The Bottom String's Top 10 North Carolina albums of 2010

The year of 2010 proved to be something great for the North Carolina music scene in more ways than one.  With the addition of the first annual Hopscotch Festival being held in Raleigh and Moogfest in Asheville, the scene had a chance to flourish like never before, and flourish it did.  This was mainly due in part to some of the awesome records that came out of North Carolina this year.  Highlighted by The Love Language, Lost in the Trees re-issue, a great full-length debut from Wild Wild Geese, and much more, the albums put out this year all stepped it up a notch.  So here is what The Bottom String thinks are the records from 2010 that YOU need to check out!

The Bottom String Session w/ Kevin Devine

Kevin Devine is an artist that's been evolving since his solo debut back in 2002 with "Circle Gets The Square" and only continues to do so with his latest effort, Bad Books, a collaborative project with the guys in Manchester Orchestra.  Kevin was nice enough to sit down with me before the first show on the Andy + Kevin tour at The Cat's Cradle and do a Bottom String Session.

We talked a bit about the process of making the Bad Books record, his progress on his upcoming full length, and much more.  After our interview Kevin performed "Country Sky Glow" from "Make The Clocks Move".  Check out the interview and performance below!

Album Review: "33.3" by Monsonia

33.3 was released on October 19 on Holiday For Quince Records

Monsonia is a three-piece post-punk band out of Raleigh/Chapel Hill that have been making waves in North Carolina's scene for years now with their tight, gritty sound that continues to develop with each album.  "33.3" is Monsonia's latest effort and their first record released on Holiday For Quince Records.  Even with "33.3" being the band's first album as a trio, you can tell the band flows excellently together with bassist/engineer Nick Petersen, drummer Andy Willard, and guitarist/vocalist Carter Browning all producing a sound that seems rough around the edges, yet calculated at the same time.

Show Preview: Butterflies Album Release 11/20 at The Cat's Cradle

This Saturday, Butterflies will be celebrating their album release with a very special show at The Cat's Cradle...and a free one at that!  Butterflies are coming out with 4 other fantastic bands from the area to give you a free night of amazing local music, AND a chance to pick up their new record "Residual Child".  The lineup at the Cradle on Saturday will feature Wes Phillips, Cassis Orange, Erie Choir, The Strugglers, and Butterflies, quite the array of bands from the area.

Album Review: "Residual Child" by Butterflies

"Residual Child" is released November 23 on Trekky Records 

Butterflies are a band out of Chapel Hill that just released their sophomore record, "Residual Child" on Trekky Records, a record that comes out of the gate pretty clear with it's intentions...to have some fun. More specifically, the album focuses a lot on finding happiness in what's around you, and when you put out a record like this one there's a lot to be happy about. The band has improved leaps and bounds since their last record, adding another member with Patrick Jones who has added much more depth to the band than on their previous record.

The Bottom String Session w/ Birds & Arrows

While staying in Chapel Hill over the weekend of Troika Music Festival, held in Durham on November 4-6, I got to sit down at the studio with Birds & Arrows as they were getting some recording in and do a Bottom String Session with them.  Birds & Arrows opened up the Troika Music Festival to a packed crowd despite the cold, wet weather in Durham on November 4 and left the crowd thoroughly pleased.

We talked a bit about the upcoming Stroke It, Noel performance at the Cat's Cradle, their progress on a new record, and the Musical Chairs Compilation as well.

Birds & Arrows played two songs for me outside of the studio, a new on called Beyond The Pale and Time Alone.  These videos can be found at the bottom of the page and also on our Youtube channel.  The interview can be found below:

Album Review: "Amusement Park" by Transportation

Amusement Park was released on Odessa Records on October 12

Transportation are a band out of Chapel Hill that takes an intriguing spin on the traditional indie rock sound, but not in the way you'd expect.  Transportation have the same crunch and distortion as all of the other bands, but their vocal melodies and guitar solos give the feel of a classic rock band.  The way that the band intertwines the two sounds makes for a very individual sound that you don't see in many of the other bands around the area.