Top Albums of 2010

The list of the Ashley

Hi there. I’m really pumped about the music that came out this year. There are several really solid, interesting new albums from great bands and many newer names getting the attention they deserve. Cheers to all the musicians out there and the rest of us who help them make a living!

25. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
24. Avey Tare - Down There
23. Good Old War - Good Old War
22. Woodpigeon - Die Stadt Musikantn
21. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
20. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
19. The Morning Benders - Big Echo
18. Best Coast - Crazy For You
17. Delorean - Subiza
16. The New Pornographers - Together
15. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
14. Vampire Weekend - Contra
13. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
12. Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love
11.Jonsi - Go

10. Wild Nothing - Gemini

Fantastic lo-fi, full of feeling and truly phenomenal

9. The National - High Violet

Haunting, smooth like silk and violet petals inside from a lightning storm

8. El Guincho - Pop Negro

El Guincho should be the world’s soundtrack. Surprising, crazy, awesome

7. Sleigh Bells - Treats

If Sleigh Bells’ sound were just that, I would buy a sleigh and reindeer

6. Twin Shadow - Forget

My favorite new soul-soothing, viscous and thoughtful artist

5. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Man am I glad it is happening. This new album is frickin unreal

4. Plants and Animals - La La Land

A full-bodied masterpiece with an aware, sincere emotional quality

3. Owen Pallett - Heartland and A Swedish Love Story

A Swedish Love Story already shows an exciting derivative of Pallett’s sound

2. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz (not on Spotify)

Sufjan’s signature sound innovated = absolutely incredible

And finally, introducing HotSpotMusic’s favourite album of 2010:

Caribou - Swim

Swim really rocked my socks off. How could they beat Andorra? It’s a Festivus miracle (many months early). I wake up nights craving Odessa (The song of course, not the place). In fact, my music highlights of the year were Caribou at the Berlin Festival and Owen Pallett covering Odessa at Primavera Sound in Barcelona. The sound filled the unexpectedly clean, smoke-free surroundings. We sat transfixed in plush seats underneath twinkling blue lights in an otherwise utterly dark amphitheater — it was an experience. For their own show, Caribou really rocked the Flughafen, though for a show experience, I would have liked to have been able to see them through the clouds of smoke. Caribou takes my number one spot for Swim in all it’s mathy, movement-inducing rhythms and enticing, satisfying composition.