Taking really recent albums in a forever on a desert island draft is a bit risky, as you don't really know if their appeal will last and frankly I haven't even really thought of music in terms of "albums" in 10-15 years (I was an early and enthusiastic embracer of digital singles). But I'm going to take the risk and bump this band/album up over one 50 years its senior because 9 of the 11 songs on this album are flat winners, and they're just damn fun:
The Lumineers - The Lumineers (2012)
Okay quick, I am giving you a piano, a cello, and a ukulele -- give me a rhythm. And yet somehow they do.
Ostensibly part of the roots revival headlined by Mumford & Sons in recent years, I didn't even start investigating this band until maybe 6 months ago. And the fact that I am still interested is part of what fascinates me. Unlike Mumford with its lush instrumentation/obvious chops, these guys revel in the deceptively simple and yet somehow it gets under your skin. I've spent more time than maybe I should have trying to figure out exactly how. They are one of the most rhythmic bands I know, and yet they create rhythm out of silence. Half the time they don't even use a conventional rhythm section for minutes at a stretch. They'll start off songs with a single instrument, a piano or a ukulele and a vocalist, playing a basic melody, and then just add a bit, drop another, changing it subtly, until it suddenly explodes into a lush catchy stomp. A folk band with a cello? Drums that shift from simple thumps to nifty little shuffle beats. Its very clever, and my end conclusion has been that these guys are a lot better at music than I am. I don't know how I'll feel about them in 40 years, but it will always be fun.
Also of course:
And:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJWk_KNbDHo