Albums of the Year 2010

10) JIMMY EAT WORLD - Invented (DGC)


Following up one of the "Albums of the Year" is going to be problematic, unless you're Jimmy Eat World, where every album holds that particular accolade, leaving the job in hand a simple one: Make another bloody great album. Oh, and what do you know...? As usual, the Arizona songsmiths have avoided the same approach as last time round, this instance being when 2007's Chase This Light sounded like the most uplifting and carefree thing in the world. Traces of that and past vitriols still shine through their crisply-layered guitar melodies, but it's the epic introspection of the title track, Stop and the truly majestic Cut that give Invented its own identity to sit beautifully alongside past glories.

My Best Theory

9) LOSTPROPHETS - The Betrayed (Visible Noise)


Ten years ago, Lostprophets were cited as being the band to outlast their shouty nu-metal peers and manage a couple more albums. Four albums and more Top Ten appearances later, they show no signs of stopping. After a couple of albums of working on both their riffs and their pop nous under the guidance of some big-name producers, the Pontypridd lads have taken everything in stride and done it all themselves, lock stock and production. And it's no surprise that The Betrayed feels 100% like a Lostprophets album, just like the classic debut. What they have now is better choruses (Where We Belong, Dirty Little Heart) and better riffs (Dstryr/Dstryr, Next Stop,Atro City). They may well have certainly sounded arrogant back in the day, but they deserve their "told you so"s now.

Where We Belong

8) VOLBEAT - Beyond Hell, Above Heaven (Universal)


Quiffs + "ELVIS" tattoos + harmonicas = Rock 'n' Roll. It's one of the great universal equations. If there's no Quiff, it's not Rock 'n' Roll, it's that simple. Denmark's Volbeat have quiffs and "ELVIS" tattoos, strangely enough. They also have a wonderful approach to effortlessly fusing together old-fashioned Rockabilly with old-fashioned anthemic Heavy Metal on the likes of the fist-pumping Fallen, the slide-guitar tinged 7 Shots and the pure rockabilly of 16 Dollars. Yes, the subject matter can be as dark as it is light, but the spirit of the record is overwhelmingly triumphant.

Fallen

7) DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL - Blessed & Cursed (Century Media)


The key to heavy music's evolution has never been about how brutal a band can make the riffs, but in what can be added to said brutality. Devil Sold His Soul's approach is to couple and underpin their epic, richly layered wall of guitars with such serene beauty. They make the difference between solid and epic and prove that heavy music is just as much music as anything else. Strip away the loud guitars and the core melody of within Drowning/Sinking and An Ocean of Lights could sit alongside any classical opus. The fact that DSHS are still quite young is a testament to their abilities.

Callous Heart

6) SLEIGH BELLS - Treats (Mom and Pop)


It's always worth approaching with caution any new act that has almost every blogger and hip music media outlet salivating, especially when comprised of the male/female duo, a formation also guaranteed to generate lazy comparisons that won't always hold water. You see, Sleigh Bells don't sound like any other duo/band/group/combo. They do, however, sound like the High School Marching Band following a sadomasochistic orgy with the Cheerleaders in the band room, and the likes of Tell 'Em, Crown on the Ground and A/B Machines are the catchy stains that won't wash off the guitars or keyboards.

Infinity Guitars

5) FREEZEPOP - Imaginary Friends (archenemy)


Despite synthpop's firm grasp of the catchy chorus during its original early-80s heyday, it still, for the most part, retained that icy, gloomy exterior. Nowadays, it seems that every band revelling in this glorious era are focusing on the colourful optimism that could be found in a select few bands. Freezepop represent this magnificently, with their fourth album breaking off the cautious shackles of previous effort Future Future Future Perfect and just dropping hook after hook with scant regard for your earworm tolerance. Choruses? Freezepop have abducted the definition of the chorus and locked it inside their keytars. Lose That Boy, Magnetic and the title track perfectly recall an era when pop music sounded as if it was offered up by intergalactic alien cyborgs as opposed to rusty robots from the Cowell Corporation production line.

Magnetic

4) IRON MAIDEN - The Final Frontier (EMI)


Thirty years after their debut album, and Iron Maiden entered the UK album chart at Number One with this, their 15th effort. That in itself tells you all about this extraordinary band and their devoted fan base. It also tells that you that, unlike their peers from that era, Maiden will never stagnate, will always try something they haven't before, and will never make an album that sounds like their previous one. Oh, granted, they know what they're good at, but they'll always keep you guessing. As such, The Final Frontier moves away from the bombastic grit of A Matter of Life and Death and, like its sci-fi baiting title suggests, travels down a more space-age highway. The likes of El Dorado and the almost balladic Coming Home positively soar, but it's Isle of Avalon and Starblind that really shine. The former rides a gentle guitar line before a massive chorus takes off through an epic prog bank that Rush would be proud of, while the latter provides the almost-orchestral soundtrack to being stranded on some desolate planet in tandem with some alien riff. Proof that Iron Maiden will continue to live long and prosper.

The Final Frontier

3) THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Option Paralysis (Season of Mist)


Option Paralysis is a fairly inappropriate album title - there's absolutely nothing paralytic about this monster. Dillinger continue to rip through any straightjacket with violent abandon, twisting and spasming in every conceivable way possible. Blast beats stop-start with stuttering hammerhead guitars while Greg Puciato's vocals lurch from hellhound shrieking to lounging cabaret. This is no un-easy listening classic, though. DEP continue to suggest that if they were left alone to write a pop album, they bloody well could. Sure, the tuneful aspects of Farewell, Mona Lisa and Endless Endings are tempered by tracks such as Chinese Whispers, a mainstream rock song masquerading as a psychpathic loon, and Widower, which veers from a piano-led croon into a climax of epic proportions. It's also one of the best tracks you'll hear all year.

Farewell, Mona Lisa

2) KYLESA - Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)


The key to great Metal bludgeon is not always in the actual riff itself, but what surrounds it. The bands that perfect the dynamics and diversity within their sound are those that become legends and from here on, Kylesa could well join those ranks. Their Georgia, US background explains their assured take on the Southern-flavoured doomy sludge-metal that they've made their own on the previous four releases. What Spiral Shadow does is focus on those more atmospheric and melodic moments they'd merely visited in the past, making the likes of Cheating Synergy and Forsaken such an addictive proposition. While other bands try to be too clever with their time-signatures, Kylesa recognise that it isn't always appropriate, and sometimes something as basic as speeding up or slowing down works just as well when need be. They joy of this album is highlighted by the midway-twofer of Crowded Road, wherein the dual-drumming is complimented by several monolithic hooks and a line pilfered from Egyptian Folklore, followed by Don't Look Back, which could be the most twisted accessible Pixies track ever written. If Mastodon decided to give up their crown, Kylesa would be more then deserved successors.

Tired Climb

1) CRYSTAL CASTLES - II (Polydor)


Great art isn't about just reaching into the soul of the person experiencing it, it's about lifting it up and transporting it elsewhere, placing it firmly in another town, another world, another dimension. But the artist has to THAT good, THAT assured of their craft. Crystal Castles' self-titled debut released two years previously filtered through a glut of electronic sounds pilfered from knackered samplers and video game arcade sound-cards and proceeded to astound fans and journalists alike. What this second effort does is lose some of that carefree abandon and focuses on the atmosphere that they occasionally touched on beforehand. Celestica and Baptism may sound like standard rave fare initially, but they begin to unravel into something far more soulful than the average HedKandi number. Doe Deer collides a hardcore punk drumbeat with a demented siren call while Birds violently pulses on the back of a classic electro rhythm. Empathy and Violent Dreams lose themselves in a concentrated mass of vocoded breaths and samples. The album's highlights come in Year of Silence, which lifts a vocal off one of Sigur Ros's more jaunty numbers and morphs it into the basis of a form of dark hypnosis, while Vietnam singlehandedly combines everything that they've done so far into five minutes of glorious wonder.

Speculating over what the next album will sound like is nothing short of pointless. It wouldn't be beyond an unrealistic realm to suggest they ditch all their equipment and go down a more aggressive punk route and still sound just as otherworldly. What we do know is that Ethan and Alice are one of the world's "perfect couples" when it comes to memorable music. Here's
to another self-titled album.

Not in Love (feat. Robert Smith

Albums of the Year 2009

10) STEEL PANTHER - Feel The Steel (Island)


It's probably heresy to include such an album in a serious review of the year. There's no way anyone could possibly consider a full-on comedic pisstake of the idiotic excess of '80s glam metal in an end-of-year spotlight - it's bad enough it was enjoyed in the first place! Well, comedy or not, this is certainly one of the most enjoyable records of the year, both in daft, exaggerated lyrical output ("What'd you have to do for that backstage pass, 'cause I found a poisoned laminate inside of your ass..." - Girl From Oklahoma), to gloriously questionable song titles - Asian Hooker, Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) - to some of the best glam metal hooks heard in many a year. The sound of men old enough to know better, and doing it anyway 'cause they're bloody good at it.

Check Out: Eyes of a Panther

9) VITALIC - Flashmob (Citizen)


If there's one thing we've learnt in recent years, is that it's never a bad idea to give anyone of Gallic persuasion some synthesizers, samplers and all the rest as they'll probably get it absolutely right. Pascal Arbez's second offering under his Vitalic pseudonym picks up where debut OK Cowboy left off - subtle bleeps and beats juxtaposed alongside robotic lady vocals and introverted rhythms. With a sound more interesting than fellow countrymen Justice and Chromeo, the likes of Terminateur Benelux, Your Disco Song and the title track prove that Arbez is the natural successor in a line including Jean Michel Jarre and Daft Punk. French hands are good for something after all.

Check Out: Station Mir 2099

8) ALICE IN CHAINS - Black Gives Way To Blue (Parlophone)


There are rules in this business. Your first album after fourteen years should be a tepid and slack-jawed affair with only a hint of the fire that kept you going in your classic period, even if there has been a tragic event since. The last thing we should expect is such an assured belter that draws on history whilst adding something new. AIC's return effort takes that distinctive sound but applies it to an epic assurance where there was once utter despair. Check My Brain and Lesson Learned are righteous classics while the title track and Your Decision reminds us that a delicate touch was as much their forte as their riffs. A justified comeback.

Check Out: Lesson Learned

7) MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Journal For Plague Lovers (Sony)


If the headlines were a bit predictable ("The Holy Bible, the sequel", etc.), then the album wasn't. Yes, it was the most caustic and visceral they'd been after a lengthy period of daytime-radio friendly material, but it was by no means a complete retreat to a time when they were the UK's angriest rock band. If anything, delving into missing guitarist Richie James' remaining lyrics book allowed the band to tap into the unique catharsis that they had left behind and apply it to the maturity and assured grasp of songwriting they've developed since the mid-90s. As a result, tracks such as Me and Stephen Hawking and All is Vanity summed up all of the Manics' best attributes from the last 20 years.

Check Out: All is Vanity

6) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Lungs (Island)


As much as it's easy to disregard folk who blindly follow hyped artists like they eat cake, we shouldn't forget that those who purposefully avoid said artists are just as foolish. Now and then, there will be a damn good reason why there's hype and Florence is it. Even before the album's release, her live show with her band The Machine was getting justified good press for it's energy and great tracks - tracks which are kinda folk, but a bit rock, and very pop, and slightly dancey, and just plain unique. It translated to an album that was as breathtaking and beautiful as it was epic and hard-hitting. "Worth a listen" doesn't even come close.

Check Out: Howl

5) BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - The Great Misdirect (Victory)


I have no idea where to start. Is it the Grand-Guignol-organ inspired madness that permeates through the lurching death metal of Disease, Injury, Madness? The jazzy honky-tonk that underpins the ragged hardcore of Fossil Genera..? The sublime bliss of the Western-tinged semi-acoustic Desert of Song? Or do I go with the truly epic brutal prog that is Swim To The Moon? What I will say is this is as good and awe-inspiring as previous effort Colors, and that enough is all you need to know.

Check Out: Desert of Song

4) DEPECHE MODE - Sounds Of The Universe (Mute)


If anything, SOTU is a relief. Previous album Playing The Angel was solid but seemed to tread water and felt frequently uninspired. While nothing on their twelfth album can be described as a radical departure, there's definitely some newly-discovered life in these synthesized bones. The likes of Fragile Tension and Peace are respectful additions to their established canon, but it's tracks such as the grandiose Wrong and disturbing Corrupt that prove that something a bit different is still in reach. There's also the likes of Come Back, which could be their most impassioned offering since Condemnation in 1993. The best thing is, there's nothing to suggest they should call it a day just yet.

Check Out: Come Back

3) LA ROUX - La Roux (Polydor)


It's guaranteed that duos and synthesizers are winners. Soft Cell; Eurythmics; Yazoo; Pet Shop Boys; Erasure; La Roux. Granted, the final name may be twenty-odd years too late, but Elly and Ben are worthy additions. At worst, they're a fantastic '80s tribute act. At best, they're a talented partnership that have mastered the art of colourful songwriting in one shot. Such a triumph will always yield the obvious classy singles (In For The Kill, Bulletproof) but will throw up more aggressive fare in Tigerlily or something as dreamy as Armour Love. Debut of the year, but only just.

Check Out: Tigerlily

2) CONVERGE - Axe To Fall (Epitaph)


British metal fans will probably be a bit fed up with the ignorant criticism "It's just noise" after recent events in the national singles charts. However, it's always been a compliment with Converge, as they have spent the last fifteen years taking the concept of noise and twisting and fucking it into something uniquely primal. The applause that Axe To Fall justifies is not that they continue to do it so well, but that a cleaner, more pristine sound still results in one of the harshest things they've done. Dark Horse, Reap What You Sow and Cutter are relentless bouts of the kind of calculated-but-unhinged savagery we've come to expect, but better. However, it's the unsettling one-two climax of Cruel Bloom and the disturbing ambiance of Wretched World where Converge prove that whatever they do, they are rarely bettered. The other argument of its comparison to the legendary Jane Doe is not one I want to get into right now, but give me a couple of years.

Check Out: Reap What you Sow

1) METRIC - Fantasies (Last Gang)


Simplicity is the key. Stripping rock music to its core and just nudging the vitriol away with a bit of warmth and reason. Taking the bare elements of pop music and adding some epic flourish. You could end up with Fantasies, but it's unlikely now as it's been done and probably won't be done again. These Canadians continue to confuse logic by not being bloody huge already. This is rock music without the headache. Pop music without the feeling of a saccharine overdose. Dance music without the established boundaries. There is no question that this band should be loved and adored by everyone, but they're not. And maybe that's part of their mystique and appeal.

The whole thing is proof that with the right ingredients, magic can be conjured up. Help, I'm Alive is epic beauty without an epic touch. Gold Guns Girls is what a driving compilation really craves. Satellite Mind and Front Row are perverse little bastards that you know you want more of while Sick Muse and Gimme Sympathy are very different but still the two best pop songs you'll hear all year.

Whether they'll be as effective without Emily Haines' dreamy vocals is worth a debate, but there's no denying this is a fantastic group effort. Beautiful, inspired, sexy, magic and pretty much every other positive adjective you can think of - Fantasies should be the album to convert you to this stunning and individual band.

Check Out: Satellite Mind

Top Ten Albums of 2008

Sod the turkey, mince pies and unoriginal dramatic plotline on Eastenders - Christmas is all about top 10 lists, and this is the only one I bother doing. Enjoy.


10) FREEZEPOP - Future Future Future Perfect (Rykodisc)



When a band announce on their sleeve that "no real instruments were used in the making of this recording", you probably know what to expect. Synths clash with more synths clash with some very pleasant nonchalant vocals from Liz Enthusiasm(!). The likes of Erasure and Dubstar are obvious reference points as the more lively likes of Ninja of Love and Brainpower sit alongside the sublime likes of Swimming Pool. It's a bit too whimsical at times, but you won't ever get a headache.

Check out: Less Talk More Rokk

9) CULT OF LUNA - Eternal Kingdom (Earache)



Concept album warning! Still here? Well, as this album is based lyrically and sonically on a diary written by some murdering loon, then the tag applies. Although between you and me, this album is nothing new for CoL. Their enveloping and sprawling dischordant wall of noise is executed as finely as ever and is not for the faint of heart. Eternal Kingdom also seems them creeping back into ther darker territory they had moved away from on the last two albums, whilst retaining that sense of restraint they had began to take charge of. The result: something that may well create a loon out of the listener if caution is not ensued.

Check out: Eternal Kingdom

8) ALPHABEAT - This is Alphabeat (Copenhagen)



Proof positive that "Pop " is not a dirty word, Alphabeat offer up the kind of classic sunshine pop that seems to have been missing from our charts for some time. Quintessentially Scandinavian, the Danish sextet offer up one infectious harmony after another. If its not the disco-rock of Fantastic Six or Boyfriend, its the throbbing synths on Touch Me Touching You and Rubber Boots. Like all sugar-infected pop music, this is not to be overdone at any one time, but to be consumed regularly as part of a balanced music diet.

Check out: Boyfriend

7) HADOUKEN! - Music for an Accelerated Culture (Atlantic)



Whilst we should discourage any attempt to stick "nu" before an established genre tag in order to regard any new sound, "nu-rave" is pretty darn appropriate for these young Brits. Energy? Pah, these guys belch it out in their sleep. Rave beats clash with casio bleeps, grimy raps and buzzing guitars to concoct a record so utterly now that it should be first into any time capsule. What's most pleasing is not just the ability to throw everything and the kitchen sink in to good effect, it's that pretty much all tracks are classic pop songs with a defining hook and chorus. Which means we get the catchy likes of Declaration of War and Driving to Nowhere as well as the more pulsating likes of Liquid Lives. Ah yes, there's also THAT Atari siren that kicks off That Boy That Girl.

Check out: Game Over

6) BLEEDING THROUGH - Declaration (Trustkill)



Reigning in producer-supremo Devin Townsend was an inspired idea that the Orange County bruticians should have come to earlier. Previous album The Truth wasn't bad, but it was too raw most of the time. Declaration makes up some ground and serves to honour the wondrous marriage of gothic keyboards and straightforward hardcore metal.
It also proves that they're not one-trick ponies as the full-on likes of the title track and Seller's Market stand nicely alongside the romantic grandeur of There was a Flood and Sister Charlatan.

Check out: Seller's Market

5) METALLICA - Death Magentic (Vertigo)



Honestly, even if it had just one impressive solo, Death Magnetic would have been held in higher regard than the much-maligned St Anger. The more cynical may suggest that the abundance of "classic" 'tallica, solos and thrashy riffs on DM is both an attempt to regain lost fans and take advantage of metal's current resurgance. Whatever. The more devoted Metallifan knows classic 'tallica when they hear it, and this is it. They've done it before, so this won't make any "all-time" list, but this is the boys doing what they love because they can. You can bang that head again now.

4) OPETH - Watershed (Roadrunner)



Let's face it, it's highly unlikely that Opeth could ever put a foot wrong. They've made a steady career of melding prog and folk with the most extreme of metal, and it would be foolhardy to suggest that anyone else comes close to touching them. The Swedes pick up where last album Ghost Reveries finishes but decide to ramp up the heavyness when applicable. This is the heaviest they have sounded for a few albums, but in contrast, their acoustic and prog moments are moreso too. It's hard work, but like anything that requires effort, it reaps its required rewards.

Check out: Heir Apparent

3) CANCER BATS - Hail Destroyer (Hassle)



If debut effort Birthing The Giant was the unpredicted bomb dropped square in the middle of rock's conciousness, then Hail Destroyer is surely the delayed explosion. The Canadians' vicious blend of Black Flag-inspired harcore and the kind of southern sludge metal that Down are renowned for doesn't just slay on Hail..., it tears apart, mutilates and then fucks the corpse for good measure. If the title track and Harem of Scorpions are perfect examples of savage melody mixed with rock violence, then Sorceress and Pray for Darkness are examples of what the pit was made for. The bonus here is that The Bats know how to balance things out. Bastard's Waltz and Lucifer's Rocking Chair buck and groove in a tight spot and just reinforce the rage that surrounds it. Epic Hail.

Check out: Regret

2) LADYHAWKE - Ladyhawke (Modular)



Is great music a result of experiencing life to the full or can it be a result of being a complete fanboy/girl? Whilst we can't accuse her of forfeiting the former, Ladyhawke's Myspace page proves that she could well knock those numpties on "Eggheads" into touch in any pop music round and still have five minutes to write two great songs. The reference points from the last 30 years are frequently obvious but when the songs are this great, who cares? New Zealander Hawke, real name Pip, has conjured up forty-odd minutes of the best kind of Pop music - saccharine-free tracks that stick in your head that you have no desire to get rid of. No instrument sounds over-used or over-produced at any time and Pip's dreamy vocals are utterly heartmelting. This is proof that only great pop music, and not the lure of fame and fortune, can inspire more great pop music. Best debut of the year, no question.

Check out: Magic

1) LADYTRON - Velocifero (Nettwerk)



For those Mods who know that a Velocifero is a type of scooter and are wondering if Ladytron have ditched the Moogs and Korgs and gone all Quadraphenia on us, it should also be noted that it can mean "bringer of speed". Not a reference to the local dealer, but appropriate nonetheless as Velocifero is one enormous high. Ladytron have somehow created an album so astounding that you may think they've plugged in their synths to the astral plane itself. Velocifero sounds more massive than any synth-based album has any right to. Black Cat and Burning Up throb and thrust, Ghosts and The Lovers completely reanimate the corpse of Glam Rock, Kletva and Versus remind you that there are no limits to using any music from around the world while Deep Blue is, quite simply, perfection.

With Velocifero, Ladytron haven't so much raised the bar for themselves and their peers, they've shot it into the stratosphere and out of sight to pick up some offworld elements on the way. They may as welll invest in some scooters and naff off to Brighton for a while because it's unlikely to see them surpassing this any time soon.

Check out: Deep Blue