The Top 40 Albums of 2010: 30-21

Posted by: L.V. Lopez on: December 14, 2010

• In: Top 40 Albums of 2010
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(All week we’re counting down the top albums of 2010.  For previous entries on the list, click here or simply scroll down.  We hope you enjoy the music.)

30. Sleigh Bells – Treats

Sleigh Bells, who are favorites in these parts, are blowing up.  Treats is true to its name and gives listeners eleven tracks of electro-rock variety.  The motivational “Tell ‘Em” and the “You-Really-Got-Me”-inspired “Infinity Guitars” flow naturally into the trance-like “Rachel” and straight-up garage rock of  “Straight A’s.”  Meanwhile, “Riot Rhythm” is enticing TV viewers (who don’t fast forward through commercials) to buy Hondas and watch “V.”  Treats is Sleigh Bells’ debut album, and we are certainly looking forward to hearing more.  -PJB

Sleigh Bells – “A/B Machines”

29. Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard

The second record from Syracuse sextet Ra Ra Riot features orchestral pop tunes tinged with the ache of love gone wrong. The Orchard continues on the path that RRR established on their debut, The Rhumb Line. Once again, Wes Miles provides the heartache with his high-pitched vocals, while the string-driven band offers a cathartic cheeriness. With its syncopated bass lines, minimalist guitar, and sparse drums, the music resurrects the spirit of The Police, Meanwhile, with his yelps, falsetto leaps, and quasi-British inflection, Miles gets in touch with his inner Sting. The album cover, a suburban house illuminated at night, speaks to the paradoxical mood: a veneer of wholesomeness that masks the underlying angst.  -KM

Ra Ra Riot – “Shadowcasting”

28. MGMT – Congratulations

It was a tall order for MGMT to match its success from debut album Oracular Spectacular, and with second album Congratulations, MGMT took a creative way out: they reinvented themselves entirely.  Congratulations, which was recorded in Malibu, admirably channels 1960s California surf rock with “Its Working,” “Song for Dan Treacy,” “Flash Delirium” and “Brian Eno.”  The record  loses some of its momentum in the middle with the 12-minute-long “Siberian Breaks,” but the album fights through its lulls in admirable fashion.   MGMT is a versatile and capable band, and it will be interesting to see how they cast themselves on their third album.  -PJB

MGMT – “Flash Delirium”

27. Curren$y – Pilot Talk

You won’t have to listen to Pilot Talk for very long to determine underground hip-hop hero Curren$y’s drug of choice.  Suffice it to say that, although this is a solo album, it’s also a joint effort.  -LVL

Curren$y – “Example”

26. The Black Keys – Brothers

Everything about Brothers highlights The Black Keys straightforward, no frills appeal, from the album cover (“This is an album by The Black Keys.  The name of this album is Brothers”) to the gritty, bare-bones tracks within.  With Brothers, the Ohio blues duo thumps, snarls and rumbles through 11 tracks about heartbreak, loss and regret.  “Next Girl” exemplifies their revived delta blues, while they flex some restrained innovation on tracks like “Everlasting Light” and “She’s Long Gone.”  If anything, Brothers might be too much of a good thing.  -PJB

The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”

25. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

James Murphy has written a break-up letter to the scene that made him who he is. This is Happening is grand, adult, mean, and often bittersweet, but his love shines through. Whether or not Murphy will live up to his claim that this will be his last record remains to be seen, but if so, this is a fitting goodbye.  -PL

LCD Soundsystem – “Home”

24. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today

Sounding like a cassette recording of a Pittsburgh radio station circa 1978, Ariel Pink’s Before Today has been tagged with a number of predictable adjectives, including “lo-fi,” “fractured,” “nostalgic,” and even “groundbreaking.”  The worn-out rock-critic adjective I would be most apt to apply, however, is “infectious.”  After the first listen this record is perhaps no more than oddly intriguing, but its myriad hooks remain in your brain long after the album’s conclusion, spreading through your central nervous system like some disease you wouldn’t want in real life.  Listen to the song below then grab the full album; by the end of one listen, I guarantee you’ll have caught The Pink.  -LVL

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Bright Lit Blue Skies” (Rockin’ Ramrods Cover)

23. Gayngs – Relayted

Gayngs plays the kind of syrupy soft rock you might hear at your dentist’s office – if your dentist wanted to seduce you.  If their music were any cheesier or any more retro, it would be served in a fondue pot. Their Yacht Rock blends the boudoir noir of Roxy Music, the antiseptic blues of Fleetwood Mac, and the saccharine soul of Tears for Fears.

With their stew of dirty bass grooves, sultry synthesizers, bombastic blues guitars, and cloying saxophones, it’s unclear whether Gayngs wants to seduce their listeners or make them cringe. Vocally, the highlight of the band is Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver, who has branched out from the stripped down earnestness of his debut For Emma Forever Ago to joke around with the likes of GAYNGS and Kanye West.  -KM

Gayngs – “The Gaudy Side of Town”

22. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma

Steven Ellison (a.k.a. Flying Lotus) must have prophetic powers and/or a time machine, because this has got to be what hip-hop sounds like in the year 2110.  -PL

Flying Lotus – “Do The Astral Plane”

21. The Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt

Often enduring comparisons to a young Dylan, Sweden native Kristian Matsson’s cerebral folk ballads are quite refreshing in a world gone electronic. His songs are pumped full of heart and originality, and his guitar playing is smooth yet technically proficient. The plaintive, contemplative mood of the record makes a perfect soundtrack to all those times you’re stuck in your own head.  -PL

The Tallest Man On Earth – “Burden Of Tomorrow”

Be sure to check in throughout the week for the rest of our Top 40 of 2010 Countdown

Tags: Best of 2010, Hip-Hop, Indie, Indie Rock, Music