While 2009 felt a little “skimpy” on the album front, 2010 seemed absolutely bursting with great albums. As if the decade flip sparked something major and spawned some wild, un-bridled recordings.

Here’s an un-numbered list, save for #1 which is detailed at the bottom. Be sure to read all the way through to find out how you can win a copy of this year’s #1 on vinyl!

The List!

• Concern – Caesarean / Truth & Distance Two excellent LPs from Portland, OR sound artist Gordon Wilson Ashworth came forth in the latter half of 2010. Diverging from much of the drone/ambient records released this year by utilizing actual instruments (shocking!) instead of synthesizers, these albums represent creative uses of tape loops, live playing and sound assemblages. At this point it’s difficult to choose which is album is “better”, so check out both and get inspired!

• Emeralds – Does it Look Like I’m Here?. This monolith of a recording represents the Ohio trio’s best recording to date. Emeralds has their own language which splays across this double LP. The lines between guitar and synth sounds blur and cross curing an intricate muscle fiber which carries the songs. Someone please make movies for these songs.

• Balmorhea – Constellations. This record could scare you upon first listen. A very specific entrance of a very specific musical part might just make you jump out of your skin, but, no spoilers here. This instrumental music is just simply alive, aware and breathing due much in part by the gorgeous piano sound. Worth the price of admission alone. Like a few of the other groups represented here, this most recent album is heads above the band’s other albums.

• Cuddle Magic – Picture. This behemoth of a musical outfit is represented well here in this second full-length album release. Cyclical motifs, kitchen sink instrumentation and double entendre-style lyrical turns are signifying features on Picture. Cuddle Magic’s strengths lie in their musical entrances and exits; deep headphone listens and analysis reveal clever, but highly advanced composition ideas.

• Will Stratton – New Vanguard Blues. Will’s prolific previous recorded output showcases his talent for orchestration and arrangement. New Vanguard Blues strips away all production to push Will’s nimble guitar playing to the forefront. This is an inspiring collection of beautiful songs presented in their most intimate of settings.

• Mountain Man – Made the Harbor. The music that the three lovely women who make up Mountain Man is far from the burl that their moniker suggests. Made the Harbor is simply three voices singing their own songs or traditional songs with at most a spare acoustic guitar as backdrop. Although the album is infinitely pleasing, it feels as if Mountain Man is just getting started. Like their collaboration was a welcome surprise and there is much more to discover. What will be next?

• Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Love is a Stream. This album is a “game-changer”. Waterfalls of thick, melodious guitar tones rush through speakers while disparate vocal lines meander in the background. It’s out of control, with restraint. It’s searing without pain. And of course it comes on another one of Type Records‘ excellent slabs of elegantly pressed vinyl. An instant classic.

• #1: Benoît Pioulard – Lasted. This record answers so many questions: How can one balance gorgeous field recordings with songs without either sounding out of place? How can home recording sound fussed-over yet still human? What version of Earth does Benoît Pioulard (Thomas Meluch) actually hail from?

Lasted is a rich album which surpasses Meluch’s previous output, at least in spirit if not craft. It’s moments of brilliance such as when the second verse of “Sault” kicks in that listeners are revealed to be deep in a world created by one man. The brief hiss and crackle that kicks off “Shouting Distance” never distracts, but provides depth and context to the song.

The album is a complete picture filled with peaks and valleys, surprises and highly memorable moments. It’s perfect for the winter season and driving around at night, so make sure to get to it before the days are long again.

WIN A VINYL COPY OF LASTED!!!!

GIVEAWAY: 1 new/sealed (vinyl) LP copy of Benoît Pioulard – Lasted.

To enter the contest, one must name a favorite album (or song) from 2010 and a brief explanation on what made that recording special. One entry per person must be entered into the comments section below.

Contest runs from Monday, January 3rd, 2011 through Monday, January 10th, 2011 at midnight.

( This contest in no way insinuates any endorsement of Benoît Pioulard or Kranky Records to this website or my work. I simply ordered an extra copy of the LP which I thought would be nice to share with someone. Cheers! Good luck! )

1/10/11 — COMMENTS NOW CLOSED! WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED BY THE END OF THE WEEK! THANKS Y’ALL – SOME GREAT PICKS IN HERE!

Here’s an mp3 of the audio in the above video (33+MB): (thanks for the request, Devin!)

There were some amazing songs released this year. Here’s a list of my favorites!

“Dry Grass and Shadows” by Alela Diane,
“Wounded Bird” by Heather Broderick,
“Two Weeks” by Grizzly Bear,
“One Wing” by Wilco,
“where the author, now free, finds escape was the easiest part and having neglected to plan further regarding transport to his desired destination begins to lose his bearings and sneaks into a pub called ‘the ring’” by Scientific Maps,
“Worth Keeping” by Jill Andrews,
“Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” by the Avett Brothers,
“Who Will” by Will Stratton,
“Don’t Looks Good” by Swamp Baby,
“This Tornado Loves You” by Neko Case,
“Voices” by Phantogram
“More Childish Than a Long Time” by Taxi Taxi,
“Belle (Taxi Taxi cover)” by Peter Broderick,
“Across the Lake is Where My Heart Shines” by Rameses III,
“Murder of Crows” by We Are Jeneric

CONTEST! Name all three songs (in correct order) that are featured in the video above. First person to leave a comment below with the correct song names, artist and order in the video will win one 12″ vinyl LP, one 7″ vinyl single and a CD from my home collection! I promise to pick some rad gems for the winner! Promise!!!! Make sure to use a valid email address in the comments (will not be published) so that I can contact the winner! Jesse wins!!!

(Note: I will be attempting to shrink my physical music collection over the next few months, stay tuned for more giveaways like this!!)

Lastly, there’s an inherent sadness to much of this music, and while, I’m not the saddest person on the earth, it’s clear that sad music connects with me on a deeper level than anything else.

10. Brent Gorton : San Diego (2001) A brilliant (solo) debut album from Brent that still wrecks me to this day. San Diego shares traits with some of my other favorite albums from this decade; home-recorded, sincere, unique, sad, magic, etc. It’s a clear vision that Brent presents; pop songs that are not “pop”, love songs that skate around the word “love”, lonely laments that make you feel less alone. Since there’s less of a chance that you might have heard songs from this album, here are “Maiden Spring” and “Holland“:

Brent Gorton : “Maiden Spring”

Brent Gorton : “Holland”

9. Wilco : Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) Here’s a great example of a band who has only made one album I truly love. I find their “Before YHF” albums a bit too “alt-country” and their “After YHF” a bit too “experimental without handing over good songs”. This record drives the arrow straight between those two lines. A world where chaos intersects with beautiful, thoughtful songs and inventive sound production. Witnessing this band perform the Yankee Hotel songs at Union College just a week or so before its release date was a highly memorable occasion from those days.

8. Bon Iver : For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) There’s something charming about the story behind this album. Boy goes off alone to family cabin in the woods to steam-off a breakup by writing and recording songs. Surely not the first time this has happened, but it may be the first time it happened this well. What feels and sounds like an open wound of emotion teeters on the edge of searing beauty and sadness. “Lump Sum” is the song that really caught me, with it’s cyclical chords, thrumming rhythm and hair-raising harmony climaxes. That this record revealed itself to me in winter was certainly perfect for its sounds and vibes.

7. Gillian Welch : (Time) The Revelator (2001) There was some serious internal debate about whether this album or its follower Soul Journey should be included on this list. I’d say the latter has better songs on it, but Revelator ended up here on the merits of the fourteen-minute album closer – “I Dream a Highway“. There is not a more cathartic, sullen, gem of an experience to be had with two acoustic guitars and two vocals produced in the 2000s.

6. LOW : Things We Lost in the Fire (2001) This fourth full-length album from the Minnesota band LOW is responsible for digging me out of one of the worst sadnesses I’ve ever felt. Well, I should say the concert I witnessed that was in support of the release of TWLITF brought me out of that ugly funk. “When they found your body, giant Xs on your eyes…” sung in gorgeous harmony by husband and wife team Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker are the lyrics that kick off this record. Despite plenty of dark, creepy moments, this album is comforting and warm.

5. The Shins : Oh, Inverted World (2001) Sub Pop has a knack for grabbing bands right before they release their best recordings; oftentimes their first! Such is the case for the Shins. Oh, Inverted World is a brief, but classic album. Beginning with a whistle and ending with a guitar strum, we are drawn into the world of James Mercer. There’s songs of situations and love and fear and fear of love and fear in love, all written in unexpected song forms that tend to be short but always poignant. And, despite the schlock in the source of this statement, Oh, Inverted World will indeed change your life.

4. Radiohead : Kid A (2000) My favorite memory of this album was a weeknight spent at the old Lionheart Café on Lark Street, in the space where Bombers “Upstairs” now exists. I can’t remember whether this was a Tuesday night jazz night or a random Sunday night; but I remember Kid A coming on in the back room where the “stage” was, and all conversations began to peter out. By the time “How to Disappear Completely” came on, everyone was silent. It was an inadvertent “movie” moment and we all looked at each other around the room and knew that we had just experienced the same thing; we were in the same world, together.

3. The National : Boxer (2007) Boxer surprised me. I had no idea that this band was capable of the magic it weaves on this album. Woozy, punch-drunk vocals don’t usually do it for me, but singer Matt Berninger really nailed the intonation (or lack thereof) for these perfect lyrics. I said to an excited friend about this album; “Each song is a home-run, or at least has a home-run moment in it!”

2. Tara Jane ONeil : Peregrine (2000) Like a few of the other releases on this list, Peregrine is a home-recorded effort. On this first solo effort after years of playing in bands, TJO makes claustrophobia sound warm and welcoming under layers and layers of carefully plucked guitar textures, errant splashes of violin, piano twinkles and unearthly drones. Her voice is fragile and deliberately hidden underneath these layers, making the listener truly tune-in to hear what she’s singing about. If I were more into synesthesia I could tell you which “color” this album is, because I’m sure it’s a color I’ve never heard before.

1. Iron & Wine : The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002) Another strong debut album from a Sub Pop band. “Band” being in the loosest sense of the word in this case, since this album was made entirely by Sam Beam. On his home computer. Possibly thinking that no one would ever hear these songs. And what a shame that would have been! That the world not be treated to songs like “Upwards Over the Mountain” or “Faded From the Winter” is a thought I do not want to entertain. There is no better instant transport than to drop the needle or click play on the love tone-poem “Lion’s Mane“. For me, it’s an immediate cue to settle in for forty minutes of heart-warming/wrenching song-waves. I have such an attachment to this collection of songs that I have not moved on from this album. No Iron & Wine album since has moved me the way “…Cradle” does. As soon as Beam left the bedroom for the recording studio, the intimacy was lost and I simply cannot enjoy what came next.

In looking back on another year of music, I’m having trouble getting excited about “the album” as wholes that were released in this time period. There were plenty of songs that caught my ear, but, albums? Not as much. Nonetheless, here are my Favorite Albums From 2009, no particular order;

Scientific Maps – Hold on Whoever You Are (free download from B3nson) :: I have to admit I haven’t been taken by a Sci Maps recording until this album came out in March of this year. Another successful product of the RPM Challenge, Hold on Whoever You Are is a perfect example of what can happen when one lets go of all perfectionistibitions (yeah, I just made that word up for Aaron Smith) and surrenders to the creativity muse that drives all of us to capture our ideas in a tangible form. Over the course of nearly a half hour, the Scientific Maps unfurl a story of capture, imprisonment, planned escape and eventual resolve. Sure the sound is a bit raw, the edges are a bit rough, but the songs on this album are catchy nuggets of imaginitive pop sensations.

Rameses III – I Could Not Love You More : 2009 will go down in infamy for me as the year I went through a little unhealthy obsession with Type Records. Finally finding my way there through the music of Peter Broderick, I latched on to the gorgeous, minimal aesthetics of the music and the artwork. There were plenty of purchases to Forced Exposure and Discogs this year. For me, I Could Not Love You More was the first record in the Type Records canon to catch me completely off-guard when I wasn’t looking. Their most excellent SoundCloud / website integration had me listening through the entire label output while I was working online one day. After about ten or fifteen minutes through this gorgeous album, my ears perked up and heard the beauty underlying what seemed hidden at first. To experience this on vinyl LP was a moving moment I will not soon forget.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest I must admit I was a holdout for this band. There were a few songs on Horn of Plenty that I thought were OK, and a maybe a song from Yellow House that I wouldn’t skip. To me, Veckatimest cut down all of that non-love and made me a fan. In catching the band for the first time this year at Skidmore College, I felt a hunger, a mission that I hadn’t felt had been captured in any of their previous recordings. This energy is present in the songs on this record. It’s as if the band really WANTS to draw you into their world to discover the magic they are creating instead of hiding it under layers of experimenting.

Themselves – TheFREEHoudini Mixtape :: Although not really into rap so much usually, I found this mixtape from Anticon pioneers DoseOne and Jel to be most inspiring. What set this collection of jams apart from the duo’s CrownsDown LP released this year was the foil that each special guest brought to the table on the mixtape. It felt like Dose was almost outdoing himself on each cut, not to outdo the guest rapper, but to shine for his own sake while taking energy and ideas from each guest. It feels hungry and full of synergy to me, whereas CrownsDown feels overdone and intense. Favorite jams; “Know That to Know This (feat. Aesop Rock)”, “Rappin4Money (feat. Why? and Odd Nosdam)” and “Cross-section of a Wreckage (feat. Alias & DJ Andrew)”.

James Blackshaw – The Glass Bead Game Someone book this guy anywhere near where I can see him. With an orchestra. Or at least a string quartet. A choir maybe? Any which way to catch a glimpse of this deeply moving, hypnotic music. This is a “sink down deep in to your seat with headphones on” kind of record. It feels like an album that should be experienced alone, or, if with another, it should be someone who you would put your life in front of theirs if faced with death. Yeah, like that.

Kings of Convenience – Declaration of Dependence There was an air of trepidation when pressing play for the first time on this set of songs. I loved their Quiet is the New Loud album so much and equally let down by their Riot on an Empty Street album that it was almost like re-opening a wound. Thankfully this album seems to have learned from the brittle, sterile acoustic mess of Riot… swapping that out with beautiful live-sounding takes of these songs. An album that completely fills a room with its own ambience, Declaration of Dependence charmed me endlessly this fall.

Will Stratton – Vile Bodies EP Not totally sure where I came across Will Stratton’s music… somewhere internet-related, certainly, but the trail has gone cold at this point. Needless to say, this recording found me in the thick of fall, when I was busy driving around in rainy cool nights thinking about younger years. Something about Will’s voice is comforting; be it his excellent diction or the arcing melodies that seem to fit so perfectly with the music. Despite the Vile Bodies EP being a freebie giveaway, it truly feels like an album to me. We go on a lonely journey together, I listen to Will tell me things and I want to tell him things in return. I’d love to give his recently released No Wonder album some space here, but I really haven’t given it the time it deserves. For now, Vile Bodies.

Heather Woods Broderick – From the Ground This album was a long time coming. Heather posted demos of some of these songs on her MySpace page a few years ago and I’ve been craving for studio versions ever since. The album was recorded with her brother Peter and truly takes a long journey throughout its ten tracks. My favorite unexpected album left-turn of 2009 comes in the midway point sequencing of “For Misty” – a nine-plus minute bliss-out of cello and field recording gorgeousness. Six or so minutes into the piece, it’s like the fog is wiped away from the mirror and a pristine string quartet appears to then give way to a different set of field recordings and piano outro. Then what next? Oh, just my favorite song from the album – “Wounded Bird“. It’s beautiful, and highly recommended.

We Are Jeneric – Animals Are People Too 2009 couldn’t go by without another We Are Jeneric release, right? This lovely band of lovers were one of the first Capital Region bands to take on the RPM Challenge three years ago which produced their Hansel & Gretel album. The following year produced In the Parlor With the Moon. Much work for this year’s album, a tribute and conversation with the animals that live in and around Jen and Eric’s 18th Century home, happened in February during the challenge period but the final version was completed in the months following. The “release party” for Animals Are People Too occurred in that home, on their land to a semi-private audience of friends. It was the perfect setting to experience these songs which are so charming, rambunctious and exuberant! Gone is much of the melancholy of the two previous albums, replaced by a joyful, playful romp through many eclectic styles. This album receives Best Lyric of 2009 — “Too little broccoli, too much Chuck” from “Woodchuck Charles the II part II”. You have to hear it…