Top 10 Albums of 2010

2010 has come and gone, and I got to hear a healthy amount of quality music. The bottom half of this year's top 10 list was pretty hard to sort out, as there were more worthy candidates than available spots. I can't promise that I wouldn't change the list if I wrote it up again tomorrow. Anyway, Happy New Year, and let's hope for more good stuff in 2011.

10. Red Priest, Johann, I'm Only Dancing: I learned much less about the music of J. S. Bach in the music courses I took in high school and college than I did from listening to this CD.

9. Vilma Timonen Quartet, Forward: And they do move forward, thanks to more vocals.

8. Simon Fagan, Outside Looking In: This one gets bonus points for overall consistency.

7. Vampire Weekend, Contra: Another band gets better the second time around.

6. Amadou & Mariam, Welcome to Mali: It's the kind of album that will annoy a purist. But purists tend to miss out on a lot of good music.

5. The National, High Violet: The last two songs, "England" and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks," really pushed this album up the list.

4. Ozomatli, Fire Away: Some people will complain that they've gotten more commercial, but they've also gotten more musical and still have the same energy.

3. Richard Thompson, Dream Attic: From the 60s to the 10s. That makes six decades during which he's made essential music.

2. Johnny Clegg, Human: Like Richard Thompson, he's aged well, and deserves a much bigger following.

1. Jesca Hoop, Hunting My Dress: Definitely the most original recording I've heard in a while, and she backs up her originality with some quality songwriting.

The National, High Violet (4AD, 2010)

The Ohio-born and Brooklyn-based indie band The National first came to my attention in 2007 when their album Boxer was named Album of the Year by Paste Magazine. Their distinctively brooding, ambient sound, driven mostly by the deep baritone of singer Matt Berringer, struck a chord with a lot of listeners. My own reaction to Boxer wasn't quite so ecstatic, but I did think it was a pretty solid record. Now The National return with a new album called High Violet, and not much has changed. The band have taken more or less the same approach they took last time out, and continue to get rave reviews.

High Violet is one of those albums that, for better and for worse, gives listeners exactly what they expect. There are no sharp left turns here, but if you like The National's previous work you'll like this at least as much. The songs are consistently moody and mid-tempo, and the combined effect of the songs as a whole is greater than the sum of the songs taken individually. Berringer is the kind of singer who manages to establish a commanding presence despite a limited vocal range. He only occasionally tries to hit some moderately high notes, but he gets your attention anyway. More importantly, his voice and intriguingly esoteric lyrics enhance the atmosphere that bandmates Aaron Dessner (guitar, keyboards), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Bryan Devendorf (drums), and Scott Devendorf (bass) create beneath him. The songs are pretty similar, a little too similar perhaps, but they get steadily better as the album progresses. The standout track is the penultimate song "England," which features a haunting riff that sticks with you when you put the album down.

On the whole, I think High Violet is a bit better than Boxer. People who've gotten excited over their previous work probably don't need my recommendation, but if you're not familiar with The National then the new album is as good a place as any to start.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

The National perform "England" in front of the home crowd in Brooklyn.

The National, Boxer (Beggar's Banquet, 2007)

I subscribe to Paste Magazine, which specializes in coverage of independent music and film. I don't always agree with their opinions, but I do find the magazine to be an excellent source of information, and the CD they provide with each month's issue has given me reasons to buy many of the CD's that I've reviewed here over the past two years. Their choice for best album of 2007, by both the staff and their readers, is an album called Boxer by a group from Brooklyn called The National. Despite their location I'd never heard of the band, but this struck me as a sufficient reason to give their album a listen.

While The National's music fits snugly in the category of indie rock, they do try a lot of different things on Boxer. Little twists like the drum roll intro on "Squalor Victoria" keep the listener guessing, and the album as a result sounds anything but predictable. Matt Berninger (vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitar, bass, piano), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Bryan Devendorf (drums), and Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar) handle hard rockers like "Mistaken for Strangers" and acoustic ballads like "Green Gloves" equally well. The most distinctive element of The National's sound, though, is the singing of Berninger. His deep voice evokes some of the 80's New Wave singers, like Robbie Grey of Modern English or Steve Kilbey of The Church. Despite a limited range, Berninger's delivery is quite effective.

I'm grateful to have found a couple of albums over the past year where the whole turned out to be greater than the sum of its parts. Boxer certainly fits that description. There's no standout track for everybody to download onto their MP3 player, but there's no wasted track either. Rather, Boxer steadily grows on you. The lack of a clear hit may regrettably restrict The National's audience, but after listening to Boxer a few times I can understand why it has generated such a favorable response.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott