Patrick Masterson writesPatrick Masterson’s Best of 2010

Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members' top albums of 2010. The next list is from CHIRP Radio DJ and Assistant Music Director Patrick Masterson. (Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members' picks.)

It would be unfair to present a top ten list that wasn’t strictly comprised of Windy City artists when we had such a good year here, so here are my favorite new Chicago releases of 2010 to back that up.

1. Judson Claiborne – Time and Temperature (La Societe Expeditionnaire)
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   Chris Salveter and company’s second LP as Judson Claiborne appropriately mirrors the cover with a zebra in a deep forest of mist: Time and Temperature is a powerful, constantly shifting chiaroscuro where acoustic light breaks through the dark themes of the lyrics. Easily one of the best records of the year by any measure.
2. Disappears – Lux (Kranky)
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   This one’s for the record collectors. Probably my favorite Chicago live band, Disappears had some trouble getting this out; when Lux finally arrived, it felt as much like a sigh of relief as anything else. Good news followed a good year for the band: Follow-up LP Guider arrives in January 2011. Mark your calendars.
3. JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – To Love Someone (That Don’t Love You) 7” (Addenda)
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   Nevermind that I helped package these (FYI, 50 is not the same as 40), “To Love Someone (That Don’t Love You)” is a supreme slice of retro-soul listening for those with even half an interest in the Daptone stable, generally regarded as the gold standard for this sort of thing. On the flip, “Everything Will Be Fine” is a Booker T-inspired b-side to match the best of Charles Bradley. Do not miss this.
4. Jason Adasiewicz – Sun Rooms (Delmark)
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   A fixture of Chicago’s jazz scene for the few years that I’ve actually been following it, Adasiewicz did something a little different with Sun Rooms by stripping down his typical sound (backed by the Rolldown quintet) to a trio with drums and bass. It could’ve sounded hollow and sparse, but the extra space only allowed his vibraphones to thrive. An incredibly rich listening experience and definitely my favorite jazz record of the year.
5. Cave – Pure Moods EP (Drag City)
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   Last year it was the twisty Psychic Summer, this year it was a three-track vinyl-only EP that rode the (hawk)winds of krautrock jamming and self-exploration that, though self-limiting at times, worked awfully well for late-night radio runs. “Brigitte’s Trip (White Light/White Jazz)” is almost as good of a title as the EP itself.
6. Male – German for Shark (Other Electricities)
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   It took me a little while to finally listen to Male’s sophomore album, but German for Shark sparks with more playful experimentation than last year’s more coherent All Are Welcome. Led by Jon Krohn and Ben Mjolsness, the sounds range from ambient nothingness to glitched-out remixes hitched to the back end of the album. I’m not sure I like it more than All Are Welcome, but its best moments caught my ear faster.
7. Exploding Star Orchestra – Stars Have Shapes (Delmark)
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   Stars have shapes? How about stars have exploding orchestras skronking out in one of the better free-form avant-everything monsters to hit the CHIRP airwaves this year? Led by Rob Mazurek and featuring a host of rotating cast members, ESO did what they pretty much always do as well as anyone this side of the equally polarizing Bird Show Band. Undulating and uncompromising, Stars Have Shapes is some gnarled top-shelf jazz.
8. Skooda Chose – TFM2 (Get Money Gang)
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   Excepting Freddie Gibbs, this mixtape by the K-town native is my favorite Chicago(-area) hip-hop release of the year. Signed by Twista a few years back, Skooda’s been pedaling his verses for awhile but this (TFM = Top Five Material) is the cream of the crop thanks to guest verses from The Cool Kids, David Banner and others. Also, and I have no way of confirming this, but dude has been shot ten times, which has to count for something.
9. Verma – Salted Earth (Self-Released)
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   If you scroll down on Verma’s MySpace page, you’ll see the image of two figures strolling along a dune in deep space. That’s pretty much what Verma embodies: psychedelic sandstorms on far-away planets. It was interesting to hear the live-take instrumental material of their self-titled debut in July, but Salted Earth, out this past month (featuring songs from their original three-song EP), is different and slightly more appealing.
10. Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone (Anti)
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    A gospel n’ blues legend in her own right, Mavis Staples has also worked with Bob Dylan, Curtis Mayfield and Prince in the past, so what’s a Jeff Tweedy collaboration to her? But this is hardly tossed-off stuff. I mean, “I Belong to the Band” – did you hear this? The Tweedy originals? That weirdly defeatist Randy Newman cover? Mavis is still a must-listen after 60 years.