10. Plastic Beach - Gorillaz (Parlophone, Virgin)
Plastic Beach is the 3rd album by the London-based trip-hop outfit, led by the legendary Damon Albarn. Gorillaz have been offering an innovative take on pop music in the 2000s, and this is certainly their most influential work up to date. Featuring diverse collaborations with artists such as Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, and the Syrian National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music also renders Plastic Beach as a work that stands closer to 'world music' from time to time. 2010 also saw Gorillaz perform for the first time without any "curtains"; members exposing themselves fully in the live shows. The future of Gorillaz remains uncertain as there have been rumours floating around that Plastic Beach may be the last Gorillaz album. Damon Albarn might also rejoin Blur to record with them, we'll see what the future will bring.
9. LP4 - Ratatat (XL Records)
NYC duo continue to define electronic music with LP4. Perhaps the best thing for electronic-pop artists is that, since electronic music is a genre that is always evolving, there are no forms, rules, or certain expectations for how the music is ought to sound like. There is a lot of freedom, room for the artist to fill with imagination in electronic music, and Ratatat is perhaps currently the most successful act in doing this. In LP4, Evan Mast and Mark Stroud carry Ratatat's basic musical characteristics into broader perspectives with string arrangements and brave steps in composition. Listeners should see LP4 as a complete work of art, rather than seeking for singles throughout.
8. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire (Merge)
Canada's gift to music, Arcade Fire came up with their most sophisticated release in 2010. With The Suburbs, they complete their transition from an "indie" band to an "arena-sellout" band (although this has been the source of endless arguments in the music media for a while now). Frontman Win Butler describes the album as "a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young", and he is quite right. The Suburbs sounds grand, it depicts some of the most deliberately mastered music lately in the pop music scene. With majestic tunes such as "Rococo" -one of my favourite tracks of the year- The Suburbs is also surely an album that will be remembered in the coming decades.
7. Swim - Caribou (Merge, City Slang)
Caribou, a.k.a. Daniel Snaith, is yet another talented Canadian act. Swim is an astonishing work of art, and sounds like a compilation of musical sketches dripping from Snaith's, colorful, intriguing mind. Whenever I listen to this album, a sense of freedom encompasses me; Swim floats between cloudy borders of various genres, making sharp touches from time to time (ex: the only single "Odessa" being a golden dance-track), but overally remaining indecisive, emphasizing a dreamy atmosphere.
6. Gorilla Manor - Local Natives (Infectious, Frenchkiss Records)
Local Natives' debut Gorilla Manor is an outburst of vivacious California breeze. Deliberately performed percussions, quality vocal harmonies, and catchy anthems, mark Gorilla Manor as one of the most interesting debut releases of the year. LA band Local Natives went through a rapid, exciting, and inevitably exhausting odyssey of rise to fame in 2010. A particularly impressive facet of their music is their inellectual and mature sound.
5. Black Sands - Bonobo (Ninja Tune)
Bonobo has done it again. The ultimate 'chill-out' album of the year, Black Sands is mind-blowing. Taking a slightly different path with Black Sands compared to his past three releases, Bonobo crafted an album that stands closer to 'lounge' music, whereas -at least in my eyes- his older releases contain some of the most exciting modern jazz tunes. The production, done by Bonobo, is also impeccable. Perhaps the only downside to this album is the occasional songs that contain vocals by guest singers, that really sound out-of-place in my opinion. The two closing tracks "Animals", and "Black Sands", shows how masterfully Bonobo can also use acoustic elements in his music; and these two songs also being two of the most beautiful pieces of music he has ever done.
4. The Age Of Adz - Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty)
Sufjan Stevens' return was an important event in the music world since it has been five years since his last long play, the critically acclaimed Illinois. However, one of the foremost composers of his generation, Stevens was not inactive at all during the course of this time; he revealed an orchestral project composed entirely by him, The BQE, released an EP called All Delighted People, and a rework of his second album Enjoy Your Rabbit by the string quartet Osso had been released. But it was his highly anticipated 6th studio album, what the focus was on. It took 5 years for Stevens to compile The Age of Adz, and frankly, it's worth the wait. This is Stevens' first album since his debut A Sun Came!, that is not related to any concept or that has a theme (past examples include the Chinese zodiac, Christian themes, dedication to the state of Michigan . . .). Yet, the artist has to be influenced by something, and The Age of Adz is influenced by the schizophrenic work of the self-proclaimed Prophet artist Royal Robertson; which explains the consistent electronic loops, heavy use of effects, unconventional ryhthms and the overall weird sound of the album. Yet the special thing about this album is that under all the sonic mess, chaos that Sufjan has subtly created, one still hears the trademark Sufjan Stevens elements in the music. On the other hand the problem with this album is that, good songs are very good, whereas other songs sound too dense and as if they're lost in the mess Sufjan was trying to handle. In overall, this is a work that should be applauded, a brave intra-genre journey, a unique step in the history of music by Sufjan Stevens.
3. Surfing The Void - Klaxons (Polydor)
With Surfing the Void, Klaxons show its darker side to the globe. Labelled as the leading act of the mid-2000s "new rave" movement by the British media, Klaxons gets further from the dance floor, and stands closer to the dark and loud electronic-rock bands such as the Prodigy. Surfing the Void presents a selection of pop-singles ("Twin Flames", "Future Memories", "Echoes"), progressive tunes ("The Same Space", "Valley of the Calm Trees"), and loud rock productions ("Surfing the Void", "Flashover", "Cypherspeed"). Perhaps an album that does not appeal to broad audiences compared to other works on this list, especially with its chaotic sound from time to time, yet definitely a milestone in the British music.
2. Innerspeaker - Tame Impala (Modular Records)
Yes, Innerspeaker, sounds like a record Beatles forgot to release in their psychedelic era, like some sort of a musical Atlantis if you know what I mean. But Tame Impala is original, what they're doing requires courage and vision. An epitome of how psychedelic music should be like, Innerspeaker takes you on a journey in time. From Perth, Australia, Tame Impala stole our hearts by mastering the best debut of 2010. May their future be bright, for the sake of good music.
1. Congratulations - MGMT (Columbia)
And the album of the year. MGMT's sophomore effort, Congratulations is a ground-braking album, especially considering these modern times when the lines between genres are slowly vanishing. Congratulations is innovative, its brave, its pure creation. MGMT follows the path in their hearts with this album, a path that is full of uncertainties, but the result is incredible. Wheter its the 12-minute retro trip of "Siberian Breaks", form-rejecting "Flash Delirium", or the witty humour of "Congratulations", Congratulations deserves the top place with every inch of it. Only bad thing about the album is its artork; that, is a fact.
