written by Darren C. Demaree
list compiled through votes by the AltOhio Music Staff

Aided by Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show, and featuring a song he co-wrote with Ryan Adams, this album of this title could not be more apt. That being said, Rawlings does a great job of distinguishing his sound from his buddies. Most of these songs are quiet, beautiful pieces of folk, and it's easy to tell how his talent has lead him to and through so many other talented people.

Inspired Track: Ruby

This pair, featured in the movie "Once", have now broken up their love affair. Before that happened they finished the music for this album. It's that tension that has finally added a believable dimension to these mostly love songs. We're left to wonder if they'll ever put out another album, my question is, could they ever do it this well again?

Inspired Track: Feeling the Pull

Only three albums were higher on my list than this one. I love the slower songs, the jacked up old rock n roll tracks too, the search and failure of most of the protagonists in these songs is right up my alley. This album is still in my car, and on those nights I'm driven home in my own car, I put in Deer Tick.

Inspired Track: Easy

The coloring of this album cover speaks to the full mood of its songs. This is a an accomplishment in terms of mood, of tone, and it puts us in the position of being square in the face of a naive love. They synth and new wave of this album keeps me at arms length, but if you can get close enough to it, it's quite warm.

Inspired Track: Where Could We Go Tonight?

I really liked their first album. After seeing them live, interviewing them for an extended period of time, and then listening to this album over and over again, I'm in for the long haul. Jesse Lortz took three steps in his ability to write a song that matters, and Kimberly Morrison put herself into the mix even more, and the two of those things makes this a great album.

Inspired Track: Scorpio

Damn fun band, and this is by far the best album they've put out. They're the kind of band that the more famous they get, the better their music will get, because they seem to thrive on that sort of thing. The more confident they are to just be a fun band, the better off they'll be.

Inspired Track: The Ancient Commonsense of Things

Animal Collective purists probably hate this, their ninth album, because it's their poppiest album yet. I am not an Animal Collective purist, and it was the pop concession they made that roped me in.

Inspired Track: Summertime Clothes

There was almost too much talent in this group to all fit on one album, fortunately this seems to be a fairly ego-less group of men. I know people who absolutely loved this album, and some that hated it. I learned to love it. There's some brilliance in there, you just have to look for it.

Inspired Track: Temazcal

Le Loup is as original a band that has made this list, and like their Hardly Art label-mates Dutchess & The Duke, they create a whole world with each album. Le Loup does this with the proximity of their music, how close and how far they can take you with each of the songs. This is not an easy thing to do, and though a couple of songs fail because of this pursuit, you still have to consider this album quite an accomplishment.

Inspired Track: Saddle Mountain

I don't think they can make a better album than this. The songwriting, the simple, playful music that accompanies it, this is a special album. I glowingly reviewed this album earlier in the year, and my opinion of it has only emboldened itself.

Inspired Track: Beautiful Morning Light