Dear Friend, today I’d like to start a new category. Albums that I think are ten out of ten and there merits for being as such.

Let’s start with 2009’s Up From Below by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. A communal music group which has sometimes been described as the biggest cult band. You probably know this album for the song Home. I know this album for so many others. 13 songs and 57 minutes and a second worth of content for your musical ears. The debut album by the collective with musical sounds from the 60’s and early 70’s

Opener 40 Day Dream describes the starting of a relationship with many a ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ and werewolf awoos. The song describes a too good to be true but it is sort of situation.

Janglin is the steady past sorrow song for the band, it talks about keeping walking on and the ‘Janglin’ describes the bands soul with how they want to feel love. They also name drop the band name with many a boom baps

The album titled song Up From Below reminds me of the opening of Black Parade by MCR. It starts off with the singers describing his father’s talk with him about mortality. It is a song about rising up to the challenge

Carries On is a song about love. Somber in its approach till it gets to its chorus’ when it jumps into action. Slow bass and kit push you through the song with backing vocals throughout.

Jade is my personal favorite song on the whole list. Describing a girl ‘of the hour’. I find myself dancing anytime I hear it with little shoulder shimmys. It ends with a double finish of the chorus and I love it.

Home. What can I say about this song. Likely the only song that you know the band for. The only song on the whole record with female leading vocals. It speaks of love and how it’s with the one you love.

A bit of a western-like song. Desert Song is something that I imagine at the end of a Quentin Tarantino movie about a loveless cowboy making his way through the world. I especially love the whistling in this.

Black Water is my least favorite song on the record. I have nothing nice to say about it, but the reason is see this album as a ten with this song on the record is because I could see this in a movie. This song I think pairs really really well with Desert Song in the same imagined movie that I have in my head.

I Come In Please is a brilliant falsetto-y song. The little alien spaceship noises and horns that accompany the song create a fun little tune that ends with my favorite ending of a track on the album as the singer becomes hysterical with his singing.

Simplest Love is a quiet whistling song with my favorite guitar and whistling on the whole album. I have this on one of my day nap playlist for how soothing it sounds.

Hey guy’s remember the woos and yeahs from earlier. May I introduce you to the la la’s? Serenaded with Spanish the only English in the song is the title Kisses Over Babylon. And hey the horns I love are back too. From my records this is also the lowest song on the record. But I honestly love it

Jade Castrinos’ voice is the voice we’ve been hearing throughout the album. He is no longer with the group but this is my favorite use of his near preaching voice in the whole record. The song is very simple. A voice and a guitar.

Om Nashi Me is the closer for the album and the longest song on the album. This song features what I would call ‘scatting’ in this situation. There is no words just little doots and daas until the talking at the end. This song is meant to display the instrumentation that’s held the album together throughout.