The Year's Best 11

I fell in love with one record and one band this year, but the record, the White Wires debut, came out a couple years ago, and the band, The Fall, well.... The Giants soaked up most of the pop culture love, so almost all of these fall under the "purty good" category and get filed away for mere annual revisits- unless I'm wrong, which I always am about these things, and one of 'em has gifts my skating attention span did not capture. Looking forward to finding out, so until then, here we go-

11. Happy Birthday- S/T- ain't close to King Tuff, no matter what my local record proprietor says, but does deliver a couple of pop gems worthy of the KT name. Almost sounds like a quirky, pop Dinosaur Jr. on a few songs, which is actually a good thing, at least in this house.

10. Apache- Radical Sabbatical- not as instantly singalong as the first record, but a few of these tunes are. These guys deserve way more love than they get, but such are the vagaries of cyberjudgment, I suppose. I don't know what to call it- glampoplitemetalpunk (wasn't that a Fluid record title?)? File under: fun.

9. Nobunny- First Blood- yea, so it's slightly disappointing after the first one, but not all of it is- if you can't get behind the dance party that is "(Do the) Fuck Yourself," you're not drinking enough. Maybe a touch too many circus sounds at times for these ears (this may sound like sacrilege, but there is a bit of Ray Davies' master of ceremonies schtick about this guy), but still mostly enjoyable.

8. Guinea Worms- Sorcerers of Madness- OK, I've never listened to this thing all the way through in one sitting (22 songs- the madness!), but if only for "Drunk in Yr Uggs," the best creepy loser lust anthem in ages, it earns its spot. They are all over the place stylistically and not all of it works, but a lot of it does, and when they hit, (see "Drunk in Yr Uggs," again), they hit big. Perhaps the best candidate to keep giving in the years to come.

7. Rantouls- In the Village of Rantoul- well, the opening song title, "Bubblegumbo," pretty much sums up the proceedings, so if you have no sweet tooth, move away from the table. Me, I make the very occasional trip to Fenton's for an afternoon cone, so if the timing is right, this one hits the spot.

6. Overnight Lows- City of Rotten Eyes- punk rock in the year 2010 that at first sounds like beating on the bone fragments of that very dead horse, but that on subsequent listens offers a steady diet of actual winning songs.

5. Parting Gifts- Strychnine Dandelion- Greg Cartwright is joined by the singer of The Ettes, whom I had never heard before enjoying this record, and the result sounds like the Reigning Sound with a chick singing every now and then. Granted, this is in more of a pop spirit, but they dabble in R&B and country, and if words like "pleasant" and "enjoyable" don't make you run for the door, dive in.

4. John Wesley Coleman- Steal My Mind- this might have been released last year, but whatever, here it spun this year, so there it goes. Sounds like a hootenany, loose and drunk, and let's see what the tape shows in the morning. Hits that late-night, shutters-closed solo party mood, but can also be the soundtrack to Sunday morning. That's versatility, my friend.

3. The Fall- Our Future, Your Clutter-- this was my year of Fall obsession, so this got plenty of air time. They just reissued This Nation's Saving Grace and The Wonderful and Frightening World of, so why don't those 3 Guys With Beards just pick up the slack and bring back the discography on vinyl. Our time here is short.

2. Tyvek- Nothing Fits- earlier releases left me blah, but not this one. Some big, nasty hooks, and energy throughout. No horse bones being pounded here, as this is an original stamp on that old p-rock blueprint.

1. Eddy Current Suppression Ring- Rush to Relax- these guys are doing everything right. Expanding their sound without giving up the hooks. Changing the pace without giving up the hooks. Mixing up the groove without giving up the hooks. They are now a very big 3-3, and while the first one still has the extra special place in my heart, these guys grow the heart wider. Just a fantastic band.