25. Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania + Carrion Crawler/The Dream
Thee Oh Sees is the consistently weird band that I love to love. It's a little bit unfair to put their two solid releases into one spot, but I'm going to anyway. Though I preferred Castlemania, Carrion Crawler/The Dream pushed their jammy garage bizarre-ness to new extremes. And, between the two albums, you have 1.5-2 hours of music. Some of it's sprawling, some of it's focused, some of it's just plain strange. But it's all worth a listen.
The Dream by Thee Oh Sees by GIMMETINNITUS
24. Real Estate - Days
I gave this album some guff on first listen. I thought Real Estate got a bit too polished, too repetitive, too obvious. But, when it came down to it, after repeat listens, I'm OK with what passes as obvious and repetitive for them. Tracks like "It's Real" and "Green Aisles" encapsulate the carefree, mellow-but-catchy style they're especially good at. Summer music.
Real Estate - It's Real by DominoRecordCo
23. Craft Spells - Idle Labor
Craft Spells impresses me. And that's saying something for a group that does throwback 80s electronic music (though with a bit more guitar power). The sound quality and general song craftsmanship from ostensibly a bedroom project just blows me away. It's beautifully melodic, rhythmic, and heartbreaking. In addition, this is my favorite album art of the year.
22. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
I did not want to like this album. I resisted Lykke Li's rabid, "Have you heard Wounded Rhymes?" fans. And her indie eccentric persona. And I wanted to hate this. I wanted to sit back and say, "Oh you suckers. You'll like anything." And then I liked it. Like, a lot. Much like the Craft Spells album, Lykke Li put together an intensely rhythmic album with incredible melodies. Tracks like "Love Out Of Lust" are as wrenching as anything released this year. Honestly, when I hear some of the tracks on this album, I hear melodic, soaring structures that hearken bands like The National.
We will live longer than I will
We will be better than I was
We can cross rivers with our will
We can do better than I can
21. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
I'm enthralled by Kurt Vile in the same way I'm enthralled by Bob Dylan. Not in the sense that they sound or do anything especially the same. I am just taken by the fact that they can sing such embarrassingly good songs with near nonchalance. This album has peaks and troughs, sure, but the moments when it strikes, it's breathtaking.
"Peeping Tomboy"
To be continued...
-e.
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