Top tens for 2010: It's a Trap!

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
s/t ("Puzzle" and "The detective")
How Is Annie Records

Let's get this out of the way: Yes, many critics are spot on when comparing Norway's Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson to both Appleseed Cast and Explosions in the Sky; if anything, this is about as apt a correlation as one can make. But as talented as both those groups are, there is a lot of territory left to explore between them, and Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson do a fantastic job rambling through this attractive region. On this self-titled release (split into two different parts: "Puzzle" and "The detective"), that hard to define, yet unmistakable sound that American labels like Deep Elm and Polyvinyl made their names promoting is deftly evoked and subtly expanded, demonstrating that there is still plenty more room to grow in this particular subgenre without sacrificing any of the '90s indie nostalgia (an aspect the warm, analog-like recording quality helps to enhance). "Puzzle" and "The detective" are triumphant achievements, their contents mingling the contemplative with the immediate, the ethereal with the tangible, and all on YPOFH's own terms. Instead of being merely an echo of the past, YPOFH are very much their own voice, and one well worth listening to.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson