Revealing #15-#11

This whole venture has gotten us really excited about the past year in music, but more importantly, we've even more excited for music being released in the coming year. Patrick is going to have the whole scoop for you....

15. Vienna Teng-Dreaming Through The Noise
Read what we wrote about her in this post.
Buy Dreaming Through the Noise here.
Listen to "1BR/1BA" as part of Sandburg's Top 20 Playlist.


14. Ollabelle-Riverside Battle SongsWe're only loving this band more and more. It's bluesy, it's soulful, it's good.
Read what we wrote about Riverside Battle Songs in this post.
Buy Riverside Battle Songs here.
Listen to "Reach For Love" as part of Sandburg's Top 20 Playlist.

13. Razorlight-Razorlight
Why exactly these guys decided to self-title their sophomore release, I have no idea. Why Pitchfork berated these guys to no end, I have no idea. Why Q Magazine rated this album the 3rd best of the year, I do have an idea.
Read what I wrote about Razorlight in this post.
Buy Razorlight here.
Listen to "Fall to Pieces" as part of Sandburg's Top 20 Playlist.

12. Ray Lamontagne-Till the Sun Turns Black
I was anxiously anticipating this album and my expectations were definitely met by Ray Lamontagne's raspy and comforting vocals. Ray Lamontagne is a unique talent, whose styles range from laid-back blues arrangements, to Carribean lamentations, to funky fresh melodies. Imagine Jack Johnson rolled together with a little Nick Drake, and you've got a basic idea of what Lamontagne's all about. I couldn't believe that I didn't post about this year, but he nevertheless makes the grade here.
Buy Till the Sun Turns Black here.
Listen to "Three More Days" as part of Sandburg's Top 20 Playlist.

11. Phoenix-It's Never Been Like That
No, they're not from Phoenix. They're a French-American band that write trippy, catchy, and downright fun songs. Now, ordinarily I don't like anything French unless we're talking about Air or--as is now the case--Phoenix. With pulsing drums, a happy guitar, a modest usage of electronic tools, and fluttering vocals, Phoenix has put together an album that has me thinking that "it's never been like that". I'm not going to link to the Pitchfork review (because that only encourages them), but from what I recall, they received a pretty good review for a band that is relatively well known in indie circles. Screw it, they got an 8.0--even Pitchfork liked it. Read the review here.
Buy It's Never Been Like That here.
Listen to "Napoleon Says" as part of Sandburg's Top 20 Playlist.