Time for outside-work fun and general pop culture absorption was extra low this year, but what I loved in 2010, I loved hard. These are the things that made my heart sing over the past twelve months.

Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me



Is there any point in writing about any other album than Joanna's? This triple album is clearly the work of the bright star of young music makers today. The difference between her and everyone else on the playing field? Nothing about her work is derivative: not her sound, not her writing and certainly not her voice. Album of the year, for sure...probably would even call it album of the past few years! It's that good.

"Soft As Chalk"



Mountain Man - Made the Harbor



Old timey yet thoroughly modern.

I'm a sucker for a three part harmony and the ladies of Mountain Man deliver 'em in spades on their fantastic debut album, Made the Harbor. Their singing creates an effortlessly beautiful sound, one that is refreshingly unlike anything else out there currently in music. Instead, Mountain Man sounds like something crying out from the past, while lyrically remaining in the present. The combination is flawless.

Mountain Man is my favorite new band -- the most enjoyable new music I've heard in quite some time. It's made up of three women, Molly and Amelia, who live in Vermont, and Alex, who lives in Virginia. They formed just last spring, and when they sing together their connection is magical. Their sound is a pleasing mix of the very old and the very new. They each write and contribute songs about nature and life as they live it, delicate yarns that are at the same time hardy and strong, and it's so refreshing to hear these three distinct voices coming together and darting apart in completely unique combinations. I find their songs haunting. You can hear some of them here.

They are embarking on their very first ever West Coast Tour right now, so please check out the tour dates here and read on for an interview with these fabulous gals! They will have a new 10" available at Amoeba sometime very soon.


Miss Ess: How did you all come together and realize your voices could combine well? What did it feel like then? What does it feel like now?

Molly: Wow. It felt refreshing, my whole body was vibrating. Singing with Alex and Amelia is so gratifying because the voice is so vulnerable and pure, to mix my voice with other voices and share it with the world is the ultimate form of living in the world (for me, right now).