Gene’s Best 15 Albums of the Year 2010

28 Dec Gene’s Best 15 Albums of the Year 2010

Posted on Dec 28, 2010 in Album Reviews by

  1. Broken Bells – ST
    The best pop songwriter (James Mercer) and producer (Danger Mouse) of the last decade at the height of their game.
  2. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
    Just when you thought one man and a guitar couldn’t sound fresh.
  3. The Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
    Reveals more on each repeated listening; Damon Albarn taps into the schizophrenia of our times.
  4. Beach House – Teen Dream
    Baltimore twosome’s 3rd long-player adds to the strength of their prior two albums.
  5. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
    Bradford Cox’s most solid and consistent songwriting to date.
  6. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
    Whether folks like the comparison or not, their earnestness, musicianship and big sound brings to mind a certain Irish band in its heyday.
  7. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
    Australian youngsters reveal musical chops beyond their years as they create an album best listened to from beginning to end.
  8. Wyatt, Atzmon, Stephen – ‘……….for the ghosts within’
    Robert Wyatt (and friends) continue to push the boundaries of pop, accompanied by that unique, weather-worn voice.
  9. David Sylvian – Sleepwalkers
    Sylvian takes a break from his avant-pop recent works to cull an “odds and sods” collection of more accessible material that holds together remarkably well.
  10. Eluvium – Similes
    Though Eno’s fingerprints are all over this work, Matthew Cooper’s strong songwriting sensibilities and clear talent carry him past his forefathers.
  11. Laura Veirs – July Flame
    Subtlety and musicianship separate Ms. Veirs from her (sometimes more commercially successful) singer/songwriter peers.
  12. Field Music – Measure
    This is excellent song-craft at its finest – even as they labor in the shadows of the latest flavor of the month.
  13. The New Pornographers – Together
    The strongest effort, from beginning to end, from the Canadian “supergroup”.
  14. Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot…
    Andre who? Just in case people weren’t already aware of who was responsible for most of the irresistible hooks from Outkast’s work.
  15. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
    Kanye who? The adventurous, unpredictable, multi-layered work that some critics keep thinking they’re hearing from Sir Tweet-a-Lot.
Gene Brunak

Mr. Brunak (as his students occasionally refer to him) is a high school Journalism/English teacher in Portland, Oregon. He subjects his wife, two kids and dog Duff (how nuclear!) to various forms of popular culture; they've expressed their appreciation by offering all the latest personal electronic devices as "gifts".

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