So all that said, there's a lot of good stuff to rank. You already saw the 25 songs list from earlier this month, so let's look at the bigger picture and rank up some albums, eh? I'm not counting songs that have been released ahead of a proper album, but don't worry, Purity Ring'll be on here at the end of the year.
Let's get cracking.
10. cloud nothings - attack on memory
Like most people who didn't know much about this band before this record came out, Stay Useless was the song to draw me in. A relatably light-hearted guitar intro gives way to a pounder about making accommodations for, well, feeling useless. There's lament and (probably) a desire to be "better" or whatever adjective you'd use here to describe an ascension out of said uselessness, but the theme seems more about begrudging acceptance.
And that's kind of a downer attitude, but it's something this album pulls off really well. It's not positive and it isn't happy, but it's so self-assured in its mean streak that I can't help but like it.
9. the shins - port of morrow
Oh wow hey, remember these guys? At least, remeber James Mercer's vocals over instrumentals that at least sound like they were made by vintage Shins members? You do now. It's the band's first proper release in a bunch of years, but all that's really left is Mercer. It's old Shins songwriting ideas and concepts with better production, and while that seems to fly in the face of what blew them up in the first place with the big ol' plug in "Garden State," it works here. The improved production doesn't really rob them of much charm, because this album isn't out to sweeten your coffee. It's got an edge to it - at least, as sharp an edge as a Shins album can have, really - that clearly defines its era, but stays perfectly in line with what came before it.
8. hospitality - s/t
It's an album too cute not to love. Amber Papini's voice is perfectly suited for this brand of not-quite-power-pop, and there are enough songs with attention-grabbing hooks to last you the record, even if the slow points can drag a bit.
Plus, I'm always a sucker for a good album closer. If an album ends on its highest note, I usually consider it a success. All Day Today is my favorite song on the record, and it rounds out the 10-song collection rather neatly.
7. chairlift - something
They had a song in an Apple ad that one time. And I Belong In Your Arms really does sound like something out of the end credits for an '80s movie, but this album manages to avoid the chintz, even with a lead-in like that. I wish I knew what it was, exactly, that makes I Belong... stay on the good side of campy. It's perfectly enjoyable in the face of being near-cheeseball. It's sort of like Bon Iver's Beth/Rest from their record last year; a laughable idea that somehow manages to hold up because it's executed so well.
There's plenty of non-chintz to go around, too. There's a dark streak here, lacing the peppier songs and saturating the sultrier ones, and I think it's the allure of that bad self that really keeps you locked in.
6. the tallest man on earth - there's no leaving now
It's always struck me as funny that the best American folk artist going now is actually Swedish. But he's the best nonetheless, and though this record isn't quite on The Wild Hunt's level, it's proof that Kristian Matsson can successfully write songs that involve more than just an acoustic guitar. It's a little jarring to come from such minimalist records to ones so full of new sounds, but Matsson makes it all work.
And it helps to have that ever-present Dylan-esque squawk, which is put in its finest display case on the album's title track.
5. father john misty - fear fun
I would have gotten around to this album eventually, but J. Tillman's anti-Pitchfork rant in response to the site's less-than-glowing review of his record made me jump on board immediately. The tie to Fleet Foxes is what had me intrigued in the first place, and there's some Fleexes residue in some of these songs (most notably the harmonies), but this is a sound all Tillman's own in the end.
It's just a little weird and fun enough to come off supremely confident, despite it being a solo debut. This sounds like exactly the record Tillman wanted to put out, lines like "that Canadian shaman gave a little too much to me" and song titles like "Only Son of the Ladiesman" be damned. It's a fine, fine album, and hopefully just the start of a successful solo career.
4. the walkmen - heaven
As someone who was mostly disappointed by Lisbon, I had hopes this record would remind me more of Bows & Arrows-era Walkmen. It's not quite there, but it's plenty close enough for me. It's an angry (not furious) rock record, but one that chooses to convey that emotion through Hamilton Leithauser's voice instead of overdriven instruments and thrash beats. It's actually very pleasant, musically, but tinged with whatever it is that's bothered Leithauser to the point of crafting these lyrics. Really, it's just what I'd hoped the album would be.
3. sharon van etten - tramp
By far, this is the year's most heartfelt record. And that's saying something, given the company.
Adele got massive fame for having an incredibly powerful voice fueled by a lover's scorn. SVE may not have the same walloping vocal cords (how many humans do?), but she certainly has the fuel to write killer songs that would rend you asunder, were you the target. It's an album so full of every kind of emotion that you can't help but feel like you've been there at some point, wherever it is "there" happens to be. You can relate. You empathize. You kind of want to give her a hug, but feel like she'll be alright even if you don't. It's an album that forces you to feel, and you feel plenty.
2. japandroids - celebration rock
The most fun I've had listening to an album in years. YEARS. I start out listening to any given track at a modest volume and, within no more than 15 seconds each time, am compelled to max it out. The music is ferocious in its carefree style, powered just by a guitar and drumset, with lyrics that could come off as corny, but instead seem to rally the inner youthful spirit/renegade in you. True to the album's title, this is about celebrating life, being alive, the past, the present, the future.
It's only 8 songs long, but that's perfect. Really, the only hiccup is the band's cover of For the Love of Ivy, which feels a little out of place with the rest of the record, but every other song is so overwhelmingly awesome that it compensates beautifully.
1. beach house - bloom
It's the year's most gorgeous record. It's the year's most cohesive record. It's the perfect album to plug into and drift away, float an inch or two above the ground and try to comb through the neverending layers of every song. It's dream-pop at its absolute finest: sounds that envelop you, vocals that coast along with you, guitars reverbed just right and synths faded and arranged just right to ease your transition from song to song, moment to moment. Nowhere is this done better than the penultimate track, On the Sea, which is the most beautifully crescendoed song I've heard in a long time.
It's inviting. It's emotional, but more for its music than for its message. It's the clubhouse leader for my favorite album of the year, and the top highlight for a year already peppered with great stuff.
