Active Child - You Are All I See
The album opens with a harp arpeggio loftily carrying the song along, and the same ethereal foundation runs through the album, paired with R&B style vocals, for a surprisingly delightful combination.
The Antlers - Burst Apart
One of the most sonically beautiful records I've ever heard. Glassy guitar textures lay a foundation for bouncing bass lines and big beats as they carry soaring falsettos through some of the best songs of the year.
Atlas Sound - Parallax
Bradford Cox continues his spelunking through the depths of rock n' roll history with another consistently great record. It's less ambient than Logos, but the same ambitious streak runs through it. Cox apparently suffered a nervous breakdown around the same time as the recording of this album, which usually happens when an artist pushes themselves as hard as this.
BRAIDS - Native Speaker
The biggest surprise of the year, with looped guitars, layers and layers of keyboards, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-like vocals about love and sex and everything between the two. Dynamically, the record goes between bouncy dream pop and swelling, ambient post-rock, pulling both of them off with the same professional panache.
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
See: lush.
Caveman - CoCo Beware
Glittery, folk-tinged indie rock in the vein of Grizzly Bear. One of the most listenable albums of the year.
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Golden harmonies, sunshiny acoustic guitars, and some newfound psychedelic bents take Fleet Foxes' debut to higher heights and lower lows, filling all of the space in between. If this doesn't win a Grammy I'll be very surprised.
James Blake - James Blake
This is what happens when a dubstep producer takes a chill pill and listens to too much soul music. Down tempo and a little off kilter, this is a record for late night drives.
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
Imagine a super high Bruce Springsteen floating through space. And make it better than you're imagining. Lazy, hazy, and spacy, this is the dictionary definition of chill music.
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Through the 22 songs on this double album, Hurry Up takes the listener through the deepest reaches of synthpop, post-rock, dreampop, and indie rock, and the ride is well worth it.
Neon Indian - Era Extraña
Teetering between chillwave and shoegaze, Era Extraña is just a plain happy, fun record.
Panda Bear - Tomboy
The same great textures that made up the excellent soundscapes of Person Pitch put to pop structure. Hazy keyboards, lo-fi beats, and the warmest harmonies this side of the Beach Boys make this one of the most hypnotizing records of the year.
Radiohead - The King of Limbs (and related singles)
What happens when you've exhausted the known reaches of western music, pop and otherwise? You just keep making great records.
St. Vincent - Strange Mercies
Annie Clark just keeps getting better. This record is a balancing act between beauty and chaos, and she tiptoes the line masterfully.
Washed Out - Within and Without
In a year so clogged with chillwave, it takes a special record to stand out among the haze, and this is a worthy contender.
Wilco - The Whole Love
After a couple albums that were good and not much more, Wilco finally has gotten back to their studio noodling, and the results are better than we could have asked for. Glitches and fuzzboxes are back, as well as folk epics topping ten minutes in length. Wilco, it's good to have you back.
