Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of top ten lists from our music writers. These will continue daily, until culminating in an aggregated top twenty list from buzzlegoose.
Enjoy!
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10. We Were Exploding Anyway – 65daysofstatic
65daysofstatic is determined to distance themselves from the dozens of indistinguishable post-rock ensembles that have sprouted in recent years. We Were Exploding Anyway expertly meshes pulsating dance beats with the intricate ebbs and flows that separate great instrumental music from the rest of the pack.
9. The Wild Hunt – The Tallest Man on Earth
Short, simple, and passionate. The Tallest Man on Earth returns with a lone guitar, his Bob Dylan croak, and some of the best folk-rock you’ll find all year.
8. My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky – Swans
Swans’ first album in fourteen years, My Father… retains the same brooding, all-encompassing contempt for mankind that was for so long dominated by Joy Division and The Smiths. With a crude, loud and self-produced LP, Gira returns to his primary project to prove that while he has aged quite a bit, he certainly should not be forgotten.
7. The Monitor – Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus plays fast, loud and with an energy that is unmatched in much of today’s music. The Monitor, an epic musing on the history and landscape of America, follows strongly in its predecessor’s footsteps, perhaps even leaving a larger one in its place.
6. High Violet – The National
The National has yet to make a bad album, and High Violet, their fifth, only further solidifies them as one of the premier indie-rock groups of the decade.
5. The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night – The Besnard Lakes
A haunting, transcendent masterpiece, The Besnard Lakes’ sophomore album is one that will send shivers down your spine one moment and then warm your soul the next.
4. Perch Patchwork – Maps & Atlases
In their first full-length release, Maps & Atlases tightens up the screws and delivers a beautiful, tidy album that still manages to showcase their virtuosity as individuals and as a collective.
3. Sigh No More – Mumford & Sons
Loved by some and hated by others, Mumford & Sons have shown that they have plenty of talent to share, and plenty of room for improvement. Sigh No More is powerfully uplifting, and by the end you won’t be able to refrain from stomping and clapping around the room.
2. Odd Blood – Yeasayer
No other band out there right now has the intelligence or creativity needed to make such an immersive album. Period.
1. Gorilla Manor - Local Natives
An incredibly strong debut album, Gorilla Manor is an energetic, wholly collaborative effort that rightly places Local Natives in the spotlight as an indie rocking force to be reckoned with.
Honorable Mentions:
Go – Jónsi
Intriguer – Crowded House
Realism – The Magnetic Fields
Treats – Sleigh Bells is completely absent from this list. Your opinions are invalid.