Best Albums of 2010

Welcome to the 4th (and hopefully not the last) OngakuBaka Top 10 albums of the year list. Before we jump right in to our picks, we’ll explain the guidelines for the selection process.

1. These records are in no particular order.

2. No live records, “Best of” collections, box sets, or re-issues. The albums chosen had to be material released in 2010.

3. This is a collaborative effort between the two of us, and if we didn’t agree that an album deserved to make the cut, it didn’t make the list.

4. In a year dominated by great EPs and 7"s, there are plenty of full-lengths we never got a chance to listen to, forgot about, or never had time to fully digest, so don't freak out if you don't see your personal favorite in our list.

With that said, here are our honorable mentions for 2010:

The Intelligence - Males

Royal Baths - Litanies

Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

Girl Talk - All Day

Black Bombaim - Saturdays and Space Travels

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today

The Fresh & Onlys - Play It Strange

Mountain Man - Made the Harbor

...and now, without further ado, our top 10 records of 2010:

1. Zach Hill - Face Tat

Download Face Tat

2. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

Download Halcyon Digest

3. Women - Public Strain

Download Public Strain

4. Tobacco - Maniac Meat

Download Maniac Meat

5. Ty Segall - Melted

Download Melted

6. Broken Water - Whet

Download Whet

7. Pill Wonder - Jungle/Surf

Download Jungle/Surf

8. Tyvek - Nothing Fits

Download Nothing Fits

9. The Books - The Way Out

Download The Way Out

10. Grinderman - Grinderman 2

Download Grinderman 2

Comets On Fire & Growing - Comets & Growing (2005)

Another great upload stolen from Silver Currant. Comets on Fire and Growing recorded this session a few months after completing their tour together back in 2005. 58 minutes of reverberated superspace to get lost in/left behind in. I had the pleasure of catching their stop in Detroit. Easily one of my favorite shows of all time.

- Dan

Download Comets on Fire & Growing

Electric Sea Spider - Mohican Beats

Melbourne beatician Jim Sellars, aka Electric Sea Spider, sent us his newest EP on Mine All Mine Records back in October. Just now getting a chance to give a listen. Spacey twitch hop. If you dig, make sure to check out his last record, The Thief, that we posted back in March.

- Dan

Download Mohican Beats

VIDEO: Pedro Maia - "MEMORY" SUPER 8 SERIES #3 (featuring Panda Bear)

Pedro Maia is a Portuguese filmmaker that collaborated with Noah Lennox a few years back to create this mesmerizing short film/music video that features two tracks from Panda Bear's s/t debut from 10 years ago. It's made the festival rounds over the last few years, and is just now seeing the light of day on the inter of webs. Thanks to Pedro for sending this our way.

- Dan

J.C. Satàn/Le Pécheur - Split EP

A fucking gorgeous split EP courtesy of French label PRT Disques. I've got a serious hard on for some of the garage outfits coming out of France, and these two bands are no different. J.C. Satàn (France/Italy) bring the hazy unadulterated jams with some pretty infectious vocals, and Le Pécheur's (France) clap-able jangly tracks are destined to be paired with scenes from some obscure black and white foreign film on Youtube in the near future. Good shit.

- Dan

Download JC Satan/Le Pécheur 7"

Trailblazer - Gut Reaction b/w Mallard 7"

Two incredibly hypnotic and danceable post-punk lo-fi electronic pop tracks from this one-man Lexington, KY project. 300 copies on Moniker Records.

- Dan

Download Gut Reaction b/w Mallard

Lou Breed - Stoned Out: Miami Beach

A refreshingly unpredictable and manic psych pop psychostimulant that ranges from feel-good Elephant 6ish tunes to deluded reverb-heavy experimentations. "To be released as a cassette sewn into a hand-screened t-shirt in a to-be-announced edition." Coming out sometime this month on Life's Blood.

- Dan

Download Stoned Out: Miami Beach

V-3 - Negotiate Nothing

Long out of print and hard to come by at times even on the internet, V-3 is one of a handful of musical vehicles for the compositions of Columbus Ohio native Jim Shepard. V-3 lacks the abrasiveness of Shepard's earlier work with Vertical Slit but the variety found on this record is staggering. It's everything you like about lo-fi 90's indie rock and experimental bedroom artists squeezed onto one boombox-recording-quality album.

- Steve

Download Negotiate Nothing