Year in Review 2010 - Halftime (Music)
Feature by InRO Staff: As listeners, a music year such as 2010—deep, inviting, consistently surprising—is reason enough to persevere through the onslaught of new music. As critics, however, this kind of year presents something of a double-edged sword. As the amount of quality albums continue to pile up, we as writers start to see the proverbial wealth spread around pretty thin as far as publications are concerned—so much so that consensus-type lists such as what you’re about to read/disregard are not much more than gestures in the “right” direction. I’m pretty convinced that our individual staff lists would look quite a bit different than what we have compiled below (something our two-part End of Radio half-year podcast not so subtly hinted at). As a result, we’ve opted simply to present a group of this year's InRO Gold selections—which, truth be told, is about as close to consensus as we are going to get anyway—in quasi-hierarchical order, instead of hand-wringing over certain exclusions (but seriously now guys, ummm, Paul’s Tomb?). So while I do have doubts that any one of our writers would offer up this list as representative of such a wonderful first six months of the year, I’m also equally confident that these records are thought of in universally high regard around these parts. Therefore, if everything here does elicit little more than a knowing nod of recognition, well, at least you know you’re in good company. Jordan Cronk
Our Top Albums of the Year, So Far
01. Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me From Our Review: ...The record’s three discs divide the experience into more manageable 40 minute sets, each nearly as effective alone as they are together. Approaching the album section by section (disc by disc) isn't an unwise choice, but it's truly remarkable how Newsom can hold your attention for two solid hours [...] Majestic and complex, yet intimate and personal, Newsom’s third ambitious effort in a career already full of them both encompasses the qualities that first impressed us and demonstrates a further progress and maturation... Chris Nowling
02. Four Tet: There Is Love in You From Our Review: ...As the story goes, Hebden's mind was on the sweaty, heaving bodies and lazer-lit fog of London’s Plastic People Club when he conceived There Is Love in You. And the resulting record has a distinctly techno flavor, leaning toward some of the richer, chilled-out moments of Aphex Twin rather than the more typical, synth-and-acoustic formula Four Tet fans will be used to. Nevertheless, Hebden retains his signature preference for sampling, as well as the organic and jazzy style that sounds just as striking as it did on his debut... Yorgo Douramacos
03. Titus Andronicus: The Monitor From Our Review: ...Titus Andronicus [have a] tendency to indulge their melancholic urges to howl at the world, treat everyone and everything as a threat and go down swinging with an explosive sound and a swaggering, unfocussed musical virtuosity. If anything, their sound has devolved since their first album, trading a rigid but effective focus of intent for a free-form tendency to slow to a halt at least twice per song so that they may shift gears and switch both tempo and tone just enough to periodically throw the listener for a loop... Simon Abrams
04. Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here From Our Review: ...He recites, croons, wails, and speaks from a place deep in his soul; he sings of great joy and terrible pain and he maintains a dark sense of humor throughout. The beats curated for this set are often cold and industrial, but his rugged voice, bearing the effects of years of hard living, puts fire in his music. The record is a patchwork of spoken word pieces, traditional songs, and snippets from studio conversations, and though it’s over in a quick 28 minutes, it has more punch than most of the music released so far this year... Gavin Breeden
05. Spoon: Transference From Our Review: ...Not many bands could pull off a carefully crafted record that can also feel so tossed-off, and in the process provide both intriguing studio experiments and memorable singles. Then again, there aren’t a lot of bands like Spoon, and with Transference, they remind us of their strengths while showing off some new tricks in the process, kicking open the door to a new decade and offering the possibility that perhaps their best work is still ahead of them... GB
06. Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma From Our Review: ...Ellison is the great-nephew of Alice Coltrane, an enticing bit of familial association that will inevitably be the talking point of most every critical appraisal of Cosmogramma. But while the record does emphasize a good deal of left-field cosmic jazz elements—facilitated on multiple occasions by the tenor sax stylings of one Ravi Coltrane—no one is going to mistake this for Universal Consciousness any time soon. Which is to say that Cosmogramma is still very much a post-IDM electronic album... Jordan Cronk
07. Beach House: Teen Dream From Our Review: ...Scally’s nimble, cleanly picked guitar lines and a propulsive 4/4 drum kick signal a different feel for the duo. The resounding cymbal swells and crashes that anchor “Zebra” make for a perfect opener for this record. The vibraphone-esque keyboards and overdriven fuzz-folk acoustic guitar of 2008’s advance single/teaser “Used to Be” have been changed slightly for Teen Dream, and arguably for the better. Legrand sticks to piano and organ; Scally trades the robust strums of the rough draft for his signature crystalline guitar tone... Lukas Suveg
08. The Tallest Man On Earth: The Wild Hunt From Our Review: ...Kristian Matsson, Swedish folk singer-songwriter and lone artist behind the Tallest Man On Earth moniker, is a man that appears to eschew artistic excess of most any kind, musical or otherwise. Sure, many musicians keep things simple and record on a shoestring budget because they have to, but it’s clear on his full-length sophomore record that Matsson actually prefers to operate in a limited, sparse musical setting—and it truly would be difficult to imagine his songs presented any other way... CN
09. Owen Pallett: Heartland From Our Review: ...While electronic instrumentation isn’t foreign to Pallett’s music, the frequency and depth with which he incorporates these elements throughout Heartland, even on the more organic songs, makes this project a progressive one in regards to his personal portfolio and results in an enjoyably inimitable listening experience. The lyrical peculiarity, familiar vocals, and swirling strings still evoke the unique musical personality that has and perhaps always will define Owen Pallett, but he’s creating distance here, refusing to simply rely on old tricks... CN
10. Loscil: Endless Falls From Our Review: ..."Endless Falls" vividly conjures images of a barren, lifeless terrain, and its rustic violins provide a warm, organic counterpoint to the chilly atmosphere that abounds. It may be this record's finest standalone piece, but it's not without competition. Slow-burn standouts "Estuarine" and "Fern and Robin" likewise get a lot of milage from a formula similar to that which Keith Fullerton Whitman mastered on his seminal Playthroughs. Methodically unfurling over the course of seven-plus minutes each of these tracks develop a graceful transcendence... Sam C. Mac
We leave off a favorite? What’s your halftime top 10?
Feature By:
InRO Staff
July 26, 2010
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