Album #9: Expo 86 by Wolf Parade
So after the relative disappoint of At Mount Zoomer, I was pretty impressed with Expo 86. While there is still a clear delineation between Dan’s songs and Spencer’s songs, on Expo 86 it sounded like there was more active collaboration going on which resulted in a really, really strong collection of songs. And energy. So much energy. Shame they’re heading into the sunset of an “indefinite hiatus.”

Download
Wolf Parade – Ghost Pressure
Wolf Parade – What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)

Song #9: Younger Us by Japandroids
Remember, remember, remember. Japandroids managed to write another anthem about getting older and looking back. And, just like Young Hearts Spark Fire, Younger Us is just huge.

Download
Japandroids – Younger Us

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #10: Transference by Spoon
I certainly won’t claim that Transference is Spoon’s finest work as it lacks the confident precision and meticulous songwriting of the band’s previous few records. But I kind of like that about this record. It seems like it is ever so slightly outside of the band’s comfort zone yet they still manage to knock it out of the park.

Video: Written In Reverse

Song #10: Helicopter by Deerhunter
Appropriately enough, I first heard Deerhunter’s Helicopter when they opened for Spoon here in Vancouver way back in April. I loved it then and when I heard the album version I was even more impressed. The mood and atmosphere the band created for Helicopter perfectly complement the troubling lyrical content.

Download
Deerhunter – Helicopter (Diplo & Lunice Remix)

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #11: Heartland by Owen Pallett
Despite being released very early in 2010, Heartland was an obvious choice for a list in December. Heartland’s tales of the adventures of Lewis were a regular presence in my ears all year long and I just don’t seem to tire of Owen Pallett’s dazzling arrangements. Truly one of Canada’s most gifted musicians.

Download
Owen Pallett – Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Dan Deacon Remix)

Video: Lewis Takes Off His Shirt

Song #11: Palaces Of Montezuma by Grinderman
I feel kind of guilty isolating perhaps the most Bad Seedsy moment from Grinderman’s latest record but Palaces Of Montezuma is just too engrossing to ignore. What are Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen doing in a song alongside the spinal cord of JFK and the epic of Gilgamesh? I’m not sure. But puzzling it out is all part of the fun.

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #12: Go by Jónsi
I used the word “joyous” when writing about Jónsi’s song Go Do yesterday and that single word is probably the best all-encompassing word for Go. On his first solo album, Jónsi took the poppy direction of the last Sigur Ros album and then ran with it for this short, focused collection of songs. It’s quite an achievment and a record I know I’ll keep going back to.

Song #12: Fool’s Day by Blur
Despite the reunion last year, I was still pretty surprised that Blur actually recorded something new. While this isn’t the most stunning Blur song ever, it is an upbeat little tune. But I think it’s the little glimmer of hope that this song gives me that puts it on this list.

Download
Blur – Fool’s Day

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #13: Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus
You know that fantastic record that comes out every now and then that you find very hard to describe so you just tell your friends to buy it? Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus was this year’s hard-to-describe masterpiece. It’s jazz, it’s electronic, it’s techno, it’s IDM…it’s a really, really great album.

Video: MmmHmm

Song #13: Go Do by Jónsi
One of the most joyous songs of 2010.

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #14: Have One On Me by Joanna Newsom
Triple records are never an easy sell. But when your triple album centres around long harp/piano based songs, well, then you really have your work cut out for you. Have One On Me is an extremely ambitious record and the songs are, for the most part, excellent. ’81 is one of Joanna Newsom’s finest compositions yet, while Baby Birch is a heartbreaking epic. In Good Intentions Paving Company JoNew rather successfully finds an entirely new way to tell her story. So, yes, Have One On Me is a great record but there’s just too much of it to digest to make it a classic album.

Video: Soft As Chalk (Live on Late Night)

Song #14: Paradise Circus by Massive Attack
There are many things that make this song so beautiful and haunting: that four note keyboard part; the clean, crisp production; and Hope Sandoval’s beautiful voice. But what really kicks this song over the edge for me is when those strings and piano arrive to take you through the songs final movement. One of Massive Attack’s most focused compositions and arrangements in quite some time. Check out a moody fan-made video below.

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #15: Postcards From A Young Man by Manic Street Preachers
Every Manics album must fight the history of the band and it’s not an easy fight as Postcards From A Young Man proves. The album doesn’t really hit the mark artistically the way last year’s amazing Journal For Plague Lovers did. Postcards was intended to be full of radio hits and, well, even in the UK the singles aren’t exactly blazing the charts…no matter how badly Nicky Wire wants them to – so it’s not really achieving its goals there either. But you know what? Postcards is fun to listen to. Not a classic by any means but the Manics still have a lot to say.

Video: (It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love

Song #15: The Great Elsewhere by Owen Pallett
This song is just mesmerizing.

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #16: Barking by Underworld
Do I wish all of Barking sounded like Bird 1? Yes. Do I wish the band had avoided all the guest producers? Yes. But since I’m a massive fan, any Underworld is welcome Underworld. While Barking is a bit too safe (what with actual choruses and relatively familiar song structures), it’s actually a pretty fun album. And while I’m on record as saying that I prefer my electronic music dark, it can’t hurt to have a little light every now and then. And it turns out Underworld do light pretty well.

Video: Always Loved A Film

Song #16: Tightrope by Janelle Monáe
This is the one that hooked me in and I don’t think I’m the only one. This song sells cars. Whether you’re high or low you’ve got to tip on the tightrope.

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #17: Wilderness Heart by Black Mountain
I just wrote about this album recently so I will very briefly reiterate: it rocks.

Download
Black Mountain – Old Fangs

Song #17: Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem
If I were to make a list of this year’s biggest disappointments, LCD Soundsystem’s record This Is Happening would certainly be near the top. It’s not a horrible record but it’s not very good. At all. James Murphy is capable of so much more. Having said that, there are a few great songs on it and Dance Yrself Clean is one of them. It monumentally kicks the record off and then compounds the disappointment of what’s to follow.

Stream
LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.

Album #18: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night by The Besnard Lakes
I just love the way this record sounds. The rich, full tones from the guitars are beautiful, the vocals are often drenched in a dreamy reverb, and the entire album has this incredible warmth to it. Maybe that fire burning on the cover has something to do with it. It helps that the care in recording this album circled around a collection of pretty great songs.

Download
The Besnard Lakes – Albatross

Song #18: Hitchhiker by Neil Young
In which Neil details a pretty rough journey. I didn’t think he still had songs like this in him.

Then I tried amphetamines
And my head was in a glass
Taped underneath the speedometer wires
Of my ’48 Buick’s dash
But I knew that wouldn’t last

—> See the rest of the 25 For 2010 List here.