What Else Is There?

#1. Menomena - Skintercourse (4:00)

Even though they’ve recently lost a member, Menomena is still constantly cranking out compelling and mysterious tunes. My favorite cut on their new album Moms is “Skintercourse” and it just might be the hardest hitting song they’ve ever written. Within, guitars and bass waddle in zig zags past each other, piano alternates between deep, resonating notes and anxious, impatient high ones, and the band eventually realizes that repeatedly falling in love with the wrong person can be incredibly maddening. At exactly the right moments extra voices pop out and harmonize unexpectedly to emphasize certain words and phrases before disappearing back into the shadows. There’s a reason this song found itself in that crucial third slot on every mix I made this year since it was released. It’s just so addicting. While I am sad to see Brent leave such a great band to focus on Ramona Falls, I am so glad to know that Danny and Justin are still in it to kill it. Well done guys.

Best Moment: When the song backs off before slowly ramping up between 1:14 and 1:52, as well as the piano attacks at 2:45 and 3:05.

The Album [Moms]: 8/10

#2. ▲ - Tessellate (3:02)

I’m kind of disappointed in the indie-sphere this year. A band finally goes ahead and actually names themselves ▲, yet everyone keeps calling them by their backup name alt-J (presumably created so that people wouldn’t pronounce them Triangle IRL) instead of calling them by their real name! Ugh. Well ANYway, ▲ has had an amazing breakout year with An Awesome Wave, and “Tessellate” is the album’s peak. Joe Newman’s one of a kind voice twists and morphs into a variety of different shapes while the band drapes it in off-kilter keys and percussion. It’s really refreshing to see a new band dropping songs that are so unique and mystical, let’s hope they can keep doing it for years to come.

Best Moment: That slow part where Joe emits a floating cry and holds it at 1:42 while the band drops back into the tessellation.

The Album [An Awesome Wave]: 8/10

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#3. Andrew Bird - Near Death Experience Experience (4:29)

Andrew Bird and I have had a problem for awhile now. I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s always been really good at the violin, whistling, and his songs have all sounded nice enough. But ever since “Skin Is, My“ turned up on 2005’s The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, I’ve been been holding out for another one that could instill me with that level of excitement. Well it’s been 7 years, but I do believe he’s finally done it. All the usual suspects are here, violin picking and curiously introspective lyrics, but he’s added some bell plinking. UFO noises (via theremin, perhaps?) and in the end I feel pretty confident in saying if you only listen to one Andy Bird song in your lifetime, it this should be the one.

Best Moment: The spot where the violin comes plinking down backwards while the bells and whistles are messing about at 2:50.

The Album [Break It Yourself]: 7/10

#4. Why? - Strawberries (3:18)

There’s something strangely comforting knowing that no matter how much genius Yoni Wolf possesses, no matter how many incredibly diverse, unique and compelling songs he’s able to create, the dude is still not okay. Is it wrong to put on a song like “Strawberries” to wallow in that delicious self pity? Is it wrong to feel better about ourselves by knowing that even artists who seem to have it all sometimes feel like they have nothing? Maybe. But tormented souls are such ripe breeding grounds for amazing music. At least they can feel slightly better knowing that their creations make us feel better, right?

Best Moment: “I don’t wear rubbers and I don’t wear sunscreen. I want to heat my hide not hide under something.”

The Album [Mumps, Etc.]: 8/10

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#5. The Magnetic Fields - The Machine In Your Hand (2:23)

How freaking genius are The Magnetic Fields? “The Machine In Your Hand” is both a love song (well, let’s face it, EVERY Magnetic Fields song is a love song) and a snarky comment on society’s increasingly pathetic dependence upon mobile devices and it manages it all in less than 3 minutes. Stephin Merritt and Shirley Simms join their voices together and it causes us to question exactly the point of view we’re listening to. Are they actually a phone that has a crush on a potential master? Or are they just a human that’s been spurned by an inattentive partner and because of this they begin to wish they were a phone? Either way, it’s pretty much perfect.

Best Moment: The low note Stephin and Shirley drop down together on for “glow”.

The Album [Love At The Bottom Of The Sea]: 8/10

#6. Electric Guest - This Head I Hold (2:55)

“This Head I Hold” was THE song to get the party started for me this year. It didn’t matter if I had iPod hi-jacked the stereo at a house party, was cruising the streets with my bike gang and a speaker trailer, or just happened to be in the kitchen making some food, when this song came on, dancing was compulsory. The song starts with a lone set of keys before drums barrel forward and then the funk is on. Asa Taccone’s falsetto may be white-boy, but it still has plenty of soul and he knows exactly what we’re doing (sit back / don’t think / get high / take drink) during that lead up to the chorus.

Best Moment: That little breakdown in between each verse that drops out of the sky, first appearing at 0:22.

The Album [Mondo]: 7/10

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#7. Pond - Elegant Design (4:07)

While you probably don’t have to look hard to find someone losing themselves in Tame Impala’s excellent release Lonerism this year, two members of their touring band actually managed to outdo the more popular outfit when it came down to knocking a single track out of the park. “Elegant Design” is simply everything anyone could want in a 70’s classic rock throwback. Guitars alternating between jangly and grungy, commanding falsetto voices crowing and crooning, and a final build up/breakdown that starts with just the bass and doesn’t end until they come whirling about for a guitar solo and a final chorus.

Best Moment: When frontman Paisley Adams gets intimate with the mic for a second at 1:43 before the final build.

The Album [Beard, Wives, Denim]: 5/10

#8. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built (4:50)

Although Japandroids are nothing more than a guitar, a set of drums and two extremely energetic dudes, while listening to “The House That Heaven Built” you’d swear the duo had an entire crew of friends singing along behind them. The lack of other instruments only gives them extra space to stretch out and throw down. Hands down the best track on Celebration Rock, it’s also probably the most life affirming piece of music made all year. I’d love to experience it live someday. Being part of a big, sweaty crowd of people all pumping fists and shouting “And if they try to slow you down, tell ‘em all to go to hell!” in unison sounds like living.

Best Moment: When they stop for a second at 3:03 for “But you’re not mine to die for anymore, so I must live” before launching back into it.

The Album [Celebration Rock]: 7/10

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#9. Bear In Heaven - Sinful Nature (5:13)

Right as “Sinful Nature” starts out you can tell it’s not built like most other Bear In Heaven offerings as we’re introduced to a heavy wash of synths along with the usual reverb laced guitars. The instruments ebb and flow as they circle around Jon Philpot’s voice and the constant shimmering effects make for a pretty psychedelic venture. Finally, instead of letting the chorus grow stale the band decides to crank up the intensity on the fluttering synths as they bring them around a few more times. It’s kind of funny, Jon keeps repeating “It’s just a haze” on one of the few Bear In Heaven tracks that’s actually much more than that.

Best Moment: 3:30 through the end of the song where instead of fading out, the song’s fuzz repeatedly surges and dips.

The Album [I Love You, It’s Cool]: 6/10

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#10. Chairlift - Amanaemonesia (5:01)

Those who know me have probably already heard that Chairlift’s sophomore album Something is my favorite album of the year. With so many songs being potential contenders for the list, it was a tough choice, but ultimately “Amanaemonesia” won out. It’s here where we have the band ramping up the creep factor in all the right ways. The song has a great contrast between staccato verses and the floating chorus, and while it starts out as just an eerie synth-pop tune it eventually gets darker as unsavory angelic voices appear, muffled hoovers stretch diagonally and Caroline slowly descends into madness.

Best Moment: 3:21 when the song devolves into the final breakdown and most chilling verse.

The Album [Something]: 10/10

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#11. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Ghost In My Head (4:37)

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour have been one of the liveliest bands to appear on the scene in the last few years. 2009’s Fruit was just bursting with flavor and Out Of Frequency is almost as good. “Ghost In My Head” is one of the darker moments on the album, but The Tour knows how to keep things funky. The combination of Mette Lindberg’s edgy Danish drawl and the rest of the band’s syncopated horn section groove is a serious force to be reckoned with.

Best Moment: At 0:53, when the ghost comes flying out of Mette’s head and escapes into the night for the first time.

The Album [Out Of Frequency]: 7/10

#12. Yeasayer - Demon Road (4:11)

I may be in the minority for thinking Yeasayer’s third album is their most consistent to date, but I swear it’s freakin’ true! The thing is packed to the brim with colorful sonics that paint a constantly kaleidoscoping picture. Even the most jaded of naysayers will have trouble denying the power of “Demon Road”. Within, Chris Keating warns us of the impending doom that approaches alongside echoing drums, wobbly bass, and synths that get stretched in all directions. Finally, when hell finally does break loose, it’s in the form of a pitch-shifted vocoder monster that takes control and leads the rest of the band down the demon road.

Best Moment: Everything from 2:21 onward is just whirlwind of intoxicating madness.

The Album [Fragrant World]: 9/10

#13. Miike Snow - Black Tin Box (5:33)

There are plenty of reasons why “Black Tin Box” is so good at doing that standy thing to neck hairs — the muffled steel drums, Andrew Wyatt’s filter heavy voice and chilling, wavering theremin synths. However, nothing propels “Black Tin Box” forward more than those drums. They first appear in the background, but as the song progresses they seem to know exactly when to swiftly pop out and drop some contrast into the dark moodscape, just before slinking back into the distance for Lykke Li’s guest spot. It’s not often that percussion winds up being the highlight of a song, but in Miike’s co-opted nursery rhyme, it makes perfect sense.

Best Moment: Right when Lykke’s voice slowly fades upwards at 2:35 and 2:50.

The Album [Happy To You]: 5/10

#14. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Only In My Dreams (3:11)

Even though it’s filled with trollish anthems about being a nymphomaniac and odes to his favorite type of sausage, Ariel couldn’t help but drop at least one incredibly lush and sincere love song on his new album. But wait a second, is it really a song about finding true love? Or just dreaming one up after things don’t go so well in the real world? “Only In My Dreams” finds Ariel’s voice spilling out from behind itself on one line and then accompanied by an amber washed chorus on the next Meanwhile sad, surf guitars and tambourines hang around for moral support.

Best Moment: Probably the chorus where Ariel’s sad, but hopeful, stream of consciousness revelation feels like the ocean’s waves softly lapping at our feet.

The Album [Mature Themes]: 8/10

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#15. Heartless Bastards - Only For You (5:08)

While the lineup has constantly changed from album to album, the true bastard, Erika Wennerstrom, has always been with us. And don’t let the moniker she’s chosen fool you — she’s got plenty of that heart stuff. “Only For You” is the best cut off of her fourth album Arrow and it’s a great showcase for both her songwriting and the soulful way she’s able to deliver it. Here she seems determined to keep things reigned in and refined while she lets slip with some details of her latest lusty infatuation.

Best Moment: Highlights include her surprisingly lofty falsetto, the “really really”s in the first verse, and the flowing bluesy flourishes that find their home starting at 3:56

The Album [Arrow]: 6/10

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