Armed with a slew of unconventional instruments and raw talent, New York’s Freelance Whales offer a quirky, youthful freshness that is nearly impossible not to fall in love with. Their debut album Weathervanes strikes a perfect balance between melodic/instrumental innovation and general eccentricity to produce an album that you can’t help but smile while listening to. It’s optimistic without being too poppy and charming without being cheesy. With sweetly idiosyncratic lyrics (i.e., “Shut me up with your long tubesocks/they don’t scream ‘Hey, let’s just be friends’”) and a folksy vibe, Weathervanes manages to fit in with the indie greats of the past decade.

Appeals to fans of: The Postal Service, Arcade Fire, Dawes, Local Natives, Frightened Rabbit

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Generator (First Floor)
2. Hannah
3. Location
4. Channels
5. Starring
6. Kilojoules
7. Broken Horse
8. Danse Flat
9. Ghosting
10. We Could Be Friends
11. Vessels
12. Generator (Second Floor)
13. The Great Estates

Some indie bands are really good at avoiding the oh so dreaded radar. And some, no matter how hard they try, simply can’t help but snatching attention. New York natives, THE BIRd DAY has succeeded thus far in staying indie with the release of their debut album “Collect Vibrations.” Not even available on iTunes, this album is still a guiltfree pleasure for all those bespeckled, American Apparel jacket-wearing followers of the indie movement; it won’t be so unknown for so long though. After some serious pillaging I was able to find this album in its entirety for download and it is worth the dig. It’s always nice to find a band with a positive outlook on life that gushes out of its music. THE BIRd DAY is the kind of feel good, beat-heavy indie band that you don’t want to miss out on.

Appeals to fans of: MGMT,STRFKR, Empire of the Sun, Passion Pit, Casiokids

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Spinning
2. The Past Noise
3. You Will Understand
4. First Wave
5. Feel The Wave
6. Thirsty
7. Gonna Beg You
8. More Movement
9. All Of Mine
10. Space Feeling
11. The 11th
12. Woven Words
13. Five Fingers
14. Feel The Wave Pt. II

Two years following the release of sophomoric slump album Loyalty to Loyalty, Long Beach quartet Cold War Kids have released their third album Mine is Yours. In dire need of a comeback from the previous flop, Cold War Kids has returned with an entirely new sound, a result of working with producer Jacquire King. King’s influence is evident as Mine is Yours fits right in with a shuffle playlist of Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse—the major difference being that you can actually sing along with CWK without looking/sounding like a complete idiot.

CWK have completely revamped their aesthetic, gleaning the original raw, rough edge sound that distinguished them and placed them in the same class as Spoon, The White Stripes and The Black Keys. Mine is Yours expands the band’s horizons with iridescent guitars and pummeling drums. Even the content is different, straying from the storytelling lyrics of earlier albums, turning to stokedonlife yet sometimes bruised lyrics that focus more on the love and hurt of relationships than alcoholism and hospitalization.

Mine is Yours requires a few runs through before you can really decide how you feel about it, simply because it deviates so much from the band’s previously established sound. Ultimately, the album is a success because though the band has masked much of what made it awesome in the first place, CWK did not lose its impact. The album is full-bodied as any with tracks like “Finally Begin, “Skip the Charades” and “Bulldozer” as potential singles.

The album’s namesake track is the kind of epically inspirational tune you’d picture in the turn of the third act of a romantic comedy (you know, when the main character charges down a busy street in Manhattan after his jilted lover, amidst honking taxis) but in a shockingly good way. Terrible analogy aside, the album is a testament of the band’s maturity. And though the sound may be quite different from anything CWK has put out thus far, this change should not be held against them. It’s polished and intentional without straying from the honesty that makes Cold War Kids, well, Cold War Kids.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Mine is Yours
2. Louder Than Ever
3. Royal Blue
4. Finally Begin
5. Out of the Wilderness
6. Skip the Charades
7. Sensitive Kid
8.Bulldozer
9. Broken Open
10. Cold Toes On the Cold Floor
11. Flying Upside Down
12. Don’t Look Down On Me (Bonus Track)
13. Fashionable (Bonus Track)

Portland elctro-pop band Starfucker has a reputation of pushing the proverbial envelope with an explicit title, a knack for wearing women’s clothing on stage and annoyingly changing its name several times. Over the past three years the public has known them as PYRAMID, Pyramiddd and Strfkr. Finally settling on a title—officially Starfucker, but touring as STRFKR—the four-piece has released a pre-orderable/downloadable album, scheduled to officially release in March. While the band’s title might make your parents shake their heads, they get away with it by delivering music that is consistently and undeniably catchy. And with the early release of Reptilians critics can’t help but drop all charges. This is music. And it’s good.

Reptilians has you instantly hooked with its opener “Born,” a cheery acoustic jam with high pitched vocals akin to Passion Pit and more enjoyable than MGMT. Meanwhile, the record as a whole is solid and innovative enough to exceed the reputation of bands Starfucker has been compared to. The album is glossed to synthtastic perfection, suited for any basement dance party and the ideal soundtrack for a sunny day. “Julius” and “Bury Us Alive” are equally addictive, providing a firm skeleton for the album. By track 5, nostalgic pop jam “Death as a Fetish,” listeners are completely hooked. This album is likely to shake your speakers all year.

Reptilians rolls over smoothly with 12 consistently hooky tracks and two bonus tracks (do the math, that’s 14 total). It’s a feat nowadays for a band to put out a solid 6-track album, let alone 14. Reptilians succeeds in delivering beats that are both danceable and philosophically rich, with quotes from British philosopher Alan Watts interspersed in songs such as “Hungry Ghost” and “Quality Time.” This synth-strong, pop-heavy record is not one to be ignored, with songs you wouldn’t mind crawling into and floating around in for a little while, most notably “The White of Noon.” Starfucker/STRFKR is a Ping-Pong ball in mercury, now all we can do is sit back and watch it float swiftly to the top.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Born
2. Julius
3. Bury Us Alive
4. Mystery Cloud
5. Death as a Fetish
6. Astoria
7. Reptilians
8. The White of Noon
9. Hungry Ghost
10. Mona Vegas
11. Millions
12. Quality Time
13. Slow Dance (Bonus Track)
14. Recess Time (Bonus Track)

It seems like yesterday that Julian Casablancas first stepped onto the scene, straggly hair and denim jacket, forever changing the music scene with the Strokes’ first (and flawless) album Is This It? That was August 2001, and somehow in a vacuum of time we have found ourselves on the cusp of 2011.

A decade has passed and we have yet to experience an album with the same degree of musical brilliance and unintentional awesome-ness since “Is This It?” blew out our speakers for the first time. However, music has never been quite the same. The past few years have opened the door of anything-goes, allowing for musical experimentation that defines our generation with bands like Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer and Animal Collective.

2010, however, hasn’t necessarily been trademarked by the new-ageness (no that’s not a word) that you might have expected when music underwent such a swift revolution in the past decade. Rather, 2010 burst to the scene a slew of throwback bands that seem to fumble to recall the lost memories of our preceding generations, attempting to replicate sounds of the ‘60’s, ‘70s and most profoundly—the ‘80s. Lo-fi synth bands likes Wavves and Neon Indian dominated the scene—Wavves with its sophomore album King of The Beach and Neon Indian with its debut Psychic Chasms.

The indie world shared in the guilty pleasure of folk bands such as Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ Up From Below and Delta Spirit’s History From Below. I don’t know exactly what it is that lies “below” that drives these bands but whatever it is….it’s working.

I could continue writing about the past 365 days worth of music, but in that case I might as well write book. Instead of testing your attention spans, I’ve listed my top ten most played tracks from the year. These tracks and the bands that bestowed them speak for themselves. Enjoy.

-Witler

Top 10 Indie/Alternative Tracks of 2010

10. Post Acid —Wavves
9. Don’t Cry—Deerhunter
8. Madder Red—Yeasayer
7. Boy—Ra Ra Riot
6. Everlasting Light—The Black Keys
5. Laredo—Band of Horses
4. 40 Day Dream—Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
3. Floating Vibes—Surfer Blood
2. Excuses—The Morning Benders
1. Bambi—Tokyo Police Club