Our Mid-Season Favorite Album Countdown - Nr. 10

Number ten in our top ten favourite albums of 2010 so far! Linda, Ilse, and yours truly give you our ten favourite albums at the halfway stage of the musical year in the hope you might discover, rediscover, or agree with our picks. If, in turn, you have some stuff you think we might enjoy, please holler.

Linda:
10. Oh No Ono – Eggs (Leaf Label/Friendly Fire Recordings)
So I may be cheating a bit with this first one as it was released last year on the continent. But as it took a few months more to cross the Channel, and since I may have slightly forgotten about it while compiling last year’s list, I’m giving it a second chance. One of the reasons I might have overlooked it last time round probably was the presence of this other Danish band (remember Mew?), and what is the possibility of two Danish bands coming up with brilliant albums in the same year? Well, the two of them certainly provide evidence for a Danish sound – and that does encompass more than just the high singing – as Oh No Ono do sound rather similar to the aforementioned, but they do provide their entirely own sound, whether this would be psychedelic rock (Internet Warrior) or pure disco (Helplessly Young). Live they’re equally enticing, partly because they appear to enjoy being on stage even more than any person in the audience could enjoy themselves while dancing to their music. And they’re also one of the opening acts on the forthcoming Affaire Festival in Nijmegen! So please do come early if you want to see Los Campesinos!, because Oh No Ono is definitely a band you don’t want to miss (if not for the music, then for their amazingly handsome guitarists, yup).
Random track to listen to: ‘Helplessly Young’

Ilse:
10. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening (DFA)
The tenth album seemed to be the most difficult one to choose, as my shortlist consisted of records I quite liked, but hadn’t intensively listened to yet. On top of that, and I’m going to be very honest here; I feel almost guilty for trying to write something about this one, as I only (re)discovered LCD Soundsystem over the past few months, and the few times I had listened to mr. Murphy’s project in the past it was just the odd song. I guess the term ‘better late than never’ is appropriate here? After all I’m merely a teenager who needs to ever adapt as well as broaden its musical horizon. So due to lack of LCD Soundsystem-expertise this piece of writing won’t really consist of any inspired muso ramblings. Well, all apologies aside, let’s give it a go.

Personally I feel this album is well-structured as the songs I enjoyed most are divided over the full hour length of the album: it opens with ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ and ‘Drunk Girls’, whereas ‘I Can Change’ is in the middle and ‘Pow Pow’ is towards the end. That first track starts of slowly and quietly and just before you start to doze off, it hits you in the face and after that has a nice sense of fluctuation to it. This is followed up by ‘Drunk Girls’, a hyper, almost hysterical, dance track which features some clever, rhythmical lyrics: “Just ’cause I’m shallow doesn’t mean that I’m heartless/Just ’cause I’m heartless doesn’t mean that I’m mean.” and “Drunk girls get invitations from nations / They got the patience of a million saints”. The catchy songs are varied and involve upbeat dance-punk, energetic disco, funky electro bleeps, high pitched singing and sexy drum beats. Overall , the record provides excellent dance floor (or bedroom dancing, if you like) material and James Murphy will definitely be on my playlists from now on.
Random track to listen to: ‘You Wanted a Hit’

Stef:
10. Ariel Pink – Before Today (4AD)
Okay, I don’t want to start all pretentious by jotting down some scholarly mumbo-jumbo, but this one leaves me no choice (aside from that, I like doing it, because despite popular belief I do think that theories and analyses add something to one’s understanding of the world). Anyway, since the Fifties the idea has gained ground that meaning is defined not only by an objective definition, but by where you come from, what your vision is, and what kind of knowledge you have. So your understanding of something, whether it be a work of art or simply a person walking by, is “tainted” by you, yourself, as an individual (and hence has a different meaning for every individual person). And I, myself, as an individual was there at a live gig from this band. And I, myself, personally, found that gig quite rubbish. Not only that, I witnessed something I had always thought, namely that Ariel Pink’s aesthetic vision completely differs from mine. So, with that said, the album is pretty great. In fact, it is so great that it would’ve been up higher on the list if it weren’t for my “tainted” vision on how it was live. Because of the live show, because I felt I did not connect with his idea of arts and perhaps even life, I also feel at a loss with the album. I think it is a very good album, I think some of the tracks like ‘Round and Round’ are killer. It actually sounds like Black Kids gone right to me, and lyrically I love the curve balls he throws out there. But as said, personally it does not resonate anymore ever since I saw the band live. Some people might find that narrow minded, and some might argue that you have to judge the album on its own merits. That is why I started with the theoretic bit, because I don’t belong to that school of thought. Not only can’t I see it separate from what I experienced during the live show, I personally feel that you have to encapsulate any newfound knowledge in your existing idea of that particular work and let your opinion and feeling of that thing evolve. Often this makes me respect or like a particular work more, this time unfortunately not so much.
Random track to listen to: ‘Can’t Hear My Eyes’