Late To The Party: What I missed in 2010

Keeping track of even some of my favorite musicians outside of North America can be tricky. Also, when I get into a new band I'm never rushing to dive into their back catalogue and associated acts. Yeah, those are my crummy excuses for missing out on these quality releases last year.

NUMBER FIVE

Noun

Holy Hell

[Listen to: Pearly Gates]

I was too busy being wowed by Screaming Females last year to look into Melissa Paternoster's solo record. umm yeah, she knows how to write a kick-ass rock song.

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NUMBER FOUR

Sleigh Bells

Treats

[Listen to: AB Machines]

I have no idea how I missed these indie darlings of 2010. I've seen that album cover everywhere, and heard like half of this album in commercials through the whole year (and this one). I think this group is very overrated and kinda one-note, but I'm such a sucker for noise that I can hang with this.

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NUMBER THREE

4 Bonjour's Parties

Okapi Horn

[Listen to: Optical Song]

I keep missing this group when their material is new. They're basically made up entirely of support instruments sown together with fragile vocals. It's cute, charming, and when you least suspect it, overwhelming. On their second album here, they take their little subtle sounds and manage to swell into these big emotional numbers. Lots of variety on this, with an overall feeling of positivity and adventure.

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NUMBER TWO

Säkert!

Facit

[Listen to: Fredrik]

Annika Norlin is still being depressing, but Säkert! feels like a much more contextual fit for her. Very catchy, and the emotion of the songwriting is not lost in translation. Swedish pop is not dead!

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NUMBER ONE

Pontiacs

Galaxy Head Meeting

[Listen to: BPR (Live)]

Garage rock god, Kenichi Asai. Enough said.