Top 20 Albums of 2010: Part One, 20-11

NUMBER TWENTY

CRYSTAL CASTLES: CRYSTAL CASTLES

Crystal Castles want to fuck you up. And then they want to make sweet, back alley love to you. Just check the duality of the one-two opening punch of "Fainting Spells" and "Celestia." The former packs mind-melting synths, discombobulating channel-jumping and the most abrasive vocal performance this side of an early Blood Brothers album. The latter goes in completely the opposite direction, rocking epic gothic melodies and Alice Glass' hauntingly seductive voice to create one of the greatest ballads this year. That kind of dichotomy is what makes the 2010 version of Crystal Castles interesting. Yeah, Alice Glass can destroy your brainpan, but she can also make you melt. Yeah, Ethan Kath can attack you with walls of blown-out noise, but he can also rock you to sleep. Not bad for a band once derided as a one-trick pony.

Peep numbers nineteen through eleven after the jump.

Midweek Music Review - Mid-Year Notables

Note: So, I'm not going to pretend like I haven't disappeared for a couple months. Suffice it to say that my life was kind of nuts and that things have settled down now. Racecar Brown is officially back up and running.

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So, it's officially halfway through the year for music. In that spirit, I'm putting up half of a year-end list. These five songs and five albums are simply some that have captured my attention this year. The emphasis this time around isn't to objectively list my five favorite songs or albums of the year, but just to throw up ten total pieces of music that are deserving of attention.