Bon Iver – Bon Iver
If you caught Vernon live after For Emma, you gradually saw him putting more and more emphasis on his band, moving Bon Iver from that solitary project into something that felt more like the work of a group. And Bon Iver, with its rich and layered arrangements, extends that development in a striking direction that’s both logical and surprising. Blending natural instrumentation supplied by recruited players– such as string arranger Rob Moose (Antony and the Johnsons, the National, Arcade Fire) and a horn/woodwind section that includes versatile saxophonist Colin Stetson– with an array of electronic and treated sounds, the album combines varied textures in ways that are ambitious and unusual but often subtle enough to miss on first glance. Read the full review on Pitchfork
Jeff The Brotherhood – We are the Champions
For a raw rock combo that in their early days seemed singularly committed simply to sweet riffs and rousing energy, on Champions JEFF prove themselves through a confident embrace of dynamics — stretching the boundaries of their economical ensemble past the brink, with thrilling results.
Sure, the primal, in-your-face energy is still there and potent as ever — the breakneck, jackhammer hi-hat and pummeling power chords of “Cool Out” will transport you to a Trans Am speeding at 90 mph down the darkest of highways while you pass a spliff to your shotgun-rider and rigor mortis begins to overtake the body in your trunk. “Shredder” relentlessly shells the listener with an assailment of head-bangin’, top-shelf Sabbath and Motörhead riffs that more than befits its name. And that’s almost nothing compared to the will-make-you-start-punching-people-uncontrollably-if-you’re-not-careful stoner-rock tour-de-force “Ripper” that follows a few tracks later. Read the full review on Nashville Scene
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator
Here’s another perfect balance: Susan Tedeschi, whose soulful voice can handle blues and ballads with equal, rich ease, and Derek Trucks, her husband and certainly the best slide guitar player on the scene. Both have been leading separate bands during the first ten years of their marriage. But now the couple has joined forces, writing together and melding their groups into a single, 11-piece all-star band. The first recording by the Tedeschi Trucks Band blends wonderful, natural performances with great songs. Ideal balance. Revelator is outstanding in the extreme. Read the full review on PopMatters
We love a good challenge, we know you do too (you wonder why we’re always moving the sections around…to keep you on your toes.) Well, here’s another one for you, intrepid pure pop fans – guess the top 10 selling albums for 2010 here at Pure Pop Records in proper order, and win a 15$ gift certificate. It’s that simple. We’re even gonna make it easier for you and give you a pool of 30 potential artist/albums to choose from. Submit your numbered titled list on The facebook to be entered into the competition.
Choose your top 10 from the following 30
(these are in alphabetical order.)
Arcade Fire – Suburbs
Avett Brothers – I & Love & You
Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
Beach House – Teen Dream
Black Keys – Brothers
Broken Bells – Self Titled
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Deerhunter – Halycon Digest
Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
Go Go Bordello – Trans-continental Hustle
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I learned the Hard Way
Ray Lamonagne – God Willin’ and the Creek don’t rise
LCD SoundSystem – This is Happening
MGMT – Congratulations
Anais Mitchell – Hades Town
Mumford & Sons – Sigh no More
The National – High Violet
New Pornographers – Together
Joanna Newsom – Have one on me
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – Self Titled
Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
The Roots – How i got over
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up from Below
She & Him – Vol. 2
Spoon – Transference
Vampire Weekend – Contra
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
xx – Self Titled
1)The Black Keys – “Brothers”
I hadn’t heard of this band in till this year. My friend made me listen to “tighten up” and i fell in love with this band. I Can’t Believe its just two guys. Its not one of those cds were you like a couple of songs and skip the rest, you fall for every song.
2)Mumford and son – “Sigh No More”
The unique sound and amazing lyrics make it one of my new favorite CD’s.
3)Weezer – “Hurley” Switching labels was the best thing they could have done. This definitely makes up for Raditude. They came back to their amazing sound rather then the stupid pop rock they did on that last album also “memories” is an amazing song.
4)Band Of Horses – Infinite arms
3 years spent waiting well worth it! Ben Bridwell’s voice makes this album and this band amazing.The song “on my way back to you” gives me chills every time.
5)Warpaint – “The Fool”
Haven’t really heard anything like them before. Love “set your arms down”. Best female Rockers around!
6)Two door cinema club – tourist history” This album is amazing. Alex Trimble vocals are so good!
7)Ra Ra Riot- “the orchard”
Kind of a mixture of death cab for cutie and vampire weekend.
8)Big Echo-”big echo”
you can tell they really poured their heart and soul into this album
9)Arcade Fire – “The suburbs”
Another Hit!!!
10)American Bang.”wild and young” perfect road trip song!
Where am I? Inside 2010 with James Murphy, that's where.
It’s bloody hard to go twelve months in new music without finding something that you dig, but 2010 was an especially good twelve months. For me anyway. Grand statements aside, it was much harder to narrow this year down to ten of my favorite releases than it was last year. So here we go with some honorable mentions:
I spent a good amount of time on a few mega releases. Beach House‘s Teen Dream leaked last November and still sort of feels like a 2009 joint rather than something out of this year. The duo cleaned off their basement haze pop dynamic into something all together shiny with beautifully minimal guitar and organ melodies, but Vitoria Lagrand’s voice, which was decidedly bigger than previous releases, is what really set things apart for Beach House this year. Arcade Fire‘s The Suburbs happened. The record is huge and, for better or worse, it’s Arcade Fire (for better). Deerhunter‘s new record continues to push the group into indie dominance. I don’t really have much more to say about Holcyon Digest other than, just listen to those saxes on “Coronado” or the wordless chorus on “Revival” or the rhythm jam on “Memory Boy.” Sufjan Stevens returned to relevancy with two amazing releases–All Delighted People EP and Age of Adz–both shamelessly indulging in their unending pastiche of wondrous intricacy–Sufjan ever leading his army of musicians into the territory of beautiful inapplicability. Except when it’s just him whispering softly into your ear.
My number 10 spot was especially competitive this year. Here’s what didn’t quite make the list but you should check out anyway because they’re pretty good: Twin Shadow‘s Forget was a pretty pleasant pop music surprise. The record is a sharp playlist of synthpop songs with a contemporary fondness for the 1980s. Darkstar‘s North found an endearing place between synthpop’s immediacy and dubstep’s negative space. The group’s label, Hyperdub, certainly seemed busy this past year. Perfume Genius‘s Learning was another surprise, and a pretty special record, being a collection of ten highly affecting lo-fi piano tunes. Lo-fi in the right sense too, in that it feels and sounds like it was found by chance somewhere forgotten and dusty. Australia’s Tame Impala with their debut, Innerspeaker, created some analog psych-pop that sounds drenched in 1960s summer sun. Salem led the mid-year witch house (or whatever it’s called) charge with King Night and their blend of chopped and screwed hip-hop with heavy graveyard dream pop. But enough. Needless to say, it was an amazing year. On to the list:
10. Prince Rama – Shadow Temple / The Body – All The Waters of The Earth Shall Turn To Blood (Tie)
A tie (okay, so it’s not quite down to ten). I wrestled endlessly between these two, but it’s a fitting tie. Shadow Temple is a very straight forward record, unlike a lot of pseudo-experimental psychedelic rock records these days that get too bogged down with esoteric indulgences. Prince Rama aims to create a swirling wall of sound formed by synthesizers, guitars, chants, and wordless vocals, all propelled by ceremonial tribal percussion. And it does that. With great success owed to it’s momentous energy, distant melody, and a perfect balance of all these elements to leave the listener breathless on the edge of whatever state of transcendence the group creates in the record’s thirty-five minute span. The Body finds their own form of transcendence on All The Waters… (as apocalyptic and metal as it sounds) in a primal slow freak-out brand of sludge that combines classic downtuned droney riffs and cathartic “holy-shit” banshee screams with a layer of careful experimentalism made up of femm choirs, guttural throat chanting, and string arrangements that never get in the way of the devastatingly crushing noise.
9. James Blake – Klavierwerke EP
James Blake was a busy lad this year and he deserves some kind of recognition for it. Three very strong EPs all of which showed great diversity and a sense of linear evolution from clubby dubstep into something altogether unique, ending with a cover of Feist’s “Limit Your Love,” which points forward to a pop, vocal-based direction for the young Englishman. Klavierwerke is the third in the string of EPs and easily the strongest. The Bell Sketch and CMYK are both arguably dance crossovers, whereas Klavierwerke exists firmly between your noggin as a headphones-destined kind of record. It’s so minimal in places it’s almost cocky. James Blake gets constant props for his unique use of pitch-shifted vocal samples, but the element of his sound that struck me most, especially on this record, is how powerful his use of negative space, that often descends into flat out silence, can be.
8. Scuba – Triangulation
This year dubstep turned into post-dubstep and post-dubstep turned back into dubstep until that turned back into just being general electronic music maybe and then no one cared. I did a full review of this record for Purepop back in September and it has only continued to grow on me. Scuba’s Triangulation is the essential isolated-nighttime record of 2010, basically destined for some personal midnight walking choreography. As danceable as it is meditative, Scuba’s production is full of momentum and atmosphere, and there’s enough attention to detail to impress the most nerdy of production nerds.
7. Zola Jesus – Stridulum EP
Zola Jesus didn’t quite hit it big this year, but the two EP’s she released in 2010 has her, in my mind, destined for something great if she can follow them up with an appropriate full-lenth LP. She’s only 21, for one. And otherwise, she has a pretty distinguished voice that’s touted as operatically trained, and press aside, it is huge and gorgeous. Then there’s the music simply being damn affecting for some reason. It’s made up of overlapping synth melodies drowning in a thick wash of gothic black reverb. The drums and lyrics are perfectly simple. All to create a uniquely thick and immediate sound.
6. Teebs – Ardour
Ardour sounds like a record of beautifully musical found-sound. It’s a perfectly organic album that’s offset by its beautiful melodies of sparkling shimmering percussive samples with the right amount of Brainfeeder-style drum programming to weigh it down. Teebs seems anxious to show his audience glimpses of an aural paradise he’s discovered and brought back with him only to rough it up with huge kick drums and offbeat snare. It helps the songs barely ever cross the three minute mark, creating a sort of naturalistic flow that’s been pieced together with as much delicacy as which it was discovered.
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
The metrics of The Suburbs are misleading: At 16 tracks, including interludes and multi-part songs, it might seem like Arcade Fire are shooting for their Sandinista!, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, or Sign O’ The Times– a band at the peak of their powers reacting against the walls closing in by blowing everything up and trying anything. But the album actually plays out more like Bruce Springsteen’s The River, a generously paced collection of meditations on familial responsibility, private disappointments, and fleeting youth, much of which takes place in moving vehicles. It also reintroduces much-needed levity to an act that can be overbearingly self-serious. On the deceptively chipper chamber pop of “Rococo”, Win Butler borders on patronizing, evoking Nirvana’s “In Bloom” and using the title word as a sword to skewer an easy target: the hipster more concerned with following trends than locating a genuine understanding in the world around him. But the point is that Butler values directness and truth, and throughout The Suburbs, what he lacks in poetry, he makes up for with honesty. Read the full review
Gov’t Mule – Mulennium
December 31, 1999 ushered in a new century and millennium and called for something truly magical–and that night’s Gov’t Mule show at Atlanta’s historic Roxy Theatre delivered it. What made this New Years Eve show so extraordinary? For starters, Little Milton, one of Warren Haynes’ most important influences, joins Gov’t Mule for six songs including “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “It Hurts Me Too.” Mulennium also marks the 10th anniversary of Allen Woody’s death and is the first official release featuring the original Gov’t Mule trio issued since his passing. Read full review
Black Crowes – Croweology
whether you’re already a fan or just now discovering the band, Croweology will be a great addition to any music collection. It gives you a look at one of the greatest rock bands in the last 20 years, it is a blueprint for what Rock n’ Roll was, is, and could be, and the music ain’t half-bad, either. You can play this record when you’re down, you can play it when you’re looking for a reason to live, you can play this record when you want to blame someone, and you can play this record when you’re wanting to forgive. It covers all the bases… all in a 20-song package. Read the full review
Blue Giant – Blue Giant
When Conor Oberst went from angsty indie to twangy country, he sounded ridiculous in foreign territory. But when Kevin and Anita Robinson of the psychedelic Portland rock duo Viva Voce expanded to become the rootsy country quintet Blue Giant, the transition seemed much smoother. The Robinsons have roots in their blood, originally coming to the Northwest from Nashville by way of Alabama. Their new self-title full-length is a collection of full and folksy songs deeply steeped in the blues. Read the full review
So here’s the final list. We tried to go with titles that we’re both amongst the best releases of the year and reflective of the discriminating Pure Pop clientele. Remember, next year the voting will be open to the public, and all Picks are currently on sale in the store!
1980. The Clash - London Calling While it came out in the UK in December of ’79, London Calling was released here the following year. A milestone album whose reputation only grows as the years go by, it’s a perfect album to kick off this list.
1981. Black Flag - Damaged Many albums from SST Records incomparable catalog were considered for this list (Husker Du’s Zen Arcade, Dinosaur Jr’s You’re Living All Over Me), but we ultimately had to go with this release from Black Flag. It’s a searing album whose principled tone would inspire legions of bands and individuals.
1982. Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights Released at a time when the critically-adored Thompson’s were struggling to sell albums and find record deals, Shoot Out the lights would serve as both a commercial peak and a swan song for the pair. The couple’s tumultuous relationship finally caved, leaving a wake of brilliant albums.
1983. U2 – War It’s hard to remember the band U2 were 25 years ago given their current output, but they were great. War embodies all the qualities the Irish quartet used to earn their legendary status and emerge as one of the biggest bands of the world.
1984. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense This is the only live album on this list. 1984 was a rich year for fantastic albums. We had to pick this one over the stiff competition because of its enduring popularity amongst our staff and customers and the fact that it’s uniquely amazing.
1985. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash This album is as great as Shane MacGowan’s teeth are revolting. Blending the immediacy and intensity of punk with traditional Celtic music, the Pogues made a number of great albums, creating a niche that would evolve into a genre.
1986. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead What do you get when you combine a musical visionary, a charismatic vocalist with a razor-sharp wit and insatiable addiction to morbid introspection and one of the greatest rhythm sections of all time?
1987. Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction Axel Rose is a big dick with delusions of grandeur, but it’s okay. Appetite for Destruction is the rock album of the 80′s. It’s a decadent, nihilistic and excessive tour de force. Lightning in a bottle.
1988. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation In stark contrast to this list’s previous entry, 1988 gives us Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. A stunning collection of songs with incredibly inventive guitar arrangements. Anyone with any ambition to experiment with melody and distortion would do well to study this album carefully.
1989. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique After establishing themselves as a tongue-in-cheek party band with Licence to Ill, the Beastie Boys reinvented themselves on their follow-up. Paul’s Boutique brought hip-hop production forward and established the Beastie Boys as one of the great groups of their generation.
1990. Depeche Mode – Violator A band so emotionally overwrought they make The Smiths sound like AC/DC shouldn’t be anywhere on this list, but Depeche Mode’s greatness can’t be denied. (Well, it can, but we won’t listen.) Nine tracks of warm analog synth greatness.
1991. Nirvana – Nevermind All of the albums featured here have had an impact, but there is something unique about popular culture’s love affair with Nirvana in the early 90′s. The trio became the centerpiece of the “grunge” movement but their musical legacy transcends genre associations.
1992. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted Whereas Nirvana had an immediate, broad impact on popular culture, Pavement’s influence would be gradual, helping to shape the aesthetic of the emerging “indie rock” genre. Today as then, listening to this album is an absolute revelation.
1993. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream The Pumpkins were a quartet, but this album was essentially performed by Billy Corgan save for drum support from virtuoso Jimmy Chamberlain. Produced by Butch Vig and engineered by the legendary Alan Moulder, this album is the sonic equivalent of honey & melted butter on toast.
1994. Portishead – Dummy Members of Portishead may scoff at the concept of trip-hop, but the genre had a lot of fans in the mid 90′s. This is due in no small part to the band’s debut masterwork. Immaculately crafted and produced, it’s hard to believe a mere three musicians put this together.
1995. Bjork - Post Oh Bjork Guðmundsdóttir. your world-class vocals and aggressively avant-garde sensibilities. Any one of your first three albums could have been on this list. Post currently sells at Pure Pop for just under $7. There is no excuse not to own this one.
1996. DJ Shadow – Entroducing The only instrumental album on this list. With Entroducing, DJ Shadow showed us something we’d never heard before. Often imitated, never matched, Entroudcing hits most of the touchstones of the emotional palate over its all too brief 64 minutes.
1997. Radiohead - OK Computer Radiohead is one of the world’s most commercially successful and critically popular bands. OK Computer blew us all away when it came out, and it still does. Bold, broad and buoying, this album was an absolute shoe-in.
1998. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea ITAOTS didn’t make huge waves upon it’s initial release. In the decade since, it’s visibility has grown and its influence has become apparent. Warm, eccentric arrangements, superb deliveries of surreal lyrics. Unconventional, evocative, and highly moving.
1999. Beck - Midnite Vultures Mellow Gold and Odelay were the critical darlings, but Midnite Vultures was the party album of its time. Sounding like a coked-up Prince produced by James Brown, Midnite Vultures offers nonsensical anthem after nonsensical anthem before concluding with the falsetto masterpiece, “Debra”.
2000. Outkast - Stankonia Describing the pairing of Andre 3000 and Big Boi as formidable would be an understatement. After improving leaps and bounds with each of their first three albums, they found more room for growth with this dirty south opus.
2001. Daft Punk - Discovery An album with such longevity it would be nominated for a grammy in 2008, seven years after its release. Assembled from a vast array of samples, ingeniously rearranged and supplemented, Discovery brought the French House movement into the 21st century and further into the global spotlight.
2002. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Amid inner turmoil and trouble with their label, Wilco recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, considered by many to be their finest album as well as one of the best albums. The documentary I am Trying to Break Your Heart offers a fascinating portrait of the circumstances of this album’s creation.
2003. My Morning Jacket It Still Moves The major-label debut from this Kentucky outfit propelled them to well-deserved greater heights. My Morning Jacket blend seemingly disparate influences, country and psychedelic for example, and create a unique and compelling style that still moves (har-har) people to this day.
2004. Arcade Fire Funeral The face of indie rock has changed since the 90′s. It is no longer a fringe genre but a mainstream phenomenon as represented by album’s like this superb release from Canada’s Arcade Fire. Fans of rich arrangements and charged emotion shant be disappointed.
2005. Gorillaz – Demon Days Fronted by Damon Alburn, who was making contenders for this list in the 90′s with his band Blur, Gorrillaz are a uniquely great band. Ostensibly made-up of cartoon characters (created by comic legend Jamie Hewlett), Gorrilaz expose most bands who’d claim to blend hip-hop with modern rock to shame.
2006. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain Hailing from Brooklyn, TV on the Radio all but monopolized critical acclaim in 2006 with Return to Cookie Mountain. It’s a testimony to this album’s appeal that Pure Pop was selling out of import copies in the weeks leading up to its release.
2007. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha Former Squirrel Nut Zipper Andrew Bird has been consistently great in his solo career as exemplified in this wonderful release. Baroque with a gritty edge, Armchair Apocrypha has a broader appeal than one might expect from something so eccentric.
2008. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes took the world by storm in 2008 with this breezy, lush and listful album. The perfect compliment to everything from a cold winter drive to a warm summer afternoon, this is an album that measures up to anything on this list.
