forYoungModerns

FYM PRESS PLAY: THE 30 BEST ALBUMS OF 2010

forYoungModerns is proud to present our first annual year-end list for Best Albums of 2010. This year seemed to have been filled with great new artists (six of the albums below are debut albums) while former behemoths like Daft Punk, MGMT, M.I.A., Interpol, and Lil’ Wayne all released albums that, at the beginning of 2010 sounded like shoe-ins to be included on this list, but were all left out in the end. Surprises in lists like these are always exciting, aren’t they?

We start off with not one, but three albums that equally deserve recognition as Album of the Year. The way we see it, three writers on our writing staff means three #1 albums. Who are we to decide which one of us is more correct in our choices? Congratulations to LCD Soundsystem, Joanna Newsom, and Suckers for topping off our list. Following these first three, the remaining 27 albums are listed below in alphabetical order. Enjoy reading!



James Murphy and company plugged in a familiar formula while making LCD Soundsystem’s third album, This Is Happening: nine songs, several of which pass the 7-minute mark, lots of emotion and lots of dancing. That formula worked wonders for their 2007 masterpiece Sound of Silver and it worked again for their hotly anticipated follow-up. As if it wasn’t already well known before, This Is Happening solidified James Murphy as a truly once-in-a-generation songwriting talent. And Murphy sings every one of those words with such conviction that every moment on the album seems like his entire life had been building up to creating this choice record.

WATCH: The excellent video to This Is Happening’s lead single “Drunk Girls” (deep stuff):




Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me



Joanna Newsom followed up her five song, fifty-five minute 2006 stunner Ys with Have One On Me, a sprawling masterpiece spread across three discs and two hours. It’s a grand scale that is rarely matched or surpassed by any other musician these days, and she makes every second count. Every song has the scope and appeal of a classical symphony combined with the playfulness of a traditional folk song. The melodies and arrangements are all gorgeous, Newsom’s voice sounds as powerful as ever, and there’s a certain hint of a glowing melancholy that keeps the listener intrigued throughout all two hours of music.

LISTEN: Have One On Me’s aching and haunting closer “Does Not Suffice”:




Suckers - Wild Smile


Dramatic vocal arrangements, stellar song writing, tunes that weave through your spirit and won’t let go, Suckers delivered one of the most magical journey’s one could experience in 2010. Track for track Wild Smile is inspiring, layered with exuberant emotional textures, preaching to the choir chorus-flourishes, and spot on production. Suckers have captured a brilliant vibe on Wild Smile that has been playing through our house speakers on a weekly basis since it’s release. After countless listens FYM is still infatuated with it. It Gets Your Body Movin’ (as heard below) is a soul shaking wall of endless sonic procurement. But the song is merely a brush stroke, found on a large canvas of artfully crafted tunes (all of which go into making this record so tremendous). Thanks to the Suckers for releasing such an enjoyable album to listen to. Wild Smile is stunning and original, standing along with the best in 2010.

WATCH: “It Gets Your Body Movin’”:



Now we present the remaining 27 albums of our 30 Best Albums of 2010. Hopefully you’ll be able to discover some music that you might have missed out on throughout the year. Agree or  Disagree with our choices- Let us know what you think in the comments section below.


Abe Vigoda - Crush


Intriguing as it is, the chaotic, noisy punk rock that Abe Vigoda established themselves with is something very difficult to keep fresh album after album. In 2010, the Los Angeles punks threw in some Microkorg synth, electronic dance beats, and lengthier running times for songs, and the result was the excellent Crush. Crush is a bit of a left turn for the band and a successful reinvention of their sound that acts as a very welcome step in the right direction. Songs like “Throwing Shade” and “Repeating Angel” are almost unexpected pop gems that garnered many repeat plays for most of the second half of 2010.

WATCH: The video for the concurrently jangly and danceable Crush single ”Throwing Shade”:





Former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle (who put out a rad solo album in 2009) headed back home to California from his current digs in Montana, called up a former bandmate and some friends in Earlimart and put out I Heart California under the group name Admiral Radley. I Heart California is a perfect amalgamation of the two aforementioned bands’ sounds and provided some of the best songs of the year, such as the title track “I Heart California”, the beautifully crushing “I Left U Cuz I Luft You”, and the appropriately pounding “I’m All Fucked On Beer”.

LISTEN: The strangely anthemic title track “I Heart California”:




Arcade Fire are just making it look easy at this point. They put out an album, it automatically gets put on everyone’s Best-of lists at the end of the year (AND gets nominated for the Album of the Year at the Grammys). They put on a concert, and it’s so good that it’s basically a religious experience. On The Suburbs, Arcade Fire got a little more conceptual and even a little electronic (noticeable synths flourish here and there on the album). In the end, The Suburbs is classic Arcade Fire: an album that sound as important as it does groundbreaking.

WATCH: Speaking of groundbreaking, watch the interactive video to The Suburbs highlight “We Used to Wait” (create your own version HERE):





Six years in the making, the Los Angeles shoegaze trio did not disappoint with their Future Perfect follow-up. Autolux nail their signature moody science-fiction rock just about as well as they did the first time around. They still sound like a crew hopelessly lost in space centuries in the future but seemingly at peace with that situation. Few other albums released this year sound so modern and ahead of its time as Transit Transit.

LISTEN: The piano ballad from outer space, “Spots”:



Beach House - Teen Dream


Easily the best and most important album released this year featuring the words ‘teen’ and ‘dream’ in its title. Teen Dream is a classically honest record: Beach House don’t have any tricks up their sleeves and they’re not big on special effects or grandiose statements. They simply deliver pitch-perfect verse-chorus-verse songs complete with memorably soaring melodies and engaging lyrics, coupled with Victoria Legrand’s one-of-a-kind alluringly husky voice. They are they upmost professional pop songwriters and Teen Dream is their most shining work.

WATCH: A performance of Teen Dream standout ”Walk in the Park”:





2010 was pretty much The Year of Best Coast + Wavves + Snacks, wasn’t it? Bethany and Bobb rolled into the year on a string of singles and EPs featuring some lo-fi, fuzzed-out gems and poured that momentum into Crazy For You. 12 great, simple songs (well, 13 if you count the bonus track), NO filler. Lyrics simple enough that anyone can relate too without it becoming novelty. Crazy For You is perfect for the ladies, because Bethany is so refreshingly relatable, and also equally for the guys, because basically all guys can’t resist a funny, cat-loving, cute stoner girl.

WATCH: The Quinceañera-themed video for Crazy For You opener ”Boyfriend”:





The TV commercials, sold out shows, and ample success found in 2010 for these Ohio natives makes sense. After all, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have worked/toured/rocked extremely hard the past few years to get to such a place. Setting the bar high on Brothers, The Black Keys deliver more contemporary takes on an old genre, that never tires to play/hear. This is the Keys moment to shine, with groove driven muddy guitars, and soul drenched working-man vocal bliss, Brothers makes for perfect hazy listening pleasure.

WATCH: The great, amusing video for Brothers’ “Tighten Up”:





Broken Social Scene come back with possibly their strongest release since 2003’s Masterpiece You Forgot It in People. On Forgiveness Rock Record the Canadian collective releases a stunning set of atmospheric sound, and unabashed loyalty to creating great tunes. It’s loose and layered, stoney and boney, with freedom untainted (humor and heartbreak often found in the same melody). These guys don’t just write music, they create sonic plateaus of contemplation. Forgiveness Rock Record is the perfect album to play just as the choices made earlier in the evening, begin to take effect on your brain. If you haven’t heard their towering presence live, you need to (it’s not just a day job for them). 

LISTEN to this floaty burner: “Word Sick”





Crystal Castles follow up their hugely popular debut with more music that sounds like the soundtrack to a dangerous night out on the town. The second installment of Crystal Castles, the Canadian electronic duo keep the frenzied pace of the original, but this time they let it grow into a series of the most fulfilling, well-rounded pop songs of the year.

WATCH: The video for “Celestica”, a strong contender for song of the year:





Bradford Cox keeps releasing music at a torrid pace, and he’s on quite the roll these days by following up last year’s excellent Atlas Sound album (Logos) with this Deerhunter album. Cox is the very definition of a professional songwriter, and every one of these songs on Halcyon Digest has its own personality and unique feel, from the insanely catchy “Revival” to the long, strange ultimately haunting trip that is the Jay Reatard tribute “He Would Have Laughed”. Lately, despite the quantity, Cox has managed to keep the quality extremely high.

WATCH: The music video for Halcyon Digest single “Helicopter”:





Delorean’s Subiza is difficult to classify as a genre but easy to recognize that a lot of hard work went into creating melodies this catchy. From start to finish, the level of energy is steady and never lets up. It’s one of those perfect albums you can just throw on at a party and it lights up any room.

WATCH: The video for opening track “Stay Close”:



Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing


Free Energy blazed into 2010 with their DFA Debut Stuck On Nothing. The album is a rare-breed of fist-pumping rockers laced with optimism and the kinetic charm. It’s fighting music for rival schools squaring off at the video arcade while besting each others Donkey Kong scores. Free Energy are timely thoughtful scholars of vintage sound, and produce a unique vibe all their own on Stuck On Nothing. We can’t let go of this one. FYM likes this record so much we even have it on cassette. They broadcast hope, and provide remedy towards our fever for more cowbell, as found below. 

WATCH: “Free Energy”





Is it weird to think of a Girl Talk album as ‘experimental’? Is that even possible? Even though the formula is the same, it does seem like Gregg Gillis was feeling a bit experimental when he made every single track on All Day stretch past the five and even six minute mark. That effect gives All Day a certain epic quality, but in the end it has the same result: yet another masterful mash-up of music from all corners of pop.

LISTEN: At one point, “Make Me Wanna” goes from sampling Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’ into a mix of Radiohead’s “Idioteque” and Van Halen’s “Eruption”:



Girls - Broken Dreams Club


2009’s Album was the best old-fashioned guitar/bass/drums/vocals rock & roll records to be released in what seemed like forever. San Francisco’s Girls followed that up this year with this (almost) surprise EP that will almost certainly serve as a connection line to a 2011 LP. Broken Dreams Club consists of songs that Girls have been playing live for a while now and some new ones, and like Album, they make the classic rock & roll sound feel startlingly fresh again. Blame that one on co-frontman Christopher Owens, who is rapidly becoming a pivotal songwriter of our generation.

LISTEN: The steady and honest “Carolina”:



Gorillaz - Plastic Beach


Who expected the best pop album of 2010 and beyond to come from Gorillaz? The Damon Albarn project usually took about five years to release an album that that was always fun, but nothing really spectacular. So when Plastic Beach arrived early this year, most people who completely caught off guard when it turned out to be such a beauty with stunning depth. Every song is a different genre (from the heavenly pop of “On Melancholy Hill” and “Empire Ants” to the slick hip hop of “Sweepstakes” and “Super Fast Jellyfish”) and the cameos (Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def) never seem out of place. For a man with a million projects, this may very well go down as being Albarn’s magnum opus.

WATCH: The video for one of the best songs of 2010, “On Melancholy Hill”:




Grinderman (Nick Cave and company) are back again with more searing midnight movie music. Grinderman 2 is dirty, extreme, blues-fueled, raw rock n’ roll. Nick Cave delivers dusty sex-laced lyrical flourishes, as found in Heathen Child, composing stories of dark frustrations, sung with confident descriptive prowess. Grinderman 2 is preachy, wailing, feedback-filled, and genius. This record will leave you stunned with rock lock jaw (for at least a few hours).

LISTEN: One of Grinderman 2’s more radio-friendly songs, “Palaces of Montezuma”:





Two guys. Two instruments. Tons of variety. No Age pull off sounds that bands with more than double the musicians can’t handle. Everything In Between jumps from hazy noise (“Katerpillar”) to quirky guitar pop (“Chem Trails”) and to blissful ambiance (“Positive Amputation”). Everything In Between is one of these records that can bring the people together: enough experimentation for the artsy crowd, and enough verses, choruses, and hard-hit drums for the punk kids.

LISTEN: Equal parts guitar feedback and excellent vocal melody, Kurt Cobain would have been way into “Glitter”:





A hypermodern film requires a hypermodern score, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide just that. Their score for The Social Network sounds almost futuristic, similar to the way Vangelis’ score to Blade Runner must’ve sounded in the early 80’s. Every piece of this brilliant ambient-electronic soundtrack sounds as simultaneously focus, alienated, and lonely as the characters in the film. An Oscar snub for Best Original Score would be criminal.

LISTEN: The gorgeous piece that accompanied the opening credits that featured Jesse Eisenberg running across the Harvard campus, “Hand Covers Bruise”:




This is no exaggeration: Robyn is the best pop star in the world. She’s the best pop star with short blonde hair. She’s the best pop star who had a duet with Snoop Dogg this year. She is everything the world demands in a pop megastar. The look, the style, and most importantly: the songs. It’s a shame that she isn’t selling millions upon millions of records, but we can guarantee that Robyn is no flavor of a (albeit very long) week. These songs on Body Talk, most of which pulled from all three of Robyn’s equally excellent album she released this year have more staying power and more talent behind them all the Gagas and Perrys of this world combined.

WATCH: The video for the modern classic “Dancing On My Own”:





If someone from small town America were to ask you what it’s like to go to a gay disco, you would tell them to listen to Night Work to get the answer. Falsettos that fly over your head like a boa that Jake Shears is wearing hit at an incredible pace. This album just oozes music that you can create a brand new dance move to. Right when you think it’s all dance and no slow dances, they turn on your head. It’s perfect.

WATCH: The video for Night Work’s “Fire With Fire”:





Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss emerged this year as a dynamite frontwoman, getting what were probably countless creepy lust-filled stares from guys (and very likely many girls) across the world on tour this year. Her teaming up with gifted songwriter Derek E. Miller led to Treats, a very unique pop-metal album filled with more memorable pop-metal jams than you can find in a dive bar’s jukebox. It’s a simple concept: very fucking loud guitars + infectious preprogrammed dance beats + sexy singer = overwhelming addictive album.

WATCH: The flashy, sexy video for “Infinity Guitars”:





Most people were completely thrown off by Sufjan’s foray into electronics, but those who have been listening closely shouldn’t have been too surprised. Last year, on the AIDS-benefitting compilation album Dark Was the Night, Sufjan contributed an amazing 10+ minute electronic cover of Castanets’ “You Are the Blood”. Many people hoped for a album-length helping of this new Sufjan sound, and this year we were given just that. It seemed that many of the same people who wanted a full-length electronic album from Sufjan cried foul at The Age of Adz, but, even though it did come as a bit of a shock, Sufjan’s first full-length LP since 2005 is arguably the best album he’s ever released not named Illinois. The epic scope of the album and the piercingly sentimental lyrics are pure Sufjan staples and they are both found all over this album. For most people, The Age of Adz will probably be the definition of a “grower”, as the songs on here are simply too good to be brushed off forever.

LISTEN: The cinematic and explosive “Age of Adz”:





Not only did Vampire Weekend avoid the costly sophomore slump that has doomed so many other similarly super-hyped bands in the past, but they delivered a follow-up album that pretty easily trumped the debut. On Contra, the New Yorkers carefully built on the sound of their debut album with a little experimentation, but not too much. The result kept listeners very satisfied and, barring a Strokes-esque third album meltdown, provided am excellent stepping stone for what should be a great part three.

WATCH: The star-studded video for “Giving Up the Gun”:



Wavves - King of the Beach


Animal Collective goes to Warped Tour! Wavves’ Nathan Williams kind of had a hell of a year. He sealed the deal with that cute girl-from-next-door who smokes pot and makes cool music, recruited Jay Reatard’s former bandmates, apparently recorded something with Freddy Gibbs, got arrested in Germany by a cop wearing a Metallica badge, sold official Wavves weed grinders, opened for Phoenix at Madison Square Garden (the show where Daft Punk showed up), and, oh yeah, released a really rad album called King of the Beach: the most fun 37 minute long ‘fuck you’ to the haters (apparently there are quite a few) and, to paraphrase Lil’ Wayne, got-so-high-I’m-seeing-spaceships trip you’ll hear this year. If that makes sense.

WATCH: The video for “Post Acid”, or, as Williams called it at FYF Fest, the song that’s “about soda”:





Have you read a negative review of this album anywhere?? There isn’t much left to be said about how seminal My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is that hasn’t been said a hundred times by now. Not since Radiohead’s Kid A has there been an album so hyped beyond belief that it was widely assumed it would do nothing but disappoint. But like Radiohead’s masterpiece that kicked off the previous decade, Kanye silenced the non-believers with his own magnum opus that jump started our new decade. Most rappers begin to grow stale at this point in their career, but My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sounds like the rebirth of an artist. Who knows where he’ll go from here?

LISTEN: Kanye and his psychological warfare followed by an amazing Chris Rock skit on ”Blame Game”:


Wolf Parade - Expo 86


Wolf Parade’s third album Expo 86 is another emotionally charged sonic spectacle. Spencer Kurg and Dan Boeckner battle back and forth - song after song, trading vocal/songwriting duties in a dizzying exposition of how extremely f-ing (fucking) talented these guys are. Wolf Parade have yet to release a bad record. Expo 86 will take you through a gamut of emotional nostalgia, it’s risky business music. Wolf Parade create intense musical landscapes for dreamers. It’s the lonely drinking music that can get you through the night, or an entire summer away from your lover.


WATCH: “Yulia”





This European-only release is essentially a combination of a couple of EPs, but it makes for one of the best, most original album-length releases of 2010. There is no other voice that emerged in 2010 quite like the one that comes from Nika Roza Danilova. Just 21 years old, the Los Angeles resident has a voice so haunting that it feels like it’s seen a century’s worth of sorrow. But despite the gloom and doom laced in the dire arrangements, Danilova knows how to plant some warmth in her songs, most especially on the strangely comforting “I Can’t Stand”. Zola Jesus’ potential is limitless and Danilova seems to have the creative arsenal to keep making remarkable music for a long time.

WATCH: The ghostly video for the majestic “Sea Talk”:

FYM PRESS PLAY: 2011 ARTISTS ON THE HORIZON

2010 is mere days away from expiring, and whether or not you’ve had a good year or a forgettable year, hopefully you reveled a bit in some of the breakout bands of 2010. Some of the better musicians to find success for the first time included Best Coast, Janelle Monáe, The Black Keys, Delorean, Nicki Minaj, and, depending on who you ask, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti.

Today, for Young Moderns looks ahead to 2011 and provides you with a list of some of the potential artists aiming to blow up next year. Enjoy prophesying:


Active Child
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Notable Release: Excellent 2010 EP Citrus Lane
The Details: Active Child is the creative output by Los Angeles musician Pat Grossi. Grossi employs a variety of tools, including an electric harp and and synthesizer aided by a laptop, to create his unique and vast soundscapes. Grossi’s signature choirboy falsetto rising over the icy musical landscapes gives his sound a definite dreamlike quality rarely heard elsewhere. You can’t miss the strange video for ”I’m In Your Church At Night”, in which Grossi cooks up his own hypothesis about where babies come from:




The Coathangers
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Notable Releases: Self-titled 2007 LP, 2009 LP Scramble
The Details: Back in March 2010, for Young Moderns attended the Waved Out Festival at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, expect good sets from favorite such as Best Coast and Moon Duo. While those aforementioned bands indeed played solid sets, we walked out of the show with one (well, four) things on the mind: THE COATHANGERS. Atlanta’s The Coathangers came out of nowhere and completely killed, and we’ve been hooked ever since. They’re a four-woman, complete rock & roll party, and their third full-length album is due sometime in 2011. Check out a live performance of their song ”Tonya Harding”:





Cults
HQ: New York City, New York
Notable Release: 2010 Daytrotter Session
The Details: Cults, now based in NYC after originally ailing from San Diego, created quite a stir in 2010 even though, to date, they have officially released a mere four songs. Three on their Bandcamp page, and one via a promotion through Adult Swim. With only four songs garnering so much attention, it’s going to be a pretty big deal when their full-length debut drops sometime in ‘11. Check out the adult Swim-affiliated video for “Oh My God”:




Gauntlet Hair
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Notable Release: 2010 single “I Was Thinking…”
The Details: Denver has always been a pretty great city, but never have there been a lot of great bands to come out of there (though, Pictureplane and The Apples in Stereo come to mind). Gauntlet Hair take big, delayed, fuzzy guitars that seemed to be favored by a lot of bands these days, but add their own unique explosiveness, especially when it comes to the pounding percussion and soaring vocals. It’s kind of like lo-fi Best Coast sound meets Sleigh Bells’ over-the-top heaviness. We like it. Check the very Coloradan video for ”I Was Thinking…”:





Happy Family
HQ: Baltimore, Maryland
Notable Release: Split EP Banana Split with Run DMT
The Details: Happy Family are a pretty mysterious, little-known-about Baltimore music collective affiliated with the Wigflip Records label in Baltimore. Their sample-heavy, insanely catchy, psychedelic pop number “Youtube” (which you can listen to just below) got some pretty serious plays here at FYM for a good part of 2010. Most Happy Family-related released tend to be very lengthy noise and ambient pieces (nothing wrong with that), but here’s to hoping we can hear some more of this pop flavored material again in their near future:




Heavy Hawaii
HQ: San Diego, California
Notable Release: 2010 EP HH
The Details: We covered Heavy Hawaii and their perfectly crafted surf-psych jam “Teen Angel” on our Best Songs of 2010 list last week, and judging by this song and their HH EP, they easily have the potential to blow up a little bit like their fellow San Diego musicians Wavves and The Soft Pack. Listen to “Teen Angel” right here:





La Sera
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Notable Release: Self-titled debut album due the day after Valentine’s Day
The Details: La Sera, the new project from Vivian Girls singer Katy Goodman, fits wonderfully in the Los Angeles scene in which its risen from (Best Coast, Wavves, Abe Vigoda are all affiliated with La Sera in various ways). Goodman is a master of catchy melody and has a voice to match those skills. Expect La Sera’s self-titled debut to be the soundtrack of your sunshine-y days in 2011. Check the video for “Never Come Around”, in which Goodman plays the most adorably demented serial killer ever in a video that pulls off both cutsey and sadistic:




Matthew Friedberger
HQ: Brooklyn, New York
Notable Releases: The entire incredible Fiery Furnaces discography, plus a 2006 solo double album
The Details: Matthew Friedberger is probably the most established musician on this list, as he is half of The Fiery Furnaces, who may be the best and most under-appreciated band of the past decade, but his goals for 2011 are absolutely noteworthy. Aside from working on a new Furnaces album or two (one of which may be only sold in form of only its sheet music — as the band claims that people don’t buy music anymore, so they can make it themselves), Friedberger is about to launch a series of eight solo albums, each to be released every other month in 2011, and all only available on vinyl as part of a subscription service through Thrill Jockey Records. Friedberger will focus on one musical instrument for every album, and the series will be concluded with some bonus music featuring collaborations with other musicians. The whole project is quite the spectacle and should be paid attention to by people who truly appreciate a talented and ambitious mind. The first of the albums is the piano-centric Napoleonette, which will feature the song “Shirley”:




Memoryhouse
HQ: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Notable Releases: 2010’s The Years EP and a slew of fantastic singles
The Details: This Canadian duo rode the chillwave fad into 2010, but by the end of the year, they established their own identity apart those bands overdosing on lo-fi synths. Memoryhouse’s sound has a melancholy, dreamy feel to it that simply isn’t present in the respective sounds of other synth-pop bands out there today. their eagerly-awaited full-length debut album is due soon. Here’s the video for the Eternal Sunshine-borrowing”Lately”:




The Middle East
HQ: Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Notable Release: 2008 album The Recordings of the Middle East (reissued as an EP in 2009)
The Details: The Middle East may be one of the best bands of 2011 that we’re lucky to even have around these days. After putting out their debut album in 2008, The Recordings of the Middle East, the Australian band broke up for a while before wisely reforming and hitting the road on some very noteworthy tours in 2010. They started out the year opening for Pavement’s triumphant reunion tour, and For Young Moderns were blown away by their phenomenal opening set at what was already a grand occasion even without them: Pavement’s first North American show since 1999. After stunning crowds across the States with Pavement, The Middle East brought their excellent live act on tour opening for Mumford & Sons, where presumedly they killed it every night, making Mumford & Sons look like cheap Middle East knockoffs. The Middle East are expected to finally drop their second album in 2011. Expect something along the lines of an Australian Arcade Fire album, with a live show just as good. Check out a live performance of ”Blood”, from their debut album:




Zola Jesus
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Notable Releases: Stridulum II, an album made of of two EPs
The Details: For Young Moderns has been raving about the wonderfully haunting music of Zola Jesus for some time now. There was no debate that, even though she was a prominent fixture for our ears in 2010, she deserved to be recognized for potentially dominating in 2011 as well. She’ll likely be coming off an excellent year with another full length album, which we will be anticipating feverishly. Check out the video for “Night”:

FYM SHORTLIST: TOP 13 ALBUMS & ARTISTS • 2011 PICKED BY OUR L.A. WRITER • WILL SELLERS