Album of the Week Mix: 2010, Vol. 3
It’s not yet officially summer (only about a week away), but with the hottest season quickly approaching, it’s time to start making some good road trip mixes, party playlists, barbecue comps and just some great batches of tunes for listening on warm weekends. May we suggest some selections from our last dozen or so albums of the week? It just so happens that most of these make great summer jams, from Flying Lotus’ IDM hip-hop banger, to Rafter’s indie rock sex jam, to The Radio Dept.’s dreamy dance pop and LCD Soundsystem’s disco anthem. It’s all gold folks. So watch, stream, download and enjoy.
Rafter – “Fruit”
from Animal Feelings
What We Said: “Album standout ‘Fruit’ embodies that spirit of primal need rather openly, finding Rafter indulging in more talk box-heavy guitar slink throughout this seize-the-day, why-postpone-the-inevitable love-jam.”
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The New Pornographers – “Valkyrie In the Roller Disco”
from Together
What We Said: “My personal favorite track, ‘Valkyrie in the Roller Disco,’ which is coincidentally the best song title represented, shows up late in the album. Newman’s Sufjanesque banjo gives way to piano as his voice intertwines with Case’s to divine both Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner without a sense of irony.”
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Broken Social Scene – “Romance to the Grave”
from Forgiveness Rock Record
What We Said: “‘Romance’ picks up the tempo without overloading the production, combining surf-like guitar and melancholy strings with a jazzy, Sea and Cake-like pop sound-Sam Prekop even adds guest vocals to make the comparison that much more apt.”
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Flying Lotus – “Computer Face//Pure Being”
from Cosmogramma
What We Said: “Flying Lotus more openly embraces the banger on Cosmogramma, flecking the album with a higher volume of uptempo tracks and dense, even danceable jams. The most direct of these is ‘Computer Face/Pure Being,’ which initially throws down a repeating beat of hyperactive clicks and cymbals before being overtaken by layers of aggressively fuzzy synth.”
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The National – “Anyone’s Ghost”
from High Violet
What We Said: “Apropos of nothing much, the next track, ‘Anyone’s Ghost’ is practically a waltz and is also the sexiest National song since ‘City Middle.'”
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Phosphorescent – “It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)”
from Here’s to Taking It Easy
What We Said: “While a bright and brassy country rock spirit looms large, however, Houck remains a vulnerable and wounded protagonist in its soft center. This juxtaposition is most glaring in leadoff track ‘It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)’, a wondrous standout that kicks open the saloon doors with a flashy burst of piano, electric guitar and horns that sounds, to me, like a grand party, Nashville style.”
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LCD Soundsystem – “I Can Change”
from This Is Happening
What We Said: “Maybe it’s just me, but I hear a hit in the stunning ‘I Can Change.’ It’s a marvelously constructed synth-pop standout, balancing elegance with new wave quirk, as Murphy subtly changes the chorus from ‘never change…that’s just who I fell in love with‘ to ‘I can change…if it helps you fall in love‘ later on.”
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Band of Horses – “Dilly”
from Infinite Arms
What We Said: “‘Dilly’ proves that Band of Horses can still bring a pop masterpiece to the table and make it fit, showing off vocal acrobatics and accessibility that would make Hall & Oates green with envy.”
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Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope” (feat. Big Boi)
from The ArchAndroid
What We Said: “A few months ago, Monáe treated listeners to the hot, hand-clapping funk of first single ‘Tightrope,’ which is easily one of the best singles to be released in 2010. With horns, strings, an irresistible click-clack rhythm and a guest verse from Big Boi, Monáe drops head-spinning, lightning speed one-liners”
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The Radio Dept. – “Heaven’s On Fire”
from Clinging to a Scheme
What We Said: “Second single ‘Heaven’s On Fire’ is simply breathtaking, an impeccable creation of gorgeous melody and intricate instrumentation. It’s as amazing as pop music gets.”
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Suckers – “A Mind I Knew”
from Wild Smile
What We Said: “‘A Mind I Knew’ is a stunning exercise in slow escalation, beginning with a gorgeous melody that only grows more powerful and gut-wrenching as Quinn Walker converts his croon to a howl.”
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Here We Go Magic – “Collector”
from Pigeons
What We Said: “A first listen to a song like ‘Collector’ can prove a bit overwhelming. Guitar riffs stack and cascade over fluffy, neon synthesizers and a high-speed beat that serves to make the track all that much more dizzying.”
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Emeralds – “Candy Shoppe”
from Does It Look Like I’m Here?
What We Said: “‘Candy Shoppe’ starts things off on a note of ecstatic, pastoral bliss. Swaying guitar lines and ascending melodies intertwine over pulsing keys, slowly building to a serotonin-releasing peak of droning synthesizers.”
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