Albums Club 010 December 21, 2010

There were a lot of great records this year, many of which I really loved. For what looks like the 6th straight year there wasn’t much between 2-10, but a definite #1 from the offing. As ever, I’m sure there were tons of critical hits that the blogs were raving about that won’t be checked here. Getting into it then, commiserations to the runners up/perennial favourites Duffy, Hot Chip, Manics, Kylie, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Bird & The Bee, We Are Scientists, LCD Soundsystem, OK Go, Tracey Thorn and others for really good albums and not making the list… but here’s my 10 for ’10:

10. Raheem DeVaughn – The Love & War MasterPeace (Jive)
I can probably attest better than most that there is no shortage of self-promotion in the urban music world and where Raheem doesn’t tell us how great he is on this record, he gets Dr. Cornel West to do it for him. But what sets Raheem apart from many of his bravado-wielding contemporaries is that he more than backs it up with what can only be described as R&B anthems: baby making anthems (‘Bedroom’), club anthems (‘The Greatness,’ ‘I Don’t Care’), and political anthems (‘Nobody Wins a War’). This is a long record and only lands this far down the list on account of how much I listened to it this year, but make no mistake, The Love & War MasterPeace is an all-timer.
Recommended: Lead single ‘Bulletproof’ feat. Ludacris and the hilarious ‘B.O.B.’

9. Bryan Ferry – Olympia (Virgin)
A true comeback long in the waiting, Olympia satisfies on all fronts, with Ferry just as smooth as he’s ever been in his now relatively (for a pop star) advanced years. In collaboration with players new (Flea, Groove Armada, Scissor Sisters) and old (Phil Manzanera, Eno), Ferry has created moments on Olympia reminiscent of his finer moments with Roxy Music for which we all adore him. And of course the fantastic Kate Moss-featuring packaging does enough to remind us of the Roxy years in and of itself. A return to form.
Recommended: The broody single ‘You Can Dance’ is a classic opener, but the Groove Armada collaboration ‘Shameless’ is the show-stopper.

8. Kate Nash – My Best Friend Is You (Fiction)
To be honest I probably never thought she would feature on a year end list and I certainly wasn’t thinking that when I gave this record a punt off the back of the catchy girl-group inspired ‘Do-Wah-Doo.’ Nash can be a notoriously grating figure but on this record she discards her previous dime-a-dozen whiny stories of relationship frustration in the most part for tales of her rather more interesting personal neuroses and musical experimentation (‘Mansion Song,’ ‘I’ve Got a Secret’). For once it’s a little more interesting thinking about where Kate Nash might be going, rather than where she’s been.
Recommended: Album opener ‘Paris’ walks the line between her new and old styles, while ‘I Just Love You More’ recalls 90s angst in a way you wouldn’t expect.

7.  Sia – We Are Born (Monkey Puzzle/Jive)
While I was an unabashed champion of Sia’s excellent last record, this was something of a surprise for me in the sense that her most famous songs have all been ballads and you could never really see her going all out for it over the course of an album. But We Are Born contains some of her best work to date and it’s notable that while there are a couple of ballads on the record, the standout tracks are all extremely uptempo if not upbeat (‘Bring Night’, ‘Clap Your Hands’, ‘The Fight’, ‘You’ve Changed’, ‘Big Girl Little Girl,’ etc). A welcome move in the right direction.
Recommended: ‘Bring Night’  & ‘Stop Trying’ rank among Sia’s most immediate work to date.

6. Mark Ronson & The Business Intl – Record Collection (Columbia)
Ronson is an easy artist to like but a hard artist to truly love – that is in part because the strength of his material so often relies on the abilities of his guest stars, as was demonstrated on the Version album. However on Record Collection he’s strengthened his hand in using his own vocals for the first time as an outlet and displaying a knack for getting the most out of himself by complimenting his voice with the right collaborators (Ghostface Killah and Simon Le Bon to name but two). As ever, though, this album still stands on the strengths of its guests, with the appearances from Q-Tip, Rose Elinor Dougall (but more on her later), Andrew Wyatt and of course Alex Greenwald providing highlights.
Recommended: ‘Bang Bang Bang’ was instantly one of the singles of the year, while ‘Introducing the Business’ is more of an anthem than you might expect out of this motley crew.

5. Wir sind Helden – Bring mich nach Hause (Columbia)
This record started off much further down the list and then as the year drew to a close found itself inching up bit by bit, as I just had to keep listening to it over and over. There’s no question that this is a back to basics affair that sees the Heroes abandoning much of their high-energy electro-inclinations of the past and focusing on much more downtempo, rewarding songs that are less instant than much of their back catalogue. Like many of the records on this list, Bring mich nach Hause marks a welcome, experimental change in direction for one of the most consistently excellent bands of the last decade. But with that said, while the new direction is richly rewarding, as seen on the title track and ‘Dramatiker,’ it’s the more uptempo tracks that bring you back for more.
Recommended: The excellent ‘Kreise’ fits as close with (and improves upon) the bands recent back catalogue as is possible, with the slower and pessimistic ‘Flucht in Ketten’ a perfect foil.

4. Uffie – Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Ed Banger)
180 degrees the other direction meanwhile is Uffie, who proclaims loudly several times over the course of this record that her greatest talent is that she has no talent. That is of course an exaggeration on both our parts but it is a paradox in the extreme that the ‘I’m lazy and don’t give a fuck’ nature of her words on tracks like ‘MC’s Can Kiss’ and ‘Our Song’ are backed by some of the most urgent and exciting music of the year. Whether that is a testiment to Uffie herself or the many talented producers involved with the record is hard to say, but the reality is that stripping all of that away, Uffie is lyrically blessed in a way that translates itself to record in a way that dwarfs many if not all of her contemporaries by comparison.
Recommended: These records live or die by clutch singles and the standout track is ‘Difficult’ (backed by an amazing video), with the Pharrell Williams-featuring ‘ADD SUV’ also proving a classic.

3. Rose Elinor Dougall – Without Why (Scarlett)
This is a DIY masterpiece. It’s official, in retrospect Rose was the most beloved of all the Pipettes for her bewitching ways (vocally & aesthetically) and after extricating herself from a group that clearly after their incredible debut album lacked direction (as seen on this year’s follow up), she set about creating her own. While she may have got more recognition for her time as part of the Business Intl on Ronson’s album and tour, this is a very complete album in its own right, sporting no fewer than five self-released singles. From the Stereolab aping ‘Another Version of Pop Song’ to the wistful ‘Find Me Out’ and lush ballad ‘May Holiday,’ this is a record full of very special moments. Hopefully Rose can continue to make a name in her own right in addition to the many collaborations she’s endured thus far.
Recommended: Channelling 80s REM and Morrissey at their best the rest of this album makes it hard to pick just two, but opener ‘Start/Stop/Synchro’ and closer ‘May Holiday’ provide two vastly different and wonderful shades of this record.

2. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach (Parlophone)
Demon Days and the entire Demon Days experience was so incredible that you just had to wonder, where does any band, nevermind one that doesn’t exist, go from there? Well, apparently, you up the ante with even more outstanding guest appearances from some of the greatest artists of all time, make more unbelievably great pop music and then you take it on an even bigger and better tour around the world. While there are the lovely delicate moments on this record (‘Broken,’ ‘To Binge’) you would come to expect, the undoubted highlights are Gorillaz at their most whimsical (‘Some Kind of Nature’ with Lou Reed), most intent (‘White Flag’ with Kano, Bashy and the Lebanese National Orchestra for Arabic Music) and most danceable (‘Rhinestone Eyes’ & ‘Glitter Freeze’). The perhaps most amazing thing about this record, with no disrespect to the incredible ‘Stylo’ with Bobby Womack & Mos Def, is that the two best tracks are the ones that don’t even feature any guest stars. Sorry, Snoop!
Recommended: The aforementioned ‘Rhinestone Eyes’ is the best single that wasn’t, and the unbelievably lush career-defining ‘On Melancholy Hill’ was almost the best single that was.

1. Kent – En plats i solen (RCA)
It was with some surprise that just 8 months after my favourite album of 2009 was released, and still in heavy rotation in my day to day listening, that I received a link with news of another new Kent album, to be released the next day. All things being equal I approached En plats i solen with considerable trepidation as most people would any album that they read was put together from songs created at the same time as a previous album. Were these simply leftovers or b-sides that didn’t make the cut? Are these tracks that weren’t good enough?

It’s only recently that I’ve discovered that Kent are one of the most outstanding bands of the last decade (their 90s output is also outstanding but is not quite in the same league to me). With that in mind, this album deserved a fair chance and when given one it became immediately clear that for the second consecutive year, without a shadow of a doubt, Kent had contributed the #1 album. There is no question that En plats i solen is a cohesive record start to finish and it is to me the more (sonically) upbeat companion to Röd’s darker musical style. Yet again they lead off with an understated opening track (‘Glasäpplen’) which before long turns into a gut-busting tempest of beats, bass and synths. This sets the tempo for the rest of the record, however while it is another hugely electronic driven record, unlike its predecessor there is an underlying emphasis from start to finish on huge pop songwriting which probably hasn’t been seen since 2002′s Vapen & Ammunition.

I haven’t and won’t post a singles rundown this year because more than most years, the list would be dominated by singles from albums in my top 10. However unlike last year, this year’s Kent album features the best singles of the year as well, with both parts of the lead double a-side single ‘Gamla Ullevi’/'Skisser för sommaren’ pipping Gorillaz’ ‘On Melancholy Hill’ to the post. In many ways this double a-side sums up the record perfectly, ‘Gamla Ullevi’ an absolute synth driven club anthem, and ‘Skisser för sommaren’ one of the most perfect 4 minute guitar pop singles in recent memory… with a singalong chorus where you don’t need to understand Swedish to take part.

I could go on but I’ll stop there. This is an incredible record and the one which I’ve listened to far more than any other released in 2010. Who knows what 2011 holds for Kent but on the showing of the last two years I’m not sure if I’d want any change at the top of this list next year!