Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #1 Belle & Sebastian Write About Love

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#1 – Belle & Sebastian Write About Love

If I had showed you all a jumbled up list of the 15 albums on the countdown how many of you would have automatically put this at #1 for me? A pretty high percentage, right? I mean is there a more of an album in my wheelhouse than one called “Belle & Sebastian Write About Love”? They’ve consistently been a perennial favorite of mine for *years* and when you thrown in album with this as the theme, game’s over folks. Also take into account that out of my personality traits, those such as love (obviously), nostalgia, and loyalty are constants and all those are at play here. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that even though it’s really not the best album on this list, and if I were an objective man about it this should be somewhere in the middle of the top 10 and probably not #1, it’s still at the top spot because I’m me. However, it’s still *my* list and remember…it’s called “Josh’s *Favorite* Albums” so nobody’s under the real impression this is objective.

With all that said, it’s been a bit of a wait for this disc. Their previous effort, 2006’s The Life Pursuit, is still one of my favorite albums of the past decade yet other projects slowed the pace of getting this one out. Stuart Murdoch (their principle singer and songwriter) spent much of his time in-between working on the God Help The Girl project (Which made my top list last year) and that sucked up time that could have been spent on a new B&S album so it’s understandable. So anyway, this came out in October, and I even caught them the Sunday before the album came out so timing was on my side in this case.

Okay, so let’s go over a few album highlights. Although not the single, I think the tune that caught a lot of people, and did so off guard, was the opener, “I Didn’t See It Coming” which I suppose is kind of ironic. This is so as it’s a “Sarah” song as it was written by band member Sarah Martin and she sings lead as well. She usually writes and sings songs that are well enough but the vast majority of their work is written by Stuart so she usually seems to get maybe one or two songs per album. Having said that, I think it’s brilliant and was one of my favorite album tracks of the year. Next to this tune is “I Want The World To Stop” which I had thought was going to be the first single, as it has that vibe, but has a cool 60’s-ish feel to it. It’s funny because the actually single, “Write About Love” is good tune, but hasn’t grabbed me the way these other tracks have. Music’s funny that way. Probably the biggest surprise on the album, if you’re not ready for it, is in “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John” which is a duet between Stuart and Norah Jones. It’s great. You’re getting ready to hear another song, the intro starts up, and before you know it Norah Jones is on a Belle & Sebastian album. Seems random but nice anyway. It does contain a line I think many of us can relate to who have been in and out of love. When they sing, “What a waste, I could have been your lover. What a waste, I could have been your friend.” it does hit home. Then there’s the requisite Stevie Jackson song, “I’m Not Living In The World” with its many key changes. It’s always good to hear Stevie. Exploring faith and God is the topic in “The Ghost of Rockschool” as the protagonist wakes up in the morning feeling distant from God after seeing God everywhere the previous day. It tackles the ups and downs we sometimes have with that balance between feeling God close and then not seeing Him anywhere. In “Read The Blessed Pages” it appears to be another in a line of songs about former B&S member Isobel Campbell, who abruptly left the band 10 years ago, but I read recently this isn’t the case. Regardless, it’s a tune about how you can have someone so close and intimate with you, who then unexpectedly leaves. This, obvious, can also be the case in romantic relationships as well which is why it’s emotionally effective.

Well that’s about it. I hope they don’t wait close to 5 years before the next album. I am glad to have seen them live again and hope that maybe this is the release they make it in America. Naaaaahhhhhhhh…Not going to happen but oh well. They’re lovely people who make equally wonderful music. Here are the requisite videos.

I Didn’t See It Coming

I Want The World To Stop

Write About Love

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #2 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#2 – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

I mean you all knew this was going to be on the list, right? They’re one of the few fairly mainstream-y bands I listen to, and most everyone had this disc on their top lists this year so it made sense. They’re also one of those groups that I normally immediately cite when people start claiming weird things like there’s *no* bands anyone knows that I listen to. Let’s not even bring up The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and the gang but I digress. Anyway, it had been a good three years since their previous release, the hauntingly wonderful Neon Bible, was put out and the anticipation for this album was palpable.

So with the August release of The Suburbs we got another, in a line of concept albums. Where Funeral dealt with themes surrounding loss and death among others and Neon Bible swirled with spiritual and religious backdrops, The Suburbs hits some well worn territory but they put their own unique, and powerful, spin on the topic. As you might guess it’s an album that comments on modern suburbia although more so how this landscape changes and molds its inhabitants.

After the mid-tempo title piece, “The Suburbs”, which sets the thematic stage, we blast off into single “Ready To Start” that continues the theme with the lyric, “I would rather be alone/then to pretend I feel all right.” Which, in this case, is one response to the community as is being described. In “Modern Man” we see the struggle of a man coming to the realization he may be no more than a number. He knows this isn’t right but can’t figure out how to escape the endless loop of his existence. Drawing from the Rococo movement in the song aptly titled “Rococo” is a commentary on the people of this community who pretend to be highly intellectual and artistic yet it’s nothing more than a shell devoid of originality. The topic of alienation and looking for meaning apart from the community it explored in ”Empty Room” with powerful results. The eroding of the surrounding natural life is the topic of “Half Light II (No Celebration)” in what was once the property of nature is now in the hands of bland buildings. The last proper song on the album, “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is defiant in which, despite all the flashing lights and suburban sprawl and decay, the need to run away from the madness and just live in the darkness is considered the only escape. The protagonist is told to give up their “pretentious” aspirations and just punch the clock like everybody else but that’s the last thing they want to do, and for good reason, as people aren’t meant to be mindless machines seen as numbers living in sterile neighborhoods being infected with mass alienation and that’s point of the album.

So although not the most “up” album, it’s a very big piece of social commentary that many of us can relate to, yet done in a way only they can. Because of the way in which people can relate to the subject matter, as well as the appropriate musical backdrop created, it’s effective, memorable, and one of the more important releases we’ve seen in awhile. Here are a few videos.

Ready To Start

Rococo

Empty Room

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #3 Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#3 – Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

Before I get into this album, I just have a confession to make. I absolutely fancy Laura. It’s pretty embarrassing, actually, and I’m wildly biased concerning her work. I think she’s lovely, has the voice of an angel, and everyone should listen to her music. What? I’m so glad she stumbled into my musical life earlier this year and I’ve been sharing her stuff with my friends ever since like I’m spreading the Gospel or something. Anyway, alongside Mumford & Sons (who, oddly enough, have taken to being *her* backing band on occasion. Look.) she’s been one of the spearheads of a sort of folk revival in the UK for the last few years.

I’ve been a little all over the place concerning this album for a bit. In fact it’s slowly crawled up the list recently as it really is “grower” of an album. That’s a good thing, as the songs slowly get into you, but it took me awhile. I loved her debut, “Alas, I Cannot Swim”, and have probably spent an exuberant amount of time needlessly comparing “I Speak Because I Can” unfairly to its predecessor. It is a pretty different work, if for no other reason than you can hear the maturity in her voice and the songwriting is a little more dynamic. I also was not in love with lead single, “Devil’s Spoke” just because the vibe is rather out of step with almost everything else she’s done, and it certainly (to me) feels a bit out of place on this album. This, as always, could be just me.

I read a review of this album recently which had the subtitle “Twenty is the new 347” as in her previous outing, as well as in this set, Laura always exudes the soul of someone far older than the 20 years she’s spent on the planet would suggest. The title track, “I Speak Because I Can”, gives me chills every time I hear it as you feel the struggle, longing and pain of the protagonist of the narrative. In fact, much of the album interweaves these themes although not everywhere. In “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)” we are offered with an ironically warm tribute to home and love, with certain shades thrown in. Sometimes it’s the little things as in “Hope in the Air” even though I love the song as a whole, there’s just something about her intonation when she sings “…your last serving daughter!!” that always gets me. I can’t really properly explain. The fierce independence in “Rambling Man” is interestingly juxtaposed to the dynamics of the music set to the lyric.

Anyway, I was almost tempted to jump her up another spot, but #3 I think feels right. All I know is that she’s two for two on albums and the fact that she’s not a massively popular artist is beyond me. However, I’ve said *that* before. So take in these videos and then rush out and snap up everything she’s put out. Now. Stat. I’m not kidding. Enjoy.

Blackberry Stone

Alpha Shallows

Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)

Made by Maid

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #4 Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#4 – Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz

You know who’s going to be the most surprised person that The Age of Adz is ranked this highly? Me. You see, it had been five years since Sufjan last released a full album, the *amazing* Illinois (aka Come on Feel the Illinoise!), and needless to say, the anticipation had been mounting. After all, it not only made a bunch of top ten lists of the year, it had also jumped to many top albums of the *decade* lists yet most people hadn’t head a peep from him. For awhile, I thought he was going to pull a Jeff Mangum (from Neutral Milk Hotel) and release this wonderful album and just say, “Yeah, I think I’m done writing music.” which didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. So let’s go back a few months, as I’m youtube-ing (see, it’s a verb) Sufjan and I started running into clips from the new album and had a similar reaction to many of his fans. WHAT. IS. THIS?? Gone were almost all of the instrumentation and style he had come to be known for. No banjo, no acoustic guitar, and no piano. The song seems to follow no real regular structure in spades. I heard lots of *bleeps* and *bloops* with electronic percussion and was left scratching my head thinking, “What *happened* to this guy?”

So what changed, you may ask? Here’s how *this* progression happened. October 12^th, the album is released. Sometime in late November I decide, “*Sigh* I might as well just get it.” And I kid you not, within a day of listening to it, really giving an honest chance for the first time, I distinctly remember thinking, “Okay. I totally get it. It’s different but it makes sense to me.” What made sense to me is that even though the instrumentation and style was different, *compositionally* it’s still totally Sufjan. Without a doubt the songs still have his unique stamp on them and I understood that. I mean on one hand my mind couldn’t wrap itself around that this was still, somehow, the same guy who wrote songs like “Chicago”, “For the Widows in Paradise, For The Fatherless in Ypsilanti”, and “To Be Alone With You” and on the other couldn’t shake these new sounds.

So I then thought that I now had to find a spot for the album. By this time, I had already put together my list so first of all, someone had to go (sorry, Fran Healy) and then I had to figure out where to put Adz. The toughest part is that it’s TOTALLY different from every other album on the list so the logical question was how can you compare this work when it’s unlike everything else? Well at first I was just going to bail out and put it around 13, then I though that since I can’t quite compare it to anything else I might as well put it in the middle at #8. That lasted until I started to grab the links and videos for it and realized how much of a connection I had drawn to this album and that *no way* was I going to put it that low. So during the last few days it slowly rose four more slots so here we are.

So where are we, and what’s with this oddly (pun intended) named album? Now Sufjan did a better job at explain the album here than I’m about to do, but I’ll give you the Cliffs Notes version. The Age of Adz (pronounced “odds” so now you get my pun) takes its thematic center around a southern folk artist and self proclaimed prophet name Royal Robertson. In fact, all the artwork used throughout the packaging (including the cover) are all of Royal’s work. Royal had visions, and created artwork, that often featured the apocalypse, spaceships, aliens, and loads of other like allusions. I don’t need to tell you that was almost assuredly a paranoid schizophrenic. Most of his artwork almost always had some association to his ex-wife, whom he felt intimately betrayed by (as well as women in general), yet the reality is that she left for her own safety because of his mental state and in fact maintained to love him from afar. Sufjan, in part, writes this album with Royal’s mental word as the template so if the music is disjointed and all over the place at times, multilayered in other spots, and the lyrics run through cycles, it’s because this is Sufjan’s response to the art and life of Royal. The other main influence came from Sufjan’s life as well. He admitted that about a year ago he had contracted a mysterious debilitating viral infection which absolutely changed his perspective on what he wanted to do creatively next. Instead of following his regular artistic path of writing long form narratives, he instead switched to focusing on sounds, mood, creating a more physical and visceral response to music, which flipped everything on its head and in the story and in the art of Royal, he found a template to do that in a cohesive manner.

As for the individual songs, I love the first half of this album and then, for me, it gets a bit hit or miss either in totality or in parts for some of the tunes. Things start off with “Futile Devices” which is the only song on the set that is somewhat like his older stuff. For awhile I couldn’t figure out why he’d start off with a song that’s almost a tease for those wanting to hear an album more along the lines of the older style. It then occurred to me that Futile Devices is kind of the last gasp of “normality” before descending into the broader themes, as previously explained, of messiness, loss, jumbled emotions, paranoia, and the like. I think this holds we see towards the end of the closer “Impossible Soul” him lyrically pulling out of the bog and then musically it ends somewhat back to this territory. So from bookend to bookend we see a story arc unfold.

That’s the album in a macro sense whereas we also see in the title track, “The Age of Adz” he does almost the entire album in a micro sense as these themes get tossed around with multilayered instrumentation in some spots juxtaposed with minimal bits sometimes immediately succeeding. This was actually the first track on the “new style” that grabbed me as it just slams you right in the face with this almost menacing, march like, musical idea and never lets go. In “Too Much” I think we get the closest to a something resembling a single in this style, at least it’s the one he’s playing on the late night circuit, although it gets muddied throughout. The song that gets to me personally, more than any other song released this year, is “I Walked” which, and I’ll spare you the details, is one that completely encapsulates Josh circa 2007 and things I was thrust into navigating through. Good thing this album didn’t come out back them else I would have been a total puddle of mess. *ahem* Anyway, “Now That I’m Older” is one of those pieces Sufjan does very well in which he blends pure voices and sound with a lyric that coveys how it can feel to be acutely aware of one’s mortality. During the second have we see some more of these themes of loss and confusion with tracks like “Get Real Get Right” which is a statement to see just that happen, “Bad Communication”, and “I Want To Be Well” among a few others. For reasons I still don’t understand, I’ve woken up on more than one occasion recently with “Vesuvius” stuck in my head. The album ends on the aforementioned 25 minute long “Impossible Soul” which, ultimately, rights the ship lyrically in terms of pulling out of things. It also has a spot with a liberal amount of auto-tune thrown in and I don’t know how I feel about that but oh well.

Okay so even though this is by far the most I’ve had to say about any of the albums on the list, it didn’t make #1. It’s a little bloated in spots and I lose interest in a few of the tracks in portions but worse things could be said. It’s by far the most ambitious album on the list and just his courage to throw aside much of what made him well known is commendable. It’s a disc of real heart, even with lots of electronic flourishes and beeps, with a genuine soul dealing with emotions and tops most of us had to work through, so there are universals at play even if the terrain can socially feel foreign. I implore any of Sufjan’s fans to toss aside all preconceptions and give this one an honest listen. I think you’ll thank me later. Here are the requisite videos:

Futile Devices

Age of Adz

I Walked

Too Much

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #5 She & Him - Volume Two

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#5 – She & Him – Volume Two

Where to begin with these two? Well the obvious is that this is one of the rare musical projects in which random actor/actress tries to make music…and it’s shockingly good. 99% of the time these projects are really quite myopic and ill-advised (reference every athlete who’s tried a music career) but in this case the results through two albums have been pleasant and enjoyable. Oh but before I forget (like I could) the actress in question is Zooey Deschanel…you know…from Elf. Kidding, she was also in…let’s see…Almost Famous, Mumford, Yes Man, (500) Days of Summer (Which I still refuse to see), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…and more. This is actually kind of problem as I’ve run across many a friend of mine who either largely dismisses them or find them overrated simply because it’s a musical act fronted by a famous actress. The contrarian in me might usually fall victim to this mindset but it doesn’t hold weight. I guarantee you that if this were some random duo from Silverlake, these same people would love them. Anyway and *ahem* Okay the Him in this band is M. Ward, who has carved out a nice career of his own as a rather respected indie artist for years. In addition to his solo career, and this project, he also was apart of the indie super group, Monsters of Folk, which released a great album last year.

All that aside, I think if I were to have purely done this list based on plays, this album would have ruled. I obviously never skip one of these songs when they come on my library as the play count is pretty impressive. The songs are light, but not flimsy, nostalgic without being too schlocky, with an ease that actual made for a perfect summer album this year. Album opener, “Thieves” meanders and shimmers on in to get things started and it immediate grabs you. In fact, they do a very good job with hooks on the album, so it’s earworm city. Lead single, “In The Sun” is catchy late 60’s pop and the video is a total send-up of Briteny Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” which doubles the win. The staccato piano in “Don’t Look Back” is perfect for the song and always gets me. I also can’t resist the ode to California and “Home” as a concept in “Home”. And geesh, I could go on, but you get the idea. Great tunes across the board and I really recommend this album (and this duo) if you are looking for something with lovely vocals, a 60’s-ish vibe, and general…awesomeness. Here are a few videos.

Thieves

In The Sun

Don’t Look Back

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #6 Codeine Velvet Club - Codeine Velvet Club

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#6 – Codeine Velvet Club - Codeine Velvet Club

First off. Worst. Band name. Ever. Okay, now that I got that off my chest, here’s an intro to Codeine Velvet Club. As with Slow Club (The “Club” thing is just a coincidence. I think.), this is one of those album released in the UK in 2009 but didn’t get here until the spring of 2010 so I’m counting it. But anyway, CVC was a side project from Fratellis front man, Jon Fratelli. Their sound is basically the Fratellis + jazz band. Sorta. Oh but you might not know The Fratellis. Right. You know, they did that song that was in this iTunes commercial from a few years ago. That solves that.

No but seriously, their debut, 2006’s Costello Music, is one of my favorite releases of the past five years and they did put out a good number of great singles. Too bad the 2008 follow-up, Here We Stand, was a bit of a letdown but such is the sophomore slump. But with songs like “Chelsea Dagger”, “Henrietta”, “Whistle For The Choir”, and I could keep on going, they had quite the output. Point is, there was a lot to like from this band and then…nothing. Then one day it comes out that Jon’s now fronting a new band that also features a female vocalist (Lou Hickey), so I was intrigued.

So with the run-up, how’s the new stuff, you may ask? It’s still painfully apparent that they are mostly Jon’s songs, just with a twist as not only are Lou’s vocals, which appear in almost all of the songs as either the lead or providing harmonies, but lots of mini-horn sections as well to put a stamp on this being more than just “The Fratellis 2” which is a good thing. It’s not bad to step away and try out something a little different and that is the case here. Anyway, both lead singles, “Vanity Kills” and the follow-up “Hollywood” are absolutely stunning, and two of my favorites from this year. Jon has a wonderful knack for melody and hooks like almost nobody else and Lou’s vocals add a dimension not found in The Fratellis.

Anyway, this would normally be where I’d say I’m looking forward to their next album but by this past summer Jon had already moved on to a proper solo career as he not only gave the axe to CVC but also said that The Fratellis are on indefinite hiatus. Oh well, we still this gem of an album. Enjoy a few videos.

Hollywood

Vanity Kills

Reste Avec Moi

Little Sister

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #7 Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#7 – Broken Bells – Broken Bells

Before you start thinking I get all my album from recommendations, here’s one that needed no help from an outside source. I had been excited about the Broken Bells album for awhile and it was one of the releases this past year I had circled on my virtual calendar. To catch up the uninitiated, the group, as such, is really centered on the duo of The Shins singer/songwriter James Mercer and producer/multi-instrumentalist Danger Mouse. Out of that, it’s a combination of Mercer’s indie-rock sensibilities combined with Mr. Mouse’s more hip-hop leanings and makes for a compelling listen. Oh and before I forget, they were actually one of the few acts on this list I actually didn’t forget to go see live as I caught them in October at the Wiltern.

If there’s an issue I have with this set, much like the MGMT disc, is that I really don’t feel a huge connection to the songs, but I still love the sound they make. Sometimes that’s good enough. So why this high on the list, then? Much like an album yet to come, when I was going over the list I saw that the songs here had been played at an alarming rate on my iTunes library so that seemed to indicate it had gotten a lot of play in the past nine months or so and that said something to me.

As for tunes, lead single “The High Road” was everywhere for awhile and a great way to kick off the album. Even though it was pushed hard, I could never get into “The Ghost Inside” as there was just something about the falsetto thing Mercer does in it. That might be just me. I also think the three song run that ends the disc, from “October” to “The Mall and Misery”, is fantastic. Overall it’s a good album, and we’ll see if it’s just one-off or if more is on the way, and if you’re looking for an album to throw on for almost any occasion, you won’t be disappointed. Here are a few videos.

The High Road

Vaporize

The Mall and Misery

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #8 Slow Club - So, Yeah

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#8 – Slow Club – So, Yeah

Okay so before I begin, I have to cut all you Slow Club purists out there who are just about to blurt out, “Yeah yeah, yeah, but So, Yeah came out *last* year, Josh.” with this…first of all, it’s *my* countdown and second of all, the American release of the album didn’t happen until *this* year (I even purchased my physical copy at Amoeba at the “New Release” section) so Yanks like me weren’t clued in until its domestic issue so shove it…*Ahem* So there’s my preamble.

Anyway, this album was one of those I randomly stumbled upon while looking through new releases earlier this year (See? New releases. This year.). This then always makes me wonder what albums and artists I’ve missed out on because it’s not a habit I always fall into. It’s kind of a shame and my head would implore if I pondered that any more than I will for the moment. Anyway, they’re (Charles and Rebecca) a lovely folk-ish duo from Sheffield, England who make very earnest songs of love and loss, in the fine tradition that it is.

The first of these tracks that grabbed me was “When I go”, which ponders when one might find the one and if they’ll hold their hand…when they go. It’s the kind of sentimental schlock I’m mental for. It’s funny because the second track is called “Giving Up On Love”, so it’s not all chocolate boxes and roses (Pulp reference. Just seeing if you’re paying attention). Although I know that a number of my friends who I roped into them really took to “It Doesn’t Have to be Beautiful” as well it’s accompanying video, which, if really done in one take, is quite impressive. “There Is No Good Way To Say I’m Leaving You” always gets to me because we’ve all been there, on one side of the conversation or the other. Oh and even though it was on the bonus disc, “Christmas TV” plays on those moments when you’re looking for connection, you may have found it, but circumstances may say otherwise.

It’s a sentimental and nostalgic, and sometimes brutal, look at life, love, loss, transition, and relationships with gently strummed guitars and swimming harmonies and fine first release. I’m looking forward to see where they’ll go from here and since it’s technically been a bit since this album was recorded, I’m hoping we see a new set soon enough.

When I Go

It Doesn’t Have To Be Beautiful

There Is No Good Way To Say I’m Leaving You

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #9 MGMT – Congratulations

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#9 – MGMT – Congratulations

I actually had no motivation for picking this album up for a long time. I wasn’t a fan. I wasn’t really captured by anything they had done until this point, other than getting Kids stuck in my head for weeks at a time. So what changed, you may ask? Well one of my friends from church had asked if I had heard it and almost casually mentioned that it’s as if Syd Barrett were fronting a band today. Well why didn’t you say so? Of course I’ll get it. Seeeeeee? That was easy.

Now having said all that is this really the case? Not entirely but I would buy that a song like Song for Dan Treacy could very well be a long lost Syd tune so the comparison isn’t entirely without merit. In fact, the entire album is a psychedelic adventure and quite a turn from their more dance oriented fair from its predecessor. I really enjoy everything on the disc, but there *is* one problem. I just can’t get emotionally invested in ANY of these songs. I’ve really tried and lyrically I just don’t get pulled in. That’s probably just me. I just don’t know what most of the songs are about. Anyway, I will say I love the sound they’ve made, it’s ambitious in places (especially the 12 minute long Siberian Breaks), and the chord progressions and sounds all fit in perfectly. It’s a great sound escapade for your ears.

The album does work, it’s tight, has a singular musical vision that doesn’t let up and I can put in on for most occasions. As with most artists, don’t get stuck on the fact that they wrote “so and so” song but if you take the leap, it’s worth it. Here are the requisite videos.

It’s Working

Song for Dan Treacy

Brian Eno

Congratulations

Josh's Favorite Albums of 2010: #10 Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away

Josh’s Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2010

#10 – Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away

I first met Josh though my friend Caryl (it sounds like I’m already slipping into some kind of third person) early last year. I did see him live shortly thereafter and I’ve slowly gotten most of his albums. So when I randomly saw he had a new release earlier this year, I pounced. It took me a little time to get into this particular album, although I think part of that reason was that at the time I had purchased a lot of new music and I was having a hard time making time for Josh. That was silly.

I think in short time this could (*could*) be my favorite release but the guy. It’s lyrically tremendous as he weaves stories, offers songs of hope, and doesn’t repeat himself. Early in arrears we get The Curse, which is an odd sort of love story. It’s told from the point of a view of a mummy who is unearthed by and archeologist and their travels across the world. I’ve included the video below and it’s great provided marionettes don’t creep you out. Lantern is a simple song of looking for faith and asking someone (God, maybe, although he never explicitly states as such) to be his light in a turbulent and chaotic world. Another New World almost feels like the centerpiece of the album. At almost 8 minutes it’s certainly the longest of the set and it’s a strong, if unconventional, narrative. It’s the tale of an explorer traveling alongside his trusted companion, his ship, and how their relationship changes over time. I really relate to See How Many Was Made as it speaks to where I’m personally at as it’s an affirmation that we aren’t meant to live alone.

Anyway it’s a contemplative, rich, layered, and complex set filled with emotional ups and days and so maybe he’s just reflecting on how our lives mirror this ebb and flow. I really recommend this set and to get you started, here are a few videos.

Change of Time

The Curse

Lantern

Another New World