Top Albums Of 2010, #10-1

Well, another year has past, and it was a good one. They all are, if you know where to look.

First, a few honorable mentions.
Architect - Consume. Adapt. Create.
Autechre - Oversteps
Mondo Drag - New Rituals
Myelin Sheaths - Get On Your Nerves
Pontiak - Living
Red Cedar - Enter The Sun Gods
Red Sparowes - The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer
Royal Baths - Litanies
Secret Pyramid - Ghosts
The Sharp Ends - The Sharp Ends
Shlohmo - Shlomoshun
Solar Bears - She Was Coloured In
UNKLE - Where Did The Night Fall?
Vex'd - Cloud Seed
White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights

And now, the list. Have a taste of these...

1. Kylesa – Spiral Shadow
2010 saw a plethora of polished, accomplished heavy rock albums from a generation of rockers that have re-established heavy rock as a viable prospect for music coverage. Kylesa’s Spiral Shadow was the best of them. Kylesa, along with their contemporary stylistic cousins in High on Fire, Black Wizard, Zoroaster, The Sword, Bison, Black Tusk, Year Of No Light, White Hills, Withered, Fucked Up, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Ufomammut, Eagle Twin, Black Cobra and other bands who released records this year are in the primes of their careers. This generation has come of age as the internet has allowed musical fans of all stripes to cross-contaminate their music with previously separate sonic ingredients. These new, omnivorous heavy bands have generally made between two and five records, having established an identifiable and unique band-voice, and are now making creative adjustments within (and sometimes outside) these parameters. Veteran heavy bands like the Melvins, Harvey Milk and Electric Wizard all released solid albums that garnered them significant attention, another sign that hard rock is alive and well. In Kylesa’s case, they have emerged from a fertile climate for the growth of extreme metal bands (and fans) that has seen its waters muddied considerably in the last ten years by strains of psychedelic, sludge, hardcore, classic heavy metal and traditional hard rock. Geographical contemporaries, chief among them Mastodon and Baroness, have also earned similar accolades for re-shaping recognizable mediums with memorable songs and modern hard rock production methods. Now, folks are really starting to pay attention, and Kylesa’s time on the road for the better part of the last decade has turned them into a powerhouse.

Kylesa’s fifth full-length makes use of textures only previously hinted at on last year’s Static Tensions without sacrificing the ferocious energy that has been this band’s trademark since day one. Heroic guitar leads are featured prominently in some, but not all of the songs, and these emphasize melody and tone rather than chops. Spiral Shadow is equal parts studied intensity and inspired imagination. The polyrhythmic dual-drummer setup is more noticeable than ever, particularly within the more prominent shifts in dynamics. Though Kylesa are operating from a pronounced hardcore base, the sharpness of the players and the agility of the band’s punishing rhythm section are grounded firmly in the ass-kicking super-rock tradition. The juxtaposition of (tuneful) male and female hardcore vocals lends the songs a memorability and intensity to match the instrumental performances. The production is explosive, with a brickwalled guitar-intensive mix that recalls Fucked Up’s The Chemistry Of Common Life. At a lean 40 minutes, the album does not waste a second, hitting with blitzkrieg force and but providing enough sonic variety to make each song a treat. A few highlights are the sludgy opening blast “Tired Climb,” the exotic face-melting leads on “Crowded Room,” the explosive chorus of “Don’t Look Back” and the epic solo on the record’s centerpiece title track. Kylesa have crafted an exceptional listening experience and secured their place as one of the world’s best rock bands.

2. Black Wizard – Black Wizard
I debated whether or not to actually put this album on my list, because it was technically released last year. I did because I 1) I didn’t hear it until this year, 2) they are local and I wanna give them the props they are due, and 3) this record is so unbelievably awesome that I would be an absolute dick not to. Their self-titled debut is a delicious stew of everything that I have loved about rock n’ roll since I was 12. Huge anthemic choruses, dueling guitar melodies, crushing riffs and sludgy thrash workouts all battle for space as a leather-lunged rock god bellows over top with a stratospheric roar that is a dead ringer for Louder Than Love era- Chris Cornell. At less than 34 minutes, this masterfully-paced album says everything it needs to and leaves you wanting more every time. Vancouverites, if you are even a little bit into rock music and you haven’t heard these guys, you need to get yourself a copy of this record right now.
The first song, “Long Way Home” condenses everything great about the band into six and a half glorious heart-pounding minutes. It stomps out of the gate with a pounding main theme, then kicks into high gear with a rollicking riff straight out of an East London dive bar, circa 1979. Soon everything breaks down into an ominously psychedelic interlude, the guitars gorgeously weave in and out of the mix before the riff once again makes its grand return, this time complete with epic twin guitarmonies. As a double-time thrasher of a riff kicks in, you can’t possibly think this could get anymore awesome. You’ll wish you had a beard. You’ll wish you were doing speed with Lemmy. You’ll wish you were driving a van with a chainmail bikini-clad heroine wielding a battleaxe. Then you realize it’s five minutes into the song and the singer hasn’t even opened his mouth. At the absolute peak of this ever-ascending rock masterpiece, he lets forth a bellow so powerful that it could only have been delivered from the peak of Mount Everest. Incredible. I’m in awe of those lungs.

Every single track here is an absolute barn-burner, with the surprisingly gorgeous acoustic interlude “Winds Of Helliwell” providing the only respite from the rock n’ roll assault. There is absolutely nothing here you’ve never heard, but who cares? This is ROCK. The only prerequisite is that it rocks, and Black Wizard do that as well as anyone. “Evergreen” boasts the most badass headbanger of a riff this side of Leaf Hound’s “Freeland Fiend” and “Drugs” crushes its riffs into oblivion like Dopethrone-era Electric Wizard. I can’t say this enough. These guys are fucking awesome.

3. Black Angels – Phosphene Dream
It may not top their absolute stone classic debut Passover, but the Black Angels have put together their most consistent and adventurous set of songs to date on Phosphene Dream. Unlike their previous albums, which wallowed in too much droning fuzz and druggy haze for the norms to appreciate, this album actually could appeal to non-psych aficionados. Not only that, but the hooks that were largely absent from 2008’s sprawling nod-fest Directions To See A Ghost have finally returned. Christian has managed to ply his instantly recognizable voice to the best batch of tunes the Angels have ever written, and there is more sonic variety here than ever before. The tone is not as gloomy as it has been in the past, with songs like “Yellow Elevator #2” and “Telephone” and the title track brightening up the mood somewhat while still sounding like refugees from the Summer of Love on bad acid. There are still some classic Black Angels ragers like the explosive “River Of Blood” and the unstoppable “Entrance Song,” each of these songs rampaging like the best tracks on Passover. And finally, there is “The Sniper.” Closing the record, this track is easily among the best songs the band has ever recorded. Opening with a funeral trudge of a guitar figure, a slide riff from hell’s side of the crossroads soon slashes across the sky, deep-fried in southern fuzz. Soon the tumbling rhythm picks up, and drummer Stefanie Bailey lays the hammer DOWN. The band takes off on a patented Angels death march, and Christian wails the whole time for all he’s worth. If this ‘aint rock brother, then I don’t want to know what is.

4. Sun Araw – On Patrol
This is less an album than a spiritual jouney. A pilgrimage to a mystic holy land. The dubby basslines and ‘luded-up waka-waka guitars will transport you to a different planar existence. You could spend an hour there, or spend weeks. Sun Araw’s shamanic mantras simply defy time as we beings can perceive it. On Patrol is their most expansive collection yet, sprawling in its conception and its sheer scale majestic. The entire whole moves with a rhythmic determination that reveals a dark undercurrent to the relaxed tempos. It sounds like the Amazon at midnight. This is a soundtrack to practice astral projection by. The companion EP Off Duty ‘aint too shabby neither.

5. Sleepy Sun – Fever
One of the world’s best rock bands releases its sophomore album, and they are better than ever. Although the jams have been reined in a touch, the songwriting has improved. The result is a cohesive listening experience that is still intense and exciting on the quieter tracks. “Rigamaroo” is an absolutely gorgeous duet, while the blissful drone of “Acid Love” show these guys can still make nod-out drug music with the best that the California freak scene has to offer. Still, the band’s trademark is face-melting guitar jams, and those are here in abundance. Colin Stewart gives these tracks a classically golden analogue treatment, resulting in a lush, expansive record that feels lived-in and comforting. The fuzz on the guitars is otherworldly, resulting in riffs that scorch and smolder and leads that cut with deranged focus. All this may sound like orthodox rock stuff, and to be sure, it is. Sleepy Sun are no bar band though. Their mastery of the rock form and the intensity of the players allow them to succeed on conviction. They also know how to vary the formula just enough to surprise. On “Marina” and “Desert God” percussion breakdowns and Mississippi delta rhythms shake things up a bit, while lysergic jams like “Sandstorm Woman” and “Open Your Eyes” are just as incendiary as anything on Embrace.

Until Comets On Fire get back on their high horse, Sleepy Sun is the world’s premiere psychedelic rock band, and their live show continues to absolutely demolish just about anyone who shares a stage with them. Here’s hoping they decide to go in Ufomammut’s direction and not Black Mountain’s though.

6. Bonobo – Black Sands
Bonobo is so locked-in at this point it seems effortless for him to produce dark, beautifully textured trip-hop albums. This one is not too different from any other albums he has made in the last decade, but there are a few twists. Andreya Triana takes a guest turn on a few tracks, and her smoky voice lends in particular the showstopper “The Keeper” a seductive veneer. Meanwhile, Bonobo tempers his crepuscular jazz with enough interesting beats to keep what should be by now a tired genre fresh and exciting. A haze surrounds this album that could only have been induced by fields of psychosilosibin, and psych heads, blunted-out hip-hoppers, bliss-out electronic fans, jazzbos and chill jam rockers will all be able to come together over its wonderfully organic and layered mosaic of influences. The sounds here are soft and cool, perfect for an evening with a lover, a moonlit drive, or a walk on the beach at twilight. This is not mere background music though, as careful listening reveals gorgeous subtleties, and repeat journeys highlight new avenues of sound. Black Sands is a new high water mark for Bonobo.

7. Zoroaster – Matador
Zoroaster vaulted themselves into hard rock’s elite this year with Matador, a rampaging beast of a record that flat out destroys their debut, last year’s Voice Of Saturn. Whereas that album had a tendency to get lost in its own sludge and lose focus, a vastly matured approach to songwriting and an abundance of fully resolved melodic ideas have resulted in a vastly improved group of songs. The psychedelic flourishes that put the Saturn in Zoroaster’s early work remains, particularly in the spacey vocal effects. It is pretty apparent that vocals are this band’s Achilles heel, but their playing is top notch, and thankfully most tracks spend the majority of their time stoking a runaway train of apocalyptic jamming.

This time the clearer production has sharpened the band’s attack, making the heavy moments hit with more punch and throwing the psychedelic elements of their sound into sharper relief. Vicious acid-metal solos cut and slash through the mix with laser-like focus on “Ancient Ones” and “Odyssey I,” while the meaty chugging riffage on the opener “D.N.R.” sticks to your ribs. It’s also become apparent that the band has become significantly more technically advanced in the past year. These guys can fucking shred. By embracing the more metallic elements of their sound, the band’s feature-length cosmic doom epics become more effective as counterpoint. A pair of seven minute behemoths dominates the second side, “Old World” and the title track. These monsters are far more effective than anything on Voice of Saturn.

That a promising young band can band can improve so drastically in such a short time speaks volumes about their talent and dedication to their craft. These guys should have plenty more good records in them.

8. Ufomammut – Eve
If you know anything about Ufomammut, then this isn’t really a surprise. If you don’t, well… Italian cosmic-doom outfit releases their magnum opus, a 45 minute single-song album. It’s basically their attempt to create the heaviest thing EVER, and damned if they don’t come close to doing it too. Such a classic move, maybe they’ve been sharing incense with Boris? I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, these guys have easily cracked the 20 minute barrier before. Anyways, the song is well-constructed and never feels as long as it is. There are some interesting space-rock flourishes here that will be entirely familiar to fans of Electric Wizard, YOB or Sons Of Otis. And when the hammer drops, BOY DOES IT EVER. You’ll see it coming from a mile away, but when that godlike riff creshendo hits, it’s worth the wait. Listen to it loud and don’t say I didn’t warn you when the walls start to melt.

9. Duffy & The Doubters - Scriptural Supplies
Solo album from Ladyhawk mainman Duffy Driediger goes for a more varied approach than his main band’s slowed down and emptied out drankin’ rock. Very short, the record only clocks in at about 20 minutes. Each and every song is an absolute earworm though, and Duffy tries his hand at a number of different styles, each one proving to be perfectly adaptable to his whiskey-soaked voice. “Sorry Ma, My Brain Is Dumb” is a scorching punk rock number, while “Doubters” is a touching account of a dying relationship. The songs are all very short and the mix of styles can seem like too much at times, but the album’s stunning middle stanza, tracks 4 to 8, are all keepers. Now, how about a follow-up to Shots, Duffy?

10. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
Cosmogramma is a sprawling mosaic of influences so diverse and multi-dimensional that it is initially disorienting. Listen closely, and you’ll soon latch on to the familiar sounds as they present themselves in wholly unique contexts. Flying Lotus (who is John Coltrane’s nephew, incidentally) has spent the last two years letting the rest of the world’s bedroom producers catch up to his woozy beats on 2008’s Los Angeles. This time out he’s so thoroughly exploded his previous style it sounds as if he is simply in a league of his own. Cosmogramma takes glitch music, dubstep, ambient, jazz, r&b, pop, hip-hop, funk, dance and fusion music, breaking down their component parts and rearranging them into an infinitely intricate collage that defies categorization or minimization. As a musical achievement, Cosmogramma stands a million miles tall, so completely separate from the whole tradition of recorded music that it simply defies analysis. State of the art.