Joan Anderman's picks
1. The Streets, ‘‘A Grand Don’t Come
for Free’’ (Vice/Atlantic)
British garage/two-step hero Mike
Skinner transformed a few mundane
days and druggy nights in the life of a
loutish urban slacker into an ambitious
minimalist hip-hop narrative told in 11 chapters — complete
with plot, dialogue, characters, conflict, and resolution.
An oddly moving and brilliantly literate entry in the
rap sweepstakes.
2. Wilco, ‘‘A Ghost is Born’’ (Nonesuch)
Crude 12-minute guitar codas, desolate expanses of
surrealism, cranky rock jams, and bruised loveliness anchor
this restless mess from Jeff Tweedy and company —
who take another graceful, courageous step away from
their alt-country roots toward open, searching structures
that remain cosmically unresolved. While Eminem rants
about losing yourself in the music, Tweedy does it.
3. Loretta Lynn, ‘‘Van Lear Rose’’ (Interscope)
The perfect, twisted pairing of 70-year-old country
legend Lynn with young blues-garage upstart Jack White
of the White Stripes resulted in a work of ragged, lively
glory. White’s grasp of both tradition and impressionism
and his enthralling, multitextured sonics bring the depth
and range of Lynn’s writing into new focus.
4. Bjork, ‘‘Medulla’’ (Elektra)
Made mostly of voices that materialize in angelic clusters,
hard-buzzing nuggets, dissonant layers, and ecclesiastic
swells, the Icelandic sprite’s latest effort bridges the
eerie aesthetic chasm between music’s earthiest tool —
human vocal cords — and the cutting edge of sonic experimentation.
Happily, paradox is her comfort zone, and
Bjork has once again rearranged the rules to suit her bottomless
whimsy.
5. U2, ‘‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’’ (Interscope)
The Biggest Band in the World delivers a guitar-gilded,
back-to-basics comfort album that may not be the second
coming but surely restores one’s faith in the possibility
of rejuvenation — and enduring relevance — from
card-carrying members of the rock ’n’ roll machine.
6. Le Tigre, ‘‘This Island’’ (Strummer/Universal)
Punchy, topical dance-punk from radical feminists
who skewer sociopolitical agendas and cover the Pointer
Sisters with equal panache. It’s hard to remember the last
record that was this stylish, visceral, important, and fun
all at once.
7. AC Newman, ‘‘The Slow Wonder’’ (Matador)
The first solo album from the frontman for Canadian
underground supergroup the New Pornographers brims
with witty songcraft, big fat power hooks, and elegant
dorkiness. Exuberant indie-pop of the first degree.
8. Joseph Arthur, ‘‘Our Shadows Will Remain’’ (Vector)
A mutant-pop tour through the broken heart of humanity.
The songs are lush, poetic, squalling, spiritual,
and strange. Just like life.
9. Ron Sexsmith, ‘‘Retriever’’ (Nettwerk)
Most singer-songwriters will go their whole careers
without penning a single song as winsome and compelling
as those the gifted Canadian tunesmith Sexsmith
cranks out by the dozen. His latest is a .awless collection
of warm, clear-eyed gems.
10. Brian Wilson, ‘‘Smile’’ (Nonesuch)
The chief Beach Boy’s self-described teen symphony to
God — shelved in 1967 and resuscitated this year after
languishing for nearly four decades in the artist’s clouded
psyche — is a spry, inscrutable epic of psychedelic Americana.
Flawed yet worthy, this is a must for anyone who
cares about pop music.
Joan Anderman is a Globe staff music writer.
