Prefix Release Guide: Fall 2010

So far, 2010 has been a victory lap for the Decade Indie Broke. Over 10 years, the online music community had created enough of its own stars -- Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsytem, The National, Broken Social Scene, The Hold Steady -- to sustain a year's worth of major releases. The 2010 albums by those bands haven't dissapointed, and there are, undoubtedly, more than a few major releases left to go. (Kanye! Sufjan! Weezy? Weezer....)

This fall is shaping up to be a far more modest, yet no less special, affair. On the schedule are releases from Women and Sharon Van Etten, who gained our trust with solid first efforts and who are now staking a claim for their longevity. We'll get reintroduced to The Vaselines, who, although they've been around for more than 20 years, are set to unleash their second album, Sex With An X, on us this fall. And then there are acts like Teengirl Fantasy and Small Black, who have seemingly been around for a while but who have yet to prove themselves with debut full-lengths.

Not all of these albums will be for everyone (well, except Kanye's), but some will certainly be for you. And, really, isn't that what this super-specialized decade is all about?