10 Local Albums from 2010 That You Need To Hear

Yes, bands still make and release albums, even in Michigan. No, not just Kid Rock and Eminem ... like, ones you may not have heard of, even! So, if you've been listening to a little too much Doug FM, and haven't put your ear to the ground right in your own back yard, you're missing out on some of the best music being released not just locally, but pretty much anywhere. What follows are 10 of the best locally released albums that came out this year, none of which were born free (because making an album costs, like, money and stuff).

Arranged Marriage - Dearly Beloved (Suburban Sprawl)

Full disclosure: The dudes in this band are related to me. One is my dad and the other is my brother. Weird, right? Even if they weren't flesh and blood, I'd still love this record for many reasons, not least of which would be their unrelenting quest to write the perfect, nostalgic pop song. Nodding to the greats – from Nilsson to Dylan, Lennon to Tweedy – Dearly Beloved is a new classic, bonded together by a father and son's shared love of song craft ...  and rum and Cokes.

Bars of Gold - Of Gold (Friction Records)

Sometimes, you just need to rage. And that's just what Bars of Gold do, pretty much throughout their debut, Of Gold. Members of defunct emo torchbearers Bear Vs. Shark, and primarily instrumental outfit Wildcatting, join forces and produce the kind of jams that, well, a bear, a shark, and a wildcat would probably really like (if they were into music instead of ripping into flesh). If the Warped Tour set needs a kick in the teeth, these guys are going to be the ones to do it.

Conspiracy of Owls - S/T (Burger Records)

Members of the Go – part of Detroit garage's "we were there first" club – ditch the Iggy obsession for beards, cut-off jean jackets and lots and lots of synthesizers and make a '70s soft-rock/pop record that would make ELO's Jeff Lynne take off his perma-shades and shed a tear. 

Copper Thieves - II (Jack Holmes Recording Company)

Just checking in at the last minute (II was just released this December), indie-rock super group Copper Thieves make a record that is just pleading to be introduced by local radio legend Arthur P's gravely grunt. Riffs that are kid tested (Copper Thieves are the kids), but dad approved (Copper Thieves are also the dads). Baaaaaaaaaby!

Child Bite - The Living and Breathing Organ Summer (Joyful Noise/Forge Again)

Your parents would hate Child Bite. So would your Hollister-lovin' younger sister. Your yuppy neighbors might want you to turn it off. But if you really dig wearing Dickies year round and collected anything released on Amphetamine Reptile Records back in the '80s and '90s, then Child Bite is your favorite band. Move over Gibby Haynes, take a bow David Yow - Child Bite is the new pollution.

Lettercamp - Raccoon Panda (Five Three Dial Tone)

Historically, Detroit music has been renowned for its love of cranked up, dirty guitars. But as of late, a new crop of '80s-obsessed bands have emerged, cranking out dreamy tracks on their MacBooks and playing in disheveled art galleries. On the classier side of this group is the Liz Wittman-lead Lettercamp – a buzzed about electro-pop quartet that takes Bjork's herky-jerk and smooths it out into danceable bangers that Lady Gaga might have written, had she been really into Autechre instead of Madonna.

The Oscillating Fan Club - George Washington's Teeth (Bellyache Records)

Waves of reverb collide with twisted time-signatures. Sonic Youth-style shredding bounces around shuffling tempos. Shouted verses give way to tight playing not unlike the great Television, as reinterpreted by Hermans Hermits at a 1950s sock hop. If all of that sounds crazy to you, well, you're wrong (and you're right), because all of this randomness makes George Washington's Teeth one of the more eclectic takes on rock heard from these parts all year. 

Secret Twins - Ill Fit (Quack! Media)

Ann Arbor's Secret Twins couldn't exemplify the less-is-more approach more if they tried. Made up of a wild-armed drummer boy and a thin, Gibson Flying-V wielding lady with a voice that makes Cat Power's Chan Marshall sound washed up, the two-piece Twins have jangled their way to the top of the local music food chain; this record captures them at their scrappy best.

Silverghost - The Year We Make Contact (self released)

Up in Canada, the likes of Stars and Broken Social Scene think having eight or nine  folks in your band is the way to go. Here in Metro Detroit, we've proven that we're pretty good with just two (see above, or that red-and-white-loving brother-n-sister group you may have heard of before). Ferndale's own Silverghost – flame-haired singer/guitarist Marcie Bolen and sometimes-mustachioed, singer/keyboardist Deleano Acevedo – make robotic new wave pop that sounds like the awesome future car companies in the 1960s wish existed. Well, thanks to Silverghost it kind of does, even if it's only in their heads and on this record.

Tyvek - Nothing Fits (In The Red)

Nothing about this band should work. The drummer plays standing up. Its songs are almost too short to latch onto. Its lineup has shifted and transformed since the get. But Tyvek's unintentionally self-dubbed "frustration rock" makes the case for simplicity easily, bashing through 12 lo-fi nugs that pits melody against aggression in a way that rivals the likes of – yep, I'm gonna say it – Wire's Pink Flag (which obviously means nothing to you if you've never heard that record).

Tomorrow Ryan Allen looks ahead to 2011 and picks 11 acts to keep your eyes on. Stay tuned!