20. - Foals - Total Life Forever.
On this LP Foals have really matured and their sound has changed quite alot. This album is a lot more serious than "Antidotes", songs are alot deeper and production is very nice. Yannis's vocal's come out alot stronger, melancholic and even haunting.
19. - Twin Shadow - Forget.
Twin Shadow came out of nowhere, and debut "Forget" is a New Wave tinged album seeming very 80's revival, which feels alot what 2010 has been. Not to be sidelined with alot of potentially pretentous "chillwave" artists, Twin Shadow boasts some really catchy synth driven pop hooks guarenteed to make you move!
18. - Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker.
A really strong pschedelic ridden album that sounds like it could be mistaken for some lost rock gem from the 70's. Imagine "Cream" with John Lennon on vocals tinged with nostalgia and you're not far off. Brilliant.
17. - New Young Pony Club - The Optimist.
NYPC have a darker sound on this follow up, not losing their catchy dance beats and attitude. They've proved their worth on this one.
16. - Wild Nothing - Gemini.
Wild Nothing have a mix of shoegaze/dream pop, indie rock maybe even some post-punk with an excellent album. Melancholic vocals with textured guitar layers, excellent lyrics. Highlights include "Chinatown" and "Live in Dreams" but this LP is great throughout.
15. - Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
California's Avi Buffalo bring an excellent summer album with catchy indie pop and some really unique vocals. Excellent guitar work and beach vibes. They sound innocent, fun and with some pretty bizzare yet brilliant lyrics.
14. - Dr. Dog - Shame Shame
Lo-fi indie rock, with a whole bunch of influences from alot of 60's pop. This is there best to date, excellent pop songs. Great beatles-esque guitar work and drum kicks, this is guarenteed to make you dance. it's may be mostly upbeat but the instrumental build ups and lyrics might just break your heart.
13. - Harlem - Hippies
Garage rock with songs full of aggression and attitude. Really stripped down lo-fi set of tracks generally short and thrashy but catchy and sounds ranging from punk rock, 60's rock and even nirvana(!?). Well worth a listen, expect good thing's to come from Harlem.
12. - Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
Arguably a one trick album, reverb; lots of it. Surf rock with songs about (you guessed it) sunny beach's, girls, drinking, as you'd expect. Excellent arena rock vocals, great atmosphere, and "Swim" has to be one of 2010 summer anthems.
11. - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
LA's Ariel Pink has his first properlly recorded album after 10 year's worth of 4-track tapes of bizarre pop songs. Huge range of genres, only let down being that they're not all completely new songs, rather re-workings of and more polished versions of older songs. Still you can hear his influences from all over the place, Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson, The Cure to name a few. This album even feels more like a mixtape as there is so much variety. This is excellent pyschedelic pop with Ariel's wierd take on everything which is just the perfect touch making it unique in it's own right.
10. - Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love
Okay so it's not Belle and Sebstian's best album, this seem's like a pretty safe album, they haven't varied much from older work. However, I can hear a jazz influnce and other sounds which have probably brushed off from Stuart's work with side project "God Help The Girl". This may not be as good throughout as previous albums but the highlight's are excellent "I want the world to stop" "I didn't see it coming" and "Come on sister" to name a few. Not as personal and literal as older albums, but a damn good LP. Belle and Sebastian can do no wrong.
9. - Vampire Weekend - Contra
Indie pop with a very different approach which is both a breathe of fresh air and fun. This album proves their debut wasn't a flook. They fuse world music with indie with really joyful vocals and flangey guitars. "Contra" has some even more impressive vocal melodys, impressively intellectual yet cool lyrics and longer songs. I can hear influences from Paul Simon, and even fellow new yorker's Animal Collective. They even use autotune and pull it off without sounding ridiculous.
8. - Yeasayer - Odd Blood
New York's Yeasayer have risen from complete obscurity this year with "Odd Blood" applying their previous electronic highly experimental world music influenced sound to a more accessible sound. This LP is great from start to finish, with great pop catchs. They sound similar to Gang Gang Dance with almost tribal percussion being really important part to the sound, but more song structure. Some of the best song's i've heard this year are on this "Ambling Alp", "O.N.E" both with great build ups and beautiful sing along chorus's.
7. - Four Tet - There Is Love In You
Kieran Hebden AKA Four Tet has been around about 10 or so years now, coined as "folktronica" by many places. This his first album in a while and it is beautiful. A great electronica album with influences from house music and minimalist techno. The perfect chill out album, these songs are mixed so well with excellent samples all blended into great danceable tunes.
6. - Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Two Door Cinema Club have arguably the pop album of the year, there is not a bad song on this album. These 10 tracks are so catchy and will make you want to move. Fast indie rock guitar melodys, and smooth vocals throughout. They are on their way to big things, this is already clear.
5. - Caribou - Swim
Caribou has come a long way since his last album, this is kind of a change in direction after a more straight forward album with more vocals and guitar. A collection of electronic experimental dance tunes with alot of percussion, which after seeing them live this is clear, 2 drummers even. This album is an experience, it layers some brilliant sounds and textures and has some songs that build up gradually introducing new layers and samples into a cluster of awesomeness.
4. - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Only Win Butler could take a 16 track concept album on growing up in the suburbs in texas and make it work excellent from start to finish. This LP show's how much they've grown since "Funeral" and "Neon Bible" and 3 years in the making it's incredible. Touching on alot of the artist's they grew up listening to Neil Young and Depeche Mode. There's even a 80's synth New Wave sounding song, who'd of ever thought Arcade Fire could pull it off?
3. - Warpaint - The Fool
Forget everything you think when you hear Hollywood, this band are so far from the stereotypical band from Hollywood, and as an all girl band, they just about break every stereotype from that too. This is hands down the best debut i've heard this year, quite a dark theme, heavy guitar influence and soaked in psychedelia. They don't even have a lead singer, vocals are shared and very melodic. Song structures vary and only one song even sounds like it could be a single (Undertow). They sound something like earlier Cat Power, Electrelane or even a jammy psychedelic version of the xx (but way more exciting). This Album is a must have, only better is their live act.
2. - Deerhunter - Halycon Digest
Deerhunter are a indie rock band with heavy shoegaze influences from Atlanta. They have made a trully wonderful album here with a mixture of fast, slow, short, long and all awesome songs. And if there's one thing Deerhunter know, it's how to jam out, stand out "Desire Lines" builds up so well into a psychedelic jam that sounds almost improvised yet completly nostalgic. The lyrics touch on growing up alot, and some pretty dark stuff and "reflecting on the past, no matter for good or bad" (meaning of the word Halcyon). There is a big variety of sounds on here, ambient, shoegaze, psychedelia, garage rock etc... the list goes on; Deerhunter gel all these genres seeminglessly into a near perfect album in my opinion.
1. - Beach House - Teen Dream
I've had this one on repeat since January and I can honestly say I haven't heard any thing as good. Victoria Legrands vocal's are something else; her voice has texture, authority and is so alluring and distinct, the clear centerpiece of Beach house. This album is not immediate, it will take a few listen's but is it worth it! They're dream pop sound is reminisant of Cocteau Twins instrumentally, and vocal's are constantly compared to Nico, though i think they're even better, guarenteed to send shivers down your spine. Guitars are great walls of sound, the drum machine actully works and chiming keyboards create this great wintery sound which is cold, dark, abrasive yet magic. You must own this album.
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