November 30, 2010

Another Stupid List: Best EPs of 2010

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Harlowe and The Great North Woods - Harlowe and The Great North Woods 
Recorded in a Portland apartmment, Los Angeles home, and a woodshed studio amongst the orchards of Northern California, this debut's soaring vocal harmonies all drip with the resonance and reverberations of their recording spaces. It's a sound both intimate and wide open.
Sample: "Roses"

Twin Sister - Colour Your Life 
Buzz is the word and its in large part to the wholly unique voice of singer Andrea Estella whose husky whisper lends an otherworldly charm to the psychedelic funk and haze of songs like "Lady Daydream" and "All Around And Away We Go."
Sample: "All Around And Away We Go"

Generationals - Trust 
Fiercely catchy vocal melodies and a bass and drum combo that dances and pops with a nuanced touch of funk further lead this New Orleans band down its path of addictive and carefree pop music.
Sample: "Trust"

Girls - Broken Dreams Club
It's lovely to hear San Francisco's Girls expand their sound, but what's especially pleasing is to hear them do it with such a subtle and classy palette of tones and colors. Christopher Owens and company apparently can do no wrong.
Sample: "Heartbreaker"

The War On Drugs - Future Weather
While "Baby Missiles" chugs and propels forward with the speed of a locomotive on a serious dose of methamphetamine, "A Pile of Tires" lies peacefully on its back porch of hollow picked guitars and distorted echoes. This may be an EP, but as expansive and richly textured as Future Weather is, it sure doesn't feel like it.
Sample: "Coming' Through"

Sonny & The Sunsets - The Hypnotist
I rave about Sonny Smith quite often—and its for good reason. With his fellow Sunsets, the songwriter makes timeless music infused with a once-in-a-generation set of lyrical smarts and humor. Although technically a seven-inch, this batch of four songs deserves mentioning as it's strong as any in Smith's catalogue.  Sample: "The Hypnotist"

Summer Camp - Young 
This may be teenage heartbreak-obsessed music, but it's always addressed in the most self-aware and playful of manners with Polaroid camera and Teen Wolf referencing lyrics and perhaps most impressively, the Say Anything... clip that commences "Ghost Train." Call it nostalgia-inspired reinvention music.
Sample: "Jake Ryan"

The Tallest Man On Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird
Scandinavian troubadour Kristian Matsson picks, sings and rambles along with a passionate and timeless sense of storytelling, somehow simultaneously sounding like and transcending any comparisons to Bob Dylan. Matsson's gift lies in the fact he could probably pick up a tin can and spoon and bring a stranger to tears.
Sample: "Like The Wheel"

Jesse Woods - Moon Rocks
Jesse Woods, as legend goes, was discovered by Neon Indian while playing in his Austin garage. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a fistful of carefully chosen words, Woods proves to be a truly hypnotizing force. Songs like "Sparks" and "Ugly Dress" don't just play, they wrap around you with a dusty hush.
Sample: "Sparks"

Lord Huron - Mighty/Into The Sun 
Over the course of two EPs, Benji Schneider has somehow transformed the shore of Michigan's Lake Huron into a tropical coastline. Sharply picked guitars, the hum of buzzing instruments, and chanting voices carried and shaped by the wind propel this magical music forward to places where weight and lightness are one in the same.  Sample: "Mighty"

Lord Huron

6 comments:

  1. All Delighted People?

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  2. Sufjan just doesn't do it for me anymore.

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  3. Lord Huron yeh!!!!!!!!!!

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  4. your lists (and blog) are amazing. i always find something (jesse woods)!!

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