Top 20 Baltimore Albums of 2010

Below is a list of my favorite records released by artists from Baltimore in 2010. Before I began to ponder these albums, I had to decide whether or not to include work released through a local label that got started up this year, Friends Records.

I've never considered Bmore Musically Informed a proper form of journalism, but I still feel uneasy about endorsing records on this list that I have personally been involved with releasing (re: Height, Sri Aurobindo, Weekends, Celebration, and other friends). While I have chosen to leave them off this list, my affection for them is already pretty clear.

Again this year there was a long list of amazing releases to come out of Baltimore, churning in all kinds of diversity to invade your ear-space. Hear for yourself...



20. Holy Ghost Party - Prog Parents // Wtr Clr



19. Pfisters - Narcicity // Fan Death



18. Crazy Dreams Bands - War Dream // Holy Mountain



17. Lizz King - All Songs Go To Heaven // Ehse



16. Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore // LTD Comp



15. Dead Drums - Fashion Defense // Self-released



14. Raindeer - Raindeer EP // Self-released



13. The Art Department - Paperwork / Birdwork // Gen Pop



12. Romantic States - Romantic States // Tater Junction



11. Do While - Do While // Wigflip



10. Mickey Free - Last of the Tight Wiggers // Self-released



9. Happy Family / Run DMT - Banana Split // Wigflip



8. Daniel Higgs - Say God // Thrill Jockey



7. Jason Urick - Fussing & Fighting // Thrill Jockey



Wye Oak - My Neighbor / My Creator // Merge



5. Double Dagger - Masks // Thrill Jockey



4. Beach House - Teen Dream // Sub Pop



3. Dustin Wong - Infinite Love // Thrill Jockey



2. Lower Dens - Twin Hand Movement // Gnomonosong



1. Future Islands - In Evening Air // Thrill Jockey

Beach House - "White Moon"

We're all more than likely always going to be suckers for a new Beach House song. This one comes compliments from an iTunes Session EP just released.



No word on whether or not Bill Gates is on production, but the session includes re-worked versions of more familiar songs like "Gila" and "Norway" performed live by the outfit as a three-piece. However, "White Moon" is a brand new song, and sports a transition that willl have folks swooning the world over.

Get the tracklist for the new digital EP after the jump.

Beach House
iTunes Session 2010

1. Walk in the Park
2. White Moon
3. Norway
4. Silver Soul
5. Gila
6. Real Love

Photos / Review: Whartscape 2010 Sunday

While most reports of this year's Whartscape might first call to mind the blazing heat wave, only on Sunday did the weather actually affect the musical happenings. A major storm's wind took control of the massive tarp over the the main stage, lifting it high up near the roofs of the buildings and then slamming it back down on the stage. Many might blame the vibes of Little Howlin' Wolf's set for the storm, and I'm guessing the band would probably consider that a compliment.


The heavy rain began, the music halted, and folks scattered - but those who stayed were treated to an epic rain dance performance starring Adam Endres and April Camlin. The music at Current Space was announced to be canceled for the day (even though Ducktails and a few others still performed for a small crowd outside after the storm) and Sonar was named the new location for the lineup of Beach House, Celebration, Health, Wye Oak, Deakin, and Lower Dens. Many kudos to those who made a shift like this happen with such short notice.


The change allowed for more people to come see these acts, but also forced a handful of bands to move to the H&H bill that night. The vibe at Sonar was at times a bit off when compared to the usual Whartscape aura, but all of the performances were beyond spectacular. Celebration and Wye Oak's new material showed much promise for their new LPs in the works, and Lower Dens nailed a set chock full of the amazing material off their freshly released Twin Hand Movement.


Firemen were visible towards the end of the evening, a presence that lead to the hasty halt of Beach House's set. After responding to a pulled alarm over at the show going on simultaneously in the Club stage, the Baltimore City Fire Department shut down Sonar smack in the middle of Beach House's set - sending the packed house home or onward.


The H&H bill was heavily beefed up that night by adding Future Islands, Prince Rama, and Talk Normal to the 5th Dimension lineup after the storm changed plans. This allowed Future Islands to close out Whartscape 2010 for those who made it into the 5th Dimension space. Their set was nothing short of legendary, and the crowd stormed the stage during the last song. The band was also joined by Katrina Ford of Celebration, whose soaring vocals contributed to another amazing rendition of "In The Fall".



THANK YOU WHAM CITY FOR 5 YEARS OF WHARTSCAPE.

More from Valerie's photo set after the jump.

Lower Dens


Wye Oak


Deakin


Celebration


Health


Beach House


Prince Rama


Talk Normal


Future Islands



Photos by Valerie

Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore

From the first time I met Nick Often and Greg Ward of Rapdragons last year, the two Baltimore rappers were enticing me with a local-oriented project they had in the works. The project is titled Featuring Baltimore, and it will be officially released for free tomorrow via their very own LTD Comp.

Featuring Baltimore is a full length mixtape, where in which each song samples from a different Baltimore artist. The result of Nick and Greg's superior taste in local music and knack for beat-cooking is 16 tracks of hip hop ready for any summer party. Hear a taste below.



"Dragon's Heart" samples "A Dog's Dick" by Lower Dens, one of the standout tracks on the new Lower Dens LP that drops later this summer. The Rapdragons take on the jam capitalizes on the killer bass line found in the original, and of course adds on top verses of Nick and Greg's party rap that Bmore has come to know and love.

The full release can be downloaded for free on LTD Comp tomorrow, and features samples deriving from The Agrarians, Beach House, Double Dagger, Future Islands, Ponytail, Weekends, Baby Venom, Dope Body, Arbouretum, Secret Mountains, Mr. Moccasin, The Art Department, Lo Moda, and more. Peep the full track listing below.


Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore (LTD Comp.)

01 Early for Work (samples Late for School by Ponytail)

02 Come Harvest (samples Growing Season by Secret Mountains)

03 Plot Twist (samples Shakescene by The Agrarians)

04 Trivial Prey feat. Rebel Conscious (samples Grave Hunter by Mr. Moccasin)

05 Camp Everywhere (samples Camp Nowhere by Weekends)

06 Real Summer (samples False Spring by Arbouretum)

07 Memory (samples Vision by Dope Body)

08 Manifest (samples Camouflage by Double Dagger)

09 Bury (samples Dig by Blood Baby)

10 Rap'n'Roll feat. AK & Hanna Badalova (samples Rock'n'Roll by The Art Department)

11 Slick Rick (samples Eyepatch by Baby Venom)

12 I Went to Her feat. Seven (samples You Came to Me by Beach House)

13 Constant Metropolis (samples Istanbul by Lo Moda)

14 Dragon's Heart (samples A Dog's Dick by Lower Dens)

15 Big Dreamers (samples Little Dreamer by Future Islands)

16 Gotta Go feat. Hemlock Ernst (samples Cannot Move by Existencils)

Photos: Beach House @ 2640 Space with Washed Out

Baltimore's favorite dream pop duo has now become the world's favorite, and Beach House finally came home from their massive 2010 world tour last weekend. They played the 2640 Space with Washed Out Saturday night, and it was an evening that did not disappoint their hometown crowd.


The highlight of the night was the sound, as Monozine brought in a brand new sound system that has never been used before at the church. Folks have often complained of sounds being lost in the deep rafters of the large building, but this system was enormous and it really showed. Victoria's voice bellowed over the crowd in a god-like manner that would only be appropriate in a space as holy as such, and low/high end sounds bounced off the walls with delight and ease.


Beach House's set list was heavy in material from their recent monster of an LP, Teen Dream which dropped via Sub Pop, but some classics were also displayed like "Gila", "Master of None", and "Turtle Island". There was fog, there were spinning glittery emeralds, and the lighting was spot-on as you'll see in Valerie's amazing photos below.

Beach House










Washed Out





Photos by Valerie

Clusterf*ck: Beach House @ 2640 Space, Weekends / Lemonade / Sisters @ The Pet Cemetary

We're going to keep it short and sweet for this week's edition. This weekend, the biggest dream pop duo in in the world right now finally comes home, and plays at the church. Saturday night Beach House play at the 2640 Space with Washed Out, and yes this one is very much sold out. Look out for our photo coverage next week.

Tonight, the Pet Cemetary has a monster of a party with Lemonade, Sisters, Weekends, and more to help celebrate the release of the new issue of Mapped zine. Friends Records will have copies of the new Weekends album, Strange Cultures, on limited-run cassette tapes. Come say hi, and this is your first chance to hear the Rob Girardi-produced Strange Cultures. There will only be about 20 or so copies of this available tomorrow.

Also, definitely don't sleep on the endless amount of awesome the Maryland Film Festival has to offer this weekend. I highly recommend going to check out the world premiere of 0s and 1s on Saturday, whose director I interviewed yesterday. You also certainly couldn't go wrong with a Dan Deacon-endorsed screening of Total Recall, or Bill Callahan presenting Faces.

Beach House Play Songs in a Big Furry Room

This just in - the new Beach House album is really good. It's super nice to see all this warm reception for Baltimore's Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, as the interwebs have been full of hushed and dreamy pop music in the weeks surrounding the release of Teen Dream.

Above you'll find a live video production compliments of Pitchfork, where Beach House perform the lead track off their new LP called "Zebra". This was shot and recorded in their practice space, that was lined with soft and fluffy white fur. I've seen them play in a lot of different environments with various elements to bounce their sound around, but nope... never fur.

The set for the shoot was designed by Alex and Victoria. Daniel Franz of Arbouretum, who has been a recent accomplice of their performances, joins them to lend a percussive hand. Beach House also recently stopped by Daytrotter where they played four tracks off of Teen Dream, including two of my favorites - "Take Care" and "Used to Be".

Check out the other two P4k videos for "Silver Soul" and "Walk in the Park" below.

Beach House - Teen Dream

Beach House "Silver Soul" from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

Above is the video for the Victoria Legrand directed "Silver Soul", the second track off of Beach House's Teen Dream. The local duo's third album and Sub Pop debut drops on Tuesday, and the "Silver Soul" video premiered today.

Allie studies sound for her collegiate career at NYU, an ideal perspective for this particular record. After the jump, get Allie's take on what is likely one of the bigger albums that will come out of Baltimore this year.

From their self-titled debut in 2006 to 2008’s Devotion, Beach House has become known for their dreamy atmospherics and melancholic minimalism. Building on that base, the band has returned with Teen Dream, an album which takes their core aesthetic to a new level. Elements of their sound that were once unsettlingly murky are now clearer and bright. That being said, Beach House has still managed to maintain the warm blanket of reverb that marked their previous works.

For this album, their debut release on Sub Pop, Beach House members Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally sought the help of producer Chris Coady, who had previously worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Blonde Redhead. The three retreated to a converted church in upstate New York, appropriately named Dreamland, and began recording Teen Dream. The natural acoustics of this setting are quite audible throughout the album, which is perfectly fitting with Legrand’s throaty vocals, the unsteady organs, and Scally’s droning guitars.

Teen Dream marks a shift from insular to intimate. Benefiting from a more prominent rhythm section, Beach House’s hazy, haunting sound is more grounded and accessible than ever before. It doesn’t seem to be coincidental that the songs that best showcase this growth—“Norway”, “Used To Be”, and “10 Mile Stereo”—are those that were or will be released as singles.

While some of the songs could probably benefit from a bit of editing—the average song length is about four and a half minutes, which causes some songs to drag towards the end—the album overall flows nicely, bolstering the ambience that the band is known for. As made clear with their previous releases, Beach House isn’t afraid to grow and build—Teen Dream is no exception to the rule.

As of right now, Beach House's next Baltimore show is May 8th at 2640 Space.

Just Announced: Beach House at 2640 Space

Freshly signed up to Sub Pop, and on the heels of releasing their third album Teen Dream, Beach House have just announced their first Baltimore show since last summer outside the Metro Gallery. The duo will be starting a hefty European tour at the end of the month, but will be playing a hometown show at the 2640 Space in May.

Get all the details on this big Spring show after the click.
















BEACH HOUSE
with special guest
WASHED OUT

Saturday May 8th
at 2640 Space
2640 St Paul St
Baltimore, Md 21218
8pm Doors ALL AGES

Tickets onsale Friday January 15th
at MISSIONTIX.COM & RED EMMA'S CAFE
For more info visit monozine.com