SCQ's Top Thirty Albums Of 2010

Every few years we get an anticipated release schedule that looks positively monolithic in scope, where the who’s-who of the indie kingdom and the hottest buzz-bands all have records due out within the same twelve-month span. In the case of Skeleton Crew Quarterly’s specific tastes, 2010 was quickly construed as a déjà-vu of another epic year in music: 2007. Not only did this second-coming mark the return of many 2007 success-stories (such as LCD Soundsystem, Deerhunter, The National, and Arcade Fire) but it also exposed a covert shift in SCQ’s key interests.

In league with some of 2007’s aforementioned class that graduated to stardom, 2010 also established a line-up of releases from artists who’ve taken Skeleton Crew Quarterly’s #1 Album prize in past years. Ryan Adams, who bested SCQ’s 2005 list with Cold Roses, called off retirement to drop Orion and III/IV while the likes of Arcade Fire and Electric President each followed up excellent sophomores (which took SCQ’s Best Album honour in 2007 and 2008, respectively). Then there are returning favourites who’ve narrowly missed the top spot: Broken Social Scene, Deerhunter, The Walkmen, Crystal Castles, Pete Yorn, Matthew Dear, Los Campesinos!, Royksopp…

I’ll end the list there because, curiously, I’m only getting further off topic. None of those acts’ releases made SCQ’s list this year; a solemn fact that speaks to either the quality of their work or, more often than not, the changing tastes of Skeleton Crew Quarterly. Instead, 2010 ushered in a new decade with flurries of fresh, unexpected artists, many of them dedicated to genre-splicing on a far more subtle level. You’ll still see some familiar faces from the SCQ Archive but, make no mistake, this year belongs to the new class.

Happy Holidays and thanks so much for reading/emailing. It has been a great first year here in Ottawa, surrounded by amazing music and all of you regular Skltnz. I appreciate you checking in more than you know.

Until January...

Love SCQ

#30 Album Of 2010: Swim - Caribou

Swim

Caribou
Merge Records.

Original SCQ Review

Electronic music entered 2010 with a sense of sophistication on the heels of anticipated records by Four Tet and The Sight Below, each boasting a refined, stately veneer. Now there’s nothing wrong with an exacting and textural approach – that is, as long as you haven’t heard Swim. Utilizing the same four-by-four dance beats that inspired There Is Love In You and It All Falls Apart, Caribou (Dan Snaith) had more of a challenge in mind than simply restraining his natural impulses, instead choosing to force euphoric dance rhythms into his uncompromising safari of frantic wood-winds and percussion spasms.

The resulting Swim reinforces just how Snaith is living up to his potential, slipping his most psychedelic and charming Caribou-attributes of yore into the dancefloor’s groovy fray. As with previous releases, Snaith knows when to dash forward and when to take a breather, as heard by his clever distribution of tight, vocal-driven pop tracks (‘Found Out’, ‘Odessa’) and cavernous, freeform rides into the unknown (‘Bowls’, ‘Sun’). More than just an irresistible piece of pop-art, Swim deserves recognition as Snaith’s most consistent album since Up In Flames.

#29 Album Of 2010: Subject To Shift - Solvent

Subject To Shift

Solvent
Ghostly International.

Original SCQ Review

In case you missed it, a real highlight from SCQ’s year-end interview series caught up with Solvent (Jason Amms) and his early 80s minimal-synth obsession. His dedicated exploration of the period is completely worth checking out, if not to buff-up on some awesome underground records than to understand the fertile inspiration behind Solvent’s sinister Subject To Shift.

At a time when both mainstream and indie cultures are mining what’s fresh and left from the waning 80s, Subject To Shift massages the zeitgeist with a technical respect but a futurist’s approach. Maybe I’ve been bombarded with too much retro-synth music this year, but Subject To Shift feels entirely present, not locked in analogue nostalgia or even capsulated in 2010. ‘Don’t Forget To Phone’ and ‘Loss For Words’ may invite comparisons spanning a solid twenty years, calling to mind Depeche Mode and Postal Service, respectively, but these pillars merely time-check what is otherwise a cultural vacuum of spaced-out, infectious electronic songwriting. Among the best releases on Ghostly International this year, and that’s saying a lot.

#28 Album Of 2010: Sleep Forever - Crocodiles

Sleep Forever

Crocodiles
Fat Possum Records.

Original SCQ Review

Somehow I didn’t see it at first, that nebulous grave luring children toward the brink. “You created me. Get in,” its darkness beckons, promising secrets one can never understand in the comforts of their parents’ living-room. Kids don’t typically hang out in cemeteries unless they’ve experienced death first-hand, but these kids stand undeterred as if they’ve already lost a precious piece of their youth. Nothing about these children, or the hole they’re digging, suggests that they’re the type to believe that when people die, they’re just sleeping forever.

That naïve mentality lurks around the comatose ambience Crocodiles harness on this sophomore, fleshing out their garage impulsiveness with a pristine echo that shapes these riffs in new, more resonant ways. And it’s almost as easy to miss initially, its cosmic bottomless end no clearer than Sleep Forever’s graveyard plot. The riffs are stellar, Crocodiles’ choruses rouse all kinds of ecstatic, testosterone-based feelings, but it’s the electronic cracks between these rock-slabs that offer its pomp (‘Billy Speed’) and restraint (‘All My Hate and My Hexes Are For You’).

There’s a lot of wonder hidden inside Sleep Forever, and it works best when compounded with Crocodiles’ swaggering defiance against all of those zines that scheduled their destruction. Suitably, Sleep Forever boasts experience beyond Crocodiles’ age.

#27 Album Of 2010: The Creatures In the Garden Of Lady Walton - Clogs

The Creatures In the Garden Of Lady Walton

Clogs
Brassland Records.

Original SCQ Review

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one streaming The Creatures In the Garden Of Lady Walton on Spinner in mid March and lacking the words to describe how I felt about it. Initial turn-offs included Shara Worden’s beautiful vocals, which rung as polarizing to someone lacking classical sensibilities, and the record’s concept, which was difficult to overlook even if you neglected its details. Yet its quiet brass humming over those National-esque guitar-progressions, dipped in morning dew, and special-guest vocalists (Matt Berninger, Sufjan Stevens, and eventually, Shara Worden) kept me enraptured.

Now I couldn’t omit a single track or contribution. The concept remains a vague one but intentionally on my part, as every orchestral lull and climax exists to score my own headphone-daydream… where the lives and loves of thicketed creatures not only parallels our own, but can be even more breathtaking.

#26 Album Of 2010: Skit I Allt - Dungen

Skit I Allt

Dungen
Mexican Summer Records.

Original SCQ Review

For three consecutive nights in September, I sat down on my floor and spun Skit I Allt twice like a child trying to understand the mysteries of nature. The results were similar; where the experience failed to decode Dungen’s secrets, it made up for by hugging these songs into a smooth, satisfying whole.

It’s hard to know how to react the first time you hear opener ‘Vara Snabb’; it’s as though some new-age flutist joined forces with a stoner-metal act trying to clean up their act. Ultimately, the initial feeling that washes over the unsuspecting listener – that realization of complete musical geek-dom – is hardly even understood so early into Skit I Allt, but Dungen give us the full tour over the following half-hour. The 70s Kraut-rock of ‘Brallor’, the Cars-like guitar-pop of the title track, the complete freak-out that embodies the latter half of ‘Hogdalstoppen’; every lush and noise-riddled stop along Dungen’s set tips at Skit I Allt’s emotional rocks (‘Min Enda Van’ and ‘Marken Lag Stilla’). All of its jazz and lounge-oriented turns sound very lived-in, providing further depth to the Swedish band’s trademark psych-rock passages.

#25 Album Of 2010: Black Noise - Pantha du Prince

Black Noise

Pantha du Prince
Rough Trade Records.

Original SCQ Review

Sheer size acts as the greatest challenge of a Pantha du Prince record, with Hendrik Weber typically dueling against the compact disc’s maximum run-time during the scaffolding of his epic full-lengths. Beyond the commitment of digesting such a prolonged statement, I find his LPs taxing because they rarely own their size, sometimes growing so bloated they disorient the listener’s association of time and space. Though occasionally thrilling, This Bliss was overlong and Black Noise follows a similarly foggy path: starting strong, getting lost, then finishing stronger. Admittedly, my navigation systems fail somewhere between ‘A Nomad’s Retreat’ and ‘Satellite Snyper’, although I only regain my bearings because ‘Behind the Stars’ was so flagrantly recorded as a one-off before the majority of the LP.

So Black Noise loses its anchor midway through, but it’s a charming limbo to dwell in between two devastating bookends; opening couplet ‘Lay In a Shimmer’ and ‘Abglanz’ show a flurry of electronic ideas in motion while closing tracks ‘Welt Am Draht’ and ‘Es Schneit’ push into more heartfelt terrain with the odd hint of shoegaze afoot. Only a handful of artists were capable of updating the tenets of IDM into the current electronic landscape this year, and no one accomplished this better than Pantha du Prince.

#24 Album Of 2010: New Love - Former Ghosts

New Love

Former Ghosts
Upset the Rhythm Records.

Original SCQ Review

Fleurs bundled a number of firsts into its synth-pop opus, introducing Freddy Ruppert’s cathartic bellow, Nika Danilova’s authoritative wail and some of the most reverb-laden, self-destructive pop songs I’d ever heard. Although that element of surprise isn’t as evident or rewarding this time around, New Love’s quiet upgrades develop ultimately richer. Some refinements have been made; electronic backbones render sleeker confessions out of ‘Until You’re Alone Again’ and ‘Winter’s Love’, while even the harsher emotions of ‘Taurean Nature’ go down easier without the claustrophobic lid of reverb the trio once depended on. Match glossier arrangements with some new talent – Yasmine Kittles of Tearist – and New Love recreates a series of firsts that again benefits the whole.

#23 Album Of 2010: High Violet - The National

High Violet

The National
4AD Records.

Original SCQ Review

My friend recently told me I was being too hard on High Violet, and he has a point. On a song-by-song basis, High Violet lives up to every other National record worth mentioning, not to mention, for god’s sake, it received the third-highest SCQ Rating of all 2010 releases! So where did I turn the critical corner on the National, outside of course from the hype machine of bloggers and fanboys who deemed High Violet the greatest album ever/flavour of the month?

At the time of review, I believed these songs were beginning to interact, grouping into a greater musical conversation that the best albums do instinctively. That never really happened in the end, making my ecstatic review a week or two premature, but I hardly regret it. High Violet, for my money, remains as powerful a listening experience as Boxer was, substituting that 2007 effort’s skeletal boasting for orchestral advocacy. Songs like ‘Sorrow’ and ‘Conversation 19’ remain every bit as biting and moody, with expert rhythms and confounding, write-on-the-wall lyrics. Their words just don't say anything greater when lumped together.

#22 Album Of 2010: III/IV - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

III/IV

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
Pax Am Records.

SCQ Rating: 84%

I guess we can now rule out what RockNRoll might’ve sounded like had Ryan Adams been sober. That’s but the first of many quiet epiphanies that reconfirm the oft-questioned brilliance of Mr. Adams over the course of III/IV. Another satisfying surprise – for anyone who never had the chance to see them live – is that the faded-jean-and-cowboy-boot adorned Cardinals moonlight as a tight rock band.

As Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ second double-record, III/IV reportedly follows up the creative force’s first – the dual discs-as-chapters of 2005’s Cold Roses. It’s a suspicious sequel that only Hollywood could rationalize; sure, the Cardinals weren’t credited on Easy Tiger, but introducing a sequel to Cold Roses here in 2010 only further marginalizes the Cardinals’ contributions to inbetween-y records like Jacksonville City Nights and Cardinology. Whatever, this is Ryan-Adams-logic and none of these semantics matter once the first few cuts of III/IV have buzzed through your speakers.

Good thing, too, because this debut release from Adams’ own Pax Am Records is more of a reboot than a sequel. The alt-country band has set aside their musings on mortality for upbeat rock songs about relationships at war. Also, in Adams’ sole notion of an overarching narrative: the battle to stay sober. Adams’ then-recent abstinence from the bad shit isn’t the only giveaway to III/IV’s archival status, as ‘Dear Candy’ is Easy Tiger’s ‘Two’, only rigid and with completely different lyrics. ‘Lovely and Blue’, which temporarily streamed in early 2007, also appears, but carbon-dating their lineage – as opposed to pointing out the B-side status in tracks like ‘Numbers’ or ‘Icebreaker’ – enables my super-fan compulsion to rewrite his discography, to understand how the best cuts from III/IV were sidelined in favour of Cardinology’s uneven anthems.

Many of these highlights appear on the first disc (III, then?), with the melodic lead and sharp rhythm of ‘Wasteland’ setting the tone for latter tunes to relax (‘Happy Birthday’, with its smirking honesty) or react (on the heavy riffs of ‘Kisses Start Wars’). On the merits of those two tracks, it’s worth noting something that will no doubt thrill that dude who still pollutes every message-board with questions about Adams’ age-old Is This It? cover-album: there’s a lot of quality Strokes influences happening here. Even when the second disc threatens to derail into stoner-metal madness, tracks like ‘Star Wars’, ‘P.S.’ and ‘My Favorite Song’ instill the Strokes’ casual swagger in a way that always came natural to Adams.

Quiet epiphanies, yes, they’re everywhere. Contrasting Cardinology’s most exhausted spare parts, let’s hope we see more of this invigorated Adams soon.

#21 Album Of 2010: The Violent Blue - Electric President

The Violent Blue

Electric President
Fake Four Records.

Original SCQ Review

Remembering The Violent Blue’s roots as a humble B-sides project almost seems like mythology now. Those early considerations of throwing a group of misfit tracks from the Sleep Well sessions onto the internet, whenever lead songwriter Ben Cooper (1) had the time, (2) finished recording a few parts, (3) properly mixed it all, (4) added a couple extra songs, and, finally, (5) reclassified it as a full-length follow-up and found it a label.

The material deserved such due process and delivers after such a prolonged waiting period. Vapours of the somber synth-party that gave Sleep Well its funereal elegance remain here (‘Circles’ and the title track), yet just as many tracks adapt to more organic surroundings. The acoustic-driven sentiments of ‘Safe and Sound’ lift Electric President’s eerie palette whereas ‘All the Distant Ships’ stomps in decidedly heavier pastures, its distorted verses contrasting beautiful, brief moments of clarity.

It’s only worth remembering this record’s B-side-worthy beginnings to put in perspective why The Violent Blue doesn’t take any permanent steps forward. Half rooted in Sleep Well’s nightmare and otherwise fleshing out Cooper’s “love-letter to the sea”, The Violent Blue is a thematically torn sister-album merging the past and present. This partial limbo may not benefit the record after the distinctly progressive showings of Electric President’s previous two LPs, but that doesn’t prevent the band from sounding nearly as brilliant standing still.

#20 Album Of 2010: Swanlights - Antony & the Johnsons

Swanlights

Antony & the Johnsons
Secretly Canadian Records.

Original SCQ Review

It was fitting to pull open the curtains, one morning after receiving Swanlights in the mail, to see an unexpected snowfall covering my view. Ever since investing myself in I Am a Bird Now back in November of 2005, Antony and the Johnsons’ work has exclusively complimented the isolated grip of winter, onwards to Another World EP, The Crying Light, etc.

As traditional as Antony’s presence is around this time of year, it’s something of a game-changer that Swanlights gives off some promising spring vibes; the fresh-faced ‘Thank You For Your Love’ emancipates ‘Fistful Of Love’’s template where elsewhere ‘The Great White Ocean’ exercise a plethora of warm and loose acoustics. That sunny disposition adds a new dimension to Antony’s typically stark surroundings, hinting at a gradual overhaul of what we’ve assumed are Hegarty’s strengths. I said it last year, when The Crying Light graduated to SCQ’s Top Albums List, that Antony can virtually sing in any style and render it completely new. If he continues to let his boundaries evaporate, there's no telling what kind of masterwork Hegarty might create.

#19 Album Of 2010: Public Strain - Women

Public Strain

Women
Flemish Eye Records.

Original SCQ Review

Confession time: my interest in Public Strain grew as soon as I witnessed its cover-art. This sepia-tinged photo of Toronto’s College Street in the golden age (completely made that up) mired in a sudden blizzard may have developed semi-tragic connotations since Women’s on-stage meltdown at the cusp of their fame, but it dutifully represents these eleven lo-fi embers that burn brightly despite being buried in snow-thick drones.

Beneath the cover art and Chad VanGaalen’s noise, however, lies a songwriting foundation that most bands would kill for. ‘Heat Distraction’ and ‘Eyesore’ play off the Shins’ casual melodies with open-ended possibilities, and the instrumentation doesn’t cruise by on those laurels. ‘Narrow With the Hall’ and ‘Can’t You See’ rely on minimalist bass hooks to explain full progressions, whereby the dangerously sharp guitars that perforate a rhythm out of ‘China Steps’ and ‘Drag Open’ are starving to get involved. It takes a resourceful band to veil their disadvantages (i.e. lack of a decent singer) into novel benefits, but that’s what Public Strain is: the smoke and mirrors over timeless pop.

#18 Album Of 2010: The Promise - Bruce Springsteen

The Promise

Bruce Springsteen
Columbia Records.

SCQ Rating: 86%

In two heartbreaking narratives that bookend this sprawling, two-disc treasure trove, the object of Springsteen’s affection – the “she” - turns out to be his ’76 Challenger. I know that notion may sound plain ridiculous and downright antiquated spelt out as such, but those listeners who’ve invested some time in The Promise know what a terrific spoiler I’ve dropped. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Springsteen’s songwriting knows that he buried the substance of his writing behind rough, blue-collar colloquialisms he grew up with, but that Challenger – yes, the one he rests against in the cover-art – is a doozy, a symbolic marker that hints at The Promise’s surprisingly tight narrative.

Planning the follow-up to his groundbreaking Born To Run but legally prevented from releasing any of it, Springsteen’s The Promise benefits from its unsure direction, taking on Phil Spector-ish slow-burners (‘Someday (We’ll Be Together)’ and peppy rockers (‘Ain’t Good Enough For You’), all the while maintaining a uniform theme of the approaching night - whether going out or staying in. Maybe that’s the darkness on the edge of town; that calm before the phone starts ringing and the rendezvous get penned down. Maybe this is where Springsteen surrendered the last of his glory days.

#17 Album Of 2010: Admiral Fell Promises - Sun Kil Moon

Admiral Fell Promises

Sun Kil Moon
Caldoverde Records.

Original SCQ Review

Mark Kozelek’s universe reads as plain and traditional on paper, his M.O. being elegantly strummed ballads, usually acoustic. His discography under such casual lens may not even sound distinctive enough to be warranted its own universe… but anyone who has met a Sun Kil Moon fan knows differently. Over a series of releases split indeterminately under his birth-name and Sun Kil Moon moniker, Mark Kozelek has etched a new form of songwriter record out of his unique strengths: languid and lengthy, serene and reflective. And with each full-length tablet, Kozelek has refined his focus, gradually isolating his crunchy Crazy Horse styled arrangements to delicate one-man acoustics.

That’s where Admiral Fell Promises finds Kozelek, alone with his nylon-stringed muse over ten compositions that expertly showcase his careful contrasts and classical influences. Such restraint, while initially difficult to sit through, eventually proves worthy of any other Sun Kil Moon listening environment; the detailed folk of ‘You Are My Sun’ and the title track sympathetically evoke quiet thoughts while ‘The Leaning Tree’’s curious turns keep us spellbound. It’s anyone’s guess where Kozelek plans to go next, what with Admiral Fell Promises pared down as much as possible, but records so lovely don’t look too far ahead. Sometimes it’s enough just to enjoy the moment.

#16 Album Of 2010: All Delighted People EP - Sufjan Stevens

All Delighted People EP

Sufjan Stevens
Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Original SCQ Review

That isn’t The Age Of Adz’ artwork looming above and, no, it isn’t a mistake. At least I don’t think it is; as someone who continually supports his favourite artists to branch out into the great unknown and take chances with their artistic identity, I instinctively worried I’d shortchanged Stevens’ electronic-addled October release. That isn’t the case, though.

All Delighted People EP would have various factors working against its entry into a year-end list as heavily edited as Skeleton Crew Quarterly’s if it hadn’t been composed by Sufjan Stevens. Sure, its EP status erroneously quells the expectation of a real statement – even if it’s an hour long - and it includes two versions of its title track, but Stevens imparts more substance into this matinee release than all of The Age Of Adz’ flashing-bulbs combined. Venturing toward the extremes of both songwriting poles, Stevens lays his most epic (‘All Delighted People’) and restrained (‘The Owl and the Tanager’) tracks together, the adventurous, electro-tinged ‘From the Mouth of Gabriel’ nestled next to ‘Heirloom’’s familiar folk.

Such disconnected variety, coupled with the way he dropped All Delighted People EP off at the internet’s doorstep that sunny Friday in August, suggests a middle-of-the-road release, and it’s easy to hear Stevens reaching out in the dark for new territory to conquer. As more than just a precursor for Age Of Adz’ new path, though, All Delighted People’s tracks hang together well, unbalanced at first but merging into an emotional song-cycle.

It’s good that Sufjan made The Age Of Adz; whether it succeeded or not (and oh it has), the left-turn will benefit his career. But All Delighted People EP is better.

#15 Album Of 2010: Heligoland - Massive Attack

Heligoland

Massive Attack
Virgin Records.

Original SCQ Review

Released seven years to the day after 100th Window, Heligoland offered ten tracks, just under an hour’s worth of music, in response to years of false starts, rumoured recording sessions, band members cycling through the collective’s revolving door and tons of speculation in need of closure. Many critics who no doubt expected a triple record out of Heligoland in order to appease such an unforgiveable time-lapse found flaws to defend their disappointment. Some, like Pitchfork, reasoned that the record is too “gloomy” as if Mezzanine wasn’t intentionally leading somewhere, and most criticisms have read like empty posturing for a preemptive backlash.

There are real flaws here, although they offer more than they take away. Having been constructed over so many sessions and with an array of side-talents, Heligoland plays out like a compilation – or, a greatest hits - from Massive Attack’s lengthiest disappearing act to date. So although it’s a bit unsettling to hear Guy Garvey of Elbow croon over an experimental track and never return, his presence ultimately leaves a deeper mark on this material than had Robert Del Naja taken the reigns as he did with 100th Window.

For those like myself who hardly expected Massive Attack to return with anything this commanding, Heligoland felt like a lost record reemerging to shake our apathetic clock-tapping. Ten months since that February release, I recognize the novelty of a new Massive Attack album only bridged my will-this-suck hesitation toward full-blown admiration. Damon Albarn, who agreed to steer the recording back on track by famously saying – and yes, I paraphrase – “As long as you don’t pull me into one of your nine-year-long drug hazes”, does so much right over ‘Splitting the Atom’ and the emotional ‘Saturday Come Slow’, whereas ‘Atlas Air’ remains the most insidious beat 2010 produced. An undeclared success.

#14 Album Of 2010: Silver and Ash - Clare Burson

Silver and Ash

Clare Burson
Rounder Records.

Original SCQ Review

Amid all of the new talent SCQ stumbled across this year, I can’t think of any who deserve national attention more than Clare Burson. Burson’s songwriting is immediately likable without catering to any hooks or shortcuts. In fact, the most desirable moments on Silver and Ash rise out of tough Americana ambience, like the dirt-poor grind of distortion loitering Burson’s acoustic lilt on ‘The Only Way’ and the pedal-steel wallowing the corners of ‘Look Close’. She owns the spotlight as graciously as she shares it, trading songbird intimacy on ‘Goodbye My Love’ for the expertly arranged full-band narrative of ‘Everything’s Gone’.

Between records that immediately announce their superiority and those which repeatedly prove their worth over months at a time, I prefer the latter’s darkhorse effect. And that’s what Silver And Ash is; a mournful but pitch-perfect songwriter album always striving from behind.

#13 Album Of 2010: Total Life Forever - Foals

Total Life Forever

Foals
Sub Pop Records.

Original SCQ Review

For about half of 2010, I delayed re-posting my No Ripcord-published review of Total Life Forever because I was planning to re-write it. Not that I sounded like a complete contrarian in that write-up, but it certainly presented a reviewer still holding the record at arm’s length. For whatever reason, Foals sophomore took me months to piece together as more than a series of escalating indie-rock hooks, although now it’s difficult to dissect a single cut from its tight yet airy song-cycle.

Curiously, I now only appear a contrarian in regards to Total Life Forever’s final two cuts, which most fans have labeled as the record’s low point. For a band like Foals, who are approaching the glass ceiling as far as indie levels of accessibility are concerned, ‘2 Trees’ and ‘What Remains’ represent key opportunities to change course before they're too late (and by “too late”, I mean “Kings Of Leon”). Foals walk a tightrope in that respect, resting comfortably on a fresh sound, but Total Life Forever never caves to any strain of keeping the balance. A wonderful pop album, in part because it desires to be more.

#12 Album Of 2010: Similes - Eluvium

Similes

Eluvium
Temporary Residence

Original SCQ Review

I’ve no emo back-story or real-life anecdote to disclose: Similes is inherently difficult to talk about. What’s so intangible to its eight pieces, their murky disposition through which Matthew Cooper radiates his crystalline piano compositions, and how do they further Eluvium’s ethereal qualities when many of them take enlist vocals and verse/chorus arrangements? True beauty cannot be entirely familiar and that’s what renders Similes so devastating; even the most ear-pleasing progressions of ‘The Motion Makes Me Last’ or ‘Making Up Minds’ tightrope over a chasm of soft electronics falling by the wayside. The blur of their slow decline creates Similes' ambience, so earthy and contemplative, making each listen an introspective score for naval-gazing.

No, Similes hardly requires any emotional backdrop to resonate. Its setting, buried deep in Cooper’s thick production and vocal layers, speaks for itself but broadly welcomes us to personify it as our own. When Cooper sings “I’m a vessel between two places I’ve never been,” he’s at once pinpointing Similes limbo and luring us along with him. For forty-two minutes, Eluvium provides an alternative level of existence.

#11 Album Of 2010: This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem
DFA Records.

Original SCQ Review

It’s the perfect title for a drug album, if you’ve ever been privy to them. Drugs, I mean. Ever turn to your friend or, in the absence of a friend, shout to a passerby outside your window whether this – all this – is actually happening? If not than maybe we’re just on different wavelengths and that’s fine but This Is Happening pushes decadence toward meaninglessness and back to significance, talks itself up as uncaring but, goddamnit, it’s in love. It’s all happening, right now, and it’s as perfect as the present can be; tedious yet singular, familiar but so unpredictable. What, you wanted a hit?

#10 Album Of 2010: Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Broken Bells

Broken Bells
Sony Records.

Original SCQ Review

The first time I heard this much-hyped concoction of Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins was through a leak in early February, watching smoke waft in the pale afternoon light of a friend’s open-balcony. ‘The High Road’ was all I really took from that listen, but how that shrugging impression morphed into one of SCQ’s top records of the year would be chronicled over the following month, as online streams of Broken Bells comforted me before I marched to work amid winter’s slumber.

Was I alone in expecting an entire James Mercer / Danger Mouse collaboration to sound upbeat and slightly urban like ‘The Ghost Inside’? I don’t think I was, judging from the many dissatisfied critic and fan reviews in which each writer fought to find a different tactic of saying that something’s missing.

That “something” is jubilation, happiness, a satisfied state-of-mind that Broken Bells, as a supergroup, were entitled to thrive on the shoulders of. And this self-titled debut has its moments of relief, on the bridge of ‘Citizen’ or on the George Martin-esque symphonic close of ‘Sailing To Nowhere’. A love of the Beatles may have brought Brian Burton and James Mercer into each other’s lives but a pervasive loneliness bonds them as the cosmically disenfranchised Broken Bells. No matter how grounded or romantically devoid these ten songs are, their arrangements provide elbow room to keep searching.

#9 Album Of 2010: November, November - Horse Stories

November, November

Horse Stories
Perfect Black Swan Records.

Original SCQ Review

It’s difficult to profess what’s so appealing about this sophomore effort because Horse Stories’ Toby Burke doesn’t offer up a single misfire. No ugly guitar-lick or lazy lyrical stanza. The result of a pursuit for perfection, November, November is what survived intensive recordings that sought to strip back every unneeded layer, and as a modern folk record, it’s damned-near flawless.

That isn’t to say it’s perfect. As someone who inherently distrusts anything that settles too easily, too quickly, I’ve often been skeptical of my own admiration for Horse Stories because of its lean, impractically tuneful veneer. Yet Burke never steps foot outside of his own strict songwriting legislature and his discipline pays off handsomely. November, November may not push boundaries or challenge listeners but it isn’t pandering for hits either. A beautifully futile song-cycle that I’ll still sing along to ten, twenty years from now.

#8 Album Of 2010: New Problems - Seth Smith

New Problems
Seth Smith
Zunior.com

Original SCQ Review

“I know,” I say preemptively, hands up. “We’ve talked about this before.” How every year I get confronted with a great record that technically came out the previous year, then spend months humming over whether to include it in my year-end lists.

“This one’s different, though. Not only did I receive it at the end of 2009, when I hadn’t the time to properly hear it, but it received most of its recognition here in 2010. Toronto Star wrote it up, bloggers discovered it. Seth even re-released the record, on cassette and then 12” vinyl. Twice!”

Still, she says nothing.

So I tell her to pick the chilly late autumn day and I’ll bring New Problems to her apartment. I’ll insert the cassette into her old boom-box, and she can curl up on the couch and feel Smith’s cool vocal caress numb her in all the ways a rough quilt cannot. Each song moves so fluently or abrasively into the next, moving Smith’s lyrics from creepy to lovelorn, wilting New Problems like a full tree at the death of summer, gaining beauty, that dying radiance, then growing cold.

“Maybe you’ll catch on and feel how genius yet uncomplicated the whole affair is. Maybe you’ll see why I’m still obsessing over it a year later.”

“Yah,” she says, stickler to the end. “Or maybe I’ll get up for tea half-way through and tell you it sounds nice.”

#7 Album Of 2010: Dear God, I Hate Myself - Xiu Xiu

Dear God, I Hate Myself

Xiu Xiu
Kill Rock Stars Records.

Original SCQ Review

To paraphrase a notion of dialogue that 2005’s Capote quoted from Truman Capote: it’s as if Jamie Stewart and Sufjan Stevens grew up in the same house, only one went through the front door and the other slid out the back. Each songwriter enjoys playing conductor of their small symphonies and both hold noteworthy positions on the topics of sex and religion. Nevermind the overwhelming differences between their musical results and instead look upon how their similar focuses create perfectly opposite outcomes.

Boy that comparison’s bound to anger a lot of protective fanboys but the link would’ve never struck me had Stewart’s softer, intimate vocals not recalled Stevens over the course of Dear God, I Hate Myself. He’s still very much the confrontational, affecting songwriter we’ve always depended on Xiu Xiu for, but his violent storytelling over songs like ‘Grey Death’ and ‘The Fabrizio Palumbo Retailiation’ is communicated with such a vulnerable quiver, it deems even the LP’s most abrasive moments a cathartic bath. From the distortion-pedal rush of ‘Secret Motel’, which was recorded on a Nintendo DS, to ‘Hyunhye’s Theme’, which plays out like a dysfunctional Astral Weeks with a bunch of experimental session players improvising at will, Dear God, I Hate Myself pedestals Stewart – alongside Stevens, although completely coincidentally - as one of indie-rock’s most magnetic songwriters.

#6 Album Of 2010: Endless Falls - Loscil

Endless Falls

Loscil
Kranky Records.

Original SCQ Review

Considering how the first, oh, twenty times I listened to Endless Falls occurred during my morning walk to work – a job, let me tell you, I deplored – it’s almost unfathomable that I still admire Loscil’s latest full-length so much. I’ve often thought about those walks and how I’d regularly stroll right past the office doors to avoid being early, to avoid having to sit in that cubicle, under those lights, for a moment longer than necessary. I’d walk to the next suburban neighbourhood and hook left, imagining that my stroll was no less carefree than the retiree walking his dog or the elderly couple with parka hoods up. I tried to match their pace, knowing all the while that precious last minutes were slipping away, that eventually I’d have to turn around and march through those doors.

February’s blizzards never caused me to stray but this was different – this was spring, and the way Endless Falls bled chlorophyll and concrete-coloured puddles like thick sap in slow-motion rendered those morning minutes awe-inspiring. Tiny orbs of dew clinging to tall grass, raindrops sliding off high branches; as a witness to these events, I was a sponge soaking up all of earth’s raw data, and Loscil provided a dampened score for still-life moments you breath to the depth of your lungs.

#5 Album Of 2010: Black Sands - Bonobo

Black Sands

Bonobo
Ninja Tune Records.

Original SCQ Review

Through Trip-hop’s hazy gateway of grainy samples I found my electronic path, and yet I rarely offer the subgenre any credit. It’s no mystery as to why; like most scenes that stick staunchly to their roots, Trip-hop’s patient dynamics became predictable and thus slow to blossom. Even someone with a longstanding history of anxiety like myself rarely needs to chill-out that much.

The proximity of Black Sands to Trip-hop’s still operational hub, manned by veterans like Herbaliser and Coldcut, is marginal yet crucial to understanding Bonobo’s career in 2010. Truth is, the record is closest to its dated roots on early listens, when those decadent bass-grooves stand out in their shuffling wander down a head-nodding melody. Bonobo’s basic trajectory remains in line with Trip-hop’s pacifist mission-statement – namely to sit back and enjoy with the recreational drug of your choice – but it’s how Black Sands takes us there that sets it apart.

Black Sands’ aural terrain is humid and exotic, as if its every fluttering of strings or brass seeks to reenact some environmental breeze in our listening-space daydream. None of its reverie cheats on ambience, either; each song’s defined structure operates with an integrity that belies the atmospheres created. Proximity matters, and the journey of Black Sands feels more rooted in a foreign paradise than clear-cut geography, yet also more worldly than the bordered appeals of international music.

#4 Album Of 2010: Eyelid Movies - Phantogram

Eyelid Movies

Phantogram
Ghostly International / Barsuk Records.

Original SCQ Review

A sleeper-hit if I’ve ever heard one, Eyelid Movies has steadily amassed a loving fan-base since its quiet February release. It’s encouraging to witness, not only because the record is a nearly perfect blend of trip-hop beats and shimmering guitar, but also due to Phantogram’s incredible live shows. I mean, if all of the duo’s extensive touring this year couldn’t shake every indie-lover out of slumber, I was ready to toss in my badge.

A shadowy electro-pop album at heart, Eyelid Movies offers a bit of everything, from the gritty beat-work of ‘Running From the Cops’ and tough basslines (under gorgeous vocals, I might add) on ‘Bloody Palms’ to shoegaze-inspired flights on ‘All Dried Up’. So stunning is its variety and cohesion that I didn’t even test-listen any of it. Phantogram were courting me from the outset and, six months on, they’ve yet to ease their talons on me. Don’t be wary by its allure; Eyelid Movies is truly that easy to fall in love with.

#3 Album Of 2010: "In Evening Air" - Future Islands

"In Evening Air"

Future Islands
Thrill Jockey Records.

Original SCQ Review

While introducing Future Islands for SCQ’s year-end interview series, I made casual mention of the trio’s “intoxicating mystique”. As soon as I’d written it, I knew I’d pinpointed precisely what crushes me about “In Evening Air” and the feeling it transmits directly into my brain and limbs. Like all vital post-punk, its tense rhythms make me long for the dancefloor while J. Gerrit Welmers’ vocal-earthquakes cause me to convulse with admiration. Its combined rush defies forethought and caution in favour of primal instincts – to dance and sing, to beat your chest and declare your love and loneliness. No record on the planet related to this urge better in 2010 than “In Evening Air”.

#2 Album Of 2010: Let This Be the Last Night We Care - Alcoholic Faith Mission

Let This Be the Last Night We Care

Alcoholic Faith Mission
Paper Garden Records.

Original SCQ Review

It was a year ago right now that I was discovering Alcoholic Faith Mission’s 421 Wythe Avenue, a lush yet fragile indie-rock record, and wishing I could edit it into SCQ’s year-end list. Alas, I couldn’t; even if I was willing to make such an impulsive decision, the list had been posted days earlier. Still, the Denmark collective’s vulnerability, both lashing out and whispering patiently, had me convinced I’d hear from them again… I just figured it wouldn’t happen within four months.

Let This Be the Last Night We Care, like all great follow-ups, doesn’t demean its predecessor so much as open the floodgates 421 Wythe Avenue seemed too introverted to manage. As a result, Alcoholic Faith Mission here operates on an expansive scope, translating heartbreak and healing with a passion that’s tougher to ignore. Songs like ‘Season Me Right’ and ‘Honeydrip’ find Alcoholic Faith Mission out-performing their contemporaries (ahem, Broken Social Scene) while establishing themselves as heirs to the stadium scene. Let’s hope 2011 affords these ladies and gentlemen the recognition they deserve!

#1 Album Of 2010: Cerulean - Baths

Cerulean

Baths
Anticon Records.

Original SCQ Review

Any album truly worth remembering must have an important memory attached to its first-listen. Even if the record in question is hardly worth writing home about, even if the memory associated doesn’t mean anything yet. Sometimes, all it takes is a certain string of circumstances to elevate a mediocre albums into nostalgia-sainthood; what Cerulean did, frankly, reversed this principle.
There I was, embroiled in Ottawa’s most intense heatwave of 2010 and forced to sleep in the living room, where the balcony door offered some semblance of a breeze. Instead of air-conditioning, my apartment was heated – the kitchen counter, the bed-sheets, everything. And, two Coronas in, I accepted a promo for the sake of curiosity, for any distraction that might cool my nerves until sleep could take me.

Instead, this happened:

Listening to what is probably one of my favourite records of 2010 for the first time right now... too wonderful to believe.
10:01 PM Jul 10th via web

Will Wiesenfeld has a way of celebrating emotions that are congested, guilt-ridden and often uncomfortable. The intended recipient, the “you” in these songs, doesn’t seem aware of how he feels, whether Wiesenfeld’s communicating out in the name of love (‘Plea’) or out of frustration (‘You’re My Excuse To Travel’). Yet for all of his reaching, Cerulean at no point gets down on itself. Thick, stuttered beats pilfer any self-pity hiding behind the effect-laden piano of ‘♥’ no differently than how Wiesenfeld’s multi-tracked vocals soar defiantly against an unspoken pressure to conform or deflate.

A quiet night became triumphant on Cerulean’s shoulders, something this record has done time and time again in the six months since that first-listen. And I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t proven better with each listen.

This video will seriously scramble any first impressions...



...so I've added this one too...

SCQ's Top Fifty Songs Of 2010

What’s interesting and completely flawed about Skeleton Crew Quarterly’s annual Top 50 Songs is that none of its ranking criteria ever firms up. Unlike the meticulously drafted Top Albums list, which eventually cements its order as definitive and unwavering, these fifty songs could continue stepping over one another and switching places for all eternity. At some point you just have to post it as it lies.

Not to say that this list is completely oblivious to hierarchy. Each of the top nine songs has been there for months, even if the odd couplet switched places, and the only recent changes for the remainder involved allocating space for November’s selections.

Compared to the strenuous testing that SCQ’s Top Albums list undergoes, I enjoy how impermanent this mini-feature is. It may have looked different yesterday and, odds are, the sequencing would again change next week if I let it but this final draft operates to the best of its ability at deadline – which is now.

1. Honeydrip – Alcoholic Faith Mission
2. Welt Am Draht – Pantha Du Prince
3. In Medias Res – Los Campesinos!
4. The Motion Makes Me Last – Eluvium
5. Nightmare No. 5 Or 6 – Electric President
6. Fern And Robin – Loscil
7. Turn It Off - Phantogram
8. No Big Hope – A Weather
9. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
10. Hall - Baths
11. Standing In the Snow – Horse Stories
12. Long Flight – Future Islands
13. Magpies – Clare Burson
14. Chocolate Makes You Happy – Xiu Xiu
15. 2 Trees – Foals
16. All I Want – LCD Soundsystem
17. Your Head Is On Fire – Broken Bells
18. Twins – The Space Between Things
19. The Days Will Get Long Again – Former Ghosts
20. Atlas Air – Massive Attack
21. Soft Denial – MillionYoung
22. Wasteland – Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
23. Every Sunday – bitcrush (Winterlight Remix)
24. Min Enda Van – Dungen
25. Eyesore – Women
26. Alesund – Sun Kil Moon
27. Become What You Can’t Be – Gianna Lauren
28. Sundowning - Aqualung
29. Conversation 19 – The National
30. There Is a Wind – The Album Leaf
31. Red Sun No.5 – Owen Pallett
32. Love Is Fast (The Tragedy Of Kait Hagarty) – Grey Kingdom
33. Strange Language – New Idea Society
34. We Could Forever – Bonobo
35. Heirloom – Sufjan Stevens
36. Salt Silver Oxygen – Antony & the Johnsons
37. I Used To Do – Clogs
38. Anonymous Props – Super Visas
39. Feeling Lazy – Boy Is Fiction
40. Mountain Town – Glory Glory Man United
41. Golden Hair – Andre Obin
42. She Just Likes To Fight – Four Tet
43. Go Do - Jonsi
44. Mirrors - Crocodiles
45. Senium III – Kyle Bobby Dunn
46. Loss For Words - Solvent
47. Dream About Me – The Depreciation Guild
48. Washington – Sarah Harmer
49. Heart Of Gold – The Go Find
50. Gem – Matthew Dear

Phantogram (SCQ's Year-End Questionnaire Part I)

Eyelid Movies is among the few records in recent memory to take an overlong period of time (in this case, four years!) and then prove itself worth every minute. The brainchild of Phantogram (Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel) never overlooks or skims on a golden opportunity, and their resulting success looks likely to continue heating up over 2011. In a flash-interview, Carter and Barthel lay down the top picks and memories of a band on the rise.

SCQ: Every list-lover's favourite question: what are your top albums of 2010? Feel free to include any older yet worthy records you discovered this year.

Phantogram: Beach House - Teen Dream
Twin Shadow - Forget
Caribou - Swim
Oh No- Ethiopium
Baths- Cerulean

SCQ: What were you listening to a lot of while recording the excellent Eyelid Movies?

Phantogram: I remember listening to a lot of Snowden that year as well as Why? Madlib, and Flying Lotus. In Rainbows came out then as well and we analyzed the hell out of it.

SCQ: Be cocky for once in your life: what was the finest thing you did all year? That moment where you actually thought "shit, I nailed that..."?

Phantogram: We were pretty happy with the reviews that we got with the record. I remember opening up SPIN to check out what they gave us and was very proud to see they gave us an 8 out of 10. I grew up on reading SPIN so it was a huge honor for me.

SCQ: Effect and Cause: 'When I'm Small' first caught my attention ricocheting off of Ottawa's downtown buildings during what turned out to be the best soundcheck I've ever seen. Okay, your turn: confess a true tale that inspired one of the songs on Eyelid Movies.

Phantogram: Speaking of "When I'm Small" a lot of the metaphors we got for the lyrics were based on a rat infestation in our recording barn. They crawled all around our feet and above our heads. "Lucy" turned into being a character that was based off of a rat.

SCQ: If all the reasonable and implausible ideas in your head came to fruition in 2011, what would they be?

Phantogram: we would love to play some of the bigger well known festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella and ACL next year. We also want to get the chance to make it out to Japan and Australia. thank you!

Gianna Lauren (SCQ's Year-End Questionnaire Part I)

One of the finest releases out of Halifax this year surely belonged to Gianna Lauren, whose new record Some Move Closer, Some Move On carried inspiration like fog covering streetlights. At first, nothing in the arrangements sticks out; Lauren’s vocals seem slightly detached from the structure and most every song ponders carefully plotted turns. And then a whole world opens up, one built of restraint – a sort of smoke-and-mirrors to slowly reveal her undeniable aura. Lauren brings a lot of character to this mini-interview, describing her musical journey across Canada and the terrifying tale behind a cozy SCQ favourite. (Photo by Scott Blackburn)

SCQ: Every list-lover's favourite question: what are your top albums of 2010? Feel free to include any older yet worthy records you discovered this year.

GL: I've always had really obscure taste in music and this year's selection definitely showcases my diversity of interests. In 2010 I was really impressed by the new releases from Ariel Pink, Rae Spoon, Richard Laviolette & the Oil Spills, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, Jen Lane, Big Boi, Imaginary Cities, Liars, Circle vs. Square, Bill Frisell, Laura Veirs, Joanna Newsom, and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

I was introduced to Townes van Zandt's "Live at the Old Quarter in Houston, Texas". It has been a meaningful discovery, to say the least.

SCQ: What were you listening to a lot of while recording your excellent Some Move Closer, Some Move On?

GL: I made an eclectic record with Daniel Ledwell (In-Flight Safety, Jenn Grant) entitled Some Move Closer, Some Move On. At the time we were both listening to, and drawing inspiration from, Laura Veirs's "Saltbreakers", Midlake's "The Trials of Van Occupanter", Daniel Lanois, and Sigur Ros. We especially admired the production on recordings by Blonde Redhead and The Cardigans. You should hear Ledwell's solo stuff - it's awesome.

SCQ: Be cocky for once in your life: what was the finest thing you did all year? That moment where you actually thought "shit, I nailed that..."?

GL: Ha...that's cute. If I had to choose just one, hm...oh, kidding, This summer I toured across Canada by train, while performing on and off the train, with singer-songwriter Adam Fox aka Field Assembly (Toronto/Windsor). We were fans of each other's music from afar and spontaneously coordinated this collaborative project that would take us on the rails for one month. It was the most equally rewarding and challenging experience to date. There were a ton of awesome moments, like when we nailed a great sound, or met super interesting/strange people who we never would have met otherwise, and hanging out with friends who live all over the country....all the while witnessing the coast-to-coast scenery from the window of a train (although we DID get on and off to play city shows...it wasn't total captivity...but you could do it that way if you wanted, I suppose). It was tough at times - privacy is a rarity and you don't always have control over your own transportation or food or daily schedule. And, being attached at the hip with someone you barely know is a really wonderful way to get to know someone!

We would play a handful of 45 minute sets throughout the day in different parts of the train. Our last performance on VIA Rail between Edmonton and Vancouver was in the economy/coach section, and the train was just pulling into the Rocky Mountains. The car was packed to the edges with people who were singing and clapping along, smiling and laughing and looking out the window and genuinely enjoying the experience. It was such a pleasant surprise for everyone because the passengers were not expecting live music. Adam and I ended up meeting some of these people again at our following city shows in Vancouver and Victoria, BC.

A month gone by, everything said and done, Adam and I each took a vacation on the west coast, mostly enjoying being STILL. And, we are still good friends. I would do it all over again in a flash!

SCQ: Effect and Cause: Walking home from work listening to 'Cardigan', I realized how perfectly your songs evoke dusk. With autumn's sun setting earlier into night, everything from 'Be Nice' to 'Nightmares' stretches and casts light like downtown shadows. Okay, your turn: confess a true tale that inspired one of the songs on Some Move Closer, Some Move On.

GL: Well, it's funny you mention "Cardigan" because that little song has a big story behind it (it's also funny you mention dusk because I find dusk very stimulating). Two winters ago I moved to Halifax from Ottawa on a whim. I was intrigued by the music scene on the east coast and I knew a couple of people in the city, so that was enough for me - I packed my car and drove out. I moved into a quirky apartment above a Newfoundland grocery store with two other musicians and a visual artist. They failed to tell me that the room I would be renting had no heat. So, my second night in Halifax, I'm settling in and trying to stay warm with candles candles candles, all lit up around the room. My fuzzy gray grandfather sweater caught on fire and I went up in flames faster than the speed of light. My whole entire sweater was one big flame. It was SO SCARY. I threw myself to the ground and rolled around until the fire was gone. Even though I was pretty shaken up, I picked up my guitar and wrote "Cardigan".

SCQ: If all the reasonable and implausible ideas in your head came to fruition in 2011, what would they be?

GL: In my world or the real world? I guess they're both the same. In general, I think we'd all like to see better roads for cyclists, a sustainable industry for farmers, and cheaper ways to travel......in my immediate life I'd like to keep writing songs, collaborate more musically, introduce the populace to vegan donuts, travel south for a bit, and bring bikes to smaller communities.

Eluvium (SCQ's Year-End Questionnaire Part I)

For months I’ve tried in vain to decode Similes’ immersive qualities, what makes it so peacefully conflicted. And although the obvious answer waving to catch my attention - that the record’s emotional tide exists because of Matthew Cooper’s tireless songwriting efforts – is likely true, I preferred to believe that Eluvium’s latest was endowed with a particular set of circumstances (in the listener as much as in the songwriter) that helped it resonate so. After reading Cooper’s back-story for the Similes track ‘Weird Creatures’, however, I can’t kid myself any longer. Matthew Cooper's genius lies in his awareness of every small, earthly significance; realities that are far greater than our daily concerns. (Photo by Munaf Rayani)

SCQ: Every list-lover's favourite question: what are your top albums of 2010? Feel free to include any older yet worthy records you discovered this year.

MC: - i haven't really had much time to listen to new music this year
and it's getting a little overwhelming
but 3 releases have stood out to me thus far
Owen Pallett's "Heartland"
Arp's "The Soft Wave"
and Wild Nothing's "Gemini"
i wouldn't have expected to like something like the Wild Nothing record - but alas - it was in my car stereo for months.

SCQ: What were you listening to a lot of while recording the excellent Similes?

MC: -- i was pretty much exclusively listening to Similes - when i work on something i generally immerse myself in it.

SCQ: Be cocky for once in your life: what was the finest thing you did all year? That moment where you actually thought "shit, I nailed that..."?

MC: i'm not really a big "shit, i nailed that" kind of guy - some chickadees moved into a birdhouse i put up this past spring - i guess i was pretty pleased with myself about that - not sure why, since the birds did most of the work - - i also beat my wife at ping-pong several times over the summer... that was fun - - "finest" thing really translates to a collective of "finer" things for me - which would include reading on the back porch, riding my bike around town, and just generally soaking in the day.

SCQ: Effect and Cause: Over Easter's long-weekend, some friends and I met up in Montreal and I brought Similes, knowing that it would act as an ideal comedown record when we'd need it. Little did I know that we'd end up playing it front-to-back during the most chaotic hour of our weekend, listening carefully as each note unfurled from the speakers. Your record struck a powerful chord in each of us that night. Okay, your turn: confess a true tale that inspired one of the songs on Similes.

MC: -- there is a large tree that towers over everything across the street from my house - while writing Similes - i spent a lot of time sitting on my front porch looking at it. watching it's leaves flutter in the breeze, i would contemplate much so, eventually losing focus of everything -- usually when this happens to humans, depending on the lighting, these things called "floaters" appear in your vision, or rather, we take notice of them - my father is a neuroscientist, his focus on the eye - and i asked him what they were called - when i learned they were just simply called floaters - i was a little disappointed - i think i was perhaps hoping for something more unique and scientific sounding- i then learned that they aren't actually on the eyes but behind them - for some reason i had always assumed that they were little amoeba living on the vitreous humor or something of that sort - at any rate - this is where the song Weird Creatures was born - the moment of contemplation where you go deep, leave everything behind, and these weird creatures appear before you.

SCQ: If all the reasonable and implausible ideas in your head came to fruition in 2011, what would they be?

MC: --maybe humans would become pure energy, but still retain the ability to consider and recognize it
or otherwise - if that doesn't work out
i would release a few eluvium related albums - start a few other projects outside of eluvium,
and travel the world with my wife (while getting to stay in each place for more than a day)
scoring another full length film would be enjoyable also.