, as the Hungry Kids provide their audience with a unique take on some familiar sounds. There’s a bit of Spoon in there (“Closer Apart”), there’s the doo-wop flavour of the 40s/50s felt in the effortlessly catchy “Let You Down” and brilliant opener “Coming Around”. Simon and Garfunkel would have been proud of “No Returns”. Even Silverchair can be heard in “China Will Wait”, and Fleet Foxes in “Eat Your Heart Out”. And it’s never unoriginal – it’s just inspired.
They didn’t particularly go out of their way to make a unique record, rather an album full of amazing songs – and there’s really not a bad one on there. I’m proud to say that Hungry Kids of Hungry have produced an album which has made the AU review’s top 40 albums of the year. They totally deserve it. – Larry Heath
Mark Ronson and the Business Intl – Record Collection
He’s not only one of the best producers the industry has ever seen, but he’s a talented performer to boot. Following on from the remarkable Versions, his Business Intl’s Record Collection has been an easy choice for all top album lists of 2010. “Bang Bang Bang”. which featured rapper Q-Tip, was the first single and an album favourite, while Ghostface Killah and Spank Rock were among the other artists to make the cut on the celebrated record. – Larry Heath
Klaxons – Surfing The Void
Surfing The Void is one immediate serve of crashing theatre, a snapshot of complete chaos and a terrifically dark journey that appears reluctant to take a backward step. Amazingly, whatever they had in mind to begin with, the band have effectively forged a perfectly accessible collection of songs. Their effect is not as immediate as those songs on Myths Of The Near Future, but here roars an altered beast. Whether it suffers as a result is purely subjective, and it’s suspected there will be those listeners who wished for a greater, more absurd departure. Regardless, it’s an album imbued with a kind of throbbing energy that begs for your attention as Klaxons promise to successfully – after a three year absence – turn heads once more. – Nick Mason
Warpaint – The Fool
We are now going to enjoy two albums, both by Los Angeles based all-girl troupes. For word on the record by Warpaint, we turn to NME’s Laura Snapes:
Unlike the punchy ‘Exquisite Corpse’ EP, ‘The Fool’ doesn’t deal strong melodic blows, but neither does it suffer for that. The dark purple rumble and hypnotic coo of their vocals swim along, dragging the listener beneath its beguiling surface into a swathe of subtle time changes and guitar prone to sudden swan dives into heart-stabbing gold arcs from oil painting-thick landscapes. For all the talk of (present on mixing duties) passing on her thorny goth crown, Warpaint’s is a different darkness, not delighting in splendour or show, but in deftly exploring a bleak internal, romantically bereft landscape. It’s our good fortune that such a unique band exists to cut through the artifice of namedropping and cribbed influences. And for that, we should wear their stripes with pride. – Laura Snapes. NME
The Like – Release Me
The Los Angeles girl band love continues with The Like. Formerly a sweet-and-sour pop/rock group, The Like now deal in the kind of music you’d imagine a classic girl group making if they were out for revenge on every last man that did them wrong. And in Release Me, they have hit that nail on the head, producing a wholly impressive collection of radio friendly tracks. This is one of the albums we were surprised to see make the cut, but we couldn’t be more excited that this band is getting all the cred they deserve. They’ll be back in town for Playground Weekender next year! – David Young and Larry Heath
Sleigh Bells – Treats
How to describe this band? Well, take the style that Crystal Castles find so endearing, but replace the Nintendo influences with a some Crunk and Hip Hop inspired beats, some air guitar riffs, a few Tim and Eric sound effects (the screaming baby, mainly), the creativity of Animal Collective and the distortion of the early Hot Hot Heat records, or anything Le Tigre has ever done – you put it all into a blender, throw it out your window, set it on fire, then put it into a bowl and pour it into your ears via a funnel.
You then, especially during “Crown on the Ground”, discover moments of pure insanity within, where all you want to do is jump on your bed and then THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW and get sweet numchuck skills and do backflips. I guess what I’m trying to say is the energy is palpable. Also, that “Crown on the Ground” is the best song on the album, hands down. That said, there are no weak points; I really feel this is an album meant to be enjoyed from start to finish. Enough Hyperbole for you? My only gripe is that “Treats” isn’t higher on our list, as it’s my favrouite album of 2010. – Larry Heath
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
In five short years, New Jersey quartet The Gaslight Anthem have gone from punk rock bruisers to one of the most celebrated & prolific modern rock acts on the scene. When American Slang dropped, fans and non-fans alike were impressed by the development of the band – both musically and lyrically. It really leaves you wondering why more rock bands aren’t making music of this quality – they just make it look so easy. It’s no surprise, therefore, that The Gaslight Anthem have made the list, rounding out the first part of our 2010 countdown! – Larry Heath
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See 30-21 – Rest of the Top 40 to come later this week!
