Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

The New Jersey boys don’t seem to be able to put a foot wrong. Their newest album, American Slang, is a journey through love and heartbreak from the crowded streets of Manhattan to the boardwalks of the Jersey Shore.  With every release, The Gaslight Anthem progress as song writers, really delving into the psyche of their characters and with each new gravelly lyric describing every Springsteen soaked piece of imagery, you think nothing can get better than this. That is until the next verse.

Key Tracks: Stay Lucky, Spirit Of Jazz, When We Were Young

2. Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now

This Nashville native has produced an absolutely stunning debut album which combines Folk sensibilities with Country heritage. A beautiful album detailing love and loss and the changes you make in order to find yourself. With a heavy focus on acoustic guitar, the album drifts along, pulling you into her detailed and heart wrenching world. Caitlin Rose is by far the best new comer of 2010.

Key Tracks: Own Side, Shanghai Cigarette, Things Change

3. The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever

So your favourite characters Charlemagne, Gideon and Holly may not be referred to by name in the fifth studio album from The Hold Steady, but Heaven Is Whenever is still one ass-kicking, fist-punching, banal-assassinating record about life, love and all the music in-between. The first record without keyboardist Franz Nicolay since their 2004 debut, Heaven Is Whenever is the sound of a bunch of guys growing up. “Heaven Is Whenever / We can get together/ sit down on the floor/ and listen to your records”. Heaven is The Hold Steady.

Key tracks: Hurricane J, We Can Get Together, The Sweet Part Of The City

4. Delta Spirit – History From Below

If the first track from this album was non-existent, History From Below would have been further up the list, possibly even number one. However, looking past the three and a half minute flaw, Delta Spirit’s sophomore album is quite exquisite. More cohesive and mature than their debut ‘Ode To Sunshine’, the album’s 11 tracks move through folk, rock and swampy blues, with each song in itself a contained narrative. Seductive, intoxicating and god-damn addictive, History From Below is a scarily hard album to fault.

Key Tracks: Bushwick Blues, Devil Knows You’re Dead, Ballad Of Vitaly

5. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Not one man should have all this power, well he shouldn’t, but it appears that he does. Kanye’s fifth studio album is a massive return to form after the train wreck that was 808s and Heartbreaks. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy refuses to stay locked in its box, breaking your West-perceptions with every new track. With cameos galore, hooks to sink your teeth into and verses your mother would smack you for mouthing the album is angry, passionate, sexy and crude; this is the Kanye we have been longing to return.

Key Tracks: Runaway, All Of The Lights, Monster

6. The Tallest Man On Earth – Wild Hunt

Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth, is a Swedish folk god. There I said it. Though only one musician plays on the entirety of the album, it is one of the most interesting, intoxicating and absolutely overwhelming releases of the year. Wild Hunt feels as though you’re coming in from the cold. Though the album has an underlying feeling of isolation and solidarity, at the same time it feels as though it engulfs you; seeping into every last inch of your soul. Absolutely haunting vocals combine with breathtaking song writing to produce the finest Swedish release since Dancing Queen.

Key Tracks: Kids On The Run, The Wild Hunt, Troubles Will Be Gone

7. The Like – Release Me

What do you mean the 60’s ended? Not according to The Like they didn’t. 60’s girl group sensibilities with a modern twist, The Like’s second album, Release Me is, from start to finish, an incredibly accessible, honest portrayal of the life of a single girl. From emotionally inept boys who can’t commit to putting the shame in walk of shame to just not really digging the guy you’re seeing, Release Me is an album every woman should own. Shake your tail feather to the sounds of tomorrow baby!

Key Tracks: He’s Not A Boy, I Can See It In Your Eyes, Don’t Make A Sound/Why When Love Is Gone

8. Ben Folds & Nick Hornby – Lonely Avenue

The collaboration album between American musician Ben Folds and English author Nick Hornby moves between comical cultural satire and heart wrenching tales of humanity almost effortlessly. The 11 tracks which make up Lonely Avenue are each a contained narrative, proving the story telling talents of Hornby and the balladeer skills of Folds. The best part of this collaboration? The fact that neither artistic voice overpowered by the other. Pretty cool stuff.

Key Tracks: Levi Johnston’s Blues, Picture Window, From Above

9. Violent Soho – Violent Soho

Although technically a repackaging of an album released in 2008, Violent Soho’s self titled album still sounds current, relevant and exciting. Bringing back the soul of the early nineties so much so that your jeans rip themselves when you hit play, Mansfield’s favourite sons, Violent Soho, combine what is great about Australian music – the raw honesty and individuality – with classic grunge roots. It’s a beautiful thing. Must be listened to loud.

Key Tracks: Love Is A Heavy Word, Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, Muscle Junkie

10. Janelle Monea – The Archandroid

At 18 tracks long, The Archandroid is a contender for longest album of the year – but every track is wanted. Janelle Monea’s ability to effortlessly jump from soul to pop to R&B while still retaining a signature sound is mind blowing – her characteristic swagger and incredible vocal ability shine through in this genre melding album. Check it out!

Key Tracks: Tightrope, Cold War, Faster

Best Of The Rest:

• Little Red – Midnight Remember
  • Second album from Melbourne boys – Structured, colourful and engaging, the record is nn amazing representation of the talent we have locally.
• Foals – Total Life Forever
  • More chilled out, melodic and slow burning than their debut, after a few listens to this album you WILLbecome addicted!
• Alberta Cross – Broken Side Of Time
  • Mashing up blues, rock and folk into an incredible collection of songs, this album has absolutely no filler. Amazing record!
• My Chemical Romance – Danger Days: True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys
  • The chameleons of emo/pop/punk. MCR have turned their back on the black parade and embraced the synth, pop happy kill joys. MCRmy raise your filthy paws!
• Taylor Swift – Speak Now
  • Like reading the diary of your sister, this album sometimes feels voyeuristic and intensely personal, the talented singer songwriter defines genre and lays her soul on the line.

Golden Plains first killer line up announced

Golden Plains first line up has been announced and it’s put a little indie chill down punters spines.

In the fifth edition of the festival, which brings the fun March 12-14 at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, cult act Os Mutantes will be joined by oh-so-hip darlings Best Coast & Wavves and scratched-into-your-soul Minnesota hood rats The Hold Steady. Wowsers.

Golden Plains first killer line up:

Os Mutantes
The Hold Steady
Joanna Newsom
Best Coast
Hawkwind
Architecture In Helsinki
Wavves
The Clean
Jamie Lidell
Airbourne
Pulled Apart By Horses
The Middle East
Mount Kimbie
Boy & Bear
Robert Forster
The Besnard Lakes
Cosmic Psychos
Justin Townes Earle
J-Wow Feat. Mc Kalaf
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Imelda May
Bamboo Musik Djs
Brain Children
Graveyard Train
World’s End Press
Magic Kids

Stay tuned to Lost In Suburbia for more info.

Hold Steady inspired film brings the love back to Minneapolis

Remember those rumours about a movie being made based on Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi and how extremely excited you were? Well this is better.  Director Brady Kiernan is currently filming a movie inspired by The Hold Steady, aptly titled Stuck Between Stations.

Paste Magazine reports:

“The title is mostly a reference to the spirit of the song,” Kiernan tells Paste. “This film is about those nights that we’ve all had where you meet someone, spend the whole night with them and start to maybe fall in love.” Kiernan is currently in negotiations with the band to provide music for the film.

“There has yet to be a breakout indie success that puts our city on the map,” Kiernan says. “Maybe that’s us, maybe it isn’t, but we love this city.” Hometown pride aside, “our story is still about two people and their lives. We just can’t think of a better place to fall in love than Minneapolis.”

Filming will wrap this fall, after which the creators will shop Stuck Between Stations around at film festivals such as Sundance and Toronto, seeking distribution.

Featuring Josh Harnett and Zoe Lister Jones, I imagine Stuck Between Stations is going to do for Minneapolis what Garden State did for New Jersey; make it not completely shit.

Ducks Fly Together… and apparently Stay Positive.

The Hold Steady ‘Heaven Is Whenever’ full album stream

Oh Me Oh MY! The wait is over! The almost released fifth album from brooklynites The Hold Steady can be heard here in its entirety…

Leading up to the release of Heaven Is Whenever, there has been a lot of talk about this album being a big change from that signature Hold Steady sound and vibe. On first listen, however, there really doesn’t seem to be that much difference sonically between Heaven Is Whenever and their last kickin’ LP, Stay Positive.

Opening with a muted chord and then some twanging guitar, bottleneck slide, lap steel and then that gravelly voice, ‘back when we were living up on hairpin/she kept threatening to turn us in’ sets the tone of the album: retrospective with a sense of foreboding, but still, somehow, hopeful in that signature Hold Steady ‘well, things could be shitter’ way.

Musically, the album seems all over the place, from 80’s hair metal-esque Rock Problems to the sombre chords of We Can Get Together, showing the depth of emotion the band are able to conjure up, a slowly ascending chorus which works its way from the pit of your stomach up into a knot in your throat, Heaven Is Whenever seems more like an an experiment with time structure and instrumentation than anything else in the Hold Steady vocabulary.

Over all, it seems like this album is darker lyrically than Stay Positive, though it is a jauntier, poppier and ultimately more musical album. Way to juxtapose guys. Morrissey would be proud.

Glastonbury Line up revealed: Minds around the world explode

It’s the week for line up announcements with Splendour In The Grass and Glastonbury both coming out within hours of each other.

For Glastonbury’s 40^th year, Michael Eavis has pulled an entire warren of rabbits out of his hat, releasing a line up which destroys feeble music loving minds.

Headlining the three day festival will be U2, Muse and Stevie Wonder. The rest of the bill, though, is where it really starts to heat up! Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Flaming Lips, Vampire Weeknnd, Gaslight Anthem, Groove Armada, Mariachi El Bronx, The XX, Scissor Sisters, The Hold Steady, Laura Marling, Faithless, Slash, Orbital & MGMT all make the cut.

Australia has some pretty sweet representation in there as well with Temper Trap, Empire Of The Sun & The Middle East helping to ring in the 40^th birthday of the festival.

The line up, in fact, is so intense that I fear it will break my poor little blog, so here, instead is where you can go to find everything you need to know about the line up which has been obviously touched by the gods.

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

Oh… giant Yorkshire puddings, how I desire you…

The Hold Steady – The Weekenders

Sorry about the Hold Steady spamming, but I feel like this is something that everyone needs to listen to. Actually, I’m not sorry at all.

Here is yet another tasty sonic treat from The Hold Steady’s May record Heaven Is Whenever.

This third track leaked from the album is titled The Weekenders and is a example of the softer side of the Brooklyn band, exploring the sadness and longing in relationships. Heart Stings = Pulled.

‘I’m Pretty Sure I Wasn’t Your First Choice/I Think I Was The Last One Remaining.’

Holy Crap Balls I’m stinging for this new album!

The Hold Steady – Rock Problems

It’s not even Christmas, and yet here we are, gifted with yet another shiny new track from The Hold Steady‘s not-even-birthed-yet LP Heaven Is Whenever.

Check out Rock Problems, then fight amongst yourselves over who loves it more.

Heaven Is Whenever is due for release on 4th May 2010.

The Hold Steady – Hurricane J

Hurricane J, the new single from The Hold Steady pretty much just made me tingle all over. It’s a more musical version of events this time round, but the same sense of regret, sadness and longing is still there. A new anthem for a new album. Rad.

My appetite is officially whetted.

Heaven Is Whenever is due out May 4th. Till then, I’m going to be listening to Hurricane J on repeat.

The Hold Steady open up about ‘Heaven Is Whenever’

With the release of their 5^th studio album Heaven Is Whenever mere months away, Tad Kubler and Craig Finn of Brooklyn band The Hold Steady, got a little off their chests about the golden egg they are currently sitting on.

Here’s some of what they had to say about it:

Guitarist Tad Kubler:

“I think this is a much more dynamic record than anything we’ve done. I feel as though the last four records, with the exception of the odd track here and there, have been pretty much loud rock albums. This record doesn’t feel as dense. It feels more spacial.

“I feel like this record is pretty evocative from a musical standpoint. There’s a lot more melody. It’s more sonically diverse and dynamically expansive than any of our previous records.

“I think this is a guitar heavy record. But I would NOT say this is a heavy guitar record. There are a lot of guitar tracks on this album. But I tried to vary the way I played each take. Switch up the amp/guitar combination. Change the tone somewhat drastically. Use a capo to alternate chord structures. Use alternate tunings.

“I love Boys and Girls and Stay Positive. But they have a very similar feel and sound. I wanted to make sure this one was not only unique, but that it seemed the next logical step in the progression of the band.”

Vocalist Craig Finn:

“The lyrics speak a lot about struggle and reward. It’s about embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. I think that some of the characters from old records are there, but I don’t name them by name. I think it continues to examine the highs and lows that we’ve looked at on previous records.

“[The title] comes from a line “Heaven is Whenever / We Can Get Together”. I think it has to do with the way that love can help us rise above our modern struggles. It also speaks to how I feel about our shows, the communal aspect of the audience and performer.

Holy crap balls I’m excited about this record!

Heaven Is Whenever will be released 4^th May 2010.