Lav's Music Corner

Yes LCD Soundsystem are back and yes there was a pretty good chance going into this list they would be at the top spot 99 out of 100 times, see whether it came to fruition.  5.  Punish  - Ethel Cain I still get some dolls unhappy with my review of Ethel Cain's breakthrough Preacher's Daughter  where I pointed out how inclined she is to senselessly waste time with both too many songs and songs that wander on for way too long. With her even longer follow-up, I can already feel similar instincts creeping in but this lead single does have me biting my tongue a bit. Despite definitely being both longer and slower than it needs to, the subtler cracking darkness that the Ethel Cian persona has always been wading through is very much intact and it's clear why she's made a name for herself by doing it so well.  Listen 4.  AAA  - FLO R&B girl group FLO have as much potential as anyone right now and they've been showing it off with great singles for a few yea...

Late, but not LATE. Enjoy <3 5.  F.O.O.F  - Frankie Cosmos Frankie's nostalgically aloof brand of indie pop isn't likely to make a list like this often, but in a week with a few surprising let downs including the first sign of vocal fallibility in Benjamin Clementine's entire life, Frankie gets a shot here. This is a sweet and endearing little tune that wins you over more with its charm than the writing of its refrains.  Listen 4.  Beep  - M.I.A M.I.A's run of recent singles has been a bit rough, to the point where I can legitimately worry if my praise of this song will age poorly when all is said and done. But in the present day I have to say I like it, it's the best song she's released in ages and it does the larger-than-life snark better than the previous singles could ever dream of.  Listen 3.  Natural Information  - Bill Callahan Counting on Bill to deliver good music consistently is a winning bet and it's just paid off again. With a short...

Ten years is a long time, you'll realize that as you stumble upon records on this list that you vividly remember when they were released, and suddenly feel very old, I know I did. But ten years adds a lot to a record, we can see how albums become influential, or forgotten in the wake of the trends they either pioneered or rode in on the tail end of. Had I made a list like this in 2010 I'm sure it would have looked very different from top to bottom, and there are almost no records that we all view the same way today that we did in 2010. But for the sake of retrospective I poured through every album in my catalog from 2010 and even many more that I hadn't heard in years and assembled the 50 albums that sound the most fresh, influential and captivating today.  50. Crazy For You  - Best Coast The debut record from Best Coast isn't going to wow you with compositional density or instrumental complexity, but its attitude is impeccable. From the surf rock riffs t...