100 Favourite Tracks of 2010: Part IV

In the morning Brûlé (as in crème) will be off again—he’ll check in someplace else similarly well-lit—but for the moment, he is focused as can be on the topic at hand: old media. He loves it. Can’t get enough. “I don’t want to sound like a Luddite about it,” he says, “but …” But Brûlé sort of is. Not a Luddite, exactly, but a hard-core devotee of old-fashioned media: of magazines that are printed on paper, of news programs that dedicate hours to single topics, and of well-modulated, unhysterical coverage of things other than, as he puts it, missing white women. As the media conglomerates of the world attempt to figure out their plans for the future, Brûlé is hatching a tiny and very specific media empire from a lovely part of Central London called Marylebone.

- Planet Monocle by Amy Larocca in NY Mag


Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss
Ah, Solitude is bliss. I kinda subscribe to that. And such music to listen to while you're flying solo is way awesome. Rock on, guys from Down Under.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Röyksopp - Senior Living
I think this is a very sick tune from the revered (in some quarters) Norwegian duo. Brooding and poignant, listen to that wicked bassline take control.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man
Nice and folksy, with good ol' midwestern charm to boot. The banjo is a wonderful little instrument.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Efterklang - Modern Drift
A dose of piano-backed rock is always a good listen, especially one that feels tentative, like they're on a cusp of something bigger, but still not sure of themselves. Grand orchestration is more than welcome too. Call me old but it's a personal favourite of mine.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Ra Ra Riot - Boy
Hot off his Discovery release last year, Wes Miles is back with Boy from "The Orchard with Ra Ra Riot. Definitely a riotous number. Like I mentioned above, I always like strings or chamber instruments in my music. It brings a different sort of layering to the music. Refreshing.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Freelance Whales - Generator ^ Second Floor
Saccharine pop number.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Joanna Newsom - '81
Keep a lookout for this awesome singer, she's coming down to Singapore too, for the Mosaic Music Festival. Elegant song where Newsom easily soars to the higher ends of her vocal range. This song however, presents a peculiarity with regard to the lyrics. While on the surface, it seems to tread a little on hallowed ground, I still don't really understand it.
[myspace] [last.fm]

Deerhunter - Helicopter
This song is just fantastic. Bradford Cox says that he's a fan of the transgressive author Dennis Cooper, whose account of the shocking death of a teenage gay prostitute in Russia inspired Helicopter. The lyrics are meaningful once you know the context, and coupled with shimmery synths and fuzzy ambience, this is a stunner.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Twin Sister - All Around and Away We Go (mp3)
Super trippy and super 80s, All Around and Away We Go presents a dreamy world of neverending rainbows, nice puffy clouds and beautiful rays of light that warmly caress the fields and everything else. Andrea Estella's charming and sometimes purposely muffled vocals are superb.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

Blackbird Blackbird - Happy High
Oh how literal the song title is. A euphoric journey that knows no bounds. But my only grouse, it's a tad too short!
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]

if you're vaguely attracted to rooftops

Eels - A Line in the Dirt
I felt like I've heard this somewhere before, but I can't put a name to it. I hate this feeling. Nevertheless, nice piano driven song with hoarse vocals from Mark Oliver Everett. But I'm pretty sure the high vocals are not from him. Or is it? Fantastically talented man he is, almost a one man band.

Kings of Convenience - Scars on Land
Listening to their songs always make me wonder how just two of them can sound so magical and affecting with just their guitars and their voices. They seem to transcend everything, lyrically and musically. This particular song seems to be about urbanisation, what with "the weight of lead, on floors of sand" and "still untouched, no stain of hands". Meaningful and melodic, they never cease to amaze.

Freelance Whales - Hannah
Damn awesome song. Lovely and absolutely amazing. Right off the bat, they sing the equivalent of tapdancing, racing through lyrics of grabbing a martini and meeting at the rooftop where they can argue where and when the cymbal hits should be. Whimsical pop at it's best, definitely.

Freelance Whales - Generator ^ Second Floor
Previously, it was the first floor, now enjoy the second floor, yet another wonderful song from these Big Applers.

Metric - Gold Guns Girls
Alliteration plus rapid fire singing with "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" drums.

we're finding every day several ways that we could be friends

Atlas Sound - Quick Canal (feat. Laetitia Sadier)
Atlas Sound is actually Bradford Cox, who's the vocalist of Deerhunter. Interestingly, he accidentally posted a link of his mediafire account on deerhunter's blog, which contained the (at that time) yet to be released songs of Logos, the album he was releasing as Atlas Sounds. Anyhow, this song is really wonderful. Aurally, it was soothing via the use of the keyboard, and Laetitia certainly has that sort of lush voice which envelops you entirely. It fills the space you're in. I really really like this song, and it's highly recommended that you take a listen, and you won't even feel like 8 minutes has passed after listening to the song.

Atlas Sound - Shelia

Freelance Whales - Generator ^ First Floor
Sorta reminds makes me think of Fleet Foxes musically, but the voice is too clinically pop-ish. Makes me think of the Jonas Brothers. omg. They're definitely better than Jonas Brothers on any count.

Dan Deacon - Red F
A melting pot of instruments. It's nearly just noise (read: some if not most won't like it). But to me, it seems oddly.. nice. And the pace is really, really fast.