Your best albums of the year so far

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

And i'd like to add that I saw Yeasyer in Barcelona whilst coming up and it was lovely.

 

[The Face]

The Drums, The Courteeners, Delphic, Laura Marling.

 

[WhingForPresident]

I find it amazing how people are even mentioning Hot Chip if I'm honest.
I thought their latest attempt was f***ing dire.
Each to their own i guess

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

I really liked the slower stuff on their first album and their latest has mire of that so it made me happy, plus it's officially the best album to jog to.

 

[Stinky Pete]

High Violet by The National and Odd Blood by Yeasayer for me so far this year.

And a mention for Reservoir by Fanfarlo although technically that's from last year

 

[tinx]

Only had the drums new album since yesterday but so far it is qute impressive.

 

[thebazillionaire]

Hot Chip album and To My Boy(and no it is not bloody emo)

 

[rcf0712]

I think it's been a really great year for music. Lots and lots of new stuff coming out all the time and plenty of youngsters prepared to take risks with their art.

Here's my list of the best albums so far, starting with the nearly rans (in no particular order):

Bon Iver- Blood Bank EP
Yeasayer - Old Blood
Tracey Thorn - Love and its opposite
The School - Loveless Unbeliever
Sade - Soldier of Love
Rudi Zygadio - Great Western Laymen
Peggy Sue - Fossils and other Phantoms
Pavement: Best of
Flaming Lips: Dark Side of The Moon
Four Tet - There's Love in You
Goldfrapp - Headfirst
Gonjasufi - A sufi and a Killer
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Husky Rescue - Ship of Light
Jonsi - Go
Leila Adu - Dark Joan
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Unicorn - Chew Lips
Chris Joss - Monomaniacs Vol 1
Crookers - Tons of Friends
Cypress Hill - Rise Up
Damien Jurado - Saint Bartlett
Dan Le Sac v Scroobius Pip - The Logic of Chance
Delphic - Acolyte
Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue (re-released from 1976 and I'd not heard it before!)
Dreadzone - Eye on the Horizon
Ellen Allien - Watergate vol 5
Fall - Your Future Our Clutter
Bomb the Bass - Back to Light
Nick Cave/ Warren Ellis - The Road



And my top 10 (in some semblance of a preference):

10 - Olafar Arnalds - And they have escaped the weight of darkness

Icelandic pianist surpasses his earlier work with some exquisite pieces

9. Gil Scott Heron - I'm New Here

A welcome return for the poet/musician/political activist. I really liked how personal and open he was in this very short album. A lot of catching up but well worth it

8. Holly Miranda - THe Magician's Private Life

Debut album from a New Yorker who has a lot of confidence and some great tunes

7. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers

*sigh* I won't have a word said against her. Carries on from her first album but that was perfect and so was this. Will be released in the UK this month but can be bought directly from her record company now.

6. Joanna Newsom - Have one on me

A big risk with this 3 cd collection but a lot more sohpisticated album from JN and her voice has grown up a lot too (partly due to an illness)

5. Laura Marling - I speak because I can

As important now as Kirsty MacColl was 30 odd years ago. Laura's lyrics are as strong as her music. A great album.

4. Stornoway - Beachcombers Windowsill

I'm blown away by this. Lovely harmonies, melodies . Drift away to this - I did! Trust me, it will grow and grow on you

3. Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade

Only been out a few days and I've played it a dozen times. This harks right back to their ealry stuff and has Skye singing with them again. Just exquisite.

2. Codeine Velvet Club

Fratelli spin-off project that has a lovely retro feel to it in parts. Great great album and my fave album cover

1. JJ - No 3
Gothenburg produced Little Dragon, Air France and now JJ. Another really short album but some lovely haunting songs. Dream Pop at its best.



Biggest disappointment this year was the Vampire Weekend album. Just too much like Gracelands and each song merging into another. Such a shame as I loved thier first album.

Wouls also add Plastic Beach by Gorillaz. Sorry but I just don't get it. It's got Mark E Smith, it's got Little Dragon, everybody else raves about it but it just doesn't click. Sorry Herr Tubthumper!


So - what about the rest of you?

Codeine Velvet Club did a wicked acoustic cover of I am the Resurrection on the NME Daily Download site - if you've not already you really should check it out - it works....

Top 3 albums for me this year so far are probably;

Soul Fi - Space Invadas, Sydney DJ Katalyst's smooth production and beats combined with the sweet soul of Steve Spacek's voice.

BRMC - Beat the Devil's Tattoo, like a BRMC greatest hits album but of all new tracks. It seems to capture the various styles they employed over their first 4 albums but all on one release. Fuckers are playing in Fremantle when I'm in England in August, gutted.

LCD Soundsytem - This Is Happening, bookended by two stone cold LCDS classic in Dance Yrself Clean (which really evokes the Speak and Spell era Depeche Mode keyboard sound when the lush production kicks in) and Home which should never have been allowed to end....

That's excluding retrospective compilations as Pavement's greatest hits release would take out any of the above for me.

Blur's newie could beat the lot though if the wonderfully laconic, Thinktankesque "Fool's Day" is anything to go by.

 

[rcf0712]

Great List. I would add a few I have enjoyed so far:

Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Steve Mason – Boys Outside
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
The Black Keys - Brothers
Caribou - Swim
Field Music – Measure
The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack
Holy f*** – Latin
White Rabbits – It's Frightening
Otouto – Pip
Sleigh Bells – Treats

Enjoying a few other bands on the cusp of getting albums out, Warpaint, The Like, Dom, Harlem, Zola Jesus, peter comes from neverland, Woom.

The Soft Pack's "Answer To Yourself" and awesome cover of Phoenix's "Fences" are ripper tracks but the rest for me is a bit blah..., IMHO

 

[rcf0712]

Amazing album. Baptism is clearly the best tune on the album though. That bassline on Year of Silence is dirty as a Bangkok ladyboys ring.

Delphic's album was pretty good, along with Two Door Cinema Club. But the album of the year WILL be The Boxer by Kele Okereke, out on the 21st. Mark my words.

Really looking forward to the Kele album too, the Tenderoni remixes sound pretty good and he seems to have been the driving force behind all their remixes…..

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

Villa Nah's 'Origin'

Finnish synthpop that is similar to early depeche mode/blancmange/china crisis and is as good, if not better.

 

[Kumquat]

clearly a lot of people here with good taste - just another mention for the LCD Soundsystem album too which rcf mentions . How it has managed to better their previous album I do not know. But Dance yrself clean an You Wanted a Hit are my songs of the year so far. A Guy Called Gerald's return is pretty decent too.

 

[CHAPPERS]

The Four Tet album just about edges out Hot Chip for me.

Also rans are Joanna Newsom and LCD Soundsystem (took a few listens that did). Agree with Buzzer that the Vampire Weekend album really is a let down, after 3 or 4 listens it just GRATES. Sounded a lot better live than on record.

Having heard a few tracks of it I'll stick my neck out and say the upcoming Skream album will be up there too.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Would also add 2 albums that slipped through the net from 2009 and I only got to hear this year.

Major Lazer - Guns don't kill people...... - great great party album. I challenge you not to bop to this

Polly Scattergood by Polly Scattergood - Essex born singer with a bittersweet taste in lyrics and some annoyingly catchy songs.

Agree on Major Lazer, quality album...and I like the sticker set which came with my copy as well.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Agree about Contra, I liked it at first but they are all pretty samey. The only one to stand the test of time is Diplomat's son.

Plastic beach was ok, a good collaboration but I don't think it had the cutting edge choruses that the first 2 albums had.

Interesting point about Plastic Beach. My personal opinion is it's more beats than choruses. In fact the lead single (Stylo) does not even have a chorus...it just has that huge Bobby Womack verse.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

4. Stornoway - Beachcombers Windowsill

I'm blown away by this. Lovely harmonies, melodies . Drift away to this - I did! Trust me, it will grow and grow on you

Couldn't agree more. And after a few listens I realised that despite the songs appearing to be unconnected, there is a story developing as the album progresses. Superb.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Really looking forward to the Kele album too, the Tenderoni remixes sound pretty good and he seems to have been the driving force behind all their remixes…..

The Kele tune is a rip off of Yeah Yeah by Bodyrox with a hint of Wearing my Rolex by Wiley.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Right. I like threads like this.

In no particular order:

Steve Mason - Boys Outside. A real return to form for the somewhat troubled Beta-band fella. It's quite reflective, gentle and soul searching but above all some really nice tunes.

Joanna Newson - Have One For Me. A lavishly packaged triple album with some lovely songs and melodies on it. I only have one other album of hers and this sounds a lot more mature, varied but still has her trademark quirkiness.

Plastic Beach - Gorillaz. This is just stunning. It's a slightly different direction than Albarn's previous 2 long players, more beats and rhythms but still pop. It took a while to fully appreciate, I've played it a few times everyday and I just keep finding new things to like now. From out of nowhere that Womack track at the end became a huge tune. I think this is one his best.

Foals - Total Life Forever. A band that is growing and I think will be around for the long haul. There are some lovely tunes and melodies and this.....but it still has an angular jangly feel to it.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand. I feel Hot Chip have finally found what it is they do well...electro blue-eyed soul. They've dispensed with clunky songs about wrestlers and let the singer chap have a go of the reins and pen some songs about his wife. I love the galloping synth pop opener....the title track is nice and the closing track gets me everytime. And, a brilliant and uplifting album to run to.

LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening. The last in the LCD trilogy. Some great electro sounds, beats and rhythms and some great songs as well. The opener is so cool sounding, the Bowie-esque All I Want great and Pow Pow will shake your booty.



Oh, and if you want gig of the year it will be LCD Soundsystem next to a pool and under the stars in Ibiza on my birthday. Come and buy me a drink ;-)

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

another mention for the LCD Soundsystem album too which rcf mentions . How it has managed to better their previous album I do not know. But Dance yrself clean an You Wanted a Hit are my songs of the year so far.

I love the electro sounds on Dance Yerself Clean. I also love All I Want.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Oh, and if you want gig of the year it will be LCD Soundsystem next to a pool and under the stars in Ibiza on my birthday. Come and buy me a drink ;-)

Not a bad way to celebrate I suppose.

*jealous*