Hi there'

thought I'd add my little bit of "insight" to the proceedings, commenting on the albums I have heard of course

 

Thanks for commenting.

 

60 jj 'No.3' This was quite a disappointment when I heard it coz a lot of people were really bigging up jj at the time. Do love the new single Let Them though.

Have you heard 'No.2'? I'd say from that any hype was justified, this just doesn't live up to it at all.

31 The Drums 'The Drums' I too adored The Summersun Ep (or whatever it's called) and could not stop playing it, heard the album and thought "oh, is that it?" A major opportunity wasted there, methinks.

 

I agree with this, the EP was so much better. The album is nice enough but that's about it really.

26 Ash 'The A-Z Series'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/ATOM16CD.JPGhttp://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/ATOM29CD.JPG

 

Ok, I'm cheating here a bit as 'The A-Z series' isn't an album, it's two. And even then, it's a compilation of the 26 singles they've released in the past 12 months. However, they did release them as albums so I'm going to count it. I hadn't been interested in Ash for 5 years and if they'd come out with a new album I really wouldn't have cared, and highly doubt I'd have bothered to listen to anything from it. But they came back with a new project, of releasing 26 singles, one every fortnight for a year each named after a letter of the alphabet. A wonderful idea which had me hooked and I bought all 26. It was pretty much half and half in terms of quality, one half is excellent, the other half... isn't. But there are some classic Ash moments in it, 'Joy Kicks Darkness', 'Arcadia', 'Ichiban', 'Dionysian Urge' and the 10 minute instrumental epic 'Sky Burial' included. Well worth listening to.

 

 

'Arcadia'

 

25 Yeasayer 'Odd Blood'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/YEASAYERPRE.JPG

 

Parts of this album are fantastic but parts of it I just feel are too... odd. I'd not heard of them before 'Ambling Alp' which is a brilliant song and I found it to be a massive grower. But as an album it seems to go turn from excellent indie pop tunes such as the aforementioned and 'Madder Red' to more experimental songs which are good, just not as good.

 

'Love Me Girl'

 

'I Remember'

24 The Courteeners 'Falcon'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/2729351.JPG

 

I love it when this happens. One of the most God awful bands of the decade, The Courteeners were the definition of disposable, landfill indie. Yet three years later they'd turned into a much better band releasing far better tracks. It's far more distinctive and varied than I imagined they could ever be, they'd updated their sound a lot and it's no where near as generic. 'You Overdid It Doll' is one of the singles of the year, for sure.

 

'Lullaby'

 

'Sycophant'

 

23 Two Door Cinema Club 'Tourist History'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/CDA025.JPG

 

This is how indie pop should be. Ten 3-4 minute pop songs all excellently written and delivered equally well. It may get a bit samey to some ears but I love it all the way through, Alex Trimble's vocals are very delicate and there's much promise to build upon.

 

'Cigarettes in the Theatre'

 

'Eat That Up, It's Good For You'

22 Delphic 'Acolyte'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/DELPHICPRECD.JPG

 

I thought they could make one of the albums of the year. I was wrong. The four singles off this are all very good but only half of the rest matches that standard. They're quite capable of writing a quality tune but it just lacks in certain places.

 

 

'Clarion Call'

 

21 Crystal Castles 'Crystal Castles' (II)

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/2740407.JPG

 

I never really got Crystal Castles when their first album came out, and I still don't like it much now. But this is much better. It's much more consistant and much more varied. To go from one of the years most beautiful pop songs in 'Celestica' to the screeching of 'Doe Deer' is ambitious, and it works. It was really hard to cut the last few from my top 20 and this only didn't make it because I can't like what they've done to Sigur Ros. Swap it for the Robert Smith version of 'Not in Love' and it would be challenging for the top 10.

 

'Empathy'

 

'Violent Dreams'

30 Detroit Social Club 'Existance'

29 The Naked & Famous 'Passive You, Agressive Me'

28 Band of Skulls 'Baby Darling Doll Face Honey'

27 Kings of Leon 'Come Around Sundown'

26 Ash 'The A-Z Series'

25 Yeasayer 'Odd Blood'

24 The Courteeners 'Falcon'

23 Two Door Cinema Club 'Tourist History'

22 Delphic 'Acolyte'

21 Crystal Castles 'Crystal Castles' (II)

I really liked their first two albums because they were half an hour of wonderful, uplifting pop songs. This album manages to be the same and different at the same time and I just don't like it. You mention gloominess, I think that's possibly right, I just don't think it particularly suits them. I don't think that 'Too Many Flesh Suppers' is a match for most of their previous album, bit is one of this albums better tracks. The two singles were probably most similar to their two previous albums but they just sounded like cast-offs, 'There Are Listed Buildings' especially.

I really like the gloominess, but fair enough. I definitely agree with the your last comment though.

The top 20 include:

 

16 bands and 4 solo artists

13 albums with predominantly or all male vocals, 4 female, 2 equal and one without vocals

9 acts from the USA, 8 UK, 1 Canada, 1 Spain and 1 Sweden

5 debut albums, 4 2nd, 5 3rd, 1 4th, 2 5th, 1 6th and 2 7th.

25 Yeasayer 'Odd Blood'

 

The only one of this bunch I've listened to.. Likeable but nothing phenomenal.

'2080' from 'All Hour Cymbals' was one of my favourite songs of 2007.

 

 

20 The Hold Steady 'Heaven is Whenever'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/RTRADCD600.JPG

 

They've developed into one of my favourite bands of the century so far and this, their fifth album, is something of a return to form after a good (but patchy) 'Stay Positive'. It's in the same vein as their other albums but it's a sound that still manages to seem so fresh. It's not as good as 'Boys and Girls in America' but then not much is. Some very strong songs on here.

 

'The Weekenders'

 

'The Sweet Part of the City'

 

19 Arcade Fire 'The Suburbs'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/2742629.JPG

 

It's obviously disappointing that Arcade Fire would one day release an album which is "only" good enough to be a top 20 album of the year, but the disappointment of this not being a great album should detract from the fact that it is a very good one. There are songs on here that are as good as they've ever produced but 16 tracks and over an hour in length is a bit too long. There's filler on it, something which could never be said of Arcade Fire before. They still have the quality there, it's just more spread out. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" is easily their second best song behind 'Rebellion (Lies)". Regine's tracks are definitely the best on this album.

 

'Empty Room'

 

'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)'

18 The Futureheads 'The Chaos'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/NUL007CD.JPG

 

It shows how good a band is when an album this good is only their third best album. This one took me a bit longer to get into but it was certainly worth the wait. It's not really any different to what they've produced before but they can still write a killer tune.

 

'The Chaos'

 

'Jupiter'

 

 

17 Chemical Brothers 'Further'

http://www.israbox.com/uploads/posts/2010-06/1275807708_the-chemical-brothers-further-2010.jpg

 

Another album which is a true return to form. 'We Are The Night' was the weakest of their 5 that I own, but this is definitely amongst the strongest. Only 8 tracks but 50 minutes in length, they've ditched the guest vocalists and made it pretty much entirely instrumental. The full 12 minute version of 'Escape Velocity' is fantastic, and ''K+D+B' is one of their best ever. My favourite artwork of the year, hence the large cover.

 

 

'K+D+B'

16 Wild Nothing 'Gemini'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/CT068CD.JPG

 

I discovered Wild Nothing halfway through the year when a blog I looked at posted 'Summer Holiday' as the best song of the first 6 months of the year. Listening to it, it was difficult to argue. The album is up to standards too, full of dreamy shoegaze pop perfect for the summer.

 

 

'Bored Games'

 

15 Gorillaz 'Plastic Beach'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/6261662.JPG

 

It hasn't always looked like there would be a third Gorillaz album so I was very grateful when it came along. It doesn't quite hit the heights of 'Demon Days' and it does like a 'Feel Good Inc.' but it's still an incredibly consistant album, paccked with an array of impressive guests, all of which make the album stronger.

 

'Empire Ants' (featuring Little Dragon)

 

'Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach' (featuring Snoop Dogg)

14 Delorean 'Subiza'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/TRUE0302.JPG

 

Reading that this sounded like 'Merriweather Post Pavillion' in places was always going to make me want to hear more of Delorean. It always had the potential to then disappoint but it certainly didn't and the familiarity is definitely present in parts. It's definitely a place to get lost in for a bit, it's dance beats best suited to festivals.

 

 

'Grow'

 

13 Sleigh Bells 'Treats'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/85827500162.JPG

 

Sometimes hype isn't deserved, but others it's spot on. This was the case with 'Treats', the debut album by US duo Sleigh Bells. It's full of noise and incredibly inventive, and 32 minutes is probably about correct for an album of its type, although I am often left wanting more.

 

'A/B Machines'

 

'Rill Rill'

12 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'Beat the Devil's Tattoo'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/VVR733267.JPG

 

It's taken five years but they've finally made something back towards their best of 'Howl'. What I'd heard of their previous two albums, they'd gone moved away from the bluesy sound (in 'The Effects of 333' completely, and dreadfully) but this seems to be a mixture of all their best sounds to give them a third great album.

 

 

'Conscience Killer'

 

11 Male Bonding 'Nothing Hurts'

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMV/SP854.JPG

 

This is the type of album I've been missing over the last couple of years. 13 fun, punchy indie songs packed into less than half an hour. An incredibly promising debut album, it's a shame I've seen pretty much zero written about them over the past 12 months.

 

 

'Year's Not Long'

20 The Hold Steady 'Heaven Is Whenever'

19 Arcade Fire 'The Suburbs'

18 The Futureheads 'The Chaos'

17 Chemical Brothers 'Further'

16 Wild Nothing 'Gemini'

15 Gorillaz 'Plastic Beach'

14 Delorean 'Subiza'

13 Sleigh Bells 'Treats'

12 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'Beat the Devil's Tattoo'

11 Male Bonding 'Nothing Hurts'

I'm surprised Janelle Monae would've supported someone like Vampire Weekend to be honest, but she does seem to be one the more poppy/r&b females that appeal a fair bit to the indie crowd... 'Cold War' and 'Wondaland' are both really good pop songs. I reckon These New Puritans album would definitely sound quite good livel.

I think the Ally Pally performance for Janelle Monae was a one-off. When I saw Vampire Weekend last week, the support act was Ratatat. They were the support for most - if not all - of the other UK dates as well.

You're doing a good job of reminding me of some of the albums I didn't get round to buying this year. Several have now been added to my Christmas list :)

Futureheads :wub: always been a big fan, love The Chaos, agree about how it shows they are great that an album this good is only their third best.

17 Chemical Brothers 'Further'

15 Gorillaz 'Plastic Beach'

13 Sleigh Bells 'Treats'

 

Agree about the cover of Further

 

Plastic Beach is the strongest album by Gorillaz imo. Just love the beautiful On Melancholy Hill, one of the pop songs of 2010 and Lou Reed does a great job on Some Kind of Nature.

 

Treats is one of the surprises this year. Saw them live too...Great stuff... Tell 'Em and A/B Machines are both fantastic.

 

Have you heard Big Boi's solo debut (or is it to come)?

 

 

Great list. Agree with you about "Plastic Beach", doesn't hit the heights of "Demon Days" and IMO "On Melancholy Hill" is a bit overrated but it's bloody consistent, and "Stylo" is pure amazingness.

What is your tracklisting for it, out of interest?

01 Suite II Overture

02 Dance Or Die

03 Faster

04 Locked Inside

05 Cold War

06 Tightrope

07 Sincerely, Jane

08 Violent Stars Happy Hunting!

09 Many Moons

10 Neon Gumbo

11 Oh, Maker

12 Come Alive (War Of The Roses)

13 Wondaland

14 57821

 

Ends up a reasonable 50ish mins long.

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 201014 yr by Dandy*