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flagpole’* FAVORITE LOCAL ALBUMS OF 2010
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had a hell of a year in local music, Athens!
Familiar stand bys went in unfamiliar directions,
upstarts exploded onto the scene with impressive
debuts, and under-the-radar favorites found national exposure.
I'm always impressed by the sheer number of records our little
town is able to produce (you can find a comprehensive list of
2010 local releases on www.flagpole.com), but I was particu
larly taken by the quality and diversity of talent that landed
on the music desk this year. The 30 records that follow are the
ones that resonated with our music writers the most.
The Humms
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Part psychopathic howling, part surf-rock and all awe
some, The Humms' Lemonlond was a standout record in a sea
of great Athens releases this year. Yes, the guys managed to
cover everyone from vampires to Jesus to Uncle Sam without
missing a single backbeat. If you want something danceable,
something a bit strange, or just something to rock out to for
the upcoming year, you should take Lemonland for a spin. The
name is kind of sour but the music is oh, so sweet. [Jordan
Stepp]
Quiet Hooves
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Javier Morales' multifaceted, meticulous arrangements
sculpt a record that is an odd twin to the band's multifaceted
live show. Julian Bozeman's songs continue to flourish amid
maximalism. The community between crowd and band at a
Quiet Hooves concert is here transposed for the solitary lis
tener at home; between the left and right channels is a rich
and varied world. And when Bozeman sings, "We are the human
beings/ We've got everything we need," he's speaking right to
us. [Marshall Yarbrough]
The Dream Scene
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The Dream Scene has done something supremely uncool in
making a Christmas record, all the more so since the result is
completely without irony. The band manages to avoid kitsch
without having to sneer at it. Randy Newman could rail at the
Lord amid arrangements so beautiful they were life-affirming,
despite the singer's cynicism; similarly, Javier Morales' treat
ment of traditional songs of joy and cheer has a wonder all its
own. This record could well have been a joke, but instead it is
a mature, artistic statement. You might even listen with your
parents. Although this album was originally released in 2009,
it was re-released this year with two bonus tracks (lucky for us
since we missed highlighting it last year). [MY]
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Tunabunny is either a dance band that's too weird to dance
to or a punk band for weird dancers. The drumming is as insis
tent as it is off-kilter—the singing both anthemic and stand
offish. It's a record for being angry, for having a goo^time,
and for having a good time being angry. [MY]
Beplat
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A tease, that's what this 7-inch release is. I should be writ
ing about how incredible the band's Ben Allen-produced EP
sounds, but for now all we have is this little preview of big
things to come—"Houseboat Babies" and "Cannabis Canyon"—
released on Allen's own label Make Records Not Bombs and
featuring Reptar's trademark angular electropop. It's easy to
develop tunnel vision in a small scene like ours, and sometimes
the relevance of a local band is exaggerated, but the day after
Reptar played CMJ in NYC I was getting inquisitive emails from
major label A&R reps and reading fevered reviews in national
publications heralding "the next big thing." If you own this
disc keep it safe—it might just be a collector's item one day
as the band quickly sold out of its limited 300 pressings.
[Michelle Gilzenrat]
Futorebirds
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Imagine Crazy Horse fronted by Jim James of My Morning
Jacket. Toss in a little Uncle Tupelo and a heart-breaking pedal
steel guitar, and you've got part of what makes Futurebirds'
debut full-length album one of the best of the year.
Futurebirds' songs are mature, fully-realized gems that breathe
and knock about with a heart all their own. The lyrics, perfor
mances and production on "Sam Jones" demonstrate how this
still young group has matured from its early days as a helluva
bar band into a group capable of sustaining a (hopefully long)
musical career. [John Seay]
Veiiee Is Silking
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By releasing Sand & Lines, Venice Is Sinking accidentally
etched its songs upon the headstone of the old Georgia
Theatre. Recorded live at that establishment in late May of
2008 and then released shortly after it burned, Sand & Lines
pairs songs by Dolly Parton and Waylon Jennings alongside the
group's own, giving all of them the same, intimate treatment,
and all in the same, iconic room. But don't let the album's back
story overshadow the album. The live performance experiment
is a success: Sand & Lines plays like realizing your girlfriend is
more beautiful without make-up than with. [JS]
Deal Ciifeierats
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Exuding intensity is a pastime perfected by Dead
Confederate. More refined than Wrecking Ball, its sophomore
album, Sugar, reveals further mastery of powerful build-ups
erupting in mayhem as on the gorgeous title track, "Sugar." It
also features added sonic diversity ranging from the unusually
clean and low-fi-intro of "Run from the Gun" to the hooky-
heavy, riff-led "Giving It All Away," signifying the link between
music industry malpractices and painful blows to the soul's cre
ativity. At least that's what the video of creepy kids disembow
eling bandmembers of musical paraphernalia would suggest.
The skinny: it's the shit. [Sarah Savage]
Anyone else feel like bawling when listening to this
Goddess of Soul? Betsy Franck's style, at times expressing dirty
Southern grit, at others, her inner diva, is only enhanced by
the Bareknuckle Band as on the latest album. Still Waiting. In
it, the richness of the Betsy and BKB experience emerges fully.
The bluesy "Lowdown" reveals empathetic songwriting about
two diverse women struggling with depression and features
special guests on piano and horns. The funk-filled "Too Much
Trouble" is assured and diva-esque, perhaps the empowering
sort of listen the aforementioned sad ladies need. There's more.
And it's stunning, too. [SS]
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"As your attorney..." it's imperative you listen to Orders
From... This Athens-originated, Atlanta-displaced band's first
7-track EP conjures images of the Beach Boys swapping surf
boards for pickup trucks. It's a fusion of sounds brought to the
surface with Beach Boys-style vocals layered with Southern
rock-rooted pedal steel and guitar riffs. The songs about the
Carolinas pay tribute to the Southeast, while the final track
"Jerry Ten," to Poison. Something for everyone. [SS]
Deaf Jodies
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After taking Athens by storm and establishing themselves as
the undisputed kings of this Classic City rap thing, the Judges
were faced with a dilemma. How could they top their over-the-
top full-length, All Rise? The album was as intense as classic
hip-hop gets, a high-energy, dirty South take on the tough-
as-nails vibe of M.O.P. and the grab-a-mic-and-go pile-on of
A Tribe Called Quest's Scenario. Smartly, instead of trying to
ratchet up the frenetic kinetics, they dropped things to a cool
simmer on The High Honorable. Boasting better choruses and
aloof verses, these seven jams found the Judges with nothing
left to prove. That said, the group checked out of existence,
but Athens heads can rest assured that this disassembled
Vottron has much to offer individually. [Jeff Tobias]
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The artful combination of shoegazy, echo-filled layers and
creative vocal effects produces stunning sounds on Twin Tigers'
first full-length. The effects are at times reminiscent of The
Killers (see "Everyday"), balanced by a synthesis of styles as in
the title track "Gray Waves," which features a hard guitar line,
offset by beautiful keys, and erupting into an ambient free-
for-all. The opening bracks "Passive Idol" and "Red Fox Run"
are soaked in reverb, engendering a floating sensation but
one that is interrupted with more rockin' tracks along the way.
Powerful stuff even if it wasn't a debut. [SS]
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Don't expect In the Dark to see the light of day once it
touches your musical device of choice where it will likely
remain in permanent rotation. "Kill Me Carolyne" will make
you want to be Carolyne because who doesn't want a badass
song with their name in it, especially if it's not derogatory to
Carolyne (dudes, that's who, but other than them)? The third
album for The Whigs, In the Dark may skew more toward "the
accessible" than previous work, but there is no denying that
it's solidly entertaining and great music, period. [SS]
20 FLAGP0LE.C0M • DECEMBER 22,2010