1. Arcade Fire
2. Deerhunter
3. Beach House
4. PS I Love You
5. Owen Pallett
6. Best Coast
7. The National
8. Sufjan Stevens
9. Spoon
10. Women
11. Diamond Rings
12. Joanna Newsom
13. The Walkmen
14. Broken Social Scene
15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti
16. Sleigh Bells
17. Wolf Parade
18. Black Mountain
19. Gaslight Anthem
20. Titus Andronicus
1. Arcade Fire The Suburbs (Merge)
Anything you think is great, half the people think is bullshit." As the lead singer and co-songwriter of Arcade Fire, arguably the biggest indie band in the world, Win Butler knows a thing or two about maintaining perspective. "There's been backlash since we put out the first EP," he says. "It's been a normal part of my life for the better part of a decade. I think we learned pretty early on that the way people perceive you is outta your hands."
The few months have done nothing to quell the outraged masses. It's been a phenomenal year for the sprawling, Montreal-based outfit. Their third album, The Suburbs, debuted at number one on all the major charts following its August release, and earned critical raves for its compelling narrative structure and the surprisingly fun sonic left turn towards '80s influences like Depeche Mode. Now Arcade Fire find themselves poised to take the top spot on many year-end lists, as they do here, while on the receiving end of thinly-veiled potshots from bands like Kings of Leon, quoted disparaging large bands with members "doing everything but contributing musically" and being "dicks."
You know, go back and read articles on the Clash and people were slagging them," Butler says. "Almost every record I've ever loved, the band was already broken up or it was ten years removed from reading any press about them. Really, the music has to stand for itself. I love that idea that in ten or 15 years, you hear how it holds up and that the album speaks for itself."
The Suburbs could be one of those that stands the test of time. It speaks to generations of people who identify with the album's varying themes of isolation in commonality and loneliness in superficial communities. It's a perfect actualization of the suburbs as metaphor for the classic North American dream: a smoothly perfect veneer covering up the lush complexity of motivation. It's not just metaphor, but goes a step further to exemplify the quintessential Arcade Fire sound ― a controlled frenzy, pushing and reaching for something more.
The album's visceral qualities are no accident. Until the age of five, Butler lived in a small hippie town outside of Lake Tahoe, but the rest of his childhood was spent in a Texas suburb following his family's relocation to Houston. "I really remember being a little kid and getting off the plane in Houston and feeling this incredible heat," Butler recalls. "It was the summertime, and there it's always like 95 percent humidity and 100 degrees and I really remember ― just the landscape and the feeling of the town and the weather, it was so extremely foreign."
It was a feeling that came rushing back to him just a few years ago. "It would always rain a lot in Houston, but it was this warm rain that doesn't happen much in Montreal. We were down last summer in Louisiana and it started raining and all of a sudden these crazy memories came back that I hadn't thought about in a long time, just because of a similarity in weather. It's interesting, the things you hold on to."
Butler's reluctant to overanalyze his songwriting process, declining to say whether he and his wife and bandmate, Regine Chassagne, dug deep into their own suburban childhoods while writing the record. But he does admit that they found it "interesting" comparing their experiences of growing up.
"Regine grew up on the south shore of Montreal, and I've been to her childhood home over there, and it's dramatically different from Houston, but there are a lot more similarities than you would think. The emotional landscape is very similar at least," he laughs. "There's something similar about growing up in the suburbs. You can have your first kiss in a T.G.I. Friday's, but it's still your first kiss. There's a universality to it you can appreciate."
It's Arcade Fire's ability to capture and translate those moments meaningfully that recently sent fans into an early-grieving process when Butler was quoted saying he couldn't see himself doing "this" in ten years. Butler sighs.
"People take stuff like that pretty out of context," he says. "I can't see us doing exactly what we do indefinitely. Once you lose that connection to the songs, I don't think there's really any point to doing it exactly the same way. The reason people connect to this band is that when we play live, every night we really try to connect to the songs. If the audience connects to the songs, too, we kind of meet in the middle."
Butler alludes back to the Kings of Leon comment, a sentiment he's heard plenty of times before. "Sometimes we get flack for the kind of theatricality to the way we perform, but it comes from a very real place," he insists. "It comes from the music. Our band, we're like sprinters. We put this insane amount of energy into our shows. We can't really tour and behave exactly the same way as other rock bands often do, because it takes so much out of us to do the show."
Butler says he's excited to find new ways to relate to the material and the other musicians, evolving as they go. But, the longevity of Arcade Fire remains a question that's never fully answered. "It's not like there's an expiration date on doing it, but it's like being an athlete. People stop playing hockey at a certain age. You can't be getting punched in the face forever," he jokes. "That being said, it's been really inspiring seeing Springsteen playing and he's probably in the best shape of his life... But our band is busting our ass a lot harder than the E Street Band, you know what I mean?" he asks, laughing.
With no plans to call it a day in the immediate future, Butler hopes to spend the winter writing, giving Arcade Fire a chance to break up the touring cycle. "The greatest thrill in the world is the first time you play a new song, bringing a new song into the world," Butler says. "I'm really excited to get into that head space again." Excited but guarded, of course. Asked if he can offer a sneak preview of the fourth album's direction, Butler's reply is succinct but perfectly pleasant.
"Hell, no."
Andrea Warner
2. Deerhunter Halcyon Digest (4AD)
Halcyon Digest continues Deerhunter's impressive streak as one of the more consistent sonic explorer's within the indie rock canon. Eschewing the pedal-hugging and propulsive rock directions of prior albums, the quartet opted to strip things down using minimal arrangements, warmer tones and a keener ear for melody. Oh and that saxophone solo during "Coronado"? That was just for fun. With Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter sparked not just their most ambitious album yet, but also their most accessible.
Cam Lindsay
3. Beach House Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
On their first two albums, Beach House drafted synth-pop and shoegaze characteristics onto what were essentially folk songs, at once dreamy, ethereal, simple, and yet earnestly heartfelt. But only the brightest spots on those could've hinted at the cinematic grandeur that defined their Sub Pop debut, Teen Dream. Beach House's third album is sublime and singular; working through a creative high point, the duo hit their stride in the songwriting department and was finally afforded a big enough budget to make their delicate textures resonate on a massive scale.
Dimitri Nasrallah
4. PS I Love You Meet Me at the Muster Station (Paper Bag)
It's hard to believe that the stunning Meet Me at the Muster Station is PS I Love You's debut. Arriving fully formed, this Kingston duo delivers its catchy hooks with brute force, pummelling listeners with fuzzy guitars and thundering rhythms. And even if you won't be able to sing along with frontman Paul Saulnier's strangled yelps, songs like "Facelove" and "2012" will be stuck in your head for weeks. Savage noise freak-outs have never sounded quite so palatable.
Alex Hudson
5. Owen Pallett Heartland
It doesn't seem a coincidence that Owen Pallet's decision to ditch his Final Fantasy moniker coincided with his most ambitious and personal record yet. Though the sprawling narrative focuses on Lewis, "a young, ultra-violent farmer," Heartland's themes (anger, isolation, loneliness) resonate, and the sonic nods to '70s disco and pop prove ridiculously catchy, bordering on radio-friendly. And, Heartland was only the start of a prolific 2010: Pallet was also featured on a Diamond Rings single, played violin on Gigi's Maintenant, and provided the string arrangements for Arcade Fire's fantastic album The Suburbs.
Andrea Warner
6. Best Coast Crazy For You (Mexican Summer)
Fuzzed out lo-fi recordings are all the rage, but Bethany Cosentino rises above her peers on her Best Coast debut, striking the perfect balance between reverb-drenched vocals and classic California pop hooks. Her plain voice and the simple arrangements belie the depth of sophistication in songwriting as she and co-conspirator Bobb Bruno capture the lonely teenager zeitgeist at the heart of Brian Wilson's immortal "In My Room." Songs about boys, weed and her cat reveal Cosentino to be just as anxious and filled with self-doubt as any 20-something with time on their hands, making Crazy for You, and Cosentino, instantly relatable.
Ian Gormely
7. The National High Violet (4AD)
High Violet continues the envious feat of releasing another album that's superior to its predecessor. Boxer brought the Brooklyn-based quintet mainstream success; this record validates that attention. The album's highlight comes via Bryan Devendorf's drumming, which reaches new heights of intricacy. Swinging from frenetic outbursts to tucked away patterns, he controls the album's tension with jazz-like precision. The guitars move from jangly riffs to small rhythmic jabs, building anticipation for what's about to happen, while accenting overlaid piano lines. And Matt Berninger's calming baritone voice creates an inescapable emotional pull.
Travis Persaud
8. Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz (Asthmatic Kitty)
If somebody asked you in 2005 whether Sufjan Stevens could "get down," you'd have probably chuckled lightly, settled back into "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." and returned to waiting patiently for "Ahoy From Wisconsin!" Fast-forward half a decade: Stevens has given up the fifty states project; penned a multimedia ode to a highway and suffered minor trauma; written the splashy, synth-oriented groove of "Too Much"; wholeheartedly embraced his rhythmic side again on the thumping "Vesuvius"; composed a twenty-five minute epic that employs auto-tune; and constructed yet another classic Sufjan Stevens album that both confounds and yes, exceeds, fans' expectations.
Stephen Carlick
9. Spoon Transference (Merge)
With Transference, Spoon take a more minimalist approach than predecessors Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, demonstrating that great rock music doesn't need more than confidence, swagger and good hooks. Britt Daniel's unmistakable and compelling vocals, coupled with the band's ability to compose catchy and urgent music have made Spoon one of the greatest rock bands to bless this generation.
Ben Conoley
10. Women Public Strain (Flemish Eye)
Following an unexpected rise to indie stardom with their 2008 debut, Women made the best left turn possible with Public Strain. The Calgary foursome warped their hook-friendly beginnings into a follow-up of art rock séances, weird pop freak-outs and reverb-soaked experiments in modern-day psychedelia, all the while straddling that fine line between "challenging" and "addictive." Swansong or not, Public Strain showed that rock'n'roll can still offer shock and awe.
Brock Thiessen
11. Diamond Rings Special Affections (Secret City)
Buzzed about since forever, Toronto glam-pop-rocker Diamond Rings (aka the D'Urbervilles' John O'Regan) made his glitter-streaked debut with Special Affections. With nine tracks of devastatingly awesome hooks, innocuously introspective lyrics and smart electro-dance production, it's an ambitious debut from the David Bowie-Ian Curtis love child. Backed by established hits "All Yr Songs" and "Show Me Your Stuff" Special Affections was a promise delivered with charm, nuance and lots of shimmer.
Anupa Mistry
12. Joanna Newsom Have One On Me (Drag City)
Joanna Newsom's third album hits a middle ground between the four-minute pop song format of 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender and the meandering 15-minute ballads of 2006's Ys. At two hours over three discs, it's no exercise in brevity, but there's a strong sense of maturation, both musically and personally. When Newsom sings "I am no longer afraid of anything" on "In California," you get the sense that the vulnerable, fey persona of her first two albums has grown into a more confident, restrained vocalist and storyteller, gracefully rising to the challenge of carrying her music beyond its quirky beginnings.
Laura Kenins
13. The Walkmen Lisbon (Fat Possum)
The Walkmen's sixth album finds the band sinking deeper into '50s rock'n'roll, growing wiser and more meditative with age. Lisbon is brighter and louder than its subdued predecessor You & Me, balancing rockers like "Blue As Your Blood" with the slow, whiskey-soaked ruminations of the waltzing "Torch Song" and "All My Great Designs." The gentle horns of "Stranded" find reassurance in alienation, while highlight "Angela Surf City" retells a failed romance over stampeding surf rock. Find a sunset and sit down with Lisbon again, you'll find something new to savour each time.
Aaron Matthews
14. Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts and Crafts)
Sure, you're the kings and queens of Toronto ― all the more reason to decamp to Chicago and be forced to focus. After endless solo projects, an oral history book, a concert movie, and the threat of saturation, Broken Social Scene rallied the troops, put pop hooks front and centre, and let producer John McEntire craft the background chaos into tasty textural bits, while drummer Justin Peroff evolved into the band's secret star. BSS's blend of boisterous guitar rock, glimmering electronics and bold brass sections has never sounded so powerful and convincing ― it's the sound of a band that never wants to be taken for granted again.
Michael Barclay
15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti Before Today (4AD)
Chill-wave may not produce many long careers, but it did revitalize the career of Ariel Pink and his brand of "lower-fi-than-thou" bedroom recording sensibilities. Before Today is a hard-earned victory lap for Pink, not only the most triumphantly realized album of his left-of-centre catalogue, but a much-needed second wind for an artist who very nearly finished off the decade as another minor curiosity in outsider-pop's long lineage. Before Today is more pure and potent a record than most of what passes for indie songcraft these days, at once showcasing Pink's love of '80s pop as well as casting an unexpected shadow over a new generation.
Dimitri Nasrallah
16. Sleigh Bells Treats (NEET)
If there was one record this year that begged to be turned up loud, it was Treats. On their debut, Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss borrow liberally from other genres, cherry-picking the parts that make you want to crank up your stereo. Miller, who cut his teeth in hardcore act Poison the Well, still riffs hard and heavy, but the guitars sound even more extreme thanks to the near obscene amount of distortion piled on top. Underneath, the percussion packs the kind of thump in the low end that would make Lil' John proud. It's Krauss, though, that shines through all of the noise, anchoring the sonic chaos around her with the kind of sweetly sung hooks that almost make you forget just how heavy this unlikely pop gem really is.
Quinn Omori
17. Wolf Parade Expo '86 (Sub Pop)
Long gone are the densely layered sonic landscapes of Wolf Parade albums past ― Expo 86 marks an evolution in sound, but not a change. It's Spencer Krug's manic-pop circus meeting Dan Boeckner's twitchy Springsteen revivalism in one sprawling album that's simultaneously more disjointed and more confident than ever. It feels less cohesive, but here, it's the songs that matter. "Ghost Pressure" can't stop the hooks. "Pobody's Nerfect" builds up a wall of sound only Boeckner can deliver. And Krug's "Cave-o-sapien" ― pay attention to those final two-and-a-half minutes ― is the prettiest piece of music this year. This is a band finding their sound without losing direction.
Josh O'Kane
18. Black Mountain Wilderness Heart (Outside)
It's tempting to compare Black Mountain's third record to Led Zeppelin's; though the English quartet were always of source of inspiration to Stephen McBean and company, Zep's third similarly blended hard-driving guitar rock with a softer acoustic edge, while reigning in the band's jammier tendencies. But Wilderness Heart also sees the Vancouver quintet step out of the shadow of their often-cited influences (Sabbath, Floyd) and establishes the band as songwriters to be reckoned with. Singer Amber Webber's emergence as a lead vocalist simply adds another weapon to the band's already formidable sonic arsenal.
Ian Gormely
19. Gaslight Anthem American Slang (Side One Dummy)
It's been fun watching the Gaslight Anthem grow up. On American Slang, the New Jersey quartet know it's okay to sing nostalgically about a time they could only have experienced through photo albums and history books. Brian Fallon and the gang arrived at the place they always sought ― a no-man's land filled with romanticism, tattoos, Cadillacs, punk rock and a record collection stocked heavy with Springsteen and the Clash. American Slang is somehow your old man and your best friend all at once.
Ben Conoley
20. Titus Andronicus The Monitor (XL)
A concept album about the Civil War may water the mouth of Ken Burns, but not everyone has directed a ten-hour doc on the subject. Thankfully Titus Andronicus sweetened theirs with a modern twist, where Bruce Springsteen is God, New Jersey is home and anthems fit for arenas are busting out at the seams. Throw in cameos by the Hold Steady's Craig Finn as Walt Whitman and Vivian Girls' Cassie Ramone as Jefferson Davis and it's an epic 65 minutes of scrappy, earnest pop songs that thrash and tear with drunken, riotous abandon.
Cam Lindsay
2. Deerhunter
3. Beach House
4. PS I Love You
5. Owen Pallett
6. Best Coast
7. The National
8. Sufjan Stevens
9. Spoon
10. Women
11. Diamond Rings
12. Joanna Newsom
13. The Walkmen
14. Broken Social Scene
15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti
16. Sleigh Bells
17. Wolf Parade
18. Black Mountain
19. Gaslight Anthem
20. Titus Andronicus
1. Arcade Fire The Suburbs (Merge)
Anything you think is great, half the people think is bullshit." As the lead singer and co-songwriter of Arcade Fire, arguably the biggest indie band in the world, Win Butler knows a thing or two about maintaining perspective. "There's been backlash since we put out the first EP," he says. "It's been a normal part of my life for the better part of a decade. I think we learned pretty early on that the way people perceive you is outta your hands."
The few months have done nothing to quell the outraged masses. It's been a phenomenal year for the sprawling, Montreal-based outfit. Their third album, The Suburbs, debuted at number one on all the major charts following its August release, and earned critical raves for its compelling narrative structure and the surprisingly fun sonic left turn towards '80s influences like Depeche Mode. Now Arcade Fire find themselves poised to take the top spot on many year-end lists, as they do here, while on the receiving end of thinly-veiled potshots from bands like Kings of Leon, quoted disparaging large bands with members "doing everything but contributing musically" and being "dicks."
You know, go back and read articles on the Clash and people were slagging them," Butler says. "Almost every record I've ever loved, the band was already broken up or it was ten years removed from reading any press about them. Really, the music has to stand for itself. I love that idea that in ten or 15 years, you hear how it holds up and that the album speaks for itself."
The Suburbs could be one of those that stands the test of time. It speaks to generations of people who identify with the album's varying themes of isolation in commonality and loneliness in superficial communities. It's a perfect actualization of the suburbs as metaphor for the classic North American dream: a smoothly perfect veneer covering up the lush complexity of motivation. It's not just metaphor, but goes a step further to exemplify the quintessential Arcade Fire sound ― a controlled frenzy, pushing and reaching for something more.
The album's visceral qualities are no accident. Until the age of five, Butler lived in a small hippie town outside of Lake Tahoe, but the rest of his childhood was spent in a Texas suburb following his family's relocation to Houston. "I really remember being a little kid and getting off the plane in Houston and feeling this incredible heat," Butler recalls. "It was the summertime, and there it's always like 95 percent humidity and 100 degrees and I really remember ― just the landscape and the feeling of the town and the weather, it was so extremely foreign."
It was a feeling that came rushing back to him just a few years ago. "It would always rain a lot in Houston, but it was this warm rain that doesn't happen much in Montreal. We were down last summer in Louisiana and it started raining and all of a sudden these crazy memories came back that I hadn't thought about in a long time, just because of a similarity in weather. It's interesting, the things you hold on to."
Butler's reluctant to overanalyze his songwriting process, declining to say whether he and his wife and bandmate, Regine Chassagne, dug deep into their own suburban childhoods while writing the record. But he does admit that they found it "interesting" comparing their experiences of growing up.
"Regine grew up on the south shore of Montreal, and I've been to her childhood home over there, and it's dramatically different from Houston, but there are a lot more similarities than you would think. The emotional landscape is very similar at least," he laughs. "There's something similar about growing up in the suburbs. You can have your first kiss in a T.G.I. Friday's, but it's still your first kiss. There's a universality to it you can appreciate."
It's Arcade Fire's ability to capture and translate those moments meaningfully that recently sent fans into an early-grieving process when Butler was quoted saying he couldn't see himself doing "this" in ten years. Butler sighs.
"People take stuff like that pretty out of context," he says. "I can't see us doing exactly what we do indefinitely. Once you lose that connection to the songs, I don't think there's really any point to doing it exactly the same way. The reason people connect to this band is that when we play live, every night we really try to connect to the songs. If the audience connects to the songs, too, we kind of meet in the middle."
Butler alludes back to the Kings of Leon comment, a sentiment he's heard plenty of times before. "Sometimes we get flack for the kind of theatricality to the way we perform, but it comes from a very real place," he insists. "It comes from the music. Our band, we're like sprinters. We put this insane amount of energy into our shows. We can't really tour and behave exactly the same way as other rock bands often do, because it takes so much out of us to do the show."
Butler says he's excited to find new ways to relate to the material and the other musicians, evolving as they go. But, the longevity of Arcade Fire remains a question that's never fully answered. "It's not like there's an expiration date on doing it, but it's like being an athlete. People stop playing hockey at a certain age. You can't be getting punched in the face forever," he jokes. "That being said, it's been really inspiring seeing Springsteen playing and he's probably in the best shape of his life... But our band is busting our ass a lot harder than the E Street Band, you know what I mean?" he asks, laughing.
With no plans to call it a day in the immediate future, Butler hopes to spend the winter writing, giving Arcade Fire a chance to break up the touring cycle. "The greatest thrill in the world is the first time you play a new song, bringing a new song into the world," Butler says. "I'm really excited to get into that head space again." Excited but guarded, of course. Asked if he can offer a sneak preview of the fourth album's direction, Butler's reply is succinct but perfectly pleasant.
"Hell, no."
Andrea Warner
2. Deerhunter Halcyon Digest (4AD)
Halcyon Digest continues Deerhunter's impressive streak as one of the more consistent sonic explorer's within the indie rock canon. Eschewing the pedal-hugging and propulsive rock directions of prior albums, the quartet opted to strip things down using minimal arrangements, warmer tones and a keener ear for melody. Oh and that saxophone solo during "Coronado"? That was just for fun. With Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter sparked not just their most ambitious album yet, but also their most accessible.
Cam Lindsay
3. Beach House Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
On their first two albums, Beach House drafted synth-pop and shoegaze characteristics onto what were essentially folk songs, at once dreamy, ethereal, simple, and yet earnestly heartfelt. But only the brightest spots on those could've hinted at the cinematic grandeur that defined their Sub Pop debut, Teen Dream. Beach House's third album is sublime and singular; working through a creative high point, the duo hit their stride in the songwriting department and was finally afforded a big enough budget to make their delicate textures resonate on a massive scale.
Dimitri Nasrallah
4. PS I Love You Meet Me at the Muster Station (Paper Bag)
It's hard to believe that the stunning Meet Me at the Muster Station is PS I Love You's debut. Arriving fully formed, this Kingston duo delivers its catchy hooks with brute force, pummelling listeners with fuzzy guitars and thundering rhythms. And even if you won't be able to sing along with frontman Paul Saulnier's strangled yelps, songs like "Facelove" and "2012" will be stuck in your head for weeks. Savage noise freak-outs have never sounded quite so palatable.
Alex Hudson
5. Owen Pallett Heartland
It doesn't seem a coincidence that Owen Pallet's decision to ditch his Final Fantasy moniker coincided with his most ambitious and personal record yet. Though the sprawling narrative focuses on Lewis, "a young, ultra-violent farmer," Heartland's themes (anger, isolation, loneliness) resonate, and the sonic nods to '70s disco and pop prove ridiculously catchy, bordering on radio-friendly. And, Heartland was only the start of a prolific 2010: Pallet was also featured on a Diamond Rings single, played violin on Gigi's Maintenant, and provided the string arrangements for Arcade Fire's fantastic album The Suburbs.
Andrea Warner
6. Best Coast Crazy For You (Mexican Summer)
Fuzzed out lo-fi recordings are all the rage, but Bethany Cosentino rises above her peers on her Best Coast debut, striking the perfect balance between reverb-drenched vocals and classic California pop hooks. Her plain voice and the simple arrangements belie the depth of sophistication in songwriting as she and co-conspirator Bobb Bruno capture the lonely teenager zeitgeist at the heart of Brian Wilson's immortal "In My Room." Songs about boys, weed and her cat reveal Cosentino to be just as anxious and filled with self-doubt as any 20-something with time on their hands, making Crazy for You, and Cosentino, instantly relatable.
Ian Gormely
7. The National High Violet (4AD)
High Violet continues the envious feat of releasing another album that's superior to its predecessor. Boxer brought the Brooklyn-based quintet mainstream success; this record validates that attention. The album's highlight comes via Bryan Devendorf's drumming, which reaches new heights of intricacy. Swinging from frenetic outbursts to tucked away patterns, he controls the album's tension with jazz-like precision. The guitars move from jangly riffs to small rhythmic jabs, building anticipation for what's about to happen, while accenting overlaid piano lines. And Matt Berninger's calming baritone voice creates an inescapable emotional pull.
Travis Persaud
8. Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz (Asthmatic Kitty)
If somebody asked you in 2005 whether Sufjan Stevens could "get down," you'd have probably chuckled lightly, settled back into "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." and returned to waiting patiently for "Ahoy From Wisconsin!" Fast-forward half a decade: Stevens has given up the fifty states project; penned a multimedia ode to a highway and suffered minor trauma; written the splashy, synth-oriented groove of "Too Much"; wholeheartedly embraced his rhythmic side again on the thumping "Vesuvius"; composed a twenty-five minute epic that employs auto-tune; and constructed yet another classic Sufjan Stevens album that both confounds and yes, exceeds, fans' expectations.
Stephen Carlick
9. Spoon Transference (Merge)
With Transference, Spoon take a more minimalist approach than predecessors Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, demonstrating that great rock music doesn't need more than confidence, swagger and good hooks. Britt Daniel's unmistakable and compelling vocals, coupled with the band's ability to compose catchy and urgent music have made Spoon one of the greatest rock bands to bless this generation.
Ben Conoley
10. Women Public Strain (Flemish Eye)
Following an unexpected rise to indie stardom with their 2008 debut, Women made the best left turn possible with Public Strain. The Calgary foursome warped their hook-friendly beginnings into a follow-up of art rock séances, weird pop freak-outs and reverb-soaked experiments in modern-day psychedelia, all the while straddling that fine line between "challenging" and "addictive." Swansong or not, Public Strain showed that rock'n'roll can still offer shock and awe.
Brock Thiessen
11. Diamond Rings Special Affections (Secret City)
Buzzed about since forever, Toronto glam-pop-rocker Diamond Rings (aka the D'Urbervilles' John O'Regan) made his glitter-streaked debut with Special Affections. With nine tracks of devastatingly awesome hooks, innocuously introspective lyrics and smart electro-dance production, it's an ambitious debut from the David Bowie-Ian Curtis love child. Backed by established hits "All Yr Songs" and "Show Me Your Stuff" Special Affections was a promise delivered with charm, nuance and lots of shimmer.
Anupa Mistry
12. Joanna Newsom Have One On Me (Drag City)
Joanna Newsom's third album hits a middle ground between the four-minute pop song format of 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender and the meandering 15-minute ballads of 2006's Ys. At two hours over three discs, it's no exercise in brevity, but there's a strong sense of maturation, both musically and personally. When Newsom sings "I am no longer afraid of anything" on "In California," you get the sense that the vulnerable, fey persona of her first two albums has grown into a more confident, restrained vocalist and storyteller, gracefully rising to the challenge of carrying her music beyond its quirky beginnings.
Laura Kenins
13. The Walkmen Lisbon (Fat Possum)
The Walkmen's sixth album finds the band sinking deeper into '50s rock'n'roll, growing wiser and more meditative with age. Lisbon is brighter and louder than its subdued predecessor You & Me, balancing rockers like "Blue As Your Blood" with the slow, whiskey-soaked ruminations of the waltzing "Torch Song" and "All My Great Designs." The gentle horns of "Stranded" find reassurance in alienation, while highlight "Angela Surf City" retells a failed romance over stampeding surf rock. Find a sunset and sit down with Lisbon again, you'll find something new to savour each time.
Aaron Matthews
14. Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts and Crafts)
Sure, you're the kings and queens of Toronto ― all the more reason to decamp to Chicago and be forced to focus. After endless solo projects, an oral history book, a concert movie, and the threat of saturation, Broken Social Scene rallied the troops, put pop hooks front and centre, and let producer John McEntire craft the background chaos into tasty textural bits, while drummer Justin Peroff evolved into the band's secret star. BSS's blend of boisterous guitar rock, glimmering electronics and bold brass sections has never sounded so powerful and convincing ― it's the sound of a band that never wants to be taken for granted again.
Michael Barclay
15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti Before Today (4AD)
Chill-wave may not produce many long careers, but it did revitalize the career of Ariel Pink and his brand of "lower-fi-than-thou" bedroom recording sensibilities. Before Today is a hard-earned victory lap for Pink, not only the most triumphantly realized album of his left-of-centre catalogue, but a much-needed second wind for an artist who very nearly finished off the decade as another minor curiosity in outsider-pop's long lineage. Before Today is more pure and potent a record than most of what passes for indie songcraft these days, at once showcasing Pink's love of '80s pop as well as casting an unexpected shadow over a new generation.
Dimitri Nasrallah
16. Sleigh Bells Treats (NEET)
If there was one record this year that begged to be turned up loud, it was Treats. On their debut, Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss borrow liberally from other genres, cherry-picking the parts that make you want to crank up your stereo. Miller, who cut his teeth in hardcore act Poison the Well, still riffs hard and heavy, but the guitars sound even more extreme thanks to the near obscene amount of distortion piled on top. Underneath, the percussion packs the kind of thump in the low end that would make Lil' John proud. It's Krauss, though, that shines through all of the noise, anchoring the sonic chaos around her with the kind of sweetly sung hooks that almost make you forget just how heavy this unlikely pop gem really is.
Quinn Omori
17. Wolf Parade Expo '86 (Sub Pop)
Long gone are the densely layered sonic landscapes of Wolf Parade albums past ― Expo 86 marks an evolution in sound, but not a change. It's Spencer Krug's manic-pop circus meeting Dan Boeckner's twitchy Springsteen revivalism in one sprawling album that's simultaneously more disjointed and more confident than ever. It feels less cohesive, but here, it's the songs that matter. "Ghost Pressure" can't stop the hooks. "Pobody's Nerfect" builds up a wall of sound only Boeckner can deliver. And Krug's "Cave-o-sapien" ― pay attention to those final two-and-a-half minutes ― is the prettiest piece of music this year. This is a band finding their sound without losing direction.
Josh O'Kane
18. Black Mountain Wilderness Heart (Outside)
It's tempting to compare Black Mountain's third record to Led Zeppelin's; though the English quartet were always of source of inspiration to Stephen McBean and company, Zep's third similarly blended hard-driving guitar rock with a softer acoustic edge, while reigning in the band's jammier tendencies. But Wilderness Heart also sees the Vancouver quintet step out of the shadow of their often-cited influences (Sabbath, Floyd) and establishes the band as songwriters to be reckoned with. Singer Amber Webber's emergence as a lead vocalist simply adds another weapon to the band's already formidable sonic arsenal.
Ian Gormely
19. Gaslight Anthem American Slang (Side One Dummy)
It's been fun watching the Gaslight Anthem grow up. On American Slang, the New Jersey quartet know it's okay to sing nostalgically about a time they could only have experienced through photo albums and history books. Brian Fallon and the gang arrived at the place they always sought ― a no-man's land filled with romanticism, tattoos, Cadillacs, punk rock and a record collection stocked heavy with Springsteen and the Clash. American Slang is somehow your old man and your best friend all at once.
Ben Conoley
20. Titus Andronicus The Monitor (XL)
A concept album about the Civil War may water the mouth of Ken Burns, but not everyone has directed a ten-hour doc on the subject. Thankfully Titus Andronicus sweetened theirs with a modern twist, where Bruce Springsteen is God, New Jersey is home and anthems fit for arenas are busting out at the seams. Throw in cameos by the Hold Steady's Craig Finn as Walt Whitman and Vivian Girls' Cassie Ramone as Jefferson Davis and it's an epic 65 minutes of scrappy, earnest pop songs that thrash and tear with drunken, riotous abandon.
Cam Lindsay
