Best Of 2010: Honorable Mentions - Part 2

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Part 1 :: Part 3 :: Part 4 :: Top 25

Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Purchase The Winter of Mixed Drinks here.

Example 2 of "Artists in 2010 Who Will Never Match Their Best Effort, Despite Trying". I was truly excited for this album because of my strong affection for 2008's The Midnight Organ Fight.  I feel the songs on this year's effort have a strange narrative structure where they were lacking in a true beginning and end, instead containing long stretches of middle. Still, the boys from Scotland put on a great live set at Lollapalooza this year and the new tracks benefited from their live energy.



Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land

Girl Talk - All Day

Download "All Day" for free here.

This album was dropped with barely a gesture and created a week long Twitter fury, mostly about people complaining that they couldn't successfully obtain A FREE ALBUM just by snapping their fingers. Nevertheless, this glorified mixtape is still a party starter and has a lot of the requisite moments where Greg Gillis finds that perfect interlocking of hip-hop and rock music to make something purely his own. To those who scoff at that notion, I like to bring up my Andy Warhol argument of how artist can draw from popular culture signposts and create (or in Warhol's case, pay others to create) something that is a commentary on the concept and direction of culture itself. Still this album was no Night Ripper and therefore is Example 3 of "Artists in 2010 Who Will Never Match Their Best Effort, Despite Trying".

Girl Talk - All Day (Full Album)

Holy Fuck - Latin

Purchase Latin here.

This is a really solid album of instrumental head twisters that never seems to get bogged down by any genre label of what they should sound like. Holy Fuck just is in a class by themselves. However, being so singular in their sound (as so many instrumental bands are) tends to box them into some sort of novelty act category, which is far from the case. It probably would have made it to my Top 25, but it was missing something...oh, yeah. Words.


Holy Fuck - Stay Lit

Hot Chip - One Life Stand

Purchase One Life Stand here.

This one was really close to being in my Top 25 as well. A shame, since this Hot Chip's best album to date. The songs on One Life Stand are much warmer and mature than anything else they have done. In fact, I probably could have made it my #25. Maybe it is the fact that I am not inspired to write much more about Hot Chip than I already have is the reason why it is here. Ah, cie la vie.



Hot Chip - Take It In

Holy Fuck Have A New Video Out Starring Kitties!

Instrumentalist quartet Holy Fuck is much more than its name. Honestly, to have a moniker that drops the f-bomb, you really want to separate yourself from anything cliche or conventional. Their music is a mixture of straight up rock-based indie funk and electro experiments, teetering on the hard line into the sample heavy digital artists of this era, but restraining themselves by employing only analog equipment for their varied sound. The result is something powerful and otherworldly, reaching beyond the need for lyrical content. Their latest album Latin was released to much adulation May 11 on Young Turks. If you have not given it a try, do so with my reverent blessings.

However, this post is about kitties. Rockin', rambunctious, devil-may-care kitties driving 70's muscle cars with no regard for the safety of others. The video for the track "Red Lights" stars a feline vehicle operator who obviously has no concern for any sort of traffic indicators as it tries desperately to leave it's mortal enemy in the dust. All of our protagonist's efforts are for naught as the band carries us out in a raging ball of hellfire. Purchase Holy Fuck - Latin here.



Bonus: Use the widget below to listen to Holy Fuck's first single "Latin America" and click on the mp3 button to download the track for the price of one email address.

New Song from Holy Fuck - Latin America

Oh, Canada...you woo me with your indie rock overachievers. The lo-fi blip-hoppers Holy Fuck from Toronto have a new track available for free download. Latin America is a joyful ride with great live drums and distant voices calling over a house piano cresendo. This track is sure to be remixed and mashed-up for your local dance party. Of course, the obligatory email entry is necessary, but it is well worth it.

Download the new track here.