Top 10

10. OF MONTREAL
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Hissing Fauna is a frantic, jumbled break-up album of jittering robot beats and synth lines that push past happiness and land into the “kinda-creepy smile” territory, like Smilex-Batman shit. The album ranges from depression to desperation to drug-binging and crashing, and Of Montreal does it with instantly catchy melodies.

9. ST. VINCENT
Marry Me
Annie Clark (Sufjan Stevens, Polyphonic Spree) forms her own band and gives us an album of quirky and off-kilter prog-pop. However, unlike others in her position, she comes across as intelligent without being arrogant or nerdy, charming without being cutesy, and cynical without being snarky. I am also slightly in love with her.

8. BABY EAGLE
No Blues
This one’s a personal choice. No Blues is a shaky, sparse and stripped-bare collection of folk blues jams. The cracked, world-weary voice might not be the classic, soulful bluesman of conventional blues music, but in it lays a deep pathos most singers wish they could muster. It just might break your heart.

7. TINY VIPERS
Hands Across the Void
The album artwork betrays no secrets, no lyrics, not even Jesy Fortino’s face. All we see are dark, ghostly images of the artist (whose face is always obscured in some way) wandering in a campfire wilderness, which is about as accurate as I can describe the music: haunting, sparse melodies, and a deep brooding atmosphere. Just like my ideal camping trip, there’s a calming isolation, and a heavy undertone of foreshadowed, Friday the 13th-level violence and mayhem.

6. ANDREW BIRD
Armchair Apocrypha
I came across Andrew Bird just prior to the release of Armchair, through mp3s and YouTube (fuck you RIAA), and I got a copy of this album as soon as I could. The lyrics are subtle, ironic and infused with a sarcasm that naturally makes me quite pleased. And it helps that Bird’s guitar, violin, xylophone and trademark whistling arrangements are absolutely beautiful. Probably one of the most musically gifted artists on the scene this year.

5. EL-P
I'll Sleep When You're Dead
El-P cut to the chase this year, and started attacking his enemies directly, instead of through a veil of obtuse, dense lyrics. The lyrics here are still dense, still filled with frustration, anger, and paranoia, and the record doesn’t top Fantastic Damage, yet it still ranks as one of the year’s best indie rap releases.

4. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS KEVIN DREW
Spirit If
It’s essentially a Broken Social Scene record; all the usual suspects make appearances on Drew’s “solo” album. The only difference is this shows Drew in full bandleader mode and his Broken Social Scene contributions are made obvious: namely, a beautiful, mature but playful treatment of the profane.

3. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Strawberry Jam
Although still uncanny and bizarre, Animal Collective releases an undeniably pop record. Their arrangements are complex and possible evidence of borderline mental disorder; they’ve mostly abandoned drums and guitars for drum machines and tweaking knobs, and the songs tightly veer from joy to desperation in a way usually reserved for manic-depressives. “Peacebone” and “Chores” are two of the only songs this year to inspire me with spasmodic fits of joy.

2. THE NATIONAL
Boxer
Identifying with records like this is probably a sign of my age. Sober, weary, yet empathetic, The National takes a look at the world of late 20s hipster angst, love and loneliness. And they do it with lush horn and string arrangements, mature piano and guitar work, and creative, propulsive drumming. Another album that rewards the listener over time: Boxer just gets better.

1. MENOMENA
Friend and Foe
Like its predecessor, Friend and Foe initially sounds disjointed, confusing, and awkward. After spending most of the year with it, the songs’ obvious seams disappear; the transitions and breaks start making sense, and the idiosyncrasies of Menomena become familiar, but infectious, without becoming boring. For me, it was the most enjoyable and engaging record of the year.