Lumped in with the Grizzly Bear/Animal Collective/Dirty Projectors bandwagon, this album could easily have sunk against such heady comparisons. In truth, Teen Dream sets out its own stall, far more accessible than any of the above. Its soft tones and striking melodies made it the summer album of the year.
Dan Snaith's latest album as Caribou is his best yet. Complex, atmospheric and intelligent, this is an album for the dancefloor that is equally at home, well, at home.
The slowburner of the year. So easy to dismiss on first listen, Learning is sparse beyond belief. A prompt from a friend midway through the year, however, and the album began to work its way into my consciousness. It's incredibly personal and melancholic, but at the same time beautiful and fragile. It's the perfect accompaniment to the harsh winter.
The fourth album from the Atlanta-based band is a heady cocktail of styles and influences from shoegaze pop to noisy punk rock. The results is this year's best psychedelic sound (just pipping Tame Impala for that honour). Not always an easy listen, but whilst the hooks are buried, they are (eventually) catchy as hell and demanding repeated listens.
Loaded with collaborations from Jim James, Joanne Newsom and John Legend, to name a few, this is The Roots' most diverse album to date. Dark, tragic and uplifting all at once, their ability to cross so many borders is why The Roots remain such a unique listen.
This is a folk opera – my God, that sounds terrible! But, the truth is that this is an epic album in both ambition and scope that takes in blues, jazz, folk and rock as it retells the story of Orpheus’s journey into the underworld but set in depression-era America. Backed by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem), with an amazing score from Michael Chorney, the album's brilliance has to be heard in full to truly appreciate.
Wondering why Midlake's most recent effort was so lacklustre? It's because they were pouring their creative efforts into this gem as the backing band to The Czars' lead singer's solo debut. A perfect slice of 70s Californian pop, juxtaposed against Grant's acidic attack on prejudice and conformity.
The album the band seemed to promise when Dangermouse was at the helm for Attack and Release. Mixing Motown, soul, blues and rock, this is a career high that hurtles through its 15 tracks. Tight and laden with hooks, this is still great unsanitised rock'n'roll.
The band are almost mainstream now – which, given the darkness that continues to pervade Matt Berniger's lyrics, is a testament to their outstanding songwriting. The formula hardly deviates from Alligator or Boxer, and, like its predecessors, this is a subtle listen that works its magic slowly. Dense, atmospheric and still unsettling, The National are the torchbearers for 30-something angst.
An epic listen, this is the ultimate 'event' album of the year. Over 16 sprawling, anthemic tracks the band mythologises growing up in the 80s and captures that time and place beautifully. There are many stand out moments, but it's the strength of the album as a whole that sets it apart. This isn't an album to dip in and out of; it demands to be heard from start to end. And, when the final bars of 'The Suburbs (Continued)' play out, the overwhelming feeling is to press play and start all over again.
2010: year of the re-releases
The Promise, Exile on Main Street and The Whitmark Demos were all outstanding, and under less strict rules from Da Wehring, would have been strong contenders.
Honourable mentions
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me; Tame Impala - Innerspeak; Spoon - Transference
Biggest disappointment
The Drums
Biggest surprise or "I never expected to like that!"
Sleigh Bells - Treats
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