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    Thread: Albums of 2010

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      Default Albums of 2010

      Here’s the thread to post your favourite and perhaps not so favourite albums of 2010. I tend to be very much an album person, so am rarely interested in singles alone, but maybe someone might want to start a songs of 2010 thread?

      I’ve rounded up my favourites. My opinions are my own of course, you may have different opinions - in which case, please do share! I’m also looking forward to seeing your favourite albums in case there’s anything good I’ve missed. Last year I picked up a couple of good albums from people’s recommendations.

      My top 4

      GO - Jonsi



      Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, who boasts one of the most unique and distinctive voices in the music industry, released his first solo album and it’s a remarkable masterpiece. Fresh, original and unique and both ethereal and earthy, its lyrics are predominantly in English, allowing greater insight into the enigmatic Jonsi - to my mind he’s like an alien pixie who came to earth and lives in a secluded forest somewhere, feral and filled with life and lustre, but also with an element of sadness and loneliness. Hands-down this has to be the most unique and fresh album of 2010 - it pays no heed to trends, it’s an authentic artistic expression that feels pure, vital and alive. Much like life itself, it’s filled with joy, wonder and sadness. I love it. It makes me feel glad to be alive! Fave tracks: Tornado, Boy Lilikoi, Animal Arithmetic, Kolniour, Grow Til Tall







      (I also recommend “Riceboy Sleeps” the album he released with his boyfriend Alex the previous year, which I believe is one of the best ambient albums in decades!)

      INTERLOPER - Carbon Based Lifeforms



      I LOVE ambient electronic music and this is one of the best albums in the genre I’ve ever heard. I fell in love with it immediately - it’s beautifully produced and totally immersive. I already started a thread for this, so I won’t say anymore. These guys are extremely talented. Fave tracks: M, Supersede, Init, Frog, Euphotic, Polyritmi





      THESE HOPEFUL MACHINES - BT



      The trance genre died for me a good few years ago, so I was astonished at how much I loved this. It’s so much more than just repetitive beats and grooves - it’s a masterful fusion of trance, pop, rock and ambient. Although it’s a double-album and the average length of each song is about 8-9 minutes, it’s remarkable that it never really feels stretched or padded out. There are some absolutely beautiful songs on here, although they unfold at their own pace - think epic 10 minute pop songs where the first chorus doesn’t actually kick in til the 3-minute mark. This has spoiled me for other electronic albums - it’s an extremely tough act to follow and by comparison releases by other electronic artists including Chicane and Schiller have fallen short for me. Fave tracks: Every Other Way, Forget Me, The Light in Things, Suddenly, The Unbreakable, Always, A Million Stars (just about all of them)





      DISCONNECT FROM DESIRE - School of Seven Bells




      Love this artist, and I think I prefer this to their first album Alpinisms. School of Seven Bells are kind of like the 21 century Cocteau Twins, or Enya on a heady mix of amphetamines and LSD! This album has stronger beats and rhythms and beautiful vocals. I found it thoroughly addictive, an irresistible slice of alternative electro-pop. Fave tracks: Bye Bye Bye, I L U, Dust Devil, Dial, Windstorm




      Check out ELADRIA ~ an epic, highly acclaimed fantasy/sci-fi/metaphysical novel!
      "The meaning of human existence is explored in this beautiful, richly and intensely woven tale. The author takes us on the journey of a lifetime.”
      "The most beautiful and thought-provoking book I have ever read."

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      Some other albums I've really enjoyed:

      SMALL CRAFT ON A MILK SEA - Brian Eno

      Just got this at Christmas but immediately loved it. It veers from beautiful ambient that recalls his classic 70s series and in the middle takes an aggressive interlude with pounding beats and blaring guitars, which gives it added dimension and kick before dissolving into a sublime sea of peace - a milk sea, of course. It's a collaboration with Jon Hopkins, whose work I LOVE, and Leo Abrahams who I confess I hadn't heard of before.



      MONSTERS OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK - Jon Hopkins

      I haven't seen the film (a low budget independent sci-fi flick that's supposed to be pretty good) but got this because it's Jon Hopkins, whose work is becoming greater with each release. As one reviewer put it on itunes, "he makes the kind of music that Vangelis and Jarre might still make if they hadn't gotten old and lazy" and I kind of get that vibe. A beautiful, haunting electronic soundtrack, with only a couple of dark, disturbing moments that kind of shatter the peace, only before settling again into a blissful tranquility. Hopkins is possibly my favourite electronic artist out there at the moment!



      FUTURE PERFECT - Future Perfect

      Debut album from an independent artist I discovered by chance, and perhaps my favourite pop album of the year. I don't generally like much pop these days, but these well-produced and beautifully-sung (and refreshingly, for pop, autotune-free) songs are fantastic and capture the 80s vibe far better than the majority of the quasi-80s sounds producers are going for at the moment. I really recommend this, these guys deserve to be a big success. The songs are extremely catchy and addictive: as it goes, pop doesn't get much better than this. Check out Hunter, Confessions, Second Skin, Queen of the Dancefloor.




      EXILARCH - Conjure One


      Really enjoyed this third album by Rhy Fulber's Conjure One, a close relative of Delerium. Exceptionally well-produced and atmospheric, kind of blending elements of the first two albums, although less poppier than either. That said, I do feel there's something missing and I think it might be Poe, whose contributions really helped make the previous albums. I like that the pop songs are a little more abstract, but maybe they're lacking the emotional pull of those from the previous albums. Still, a greatly enjoyable electronic album with more than a touch of Banco de Gaia to it, including the frequent spoken samples.



      SENIOR - Royksopp

      The darker, moodier, instrumental flip-side to last year's 'Junior' album, this is a fantastic album, great atmospheres and neat production, overall quite chilled but with enough edge to keep it interesting. Just neat - very soundtracky.



      HEAD FIRST - Goldfrapp

      Goldfrapp's homage to the 80s met with mixed critical and disappointing commercial response but I really enjoyed it - most the songs are superbly produced and truly capture the era. Upbeat, infectious and euphoric. The only issue I have is the length of the album; at 39 minutes it seems altogether too short and feels rushed but it's still hugely enjoyable all the same!


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      The albums I had mixed feelings about (no offence if you loved any of these - please feel free to share your own opinion!):

      ATEMLOS - Schiller
      I love Schiller’s earlier albums, particularly Life and Day & Night, but again here he makes the mistake of releasing an unwarranted double album. There are a number of beautiful ambient-style instrumentals (most very much in the style of previous albums, but some with experimental flourishes) and a handful of good vocal tracks (Always You, Playing with Madness, Try) but it’s padded out with copious filler. A number of the vocal tracks were weak - sometimes underproduced with grating vocalists, and a couple of them were just terrible. It also highlights the danger of the genre - sometimes it’s a fine line between producing lite-pop songs and pop songs that are simply bland. I’d have enjoyed this much better if it had simply been a collection of ambient tracks without the vocal tracks. It really needed to be a single disc, with perhaps just a few bonus tracks as an addition. The album (even single disc editions) is also shockingly overpriced!


      GIANTS - Chicane
      I did enjoy this album, which unquestionably has more depth than about 95% of dance music out there, although it didn’t have enough depth to keep me coming back to it. Bracegirdle strikes the right balance between up-tempo and down-tempo and the album chugs along nicely, although the fact he tends to reuse the same melodies repeatedly in the same album - and the fact he tends to ‘borrow’ ideas from other artists does suggest a shortage of ideas.

      LAWS OF ILLUSION - Sarah Mclachlan
      I LOVE Sarah - but I just couldn’t warm to this album. It’s not a bad album by any means - at least it wouIdn’t be for any other artist. It sounds fine as you’re listening to it, but the problem is it’s not a patch on her previous work. There are no classics here and most the songs blur into each other in a disappointing sameness. Vocally Sarah is still at the top of her game, but the songwriting falls short for me, lyrically and melodically. Even after over a dozen listens I’d find it almost impossible to hum more than a couple of the songs. I also didn’t find pretty much any of it emotionally engaging and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just me - I know a lot of people loved this, whereas many didn’t like Afterglow and I loved it! It’s funny, I can listen to it and enjoy it, but it doesn’t stay with me at all. When I think how haunting I found her previous work, and songs such as ‘Fear’, this makes me feel sad. Am I missing something, I wonder?

      VOICE: AN ACOUSTIC COLLECTION - Delerium
      
After 4 years you’d think it was time we got another studio album from Delerium instead of what amounts to an over-glorified remix album. I listened a couple of times but this didn’t really do it for me, and I found the new tracks pleasant but forgettable. It’s certainly well produced and an easy listen, but this doesn’t really cut it for me and I’m glad I didn’t buy it.

      Enough of my opinions. What did you guys enjoy and not-so-enjoy in 2010?

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