Favorites of 2010: Alisa's Selections

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Honorable Mentions:
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? (A Records)
Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep (Heavenly)
Good Shoes - No Hope, No Future (Brille)
Holy Fuck - Latin (Young Turks)
Klaxons - Surfing the Void (Polydor)
No Age - Everything in Between (Sub Pop)
Past Lives - Tapestry of Webs (Suicide Squeeze)
Robedoor - Burners (Important)
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker (Modular)
Toro y Moi - Causers of This (Carpark)


10. The Drums - The Drums (Island)
For a while, I couldn't stand the hype around this band until a friend urged me on to listen to their debut album. Looking back now, I was an idiot for ignoring their catchy-as-fuck riffs and Smiths-esque lyrics.


9. Girl Talk - All Day (Illegal Art)
The day when Girl Talk released All Day for free, it was like Christmas morning came early. I was really impressed by the mash-ups on this album, especially Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" and Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag". Clocking in at 71 minutes, this album is a hell of ride.


8. Tobacco - Maniac Meat (anticon.)
More intense than the hip hop vibes on his last release, Maniac Meat is a crazy electro-pop album with extremely melodic tunes. Sometimes I wonder if Tobacco purposely saves these gems for himself instead of using them for Black Moth Super Rainbow releases.


7. Women - Public Strain (Jagjaguwar)
Public Strain is a huge step up from Women's first album. They went from being an indie pop band and turned into a haunting 80s post-punk band; I dig it.


6. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening (DFA)
I think it's impossible for James Murphy to make a bad tune. This Is Happening is the third release from Murphy's project and it's probably their best. It's sad to know that this is probably the last album we'll ever hear from him, but at least he left it on a high note.


5. MGMT - Congratulations (Columbia)
It kind of makes me sad to see that people didn't like this album. It's as if they were expecting MGMT to make Oracular Spectacular Part 2. This time around, MGMT wanted to make an album for art's sake, not for sell. Congratulations is a fresh and trippy album that deserves more love than it has received.


4. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (4AD)
Deerhunter never fail to impress me. Halcyon Digest is the fourth release from Deerhunter and it's their most mature album-- nostalgia at it's finest.


3. Liars - Sisterworld (Mute)
I noticed this album didn't get a lot of love this year, which is a shame. Sisterworld is the most violent Liars album, lyrically that is. It reminds me of their second album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned but with more of a serious tone. I see this as probably their best release yet.


2. Actual Water - The Paisley Orchard (TBA)
If Plastic Beach weren't released this year, this would be number one. I said it once and I'll say it again, Actual Water are the next big band. Track after track, The Paisley Orchard is an exciting pop/rock album with immense accessibility.


1. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Parlophone)
Gorillaz have done it again; making another masterpiece about every... 5 years or so. I'll be honest, I nearly cried the first time that I listened to Plastic Beach. I guess I'm a bit head over heels for Gorillaz, but I adore every track off this album.