The Best Records of 2010

Ty Segall

Best Records Of 2010
In no particular order...

Atmosphere-To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy e.p.s
Often times it's Slug and Ant's between album releases that contain some of their best work--The Sad Clown-Bad Seasons e.p.s, Leak At Will, Strictly Leakage, Headshots SE7EN, Lucy e.p.s, etc.  Largely slept on by the masses, Friends/Blood, although not necessarily treading any new territory for Minneapolis' first family of hip-hop, is no exception.

Bukkake Boys-2nd e.p.

Condominium-Gag 7inch
Local punks Condominium have consistently put out great 7inches over the last few years.  Gag continues the noisy, (sometimes) slowed down and depressed-hardcore-guy progression of previous records like Hello Tomorrow and Pupils.

Criaturas-demo

Crocodiles-Sleep Forever

Crystal Castles-II
Inexorable electronica made for punks, by punks, that the internet would have you believe is consumed primarily by those of the all-encompassing h-word click.  Us normies like it too.

Dub Police-Scion CD Sampler v.28

Get Darker presents-This Is Dubstep Vol.2

Ghostface Killah-Apollo Kids
Sneaking in right at the deadline (released on 12/21), Ghost returns with an album of bangers not heard since 2006's Fishscale--gritty, graphic, passionate, sometimes confusing and, well, real.  Guest spots from a bevy of storytellers, including Busta Rhymes, The Game, Black Thought, Redman, fellow Wu members GZA, Method Man, U-God, Raekwon, Wu affiliates Sun God, Cappadonna and Killah Priest, teamed with soul and funk-sampling production from the likes of Jake One, Yakub, Pete Rock and others make for an undeniably true hip hop album.  If this record doesn't make you stop and say to yourself, damn, that's rap music right there, then you need to learn somthin'.

Guilty Simpson-OJ Simpson

Japandroids-No Singles

Kriegshog-self titled
Virulent thrashy speedcrust noisecore from Tokyo, Japan.  Terminology like "raging", "brutal" or "furious" is fairly overused when trying to describe records like this one, but not without reason.  This shit kills.

LCD Soundsystem-This Is Happening
Far and away the best album 2010.  And we're not too punk to admit it.  Or perhaps, we ARE punk enough to admit it.  Either way we admit it.  James Murphy's infectious beats and relatable 30-something guy lyrics ran away with it.

Meth, Ghost, Rae-Wu Massacre
Following on the heels of Raekwon's Only Built For Cuban Linx II (2009), Massacre is a purposeful statement of Wu solidarity and evidence that they are once again, or still, a force to be reckoned with.

Morpheme-self titled 7Inch

Nas & Damien Marley-Distant Cousins
Make no doubt about it, this is a reggae album.  And a damn, damn fine one at that.

No Age-Everything In Between

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All-Radical mixtape

Raw Nerve-self titled 
Fast-n-dirty hardcore punk from Chicago.  Band name is spot on, as this is both raw and unnerving.

The Rival Mob-Hardcore For Hardcore e.p.
If this is what the tough-guy hardcore renaissance sounds like, we're all for it.

Ty Segall-Melted

Skream-Outside The Box
One of the more discernible masters of dubstep--introduced to the world in 2006 via DJ Mary Anne Hobbs' seminal "Dubstep Warz" broadcast on BBC Radio 1--this is Skream's big pop record coming out party.  The dubstep purists may be dissapointed at first listen, as there are several excursions--including a 90s style rave throwback (I Love The Way)--into various electronic genres outside the 135-142 BMP range.  But there is plenty of wobble to, ahh, gobble up too.      

Society Nurse-Junk Existence e.p.

Strong Arm Steady-In Search Of Stoney Jackson

Mark Sultan-$

Wavves-King Of The Beach

Late Slip: Slept On In '09 Roundup...
 
Crimen De Estado-2009 demo
The Daily Void - Identification Code: 5271-4984953784-06564
The Gateway District-Some Days You Get The Hunger
Getting Even-2009 demo
Jaguar Love-Hologram Jams
Japandroids-Post Nothing
Pissed Jean-King of Jeans
Poliskitso-2009 demo
Rot Shit-Have You Scene Rot Shit? 7inch
Rot Shit-Worst Kids Ever 7inch
White Shit-Sculpted Beef