15) PANDA BEAR – Person Pitch I don’t really know how to describe this one, but all I know is that this thing just sounds gorgeous. Overlapping samples and weird effects create a sonic landscape that you can see and feel (especially if you’ve got headphones on). Layer upon layer of textured sound that envelopes you in the world that Noah Lenox has created for a brief 40 minutes. 14) THE FIELD – From Here We Go Sublime This is the album that I fell asleep the most to this entire year. Either that or wrote papers/studied to. Mesmerizing, repetitive beats that make you feel like you’re in a lucid state. Makes you want to listen to it on a pair of nice headphones while sitting in a comfortable chair and watch everything around you sit perfectly still. 13) SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Although JUSTICE may have gotten all the fame for remixing the track “Never Be Alone” from this British duo’s previous band, their latest effort is up there, if not better than +. Beats that will blow your roof off with creative rhythms and catchy choruses make this album much more memorable than JUSTICE’s much more technically proficient effort. 12) M.I.A.- Kala Eccentric and sonically off the wall. Crazy beats (utilizing everything from beatboxing to bird sounds to gunshots) with politically charged lyrics make this one of the best rap albums of the year. 11) THE NATIONAL – Boxer This is what it sounds like when you stumble home at 3am on a Saturday morning, it’s raining, and you just had one of those nights. Perfectly moody and overly dramatic, with enough downtrodden piano and baritone vocals that will put you in a funk, or somehow get you out of one. 10) MINUS THE BEAR – Planet of Ice Sounds exactly like a MINUS THE BEAR record but that’s totally fine. Not a huge departure from their last album, Menos El Oso, but there is enough here to keep you coming back to visit the Planet of Ice instead. The one thing these boys in MINUS THE BEAR do well is establish a theme and a place in your head while you listen along. With Menos, I always got the vibe of summertime and sitting on a beach somewhere in Europe, where as with Ice, I imagine a desolate Arctic setting with penguins rocking out. 9) 108 – A New Beat From A Dead Heart Heavy, crushing, and brutal. One of the few hardcore albums of this year that I thoroughly enjoyed. Plus, they absolutely destroy live. 8) ARCADE FIRE – Neon Bible More consistently enjoyable than Funeral and featured much more melodramatic songwriting, which only enhanced their songs filled with doubt, worry, and paranoia. 7) BATTLES – Mirrored This is what robots from the year 2027 listen to while they build space stations. There are so many times that I have listened to this album thought, “HOW THE HELL DID THEY DO THAT?!” 6) SMOKE OR FIRE – This Sinking Ship This album certainly has some weak songs and even weaker lyrics (see “Irish Handcuffs” and “Little Bohemia”), but the songs that do work pack so much passion and pure energy into them that you learn to deal. Plus, “Cars” is probably the best song I have heard this entire year. I can be in the worst mood and put this track on and instantly be singing along and air drumming to my hearts content. Here’s hoping their third full length has more hits and less misses. 5) MENOMENA – Friend and Foe Quirky and definitely has that “indie rock” sound, but strong melodies and catchy lyrics had me singing along whenever I put it on. 4) THE WEAKERTHANS – Reunion Tour John K. Sampson could write an entire album in Mandarin and I would spend hours agonizing over translating it, just to hear what he has to say. He remains one of the best lyricists in modern rock with a knack for telling a story with enough weight and depth to have it stand out from the rest. It doesn’t hurt that this album also features some killer tracks as well (“Civil Twilight,” “Sun In An Empty Room”). 3) RADIOHEAD – In Rainbows Sure the whole downloading shtick was a cool effort, but it actually has the tracks to back it up. “Videotapes” still gives me the chills whenever I hear it and although the group’s heavy experimentation phase was nice, its nice to see them combining their old styles with the new. 2) CRIME IN STEREO – …Is Dead Punk rock with sincere emotion. No silly song titles or lyrics that sound like a joke. CRIME IN STEREO have finally made the album where all their talent finally comes together with songs that just ooze pure, raw passion, even if they left the break-neck guitar solos at home on this effort. Although a track like “Unfortunate Tourist” doesn’t musically fit on the album, I can’t help but listen to the lyrics and think, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Sure, it sounds like the hung out in a basement, did lots of drugs and rocked out to Deja Entendu a lot, but hey, they’re from Long Island, what else is there to do? 1) LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – Sound of Silver From the opening space-age drum blips to the final piano part featuring James Murphy crooning about New York City, Sound of Silver is simply perfect. My favorite track seems to change each week, but whether its political and cultural criticism (“North American Scum”) or the revelation that your life and everything in it may not be what you thought it was (“All My Friends”), Murphy and the DFA crew get it right. Memorable lyrics, unbelievably understated funky music, an emotional weight not seen in any other music in this genre, and even a few sing-alongs here and there were more enough to keep me coming back week after week to this album. Honorable Mentions: – OKKERVIL RIVER – The Stage Names – It’s certainly no Black Sheep Boy, but their latest effort still proves that Will Scheff is one of the best lyricists around today. With tracks like “A Hand To Take Hold of the Scene” giving off a soulful bounce, you can’t help bus listen to this album and be content at the state of modern rock and roll. – CLOAK/DAGGER – We Are – Fast, pissed, and awesome. – GO! TEAM – Proof of Youth – Any album that uses handclaps this much gets an A-OK from me. – JUSTICE – + – I LOVED this thing when it came out. Heavy beats, crunchy and distorted bass that turned into my favorite album of the summer. After basically hearing it for 2 months non-stop and at every party I went to, I wore it thin. After revisiting it a couple of weeks ago, it just doesn’t hold up. I’m totally fine with going another year without ever hearing “D.A.N.C.E.” or any of its remixes ever again. – THE OCTOPUS PROJECT – Hello, Avalanche – I don’t understand why this group isn’t bigger than they are. “Mmaj” is one of my favorite tracks of the year and this whole album features solid tracks from start to finish. – FOR SCIENCE – Way Out Of Control – New Jersey Pop Punk at it’s finest. Just try listening to “Soledad” without singing your heart out and air drumming furiously. Hot damn I love this band. – ARCTIC MONKEYS – Your Favourite Worst Nightmare – LIFETIME – Lifetime – Good, but obviously not great. After getting over the initial phase of being psyched on any new Lifetime material, I found I just wanted to go back to listen to “Jersey’s Best Dancers” even more. Number of Shows Attended this Year: 101 Random Awards: Best Drummer – John Stanier of BATTLES Best Use of a Rooster Squawk as a Drum Beat – MIA – “Bird Flu” Best Vinyl Packaging – RADIOHEAD – In Rainbows Best Song About A Bus Driver – THE WEAKERTHANS – “Civil Twilight” Best Mashup – Montell Jordan vs. The Arcade Fire – “This Is How We Go” Best Live Robot Duo – DAFT PUNK Bands that put out albums I didn’t full get into until 2007: MEWITHOUTYOU THE SMITHS (and anything MORRISSEY related) Best Tracks: THE NATIONAL – Squalor Victoria MENOMENA – Wet and Rusting THE OCTOPUS PROJECT – Mmaj DAFT PUNK – One More Time/Aerodynamic (live) IRON & WINE – Boy with a Coin LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – All My Friends ARCADE FIRE – Black Wave/Bad Vibrations PANDA BEAR – Comfy in Nautica DAN DEACON – Wham City SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO- Love ARCTIC MONKEYS – 505 FOR SCIENCE – Soledad SMOKE OR FIRE – Cars ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Fireworks MINUS THE BEAR – Knights INTERPOL – Pioneer to the Falls