Top 25 Albums of 2010: 10-6

10. Sambassadeur European

About five years ago bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Rapture began to make noise.  Much of their methodology involved mining the great northern European sounds of the early 80’s and updating it for the new millennium.  Often these bands drew much of their influence from the more punk-influenced dance bands such as Gang of Four and even later-Joy Division.  Dance and punk no longer became opponents in a war for club supremacy but co-existed in juxtaposed explosions of artistic freedom.

Concurrent with the dance-punk movement is a similar drawing from the well of the 80’s.  Only this movement took the lighter dance sounds of New Order and combined it with the preciousness and longing of Field Mice and the playful side of the Cure.  One of my favorites of the bunch is Sambassadeur.  Simply put they make grand European pop with a tiny twee flair. The songs are big, pretty, and grow. Unlike some artists (say, Jonsi) they don't get too cute or too precious or too enamored with their simultaneous bigness. But while they certainly have moments that seem to lead to the dance floor, it never slides into what you might call dance music.  At it’s core its grandiose dance music for people who don't like to dance.

MP3: Sambassadeur "Days"

9. Northern Portrait Criminal Art Lovers

Pretend Morrissey and Marr let bygones by bygones.  Pretend they secretly re-united and recorded an LP.  Then, instead of releasing it as the Smiths, they released it under a pseudonym.  Then, you being the uber-fan, scoured album after album trying to find this secret Smiths record.  With Criminal Art Lovers, the debut full-length by Northern Portrait, you might think you found it.

It’s easy to accuse Northern Portrait of hero-aping. Everything that made the Smiths the Smiths can be found here.  Grand, melodramatic vocals, bittersweet and caustically humorous lyrics, and bouncy guitar melodies.  It's jangle and hook my friends.  And it might not work if the songs weren't so catchy.

And much like how the Mary Onettes, who have also positioned themselves as an un-ironic 80's throwback who has a penchant for big chorus abd sweeping arrangements, what they lack in originality, they make up for in execution. On their 10-song LP, there isn't a loser in the bunch. As a whole, the album rises and falls, slows and picks up pace for the full 45 minutes, making an enjoyable and diverse listen. As an individual collection of songs, they shine. The albums first single, "Crazy", only takes one listen before you get the chorus, "crazy/why is this happening to me/crazy" stuck permanently in your hand. The title track "Criminal Art Lovers" bounces along with enough pep to leave you dancing.

MP3: Northern Portrait "New Favorite Moment"

8. She & Him Volume Two

Let me say this: I think She & Him are a benefactor/penalized by their own success. It's hard to imagine Volume One ever being noticed as much as it was if it wasn't made by M. Ward and a movie-star. That Volume One was noticed and well-receive made the lead-in hype for Volume Two even much more. That it was done as well as it has, I think, led to a lot of hipster backlash who refuse to enjoy/celebrate something made by M. Ward and a movie star. Thus, I think this is now in the love it or hate it crowd. I love it. Zooey Deschenel knows her voice. She knows her limits, she knows her strengths, she knows how to work it. She also knows how to write a catchy lyric. I'm not a huge M. Ward fan, but I like what he does with She & Him. He writes 60's inspires simple ditties that make themselves known but never overpower. This one, I believe, has staying power.

She & Him "In the Sun"

7. The School Loveless Unbeliever

In my world the Scotish popsters Camera Obscura rule the world.  In this world, The School  are the Welch Camera Obscura acolytes. Loveless Unbeliever is 13 simple songs crafted with a chorus in mind. They're fun. They're cute. They demand singing along. And there’s a subversive biting edge that makes the whole pill a bit more dangerous.  While this might not come as a surprise to those of you who are used to the bouncy keys and the swooning strings of Camera Obscura, there are differences.  Amazingly, the School are even more lush. Their gentle cooing vocals serve as a counterpoint to the chamber orchestra that dotes the ornate but preciously cute soundscapes. They're more willing to let the songs stretch out their legs and grow.

It's sound can most easily described as early-sixties girl groups meets Northern Soul, add some twee and indie-pop and shake around. No song stays to long. They draw you in with quiet hooks, competent musicianship, and just enough quirky percussion to make you notice. Add the breathy and sweet vocals of Liz (no last name...how twee!), and it's got a great foundation. When you consider that every song could be a single and begs repeat listen. We've got a minor classic.  In many a lesser year, this would probably be in contention for my favorite album of the year.

The School "Can't Understand"

6. Gigi Maintenant

 

There’s an old Digable Planets song where the group philosophizes about what it would be like “if the sixties and seventies were now”.  (Answers: 8-track walkmans, Isaac Hayes would have his own 1-900 number, and M.C. Hammer would be a pimp.  Remember this was the early 90’s.)  If you want to know what the early 60’s would have sounded like, this is probably a good guess.

In terms of retro revivalists of the early 60’s, She & Him got most of (deserved) glory.  Really, much more of it should go Gigi’s way.  Conceived as a NW super-group of sorts (Mirah, Parenthetical Girls, Karl Blau, Owen Pallet, etc.), this album is all Phil Spector. Alternating between male leads, female leads, and group choruses, this album doesn't pretend to be anything other than a good time looking back and a supposedly more innocent time and updating it for a modern audience. As an album that hangs on its numerous out-of-the-park singles, this a spectacular album for 1960 or 2010.

MP3: Gigi "No, My Heart Will Go On" 

Top 25 of 2010: 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11