20. 'Manimals' by VRGNS (Released on 31/8/2010 on Kiss of Death Records)
Hailing from Orlando, Florida, VRGNS don't have any vowels in their name and play orgcore punk with gruff, gravelly vocals that some people might term 'whiskey soaked' but I'm sceptical about the actual effects of whiskey on vocal chords, since I drink a fair bit of the stuff and can't sing with a gravelly voice without getting a sore throat. Each song on Manimals has solid hooks and sing along choruses, with stand out track 'No Longer Entertainment' recalling From Here To Infirmary-era Alkaline Trio, musically if not quite captruing the Trio's lyrical brilliance. One of the great things about this album is that it's available for free from Kiss of Death Records (yes, completely legally!), so I won't bang on about it too much. It clocks in at just over 25 minutes, so never outstays its welcome and is definitely worth a try.
Download Manimals here!
19. 'The Speakeasy' by Smoke Or Fire (Released on 9/11/2010 on Fat Wreck Chords. BUY IT at Amazon!)
In recent years, Fat Mike has bemoaned the decline in slaes of records put out on his Fat Wreck Chords imprint. Well, Mike, if you keep putting out records of this quality rather than whatever boring retread No Use For A Name have recorded, the good people of the world will start buying your records in vast (ok, maybe not vast, but definitely significant quantities) again. This is simply Smoke or Fire's finest release to date, although I'm sure you could find many opinions that would contend otherwise. The choruses on this record are huge, with melodies that will not leave your head for days. I've read some comments that criticise this album for its lack of hooks and I don't think that this could be any further from the truth. Highly recommended.
Fat Wreck Chords page for The Speakeasy, including links for MP3 downloads of 'Monsters Among Us' and 'Neon Light'.
18. 'Brothers' by The Black Keys (Released on 18/5/2010 on Nonesuch Records. BUY IT at Amazon!)
Brothers is my first experience of the Black Keys, which I can't quite believe as it's their sixth album. An album of classic blues rock numbers, at times raucous and hedonistic, but also moody, soulful and reflective. The Holy Trinity of songs 'Next Girl', 'Tighten Up', and 'Howlin' For You' grabbed my attention and made sure that this album has been on heavy rotation since I picked it up a few months ago. One of the great things about Brothers is the band's ability to seemingly twist different genres to fit their bluesy niche, with some songs having a real glam rock stomp to them. It helps the album to constantly feel fresh and never derivative, which is a major accomplishment considering so many of the songs rely on the music of the past for their inspiration. I'm definitely going to dig further into the Black Keys' past and look forward to their future too. This is a mean, dirty, gutsy record and one that you need if you haven't already got it.
Watch the official video for 'Tighten Up', from the album Brothers.
17. 'Cavalcade' by The Flatliners (Released on 13/4/2010 on Fat Wreck Chords. BUY IT at Amazon!)
I first became aware of the Flatliners after seeing them support NOFX at the o2 academy in Leeds in 2009, and was impressed enough that I got their two albums The Great Awake and Destroy to Create. There were good moments on each, particularly The Great Awake which showed signs that the band were looking to get away from a ska punk sound that had seen them likened to the Suicide Machines, amongst others. Cavalcade is the culmination of that process. A hulking, head banging modern punk record with only a hint at their off beat past (on 'He Was A Jazzman'), it's a hugely impressive album and affords the band a seat at the table with the Big Boys of the genre. If I have any criticisms of this album, it is purely that it's opening group of songs, particularly first track 'The Calming Collection', set a standard that the rest of the songs only just fail to meet but that really is nit picking and shouldn't distract from what is a stormer of an album. They recently had to cancel their upcoming UK tour but make sure you check them out next time they hit these shores.
Fat Wreck Chords page for Cavalcade, including links for MP3 downloads of 'Carry The Banner' and 'Monumental'
Watch the official video for 'Carry The Banner' from the album Cavalcade
16. 'The Chaos' by The Futureheads (Released on 26/4/2010 on Nul Records. BUY IT at Amazon!)
I love The Futureheads. I bought their first album in my first year of Uni when I was an awkward, weird 18 year old who was trying to get 'with it' and listen to all the cool indie bands that everyone was going mental for at the time. Now that I'm an awkward, weird 24 year old, I still love them and they're just about the only band I got in to around that time that I still have any time for. I was really looking forward to The Chaos being released and when I got my copy on the day of release (always a sign of being really excited about a record), I wasn't disappointed. Opening with the typicallty jerky and frenetic title track and singles 'Struck Dumb' and 'The Heartbeat Song', it's classic Futureheads from the get go. Replete with Mackem accents, angular guitars (whatever that means) and a finely honed pop sensibility, they continue to prove with The Chaos that they have never been about just that Kate Bush cover, and in closer 'Jupiter' they have written perhaps their best ever track. Brilliant stuff.
Watch the official video for 'I Can Do That', from the album The Chaos.
15. 'The Suburbs' by Arcade Fire (Released 2/8/10 on Mercury Records. BUY IT at Amazon!)
Simply put, this is Arcade Fire's finest album to date. Debuting at #1 in the UK album charts, it has been critically acclaimed and nominated for numerous awards. So why does it only place at #15 in my list? Well firstly, I'd like to say that being ranked at #15 does not make it one of the worst albums of the year. Remember that this is a list of the 20 best albums of the year so for it place at all is a compliment. Secondly, I'm something of a newcomer to the band. Yes, where have I been? No idea. I only got their previous two albums late last year and I first listened to this effort on the 1st of this month. I was quick to recognise that The Suburbs is a genius album and although it only places toward the bottom of my top 20, I am sure that it is a work of substantial depth and is definitely an album that I will be returning to over the coming months and years.
Watch the official video for 'Ready to Start', from the album The Suburbs.
14. 'The Monitor' by Titus Andronicus (Released 9/3/2010 on XL Recordings. BUY IT at Amazon!)
Upholding New Jersey's tradition of brilliant music, Titus Andronicus's second full length, The Monitor, is another release that probably deserves a better ranking than I'm giving it but again, I must say that being included at all shows how much I like this album. This is a wonderfully eccentric album, at times indie rock, at times punk rock, flecked throughout with elements of funk and, of course, the mandatory Springsteen influences (you didn't think that the Gaslight Anthem had cornered the market there, did you?). It is as life affirming as it is melancholy and reflective. The album follows a loose concept based on the American Civil War, which is perhaps what prompted me to listen to it at first since I'm interested in American history and this period in particular. it's an unusual area for an indie/punk band to draw inspiration but it definitely paid off and might even spawn a sideshoot genre of it's own. Gettysburgcore anyone? If I were to compare this album to a vegetable, it would be an onion because it has many layers for you to peel away. I seem to notice some new element every time I put it on. Definitely worth your money and your time.
Watch the official video for (a truncated version of) 'A More Perfect Union', from the album The Monitor.
13. 'Rebellion' by The Riot Before (Released on 27/4/2010 on Paper and Plastick Records. DOWNLOAD IT at Amazon!)
Ah, the Riot Before. Another band hampered by comparisons to Against Me! It's not as if the comparisons aren't justified (and simply put, The Riot Before aren't as good as AM!) but I've always felt that this band had more to them than simply wanting to create their own 'Walking Is Still Honest' or 'Pints of Guiness'. With the release of Rebellion, The Riot Before have shown that they can plow their own furrow. Rousing folk-punk tunes (although the balance has tipped even further in favour of punk than ever before) like 'Backstage Rooms', 'Uncharted Lands', 'The Oregon Trail' and instant classic 'Tinnitus' benefit from repeated plays, as this album has proven to be a real grower with me. A lot of the time, the more you listen to an album, the more stale it can become in your own mind but Rebellion defies this. This could be put down to the band's knack for writing a winning tune becoming stronger than ever before. Unfortunately, I never caught them on their recent UK tour but I really hope that they'll be back around soon, hopefully with another top record under their belts.
Watch the official video for 'Backstage Rooms', from the album Rebellion.
Download their 2007 EP, So Long, The Lighthouse for free from Quote Unquote Records.
12. 'Volatile Molotov' by The Arrivals (Released on 5/10/2010 on Recess Records. BUY IT from Amazon!)
This album was always going to be a winner with me before I even heard a note of the 13 songs it contains, wasn't it? Clash references and D4's Paddy Costello on bass? No brainer. Taking its name from a lyric of The Clash's 'Straight To Hell', Volatile Molotov is unlucky not to be in my top ten releases of 2010. With brilliantly crafted lyrics that focus on the shitty side of life, but that still find reason for optimism moving forward as well as undeniable tunes, this is an album that you need. 'New Gold Standard' and 'Frontline' are possibly two of my favourite songs of the last year and with another 11 of a similar standard (see what I did there?) to discover, you won't be dissappointed. Closer 'Simple Pleasures in America' is simple, unrestrained hedonism and makes sure that Volatile Molotov ends as is starts, on a very fucking high note. One message board punter described it as 'God-like', and that's only slightly over stating things. The Arrivals have Arrived. Fnar fnar.
Watch a not very official video for 'Two Years', from the album Volatile Molotov.
11. 'Not Like This' by Iron Chic (Released on 1/9/2010 on Dead Broke Rekerds)
The Latterman family tree must be getting big enough to rival anything that Slapstick have grown by now, surely? Following on from 2009's Shitty Rambo E.P, Not Like This saw punk rock enthusiasts all over the world sit up and take notice. The opening line of the album on 'Cutesy Monster Man' ("I want to smash my face into that god damn radio") will grab you from the get go if, like me, you loathe pretty much everything you hear on the radio. 10 songs of pure, proper pop punk gold, blasting through your speakers in just over half an hour, Not Like This is a brilliant of example of just how good pop punk can be and shows doubters that the genre is not defined by cynical boy bands in punks clothes like All Time Low. The pay off of 'Time Keeps On Slipping Into The (Cosmic) Future' has to be a live favourite, it demands to be sung arm in sweaty arm with your best mates and is followed up by another absolute classic in 'Timecop. Really though, picking any tracks as standouts above the rest is harsh, as they're all beauts. As with VRGNS, Iron Chic have made this record available on a 'pay what you want' (free, in other words) basis from their band camp page.
Get it here!
Numbers 10 to 1 will follow on later on today or tomorrow! I'll also include honourable mentions and that sort of shizzle. Fizzle. Thanks for reading!
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