2010 Review: Debut Albums of the Year

After giving props to the Old School of Rock, it's time to turn our attention to some of the most promising newcomers of 2010. As I've said before, the debut album is the all-important first impression that can make or break a young band's career. It’s the statement of intend that defines the path of new artists and even when they're not exactly hitting the bull’s eye in their first effort, their debut gives us those all-important clues as to what to expect for the future. And sometimes, in those special occasions when the newcomer actually hits the target in one go, the debut album can have the power to define a whole era (think Sex Pistols, The Smiths or, more recently, The Strokes and Interpol). Although we didn’t have any breakthrough debuts of such magnitude in 2010, we did have quite an impressive number of excellent first efforts that made their impact felt and hinted that greater things are on the cards. Some of them are definitely going to be among the top choices of our "Albums of the Year" list that's coming along nicely and you can expect it right at the end of the year.

Here’s the 15 debuts that impressed us the most in 2010, plus a few more recent discoveries:

Top 15 Debuts of 2010

1. Ring - GLASSER
2. I Will Be - DUM DUM GIRLS
3. Treats - SLEIGH BELLS
4. King Night - SALEM
5. The Fool - WARPAINT
6. Nerve Up - LONELADY
7. Gemini - WILD NOTHING
8. Crazy For You - BEST COAST
9. The Soft Pack - THE SOFT PACK
10. Innerspeaker - TAME IMPALA
11. The Drums - THE DRUMS
12. Avi Buffalo - AVI BUFFALO
13. Forget - TWIN SHADOW
14. The Hundred In The Hands - THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS
15. Nothing Hurts - MALE BONDING

More to explore: Dagger Paths - FOREST SWORDS, Untitled - FACTORY FLOOR, Relayted - GAYNGS, The Waves - TAMARYN, O Children - O CHILDREN

Check out our selections from the two previous years below:

Top 10 Debuts of 2009
Top 10 Debuts of 2008

Here's the video for "Treasury of We" from Glasser's "The Ring", C.M.C.'s Top Debut of 2010, which gives us an interesting inside look into the making of the record and how it's recreated live by Cameron Mesirow and her collaborators:

Glasser - Treasury of We

Listen to a Myspace playlist with tracks from our Top Debuts of 2010 here.
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