Articles

Continuing our countdown of 2010′s best, we turn our gaze to torch-bearers in IDM, jazz, plunderphonics, and garage rock.

Jazz, post-punk, folk, ambient, psychedelic, and of course, indie-rock releases are scattered throughout albums 40-31 of 2010.

Puzzling stylistic transitions, throwback vibes, diamonds in the rough, and post-rock consistency highlight some of the year’s best.

The Byrds’ take on this Pete Seeger track stood in stark contrast to hit radio in 1965, a plea for peace in place of a puerile love song.

With ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’, proto-punks The Seeds laid the groundwork for the great abrasive music that was to follow in the 70s and 80s.

Our first listen through Arcade Fire’s latest opus is not an auspicious one as the band’s fabled tension and passion is all but absent.

Staffer Jason Lent examines the newly re-packaged Duran Duran as well as the band’s place in pop music history.

Seminal avant-gardist John Cage continually defied music conventions throughout his career, and we’ve decided to spotlight it.

Brooklyn rockers The National released our third favorite album of the decade in Boxer, so how does its follow-up fare?

Kristian Matsson aka The Tallest Man On Earth delivers his sophomore full-length and SOTS feels he’s struck gold again.

Joanna Newsom’s latest venture is consistently pretty, but even that quality becomes tiresome after 2 hours.

A SOTS listening party was thrown for Spoon’s Transference earlier this week. These are our initial thoughts. Fuck Brian.

It’s never possible to include every staffer’s favorites on year-end lists. Honorable mentions are there to highlight these gems.

Bill Callahan’s latest record sees him swatting Cohen comparisons away by brushing his music with as much sonic as lyrical clout.

Albums 25 through 11 of SOTS’ year-end list feature some of the most exciting purveyors of underground rock music today.