2010 started off strong, producing some of our favorite tracks off the summer playlist. As the weather heated up, things fell into a summer doldrum. Now, as we develop our end-of-the-year lists, we’re finding the year coming to a conspicuous end. Similar to 2009, the list is somewhat album-heavy, as we were drawn to several stand-out records among our favorite artists. Here is our very biased list of our 50 favorite tracks from 2010 (give the page a minute to load the SoundClouds):
1. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
2. Caribou – “Odessa”
3. Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
4. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
5. HEALTH – “USA Boys”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “I Can Change”
7. Crystal Castles – “Empathy”
8. Avey Tare – “Laughing Hieroglyphic”
9. Broken Social Scene – ‘World Sick”
10. Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”
11. The National – “Afraid of Everyone”
12. Autolux – “Transit, Transit”
13. Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Soul”
14. Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi”
15. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
16. Sufjan Stevens – “Vesuvius”
17. Caribou – “Jamelia”
18. Crystal Castles – “Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)”
19. Beach House – “Norway”
20. Arcade Fire – “We Used To Wait”
21. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
22. Yeasayer – “Mondegreen”
23. Deerhunter – “He Would Have Laughed”
24. Owen Pallett – “Midnight Directives”
25. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
26. Crystal Castles – “Vietnam”
27. How To Destroy Angels – “Fur-Lined”
28. The National – “Terrible Love”
29. Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
30. White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”
31. Panda Bear – “Slow Motion”
32. Avey Tare – “Lucky 1″
33. Liars – “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant”
34. Dr. Dog – “Jackie Wants A Black Eye”
35. Ratatat – “Party With Children”
36. Tobacco – “Lamborghini Meltdown”
37. The Walkmen – “Angela Surf City”
38. Middle Class Rut – “New Low”
39. HEALTH – “Before Tigers (Gold Panda Remix)”
40. Four Tet – “Plastic People”
41. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Bright Lit Blue Skies”
42. Jonsi – “Tornado”
43. Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
44. Yeasayer – “ONE”
45. Of Montreal – “Like a Tourist”
46. Matthew Dear – “You Put a Smell On Me”
47. Delta Spirit – “Bushwick Blues”
48. Avey Tare – “Oliver Twist”
49. MGMT – “Flash Delirium”
50. Flying Lotus – “…And The World Laughs With You (Ft. Thom Yorke)”
Before reading Kerrang! magazine describe Middle Class Rut as a cross between the “swagger of Jane’s Addiction” and the “fury of Rage Against The Machine,” a similar comparison was apparent. It’s actually more like Perry Farrell singing lead for Rage (it’d be blasphemy to compare a two-piece band without a bass player to Eric Avery’s Jane’s Addiction). Even as a two-piece, Middle Classs Rut pull off an epic sound. Lead singer/guitarist Zach Lopez and drummer Sean Stockham experienced early career success when they were signed to a major label in their teens as Leisure. Since then, all versions of a band attempting to add additional players haven’t panned out. The latest incarnation, also known as MC Rut (the name comes from a Shel Silverstein poem), removes all extraneous components to focus on the pieces that were never broken.
The band releases their 25 Years EP on Bright Antenna, and the record is nothing short of spectacular. From the opening riffs of the title track, the EP features six punches to the face. “25 Years” serves well as an opener, complete with visceral guitars and Richard Patrick screams. “Dead Set” features an impressive interplay between Lopez’s delayed guitar and Stockham’s relentless percussion. “I Guess You Could Say” lightens up just a bit, with an addictive guitar melody and lyrical wordplay. “All Walks of Life,” a standout track on the EP, finds the band turning up the intensity with Lopez’s squelching guitars and best screamo impersonation. “Tied Up” is an anthemic dose of collected rage with a catchy chorus. The band saves the best track in “I Don’t Really Know” as the closer. It’s highlighted by Lopez’s impeccable guitar solos and his strongest lyrics on the record, as he sings an angst-ridden duet against his alter ego (I’m assuming this is Stockham helping out on vocals): “I don’t really know what I believe; I never really know, I can’t agree.”