1. The First Days of Spring — Noah and the Whale
I’ve been a moderate Noah and the Whale fan for a couple of years. Their album, Peaceful the World Lays Me Down (2008), made my top ten a year ago and had a fairly regular appearance in my music rotation. I wasn’t sure what to expect from First Days, but what I didn’t expect was to be completely blown away by the group’s growth in performance and songwriting. There isn’t a weak song on the album; the whole thing continues to build like a great playlist and makes for one of those rare albums that is great for any occasion: studying, working, driving, even rocking out.
Top tracks: Blue Skies, My Door is Always Open.
2. Build Me This — Joshua James
This was another album, like Last Days, that completely took me by surprise this past year. I was familiar with Joshua James, but none of his previous work had really struck a chord with me. That all changed when I heard the first song off the album, Coal War. James is a fantastic songwriter who hits a home run with this effort.
Top tracks: Coal War, In the Middle.
3. Strict Joy — The Swell Season
First, if you’ve yet to see the film Once, do yourself a favor and stop reading this right now and go out and rent, watch and enjoy it. You can thank me later. The Academy Award winning duo featured in Once make up the lead musicians for The Swell Season, and their first major album release since the 2006 film is nothing short of spectacular. It’s one of those albums that the more you listen, the better it gets.
Top tracks: Low Rising, I Have Loved You Wrong.
4. Conditions — The Temper Trap
A really good up-and-coming rock band that sadly has yet to really catch on in the United States, despite great success in their home of Australia and in the United Kingdom. Speaking of which, there are quite a few similarities from The Temper Trap that one would find in the popular British band Bloc Party. All songs on Conditions are equally enjoyable.
Top tracks: Sweet Disposition, Fader.
5. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — Phoenix
Most of my top ten list is devoted to strong singer-songwriters. Phoenix, however, is not the typical soft, artsy folk-like music found on my list. It is the perfect upbeat, electronic album. The French band has been around for a few albums, but is just now making it big on this side of the Atlantic. Their music is also so universally appealing it’s begun to make its way into car commercials. Don’t interpret commercial appeal with generic either — this band has a unique style that the American music scene was desperately lacking.
Top tracks: 1901, Love Like a Sunset
Rounding out the top 10:
6. Songbook, Woodpigeon
7. Far, Regina Spektor
8. Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King, Dave Matthews Band
9. To Lose My Life, White Lies
10. Everybody, Ingrid Michaelson
Also worth mentioning:
These albums are all top ten worthy, but I disqualified them either because they were a soundtrack, an E.P. or the artist and producer were both people with whom I was acquainted.
Flannel EP — Kelsey Shields: As the final touches of production were being done to this album, I was living upstairs from the basement studio where this fantastic EP was recorded. Despite hearing these songs over and over again for hours on end, the music never gets old; in fact, if I go too long without listening to the album, I go through withdrawals. Kelsey surely has a future in music, and if she doesn’t, something is sorely wrong with this world.
Blood Bank — Bon Iver: This EP, along with the Bon Iver’s 2008 release For Emma, Forever Ago, may have been recorded in the cold, depressing Wisconsin winter, but they’re the perfect companion to warm up with during a dreary Oregon night.
(500) Days of Summer Official Soundtrack — Various Artists: Not only was the film immensely enjoyable, but the soundtrack took this little independent movie that could and made the story that much more compelling; Only Garden State had as equally superb a soundtrack that had me leaving the theater debating whether the film or the music was greater. Two artists who landed in my top ten owe their discovery by me to this very soundtrack.