Ali Awan's Top 5 Albums of the Decade
Photo by Brett Long
Dang, picking 5 albums for an entire decade is tough. It feels like a lot happens in 10 minutes these days let alone 10 years, so I’m going to have to dig for this…So far I’ve been a Philly-based musician for most of my life - playing, writing, and touring in different bands so I’m lucky to be exposed to a lot of music by a lot of different people as well as the ever present social media/Spotify algorithms etc...To make this a bit easier, I’ll narrow my search criteria: in no particular order of best/worst, these are some of the records that have an influence on my emotions and approach to writing/recording/mixing music between 2010 and now.
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain (2011)
This is a perfect rock and roll record. Infectious choruses & hooks for as many fish as you can imagine. Melodies & riffs so good they smell like caviar, stinky but tasty and expensive, like puke in a Rolls Royce...Speaking of fish its pretty surfy at times too. You can hear where the Allah-Lahs might’ve got some tonal/mixing ideas from for their 2012 S/T album. The sense of humor on this record makes me giggle out loud in public all the time, all of the Black Lips records do but especially “Arabia Mountain.” In my opinion, the greatest attribute of the Black Lips music, and especially this record is that it makes you think while making you laugh. Lockett Pundt of Deerhunter produced "Bicentennial Man" and "Go Out and Get It", while Mark Ronson was responsible for producing the rest…after Ronson touched it the Black Lips completed production at home. This could explain how catchy and tasty the instrumentation is. A dirty gem that will always hold a dingy place in my heart. The Black Lips just released a jingle jangly cowboy single called “Gentleman” off of their upcoming 2020 album “Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart”.
Mattiel - S/T (2017)
This incredible record is a fuzzy combination of 60’s r&b, french pop, country-western, and modern garage. Mattiel is an absolute force. Her powerful lyrics and melody weave in and out of a wrecking crew-style band most likely hand-picked by Randy Michael who is an Atlanta producer, guitar player, songwriter, and engineer who also plays on the record himself. The percussive elements on this album are so perfectly played and recorded, just as gritty as they are effective...Randy Michael and Jonah Swilley wrote the instrumental compositions and then Mattiel completed them with lyrics and melodies. My fav tracks on the album are “Silver Pillbox”, "Cass Tech”, and “Count Your Blessings”. Also “Ready to Think” is particularly beautiful and uplifting poetry dressed with organs and driving drums. You can’t NOT recognize Mattiel, she sings and speaks in a classic & immediately recognizable timbre. If you let it play below and come back to finish the rest of this list I bet you’ll still be listening to the record when you are done reading…was I right? Mattiel recently released another great album this year entitled “Satis Factory” on ATO records.
OJR - Nashville Demos (2015)
Oliver John Rodgers recorded some real good songs on Garageband and then put them out. Pretty simple. These tunes keep you listening with lo-fi fidelity and hi-fi stories. I think of bands/people like King Tuff, Old 97’s, Dr. Dog, and Marc Bolan when I listen to this record. “Sad Pony” is a stand-out for me with how bluesy it is without being cheese. The bridge is a really funny self deprecating take on the world that builds to a ripping guitar lead outro and the lyrics sound like something John Lennon would write after some buttered toast and cocaine. Just a really good rock and roll record with a lot of nostalgic influence but still freshy fresh. Check this one out on a long car ride for sure.
Temples - Sun Structures (2014)
These British lads just became label-mates with Mattiel actually…This particular album was all self-recorded and produced by singer and guitarist James Bagshaw in the Temples living space and then mixed in a studio. Its a perfect example of how a band can sound like they tracked in an old professional studio space in today’s age without the expenses & has had an immense influence on my recoding/writing ideas...Great 60’s/70’s tones with very modern recording/mixing techniques. Super tight riffs and melodies keep every song moving and immediate. Sam Tom’s drumming really gives it a groove as does Tom Walmsley’s bass playing. Adam Smith’s synth lines/tones really set great moods and settings too, from ancient Egypt to mossy medieval courtyards. “Sun Structures” is one of those records you listen all the way through without even noticing. The percussion on this record is awesome too, I’m just a big fan of percussion instruments. “Sun Structures” is an open marriage between 60’s psych, 70’s glam, and modern pop. Absolutely love it. Temples just released the polished and heavily synthy “Hot Motion” on ATO.
Khruangbin- Con Todo El Mundo (2018)
For fans of everything soulful and chill. This album is one of my go-to’s for relaxation and hanging out with friends since its release. Khruangbin are absolute masters of the instrumental track, using vocal parts as more of a...you-guessed-it, percussion instrument. This record makes me think of other masters of the chill and instrumentals such as The Meters, Os Mutantes, Link Wray, Chet Atkins, Santo & Johnny, and Django Reinhardt. This record as well as Khruangbin’s entire catalog will make your life better I promise. Khruangbin's latest album "Hasta El Cielo” is a dub drenched take on “Con Todo El Mundo” with some extra goodies. They also just released a beautiful western-soul single featuring the vocals of Leon Bridges called “Texas Sun”.