semi-OT: Colt's Hipster Bull**** Awards Thread [FINISHED! ...maybe?]

3. Titus Andronicus - "The Monitor" 
Genre: Punk, Shoegaze

The Battle Of Hampton Roads 
A More Perfect Union
A Pot In Which To Piss 

and now i'm heading west on 84 again
and i'm as much of an ****ole as i've ever been
and there is still nothing about myself i respect
still haven't done anything i did not later regret
my hand and a napkin when i'm looking for sex
and that's no one to talk to when feeling depressed
and so now when i drink i'm going to drink to excess
and when i smoke i will smoke gaping holes in my chest
and when i scream i will scream until i'm gasping for breath
and when i get sick i will stay sick for the rest of my
days peddling hate at the back of a chevy express
each one will fall in the face of yourr idea of success
and if this be thy will then ****in' pass me the cup
and i'm sorry dad, no i'm not making this up!Titus Andronicus on The Battle Of Hampton Roads

Titus Andronicus' second LP doesn't lack in ambition, that's for damn sure. "The Monitor," a concept album about the Civil War is oozing with emotion, and pays no apologies. To be honest, they don't have to; despite the rollercoaster the album takes, the album never becomes aggravating--it's based on a historical topic, but is never preachy, it's emotional but never whiny.

There's a ton of perspectives; a lot of sticking up for the little guy [Four Score & Seven], a lot of taking responsibility [The Battle Of Hampton Roads] and just a general understanding of what it takes to be in war, whether you're the soldier fighting it, or the politician waging it. There's also a lot of blood, guts, tears and sweat on this LP, and it's something I think any music fan can appreciate regardless of how you feel about the music. "But I wasn't born to die like a dog/I was born to die just like a man!/ I was born to die just like a man!" sings Patrick Stickles on the closer. Even if you don't feel what Stickles says in the sense that he means it, you feel what he says.

Besides the sheer, and utter emotion on this tape, there's a lot to love about this LP. The songs are long, the finale clocking in at over 14 minutes, and half of them at over 7 minutes. There's some great sound clips from war heroes [as I suppose is to be expected], and some really patriotic riffs that kick some serious ass [and this coming from someone who's not patriotic at all.] The album is long and extended, and isn't easy to get into but the payoff on these songs is MORE than worth it. This is a distorted view of a tragic time period, but it never comes off that way. Rather, it sounds like one of the most complete records to come out in years.

2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles ii
Genre: Electronic

Doe Deer
Baptism
Celestica

When opener "Fainting Spells" begins it becomes clear that Crystal Castles have pretty much taken their sty|e to the next ****ing level. The dance punk sty|e is dead for these guys, and it becomes even more painstakingly obvious with the change from noise bits and samples to shimmering synthesizers on "Celestica." Alice Glass has never sounded more beautiful and the beat has never been more heart thumpingly awesome.

There's a creepy air in Crystal Castles new **** They're not nearly as nostalgic with their noise bits and samples, but they're certainly stretching their boundaries. There's a level of maturity to their new music--some may call this a bad thing, but I think it's a good thing. Mainly because while they've certainly subdued to what others do in their genre, they're essentially doing it their own way. Not only that, but they're doing it so much better than the competition that it's hard to say if there is any competition. In a sense, there giving us MORE of what we got in their previous tapes, something the most successful bands from this year [She & Him, Kanye West] have succeeded at.

Don't get me wrong on my assessment though; there's still a ****load of originality on this tape. You won't find an electronic song that sounds like "Year Of Silence" or "Doe Deer." You won't find an electronic tape where you sit and wonder if the lead singer is speaking English or some Illuminati driven language [hell, you may not even find many with vocals period, and surely none with Glass' beautiful voice.] You won't find an electronic joint that covers Sigur Ros, and essentially sounds NOTHING like Sigur Ros, flipping and chopping the whole thing backward and forward until it's undiscernible where the ****ing song came from! But that's Crystal Castles, and that's why they're so damn talented. 

1. Wild Nothing - "Golden Haze EP"/"Evertide EP"
Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Tweegaze, Chillwave

Quiet Hours
Take Me In
Your Rabbit Feet 

What else is there to say about these guys? I think I've written about them so damn much that you guys already know what I'm going to say so I'll try something new. Here's everything I've written about these guys already, because really there's not much more to say. This is just great music.

I will add this though in regards to the "Golden Haze EP." It's definitely the chillest album I've heard this year.  

 

Jack Tatum's solo project Wild Nothing, took 2010 by the throat and never looked back. Beginning the year with one of the most intriguing albums in "Gemini," Tatum continued to build on his success with the Evertide, and Golden Haze EPs. Tatum, formerly of Jack and the Whale is a throwback artist of many sorts--lyrically, he's obsessed with the lustful 80s music of The Cure, The Smiths, and the Cocteau Twins but production wise, he couldn't be any closer to A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Teen Daze, and the current "chillwave/tweegaze" movement that has taken indie fans by storm. An obvious dream pop enthusiasts, Tatum has built up a fantastic year by not only being one of the best musicians of the year, but one of the most hardworking.

Complain if you will about Wild Nothing--the lyrics can get repetitive, and if you're not a fan of dream pop, you'll never understand their appeal from an instrumentation standpoint, but hats off to this song--it's bar none, my favorite song this year, and most played one. The thing about dream pop/shoegaze is that the lyrics don't matter--usually because you can't hear them anyways. They're used as in instrument just like the guitar, drums, and effects of the instruments to evoke just that--an effect, a feeling, an emotion. It's what made My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" or Slowdive's "Souvlaki" so damn good...these guys weren't supreme lyricists...they didn't talk about much...but they sure knew how to evoke emotion, and create an excellent tune.

Wild Nothing has simply perfected what old shoegaze/dream pop bands used to do, in the year 2010. The atmosphere of a song like "Chinatown" is simply unparalleled; it's like drifting off into space, getting lost in the clouds, and simply not giving a ****. "We're not happy 'till we're running away, clouds in your eyes/with nothing but the foggiest day" sings Jack Tatum, creating a juxtaposition of what's really going on as he does so often on "Gemini." It's that push and pull between haunting, and beautiful that makes Tatum so great, and makes Wild Nothing the most interesting band to come out this year. me

Didn't know you liked the Crystal Castles album that much. I bumped it a couple times earlier in the year and kinda liked it. Haven't gone back to it yet though.Orlando_Magic

You should go back to it. It's an addicting record.