Soulshine's Favourite Albums of 2010 So Far

With the end of the financial year passed, tax forms in the mail and etax files downloaded, the year has come to its halfway point. With that formal tax department deadline, comes informal excuses to talk about new music. Good new music. Soulshine has kept abreast of this year's releases and has pulled together it's staff members favourite albums of the year so far. With names like The Beautiful Girls, The Hold Steady and Roky Erickson, it's easy to see that 2010 has produced some great names with great tunes.

Check out the picks of the half year by Soulshine's Max Easton after the jump.

Max's Picks of 2010
Almost every year I'm surprised by how much good music comes out. I don't know if I'm kinda death-riding modern music expecting a massive dip in quality to violently hit, which would be sad if true, but genuinely, each year is full of surprises. For me in 2010, some of my favourite bands have released fantastic sequels, while others have come out of obscurity or debuted with some excellent albums. So here's what the first six months of 2010 has done for me.

1) Roky Erickson w/ Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil (Review + Samples)
There are few on this Earth who could get dragged through the coals like Roky Erickson of 13th Floor Elevators fame has for 50 years and come out of it all with an album like this. Of course, there are also few who get such fantastic support from what is truly a world-class band and production team in the form of Okkervil River. The result was and is an album that has had me buzzing about this album for weeks; eagerly awaiting each listen, curiously reading into each bizarrely worded lyric and arguing with myself about whether Roky or Okkervil are the most important part of this album. Absolutely loved it.

2) Perry Keyes - Johnny Ray's Downtown (Review + Samples)
Perry what now? It was a poster which brought my attention to the cause of Perry Keyes, with the header: 'Perry Keys is 42. He drives a cab. He writes and sings amazing songs about real life. His life. Radio doesn't play him. He doesn't make videos.' Sold. So when the album actually turned out to be a bordering on revelatory snapshot of 90's Australiana in the vein of Paul Kelly or the Whitlams (with all the tackiness included) then I was pretty stoked with it. A massive album clocking in at almost one and a half hours, it's a novel of a thing, with stories of all sorts of the shady characters you grew up with on the streets of Sydney.

3) Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record (Review)
Seriously, if Broken Social Scene aren't the coolest band in the world then I don't know who is. That's probably a subject for a blog in itself, but I won't go into that now. Existing as pretty much the core of the Toronto indie music scene, contributor's have come and gone, been launched and spawned from its heart, all producing a back catalogue consisting of some excellent albums and EP's. Now, after a couple of Broken Social Scene Presents efforts, the band was back into normality and delivered in style. From short, punchy pop to all out jams, Broken Social Scene exceeded everyone's expectations whilst evolving into something that was at times, unrecognisable.

4) The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
Brett Easton Ellis suggested that they're the best rock band of this time. My last name is Easton also, and while I wouldn't go that far, I'd say there are very few that convey the raw attitude and storytelling that the Hold Steady manage time and time again. Yeah, this is no 'Separation Sunday' (an album which I'd put in my top ten for last decade,) but it sure as hell rolls along well. There are some previously unheard tinges of the Blues lurking around in there, and the obligatory moments of down-on-luck lyrical wizardry. Proves to be a fulfilling listen each time over.

5) The Beautiful Girls - Spooks (Review + Samples)
'Spooks,' wherein the Beautiful Girls grew up. Well, not especially...but kind of. The production went wildly over the top, with samples, effects, guests and pseudo-covers all entering the mix to create an album that truly stands as one of the most mature releases the Beautiful Girls have put together. With 'Spooks,' McHugh and crew managed to blend their three faces; from their surf roots, through reggae, back through rock and finishing off with dub and dancehall. Each aspect of their personality was rolled into one and expertly crafted to reveal a well-polished album that lost none of its personality.

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And those are just pre-July releases. Already two great albums from the minds of Dan Kelly and Darren Hanlon have been released and there's probably more to come that we don't even know about. 2010 is shaping up as a great year for good music and I'm damn well looking forward to it all unfold.