It seems that when it comes to devising these end of year lists a general question to be asked should be “Have the guys from TV On The Radio been involved in any music this year?”.
Whereas ‘Dear Science,’ marked a brilliant return for the Brooklyn experimentalists in 2008 last year we were treated to the lo-fi aesthetics of Iran, featuring KypMalone on guitar duty as well as DaveSitek manning the production.
This year is the turn of Dave Sitek’s own Maximum Balloon project to take flight. This being very much a studio project meant Sitek did not having to concern himself with how to recreate these songs live. As a result he was able to call up a whole host of talent on the album including KarenO, Theophilus London, DavidByrne as well as his bandmates TundeAdebimpe and the aforementioned KypMalone.
The result is an eccentric and luscious multi-layered album that sounds like it has evolved from the experimentation of ‘Dear Science,’ Whilst I eagerly await a new TVOTR release I am glad to say that MaximumBalloon was more than a suitable replacement in 2010.
It is safe to say Band of Horses have had a great 2010. On top of seeing a brilliant cover of their anthem ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’ released by Cee Lo Green, and repaying the favour by recording his ‘Georgia’, the band brought out their 3rd studio album ‘Infinite Arms’.
The band took the opportunity to write and record the tracks that would make ‘Infinite Arms’ in multiple locations across the East and West coasts of America and this inherent freedom seeps through to the recordings. Whilst this approach could have led several lesser bands to lose their focus the South Carolina outfit have never sounded this tight.
‘Infinite Arms’ is unequivocally a Band Of Horses album but it also represents their most impressive set of songs to date taking them from indie scene darlings to international contenders.
To the uninitiated pressing play on a Gregory and The Hawk album and hearing the beautiful serenading of MeredithGodreau may come as a surprise. This deliberately cloudy moniker is designed to avoid being pigeonholed in the “female singer/songwriter” bin.
It would therefore be lazy reviewing to say ‘Leche‘ sounds like EmilianaTorrini recorded underwater, or that it is as endearing as Soko without ever relying solely on cutesy nuances, or that it subtly captures Bat For Lashes eeriness…
The above statements are somewhat true but if you need a male example to justify this inclusion then I’m confident in saying that Godreau‘s songwriting sits comfortably next to any of Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy‘s output whilst displaying a more imposing vocal range. There is a spectral quality to her melodies that are almost disarming to the listener.
‘Leche‘ is an album equally suited for those times when it is raining outside and you just want to stare solemnly out of the window as the times when you decide it’s time to splash around in the puddles.
With the aid of it’s subtle layers and emotional dynamics it deservedly earns it’s spot on the top albums list.
Frightened Rabbit returned to the fore in 2010 with the release of ‘The Winter Of Mixed Drinks‘ and bagged themselves spots not only on our full site top album breakdown but several writers personal lists (which will be published soon).
Here is why Cougar scribe Ruby deemed it worthy of a spot:
After the warm reception of ‘The Greys’ and ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ the pressure may have been on to pull yet another FrightenedRabbit out the hat. And it is with great satisfaction that I can reveal that those scruffy haired Scots did the rabbit and the hat trick with their latest offering.
‘The Winter Of Mixed Drinks’ also saw a step away from subdued shadows of their former albums and generally provided us with a more brash and attention grabbing sound. The band have added more heart, more guts and more build than ever seen before.
Fan’s shouldn’t be disappointed as there are still plenty of nods to their staple sound; somehow FR manage to straddle the thin line between hope and horror. Yet despite this there is a notably richer and more radiant sound suggesting that things are looking a lot less miserable now for the likely lads whose efforts this year have handed them a place in my personal list.
When we reviewed the album back in aprilKenny suggested that “what sets ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ apart from previous Frightened Rabbit albums is a sense of heightened focus“. In his year end list he added:
I’m a big fan of FrightenedRabbit‘s previous albums but their 2010 offering is a different beast. This is a brilliantly crafted and contemplative album filled with great instrumentation. It is mature yet exhilerating; epic yet subtle. When I heard it — even early in the year — I knew it would be on this list.
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It seems that when it comes to devising these end of year lists a general question to be asked should be “Have the guys from TV On The Radio been involved in any music this year?”.
