2. Harlem - Hippies (2010)
As years go by, bands break up, work on other projects, or take a temporary hiatus - which luckily is the case with Austin, TX three-piece Harlem. Their first release with Matador Records came out in April of 2010 to pretty impressive reviews, even back then. Hippies has seventeen tracks on it, which you would never even notice because each one is about 2 minutes long. This record begins with the Hunx sounding 'Someday Soon,' a fluffy sing-a-long about extinguishing a friend from flames, spitting "Someday soon you'll be on fire and you'll ask me for a glass of water" through the microphone. It's deranged, I know, but it has the label of 'that's sooo garage rock' to defend it. The band take a night-in at the graveyard during 'Friendly Ghost,' claim they've named their basketball team "Gay Human Bones" in the track of the same name and write what sounds like a 50's love song for a three legged dog. I'll sit and say 'Pissed' is the best on Hippies, the hook at the end of the song "I sit around all day waiting for the call that I'm going to ignore" is backed by a parade of jangly guitars and a can't-help-but-dance attitude. This record is playful and they surely don't take anything seriously. I sure hope we have another Harlem record in the next few years.