Connor's Top 20 Albums of 2010

1) Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

2) Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

3) The National - High Violet

4) Big Boi - Sir Lucius Left Foot

5) Land of Talk - Cloak and Cipher

6) Sleigh Bells - Treats

7) Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

8) Owen Pallet - Heartland

9) Girl Talk - All Day

10) Beach House - Teen Dream

11) The Roots - How I Got Over

12) Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner

13) Four Tet - There is Love in You

14) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

15) Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

16) Teebs - Ardour

17) Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

18) Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

19) Minus the Bear - Omni

20) The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever

Honorable Mentions:

The Walkmen - Lisbon

Lil B - Black Ken Mixtape

The Great Explainer - The Way Things Swell

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Coke Bust- Degradation (2010)

I'm not going to bother comparing Coke Bust's music to any other hardcore acts for fear of sounding out of touch with the hardcore scene (I am, I've only recently starting revisiting all of my old favorites and checking out new groups) but all you need to know is they play fast pissed off straight edge hardcore and from D.C. If you're into Ceremony, Trash Talk, Punch or any other super fast thrashy shit, you'll dig this. Blast beats and thick metal riffs galore. 6 songs in 5 minutes. The last track, "Deathbed," is the best but the whole thing is awesome.

1. Another Fucking Problem
2. Long Gone
3. Keep Out
4. Degradation
5. No Authority
6. Deathbed

Buy Degradation through Refuse Records

tooth ache.- "Skin" (2010)

So, a while back the fantastic emerging label Father / Daughter Records got in contact with me asking me to feature this lo-fi gem from Vermont's tooth ache. Despite being so new, as far as I'm concerned Father / Daughter is 3 for 3. In addition to "Skin," they put out singles for Family Trees' "Dream Talkin'," one of my favorite songs of the year, and Levek's "Look On The Bright Side." "Skin" is a freaky mix of spiraling organs, heavy clicking rhythms and the airy vocals reminiscent of A Sunny Day In Glasgow and All Saints Day. Alexandria Hall is the sole figure behind tooth ache. and it shows. But the song's choppy, electronic chirps and simplistic composition give it a home-grown feel that makes it all the more real. Check out "Skin" via Father / Daughter's website and look for features of more great releases from this awesome up and coming label.

tooth ache.- "Skin"

Buy Skin from Father / Daughter Records

The War On Drugs- Future Weather (2010)

Reccomended If You Like: Kurt Vile, Real Estate, Beach House, The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan

Just when I was ready to start drawing up my best of 2010 list, along comes The War On Drugs’ new EP Future Weather. The War On Drugs play a unique blend of shoegaze that draws on Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen as much as it does My Bloody Valentine. Listen to cuts like “Taking the Farm” or “Barrel of Batteries” from the band’s 2008 debut LP Wagonwheel Blues and you’ll hear frontman Adam Granduciel’s abstract, colorful lyrics layered over warbling, fuzzed out guitars and the frantic pounding of the rhythm section.

Wagonwheel Blues found a lot of its strength in the spectacular guitar playing and songwriting of Kurt Vile, one of the group’s founding members, who has a burgeoning solo career and is the writer of one of my favorite songs ever. Vile doesn’t play on Future Weather, something that made me skeptical at first, but makes the record all the more impressive. Comparing Wagonwheel Blues with Vile’s solo work, one can tell that despite the strong similarities in style, albums like Childish Prodigy and Constant Hitmaker have a distinct singer-songwriter feel to them not found on Wagonwheel Blues. Vile’s absence on Future Weather allows Granduciel to invoke that same singer-songwriter feel.

Bahamadia- Kollage (1996)

Recommended If You Like: Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu

Fellow Woosa author (though he sure hasn't posted in a while, hint hint) Connor recommended Bahamadia's Kollage to me a few months back. For a while, I only rocked "Uknowhowwedu" and "Rugged Ruff" because those were the two beats that stuck out to me the most. But I listened to the whole album today and it's all top notch. Bahamadia is a female rapper out of Philly and judging by the guest features and production on Kollage, she held a solid place in the burgeoning hip-hop scene of the mid-90s. Her flow and clever lyrics certainly suggest the same, fitting perfectly over the production work of DJ Premier on tracks like"Rugged Ruff," which samples Nas' "Halftime,"and "3 The Hard Way." Also present is the other half of Gang Starr, Guru, who introduces Bahamadia on one of the albums "Interlude" tracks and produces the beat to the first proper song "WordPlay." Other highlights are "Da Jawn," which features fellow Philly natives The Roots, and the soulful "Biggest Part of Me."

I've never really dug female rappers, save for maybe frequent DOOM collaborator Empress Stahhr, who's flow is similar to Bahamadia at points. But Bahamadia's style is pretty undeniable and the beats behind her are just too dope to ignore. Click the album artwork to sample Kollage.