SIT WOLF: Top 30 Albums of 2010

The best albums of 2010, much the same as 2009, were ridiculously hard to narrow down into a final 30. But after much of the obligatory mulling over nominees and usual bits of chopping and changing positions i’ve finally got a Top 30 Countdown. It was a pretty spectacular twelve months in terms of music. Full of all sorts of aural delights.

As customary the countdown is from Numero 30 to Numero 1 and with a short little description of each album. I’ve tried to keep it to short as i’m pushed for time and it is a school night afterall so it’s early to bed tonight for me.

30. !!! – STRANGE WEATHER ISN’T IT?

A colourful return to form from the dance punk Cali-NY group.

29. GIL SCOTT HERON – I’M NEW HERE

There’s still life in the old dog yet. Putting most of todays young guns to shame with this “post-modernised” blues album.

28. FUTURE ISLANDS – IN EVENING AIR

Fresh and backed with the unique voice of Samuel T Herring this album provided Future Islands with a huge step towards global recognition.

27. NEDRY – CONDOR

Glitch laden, echo filled debut from this seemingly ever evolving trio.

26. BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD – SUMMER HEART

Released on Christmas Day, this was the perfect stocking filler from Blackbird Blackbird. A collection of dream pop classics.

25. HOLY FUCK – LATIN

Holy Fuck? Holy Funk more like. Instrumental lords at their best but with added funkability.

24. MEURSAULT – ALL CREATURES WILL MAKE MERRY

Epic, sombre, intriguing album from the Scottish lo-fi folk experimentalists.

23. BATHS – CERULEAN

A wonderfully textured body of work forms the debut of Will Wiesenfeld aka Baths.

22. WARPAINT – THE FOOL

The all girl four piece dropped one of the most anticipated albums of 2010 and didn’t disappoint with “The Fool”.

21. THE NATIONAL – HIGH VIOLET

It had been a while, so to say, since the indie kids favourite miserablists had released a full length effort and this summer release was a blinding reminder of what they’re capable of.

20. MOUNT KIMBIE – CROOKS AND LOVERS

Blending every type of music there is into just under 40 minutes may seem impossible to most. Not to these guys though.

19. THESE NEW PURITANS – HIDDEN

The sounds of a band truly finding themselves has never been more enjoyable.

18. BEACH HOUSE – TEEN DREAM

Beguilling and warm. This mysterious offering only makes me love Beach House more than i already did.

17. WILD NOTHING – GEMINI

Unmistakably influenced by the 80’s, this wide eyed debut from Jack Tatum and co is literally summer on a disc.

16. GAYNGS – RELAYTED

The compelling tribe of artists known as Gayngs were always going to give us something special with all the collective talent they have in their possession.

15. FLYING LOTUS – COSMOGRAMMA

Giving us another multi layered odyssey was always going to be the main target for one of the most consistent IDM artists out there. He succeeded in typical mesmerising fashion.

14. SALEM – KING NIGHT

Mysterious, cold yet tender and encapsulating. A chilling album from these dark hosts.

13. ERRORS – COME DOWN WITH ME

Following up debut album “It’s Not Something…” was always gonna be hard but Errors managed to seemingly effortlessly succeed. Never has electronic instrumental music sounded so cool.

12. SURFER BLOOD – ASTRO COAST

With vocal melodies and lyrics evoking a heavier Beach Boys this was one of the first albums of 2010 that made my ears prick up and pay serious attention when it came out last January.

11. TOBACCO – MANIAC MEAT

The main man from Black Moth Super Rainbow continues his solo project in style. Roping in Beck for some guest vocals on this aggressive 16 track LP.

10. EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER – BLOOD AND FIRE

The Brighton legends returned to form and then some with this tight, well structured sonically enticing outpouring. Sprucing up a few older tracks and adding in some amazing new ones was the perfect way to keep there notoriously loyal fans more than happy.

9. FOUR TET – THERE IS LOVE IN YOU

Keiran Hebden never lets us down and last years album was no different. Maybe more tender/softer than previous releases in some areas and certainly not as complicated but still groovy enough to make you want to dance away to your heart’s content.

8. ARCADE FIRE – THE SUBURBS

The big one that everybody was and still is talking about. The album that turned Arcade Fire from indie playlist stalwarts to world renowned epic song possessing music Gods.

7. PANTHA DU PRINCE – BLACK NOISE

Another early bird, released in February ’10, that stuck around in my head all year long. An expressive and ever expanding work of art.

6. GOLD PANDA – LUCKY SHINER

Previous EP releases from Gold Panda gave us an idea of what was gonna be in store for his debut album but nothing could have prepared us for the twist and turns that “Lucky Shiner” slides through. It’s a story of an album. One that’s worth reading over and over again.

5. DEFTONES – DIAMOND EYES

There’s no doubt about it, the Deftones are timeless. Diamond Eyes was a long time coming. The band have been through a very tough time over the last few year and if anybody deserves to be praised this year it is them. Combining styles form all of their previous albums to create an elegant piece of alternative rock. Nobody does it as good as the Deftones. They’ve been around for over two decades but show no sign of slowing up and tracks like “Royal” show they still have that bite that all other modern rock bands envy. They’ve left their calling card once again.

4. MF/MB/ – FOLDED

This was a late discovery of mine last year. I’m honest enough to admit i’d never even heard of the band until a friend recommended them to me in the winter. And what a recommendation. The material on this album ranges from the simple stuff to the extravagant experimental stuff. Staying sublime the whole way through and not losing sight of the art rock/pop stylings.

3. KANYE WEST – MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

The best word i can think of to describe this album is primordial. It’s the beginning of a new vein of hip hop and RnB. Jam packed full of special guests ranging from Jay Z to Bon Iver and full of ideas. It’s an essential listen from start to end.

2. 65DAYSOFSTATIC – WE WERE EXPLODING ANYWAY

Colossal riffs and beats as always from the Sheffield masters of post rock. Adding that little something different with each passing song. They’re gaining an ever growing fan base throughout the world and it’s easy to hear why. They’re at the forefront of everything that is modern instrumental music. They’re the pioneers of sonic brutality and this album shows that they plan on keeping that title for a long time to come.

and the WINNER of Best Album of 2010 is…..

1. O.CHILDREN – O.CHILDREN

The self titled effort form O.Children was pretty much a shoe in for Number 1 on this list from the moment i heard it. You’d need to reform Death From Above 1979 and get them in a studio with Queens of the Stone Age to make the best album they possibly could to even make me THINK about changing my mind on this one. Back to O.Children though, being named after a Nick Cave song meant they were always going to be dark/gothic but they’ve just taken dark and made it darker. Eerie in parts,atmpospheric and always moody and intense. They wear their influences on their sleeve (Joy Divison, Echo and the Bunnymen etc) and use them to carve their own niche. They embrace the miserable side of things and somehow turn it into catchy hooks and perfectly timed choruses. They’ve sombrely embraced the world and with this album as their introduction the world will surely return the favour. They deserve it.

I’ve made ZIP files with one track from each album and posted them on mediafire. Below are the tracks included and download links.

SIT WOLF: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2010 (Part 1)
30. !!! – AM/FM
29. Gil Scott Heron – Me And The Devil
28. Future Islands – Tin Man
27. Nedry – A42
26. Blackbird Blackbird – Avalanche
25. Holy Fuck – Stay Lit
24. Meursault – One Day This’ll All Be Fields
23. Baths – Maximalist
22. Warpaint – Shadows
21. The National – Runaway
20. Mt. Kimbie – Ruby
19. These New Puritans – Attack Music
18. Beach House – Silver Soul
17. Wild Nothing – Live In Dreams
16. Gayngs – Crystal Rope
DOWNLOAD PART 1 (30-16)  here

SIT WOLF: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2010 PART 2
15. Flying Lotus – Do The Astral Plane
14. Salem – Frost
13. Errors – Antipode
12. Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes
11. Tobacco – Fresh Hex (feat. Beck)
10. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – Monsieur Cutts
9. Four Tet – Sing
8. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
7. Pantha Du Prince – Lay In A Shimmer
6. Gold Panda – Parents
5. Deftones – You’ve Seen The Butcher
4. MF/MB/ – 1000 Times
3. Kanye West – So Appalled
2. 65daysofstatic – Crash Tactics
1. O.Children – Ruins
DOWNLOAD PART 2 (15-1)  here

S.I.T WOLF  X

SIT WOLF: The Top 10 EPs of 2010

So, i’ve finally gotten round to compiling my other “Best of 2010” lists. Here’s what twenty ten had to offer in EP form.

Counting down from 10 to 1 we have…..

10. ASPEN TIDE – BITTERSWEET EP

Released on 1st September 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Bittersweet *free download*
2. Baltic Numb
3. Colours

I only found out about Aspen Tide towards the end of last year when i saw them support my friends band at the 13th Note in Glasgow. Immediately after the gig i went home and and downloaded the EP from their bandcamp page. The EP is a perfect combination of  alternative punk, indie and vitriol, albeit gentle vitriol in some parts. Love lorn lyrics providing the perfect centre pieces which are then backed by an almost angelic quietness and moments of monolithic heaviness. They have the whole “quiet/loud” thing down to an art. Ably switching from intricate guitar lines to balls out riffing in nano seconds. Their influences are prominent but not over bearing.  They have everything a modern/popular band need. Thoughtful verses and very, very catchy choruses. The next step for these 4 Scottish guys could very well be a big one and if they’re picked up and given the right management then who knows what awaits.

They’re definitely a band i’d recommend catching live. They come across as really being in their element in a live setting. When i saw them at the 13th Note i turned and told my friend that i genuinely thought we could be in the presence of the next Biffy Clyro. It’s in your hands guys. Make it happen.

9. GAUNTLET HAIR – OUT, DON’T EP

Released on 13th October 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Out, Don’t..
2. Heave *free download*

This Colorado twosome gave us a good few pieces of  joyous wonky pop last year. The “Out, Don’t” single/EP being the stand out. It’s like someone has decided to make some lo-fi soul music. There’s a certain element R’n’B element throughout the tracks as well and the title track “Out, Don’t” gathers momentum as it builds up throughout it’s 4 and a half minutes and ends with what sounds like the Beach Boys joing forces with Animal Collective. A must have of last year.

8. THE JAPANESE WAR EFFORT – SINGS OF A DEAR GREEN PLACE EP

Released on 11th October 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. The Cathcart Circle *free download*
2. I Hate Glasgow
3. Oh, Literature
4. Lets Be Fine Now
5. Fake Tanned Out Yr Tits
6. Overweight Friendship Battalion
7. Cake Face
8. Sunglasses Sucka

A little concept album all about Glasgow from an Edinburgh based, soundscape loving, (dare i say) abstractionist. Yes, at times it’s abstract yet always accessible. The EP drifts along perfectly. The quiet bedroom vocals create an intimate setting and nestle the songs into your ears. This is one for the headphones.

7. AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR – THE LETTERS EP

Released on 8th February 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. S Is For Salamander *free download*
2. D Is For Django the Bastard
3. B Is For B-Side
4. K Is For Killing Spree (An Ode To)

This is an EP with a twist. It was recorded in a time span of 4 days during a tour the band did. It’s the same ASIWYFA as always. Amazingly bone crunching riffs, an almost tribal beat and layers of noise that would put most “heavy” bands to shame. Hopefully “The Letters” is a little taster for what lies in store in the form of a new album from the Northern Irish four piece .

6. BRETON – SHARING NOTES EP

Released on 19th July 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. The Well
2. Penultimate
3. Sharing Notes
4. Episodes
5. Watertight
6. 15X *free download*

Another album with a twist. No this wasn’t recorded in 4 days, well it might have been who knows… but the twist is that this EP actually turns into a full functioning synth! A playable instrument. Amazing. When i first heard/seen Breton they were described as post-punk dubstep. Eh??? What a ridiculous “genre” to lump someone into. This is good old fashioned experimental pop at it’s best, yes, there are elements of dub throughout with the classic wonky basslines and drops that the genre is known for but this is purely music evolving. Music taking on new forms. They have the influences of bands like Foals and Minnaars which shine through in their songs but they are a band who distinctly have their own sound. Just don’t call them post punk dubstep. Call them the future.

5. TEEN DAZE – FOUR MORE YEARS EP

Released on 27th of July 2010

TRACKLIST
1. Four More Years
2. Gone For The Summer*free download*
3. Neon
4. Around
5. No Regrets
6. Shine On, You Crazy White Cap
7. Saviour
8. Spin Around, Go Ahead

This could arguably be an album but we’ll go with it as an EP. Either way it’s the perfect example of repetitive, relaxing electronica. Woozy, tender, percussive and very melodic. Call this whatever you want. Glo-fi, chillwave, shoegaze etc. It’s a masterpiece in synth euphoria. There’s the whole tingling feeling when you hear certain sounds washing through the speakers. The laid back vocals only serve to heighten the senses even more. An album? An EP? A work of art.

4. SOLAR BEARS – INNER SUNSHINE EP

Released on 24th August 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Trans Waterfall *free download*
2. Photo Negative Living
3. Inner Sunshine
4. Kill On
5. Crystaline (Leatherette Remix)
6. Twin Stars (Lone Remix)

This was my introduction to Solar Bears and what a first impression. It’s warm and evocative. The Irish duo specialise in cosmic, spacey sounds and on this EP that’s exactly what they serve up. It’s a quite unique blend of instruments that are used to create these sounds and every fleeting synth is partnered with a glitchy drum pattern. They’re not just synth boffins though. They love a bit of guitar (acoustic and electric) which becomes more and more prominent as the EP comes to its final destination. Add in a few remixes and you’ve got yourself a Top 5 EP of the year.

3. CIVIL CIVIC – 1 EP

Released on 8th March 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Less Unless
2. Baghdad Breal
3. C27 *free download*
4. E8-4AH
5. Stacks ON

I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again……these guys are one of my favourite finds of the last year or so. They’re everything i adore about music. They’re bursting with ideas and they strike me as the kind of guys who are not ones to hang around when it comes to putting those ideas into music form as soon as possible. And that’s the way it should be. They combine the elements of electronic music and rock music to create a mixture which, to me, should simply be described as “the Civil Civic sound”. They’ve managed to do something that a lot of bands find very hard to do by being massively original. They’re a band that i feel i can learn something from, as strange as that may sound. I was absolutely gutted that they had to cancel their Glasgow show last month but i’m sure they’ll play here soon and when they do i’ll be there to soak up all they have to offer.

2. SUPLEX THE KID – THE TRINITY TEST EP

Released on 6th December 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Rebuild The Machines
2. All Beneath An Iron Sky
3. Duck And Cover Charlie Brown *free download*

Enigmatic and imaginative. This EP from the Glasgow outfit hits all the right instrumental post rock buttons. Intricate and chimey at stages but never veering away from the deafeningly loud formula that serves them so well. The EP is full of little climaxes and breakdowns that surge and sear their way around the epicness. Some parts are soaked in reverb and distortion, not drenched, but soaked just to the right level. Comparisons with their peers are inevitable but STK will know that and it’s only a matter of a time until they’re mentioned in the same breath as bands like Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and 65dos.

1. BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD – MODERN DISBELIEF EP

Released 20th November 2010

TRACKLISTING
1. Modern Disbelief *free download*
2. Starlight (feat. Steffaloo)
3. Crumble Before Your Eyes
4. Fly (feat. Steffaloo)

This EP is short but sweet. It wraps you up in a musical blanket and takes you on a little journey into another world. Into the world of Mikey Sanders aka Blackbird Blackbird. Hard working and tirelessly giving us track after track through 2010, there was always the danger that we could get bored of Blackbird Blackbird. That he could’ve gotten stale. But there was never a fear of that after he continually produced little dream pop gems like the ones on display here. Yes, a lot of his material sounds similar at times but that’s because it’s HIS sound. Coincidentally Sanders has actually taken a more experimental route with some of the newer tracks he has posted on his soundcloud page recently. He’s constantly striving to bring us new music and each new track seems to offer just that little bit more into the goings on in mind of this one man music machine.

Honourable mentions go to “Shaved” by Babe Rainbow,  the Flats EP, Girls for their “Broken Dreams Club” EP, Balam Acab and the “See Birds” EP, Million Young with the “Be So True” EP and Dam Mantle’s effort “Grey” EP. I’m sorry i couldn’t fit everybody in!

S.I.T Wolf  X

SIT WOLF: The Top 30 Music Videos of 2010 (Part 2)

Tonight continues the countdown to Number 1 in the Best Music Videos of 2010. So let’s carry on where we left off…

15.  The Vandelles – Lovely Weather

14. Blackbird Blackbird – Pure

13. Mitchell Museum – Warning Bells

12. Warpaint -Elephants

11. Groove Armada – Paper Romance

10. O.Children – Ruins

9. Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil

8. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – So Long, Goodnight

7. Chromeo – Don’t Turn The Lights On

6. Arcade Fire – We Used To Wait

5. Breakbot feat Irfane – Baby, I’m Yours

4. Wu Lyf – Split It Concrete Like The Golden Sun God

3. HEALTH – We Are Water

2. Flying Lotus – Kill Your Co Workers

AND THE WINNER IS…………….

1. Gayngs – Cry

S.I.T WOLF X

ps. one notable exclusion is the Huoratron video for “Corporate Occult”. Most video sites have taken down the embeddable link for it due to the “violence and sex” in the video. Otherwise it would have comfortably made the Top 10 at least. You can however watch it over at Take Your Pills. Enjoy.

SIT WOLF: The Top 30 Music Videos of 2010 (Part 1)

Music and film together has always been the perfect combination and when it’s done right it’s art in its most inspiring form.

This is a countdown of the Best Music Videos of 2010. In reverse order from 30 down to 1.

Part 1 is from numbers 30 to 16. Tomorrow will be 15 to 1.

30. Angus and Julia Stone – Hold On

29. Toro Y Moi – Low Shoulder

28. Civil Civic – Run Overdrive

27. The Japanese Popstars feat John Spencer – Destroy

26. Maybeshewill – To The Skies From A Hillside

25. Clinic – I’m Aware

24. Black Mountain – Old Fangs

23. El Guincho – Bombay

22. Beautiful Swimmers – Big Coast

21. These New Puritans – Hologram

20. Small Black – Despicable Dogs

19. Born Ruffians – What To Say

18. The Weepies – Be My Honeypie

17. The Soft Moon – Circles

16. Babe Rainbow – Combed

Be sure to come back tomorrow night and check out the Top 15 countdown

S.I.T Wolf X