2010 music y'all!

Here is a list of albums I liked this year. The banter will be nowhere near as witty as that damn Kumaboshi, but theres always next year. Here's my list of really mainstream records I liked, in no order, except my favourite coming last...


Deftones: Diamond Eyes
I love Deftones. Always have, always will. Heavy record from beginning to end, featuring none of the guff that dragged 'Saturday Night Wrist' down. Superb.
Bestest song? 'You've Seen the Butcher'.


The National: High Violet
The National doing what The National do. Playing sad sounding songs very well. Their last 3 records have been great, top work.
Bestest song? 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'.


Shoes and Socks Off: Robin Hood Waiter Champion Have Not
A pretty quiet year for Toby Hayes release wise, just the one album and an EP, but the album was cracking. 'CYF' is probably my favourite song this year, and the 10 videos that accompanied the songs were great as well, 'Here's My Head on a Plate' being the highlight. That more people don't adore this man is a crime.
Bestest song? 'CYF'.


Olafur Arnalds: '...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness'.
Absolutely beautiful. Its not an album you find yourself humming afterwards, but whilst it is on it pretty much takes over the senses. And the work of one man? Extraordinary.
Bestest song? Couldnt possibly say. Its a 9 track one track.


Dinoasur Pile Up: Growing Pains
Nirvana were the first rock band I got into, obviously.This album is just sheer joy really, its nothing new and nothing startling, its basically a pick and choose of grunge classics, but played fast and enthusiastically. Became mine and Benjis party album atthe end of the year, and they are probably my favourite little british band coming through at the moment. Great fun!
Bestest song? 'Barce-loner'.


Far: At Night We Live
'Water and Solutions' used to be my favourite album. A lot of worries about this, I sort of expected it to come out like the Gratitude album (2 great songs and a load of guff), but the opening Ashley Morton riff of 'Deafening' really put that worry to bed. cracking return. And the 'Deafening' riff really is a description of Ashley Morton. 0-10-12?
Bestest song? 'At Night We Live'.


Brian Eno: Small Craft on a Milk Sea
Adam Hiles described this as like a 'greatest hits of entirely new material'. Thats exactly what it sounds like.
Bestest song? You can't have a favourite song on a Brian Eno album.


Dillinger Escape Plan: Option Paralysis
Its strange that for a band that is so constantly described as being unpredictable, you know exactly what you are going to get from a Dillinger album. The new drummer sounds great, and this album is just more consistent over all than 'Ire Works', even if it doesnt have a 'Milk Lizard' of THAT fill in 'Party Smasher'.
Bestest song: 'Gold Teeth on a Bum'

Joanna Newsom: Have One on Me
Oh, Joanna, you wonder you. Another epic piece of work from the little lady, its a long one but fully worth it. How she does it, I do not know. I'd love to see her live.
Bestest song: At the moment its 'Jackrabbits', but it changes frequently.



and my favourite album of the year is....









Daughters: Daughters
The first 2 albums were rubbish. Well, not rubbish, but nothing I've listened to more than twice. I had this on the ol' mp3 player all year, hadnt listened to it, no hopes for it. Cracked it on whilst thinking about this list, and JESUS CHRIST is it good. It sounds huge, like the angriest heaviest indie band possible, it just caves your head in, beautifully. I wish I was in a band that sounded like this more than anything.
Bestest song? 'The Hit'.

So thats 2010 done. Oceansize released a decent album this year, as did Envy, Rinoa, 65daysofstatic and a few others, but I haven't listened to them enough to make real judgments on. Jimmy Eat World released a very disappointing album. I haven't got the new MCR album yet. Maybe I should have waited before doing this list, but that would have resulted in me not actually doing it, and Paul Stott would have been angry then.

So what does next year have in store? Well, Fiona Apple should release something in the spring, the Young Legionnaire album is ready to go, and many more. But next year will be all about one thing, if it materialises. Tool. Tool. Tool. Tool. Tool.

Tool.

For me personally, me and Helena are go, so I'm off to Yorkshire to discover ales and pies. I say this every year, but I need to be more productive. There is talk of an actual Moses album, plus I keep talking to Barry about doing some sort of folk record, which would be nice. More importantly to me though, I have a total of 5 fully written Harald Math albums ('You and Others Around You', 'You Used to Warm Us Like the Sun', 'The Permanent Happiness of the Multiplication Table', 'There Was Nothing Left of Us in the Wilderness, Save What the Wilderness Kept for Itself' and 'One Day, the Water Will Wash All of this Away'. What cheery titles). I want to record them at Ashs and get Katie Glover and Mary Naylor to do art for them, and just have them in my collection. Its about bloody time.

I'd like to finish this Srebrenica book as well, and hopefully do a lot more Drug Robot stuff with Mary. I'd like to actually make a couple of other records as well, maybe one with Adam Lloyd, something with Frost, and who knows, maybe another Port Elizabeth record.

We shall see. In the meantine, Merry Christmas all, hope everyone has a good day celebrating not the birth of jesus.