Favourite Albums of 2010
In no particular order:
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
While their recent albums haven’t been as consistent as Funeral, there are a handful of truly outstanding songs on The Suburbs. “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” may be my new favourite Arcade Fire track, even if you’d guess that it was composed by Blondie.
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
I have a particular affection for unusual lady singers, so I immediately fell for Joanna Newsom’s lovely lilting voice (not to mention her soothing harp playing and playful songwriting). “Good Intentions Paving Company” is the track that will win you over, but Have One On Me is best enjoyed end-to-end.
Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
I was eagerly looking forward to Janelle’s first album after her absolutely astounding 2008 EP Metropolis. She seamlessly blends funk, rock and soul with a hint of science fiction. “Tightrope” was an unfortunate choice for a first single, I vastly prefer tracks like “Dance or Die” and “Cold War”.
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
A worthy follow-up to 2008’s Shallow Grave, Kristian has kindly written us another bunch of charming folk songs about love and loss. Make a point of picking out “King of Spain”, “Love Is All” and “The Wild Hunt”.
Girl Talk - All Day
The release of a new Girl Talk album means the rest of my music library gets the week off. While All Day includes slightly longer samples than some of his previous albums (millisampling?), the mash-ups are as wild and wonderful as ever: Ol’ Dirty Bastard + Radiohead, Nicki Minaj + Blue Öyster Cult, White Zombie + Ying Yang Twins, and many more.
